Genesis 3:15

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

The phrase, "her seed" here was a direct reference to the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. In every other birth the seed or sperm is supplied by the man, but not so in the case of the birth of Jesus, hence the phrase once again, her seed.

Paul makes a great reference to this in Galatians 3:16

"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."

Holiness is definitely a good thing, but holiness is not something we can attain to. When we became born again, we were instantly made holy, re-created holy, not through any of our own efforts. The new covenant tells us this truth over and over again.

Failing to recognize this causes us to embark on a performance-based endeavor to achieve a standing that we never, ever, will accomplish on our own strength. It's one of the ultimate forms of bondage. It's exactly what Jesus rebuked the religious people of His day for doing, and continues to rebuke that type of behavior even today. That's exactly why He said, "Clean first the inside of the cup, then the outside will be made clean also".

We are three-part beings; spirit, soul, and body. When we got born again, our spirit, the core of who we really are, was made brand new. This is what 2:Cor 5:17 speaks about when it says, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creation." Your spirit was made perfect. Ephesians 4:24 says this, "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

You can't work your way to holiness, when you received Christ, your spirit was created that way. And that's exactly how God sees you right now. God is Spirit (John 4:24), and when He looks upon you, what he sees is that brand new, created in righteousness and true holiness spirit part of you. He looks at you with Christ-tinted lenses if you will.

Hebrews 10:10&14 say it like this:

"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.... For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. "

You were sanctified by the one offering of Christ and perfected forever. That is speaking of your spirit.

1 Cor. 6:17 says, "He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit". We are every bit as holy as Jesus.

1 John 4:17 says, "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world."

As He is, speaking of Jesus, so are we, in THIS world.

The problem lies in the fact that the majority of most Christians are experiencing a very serious identity crisis. They have no clue what was really accomplished on the cross and they have very limited understanding of who they are in Christ.

As Prov 23:7 says, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" If you go around thinking that you are unholy, then unholy you will be. You are more focused on the carnal realm than the spiritual. And Romans 8:6 says, "To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

Paradoxically, if you know that you know that you know that the real you, the spirit part of you, was CREATED in righteousness and true holiness, then holy you will be. You have cleansed the inside of the cup, therefore the outside will automatically become clean.

Wow, I could talk about this for days, but I am seriously late for school. Have a great day brethren!

Michael

For many today there remains one very special gift yet to be opened. Hidden behind the many traditions of men, and wrapped by layer upon layer of religious rituals, there awaits for some; Another Comforter. His name is The Holy Ghost and He was sent by the Father, in the name of Jesus, to constantly convince us of our right-standing with God, and to empower us to live life victoriously.

Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. And what better way to honor the Savior than to open and receive the very special gift He made available to those that believe? The bible says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a second experience available to those that have made God their “heavenly Father”, and receiving is a matter of simply asking. I strongly encourage you to open this package today; allowing the love of God to be shed abroad in your heart, and Christmas will become an every-day lifestyle rather than a once-a-year remembrance. You were created for this very thing.

In love,
Michael

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.” Liberty resides in the heart of every follower of Christ. Liberty, or freedom, is not now, never was, nor ever will be contingent upon any external circumstances. Liberty, which the world so desperately seeks, is available to every person on the planet, right this very moment. War and politics are not the answer. The global crop of freedom grows one heart at a time.

Transfigured; what a great word. Jesus went high up on a mountain and was transfigured and his face did shine as the sun. That’s amazing. But equally amazing is that the bible says we too can undergo such a change. The Greek word “metamorphoo” used here for transfigured is the exact same word used in Romans 12:2 for transformed. “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye “transfigured” by the renewing of your mind.

Merry Christmas! One of the bible words for merry is the Greek word “euphraino” meaning: To rejoice in and be delighted with a thing. So in context, when we say Merry Christmas, we are saying, "Rejoice and be delighted in Christ." This Christmas Season, may we rejoice and delight ourselves in the Lord. Here, in this realm of rejoicing and delighting, we shall find the true, acceptable, and perfect desires of our hearts.

Feeling a little blue this Christmas Season? I can certainly relate. The intensity of being alone seems to magnify this time of year. As I was reading in “The Good Book” this morning I was reminded of this: “Happy is he that condemneth not himself”. (Romans 14:22)

We have a tendency to beat ourselves up don’t we? It has to be us because we know that condemnation does not come from God. Jesus said, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:17) Jesus is the way of escape from our condemning selves.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) Right now, right this very moment, and each and every second of each and every day we can identify with our position in Christ and release ourselves from all those nagging and self-condemning thoughts. There is a higher power than self. It is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that makes us free. (Romans 8:2)

Beloved, it is only in the very presence of God that we can experience this “Spirit of Life.” In His presence, is the place where our hearts become assured, not condemned, because God is greater than our hearts. (1 John 3:20) “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” (1 John 3:21)

That word “confidence” is the Greek word, “parrhesia”, and it means: free and fearless, cheerful courage, boldness, and assurance. When we bring ourselves into this position with the Lord, when we are free and fearless before Him, it is there at this throne of grace that we obtain mercy, and find help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Dream this year of a white Christmas, beloved. The only one making it blue is you. Remember: “Happy is he that condemneth not himself”

Love,
Michael

I, Truth, am thy Redeemer, come to Me;
Lay doom thy sin and pain and wild unrest;
And I will calm thy spirit’s stormy sea,
Pouring the oil of peace upon thy breast:
Friendless and lone – lo, I abide with thee.

