Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Prayers of Grace – Day 3

07 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by in #HolySpirit, Fear, Uncategorized

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Whitedove

Almighty God –

I am comforted in knowing that you are always with me – going before me, carrying a lantern of hope to light my path. When my soul becomes fearful, I direct my gaze unto Jesus and remind myself that I am your Beloved and that you are the One that can be trusted.   Jesus is the embodiment of your love for me.

I hate Fear and understand that protracted fear gives my mind entrance to the enemy.  I take my authority over the spirit of fear binding it and commanding it to leave my mind in the name of Jesus and by the blood of Jesus.  Fear has no right to any place within my mind, body or my environment and will not be allowed to trespass.  I pray for a sprinkling of the holy blood of Jesus over my mind to cleanse it from all fearful and unrighteous thoughts.  As an act of my will, I forgive every person that has harmed  me (Name them) or is harming me  (Name them)  and the action of forgiveness will shut the door to tormenting thoughts. Lord, forgive ME of my fear of man – or any  unfounded fear that keeps me from your assignment on my life.

When  I dwell in your Secret Place I can remain stable and fixed under your Shadow. You are my Rock and my Refuge. You are my Strength and an impenetrable Shield. Whom shall I fear ? I will be a protected spectator kept safely in the Secret Place and will witness the reward of attempts of wickedness towards me.

Father,  I pray that you will shine the light on the places that I respond with Fear so that I can learn to turn and trust. Grow my roots of faith to become more firmly planted and established  in your Son.

Prayers of Grace –
Tracy Gatewood

Twitter:  @TracyLGatewood
Author:  Doorways of Grace, Available on Amazon
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Facebook:  Tracy Gatewood Christian Writer and Teacher

Prayers of Grace – Day 2

06 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by in Blood of Jesus, Christianity, Jesus, Keys to the Kingdom, the Spirit, Wisdom

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Whitedove

Most  Precious Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your mercy and great kindness.  Your love endures forever.  When I ask, you impart gifts from your Holy Spirit and as needed,  the gifts of love, patience, kindness, self-control are brought to me without delay. Through my failures and successes, you have equipped me with sound wisdom, but your correct time and seasons are without fault or error to impart this wisdom.  I seek timing, leading and most importantly, even more of your wisdom.

Because I walk in undeserved, unmerited favor, I live expectant  that doors of great opportunity unlock on my behalf and in their correct time and season. The favor of the Lord opens doors that no man can shut. The favor of the Lord is upon me, and He confirms and establishes the work of my hands. Because of the New Covenant and the finished work of Jesus, my career is blessed, my family is blessed and my ministry work is blessed. I have been granted the keys to the Kingdom. Because I have dominion on the earth, what I bind on earth will be bound in heaven.

I decree that the favor of the Lord surrounds me like a shield against all enemies. When I call forth the blood of Jesus as protection – I speak into existence an impenetrable fortress.   I am always above and I am never beneath. I am always the head and I am never the tail. Jesus has acquired all heavenly wisdom and because I am in Him and He is in me seated in heavenly places at the Father’s right hand – His Spirit counsels and teaches me skillful and Godly wisdom for any circumstance. I have the Spirit of Jesus Christ living in me and possess the identical power that raised Him from the dead and back to life. Thank you, God for the gift of your Spirit to me.

In the Name of Jesus I Pray – AMEN  (So Be it)

Prayers of Grace –
Tracy Gatewood

Twitter:  @TracyLGatewood
FB:  Tracy Gatewood Christian Writer and Teacher
Author:  Doorways of Grace, available on Amazon

 

The City of Refuge

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by in #HolySpirit, Armor of God, Blood of Jesus, Christianity, Jesus, Jesus, Blood of Jesus, New Covenant, redemption, Uncategorized

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Cityof RefugeHe who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, you are my Refuge and my Fortress, my God on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I {confidently} trust!  Psalm 91: 1-2 AMP

Each morning when sitting before God in my quiet time, I pray Psalm 91 AMP and also read a prayer based on the #ArmorofGod. Both of these are spoken aloud because I desire (and need) for my mind, the devil and my body to hear God’s words of protection and safety being spoken and to get into alignment and agreement with these words. In times of uncertainty, it is essential to understand where security, refuge and covering lies for each of us.

On the day the Lord delivered David from the hand of the Philistine army,  he wrote a 51 verse Psalm that began:

” The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
My stronghold and my refuge,
My Savior, You save me from violence.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies. “ 2 Samuel 22:1-4

In old testament times, the Lord commanded that there be cities as places of refuge for the Israelites and people dwelling among them (Joshua 20:9) that would act as Embassies for His people being pursued or in trouble. (Joshua 20:2) Unlike the Sanctuary cities the United States has chosen to be places of refuge for immigrants, these ancient cities of Refuge were to be safe havens for any Israelite that accidentally or unintentionally killed someone.

Joshua 20 v 1-4: ” The Lord said to Joshua. Say to the Israelites, Appoint among you cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you and Moses, that the slayer who kills anyone accidentally and unintentionally may flee there; they shall be your refuge from the avenger [Numbers 35:10] He who flees to one of those cities shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city; they shall receive him to [ the protection of ] that city and give him a place to dwell among them. If the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally, having had no hatred for him previously. And he shall dwell in that city until he has been tried before the congregation and until the death of him who is the High Priest in those days. Then the slayer shall return to his own city from which he fled and to his own house.” Each tribe of Israel chose one city in their territory to become a city of refuge (Sanctuary). This sounds like some Old Testament GRACE of God to me.

[ In the U.S. an immigrant arrives into a Sanctuary city as a safe haven, fleeing from religious or political persecution, where it is hoped that they do not have a criminal background or arrive with criminal intent. Repeatedly stories unfold of immigrants inflicting harm on the people within U.S. cities and more so around the world where they have been graciously allowed entrance. It is interesting that God designated cities of refuge with such different intent. If the pursuers of these present day immigrants showed up at these U.S. cities to capture them, would we hand them over ? Of course not. But some immigrants still bite the hands that save and protect.]

