December 2016 Spirit Food
Once you are presented with what the Word of God has to say about an issue, you are responsible for receiving His love, grace, & favor; and the gift of His righteousness. Remember, you are greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved by your Heavenly Father.
This month let’s focus on the reason for Christmas!
Isaiah 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Why was a child born? Almighty God (Our Heavenly Father) needed to send His Beloved Son into this world born of a virgin (Mary), to get a man on this earth that didn’t have blood, tainted with sin.
It has now been confirmed by medical science that the production of blood in the fetus of an unborn child is as a result of the male seed, and the baby receives no blood from the Mother. This is why the Bible informs us the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she conceived.
Remember, God is a Trinity; consisting of Our Heavenly Father, Our LORD Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
John 3:16 states - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
So, what was mankind to believe? That Our Heavenly Father sent His beloved, only begotten Son (which had non sin tainted blood) to come and redeem mankind, from sin that had been placed into the world as a result of Adams sin.
Many people are familiar with John 3:16, but not many have focused on John 3:17 - For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Saved from what, you may ask? From the curse of the law. Understand, mankind committed high treason by giving satan control of the earth. The earth was created for mankind to live and have fellowship with his creator. Mankind was created to live forever, but when satan took ownership, his goal was (and always has been), to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
Most have likely heard of the Ten Commandments as stated in Exodus 20. This was the law which God wrote in stone for the children of Israel when God attempted to establish a covenant with His people. But before His Covenant was provided, the Israelites displayed an attitude as a people of “whatever you command us, we can do it”.
The strength of the curse is in the law. Galatians 3:10 indicates that if you choose to live by the law, and make a mistake or miss the mark, you’re cursed. Again, the Ten Commandments was the law the Israelites had to live with according to the Old Covenant. And because no one could keep the law perfectly, the High Priest represented the people before God and used a blood sacrifice to cover mankinds sin annually. But once Jesus came, having un-tainted blood, and lived a life perfectly under the law; he could become the sacrifice for all of mankind for all time, blotting out all of mankinds sin, past, present and future! This is the part of the Gospel of Grace!
Almighty God saw the Old Covenant between Him and mankind depended on mankind keeping up his part, and understood that mankind couldn’t do it. Therefore, Our Heavenly Father created a New Covenant. This New Covenant was between Our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son Jesus. This New Covenant states that those in mankind whom believe and accept by faith, that Jesus came to this earth as a man, to redeem mankind from the curse of the law, by dying on the cross (shedding His non-tainted blood), will be redeemed.
Romans 5:20 - Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.
Our Heavenly Father desires us to know that when someone falls into sin, he does not fall from grace—he actually falls into grace! Thank God His grace is there to put the person back on his feet.
The Bible tells of prostitutes and corrupt tax collectors—sinners—who fell into God’s grace and got back on their feet. If the sin in their lives could stop God’s grace, they would never have been able to receive His grace of healing, help and power to live right.
It is important you understand that God hates sin, because it destroys our lives, relationships and bodies. Sin is evil! But sin is not overcome by us talking about it and relying on our willpower to overcome it. It takes God’s grace to destroy sin. In fact, it is when you are under His grace that sin has no dominion over you. (Romans 6:14) It is when you see His grace, in providing His Son to put away your sins and make you eternally righteous, that sin will not dominate you.
The devil might come at you with something like: You think that you can still expect God’s blessings after what you did this morning? That is when you must remind yourself that Christ alone is your perfection and righteousness. All of us have faults. None of us deserve God’s blessings. That’s why we plead the grace of God, which is His unearned, unmerited and undeserved favor toward us.
Sin does not and cannot stop God’s grace. If His grace can be cut off by sin, Jesus would never have come to save us because we were all terrible sinners. But praise God, “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more”! God’s grace is bigger, deeper, wider and more powerful than all the world’s sins put together. Receive His grace right now to walk in total victory over that weakness or evil habit in your life!
Jesus dying on the cross for mankind enabled the New Covenant to come into existence. Therefore, Him coming into this world as Mary’s baby boy, enabled God’s plan to redeem His mankind. If you have accepted Jesus as the LORD of your life, you are in Christ (Our Redeemer), and Our Heavenly Father looks at you as being within Christ Jesus! Jesus is Our High Priest! We are Joint Heirs with Jesus, as we are in Him!
I suppose that the lyrics of the song: Mary, did you know, by Mark Lowery would be fitting: feel free to look them up.
If you’re reading this, but you have not made Jesus the Lord of your life, and would like to, pray this prayer out loud in an audible voice:
Heavenly Father, your Word says in Romans 10:9-10- “that if I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead, that I would be saved. For with the heart one believes unto salvation.” I believe your Word, Heavenly Father, and confess Jesus Christ (the anointed one and His anointing) as Lord of my life now. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess that I was a sinner, but now I’ve been saved by Your grace, and in Your thoughts, I am now in right standing with You. I denounce Satan and all he stands for. Write my name in the Lamb’s book of Life. In Jesus Name. Amen (so be it).
Congratulations! If this is your first time praying this prayer, please write and let us know!
Should you decide to give and financially support this ministry with gifts given in faith, I join my faith with yours to see the devourer rebuked (Malachi 3:11) and for you to receive a harvest; pressed down, shaken together and running over (Luke 6:38). Please remember to name your seed!
Dr. Mark Krom, Ph.D., D.Psy
Minister/Clinical Pastoral Psychologist