Jesus Came to Save, Not to Judge

The only thing you have to do in order to be saved from sin is to believe in God's love for you, Jesus's sacrifice for you, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. So many people believe only two out of three because they can not accept that they're lovable or worth dying for. They believe Christ died on the cross and that God raised him from the dead, but cannot believe it was for them also.

Jesus didn't come into this world to condemn this world. He came into this world to save people from sin, make the Holy Spirit available to all as a teacher, comforter and guide and to defeat death. Jesus is our propitiation for sin. And even though people have no problem believing in Christ it is hard for them to believe he died for them also.

We all sin. We all come up short on the scales. We all deserve to pay for our sins. None of us is good enough for the Son of God to die for. But he did. He sees our value. He knows our worth. He has bought us with a price and wants to present us to God as the priceless jewels that we are.

God created us for himself. He wants to have a personal, deep, open, honest relationship with each one of us. He created each one of us with gifts, talents, and with a plan for each one of us.

We are no accident. Our mistakes do not define us. We learn from our mistakes and become better people because of them but our mistakes are not who we are. Maybe you can't love yourself right now.

You aren't required to love yourself to be saved. That will come as you learn who you are in Christ, how God sees you, and that you're a joint-heir with Christ. God is not a liar. He nor Jesus wants for any of us to die in sin and eternal death. Trust in God's unconditional love for you and accept Jesus as your Savior. Start life over new. Remember, when you get saved your become a new creature, washed from all your sin, set free from bondage, healed and made new and upon asking to receive the Holy Spirit are filled with the Holy Spirit.

I warn you, do not let your old ways hinder you. You will have to take one day at a time, learning God's ways, learning how to be a better person. Sin can no longer separate you from God. Sin and darkness will try to suck you back into your old lifestyle, your old way of thinking, you're old habits, your old way of seeing yourself.

Study the Holy Bible, read it daily. Memorize one verse a day. Use scripture to defeat the enemy who wants you to believe that you're no good; cling to Jesus and his love for you. Constantly renew your mind by thinking on how God loves you unconditionally, Jesus gave his life for you when you were up to your eyeballs in sin, you are washed clean, made new, God has separated your sin from you as far as the East is from the West, your sin was erased from the book of life to be remembered no more. Eat the word of God. Digest it. Believe in your God given right to stand before God without any sense of sin, guilt or condemnation.

Do not let self condemnation come between you and your adoption into the family of Christ. You belong to Christ now. Believe it. Live it. Be it.

Lisa

Scripture:
For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation–he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.]
John 3:16‭-‬18 AMPC

A Perfect Love

Jesus came as a baby but was King, the Son of God in human form, the living word before he entered this world. He came to save those whom he's called to believe in Him. Royalty in the highest form. The first born of God come to earth in human form to save us from eternal damnation and the curse of sickness and poverty. Where would we be without Elohim, the Trinity, our loving Father, the Holy Spirit and the Son of God?

Jesus came as a babe but had the heart and purpose of our heavenly Father. In John 13 we read about Jesus' love for his disciples.

'
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
John 13:1‭, ‬4 KJV'

Now if you will, imagine someone with the prominent stature of Jesus Christ washing his disciples feet. They walked everywhere they went, wore sandals, it may been been hot, and then there was the duty of carrying the basin of water and not only washing but drying off the feet also and he gladly did this for every one of them. When he got to Peter, Peter refused. But here's what Jesus said,

'Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
John 13:7‭-‬11 KJV'

I believe without a doubt that Jesus washed the feet of the man that he knew would betray him, Judas Iscariot. Once again doing what he has taught others to do.

'Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Matthew 5:43‭-‬45 KJV'

Jesus was a man of his word. He practiced what he preached so to speak. And after he washed all those dirty feet in a demonstration of humbleness and kindness and love Jesus gave a new commandment,

'So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
John 13:12‭-‬20‭, ‬34‭-‬35 KJV'

Even though Jesus knew how badly he would suffer and die he looked forward to it because he knew his suffering, death and resurrection would break the veil between us and our heavenly Father forever giving us access to our Father as his beloved children.

'When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night. Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
John 13:21‭, ‬26‭-‬27‭, ‬30‭-‬36 KJV'

So much love. So much commitment, So much suffering and shame and the worst death imaginable and he did it willingly out of love. His life here wasn't as one of luxury and glory. He hurt. He suffered loss. He cried. His heart ached. He was betrayed. People gossiped about him. He was lied about. He was talked down to and treated badly. He was slapped. He was spit on. He was mocked. Horrendous acts were done to him. Yet he never lost sight of the big picture, us. He never betrayed us and he never said this is too hard I want to go home. He saw it through and because he did we are made righteous. We have the God given ability to stand before Jehovah God without any sense of sin or guilt and call him Father. He created us in his image and likeness for his purpose which was to love us and have a relationship with us and because his firstborn died on the cross for our sins fulfilling all the law of sin and death we are reborn in spirit.

If you haven't given your heart to Jesus I urge you to. What greater person to give your heart to then the one who gave his life so that you can live this life without condemnation, and have an eternal life in a perfect place with a perfect body.

Lisa C

Bring Forth Fruit

Have you ever noticed that a lot of Christ' teachings were positive and that he used fruit to explain what our attitude should be like? Be fruitful and multiply. Bear fruit when keeping repentance. Every good tree bears good fruit. In order that we might bear fruit from God. If someone says he has fruit but he has no works. In John 15:16 Jesus teaches that our fruit should remain.

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: (to bear, i.e. endure, to endure the rigour of a thing, to bear patiently one's conduct) whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 15:16 KJV

What kind of fruit do we 'bring forth' that can remain? Fruit in this verse is the Greek word karpos. It means that which originates or comes from something, an effect, result, work, act, deed, advantage, profit, utility, praises, which are presented to God as a thank offering,
to gather fruit (i.e. a reaped harvest) into life eternal. To bring forth fruit that should remain means to have good works, to plant seeds of God's love and word into the hearts of others, to love the way Christ taught us to love, to love by his example.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

We are to love with a godly love and to bear the fruit of the spirit in our actions which is made possible by the Holy Spirit who will come into our hearts and lives if we just ask. But God will not be mocked. You can't pretend. You can't be one way and then another.

Galatians 6:7-9
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

Living right according to the teachings of Jesus Christ isn't easy but it's expected. The Holy Spirit strengthens us. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

Colossians 3:5-10
Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.

All of this can be overwhelming especially if you have habits like I used to. I praise God for taking them away and healing me from old mindsets and helping me to make my ways his ways. In John 15:16 Jesus stated that he ordained us. Ordained here is the Greek Word tithēmi. It means to set forth, to establish. Jesus didn't just say do this and do that he established us, equipped us so that we can remain in his will.

Jesus is a loving Lord and Savior, King, who serves us. He sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. He is truly out Savior in every sense of the word and he loves us with a perfect and unconditional love. Salvation is a gift. This Christmas hold your hands out to Jesus and receive what he has for, the beautiful gifts he has prepared for you.

Lisa C