Now because of the sacrifice and finished work of Jesus, we ourselves are the temples where God’s Spirit dwells; the Spirit that provides comfort, counseling, guidance and teaching in needed times of refuge. We are led by His Spirit to places of refreshing and renewal, places of protection and security. The Lord who is our Fortress and our Refuge lives inside each of us who trust. We are a Kingdom filled with “temples” in the bodies of people living within cities who believe in Christ Jesus. Your body is the temple of God’s Holy Spirit cleansed, redeemed and sanctified one time and for all time by the blood of Jesus for the purposes of work for His Kingdom. Genius.

#Refuge  #Immigrant  #Migrant  #HolySpirit  #Jesus

Tracy L Gatewood Sacred Ramblings

Twitter: @TracyLGatewood
Website: tracygatewood.com

 

 

 

You Can Do It Yourself

28 Tuesday Oct 2014

Posted by in Blood of Jesus, Christianity, Emotions, Fear, Gospel of Grace, Grace, Healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus, Blood of Jesus, New Covenant, redemption, the Spirit, Tracy Gatewood, Tracy Gatewood Alabama, TracyLGatewood

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Moses

Young children depend on adults to accomplish most every task on their behalf. As children grow they develop skills allowing them to complete a wider array of responsibilities without the aid of an adult. Most often a parent will provide oversight as a child performs a task over and over again until the responsibility can be entrusted to them to fully execute. It could be something simple, tying a shoelace, or a much more complicated assignment – walking alone to catch a school bus – but at some point a parent will look to the child and say, “OK, loved one, you can do this yourself.”

In the same way, our Father wants us to grow in knowledge of our own capabilities as His beloved children. Jesus’ sacrifice, has opened a gateway of blessings for you and for your use. Jesus has left His Holy Spirit to train, teach, guide, comfort and counsel – and to administrate blessings to God’s people. God’s Holy Spirit administrates and coordinates the work that the now resurrected Jesus finished on the cross. Christ Jesus is not walking the earth, but seated at the right hand of His Father, mediating the Eternal Covenant (Agreement) for which He gave His life while also interceding on our behalf.

Hebrews 7:25 AMP Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost (completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for them.

We have been given His Spirit to assist in every aspect of living; to enhance and order our lives, enabling us to reach our destiny and purposes for the greater good of others.

Getting Free Can Be Beautifully Simple

Two primary benefits that the Spirit can administrate to an individual are healing and deliverance. Because God’s Spirit lives within us, we have the power and we have been given the authority to thwart disease, infirmity and emotional illnesses within our own bodies and minds; ie prolonged depression, suicidal tendencies, extreme and protracted fear and anxiety, even severe psychological conditions.

Praying to release healing is different than simply pleading with God to be healed – prayer of this type spoken aloud requires faith and understanding in the grace that has been provided through the stripes that Jesus bore, the eternal power of His blood and acknowledgment of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 3:13-14 AMP Christ purchased our freedom (redeeming us) from the curse (doom) of the Law (and its condemnation) by (Himself) becoming a curse for us, for it is written (in the Scriptures), Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree is crucified); Deuteronomy 21:23) To that end that through (their receiving) Christ Jesus, the blessing (promised) to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might (all) receive (the realization of ) the promise of the (Holy) Spirit.

Despite “religious” activity that does more to complicate the benefits of grace and the gift of the finished work, what is illustrated in scripture by Jesus with healing is really so beautifully simple. He did not require healing retreats, counseling referrals, hand holding, or even hand-outs. Jesus simply prayed with faith and love while oftentimes, laying hands on the afflicted person to transfer His healing power. The Holy Spirit within us is all that is needed to exert the same power that Jesus Himself has for all mankind. I believe there is one thing that Jesus wants you to know about praying for your own healing. By partnering with His Holy Spirit in faith-filled prayer, “You can do it yourself“.


Boot Camp with the Master Teacher

I have walked my own personal journey of revelation on this very important subject. Over a 10 year season, the Lord was gracious to heal me of 3 medically documented conditions; a misaligned hip turning arthritic, degenerative disc disease and a migraine headache / vertigo combination, starting out as a virus that lasted 5 years. Each time these conditions were overcome by prayer; twice as the Holy Spirit acted through my own prayers and once by a well-timed intercessor. These conditions have never returned.

During another 2.5 year Boot Camp season of trial, the Holy Spirit again trained me to enlist him to arrest emotional conditions of the mind through prayer; panic, torment, fear, depression, suicidal thoughts, and despair relating to poverty, lack, rejection, trauma, shame and abuse – and a rarely used, biblical referenced “technique” of identifying an offending emotional spirit and binding it.(Mark 3: 26-28) In wrestling with the spirit realm, binding is the “flying cobra hold” of healing prayer. Binding disengages a spirit, and renders it powerless.

The Time is Now

Can we collectively embrace that a wise and loving Father would create for us a way by which we can walk in fullness and joy to freely live the radical message of the Good News? If there was something consistently better, more accurate and more powerful than Jesus’ stripes to achieve our healing, wouldn’t it make more sense for God to point us in that direction rather than ask His Son to endure 40 lashes or wear a crown of thorns for our healing and deliverance?

Isaiah 53:5 AMP But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement (needful to obtain) peace and well being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes (that wounded Him), we are healed and made whole.

In 2010, there were 35.1 million inpatient discharges in the U.S., 100 million outpatient discharges and 51.4 million procedures performed in our hospitals. If even 15% of these intakes were avoided by Christians taking hold of God’s supernatural promises and benefits for them, that would be a tremendous victory. We must have resolve and determine to take hold of what Jesus has already done for us – He has gone before to prepare a grace-way for His people, just as God did for Moses and the Israelites. The present “Red Sea” of disease and infirmity, seemingly incapable of navigation, can be parted by rejecting fear, embracing faith in the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s power, a power that lives within every person that has a relationship with Jesus. It is important now, more than ever, that we learn to walk out what Jesus has given us as a gift from the Father

Tracy Gatewood
Sacred Ramblings
You Can Do It Yourself
All Rights Reserved   2020

Tracy Gatewood
Author:  Doorways of Grace: My Uncommon Journey to Healing, Wholeness and Meeting Jesus
Facebook:  Tracy Gatewood Sacred Ramblings

Embracing the Gospel of Grace

04 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Blood of Jesus, Bride of Christ, Christianity, Emotions, Fear, Gospel of Grace, Grace, Healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus, Blood of Jesus, New Covenant, redemption, Leadership, the Spirit, Tracy Gatewood, Tracy Gatewood Alabama, TracyLGatewood

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Tracy Gatewood

Since the summer of 2010, I have been held captive by this topic of the Gospel of grace. The true meaning of grace has powerful, paradigm shifting ramifications that are impacting the worldwide church by bringing new and deeper revelation and understanding to each triune member of the Godhead. Has God held back this revelation of grace to release it across the earth now as a final attempt at bringing the highest numbers of people into His Kingdom just before Christ’s return?

