Moving East (via kingdom grace)

I read this and just had to reblog it. I think that this is an awesome way to think about salvation. Don’t you? Read it and comment ….. Removing the legalistic view and having a more holistic view sounds about right….

And as one of the commenters on the blog, Maria, has stated:

“I’ve always found it fascinating that so many of the key theologians of the Western tradition were trained as lawyers (Luther and Calvin come to mind). I think those roots not only defined the way we think about salvation, but also influence the argumentative, line-drawing way we so often behave as a church culture.”

I didn’t know that the key theologians were lawyers, but if that’s true it explains a lot.

Anyway, here’s the snippet of the blog from Kingdom Grace.

The following passage describes the shift I have experienced in my understanding of Scripture. I find it interesting that Eastern Orthodoxy and Anabaptists, both traditions that were marginalized by western christianity, are beginning to become more widely acknowledged for their contributions to doctrine and theology. In the Western churches, both Catholic and Protestant, sin, grace, and salvation are seen primarily in legal terms. God gave human … Read More

via kingdom grace

A Party in Heaven…..

^“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” – Luke 15:10

I am rejoicing this morning! The Lord is good and worthy to be praised!   Yesterday, my wife went to her church’s cell group’s for people born in June and came home with prophetic words for our two boys and for me.

Before I mention what they were, let me say that before our boys were out of their mother’s womb, we had prayed, prophesied and laid hands on them through her bump and called God’s pupose down upon them. We spoke the prophetic into and over them both and said to God that they belonged to him.  Our second son, Jonathan, especially, has a major call upon his life.  We knew this because Satan kept trying to take him out – even BEFORE he came out of the womb!  There were several times that Lesanne (my wife) nearly tripped and fell, there was one person who was encouraging us to abort him (as he was a surprise to us and we weren’t planning for him!) and even some medical conditions that arose in Lesanne during and after his birth.  We always said that God had to have a special work for him if Satan would be working so hard to stop him from being born!

Our older son Nikao  (means ‘He who overcomes’), who is four years old, loves to make up songs and we got him into learning the violin early, as ours is a musical family – his mother and I and one aunt (her sister) all sing well, and her sister’s husband plays the keyboard at his assembly.  Her uncle plays the organ at an Anglican church as well.   With that being said, the one giving the prophetic word over Nikao didn’t know any of that when he said that Nick would be a prophetic psalmist, who would be able to play several different instruments and would be able to release the presence of God through songs that he plays and writes.   People will be released from bondages when he plays, too!  Our friend said that strongholds would be broken when he plays, and that nothing will stop the songs from being released.  When I heard that both Lesanne and I were excited, to say the least!  WOW!

Our younger son Jonathan is two, and loves to dance.  He also likes to try to boss people around! 😆  Anyway, for him, our friend said that he saw the little boy as a dancer and a preacher, also able to release the prophetic.  Again, our friend doesn’t see when Jonathan dances at every single jingle that comes onto the television. You should hear him singing “How Great is Our God” – he can’t pronounce all the words yet, but he loves it!  Our friend said that Jonathan will be a prophetic worshipper, and that the Glory of the Lord will fill the place when he ministers – like when the Glory filled the Temple after Solomon dedicated it.  Again …. WOW!

For me our friend simply said that God has an anointing for me, and when it hits me it will be big and awesome.

God is ….. WOW….

But all of that is just the introduction for the real reason for this post.

This morning, before I sent the family off to assembly, Nikao was watching a show on TV with a preacher praying for the sick and seeng them healed.  First, I realized that this was the first time that he was sitting down in one place and being intent on the TV for something that wasn’t cartoons. Lesanne and I started to pray that what God was doing on the TV would impart to the little boy.  At breakfast, I felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit, so I knelt down beside him as he had his cereal.  I asked him if he remembered the story of Jesus dying for him on the Cross.  He did.  (He makes me read it to him quite often.)  I had a toy in my hand and I asked him if I gave it to him as a gift what would he say.  He said “Thank you” after I presented him with the toy.  I explained that Jesus dying on the Cross was a gift to us, so that we could live with him and have him in our hearts.  I sang the old Sunday School chorus that I learned as a boy:

