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ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ…wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Ephesians 1:3,6)

You must take your place in Christ and hold yourself there!

Mark Hankins

You have been accepted in the beloved, so you do not need to live with a sense of rejection all the time, feeling like you do not quite measure up. You have been accepted in the beloved, and you are in Christ. God accepts you, and He loves you.

All the promises of God in Him are yes and amen to the glory of God by us! What God has done in your life will bring glory to God. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. People will say, “Who do you think you are? You think you can act like Christ?” You say, “Exactly. He lives in me, and I am putting Him on.”

It does not happen overnight. It is a process that matures daily. You put Him on, and it begins to affect every area of your life. What you used to be just disappears!

Confession: The person I used to be does not exist anymore. I am a brand-new person. Christ lives in me!

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HE DEALT WITH THE ROOT

Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. (Exodus 14:13)

“If you allow the memory of your past to continue, it is just as bad as if those things were still there.” – Mark Hankins

It was hard for Moses and the children of Israel to believe God would destroy their enemies because it was a radical change.  They had been under bondage 400 years, but God said, “Today I will stop it, and you will never see your enemies again!”

God said that He would destroy your past. Old things have been dealt with through the power of the Gospel and the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. You have a brand-new identity in Christ! The power of the Gospel will cause the enemies that have hounded you and dominated you for years to never dominate your life again.

You have to declare who you are in Christ, and suddenly, the death and resurrection of Christ will become a reality and swallow everything that has tried to hold you in bondage!

Confession: I am a new creature in Christ. Old things are passed away. My past is forgotten. God is doing a brand-new thing in my life! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

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ALL IS FORGIVEN

I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. (Isaiah 43:25-26)

“Never look back if you want the power of God in your life.” -Smith Wigglesworth

In Earnest Hemingway’s short story, “The Capital of the World,” he tells the story about a father and his teenage son who lived in Spain. Their relationship became strained and eventually shattered when the son ran away from home. The father began a long journey in search of his lost and rebellious son. Finally, as a last resort, he put an ad in the Madrid newspaper. His son’s name was Paco, a very common name in Spain. The ad simply read, “Dear Paco, meet me in front of the Madrid newspaper office tomorrow at noon. All is forgiven. I love you.”  The next day at noon, in front of the newspaper office, there were 800 “Pacos” all seeking forgiveness.

God is in the forgiveness business. His forgiveness includes the total erasure from His memory that sin was ever committed. He does this for His own sake so that He can bless us the way He wants!

Confession: I believe that God has forgiven me. If God does not remember what I have done wrong, then I will erase it from my memory as well! (Psalm 32:1)

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THE PEACE OF GOD

Great peace have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them.  (Psalm 119:165)

 

“Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a choice!” – Mark Hankins

 

The word offense means a place of stumbling; something that trips you up. When you love the Lord, the peace of God is yours, and you decide that nothing is going to trip you up. Jesus said the amount of forgiveness you dish out is the amount you will get in return. (Matthew 7:2) Therefore you ought to dish out as much forgiveness as you can, because you’ll probably need it!

Be careful not to judge others when you see them fall in a certain area of life. Don’t say, “I would never do that,” because in six months, you’ll do something worse than that! Jesus said in Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”  Then He said, “Stop criticizing others.”

We don’t live in a perfect world and we never will. People will always make mistakes; you will too. So you may as well go ahead and forgive others! I encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 13. Then draw the love line out and walk on it!

 

Confession: Love (God’s love in us)…takes no account of the evil done to it (it pays no attention to a suffered wrong. (1 Corinthians 13:5 AMP)

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GUARD YOUR HEART

Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV)

 

“Watch out for unforgiveness as if it were a rattlesnake!” – Mark Hankins

 

Jesus said, “When you stand praying, forgive.” (Mark 11:25-26) This means while you are standing in prayer, you can quickly make an adjustment in your heart. People often let things eat at them for years and years, but you can make a decision to forgive right now. Forgiveness is not a feeling; it’s a choice. You may still have feelings of hurt, but the decision has been made! You can forgive by faith.

Faith is of the heart; therefore unforgiveness is a disease of the heart. That spirit will get inside of you and make your heart callused so your faith won’t respond or work properly. Then you will get cynical, and you won’t be able to receive from God.

Unforgiveness – offense and bitterness – is the primary thing you have to guard against. You must watch out for unforgiveness just as if it were a rattlesnake. When you see it come around, avoid it!

 

Confession: I stand watchful and ready to quickly forgive. For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. (Psalm 86:5)

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