1. The complete understanding of true grace is imparted by the Holy Spirit and comes through divine revelation.

I believe this to be the essential piece to the grace-understanding puzzle and the primary missing piece for church leaders that are teaching this from the mixed grace perspective or a mixture of law-based grace. When this true understanding is revealed by God one is shown clearly first the complete truth of the finished work of Christ and immediately following, is given the revelation of the power of the blood of Jesus. The two go hand in hand and receiving this is the first step towards understanding true grace. It is the recipient’s “Damascus Road” experience where blind eyes are opened. Those that have experienced this will immediately relate. This divine process makes it more difficult for those that have received this revelation of true grace – it is hard to be a pioneer of truth – everyone kicks against it, but when this understanding is received, you know that it did not come from you because you had never heard it taught. Why the revelation of true grace has only been doled out to so few is unsure but God’s call is irrevocable and His appointed teachers must teach.

Studying this topic correctly takes ample time and requires the continual flow of revelation from the Holy Spirit. It’s not like studying for one stand-alone message or even a message series – the study that does this subject total justice requires immersion; not a sprinkle or even a dunk, you have to buy a snorkel and plan to stay underwater to study its depths for months into years to grasp the rich treasuries of the mysteries of Jesus and His grace.

Every leader is given particular insight into a subject or a category that entails an important assignment and task to complete. It is my observation that the teaching of true grace has been assigned to a very small number of people in this particular season to carry forward the work of the Apostle Paul, and they alone are the ones to teach it. Time is short and it is important that leaders remain in the lanes of their assignment.

2. If someone has correct knowledge of true grace, they understand the reality of living by the Spirit whom does not condone sin or evil behavior. Holy Spirit always reveals Jesus.

The primary argument that I hear repeatedly from people lacking grace revelation is something that I never witness happen among any true grace follower. They warn that a person walking in true grace (which they refer to as radical grace) has disregard for God’s laws and commands and because they do not adhere to God’s commands they consequently could never walk in the blessings of God nor could they ever live a Godly lifestyle and could be in grave danger of turning and walking back toward eternal damnation.

The Law, of which there were 613 including the Big 10, was given by God and all were good, holy and just but these Laws were not meant to govern Righteous people or those that believe in Jesus and are under the New Covenant. Jesus came to fulfill the Law and He did. The old law based covenant is obsolete and now there is a much better way. The righteous are to be governed and directed by the Spirit. God has written His laws on the tablets of our hearts and they are no longer written on stone.

True grace acknowledges Jesus’ finished work and from His resurrection was birthed the Holy Spirit who each of us have within to rely on as comforter, advocate, teacher, revelator and holy internal transformational leader. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to transform into the likeness of Christ.

He is the most underutilized and misunderstood member of the Trinity and He is there for us RIGHT NOW. Grace teaches us to live with Holy Spirit dominant in our minds, lives and hearts daily, asking Him to take over so we can fully live the gift of what God has given to us through the death and resurrection of His Son. Does this sound like a plot to instill spiritual anarchy throughout the ranks of Christendom across the globe? No – it is the highest degree of spiritual maturity, requiring an uncommon relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

3. An understanding of true grace requires an understanding of the combination of faith and grace as the two work together and in balance.

Jesus cleared the way to the throne of God by His blood acting as the propitiation for all sin from the very beginning of the world to the very end of time and there is nothing we must add to this or can do to make God love us more. Any such action would rank higher than the blood of His Son, a Deity, whose blood was completely sinless. (Have you ever pondered where Jesus’ blood came from? It was the blood of God –) An action list includes fasting and tithing although these are healthy personal disciplines but never should be done in an effort to make God move or to get His attention.

For example, giving a first fruit tithe acts as a reminder to place the church first and places one’s confidence on God because of Jesus’ sacrifice and finished work. Provision was covered in the atonement. He is Jehovah Jireh the Provider. Don’t try to get God to move by giving the tithe. Tithing acknowledges in confidence that He will provide and in fact, He already has. By faith in His work, have an expectation that Jesus will “deliver the goods” and right on time. In fact, be expectant that He will deliver them exceedingly, abundantly more than could ever be asked for or thought. Now that’s faith.

As a personal illustration, my very first real estate sales transaction was $5,150,000 and that’s the truth.My very first transaction ever was a 7000 SF restaurant lease listing that was dropped into my lap that I leased to a respected, well-established concept. On the sales transaction, I received a hot tip on a corner lot from the Holy Spirit and acted upon it quickly and that is all the credit I can take for this event. Every conceivable novel-like twist and turn happened during the process for one solid year, but I remained steadfast in my belief that God had told me what to do and that Jesus had done the work for it to be delivered.

If I repeated, I am the righteousness of God by faith in Christ Jesus once, I prayed it a hundred times to drive that concept deep into my own spirit, ease the fear and to bring me back to rest. The righteousness of Jesus has been imputed from Him into me and I am blessed and favored by God not because of what I do because of what Jesus did for me what I could never do on my own. Pay day was a blessed event.

Learn how to listen to the Holy Spirit and gain understanding of your responsibility of resting in Jesus’ Finished work. God gives us the power to get wealth. Begin to leverage grace through faith in Jesus finished work in your own life and watch as God brings you through a journey of growth in the knowledge of His Son individually customized for you. God wants to bless your life so you can be a blessing to others which expands His Kingdom so none shall be lost. Ask the Holy Spirit for favor in the marketplace and favor in the ministry place – He is the one that grants it.

4. Living with grace consciousness rather than sin consciousness elevates God to His rightful status, the One who loves us without condition and calls us to Him as His Beloveds.

