Author Archives: rogerholloway

Remix:  “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

One of the most well known verses in the Bible is John 3:16.  The good news of God’s kingdom is that He does love us, despite the many sins we’ve committed.  He loves us so much that He made a provision for our sin.  The provision is in the person of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

There are many, many people throughout the ages who have “believed” the Jesus story, but have never committed their lives to the truth of it.  If you believe a chair will support your weight, you will sit in it.  If you believe Jesus is the Savior who came to save the world, then believing requires action on your part.  That action is to receive Him as the only provision for forgiveness of sin, and to rest in Him (sit in the chair).

The passage above goes on to explain that many, many people love the darkness of sin and living independently of God that they never really do come to the light of Jesus.  After all, which of us really wants our evil deeds exposed?  But because God loves us, He wants to cover our sin, and forgive our sin.  But that’s only available as we come to His Light and change our mind about darkness!  To come to the Light is to hate the darkness and turn from it.

There are some great sayings on signs in front of churches that are meant to stimulate thought.  Funny.  Clever.  Provocative.  And meant to get folks thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ and His kingdom.

I love that the local church is a visible expression of God’s people regularly meeting together for worship and fellowship.  A place to present ourselves to the Lord; a place to bring our tithes and demonstrate our belief in His ownership of all we have.

Check out the right sidebar for a bunch of these great signs!

~Roger

The blood of Jesus is completely unique, in that no blood from Adam’s stain of sin was mixed with His.  The design of God’s creation even disallowed the blood of a mother to mix with the blood of the baby (as evidenced in the placenta on the uterine wall, without mixture).

Completely rare.  Completely unique, one-of-a-kind.  Completely precious.

1 Pet 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19   But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:  (KJV)

• THE VALUABLE, COSTLY, LIBERATING, RELEASING BLOOD OF CHRIST

• REDEEMED = lutroo (loo-tro’-o)

1) to release on receipt of ransom

2) to redeem, to liberate by payment of ransom

• PRECIOUS = timios (tim’-ee-os); valuable, costly, honored, esteemed

Eph 1:6    To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

7    In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;  (KJV)

• THE FORGIVING BLOOD OF CHRIST

Col 1:13     Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

14     In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (KJV)

Rev 1:5    And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (KJV)

• THE WASHING, RELEASING BLOOD OF CHRIST

WASHING =luo (loo-o)

1) to loose any person (or thing) tied or fastened

2) to loose one bound, that is, to unbind, release from bonds, to set free

I Jn 1:7   But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (KJV)

·         THE CLEANSING, PURIFYING BLOOD OF CHRIST

CLEANSES = katharizo-

1) to purify from wickedness

2) to free from guilt of sin, to purify

3) to consecrate by cleansing or purifying

Titus 3:          For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

4          But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,

5          not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

6          whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

7          that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  (NKJ)

• What are we heirs of?   What have we inherited?   What do we have to show for it?

Gal 3:27         For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  (NKJ)

…for all of you who have been baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ.  (WEY)

Col 3:9           Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,

10        and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

… and have clothed yourselves with the new self which is being remolded into full knowledge so as to become like Him who created it. (WEY)

11        where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

12        Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

13        bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

14        But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Philippians 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

            [As many as be perfect] As many as are thoroughly instructed in divine things, who have cast off all dependence on the law and on every other system for salvation, and who discern God calling them from above by Christ Jesus; be thus minded; be intensely in earnest for eternal life, nor ever halt until the race is finished.

• be ye perfect– thoroughly instructed, deeply experienced.
• <Heb. 5:14>: but strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, teleioon  (grk 5048), the perfect– those who are thoroughly instructed and experienced in Divine things. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect– as have entered fully into the spirit and design of the Gospel, be thus minded, namely, Forget the things which are behind, and stretch forward along the mark for the prize.    (from Adam Clarke Commentary)

John 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words which I speak to you I do not speak from myself; but the Father who abides in me, he does the works.  (DBY)

the Father who is in me all the time does his works.  (BBE)
the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.  (KJV)
the Father dwelling within me carries on His own work.  (WEY)

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

17    For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

God is right. He sets things right, He does right, and He is right. But do you believe that God is right about you?

That He simply loves you, wants to lavish love upon you, wants to give you entrance into eternal life.

That, though He was angry at sin, His anger has been appeased by the blood sacrifice of Jesus.  And having done that, He is no longer angry.  Is that right?  And He has made you right with Him.  Is that right?

• Are you always trying to get right?  Or can simply believe that you are right through the right-ness that is of God by the blood of His Son?

Rom 3:21  But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

22    even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

23    for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24    being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,  (NKJ)

Rom 4:5   But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

6      just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

7      “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

8      Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” (NKJ)

—10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.

11    And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,

12    and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

13    For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

14    For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,

15    because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.

16    Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all  (NKJ)

GENEROUS PLANTING PRECEDES GENEROUS HARVEST

2 Cor 9:6                Remember this– a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.

7              You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully.

8              And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. (NLT)

STINGINESS LEADS TO POVERTY

Prov 11:24            It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything. (NLT)

STINGINESS IS REBUKED BY THE MASTER

Matt 26:7               During supper, a woman came in with a beautiful jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.

8              The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste of money,” they said.

9              “She could have sold it for a fortune and given the money to the poor.”

10           But Jesus replied, “Why berate her for doing such a good thing to me? (NLT)

LIBERALITY IN GIVING LEADS TO PROSPERITY

Prov 11:25            The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. (NLT)