“Into my heart, into my heart
Come into my heart Lord Jesus
Come in today
Come in to stay
Come into my heart Lord Jesus”

And I explained that to have Jesus into his heart all he has to do is thank God for the gift of Jesus Christ’s death.  I was being a little overwhelmed by the presence of God and my emotions at that point, so Lesanne led him in a prayer of salvation.  I laid hands on him afterwards and prayed that God’s purposes would be done in his life, and that what he had prayed be sealed so that Satan would not steal it.  And then I knelt on the floor and cried in joy. 🙂

I know the little boy is only four.  I’m praying that my God will keep him, as the Word says that He is able to keep that which I have committed to him.  So in faith I am declaring to the blogosphere – I LED MY LITTLE BOY TO JESUS CHRIST TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

!

Nikao, Robert, Lesanne and Jonathan (l-r)

Please pray for our family – Nikao, his brother Jonathan, my wife Lesanne and myself – that GOD WILL CONTINUE TO POUR OUT HIS BLESSINGS ON US ALL – and that at the proper time, Jonathan too, will COME TO FAITH and that the Glory of the LORD will rest upon us ALL!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY! GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!!!!!!

Salvation Testimony: Social Media Salvation!

I know that I had a post to write concerning deliverance and healing – but I have to post this! God constantly blows me away with his power and goodness….

While sitting at my computer today I had a Gmail chat with one of my friends, J, in Africa. She had a young family member, T, who wanted some advice… who felt smothered at home because she is female as well as being the first born. My friend thought about me because she thought there might be some deliverance involved.

After we started to chat, T told me that she’s not the type of girl that can sit and do nothing for long periods of time. Since she’s doing nothing at home all the time, she finds herself disobeying her parents and doing things her friends do. She said to me, “I’m messed up and I need help.”

As she talked I heard the voice of a teenager that wanted to grow up, that wanted to be accepted. It seemed as though there were overall control issues (at least from her perspective) .. I could hear every teenager in her voice “My parents treat me as if I was 15-16 years old. My mother doesn’t let me do anything on my own… my dad gets angry if I want to be treated as an adult…” I know, I’ve been there too, right?

So I told J that I’d be willing to join her in praying for T… and as we started to pray, I started to hear the Spirit whispering “1 Cor 13.” I told T that God was giving her the definition of love! J continued praying and said to the Lord that she does believe that T did need to be reassured of God’s love and the love of others around her. As I assured T of my love for her, I started to prophesy to her…

me: The word says ‘when father and mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up’ in the psalms. You feel as though they have rejected you, have forsaken u, but God is taking u up right now

j: Thank you Father for you are her true FATHER! Onlly u Lord know that T has these Fatherly issues!

me: yes

j: Praise you Lord for using Robert! Continue downloading knowledge and wisdom to him

I continued, words of knowledge and prophecy kept coming:

me: I was praying … she feels abandoned, but the Lord is saying that he will release the spirit of adoption over her. She just needs to accept it

When I heard that, I knew what was coming next – an opportunity for another life to be snatched from Satan’s clutches! So I called her by her name and I said:

T, do u know Jesus Christ? Would you accept him right now? God wants to be your FATHER?

j: T verbally responds – YES I WILL ACCEPT! YES

me: AMEN 🙂

j: hallelujah!!!!

me: Do u believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and do u accept him as your Lord and saviour right now?

j: I sense such an awesome presence Robert!
Yes

me: Well pray this: “Father, I accept your sacrifice and accept Jesus into my life.”
j: Praise you Lord! (T is doing it robert)

me: “I turn away from all sin and believe that my life is changed right now”

j: AMEN!

me: “I accept you, Lord, as my FATHER”

j: thank you Jesus! hallelujah!

me: “And ask you to heal me from the pain of not being fathered properly”
“I Thank you that my life is changed and that my name is now written in the Lamb’s book of life”
“I accept what you have done on the Cross – and I am YOURS! AMEN”

j: Praise You Lord!