Defeated and deserted, cast away,
What refuge hast thou? Whither canst thou fly?
Upon my changeless breast thy burdens lay;
I am thy certain refuge, even I:
All things are passing; I alone can stay.

Lo I, the Great Forsaken, am the Friend
Of the forsaken; I, whom men despise,
The weak, the helpless, and despised defend;
I gladden aching hearts and weeping eyes;
Rest thou in Me, I am thy sorrow’s end.

Lovers and friends and wealth, pleasures and fame –
These fail and change, and pass into decay;
But My Love does not change; and in thy blame
I blame thee not, nor turn my face away:
In my calm bosom hide thy sin and shame.

- James Allen, Light on Life’s Difficulties (1912)

The way we experience abundant life is by writing the Word of God on the table of our heart. (Proverbs 7:3) David said, "My tongue is the pen of a ready writer." (Psalm 45:1) The zoe life of God manifests when believing, we boldly speak His Word!

Life is like a roller coaster at times. But as fun as a roller coaster ride is, it becomes even more exiting when we raise our hands. Similarly, praising God is also an exhilarating experience. But just like that blood-circulating roller coaster ride, when we raise our hands in worship, the intensity is magnified, and we walk away forever changed. “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.” Psalm 134:2

There are certain ups and downs in this life which simply seem to be inevitable. But if there is one thing that I have learned, it is the truth that raising my hands in surrender to the Lord is the only true way to enjoy the ride. And, that the more often I do this, and the more that I allow myself to be transformed into His image, the smoother the ride becomes while at the same time never losing its excitement.

"Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed” Isaiah 40:3-5

If you have been discouraged lately, or maybe even depressed, it’s not because God doesn’t love and care for you. It could simply be that you are experiencing an identity crisis. Being focused on things of this world will cause that. If you have found yourself hating life, that in itself is a sign that the Kingdom of God is calling you. Jesus said, “He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” John 12:25

Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. Not only for our sins as believers, but also for the sins of the entire world. (1 John2:2) Propitiation here is the Greek word hilasmos and it is defined as the means of appeasing. Jesus’ death on the cross appeased the wrath of God. God is no longer angry with mankind. Not only is He not angry, but neither does He punish people for their individual acts of sin. Contrary to popular teaching, God is not the one who is causing natural disasters or random acts of terror in order to teach people a lesson. The war between God and mankind is over.

Picture a balance scale. You could place every sin ever committed or that ever will be committed on one side of the scale, and then drop even one single drop of the blood of Jesus on the other side, and that one drop of blood would far outweigh the entirety of sins of all mankind. The sin issue has been dealt with once and for all. That’s Gospel.

In Hebrews we learn that once, for all time, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, and by that one offering He has perfected forever them that are sanctified. And that it is the spirits of just men that have been perfected. God is Spirit and He sees that perfected spirit part of you. So come to the throne boldly, for as He is, speaking of Jesus, so are we, in this world. That’s Gospel.

Jude admonishes us to “Keep ourselves in the love of God.” What I like about this verse is the truth that God’s love never fluctuates. In Him there is no variation, therefore, His love is never the variable. If God’s love could somehow vary, then it would be utterly impossible for us to keep ourselves there. A command expecting us to consistently hit the bull’s-eye on a moving target would never come from a just God.

In Luke 21 Jesus teaches some signs of the last of the last days and He says that as trees produce leaves indicative that summer is near, likewise, when these signs happen, you will know the kingdom of God is near. And He says, “Be on guard, so that your minds are not dulled from drunkenness and carousing.” But that’s not all that can dull our minds for He also listed “The worries of life”. Stay sharp. Don’t worry!

If you’ve heard the gospel of Christ, and it has taken root in your heart, and is evidenced in your every day walk, then you are even more blessed than Mary, the mother of Jesus.

“As he was speaking, a woman in the crowd called out, “God bless your mother—the womb from which you came, and the breasts that nursed you!” Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”

ETERNAL: aionios {ahee-o'-nee-os}; Meaning: 1) that which always has been and always will be 2) without beginning 3) without end, never to cease, everlasting.

REDEMPTION: lutrosis {loo'-tro-sis}; Meaning: deliverance, esp. from the penalty of sin

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in ONCE into the holy place, having obtained ETERNAL REDEMPTION for us.” - Hebrews 9:12

Now that’s Good News!

Goliath was 9 feet tall with armor weighing 125 pounds. He that came against David, the shepherd boy, was a mighty warrior. It was such an unfair fight though, Goliath didn’t stand a chance. See, David wasn’t merely a shepherd boy; he was an anointed king under covenant with the living God. If you be in Christ, you too have been made an anointed king, with a better covenant. Get out there today and slay some giants.

Never doubt that God’s desire for you is to be healthy and live long. Proverbs 9:11 says, “For by me (wisdom) your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you.” Good health and length of days come through abiding in Christ, who according to Ephesians 1:8, “Hath abounded toward us in all wisdom.” Wisdom, the multiplier of life, is not a matter of will He give; the matter is simply will you receive.

The world continues to tell you “don’t get your hopes up” but God’s word says that faith is the evidence of things hoped for. Hope is faith fuel and without faith it is impossible to please God. And remember, hope that is seen is not even hope. So when you hope, hope for those things which you cannot yet see, believing with patient endurance that they shall come to pass. This is what the Lord says: Get Your Hopes Up!