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#freedom in Christ
wherehopeshines · 1 year
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The Image of God and our Imagination
Just as imagination can fuel fear, so can imagination fuel faith. After all, God created us with imaginations to use for His purpose.
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The Word of God, the Bible, says that without faith it is impossible to please God. As an extension to this, without imagination, it is virtually impossible to have faith. How else are we going to see what we are believing for, before we ever see it in actuality? Hebrews‬ ‭11:1‬ says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
So how did God create the universe and all that is in it from nothing? Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” God exercised his imagination! He first saw the worlds, and then He spoke them into being!
God created man in his own image, endowing us with the same ability to create. Hebrews 11, the whole chapter, speaks of the faith of the patriarchs and the exploits that were done by faith, many never physically seeing all they believed God for this side of eternity.
The Latin term ‘Imago Dei’ refers to man being created in the Image of God, in all His creativity and attributes. I have attached a link to an article below expanding on the concept of Imago Dei.
God created the first man, Adam, in His own image. God later took the first woman, Eve, out of Adams side. Adam was like God in every way. He had full authority in the paradise that was the earth at that time, known as the Garden of Eden. Adam was also given the task of naming all the animals, an amazing feat of imagination! He walked and talked with God in the cool of the day.
The only thing Adam was not given authority over was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which God had instructed that he must not eat from, for the day that he did so, he would surely die.
When the fateful day came that Satan, embodied in the serpent, tempted Eve to eat from the forbidden tree, she shared the fruit with Adam. Death did indeed come, but not in the way you might expect.
Adam and Eve had been created to live forever in God’s presence, having constant fellowship with him in Eden. In fact, nothing ever died there until Adam disobeyed God’s express instructions to enjoy the garden, eating of any and all of the amazing produce of the land except the fruit of that one tree. Even the animals were all herbivores. Only after what became known as ‘The Fall’ did animals begin killing each other for food.
The first death after The Fall was not a physical death, but the spiritual death of Adam and Eve, a curse that would eventually lead to their physical deaths, and the deaths of all of their descendants.
The second death was when God killed an innocent lamb to provide clothing for Adam and Eve. Their sin of disobedience had opened their eyes to their nakedness, and they were ashamed. Prior to The Fall, they had been naked and unashamed.
God put Adam and Eve out of the garden because, had they eaten from The Tree of Life in their fallen state, they would have lived forever, never again having any hope of restoration of that pure relationship with God they had once enjoyed.
Fast-forward four thousand years. Jesus (the new Adam), conceived by a virgin through the Holy Spirit of God, came to the earth as a perfect man, just as the original Adam had been. His sole purpose was to point mankind back to God and dying as a perfect sacrifice for sin, the very thing that had broken the relationship between Adam and God in the garden.
For millennia between the Garden of Eden and the Cross of Calvary, mankind has, under special circumstances and in rare cases as detailed throughout the Old Testament of the Bible, been endowed with the ability to walk close to God, but there was always a separation.
But now Jesus has died and risen from the dead, conquering death forever. He has sent the promised Holy Spirit to those who will receive his gift of eternal life. As John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
In John 14:16-18, Jesus himself promises the Holy Spirit to those who will follow Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
Once we have received salvation from sin in Jesus and the promised Holy Spirit has been given to us, our spirit is restored to the Creators original design and we can begin the journey of relationship with Him, just as if we had never sinned. All the power, authority, wisdom and imagination that created the universe and raised Jesus from the dead has come to live in us. Just as Adam of old, we are restored to once again partake and partner in all the creativity and attributes of sons and daughters of the Creator God.
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albertfinch · 17 days
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UNDERSTANDING OUR RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD
Many think righteousness equates to following the law, but this is a religious mindset. Living under the Law leads to death. If you live by the Law, the Law will require righteousness from you that you are unable to fulfill on your own, putting you in a position where you will be judged by that Law, and the Law is an unforgiving judge. But the good news is that Jesus came so that you may have life and life more abundantly.
Romans 8:3-5 tells us that God sent His only Son in the form of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Matthew 5:17 tells us that Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the prophets, He came to fulfill them.
"But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:21-24, NIV)
Righteousness does not come from our good deeds; our righteousness comes from our faith in the blood of Jesus and what it bought for us -- righteousness is our right standing with God.