The gospel message (if told accurately and received confidently), can be enough to break yokes of bondage, drive out demons, heal sick, restore peace to minds and set people free. Teaching the people about their victory in Jesus, providing a clear explanation of how He conquered the devil, combined with teaching God’s promises in these areas works miracles. The Holy Spirit shows up when the Gospel message is preached and His presence is all that is necessary because He is the one with the power.

Jesus never condemned or struck fear in the hearts of those He healed because He is the embodiment of grace and truth. He walked the talk because He is the talk. He is the Word. The Word states you are seated with Christ Jesus in heavenly places. Could you be seated in heavenly places if you were a Sinner? No, God in His perfection cannot cohabit with sin. You are a precious, powerful Saint so embrace that and press through the fear and the condemnation and use this power given to you – you already have everything you need to be an overcomer. Your spirit was made righteous and perfectly holy when you accepted Jesus. You are a powerhouse! Isn’t this more effective than wallowing in the negative, shaming perception of seeing yourself as a sinner? Practically no one wants to remain in bondage. Faith and confidence supplies the grease on the wheel allowing you to turn faster from what you were doing, or repent – Metanoia – in the Greek, which simply means to change your mind. Move toward Jesus and get yourself out of the pit.

Aside from protecting the presence of God and guarding the Holy Spirit’s work within a church, it is a primary responsibility of a pastor to point always to Jesus – not to raise awareness of sin-consciousness, or modify behavior, but to put the focus on Jesus. Resting in Jesus and the truth of the gospel steers the mind around the condemnation that surrounds the sin. Perfect love, which God has for people, casts out fear – spend time focusing on God’s love and watch fear and condemnation dissipate, then move out.

5. Using true grace in intercession means you are always standing firmly from a position of victory already won and never from a defeated stance. Hallelujah!

Pray like you have already won what you are praying for. That’s right – you now have a duty to focus on God and praise Him for what He has already done for you based on the atonement and the finished work of His Son. Stop begging God to make you well, whole, provided for, peaceful or free. Jesus died to pay for what you need then went down to hell and beat the devil on his own turf. The proof of ratification of this new covenant was Jesus’ resurrection. It truly is Finished. Offense, think offense Could there be a stronger offensive line than Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit? Stop making yourself crazy. Continue to pray against demonic hindrances and wait for the need to manifest. Picture yourself as a Knight with armor, fully protected, with large bugs flying against your armor and bouncing off – that is what you are in the spirit realm as you remain covered in the blood of Jesus. Stop giving the demons more credit than the blood of Christ. They are defeated nuisances that can only harm if you allow them to harm which typically comes through attacks in the mind.

Take communion every day, thanking Jesus for His great sacrifice while recognizing that His body and His blood are within you providing every single thing necessary to protect and defend, provide, heal, make whole, and make right. Fear is a destroyer and is the devil’s favorite hiding place. When he makes a Grand Entrance, it is always walking on the red carpet of fear. Guard your heart and your mind by bringing back to daily remembrance the finished work of Christ Jesus and walk in faith of the grace He has placed on your destiny.

Tracy Gatewood #Prayer #GospelofGrace #Grace

Twitter: @TracyLGatewood
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The Spirit of Life

07 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by in Blood of Jesus, Bride of Christ, Christianity, Emotions, Grace, Healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus, Blood of Jesus, New Covenant, redemption, Leadership, Sin

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The Spirit of Life

Galatians 5:4-6  If you seek to be justified and declared righteous and to be given a right standing with God through the Law, you are brought to nothing and so separated (severed) from Christ . You have fallen away from grace (from God’s gracious favor and unmerited blessing). For we (not relying on the Law but) through the Holy Spirit’s help, by faith anticipate and wait for the blessing and good for which our righteousness and right standing with God (our conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action, causes us to hope. For (if we are) in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision or non circumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love.

There is nothing more that you can do to earn higher degrees of God’s love, to gain more of His awareness, His attention or His Favor than to be devoted to His Son; truly grasping the ramifications of Jesus’ sacrifice on your life and believing that it is through His body and blood that you are completely, and perfectly situated in Him. If there was anything you could do, then it would be more powerful and more important than what Jesus did for you. Favor from God (grace) and right standing with God (righteousness) are not based on your works. These are secured when you exercise your faith and believe that Jesus has paid not only for your sin debt, but that He died for you to have all the blessings given to Abraham; an uninterrupted supply of healing, provision, protection and peace. Access to this comes through unwavering faith and a rest in His finished work.

At times, I need information drilled down for me to a level of relevancy – I grasp and retain concepts best if done so experientially by walking them out. In junior high and high school, I struggled terribly with the math requirements; Algebra, Trigonometry and all manner of related evil. My school counselor, in his mercy,  gave me the option to take Consumer math; a curriculum that provided mathematical problem solving with practical application to issues that were relevant, mostly related to business and very unlike algebraic equations. It was somewhat remedial but I did not care and excelled. As I  teach and write on spiritual concepts, I must first bring them to a point of personal relevance by examining them, breaking them apart and putting them back together.  Through personal experiences, I have broken down specific concepts and walked out truth regarding Jesus that has fortified me in ways that are relevant and life changing.

Galatians 3:20-21  AMP   I have been crucified with Christ ( in Him I have shared His crucifixion); it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith (in adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Therefore, I do not treat God’s gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose);  I do not set aside and invalidate and frustrate and nullify the grace (unmerited favor) of God.  For if justification (righteousness, acquittal from guilt) comes through (observing the ritual of)  the Law, then Christ (the Messiah) died groundlessly  and to no purpose and in vain. (His death was then wholly superfluous).

Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection terminated the Adamic line and His death marked the end of the Law.  Since His death, we have been afforded a new way, a New Covenant (Agreement) solidified between Himself and God on our behalf – we are no longer bound by a sin-based nature. We must set our belief on the foundation of the sacrifice of Jesus, and His work that cleared the way.  Hebrews 8:13 When God speaks of a new (covenant or agreement), He makes the first one obsolete (out of use). And what is obsolete (annulled because of age, out of use), is ripe for disappearance and to be dispensed with altogether.