From there, I wanted to pray that she gets filled with the Spirit of God immediately:

me: The angels are rejoicing, and so am I! I pray right now that the POWER OF GOD would overshadow T now! SEAL HER with the HOLY SPIRIT! J, place your hands on her for me.

j: doing just that!

me: IN the name of JESUS CHRIST I release the anointing of the Spirit of GOD that she be baptised in the SPIRIT RIGHT NOW. LET HER FEEL THE PRESENCE OF GOD in LOVE and JOY. Let laughter bubble forth from her belly! Remove the spirit of depression! I curse the spirits of suicide. I reject the demons of rejection! IN the NAME OF JESUS
“He gives beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for the spirit of heaviness” Is 61:3
LOOSE HER NOW
EVERY FOUL SPIRIT
LET HER GO
SHE IS NOW A CHILD OF JESUS CHRIST
(tell me what’s happening)

My friend told me that she DID feel the presence of God when we prayed:

j: she feels like a breeze over her

me: lol
keep coming Holy Spirit! that’s the presence of God fill her to completion, to overflowing
tell her to speak out in faith…let the tongues flow NOW. I’m putting my hand on the screen and releasing the power of God through my own tongues now

Then I saw a mini vision:

I just saw something representing sludge being pushed out… she’s being cleaned out from the inside. T, how do u feel, honey?

jady3375: praying with her here!

I continued to pray:

me: the power of God is evident. he is present to heal and to deliver… and to SATISFY. I pray right now that the SATISFACTION of GOD be upon her. That she is satisfied by GOD HIMSELF and not needing men’s approval!

j: Thank you robert- T did expereince the power of God! When i placed my hand on her chest and then her tummy – she felt like a release… like something loosened…………
she will be staying over with me tonight – i will continue praying!

Isn’t God awesome???? I had a final word of knowledge of a personal matter for T, and J confirmed it and glorified God as I prophetically spoke out words of restoration!

GOD IS GLORIOUS!!!!!!! I’m so glad that the Internet can and IS being used to extend the Kingdom of God as easily as this? Thank God for the Internet 😆 – it makes it so much easier to “go ye into ALL the world….” without leaving my seat!

Speechless….

I can’t talk.

Go here.

*awe*

The True Meaning of The Cross

I am putting a link here that I want people to visit. This website is so deep! It is Biblical teaching at its best. I’ve been reading things about House Churches and the Biblical fear of God…. but it was the teaching on THE MEANING OF THE CROSS that made me put up this blog entry. (The above link opens a new window.)

God sent his son who lived a perfect life and then, according to the plan of God, they rejected Him, whipped Him etc and God looked at all Jesus’ suffering at the hands of men and considered that to be payment for all our sins against Him.

That is heresy. The deepest form of heresy. You can be wrong about a lot of things but if you are wrong about the cross you are in trouble.

What? Our common conception of what happened on the Cross is heresy? What does the Bible teach about the Cross, then?

God‘s word says that if anyone declares the sinner to be right when he is not right is an abomination before Him. So if God declared you to be right when you were not right, If God simply forgives the wicked, He would become an abomination, according to His own word. He would become wicked. Imagine a judge sitting up there in his place on the bench, forgiving a murderer and letting him go. He would no longer be a just judge.

God is a just judge and God justice demands he throw men in hell

Therefore if God is a just God He cannot forgive… He must punish the wicked, That is the point of the whole Bible. All through the Old Testament we see animals dying.. it is symbol and type of the final and ultimate sacrifice.

More excerpts ….

Perhaps it is becoming a little more clear as to why God had to die. If he justifies the wicked person and declares the sinner to be righteous He, according to His own word, becomes an abomination. God can not simply forgive.

The law… God law demands that the sinner has to die.

 

Now the only way that God can forgive sinful men is if God who made the law and God who demands satisfaction .. comes down Himself and pays the penalty.

So what are we saved from?

When some one says they have been saved, the question to be asked is saved from what? Many people will say from sin. This is simply not true! Sin was an act you did. Sin isn’t going to throw you in hell. You have sinned, but sin is not a living being that going to judge you then throw you into hell.