Jesus + nothing else = salvation.
Not Jesus + striving, or Jesus + how good we are = a religious mindset.
Does this mean that as a child of God you can live however you want then? No, it simply means we shift from obeying the law to allowing Jesus to live His life through us -- we are ;living our life through Jesus' righteousness. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21).
ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY
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walkswithmyfather · 8 months
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“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” —Galatians 5:13
“Free to Choose” By Wendy Richmond:
“We have been called to live in freedom. I’m not sure you and I can fully grasp the concept of living in freedom since most of us have not physically lived in captivity. But all of us once lived in the captivity of sin. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans that we become slaves to whatever we choose to obey, whether sin or righteousness (Romans 6). Christ has set us free from the captivity of sin, but the interesting thing about freedom is that it comes with a little thing called choice.
Even though you are no longer serving sin unknowingly, you can still choose it as your master. You can choose to satisfy your sinful nature. Paul says, “Don’t use your freedom  that way.” Serving the sinful nature will keep you bound up in misery and won’t benefit the people around you. “Instead,” Paul says, “Use your freedom to serve one another in love.” This is a beautiful, wise, rewarding, and God-honoring choice.” Amen!🙏🕊🙌
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aniah-who · 11 months
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Father, renew my mind with truth so that I learn to truly accept and fully receive the law of Grace, and how to abide in your freedom.
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John 1:17 | KJV
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
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yeslordmyking · 2 years
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christ-our-glory · 2 years
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We are called to dress modestly. Keep in mind that it’s not what we might wear that’s important, rather it’s our devotion to God (1 Timothy 2:9-10; 1 Peter 3:3-4). And as Paul said, if you “[make] a claim to godliness” you will obey the simple instruction to “adorn [yourself] in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation.”
We live in a world that lives for the exaltation of self. They post selfies of their weight loss, beach vacation, relaxing by the pool, etc., wearing very little to no clothes, all in an attempt to draw attention to themselves. As Christians, we should not draw attention to our bodies in such a manner. We should not cause a brother or a sister in Christ to stumble, by causing them to lust.
Freedom in Christ is never freedom to sin, nor the freedom to cause others to sin.
Beware of what you do and how it may be perceived by others.
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1 For freedom Christ freed us. Stand fast therefore and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Christian Freedom
2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 I testify again to every man who is circumcised that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You have been cut off from Christ, whoever of you are justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we, through the Spirit, by faith, eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith which works through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 9 A little yeast leavens the whole batch. 10 I have confidence in you through the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But he who is troubling you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. 11 Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. 12 I wish that those who are troubling you would castrate themselves!
13 You, brothers, have been called to liberty. Only do not use liberty to give an opportunity to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[a] 15 But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another.
Spiritual Fruit and Fleshly Works
16 I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. These are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are revealed, which are these: adultery, sexual immorality, impurity, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, rage, selfishness, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I previously warned you, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, and self-control; against such there is no law. 24 Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be conceited, provoking one another and envying one another. — Galatians 5 | Modern English Version (MEV) The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. Cross References: Genesis 6:3; Leviticus 19:18; Ecclesiastes 7:8; Jeremiah 33:6; Matthew 13:33; Matthew 15:19; Luke 16:28; John 8:32; Acts 15:1; Acts 15:24; Romans 6:6; Romans 7:15; Romans 8:4; Romans 8:23; Romans 9:31; 1 Corinthians 8:9; Galatians 1:6; Galatians 2:2; Galatians 2:4; Galatians 6:12; Galatians 6:15; Philippians 3:2-3; Philippians 4:15; 1 Timothy 1:9; James 3:14; Hebrews 13:4
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epicslaymoment · 7 days
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I am so excited for Easter this year. I never really have been in the past 3 years of becoming a Christian, however, this year it has definitely changed for me. Probably gonna cry haha i heard the gospel again today and got emotional. Knowledge is one thing - to know... but WISDOM comes from experience. As does knowing who Christ is vs KNOWING HIM in relationship!!
God has been pouring His love into me and weeding out my fear and feelings of condemnation and perfectionism and has been showing me what His grace is and how it's playing out in my life. His grace is how He shows His love for us. As stated in John 3:16 ✝️❤️ next paragraph is long cause idk where to separate it so yeah sorry!
