Snatched From the Fire
"The Lord said to satan, 'The Lord rebuke you satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?' Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, 'Take off his filthy clothes.' Then He said to Joshua, 'See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.' Then I said, Put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him while the angel of the Lord stood by (Zechariah 3:2-5)."
These verses are a beautiful picture of what the Lord does for us once we are saved. In Christ, our filthiness is removed, and in return, we receive His righteousness. He takes away our sin-all of it-and washes us white as snow. It is not because of anything we have done. We could never do enough good works to earn righteousness. It is only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in His finished work at the cross.
It is simple, yet profound. The only thing we must do is to believe on the Lord Jesus. To believe in Him, is to put your trust in Him; to believe He is who He says He is, and accept His free gift of grace. It is amazing to me, that in spite of our wretchedness, Jesus loved us so much, that He gave His life for us. "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8)." This is something I will never get over because when I think about the person I used to be, to think that God loved me when I was living in sin, rebelling against Him and He pursued me. He sought after me. He chose me to be His. He called me out of my darkness and into His marvelous light. "For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14)."
And because God is no respecter of persons, what He did for me, He can do for anyone. He will never turn away anyone who calls on His name. Jesus said, "However, those the Father has given Me will come to Me, and I will never reject them (John 6:37)."
Jesus breaks chains! He breaks chains of religion, distorted thinking, addictions, anger, lust, selfishness, pride, greed, hate, bitterness, resentment, the need for control, gossiping....whatever the chain, it can be broken in the powerful name of Jesus. You may be thinking Jesus could never love someone like me after everything I have done. Well my friend, that is just not true! Jesus loves you-every part of you-so much that He died for you. It is a misconception to think that we need to clean ourselves up before we come to Christ. He will take our ashes, all of our dirty, filthy, sinful mess, and make us beautiful. All to the praise of His glorious name. "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give until them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified (Isaiah 61:3)."
Don't let fear, doubt or bondage keep you from coming to Christ. Come just as you are. He will give you new life and make you a new creation. This is all done on the inside by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. "But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:16-18)."
Choose today whom you will serve. There is no middle ground when it comes to following Christ. You are either for Him or against Him. If you hear His voice, that still small voice deep within calling you, don't harden your heart. Come to Jesus and live! He will save your soul from death. He will flood your heart with His peace. He will satisfy. He loves you more than you could imagine. All of this is the gift of His marvelous grace. "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages, He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-7)."
Jesus is calling; Come home! Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. My chains are gone. I've been set free. My God my Savior, has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace.
These verses are a beautiful picture of what the Lord does for us once we are saved. In Christ, our filthiness is removed, and in return, we receive His righteousness. He takes away our sin-all of it-and washes us white as snow. It is not because of anything we have done. We could never do enough good works to earn righteousness. It is only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in His finished work at the cross.
It is simple, yet profound. The only thing we must do is to believe on the Lord Jesus. To believe in Him, is to put your trust in Him; to believe He is who He says He is, and accept His free gift of grace. It is amazing to me, that in spite of our wretchedness, Jesus loved us so much, that He gave His life for us. "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8)." This is something I will never get over because when I think about the person I used to be, to think that God loved me when I was living in sin, rebelling against Him and He pursued me. He sought after me. He chose me to be His. He called me out of my darkness and into His marvelous light. "For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14)."
And because God is no respecter of persons, what He did for me, He can do for anyone. He will never turn away anyone who calls on His name. Jesus said, "However, those the Father has given Me will come to Me, and I will never reject them (John 6:37)."
Jesus breaks chains! He breaks chains of religion, distorted thinking, addictions, anger, lust, selfishness, pride, greed, hate, bitterness, resentment, the need for control, gossiping....whatever the chain, it can be broken in the powerful name of Jesus. You may be thinking Jesus could never love someone like me after everything I have done. Well my friend, that is just not true! Jesus loves you-every part of you-so much that He died for you. It is a misconception to think that we need to clean ourselves up before we come to Christ. He will take our ashes, all of our dirty, filthy, sinful mess, and make us beautiful. All to the praise of His glorious name. "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give until them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified (Isaiah 61:3)."
Don't let fear, doubt or bondage keep you from coming to Christ. Come just as you are. He will give you new life and make you a new creation. This is all done on the inside by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. "But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:16-18)."
Choose today whom you will serve. There is no middle ground when it comes to following Christ. You are either for Him or against Him. If you hear His voice, that still small voice deep within calling you, don't harden your heart. Come to Jesus and live! He will save your soul from death. He will flood your heart with His peace. He will satisfy. He loves you more than you could imagine. All of this is the gift of His marvelous grace. "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages, He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-7)."
Jesus is calling; Come home! Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. My chains are gone. I've been set free. My God my Savior, has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace.
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