Believers Are Free

Well, it's Monday again and I had coffee in front of my favorite tel-evangelists on TBN.

When the coffee is gone and the programs are over, I have a little talk with my Heavenly Father.  This morning, I say "thank you" which is usually reserved for bedtime.  (Like counting sheep, only better.)  I was raised to pray for others in the morning and thank God at night.  This seems to help with too much self indulgence.  Although,  my Father in heaven is a generous father and I know I can ask for anything anytime. 

After four half hour sermons, from four different speakers, I am feeling particularly good about my freedom as a Christian.  (This is a pretty good way to start the week.)  To be the righteousness of God, as a gift, through the sacrifice of Christ is so much more than we realize; so much more than we deserve.  We do not have to work for anything.  We just accept by believing of, and in Jesus and His resurrected life.  That's it!  I don't think about this as much as I should.  It makes me very much at peace, with a lot less stress.

Christians are free from worry and fear.  We will be saved through the rapture before the worst of the end times.  We do not have to please God by working to do right.  We do not have to feel guilt - it's been taken away.  You can't change it.  It's already happened.  Whether you believe it or understand it.  We are saved from this world now.

When God looks at a believer, He sees His Son, Jesus.  In God's eyes we are as pure as our Savior Himself.  His shed blood covers over all sin and God can only see Jesus'  holiness.  Yes, we are holy.  We are ambassadors of heaven.  We are apostles.  We are brothers and sisters with Christ.  We can lay all problems at the feet of our savior and he will plead our case for us.  We can go directly to God, the Father and commune.  And. . . He will answer us.

When a believer dies, he sleeps.  He knows nothing.  In a twinkling of an eye he wakes to the rapture with all other believers throughout history.  This is an amazing thing to understand.  Talk about reducing fear.  

As Jesus is in heaven, so are we.  We, as believers, can heal and be healed, teach and be taught, anoint and be anointed, give and take communion and receive the same standing as Christ Himself.  Understand, we achieve this through what He did and the blood He shed - not by anything we could ever do.  We are sinners; have been, are and will be until we are changed to that new life.  Our sins no longer count against us.  Even as we sin today, it is already forgiven - because we believe that is why Jesus died and rose.

Some time ago, I left a Bible study because the leader was teaching that a believer can lose their salvation.  I guess, by committing a sin.  At first, I thought we might just agree to disagree, as brother and sister in Christ.  That does not work.  For one thing, both of us stand firm in our belief.  

Let me plead my case here:  Did Jesus die for nothing?  Is he saying that Christ needs to be nailed to that tree again so he can be saved every time he slips?  I say,  "NO".  It is once and for all - like Paul said.  Once died for all!  It is done!  We are saved.  We are free!  True believers WANT to do what pleases our Father because we know the love involved and the sacrifice from Him and The Son.

Let us be humble and take a few times today to reflect on all this.  Let's go through our Monday being happy for the amazing blessings God has freely given to us through His most beloved son, that He is so proud of. 
Amen