Do you still use your 8-track to play your music?  My guess is that you don’t. You listen to music on a CD player or MP3 or Sirius or internet streaming. 8 track players are no longer in use because there are better ways that are more efficient and provide higher quality sound. No more bulky tapes to store that take up too much space. Nothing to bang your knee against in your car because your 8 track was installed underneath your factory radio. The 8 track player is obsolete. Why?  There is a new and better way to play your music!  The same principle is true about the New Covenant Jesus has made with God for you which did away with an older covenant that was law based, focusing on sin consciousness and condemnation.  When you listen to the Spirit, He will guide you into life, all truth and aid you in making decisions, shape your character and give you guidance into God’s will. The life of Grace is all about listening to the voice and direction of the Spirit. The life of a Christian is all about listening to the voice of the Spirit.

I AM FREE, FREE, FREE FROM THE CONDEMNATION OF LAW-BASED LIVING.

GLOSSARY
Justified – Just As If You Had Never Sinned – Gal. 3:23  we are justified by faith
Righteous – In Right Standing With God – Rom. 3:21 righteousness cannot be earned, it is a gift and comes through faith in Jesus. Gal 3:17 if righteousness could be gained through law, then Christ died for nothing.
Grace – Undeserved, unmerited Favor (one definition) Eph 2:8 AMP For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved by (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith.
The Law – 10 Commandments given by God to Moses for the Israelites plus 603 additional Rabbinical Laws. The Law was given to the unrighteous, not to the righteous.  To fulfill the Law – all had to be kept, or none were kept. Focusing on rules results in focusing on sin-consciousness and condemnation. We are made righteous by faith not rules or law. All Christians are to focus on Jesus and listen to the Holy Spirit.
New Covenant – What we have with God as Believers after the death/resurrection of Christ. Heb. 8:13 When God speaks of a New Covenant, He has made the first obsolete.

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I am going to make a bold statement. Life as we know it is about to become extremely difficult globally and in order for us to survive – despite its counterintuitive feeling, we must understand Grace, where we first look only to Jesus and without fear, recognize what He has purchased and that He provides the supply for our needs. Our systems and the ways we are accustomed to operating will not continue to work. This does not at all mean we sit down and stop doing our careers, and our ministries but the mindset is different. We depend on our supply from Jesus, because of His sacrifice and we then depend on the Spirit to administrate our lives and make our paths plain. This is God’s Way. People that are not saved will perish for they do not know, trust or understand Jesus and will not look to Him.

Recently, I have noticed that the Holy Spirit is prompting many teachers to step out and teach on Fear and give the public an understanding of its DNA. Unless we understand that fear is a spirit and how to manage it, many will not make it emotionally through the upcoming trials and tests. It is essential that people gain an understanding of the Gospel of Grace, the truth of the power of the blood of Jesus and learning practical application of both in their lives. 

Keys to Freedom from Fear

27 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by in Blood of Jesus, Bride of Christ, Christianity, Emotions, Grace, Healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus, Blood of Jesus, New Covenant, redemption, Sin, Transformational Leadership, Tuscaloosa

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Jesus by Martha Beadle

JESUS 
Artist Martha Beadle, Florence, AL

From October 2009 to early summer of 2012, I earned a PhD in FEAR during a remarkable season of transition. From the time that I made a commitment to move back to my hometown in July 2009 until 3 years later – I white knuckled my way through a lengthy list of peaks and (far and away mostly) valleys. If you have ever walked through a Job season, then you can clearly relate to what I am referring. My family and close friends watched in disbelief as a series of extreme circumstances came in wave after wave over several years, but in the fullness of His time, but by His grace, God redeemed my desperate and bleak situation, opening up new avenues of hope and restoration.

Joel 2:23-26 AMP Be then glad, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain as before. And the (threshing) floors shall be full of grain and the vats shall overflow with juice (of the grape) and oil. And I will restore or replace for you the years that the locust has eaten-the hopping locust; the stripping locust, and the crawling locust, My great army which I sent among you. And you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord, your God. Who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never be put to shame.

During this season I had well-meaning friends, say to me any number of things, “Tracy, where’s your faith?”, I had never struggled with my faith, actually I always believed that I had very strong faith but no amount of faith was turning around these problems or “Why don’t you just get a job!”, like I had not been looking under every rock for one for over a year, or telling me that I was going in the wrong direction in returning back to my home town – even after I had explained exhaustively that God had told me to move back. One couple whom I mistakenly trusted, successfully convinced me that I had waited too long to move after being called by God to do so and I was obviously being chastened. Unfortunately, I allowed this latter remark to seep into my soul, and this was one of 3 primary reasons that I slipped into a downward, even vertical spiral of total condemnation that almost destroyed my mind. Condemnation will kill you. Fear will kill you, too.

A Description of Fear
Fear is an evil spirit. That’s right, what most people associate with horror movies or witches, fear spirits are in the unseen realm that surround us. Just like Angels are in the unseen (Recommended: Angels: God’s Secret Agents; Billy Graham, author), a person cannot see an evil spirit. If you accept one you should accept the existence of the other. Fear is also an emotional response to a real and undesired situation however it is when fear is left to run rampant and unabated, continually flailing around in a person’s mind, is when this spirit has the ability to lodge into a soul and wreak havoc in the life of anyone. All people are made up of (3) things: Spirit, Soul and Body. If you have accepted Christ, then your spirit is connected to the Holy Spirit which is how you hear the will of God, your soul is comprised of (3) things: your mind, your will and your emotions.

Throughout this season of fear, I had the choice of either learning how to combat this spirit or allow it to kill me. I decided I wanted to fight and to live. After observing the effects of extreme fear at a very close range for a prolonged season, I concluded the following:

1) The enemy always enters a person’s mind or soul cloaked in a spirit of fear or cloaked in a spirit of condemnation. Even the slightest root of fear can open the door to a full-blown attack. Keep the fear door closed tightly.
2) Fear acts as a portal into a person’s soul through which every negative emotion can and will flow: confusion, depression, suicide, insecurity, greed, envy, jealousy, trauma, abuse, shame, and terror. Its always Fear (or condemnation) First before the associated negative emotion kicks in.
3) The immediate response to a spirit of fear must be trust in God (belief versus unbelief). Keep faith building scripture verses close at hand to combat fear, just as you would keep Vitamin C and Zinc close at hand if you have a cold. Faith is the antidote to fear. Speak these verses ALOUD.
4) Fear is the enemy’s heaven – fear is like oxygen to the demonic.
5) If the spirit of fear is not present, the enemy has nothing to convert to evil – he has nothing on which to “latch” himself to a person. This is an essential point to grasp in the understanding of the subject of fear and strategy of the enemy.

