3 Powerful Bible verses in attaining holiness

If there are 3 bible verses I’ve learned to treasure and appreciate so much this year.
It would be these bible verses which has left deep marks in life on how TO BE victorious for Him.

Yes I mentioned in in my other blog that our faith without action is null and avoid. And that we have a role to play in living holy for Him. But I know you know for sure that doing it by OWN STRENGTH and WILL POWER is NOT enough. We need to stop wearing our “old eyeglasses” and start wearing Gospel lenses found in these 3 verse I’m going to share with you.

 

 

 
TO DO vs. TO BE
Firstly, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says,

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

This verse teaches us to stop condemning ourselves. Stop with our self-pity parties. If we have Christ as our Lord and Savior and have asked forgiveness of our sins.
Remember that you are Already forgiven. You’re Already cleansed.

In our moment or weakness and being tempted to sin. Our tendency is to start thinking of what’s on our TO DO list,

These are some examples,
I should read my bible more.
Pray kneeling down with teary eyes.
Talk with my mentors.
I have to put that anti-porn software on my computer.
Listen to my favorite worship song and sincerely sing my heart out for help.
Take a bath with Ice.

Now these things are not wrong and I do them myself too but when I reminded myself TO BE who you I am in the sight my God. That I am a new creation. The old has gone and Christ lives in me. That I’m free and that I am a child of God.

God doesn’t see us the way we see ourselves. When he sees us, he is delighted in us. He sees us holy and made clean not by our own wrong doings and meaningless effort but through the precious blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

GOD’s MERCY
Next is Romans 12:1-2.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of GOD’s MERCY, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.

It’s very powerful for me because it takes my eyes off of myself but to who God is, His character. That in view of GOD’S MERCY and not on my own standards, other people’s opinion but on how God view of sin, how it hurts Him. I would find myself meditating on what he has done for me. That God’s will for me is good, pleasing and perfect. God hates the sin but he loves the sinner. Every time we sin, we are doing something God hates.

He has laid down his own life for me (PAST). That He is currently teaching me to trust and rely not on my own strength, will and abilities but on His power everyday (PRESENT) and that His plans for us is good, pleasing and perfect (FUTURE).

The GRACE of GOD
Another powerful verse I’d like to share with you is in Titus 2:11-12.

For the GRACE of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self- controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

Grace is God’s unmerited favor. I don’t deserved His love and forgiveness but He still chose to save me and allow me to experience His unconditional love.

Certain belief extremists have created this doctrine called “Grace-ism“. This doctrine made other believe that no matter what we’ve done God still loves us. That even if we continue sinning it’s OK because of the Grace of God. In my opinion, It’s a twisted and wrong understanding of God’s Amazing Grace.

The Grace of God is truly amazing just as how the popular described it. It’s “amazingness” (if there such a word) is not that it licensed me to sin more because I sincerely believe that the Lord will forgive me (I think I’m being selfish). Rather we will stop doing the things that he is not pleased with, things that hurts Him, Sin. The Grace of God is amazing because it liberates us. It sets us free. It enables us. It empowers us. It teaches us to say “No” to sin. It should stop us and not continue sinning. It’s by fully relying in His Grace we can have the victory over sin.

Now allow me to make an honest confession. A confession that up until now I still haven’t fully understood God’s grace.
I can’t contain. I can’t fully describe it.  I can’t fully comprehend how He has allowed a sinner like you and me experienced Him.

Now for that’s POWERFUL. It makes me cry. It overwhelms me.
And it would be  very difficult to just keep to myself.

JESUS you’re SO AMAZING!

related post : Struggling for Holiness?

The Greatness of our God

I wanna share this very nice song which is close to describing the greatness of this Great , Big and loving God we serve.

Give me eyes to see
More of who You are
May what I behold,
still my anxious heart.
Take what I have known
And break it all apart
For You my God, are Greater still.

And no sky contains,
No doubt restrains,
All You are,
The greatness of our God.
I spend my life to know,
And I’m far from close
To all You are,
The greatness of our God.

Give me grace to see
Beyond this moment here.
To believe that there
Is nothing left to fear.
And that You alone are high above it all.
You my God, are Greater still.

And no sky contains,
No doubt restrains,
All You are,
The greatness of our God.
I spend my life to know,
And I’m far from close
To all You are,
The greatness of our God.

All You are
The Greatness of our God

And there is nothing
That could ever separate us.
There is nothing that can ever
separate us from Your love.
No life, no death, of this I am convinced.
You my God, are Greater still.

Is God unfair?

by: Christian Ongtangco

“I think life is really unfair! It’s so unfair, my colleague would work 8 hours while I would works 16 hours but I still get paid less than the others.”

You worked hard  in the company for years, but someone else get the promotion. You invested your money in funds your broker recommended, but they failed.You did your best to be a good parent, but your kids turned out no better than the children whose parents didn’t seem to care about them.

“I’ve been a good Christian, in fact I pray and never missed my daily devotions with the Lord but how come I don’t get blessed as my neighbor who doesn’t believe in God?”

Are these the question familiar to you? Have you ever asked them yourself?

I believe you’ve thought of it too. Life is unfair.If we take our measuring stick too often, We get mad, angry or envious because we think we deserve more than we’re getting from God.

Jesus spent a lot of His time explaining the grace of God to people. Grace is a foreign concept for most of us. I must for me personally, this is something big.

For most of us we operate by the law, standards, rewards, and punishment, so God’s Grace just doesn’t fit.  Looking at it in this perspective, Yes God is unfair. God’s goodness reach out to everybody: the good (if you claim you are) and the evil, the righteous and the unrighteous, you and your neighbor, your spouse and the person who got the promotion instead of you.

With  God, we have nothing to boast or to be proud of, not even our righteousness, good deeds or obedience. The Gospel reminds us that its only by His Amazing Grace, by it, He has promised those who obey him and will comfort those whose trust is in Him.”

God doesn’t have to send us a Savior through His one and only son Jesus Christ.

We all should be dead by now, but God with His unending love and amazing Grace , saved us and snatched us out of hopelessness, sin and death brought us out into a wonderful and abundant life, a relationship  with Him.Isn’t that unfair. Who are we that He is mindful of us, that He cares for us.

We have a choice either we can complain and feel sorry for ourselves, or we can be thankful that the God of such goodness is the One we love and serve. Comparison kills because it always leaves us wanting more, but thankfulness brings life.

Grace meets me

When asked about Grace this is how Roy Hession described it,

Grace is the undeserved favor of God, and you are no candidate for grace unless you are undeserving. You can’t be too down, too wrong, for grace. That’s where Jesus gets His glory; not in the number of good Christian He pats on the back, but in the failures He restores.