peace . love . joy

as one of the leaders of a sec 3 Bible study group in church, i remember we once spoke about Christ freeing us from something. and i remember it being said that we are freed from death (eternal death, that is).

but from the Easter sermon by Pastor Kow, i learnt 4 more thgs we are freed from =]

1. we are needn't feel guilty of our past
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace...
~ Ephesians 1:7
...having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross.
~ Colossians 2:14
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those whoare in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
~ Romans 8:1-2

2. we needn't worry about the future
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
~ Matthew 6:34
i can do everything through Him who gives me strength.
~ Philippians 4:13

btw, did you know that there are 365 "Fear Not"s in the Bible? that's one "Fear Not" for everyday! God is telling us that we've nothing to fear, nothing to worry about when we place our trust in Him and Him alone. His grace is sufficient for us =]

3. we are free from purpose-less living today
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
~ Ephesians 2:10

what we're looking for is a life that is significant not successful;
and to achieve that, we ought to discover God's purpose for our individual lives and live it.
so Pastor Kow challenged us, and now, i'm challenging you =] :
be driven by God's purpose in your life!

4. we are free from having to earn our way into heaven
Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
~ Romans 4:4
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~ Romans 6:23
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.
~ Ephesians 2:8-9

it was put this way:
heaven is a perfect place.
to get there, there are 2 and only 2 roads you can take.

the first: you have to be perfect to get there.
that is to say, you are without sin (sin = anything you do that displeases God AND anything you didnt do that displeases God). heaven is a perfect place, so if you, being imperfect, enters it, it becomes imperfect. therefore, you must be perfect to enter it, and it will remain perfect. good deeds alone will not get us to heaven; can you guarantee that your mind thinks only of the good of others and not bend to temptation of sinful thoughts?
the first way is practically impossible. human beings are imperfect. there is no way we can not sin since we were but babes.

so God opened a second road for us: Jesus Christ.
God provided a ticket for us to heaven through that perfect Son. He took all our sins, past, present and future, with Him on the cross and died. He took the painful penalty we would have faced without Him. He allowed our slates to be wiped clean =] . all we have to do is place our trust and hope in Him. to follow hard after Him. to leave our nets, past life of fishing for selfish interests and pleasures, and boats of the world, to hop on board His boat and pick up His nets, and start fishing for the souls of men.

the choice is up to us which road to pursue.

i choose Jesus Christ.

dear God, as much as i know how, i ask You to come into my life. i accept Your free gift of salvation and i say this so everyone hears, so You can hear me, so i can hear myself, so the devil hears me. Jesus Christ is my Lord, He is my Savior. i belong to Him.
amen.

for some of us who have fallen away from God, but who are yearning to crawl back into His glorious and righteous presence, Pastor Kow referred to Isaiah 54:7.

"...The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit - a wife who married young, only to be rejected," says your God. "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer.
~ Isaiah 54:6-8

we need no longer hide our faces from God because we feel ashamed of our sins. God forgives us if only we ask.
and that's all that matters: our salvation, God's purpose in our lives and our living out that purpose.

No golden throne for the KING OF KINGS,
but a rugged cross of suffering.
No crown or robes that we might see
the splendor of HIS MAJESTY.
No royal court, but a tomb alone
til an angel rolled away the stone.
Come worship CHRIST!
Our Lord adore.
HE lives!
HE lives forevermore!

~ Robin Fogel