No condemnation

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

Even though the Bible clearly says that there are now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, we still so often feel condemned or guilty. Maybe you do something that goes against what you learnt as a child or maybe it's judgemental words from a friend or family member? The point is that the devil will use any opportunity to make us feel guilty, because guilt makes us feel unloved and unworthy and ultimately makes us feel like God cannot use us or doesn't approve of us. These are all complete lies!

Jesus has already died for everything which we can ever possibly do wrong and not accepting His sacrifice and feeling guilty about it is a slap in the face. Facing the cross was not easy for Jesus, it was a massive sacrifice on His part and it was all for us, to allow us to walk in freedom and relationship with God. We should never let our communication or relationship with God be broken or become 'disconnected', because we feel guilty or condemned. God does not condemn. If you have strayed off track or if you are busy hurting yourself He will tell you and the Spirit will convict you. You will immediately know and He will at the same time give you the grace to deal with it. He always wants us to run into His arms and not away from Him. When we do something wrong we should run to Jesus, not hide from Him. There is nothing that we need to be ashamed about, He knows it all and He loves us despite our shortcomings and sins. His mercy is great and His grace knows no bounds.

The point of guilt and condemnation is to push us away from God and make us feel disconnected from Him. This is definitely not from God and red flags should pop up in your heart when you have these feelings. God knows that we are not perfect, but He loves us regardless and when He looks at us, He sees us through Jesus and that makes us look perfect. He is far more interested in what He can do in you, so that He can work through you, but the devil tries to convince us that God continually looks at our sins and tries to make us feel useless and worthless.

Do not fall into the devil's trap, but run in the freedom which we have in Christ. His love for you is unimaginable and He desires so much to spend time with you. He is the good Father and we are always welcome in His arms.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17

"For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:10 - 11

Photo credit: weheartit

A real encounter



Picture credit: favim

”And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Cor 2:1-5

We have a mandate from Jesus to go out into the world and to tell people about Him. To tell them that their sins are forgiven and that they can walk in a relationship with Him. Across the world there are so many “methods” of telling people about Jesus.  When we talk to people about God each situation will be different as each person is unique, but only God can give them a real revelation of the fact that He is real, we cannot try to convince someone with lofty words and knowledge.

I’m not saying that we should not tell people, teach people or share wisdom with people, I am merely saying that the Holy Spirit should be the instigator as to how we should approach each individual. He knows their hearts and their needs and He will minister to them through us if we allow Him to. Sharing the gospel is not a competition to see how many or how quickly we can convert someone, it is a matter of the heart. Loving someone unconditionally whether they agree with you or not and walking a road with them without expectations.

The only way to be effective is to be led by the Holy Spirit when sharing the gospel. Sometimes one day or one prayer is enough, but sometimes it takes months or years of consistent love and friendship or even no words and only actions. God prepares the hearts of the people around us beforehand and He knows when the soil of their hearts is ready to receive the seeds that we sow. I still remember so clearly the day that I met Jesus. It was such a radical experience for me, sitting in darkness one moment and my heart being flooded with light and love in the next. It was instant, it was beautiful and I wouldn’t exchange that experience for anything in the world.

The last thing that you want is to force someone to believe or pray a prayer. We need to lead people in such a way that they understand what it means to have a relationship with God and not just a lifeless religion. They need to have a real encounter with God in order for them to truly be convinced. They need to know that they can expect to hear God speak, because He loves to spend time with His children and that it is a journey. There is no need to water down the gospel or make it more comfortable for people to accept, we should only be real and honest, sharing with them in love.

As Paul mentions in the scripture above, he didn’t approach the people with lofty words and wisdom, but with the true message of Jesus. How He died for their sins to set them free, how He loves them and how He desires to spend time with them. He displayed this truth in the Spirit and in power that the faith of the people would not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Not allowing someone to have an encounter with God is robbing them of the true meaning of being a Christian. Rather approach the situation in Spirit and power, demonstrating the love of God and encouraging them to seek God and hear His voice. God will not let you down, He is faithful and He will let His love find them.

To the nations and beyond!

Tonight I found myself playing around on Google Maps. There is so much of the world that I haven’t yet and probably will never see. I found myself looking at cities which are currently at war and the devastation that they are in. I kept thinking that it is the last place on earth that I would want to live!

As I look at the pictures I feel God saying: “I love those people.” My heart feels like breaking. Who will tell them that they are loved? Who will tell them that they are cared for? Who will tell them that there is a hope that defeats the horror of fear and death?

I guess the answer is: no one. No one if we don’t go, if we don’t move, if we don’t leave our comfortable homes to make a difference in this world. The love of God in our hearts should be so strong that we ask Him: “What do you want us to do? Send us!”.

This does not mean that each one of us needs to leave his own country, it just means that we need to be willing, willing to go where no one has gone or dared to go before, even if it’s in our own backyards. If God is with us, who can be against us? The safest place to be is in the will of God, exactly where God wants you to be. He is preparing the way before us and all we need to do is ask where.

The love of the Hope of the world is in us and we carry an extraordinary responsibility to carry the power of His love to the world. Without hope there is no love. ^“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Rom 10:14-15

Let’s take the challenge, put our selfishness aside, get out of our comfort zones and respond with a willing heart and surely, through us, Love will find them!

These are just a few amazing websites of brave people who have left their homes for the sake of the gospel and in so doing has changed nations!

India, Biju Thampy - http://www.visionrescue.org.in/viewNavMenu.do?menuID=7
Greece, Abolishing salvery in the 21^st century  - http://www.thea21campaign.org/
Mozambique, Roland & Heidi Baker - http://www.irismin.org/
Hong Kong, Jackie Pullinger - http://www.ststephenssociety.com/
Worldwide, Joyce Meyer - http://www.joycemeyer.org/HandOfHope/default.aspx
Worldwide, Reinhard Bonnke - http://www.cfan.org/

It reminds me of this song: J
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNsm9AHAJsU&feature=related

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ 
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
³⁴ Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39