Jesus, Your Great High Priest
Hebrews 8: 6-7 “But as it is now, He (Christ) has acquired a (priestly) ministry which is as much superior and more excellent (than the old) as the covenant (the agreement) of which He is the Mediator (the Arbiter, Agent), is superior and more excellent, (because) it is enacted and rests upon more important promises. For if that first covenant had been without defect, there would have been no room for another one or an attempt to institute another one. “

This might be your first exposure to New Covenant terminology, and if so, I wish that I had the time to completely round out this wonderful topic in its entirety but this article is blog length. When Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, His resurrection served as ratification of a New Covenant (agreement) with all people that have accepted Him as their Savior. There are many, many things that shifted from the Old Testament over to the New following the crucifixion; Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Specifically, His blood, redeemed back from the enemy, our ability to walk in total freedom. You have been given the ability to self deliver – you have the ability to pray for healing for yourself and call on God’s power to answer your prayer. If you are struggling with any emotional issue in your mind -(1) picture yourself standing firmly rooted and grounded in the love of God – God’s perfect love will cast out fear. Drawing on God’s love for you will bring confidence.(2) Understand that Jesus has purchased your right of ownership to a sound mind (He is Jehovah Shalom-the Prince of Peace), and your mind can now be calibrated into rest and to the perfect mind of Christ. This was won for you at The Cross.

Binding and Loosing
Although rarely taught, the scriptural way to eradicate a spirit; fear, depression, suicide, confusion, condemnation or anything previously mentioned is a technique that is so simple, and it is how Jesus Himself instructs us to control things we choose to declare to be unlawful or improper. In fact, He states in Matthew 16:19 that He is giving us the ” keys to the kingdom “.

Matthew 16:19 AMP “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven: and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.”

When you bind, and rebuke a spirit – you send it packing. Binding it up, renders it null and void. Conversely, you can loose or release an opposite spirit (joy, hope, a sound mind), right back into yourself or another person for whom you are praying. It’s right there in the bible. Jesus Himself holds the Key of David:
Isaiah 22:22 “And the key of the house of David I will lay upon His shoulder: He shall open and no one shall shut, He shall shut and no one shall open.”
This is Jesus. Jesus is the literal Tree of Life.

The Gospel of Grace allows us to be transformed by Jesus from glory to glory and it also allows for some tactical “moves” that are administrated by the Holy Spirit. If you want to free yourself from fear – declare it aloud and speak to the fear like it was a person (actually it is a thing). Tell that spirit that you are binding and breaking it in the name of Jesus and by the blood of Jesus. Acknowledge the work of Jesus on the cross in Isaiah 53. Stand firmly planted in the love of God and believe that you are standing firm from a victorious stance, never fighting from a position of defeat. You are not your emotions, and these things cannot continue to remain if you identify them, carefully bind them, rebuke them and ask God to send them away. Although you are speaking the words, this is a work of the Holy Spirit and Jesus holds the keys to close the door on these offenders.

It is so simple – no process – and it is God’s Recipe for Success and Freedom From Fear and Condemnation.

Tracy Gatewood
Keys to Freedom from Fear
All Rights Reserved 2022

Thank you for reading my Sacred Ramblings 

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Superman, Jesus, and the Justice of God

20 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Blood of Jesus, Bride of Christ, Christianity, Gospel of Grace, Grace, Healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Leadership, New Covenant, redemption, the Spirit, Tracy Gatewood, Tracy Gatewood Alabama

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DSCN2612-Jesus (2)
Man of Steel trailer  http://youtu.be/T6DJcgm3wNY?t=2s
Click the Trailer Link First

Psalm 91:17:  May the Favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands ~ yes, establish the work of our hands.

Superman (not his given name which was Star Trek-ish) was sent to Earth as an infant by his scientist father just before their home planet of Krypton was destroyed. His father’s remark upon releasing his son was, “My hopes and dreams travel with you.” The story recounts that the son was discovered and adopted by a Kansas farmer and his wife. They raised the child with the name, Clark Kent, who grew as a youth possessing good character and a strong moral compass. His parents began to feel that their child was the answer to society’s problems and that he was sent to them for a very special purpose. The young man aspired to something greater than his peers and much more than what society intended for him. Very early in life he began to display superhuman abilities, which upon reaching maturity, resolved to use for the benefit of humanity in the make believe American city of Metropolis. This bi-vocational crusader worked as a journalist for the Daily Planet, providing Clark a first hand view of crime scenes and a closer proximity for impromptu tussles with arch villain Lex Luthor. His compassion and love for people were evident to all. He possessed an underlying passion that made him known for Justice. Psalm 89:14  Righteousness and Justice are the foundation of God’s throne.

II Corinthians 3:2 No you yourselves are our letter of recommendation (our credentials), written in your hearts, to be known (perceived, recognized) and read by everybody. You show and make obvious that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, not written with ink but with (the) Spirit of (the) living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

For it is by and through an accepting Father when we accept His Son that we are loved with a depth and a height and a width we cannot fathom, an infinite love like the deepest ocean.  As those who know Jesus, we are individual testimonies for God; testimonies to His goodness and the message of His grace – a human sign and wonder for everyone in a sphere of influence or community to see as a flashpoint of light in a surrounding darkness. Imagine if you had that much influence over someone’s soul and spirit that everywhere they went they were a walking billboard for who you are and what you could do for them. You would wish to insure that they were seen as nothing less than Royalty, walking in favor and blessing, because after all ~ they represent your creation and your Kingdom.

