I was doing my Bible Study at lunch today and read a wonderful piece of Scripture, that I have read many times before... and yet today, the study gave me such a new insight, I thought I would share.
Genesis 1:1-2
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
The study pointed out that there were three things the earth was said to be in the beginning:
Formless, Void and In Darkness
The study compared this passage to how we are new creations in Christ. Just as God brought forth dry land, vegetation and fruit bearing plants from this "Formless, Void of Darkness". Christ enters our lives and through Salvation creates in us a new creation, one that dispenses the darkness and illuminates our life and path, one that fills the void of our hearts with Christ's love and complete fullness of Who HE is. A new creation that is no longer Formless and lost in darkness, but is a life of purpose. A life to serve and live for our GREAT and PERFECT God.
After salvation, we have the opportunity to feed on the Word of God... to be rebuilt and changed through God's Word. When we are turning to HIM for our nourishment, we are attached to HIM and just as the following verse states, we can be the branches and if we abide in Christ we can bear much fruit, but apart from Christ, we can do nothing.
John 15:5
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
Thinking further, there is no way I can bear fruit, when I am not abiding in HIM. Well, not at least true and lasting fruit. I can "act kind and show love", but unless it is done with the Spirit of Christ, it is for nothing and will not last.
Just so much to think about and ponder. How thankful I am that I understand the gift of salvation. It is only by HIS grace that I am saved. Nothing special in me, no acts of righteousness or "good" behavior gave me my entrance into heaven (someday). It is God's gift through HIS son.
Now... just trying to combine bearing fruit and doing it for HIM (to glorify HIM) and not for a reward for me... something to work on, that's for sure.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
True Repentance
Lately, my personal Bible study that I have been doing through settingcaptivesfree.com has really been challenging me in regards to true repentance again. I may have even posted something to this awhile back as well. My heart and mind are trying to absorb and understand how I am suppose to have true repentance. A repentance that leads to freedom from sin, a repentance that turns 180 degrees from sin and never returns. I have never truly been free of the sin of gluttony. I may have a time period where I feel like I am self-controlled in regards to how much I eat, but that is not true freedom. Especially when I keep heading back into the sin full force.
What is the root problem? It is greed, pride, selfishness and idolatry.
Gluttony is definitely a greed issue for me. An issue of wanting to stay in control (ironically, it is a completely out of control action), but the root of it is selfishness and greed. Not to mention pride and idolatry. For I run to food for comfort, instead of into the loving arms of my Savior. For if I truly was repentive of my sin, I would not return to it. I would hate it, despise it, run from it, flee as far away as possible. I would never toy with it, or tempt it. I would not yeild to its deceptions, nor would I let the whole issue absorb me.
So, the conclusion... I am not truly repentive of it. I long to be, I want to be, yet I fail to submit to what God asks me to do. To repent and never turn back. I love the following quote... and I apologize that I do not know where I got it from. I think it was from the first time I started to do the settingcaptivesfree Bible study (free on-line, if anyone is interested, or you can order a manual to do at home)
True repentance has a distinct and constant reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you repent of sin without looking to Christ, away with your repentance. If you are so lamenting your sin as to forget the Savior, you have a need to begin all this work over again. Whenever we repent of sin, we must have one eye upon sin and another upon the cross; or, better still, let us have both eyes upon Christ, seeing our sin punished in him, and by no means let us look at sin except as we look at Jesus. A man may hate sin just as a murderer hates the gallows but this does not prove repentance. If I hate sin because of the punishment, I have not repented of sin; I merely regret that God is just.
But if I can see sin as an offense against Jesus Christ, and loathe myself because I have wounded him, then I have a true brokenness of heart. If I see the Savior and believe that those thorns upon his head were put there by my sinful words; if I believe that those wounds in his heart were made by my heart-sins; if I believe that those wounds in his feet were made by my wandering steps, and that the wounds in his hands were made by my sinful deeds, then I repent after a right fashion. Only under the cross can you repent. Repentance elsewhere is remorse, which clings to the sin and only dreads the punishment. Let us then seek, under God, to have a hatred of sin caused by a sight of Christ's love.
With that said. I am going to cling to Christ, HIS Word and HIS Spirit, for I believe that the only way to true freedom from sin, is through Christ. "I believe Lord, help my unbelief". I trust God will change me through HIS Word and my desire to truly repent. I cannot pretend that I know how or when this will happen, but I will continue to cling to Christ until it does and the rest of my life. My sin prevents my relationship with Christ to grow, it prevents me from truly giving honor and glory to God, it prevents me from truly worshiping God as HE intended.
The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
Proverbs 5:22-23
"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs."
Jonah 2:8
What is the root problem? It is greed, pride, selfishness and idolatry.
Gluttony is definitely a greed issue for me. An issue of wanting to stay in control (ironically, it is a completely out of control action), but the root of it is selfishness and greed. Not to mention pride and idolatry. For I run to food for comfort, instead of into the loving arms of my Savior. For if I truly was repentive of my sin, I would not return to it. I would hate it, despise it, run from it, flee as far away as possible. I would never toy with it, or tempt it. I would not yeild to its deceptions, nor would I let the whole issue absorb me.
So, the conclusion... I am not truly repentive of it. I long to be, I want to be, yet I fail to submit to what God asks me to do. To repent and never turn back. I love the following quote... and I apologize that I do not know where I got it from. I think it was from the first time I started to do the settingcaptivesfree Bible study (free on-line, if anyone is interested, or you can order a manual to do at home)
True repentance has a distinct and constant reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you repent of sin without looking to Christ, away with your repentance. If you are so lamenting your sin as to forget the Savior, you have a need to begin all this work over again. Whenever we repent of sin, we must have one eye upon sin and another upon the cross; or, better still, let us have both eyes upon Christ, seeing our sin punished in him, and by no means let us look at sin except as we look at Jesus. A man may hate sin just as a murderer hates the gallows but this does not prove repentance. If I hate sin because of the punishment, I have not repented of sin; I merely regret that God is just.
But if I can see sin as an offense against Jesus Christ, and loathe myself because I have wounded him, then I have a true brokenness of heart. If I see the Savior and believe that those thorns upon his head were put there by my sinful words; if I believe that those wounds in his heart were made by my heart-sins; if I believe that those wounds in his feet were made by my wandering steps, and that the wounds in his hands were made by my sinful deeds, then I repent after a right fashion. Only under the cross can you repent. Repentance elsewhere is remorse, which clings to the sin and only dreads the punishment. Let us then seek, under God, to have a hatred of sin caused by a sight of Christ's love.
With that said. I am going to cling to Christ, HIS Word and HIS Spirit, for I believe that the only way to true freedom from sin, is through Christ. "I believe Lord, help my unbelief". I trust God will change me through HIS Word and my desire to truly repent. I cannot pretend that I know how or when this will happen, but I will continue to cling to Christ until it does and the rest of my life. My sin prevents my relationship with Christ to grow, it prevents me from truly giving honor and glory to God, it prevents me from truly worshiping God as HE intended.
The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
Proverbs 5:22-23
"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs."
Jonah 2:8
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