At one time, all disciples of Christ were outsiders. Stranded in the wilderness of unforgiveness and doomed to eternal damnation.
But thankfully, like the apostle Paul, they had a Damascus experience. A close encounter with Jesus that forever changed the trajectory of their lives.
Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:4-8
Papa alone is the architect of this covenant relationship. He alone defines its perimeters.
A blood sacrifice is required.
Atonement by means of animal sacrifice dominated Papa’s covenant with mankind in the Old Testament. Annually on the Day of Atonement, the most solemn and holy day of the Jewish calendar, the High Priest offered an atoning sacrifice for the ritual impurity of the tabernacle, the temple sanctuary, its priesthood and the Israelite people.
It was necessary for the earthly copies of the heavenly things to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves required far better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one. He entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the very presence of God on our behalf. Nor did He enter into the heavenly sanctuary to offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer over and over since the foundation of the world. But now, once for all at the consummation of the ages, He has appeared and been publicly manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Just as it is appointed and destined for all men to die once and after this comes certain judgment. So Christ, having been offered once and once for all to bear as a burden the sins of many, will appear a second time when He returns to earth. Not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who are eagerly and confidently waiting for Him. Hebrews 9:23-29
Jesus is now the atoning sacrifice of Papa’s covenant with mankind. Only Christ’s blood fulfills Papa’s temporal and eternal holiness requirements. It alone has been offered in the Holy of Holies, Papa’s heavenly sanctuary.
Forgiveness of sin is the cornerstone of Papa’s relationship with mankind.
Forgiveness of sin highlights Papa’s mercy. It is He who devised a fail proof plan to establish and maintain relationship with His children.
Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:4-12
Papa’s forgiveness of sin absolves the sinner from the guilt and thus the penalty of sin. For God has not destined us, His chosen, to face His wrath but to be the heirs of salvation through our Lord Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King who died for us. So regardless of whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
Therefore, since we have been justified— acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God by faith. Let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God and the joy of reconciliation with Him through our Lord Jesus Christ— the Messiah— the Anointed.
Through Him we also have access by faith into this remarkable state of grace in which we firmly and safely and securely stand. Let us rejoice in our hope and the confident assurance of experiencing and enjoying the glory of our great God, the manifestation of His excellence and power. Romans 5:1-2
Repent! Repent! Repent!
Papa’s forgiveness is not indiscriminate. He will not and cannot acquit the guilty. Unless you repent, that is, change your inner self— your old way of thinking, live changed lives and become like children— trusting, humble and forgiving, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3
Repentance isn’t a popular message today because it requires you to acknowledge sin. Something many prefer to ignore or conceal. Not realizing that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey. You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Romans 6:16
Come close to the one true God, and He will draw close to you. Wash your hands. You have dirtied them in sin. Cleanse your heart because your mind is split down the middle, your love for God on one side and selfish pursuits on the other.
Since the beginning, our loving Creator has been pursuing us, drawing us closer to Him. He invites us to move closer to Him so we can be fully His.
Now is the time to lament, to grieve and to cry. Dissolve your laughter into sobbing and exchange your joy for depression. Lay yourself bare, facedown to the ground in humility before the Lord. And He will lift your head so you can stand tall. James 4:8-10
When repentance is an integral part of your spiritual DNA. A lifestyle dependent on Papa’s truth and wisdom thrives.The removal of unrighteous paradigms and behaviors becomes an ongoing process. Obedience and faithfulness replace self-reliance and pride as you become increasingly more dependent upon the Holy Spirit and His guidance.
Convinced that without Papa’s grace and mercy you would be consumed by the fires of hell here on earth and in eternity. Your pursuit of an intimate and authentic relationship with Papa becomes an unquenchable thirst. One the powers of darkness can’t extinguish.
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