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THE GOOD NEWS

Not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses, but [canceling them] (2 Corinthians 5:19  AMP)

Jesus wants you to stand up on your feet and look Him in the eye. Mark Hankins

People struggle with a sense of sin and condemnation throughout the religions of the world. There is a bronze statue of Peter in Rome that has the toe worn off by millions of religious people who think they will get blessed if they kiss Peter’s toe.  In various nations, people crawl for miles on holy days to certain shrines because they think their sins will be forgiven if they can crawl far enough.

The good news of the Gospel is that 2,000 years ago on the cross, God was in Christ reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.  You have been cleansed through the blood of Jesus. Your right standing with God is so secure that He has given you a seat at His right hand. God Himself can look at you with the most penetrating gaze and cannot find one thing wrong with you. How can that be? Because you are in Christ! God sees you in Christ.

Confession: I have been born again. I am a new creation. I have been made righteous now. I am forgiven. I am redeemed.

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IN CHRIST SURGERY

For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (Acts 17:28)

Mankind needed redemption; we needed the blood of Jesus. Mark Hankins

A firefighter from California once burned his hand so badly that the doctors thought they would have to amputate. They decided to try another procedure because of the human body’s regenerative powers. Surgeons operated on the firefighter, inserted his burned hand inside his body, and left it in there. When they removed the hand after some days, the skin had begun to grow back again.

God saw that man’s condition was so bad that it looked like he would have to be amputated. He said, “Before we do that, I will do a surgical procedure.”  The surgery God performed in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ was such a massive project; He planned it for thousands of years. Because of man’s condition, this “in Christ” surgical procedure was the only way man could be saved. Paul called this a mystery in Colossians 1:26-27.  We are joined and identified with Him through redemption!

Confession: In Him I live and move and have my being! I have been redeemed through the shed blood of Jesus!

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LAUGHING AT IMPOSSIBILITIES

And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. (Genesis 21:6)

Faith laughs at impossibilities. Smith Wigglesworth

In Genesis21, we read about Abraham and Sarah receiving a promise from God.  They were old and well stricken in age but God promised them a son in order to establish His eternal covenant. God told Abraham that He was going to bless Sarah.  He said, “I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.” (Genesis 17:16)

“Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” (Hebrews 11:11)

How did Sarah receive strength to conceive? She laughed and received strength for her miracle. She judged Him faithful that promised. She knew that what God had promised He was able to perform. Through faith, she received strength. She said, “God made me laugh.”

Confession: I laugh at the circumstances in my life that seem impossible because I judge Him faithful who has promised. Ha! Ha! Ha!

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NO MORE PARALYSIS

And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. (Luke 5:20)

God is always propelling us forward. Mark Hankins

In Isaiah 43:25-26, God’s promise says that He blots out our transgressions and will not remember our sins. This promise of forgiveness and faith in His Word opens the door to God’s goodness.

The story of the man with four crazy friends in Luke 5:17-26 is one of my favorites.  “When Jesus saw their faith,” He told the man with paralysis, “Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.”  Jesus spoke to that man’s deepest need. If Jesus calls you forgiven, you are totally forgiven and released from the condition and consequences of sin. You are redeemed.

Jesus then told the paralyzed man to “Arise!”  The man got up totally healed of all paralysis. This miracle caused the religious leaders much trouble. The rules and regulations of religion have paralyzed many people. However, when you get in the presence of Jesus, forgiveness and restoration are freely given. What a wonderful Jesus we have who forgives and heals!

Confession: I am redeemed! Isaiah 43:26 says to put God in remembrance of His Word. This promise of forgiveness and faith in His Word opens the door to His goodness in my life!

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BELIEVE IS A VERB

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (James 2:17)

Reasoning will not change an emotion, but action will! Mark Hankins

I recently watched a man on television who said that he had written the first novel that had no verbs in it. He said it was full of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and prepositions, but no verbs. They asked him how well the book was selling and he said, “not very well.”  When asked why, he said, “Because it has no action.”

James 2:26 says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also.”  The Amplified Version says, “For as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith apart from (its) works of obedience is also dead.”

The word, believeis a verb and verbs always denote action. Faith, on the other hand, is a noun. However, effective faith (faith that gets results) must be translated into action.

Confession:I am a doer of the Word of God, not just a hearer only (James 1:22). My faith is in action! So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power [inoperative, dead]. (James 2:17 AMP)

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