Monday, 26 December 2016

By this we know



"By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit."
1 John 4:13

Sunday, 25 December 2016

Light and Life to all...He brings

Hail the heav'n born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all, He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing:
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Malachi 4:2 "But to you who fear my name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings..."

Jesus Christ, born just under 2000 years ago, is the perfect Son of Righteousness for He "knew no sin 

but became sin for us 

so that we might become the righteousness of God 

in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

It all comes back—everything comes back—to this incredible exchange.
Jesus—instead of you.
Jesus—instead of me.
This incredible exchange that happened on a cross in Calvary nearly 2000 years ago.
Where Jesus died for you.
Where Jesus died for me.

This is what He came for.
This is what He was born for.

God, who existed before time began, who created this universe with nothing but the Word, let Himself be born as a human baby on a broken and sinful earth to fulfil this exchange.
God—instead of sinners.
But why?
Why?
Why?
Because He loves us so.

Let's have a look at the lyrics again.

Born that man no more may die (The gift of eternal life. Death is not the end, Death does not have the victory if we are in Christ! If we believe in Him who was lifted up on a cross, we shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:14-16) The sting of death is sin (1 Cor 15:56) but Jesus died to take away that sin. Oh praise God!! "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" 1 cor 15:57)

Born to raise the sons of earth (to be reconciled to God. There's nothing we can do to reach God's infinite Holiness. No, He came down to raise us up. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8)

Born to give them second birth (Jesus Christ said: "Unless one is born again, He cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3. What is it to be born again? It is being born of the Spirit. It is believing that Jesus Christ really is who He says He is—the Son of God—and that He really died and really rose again to take away your sins and raise you up and out of darkness into a wonderful restored relationship with your Heavenly Father! Believing this is all the work of the Holy Spirit, hence why it is called being "born of the Spirit". "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the the kingdom of God." v5

Jesus, who knew no sin but became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. In Him. The exchange is only for those who are in Him.
The door is not closed yet.
Believe in Him and you can be in Him too.

One more thing. 

Jesus is ris'n with healing in His wings. What a wonderful Lord and Saviour. He comes to heal. The relationship between us and God. Our sinful souls. Our broken lives. And our bodies, our sicknesses and diseases.

By His stripes—the stripes from the vicious whipping He endured for our sakes—we are healed. We are healed in Jesus' name! Hallelujah.

Merry Christmas and God bless you mightily.

~Emily


Last year's Christmas entry. I looked briefly at the second verse of Hark the Herald Angels Sing: http://emilyseto.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/the-word-became-flesh-and-dwelt-among-us.html 

Friday, 9 December 2016

Sydney


May God's Spirit move powerfully through this place and the name of Jesus be lifted high above all others!!

Friday, 2 December 2016

The Mirror of God's Word

"...We need to cultivate an ever-expanding realization of what we have become in the family of God. To achieve this requires long hours spent gazing into the mirror of God’s Word. Here we come to see for ourselves, stage by stage and detail by detail, what it means to be a child of God. As we gaze into this divine mirror, the Spirit of God works within us, transforming us into the likeness of what we are looking at." ~ Derek Prince, God is a Matchmaker, p62

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18