Enter Jesus. In this great mystery, God Himself divested all of His glory and Godliness, and took on human form to be born of a woman.  The true Man of Steel fed 5000 with 5 small barley loaves and 2 fish (Mark 6:30-39), turned water into (alot of) wine (John 2:1-10), miraculously healed multitudes of suffering people and ratified an Eternal (permanent ) Covenant made between He and God by being resurrected from the dead (John 20:1-21). Try that one on Superman!  Although our beloved Super-hero had a strong moral compass, and a deep passion for justice, Superman could only save but could never be a Savior.  Jesus’ full power for us comes through His death, as He releases His Spirit to all that will believe and rest in Him. The truly powerful understand that His work is Finished and equally, that they have been made righteous ( meaning in right standing)  and holy in the sight of God through the blood of the Son. Everything given to Jesus by His loving Father has now been given to us. Remarkable.

Yep, there’s a new Sheriff in town, the Holy Spirit lives inside each one of us now. Our new moral compass is embedded with a direct line to the will of God, we need only to learn how to hear what He is saying.  God’s laws are now written on the soft tablets of our hearts by His Spirit, not on stone or paper. His peace and rest have been paid for, owned by us all along when we met Jesus. A peace and rest accessed confidently through the Holy Spirit’s power and the Finished work. This is a Grace (verb) gift and undeserved, unmerited favor (Amen, she says.)  We have inner justice that displays as radiance outwardly as we lean and rest all of our defenses on God’s promises to fight our battles and to make our crooked places straight. When we remain transfixed on Jesus (this takes some time and a new perspective) He smooth’s out the way. We look not to the left nor to the right, and give up our right to battle circumstances on our own, listening for direction,  understanding that what He will do for us is a better way than our own.

Luke 2:46-52 NAS Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. 48 When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” 49 And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. 51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Our Father’s Houses serve as Embassies for His Kingdom; local churches, that are extensions of heaven on earth, and places of refuge for His “Ambassadors”.  Churches are protected places of common ground for renewal and refreshing, where people who live for Kingdom purposes are fed, tended and nurtured by Pastor-Shepherds that have been appointed and called by God. It is in our local churches where God’s Kingdom should truly live as we calibrate to Christ as our High Priest (read Hebrews) and Great Shepherd while understanding or learning to walk out our Kingdom purposes, and where we can be gently reminded of God’s promises as well as our authority in Christ Jesus.  We must each find our own  “embassy” of fellowship that best undergirds our Kingdom purposes and enables us to make His name Known.

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Forrest, Moses and the Mercies of God

08 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by in #HolySpirit, Blood of Jesus, Christianity, Emotions, Grace, Healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus, Blood of Jesus, New Covenant, redemption, Mercy, New Covenant, redemption, Sin, Tracy Gatewood Alabama, TracyLGatewood, Uncategorized

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Moses

FORREST GUMP TRAILER 3:12

FIRST please click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPIEn0M8su0


Psalm 5:12 AMP For you Lord, will bless the (uncompromisingly) righteous (him who is upright and in right standing with You); as with a shield You will surround him with goodwill (pleasure and favor).

Forrest Gump is a beloved movie character that stole hearts across America. Despite Forrest’s well below average IQ and slow speech, a flow of God’s mercy and compassion were evident in his life. He was blessed with a mother that worked diligently to give him a life of normalcy, he possessed extraordinary athleticism, and had a vast list of achievements; All American football star to war hero and as a Medal of Honor winner he even met two Presidents. Forrest also played on the winning National Championship Ping Pong team that traveled to China.

Forrest purchased a shrimp boat and asked Lieutenant Dan to go into business. When a Hurricane blew through Forrest’s south Alabama shrimping fields, every shrimp boat but his was destroyed, leaving the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company to net all the shrimp for their own gain. Following the death of his mother, Forrest chose to remain close to home, allowing Lieutenant Dan to run the business and invest their personal earnings, which Dan did in a “fruit company” called Apple Computers. Forrest became a multi-millionaire and given the ability to retire at an early age, all the while carrying an innocence about him that surrounded him like a shield. Favor is a shield.

Romans 9:15-20 AMP For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion (pity) on whom I will have compassion. So then God’s gift is not a question of human will and human effort, but of God’s mercy. (It depends not on one’s own willingness nor on his strenuous exertion as in running a race, but on God’s having mercy on him). For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, I have raised you up for this very purpose of displaying My power in dealing with you, so that My name may be proclaimed the whole world over.

In real life, God’s gifts are not bestowed to an individual due to intellect or performance. Although God may bestow a gift on a person because of character displayed during a season of difficulty, a person cannot intentionally earn His gifts through works – gifts are administered by the Holy Spirit and given out at His discretion. Holy Spirit gives each person spiritual gifts and abilities that no man can take away, and gifts God wants used for His glory and important Kingdom purposes. Moses, like Forrest, was slow of speech, but up in years yet was given a great mantle of responsibility by God. After hearing God speak through a burning bush that never really burned, he left armed with a wooden rod (Staff) and a discerning inner circle, charged with leading a few million people out of Egypt, no small feat. (Exodus 3:1-21)

Moses could have passed on the assignment but we know Moses today because he trusted in the nature of the One who made the request. Moses was given uncommon favor to accomplish an uncommon assignment which was not without its share, too, of uncommon hardship and difficulty. Mercy and compassion become highly valued attributes around hard and difficult times. We thank you Lord for your mercy.

It is the Holy Spirit that grants favor but it is God Himself, again in His enduring mercy and lovingkindness, that has set forth the principle of Grace by offering the life of His Son to complete the terms of an Eternal Covenant. Grace is both a Noun and a Verb. It is Grace that we can walk by faith in what Jesus has done and in close partnership with the Spirit to accomplish all that God desires for us. It is through Grace that God offers us a way around the sin conscious Law and the continual cycle of self-effort, self-consciousness and performance – a way that leads to death; death of relationships, spiritual death and even physical death. We cannot achieve through our own self effort being good enough to receive God’s gifts or even His mercy and compassion. If we could be good enough, there would have been no need for Jesus to die to redeem (buy us back) from Adam’s fall and sin.

When you accept Christ You are given as a Gift to Jesus From His Father. Isn’t that a beautiful revelation of the love that God has for each of us?

John 17:24 AMP  Father, I desire that they also whom You have entrusted to Me (as Your gift to Me) may be with Me where I am so that they may see My glory which You have given Me (Your love gift to Me): for You loved me before the Foundation of the world, O just and righteous Father, although the world has not known You and has failed to recognize You and has never acknowledged You, I have known You (continually): and these men know and understand that you have sent Me. I have made Your Name known to them and revealed Your character and Your Self and I will continue to make (You) known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them (felt in their hearts) and I (Myself) may be in them.

