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Friday 3 April 2015

GRACE PERSONIFIED

Hey Guys!

Happy Ressurection/Easter!
I know it may seem strange for me to say Ressurection as well as 'Easter' however when I typed 'easter' into google images I was bombarded with images of  easter eggs and easter rabbits and thats not the Easter I remember being taught about as a child. 



©christianitymatters.com
In my opinion, though many events in the history of the world have had a major impact on peoples lives, nothing has been greater or more powerful than the Resurrection of Jesus. Reflecting this morning on the significance of Good Friday I remembered all the Easter productions I used to participate in in church, and being taught about the significance of the crown of thorns and the pain and scrutiny Christ endured all for the sake of our sins. 
The two things that stuck out to me most in my meditation this morning were the power of sin but more importantly the superior power of Gods love and the blessings of the new life we have in Him. 


Romans 6:8-14

"Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him...

 death no longer has mastery over him...he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, consider yourselves also dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master,because you are not under the law, but under grace."

1 Peter 3:4
"In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the Ressurection of Jesus Christ and into an inheritance than can never perish, spoil or fade"




©www.icfwageningen.org
Sin can be a truly powerful thing and in many circumstances all it takes is sinning once for it to develop into a habit which in turn can make us feel entrapped, so much so that by our own strength we can become slave to it as our defence simply isn't strong enough. A lot of the time sin can seem like the 'easier' option, or a way to fit in to the ways of the world but its all a facade of  temporary pleasures and the consequences be it in the long or short term are never worth it.


Ephesians 4:22-24
'we do not have the excuse of ignorance. You were taught, to let everything connected to your former way of life go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.'


I personally believe that life would be so much simpler if we didn't have to cover up lies, chose to channel our frustrations into positive and productive things and didn't have to have our conscience constantly hammering away at our hearts and leaving us carrying the weight of our guilt everywhere we go.
Sin is not an obligation- it is a choice.
If we can lighten the load of life in any way, why not do so? Choosing to flee from sin is one of the easiest ways to make life less complicated, especially because God has already given all the equipment and power to be able to do so. When overcoming any sin no matter how big or small, know that you can and will always be able to defeat it and you'll never have to start from scratch as whatever you'll need to do stems from what Christ has already done! Even if its something you may have backsliden into, don't waste time feeling sorry for yourself or feeling like God hates you because you werent able to keep your word. 

Jesus is grace personified.
The abuse of grace doesn't eliminate its existence. Christ died for every single one of our sins regardless of whether we deserved it or not and no man-made demonstration of love will ever come close to that.  I can promise you that once you let it in, the grace, mercy and love of Christ has the power to completely change your life for the better. The moment you Accept, Believe and Confess Christ as your Lord and Saviour, every sin and curse over you life is destroyed.So far as you repent with an honest and open heart and allow the Holy Spirit to order your steps moving forward, you can always make a positive change. 



2 Cornthians 5:17

Therefore if any person is in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!


I have come to understand that being made a new creation through Christ means we embody everything he endured and represents and this should truly reflect in how we live. The scriptures above really reminded me that sin has no hold over my life and Christ has already conquered sin. So living in, through and for him means that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit I will forever be a conquerer! 

©crosscards.com
This Easter I smile and celebrate  the fact that God loved me so much that he sacrificed his Son not just for the sins of my past but for sins I may commit in the future. And he didn't just do it for me but for all of us, even those who have turned away from Him or don't know Him yet.

As I sing in church this evening (http://www.worshiptabernacle.org.uk/#) I pray the words of each song will really minister to me as well as the congregation. I will be reminded of how awesome Gods grace and love are and pray that the life I lead will be my way of saying thank you to God for such an amazing and life changing sacrifice! 
 

Have an awesome day and remember Jesus is the reason for the season! 


Love 

Izzy x







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