What you have been saved from is not a what, it is a who.

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him. Romans 5:9. [Emphasis Added]

You have been saved from God. God is the judge of all the universe. YOU have sinned and made yourself an enemy of God. So when you stand before Him, He will judge you and throw you into hell.

Wow…. really…. never looked at it like that…. that’s – well, that’s true! ouch.

So we realize we have to be saved from God and His punishment, but how is that punishment to be done away with? When Jesus was dying on the cross it was not the nails in His hand, or the crown of thorns or the Roman spears that save you. The suffering that men heaped upon Jesus is not that which pays for the crime. God did not look on that suffering and okay Good Enough!. What paid for your sin is written in Isaiah 53:10 and 12

Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.

Usually when you hear a sermon or preaching on Isaiah 53, it usually centers around verses 3,4,5, and six, which talk about the suffering heaped on Jesus by men. Very rarely do you hear about Isaiah 53:10.

It pleased the Lord to crush Him.

Isaiah goes on to say

“…[He] was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12)

So how is the Cross the way of salvation?

How is it that that cross saves you? Because Jesus bore on the cross all the sin that God hates. The sin of all God’s people, from the first man ever saved on the face of the earth to the last man ever saved on the face of the earth was placed on His son.. the sins of all of God’s people. Everything that should be poured out on sinful creatures through out eternity, God throws down on His only begotten Son in a matter of moments. Crushes Him under the weight of His own justice.

When Jesus said let this cup pass from me, people think it because He did not want to go to the cross. They usually imagine it was the physical agony that He did not want to go through…

No, Jesus wasn’t thinking about nails in His hand, about spears and crowns of thorns or Roman soldiers. He was thinking about the fact that He had never been out of the Father’s bosom. That He had never been separated from His Father and now the Father was about to turn His face away from His Son. The Father did not turn His face away because He did not want to see His son suffering, He turned His face away Because His son had become detestable. Which is why Matthew 27:46 tells us..

“About the ninth hour [3:00 PM] Jesus cried out [quoting Psalm 22:1] with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, Lama sabachthani?’ that is ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?'”

You and I deserved to be crushed with the hammer of justice, to be crushed under God’s wrath. But in order to save us He was crushed under His own wrath. That is what the Cross is. That is what it means. If you ever fully realize what happened that day, it will affect you for the rest of your life. You will never be able to get away from it.

Wow. Lord, Jesus…..

And so, the conclusion:

And if the day comes that you stand before this Holy God who is about to pass judgment on you without having your sins paid for by His Son, then be afraid, be very afraid, as the wrath which made Jesus say ‘let this cup pass from me’ is about to descend on your shoulders.

Remember that when you hear about Jesus dying for you, you know now that it is more than just some whips. While one cannot possibly depreciate the physical suffering it was nothing compared to the Son of God being crushed by His own Father. Comparatively those whips were nothing. And when He cried out “It is Finished” that meant ‘Paid In Full’. If you are a Christian, God can never pour out His wrath on you. It is impossible because His son drank it. It does not exist anymore. There is no more punishment left for you. But if you are not a Christian you don’t even want to know what awaits you..

Why did Jesus die on a Roman cross? He died for the sins of ungodly mankind, to save us from the wrath of God, and to make peace between us and God. “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Romans 5:1).

It was a long post… and there’s much more to that article…. but … I’m speechless.

If you are reading this right now, and you have been impacted by these excerpts, or this article, and you don’t yet know Jesus – if you would like to escape God’s wrath and become a positive son of God because Jesus paid your price in full…. say this prayer with me.

Father God, I recognize now what you have done in the Cross. I acknowledge that I have sinned and deserve your punishment. However, I recognize that Jesus has paid for my sins with his own blood… and all I have to do is receive him. I turn away from my sins now, and accept what Jesus’ blood has bought for me – my life! I repent of my sins, and say to you, “I want to be a new creature in Christ.” Thank you Jesus! Amen

If you have prayed this prayer…. respond to me by posting a comment. If you have been impacted, share the site with others.