Certainly we are all far more important to Jesus than a box of chocolates. Each one of us is a perfectly faceted jewel containing unique qualities fashioned by the hand of God, gifted and skilled for critical missions that only we can fulfill. We must only accept our mission knowing that the power of Christ lives within us and the mercy of God is with us to assist with our assigned task.

Twitter: @TracyLGatewood
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Happy Independance Day

04 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by in Blood of Jesus, Bride of Christ, Christianity, Emotions, Grace, Healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus, Blood of Jesus, New Covenant, redemption, Sin, Tracy Gatewood, Tracy Gatewood Alabama, TracyLGatewood

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HEBREWS 8:10-12 AMP For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint their laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people. And it will nevermore be necessary for each one to teach his neighbor and his fellow citizen or each one his brother saying, Know (perceive, have knowledge of and get acquainted by experience with ) the Lord for all will know Me, from the smallest to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins and I will remember their deeds no more.

The Lord is describing the New Covenant, and that we no longer must live with the aid of the Mosaic laws, but that He Himself has put in each of us an innate ability to know right from wrong, and that understanding will come through His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is imparted to us by Jesus Himself when we accept by faith that He is the Son of God and understand that His sacrifice was required to pay our sin debt. Equally important for us to note in this passage, not only are we being given the Holy Spirit but God’s statement that He will remember our sins no more. God has established a higher and better, and more fair approach for those that believe in Jesus. We are not to be sin-conscious, but filled by and with faith as righteous children of God, our righteousness paid for by Jesus Himself. Righteousness could mean Right Living – but like the Ten Commandments, we could never live right enough so we look again to Jesus who paid for our righteousness. Romans 1:17-19 AMP – For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live by faith. For God’s (holy) wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness make it inoperative. For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God Himself has shown it to them.
In other words, live by faith in the Gospel and stop your sinning because you know that you are doing it.

Colossians 2: 13-15 AMP And you who were dead in trespasses and in the un-circumcision of your flesh (your sensuality, your sinful, carnal nature), (God) brought to life together with (Christ) having (freely) forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us). This (note with its regulations, decrees and demands) He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to His cross. God disarmed the principalities and power that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, triumphing over them in Him and in it (the cross).

Most calling themselves Christians have a clear understanding that when Christ was crucified, that He paid for their sins. God being Holy and Perfect, can never look upon sin so He placed all of the sin of the entire world committed from its beginning to its end on His Son. Jesus took all of His Father’s wrath so that we would never be judged for our own sin. Colossians 2 refers to the nailing of laws to the cross of Jesus, because they were hostile to His people. These refer to the Laws of Moses. How could laws that seem so perfectly just be viewed as hostile to God’s people by God Himself? Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, Honor your Father and Your Mother, Do Not Murder, Do Not Commit Adultery, etc… you know them. Remember, the Holy Spirit wrote the bible and this is all in there. It is not the laws themselves that were hostile, but that for them to be fulfilled – ALL of them had to be adhered to perfectly for us to remain out of God’s judgment. This was an impossible exercise for His people to accomplish making these decrees and demands HOSTILE and also making His people SIN conscious rather than GRACE conscious. (Grace is undeserved, unmerited FAVOR)

And because God is God, He knew we would miss this one, and so planned from the very beginning in agreement with His Son (before the earth was formed in fact) that Jesus would return and walk out this agreement on earth that would complete a new, more perfect and everlasting covenant. This is the Gospel and the (very) Good News – because what Jesus gave us as the gift of grace, no man can boast. He freely gave up His life of His own volitional will (now if that’s not more grace, I do not know what is) to open the door so that all the blessings promised to Abraham, as his seed, are given to us.

Because God recognizes a legal system, His covenants can only be ratified through blood which always results in death. A person’s Last Will and Testament only becomes activated at the time of that person’s death, and the same with God’s New (and Final) Covenant for His people, which too became active at Christ’s death. His resurrection signified that the actual exchange at the cross took place proving to everyone that He had completed His assignment. After showing His disciples that He was ok and that His work was finished, He filled them with His Holy Spirit, giving them passion and momentum to forward what He had taught but now with holy, dunamis power. He then went back to Heaven, to hang out and rest next to His Daddy where He prays for us and mediates His covenant. His return to earth after his crucifixion demonstrated to all of the (now former) powers and principalities that previously ruled the earth that He had successfully completed the job of disarming them and He was now heading Home, but not before He released His Spirit which would give them an additional kick in the pants. There was no one ranking higher than Jesus, the sinless, blameless Son of God, that could pay for our iniquities; addictions, adultery, thefts, lies, envies, lusts, slanders, unforgiveness ….. you get the picture. It had to be Him – this was a very big job!!!

In recent months, I confess, that I have pondered the practice of churches offering their attendees the opportunity to “nail to the cross” their unforgiveness, shame, porn addictions and various other muck and weaknesses. I am now so grateful to understand that Jesus has already taken away all of this JUNK on His own body. A person nailing an iniquity to a cross in their own strength may not be truly aware of the magnitude and the complete truth of what Jesus has accomplished. “It is Finished!” – their acts do not count against them as sin. What we are left to manage is our own emotional condemnation; guilt, shame, or a weakness of will (unforgiveness) etc but God is not seeing any of these iniquities (iniquity means to go your own way) because He now sees all of us through the lens of the Blood of His Son. Jesus’ perpetual flow of blood never stops, constantly cleanses, purifies and even sanctifies those that belong to Him. Christ is in you, you are in Him and you are the righteousness of God through Jesus. If there was anything you could do in your own strength – even nailing your bad actions to a cross – then that act would be more transformational and more effective than Christ’s own sacrifice. Turn by faith to God and speak His promises to yourself ALOUD and thank Him and Jesus for what they did for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse you from unclean spirits and torment that plague your soul and body. You yourself are a One Stop Deliverance Shop! Jesus has already released us from oppression! Freedom is in the simple Gospel message – Jesus has paid it all. Believe and you can receive. Happy Independence Day!

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