Personal testimony: I'm able to recognize that He loves me where i'm at and i don't have to constantly worry if i'm making the right decisions, i'm not obsessing over sins as i usually would, that i don't have to work for my justification because Christ already did that work for us, that i can just rest in Him and just BE. He's also been restoring my relationship with my body and femininity and how i am happy and excited to express that as a woman. Noticing He's doing these things in layers too! I know i'm safe in His arms and we're becoming closer through everything. The peace He's given me is like no other. It produces security and confidence. He's teaching me spiritual and physical rest too. I am a daughter of God and that's my only identity. It doesn't waiver and it cannot be taken away from me. He's building His foundation in and through me. I am standing tall and strong. I am humbled and grounded by these things. I am in awe of His love and tenderness towards us and my own journey with Him specifically. There is no greater love than what Christ did (died, was buried and rose again for our justification and bringing us into relationship to the Father through Him.) I love Him so much. He's gotten me over so many mountains and will continue to. I'm so excited to see what's in store for me spiritually but also in my own physical life. I have a strong desire to get married that i never had before and sometimes i think i may want children (and i always am thinking about baby names hehe i alr have a girl's name picked out!!) Also thinking about modesty and veiling as a sign of reverence and love for God/Christ. I talked about that a few posts ago if you wanna read it!
So yeah i'm so excited for Easter and sharing the gospel, which i used to feel "pressured" into sharing it cause it felt like a chore but now i see it in a whole different light. Christ is a redeemer and restores everything and changes it for the better. Freedom in Christ is REAL!!!!
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fearlesswriterblog · 1 month
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WOW! What Affirmation of God's Word and Work in our Lives!
Psalm 19 is like a balm to the soul as we are reassured over and over of the purity and rightness of God’s Word. Even though we are flawed and are prone to sin, we can seek God and depend upon Him. His Word is our guide and plumb line for actions and reactions as we dive into its depths and soak in its truths. David concludes with his declaration to follow God in words and deeds because God is…
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How freedom showed up in my life. Lessons learned.
A long time coming Freedom in Christ has been a long time coming for me. I think one of the reasons is that I grew up feeling responsible for everyone around me. If they weren’t happy, I wasn’t happy. It didn’t matter if they were family or not, although family was always dominant. When a person feels chained to the happiness in others, they are in a prison. Most of the time they don’t know it,…
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kdmiller55 · 4 months
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A Life of Law-Keeping is Enslaving
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires…
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wherehopeshines · 2 years
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Shattered Lives, Memories & Trauma...
Life is full of devastating darkness which Christ longs to redeem in our lives.
We watched two movies recently, both of which have brought me to deep thought, those movies being 'Galveston' and 'Destroyer'.
Shattered lives, memories and traumas too deep to bear, the devastating darkness of decisions made, both by us and for us, the splintered shards of exploding lives and circumstances and the blackness of our hearts; consequences we never give a moments thought to as we go through this death called life.
As I awoke that following morning with the memory of both these movies swirling in my mind, the revelation came that nothing of our shattered lives is ever wasted in Jesus.
We live our lives trying to hide our pain from others, but even more from our own minds and hearts. To consider such torturous pain is to have to bring it out of the darkness and into the light of truth and the reality that this is who we really are, not the facade we hide behind. Yet, this is where freedom and healing and the beauty that can come of all this darkness can begin.
Where Jesus is invited into the mess and brokenness of our lives, where He is allowed to take up residence in the midst of the decay and destruction, a miracle can begin. Yet, the religious tell us that we must get our lives and decisions right before the God who created us will even consider coming to live in us. Why is this?
It's because the religious are still hiding from their pain and their past. They dare not open the doors to Jesus because He might see what's really in there and He might reject them as so many others already have. And so they sit in their pious religion and the power of Jesus to set us free is denied.
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The Japanese have an ancient art form called Kintsugi, where broken pieces of pottery are put back together with gold, creating most beautiful pieces of art. It is the very brokenness that allows the gold to shine through as it bonds the parts together. So it is when we allow Jesus to take the broken pieces of our lives and pour Himself into them.
