Accepted, loved and chosen

Week beginning 24th May 2020

Hello Everyone

This last week I have been writing out Psalms 46 to 51. Several of them are written not by David but by the “descendants of Korah”.

Psalm 46 starts “God is my refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” (v1)

Psalm 47:1 says “Come, everyone! Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise!” and then later says “Sing praises unto God, Sing praise; sing praises to our King, Sing praises. For God is the King over all the earth. Praise him with a Psalm.”

All these words reminded me of songs that I know.

I will add them into this week’s YouTube playlist here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHnJn7EgQjAwjZc3KAXc6O4l14x3aQz0p

Here are some powerful words from the book that Roger and I are currently reading called “Insurgence – Reclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom” by Frank Viola…

“The gospel of the kingdom produces liberty, a liberty that Paul exuberantly called “the glorious liberty of the children of God."

“Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21 NKJV)

Romans 8:21 New Living Translation (NLT)

21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.

The gospel liberates us from the bondage of the flesh (independence) as well as from the bondage of the Law (legalism).

The wonder of the gospel is that you are now in Christ, holy, righteous, and perfect. In Christ, you are fully accepted by a holy God.

Colossians 1:22 New Living Translation (NLT)

22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

You are under the new covenant. There is no reason for you to have a guilty conscience or a sense of condemnation. If you are walking in condemnation and guilt, it’s because you have turned away from the blood of Christ and have unseated yourself from your high estate in Christ.

If a person walks in the flesh, the Holy Spirit will illuminate their conscience. But that illumination is redemptive, not condemnatory. And there are few people who are more miserable than a person who is in Christ yet walking contrary to their new nature.

But we don’t work toward victory, we work from it. The Christian life is becoming what you already are.

The truth is, if you’re in Christ, you cannot be condemned. Why? Because Jesus Christ has already died for you and paid the full penalty for you sins. But that is not all, Christ has risen and sits at the right hand of God, making intercession for you (Romans 8:34).

Because you are in Christ,

• God is for you, so who can be against you (Romans 8:31)?

• God gave His own Son for you, and He will also freely give you all that you need (8:32)

• No one can lay a charge against you (8:33)

• Nothing in the universe and

• No one on the planet can separate you from His love (8:35-39)

Romans 8:31-39 New Living Translation (NLT)

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”[a]) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Isn’t that amazing?

Let that fuel you for the coming week.

News

Church Fence update– Since the one panel of the fence has been replaced, the rest look rather grotty. Today (Sunday) Roger and I have started to work on the rest of the church fence. We scrapped the old paint off and where some of the wood is rotten we have cleaned out and painted with wood hardener. Then we will fill the holes and make any repairs required. Then when we have received the paint, we will start painting. We also plan to paint all external doors to the church and hall.

Vestry Roof– You may have noticed that the Dyer’s have removed some of the tiles on the western edge of the Vestry roof. Some had come of in the recent storms. The found that one of the main timbers was rotten underneath, so that will need replacing. They will be obtaining scaffolding to complete the work.

Thy Kingdom Come- We are currently in the period between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday which is being used as a focus for prayer. We have delivered to our Church family the Prayer Journal booklets for you to use during this time.

The talks that Roger and I are listening to are available on Youtube as well as PodBean. I have included the first talk “What the Kingdom is not” in this week’s YouTube playlist :

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHnJn7EgQjAwjZc3KAXc6O4l14x3aQz0p

Do keep in touch with us and each other

Blessings

Jacquey