Salvation included healing!

Have you ever wondered why Jesus was so brutally afflicted before He went to the cross?

I bet most of us still only think about or sins being forgiven, but that was later when He breathed His last and said, ' It is finished!'

Think about it, if Jesus had been beaten like He was but had never died, could your sins be forgiven?
Obviously, the answer is no because Romans declares that sin must be punishable by death.

So why was Jesus beaten so badly?
Isaiah 53:4 NIV
'Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.'

The hebrew for pain and suffering in this verse is sickness and disease, which is why the gospels also refer to this verse (Matt 8) and say sickness and disease.

It truly was for our sickness and disease but Isaiah was saying we all think that it was God just punishing Jesus.

No, this was all for us.
Jesus bore our sickness and disease, and then He died and rose that our sins might be forgiven!

Salvation included healing!

Posted via email from | joelabell |

Because I AM right, I want to LIVE right!

There is such a works mentality in our culture, and it sneaks into our churches too. We feel, in order to be right, that we have to live right. So what happens when you make a mistake? You have to start all over again!

How much doing right has to take place before you start to feel right?
And how long can you keep that up for?

God's grace doesn't work that way...
"Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way." (Romans 5:9 MSG)

God loved the whole world so much that He gave us Jesus. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!

We are not made right because of what we do but because of what Jesus did. Living right has never been easier...

Because I AM right, I want to LIVE right!

Posted via email from | joelabell |

The Perfect Partnership!

Can you remember when your word was your bond? When yes really meant yes? We have travelled a long way from the guarantee of a handshake!

A lack of trust in ordinary relationships has set us on coarse for a myriad of lawsuits and accusations to insure our security and survival.

Marriage is one of the greatest relationships and this also has been attacked at the very core of it's foundation. People seem to be more interested in protecting their item assets instead of sharing them!

What happened to what is mine is yours?

Where is the perfect partnership?
Does it exist?

Many partnerships breakdown at the cost benefit analysis. Will my cost be greater than my benefit? But intimacy only has it's potential in the arena of investment!

I am so glad God was not waiting on our investment before deciding on making His intimacy available to us.

Genesis 15:8-9, 12, 17 NIV
But Abram said, "Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" So the Lord said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces."

Covenant is the strongest partnership there is. What is mine is yours and what is yours is mine, for life. The only way our of a covenant is by death!

This is why marriage is till death do we part.

Knowing that it is possible for us to fail, God put Abram to sleep and cut His covenant with Jesus, the flaming torch.

God cannot fail Himself and now keeps His promise to bless Abraham and all those who belong to the family of faith.

Our friendship and intimacy with God is not based on our performance but on the performance of Jesus, giving us The Perfect Partnership!

Posted via email from | joelabell |

Which Wash Cycle are you on?

Have you ever put your clothes in the washing machine and forgotten they were there? A few days later there is an awful stench coming from one of the smallest rooms in your house!

Sin is very similar to this. It often lives in some of the smallest rooms of your life, and when you forget that your sins have been washed, there is an awful stench of self righteousness - a religious attempt to cover your smell with good works. Our washing machine has a few different cycles but it doesn't have a continuous wash cycle. If there a continuous wash cycle, you could just keep adding your dirty clothes without any concern. 1 John 1:7 (NIV) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. This word purifies is sometimes translated cleanses in other translations. In the Greek it has the present continuous state. This means it is forever cleansing and purifying!

Every person who has received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour is now walking in the light. You are now living in a continuous wash cycle and are forever cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Every time your guilt tries to make you grovel, you change the wash cycle. Every time you feel the need to make up for your mistakes, you change the wash cycle. There was nothing you could do that was going to cleanse you from your past sins and there is nothing you can do to make amends for any current sins - it's all about Jesus! His present, continuous blood cleanses us. Which Wash Cycle are you on?

Posted via email from | joelabell |

God is NOT absent minded!

How do you go finding your keys?
I rarely lose mine, mainly because I always put them in the same place. Have you ever asked God where they are?
God would have no problem locating them because He never forgets and is perfect in knowledge. Don't you wish you could misplace your sin like you misplace your keys?
How is it we struggle to find the things we really need (keys) but can't lose sight of the things we don't want to see (our sins)?

There is a difference between forgetting and not remembering. God can't forget, He just chooses not to remember. Then he adds:
"Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more." (Hebrews 10:17 NIV)

God doesn't bring it up because it has been dealt with at the cross. He actively chooses not to remember our sin once we have been cleansed by the blood of Christ. Your sins are dealt with once you surrender your life to Jesus. You don't have to try and forget your mistakes and sins, you have to work on not remembering them!

God can't forget where you have placed your keys and He won't remember your sin, in Christ. God is NOT absent minded!

Posted via email from | joelabell |

Lost in Transaction?

The events of our lives are the milestones in which we see change has taken place but life is mostly lived in the daily routine. It's the routine that often blurs any progress or forward motion. Groundhog day is another day just the same as the others!

Has there ever been a moment where you wondered if people even notice you? You're making a significant contribution, and for what? Do people even notice?

Well, people may miss much of the detail but nothing escapes your heavenly Father. He notices everything. In fact, He is always watching to make sure the plans He has for you are becoming a reality. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6, 7 NIV)

Even during the sale of the birds, there is potential for them to be lost in transaction but nothing escapes God's care. In all the hustle and bustle of life, and all that is going on, don't ever feel insignificant or alone because there is at least one who cares for you and is watching over you to perform His word. Whenever you see a bird, stop and remember that you're not lost in transaction!

Posted via email from | joelabell |