Pain is never so painful as when it must be relived in the constant torture of regret. Yet, when we invite Jesus into those places, He is able to give us perspective that we otherwise can never have through our own lens. So what do we do?
Processing our pain takes time, but we want to be better now! Do we allow the pain of process or do we medicate to dull the pain? It's always our decision because we have been created with free will.
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albertfinch · 2 months
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RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD - 4 (of 8)
Why was Jesus manifested in the earth?
     Answer: To create a new covenant that would allow and encourage Believers to establish God’s Kingdom throughout the earth by destroying the works of the devil.  Destroying the works of the devil would include anything that would impede the advancing of God’s Kingdom.
"For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth.  All who are not deaf to the truth listen to My voice." - John 18:37
"The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning.  The son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil." - 1 John 3:8
"He was given over to die because of our sins, and was raised  to life to put us right with God." - Romans 4:25
".....He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." - Hebrews 9:26
Has the cross of Calvary delivered me from the guilt of sin?
     Answer:  God made Jesus sin.  Sin was not only reckoned to Him, but His spirit actually became sin.  Jesus came as us to be our substitute in His sacrifice.
"God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.  God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:19,21
"Because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those  who are being made holy." - Hebrews 10:14
"If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." - 1 John 1:7
How are Satan and his works put under our feet as the body of Christ?
     Answer:  Through “binding and loosing” anything that does not match up with Heaven, the believer exercises their God given dominion and  takes authority over satan and his works.
"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death."  -  Revelation 12:11
"When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him." - Colossians 2:15
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” – Matthew 16:19
Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to build a righteousness consciousness through meditation and affirmation of the word concerning my right standing with God?
"By this we know we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." - 1 John 4:13
"Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. - John 15:4
How will a righteousness consciousness affect my prayer life?
Answer:  We pray from the position of our God-given authority and that all our sins have been forgiven (past, present, and future) so there is nothing hindering us from advancing God’s Kingdom NOW.
"Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.  Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." - Mark: 11:23,24
"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." - John 14;13;14
INTO ACTION:
Write Out, Affirm and meditate on the indicated scriptures 4 times daily until the renewing of your mind is made real to your spirit.
AFFIRMATIONS:
I know my prayers are heard by God because I believe in Christ Jesus His Son who gives me eternal life.  (1 John 5:13)
I receive through faith because when I ask in prayer I believe that I have received what I have asked for.  (Mark 11:24)
I transform my mind through affirming, meditating, and visualizing God's word. (Romans 12:2 & John 8:31,32)
ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY
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walkswithmyfather · 9 months
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Amen!🙏🕊🙌
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aniah-who · 1 year
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My Prayer Today | 1 Timothy 4
In the latter days, some are going to depart from the faith, and my prayer this morning is that I stay rooted and grounded in You, Lord. I pray for an increase of discernment so that I can perceive any false doctrine that has been masked and adorned in melodic speech. Let me not give heed to seducing spirits, but let me be the one who remains and endures in the faith.
There is freedom in Christ. Many religious folks want to create all of these unnecessary laws and rules that even they can’t keep up with. Jesus didn’t come to burden us under the law; He came to fulfill the law, which is the law of love. And if He is in us, we are enabled to fulfill it because Jesus Christ, Himself, is love. Jesus never commanded us to build up a resume of good works or self righteousness. He simply said, “Follow Me.” And If we are genuinely and wholeheartedly following Him, what makes us think that He won’t lead us to what is good and true if He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life? It’s Christ who justifies and makes us holy𑁋 not our works, or how well we can keep the law.
We will never be able to fulfill the law by our own doing because we’re bound to break it. And if we break one, we’ve broken them all (James 2:10. If self righteousness is our fuel, if we depend on our behaviour as the seal of our salvation, then we’ll find that there is condemnation at the end of a law broken. But when we set aside our pride and begin to put our trust solely in Jesus and in the finished work of the cross, we find freeing truth, and the truth is that there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.
So my prayer today is that someone will have an ear to hear so that they will begin to uproot themselves from “religion” along with all of it’s oppressive regulations, so that they can instead root themselves in Jesus and in the simplicity of His Gospel.
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yeslordmyking · 2 years
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