Tag: cross

What is the Atonement? 1 Chronicles 6:49

This word is of supreme Theological importance in the Old Testament and is central to identifying the remission of sin! The word means to cover but it does not mean to conceal. It means to impose something to change our appearance or nature! Sinners are reconciled to God by imposing something that would appease the offended party which is God! It is like writing a new contract! It means the writing over of a contract or cancelling the contract. In this case the old contract was the wages of sin was death! The sinner is covered in righteousness! God does not conceal our sin but changes our very nature! If He would just hide our sin we would just keep on sinning! Our attitude about sin is changed! We see our destructive ways are offensive to man and God. We see our selfishness displayed before us! If we view the atonement as just a covering then we are like the hog that gets a bath and then goes back into the swamp! If our nature is changed then we no longer love the swamp! Paul warned us about crucifying Jesus over and over again! That is to use the atonement as a license to sin! Jesus said we must be born again! In fact we cannot enter Heaven unless we are born again! We exchange our old nature for a new nature! When my old nature tries to come back i remind it of the Cross! God changes us without destroying our personality! We retain our soul, mind and body! Our new nature is like a miraculous transformation! Satan if permitted will destroy our mind, soul and body! The blood of Christ has redeemed us! We were redeemed over 2000 years ago and today we have to recognize Him and the atonement! When i got saved back in 1973 i did not understand all this but i knew something miraculous happened when i came to Christ! My sin and the penalty of death was judged on the Cross! Christ paid for my sin! This is the essence of the atonement! When we see the truth and act upon it we become born again! All things become new and old things are passed away! My grandfather Edgar used to say the Sasse family was good while they were sleeping! Now through Christ i am good while awake! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Where Two or Three are Gathered? Matthew 18:20

Why two or three? That is the way God does it! Jesus prays to the Father and that makes two! The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity and that makes three! Is the math too hard for us? Why two or three on earth? So when the answer comes God will get the Glory and not man! If ten people or a thousand people are praying for the same thing and the answer comes who’s prayer got answered? Not one individual but all because Jesus accompanied them! The word “midst” in the Greek means to accompany! Jesus will go along with us! He will accompany us to Heaven! He will accompany us to meet the Father! He will accompany us in prayer! He accompanied a thief on the Cross to Heaven! He can also accompany you! We have to be careful about any person or ministry that tries to corral us into a corner and says it is only because of our prayers or organization that your prayers are answered? You can only be saved if you join our church? No organization or man has saved anyone! We point people to the Cross for we cannot even save our own souls! You have a better chance of winning the lottery than trying to make it in life on your own without the accompaniment of Jesus! Do not gamble with your eternity! If you lose forever is a long time! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Leadership and Submission!

I think of Pope Gregory the Great. He wanted the cloister. He wanted to pray and study and yet he was thrust into an administrative job and he submitted and by doing so became a great leader! You could say the only person safe to lead is the person who is free to submit! Richard Foster Comment: The most dangerous leader is the one who claims to submit to Heavenly authority but will not submit to earthly authority! If Jesus would not have submitted to earthly authority he would not have gone to the Cross! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Mercy and Consequences! 2 Kings 24:3-4

These two words seem contradictory but yet they compliment each other! You cannot have one without the other! Manasseh repented and found Mercy from God for his sins he committed but God did not remove the consequences of what he had done. (2 Chronicles 33:12-13) For Christ to forgive the world of sin their were consequences for Him! It is called the Cross at Calvary! Physical death is still a consequence for the human family for the sin of our first parents Adam and Eve! If you or i had been the first parents we would have done the same thing! However for those in Christ death is not permanent for Jesus has promised to raise us from the dead as He was raised from the dead for us! Consequences in life are real but not permanent! The joy of our salvation has overcome the fear of sin and death! God’s love has overcome our evil! His love has removed our guilt and shame! If we reject Christ then our consequences become permanent with no relief and separation from God eternally! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Pride! 2 Kings 20:17-18

Please don’t get me wrong! King Hezekiah was a good man! God healed him from death, turned back time for him and added 15 years to his life! Pride is the most celebrated word in America but the least talked about word in the church! Gay pride day? Pride is like a bottle of poison that tastes like candy with no warning label on it! It always follows success! If you do not believe you suffer from episodes of pride then you are as blind as our first parents Adam and Eve! We have ten words for pride in the Hebrew and three words in the Greek in our Bible. Here are some definitions for pride from these root words; Arrogancy, swelling, pomp, haughtiness, loftiness, elation, grandeur, proud, raging, exhaultation, presumption, self-confident boasting, smoke without flame or smoltering, and ties and binding. Remember Samson got tied! The word i have not listed yet is the one i like best! Pride means to turn your back! Some people turn their back on God! Peter did! I don’t know him? Jesus did not turn his back on Peter! Have people turned their backs on you? Friends or family? Church members or a Priest or Pastor? Have we turned our backs on them? I have asked Jesus why i should try to establish a relationship with them? Jesus asked me do i want to be like them or like me? The Middle Eastern Christians who were beheaded this past two years did not turn their backs on Jesus! Do we turn our backs on the poor, widows, orphans and single moms? After success King Hezekiah showed off his wealth to the Babylonians! After this Isaiah warned him that this would result in Babylonian captivity and his sons would live in their palace court as eunuchs! We believe Daniel was a eunuch in the court there during their 70 year captivity however it did not impede his Prophetic words as recorded in our Bible! Pride was the very first sin and the sin that causes us to turn our backs on God and others! Humble yourself that you may turn people’s heart towards God! Jesus humbled himself even to death on a Cross! Thankyou James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

God Light Savings Time! 2 Kings 20:11

Here in American we have Daylight Savings Time. We turn the clocks forward one hour in the spring and one hour back in the fall. However what God did for King Hezekia of Judah was more than simply moving the clock back one hour! To turn the sun dial back ten degrees requires a complete adjustment of the solar system! If you do the math every degree of our 360 degree circumference of earth represents four minutes of time. So to turn the shadow back ten degrees is 40 minutes of time. So the day was extended by 40 minutes! God also added 15 years to the King’s life! So God can turn back time or extend time for you! What most people do not understand is God for those in Christ turns back time for us and extends time for us! It all happened at the Cross! When Jesus took the judgment for our sin our clock was turned back to the Garden of Eden! Before Adam and Eve sinned we are restored as though we have never sinned! Now we walk with God in the cool of the day! That is cool! No longer separated from God in Hell but Heaven living on earth! Those that reject Christ have their lives extended but separated from God in Hell. Their clock was never turned back! We cannot carry sin and stay where you are but God must turn your clock back! Hell on earth is a choice and heaven on earth is a choice! Jesus said you must be born again! The second birth is a time machine that changes your destiny! Decisions matter! What time is it? Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Selfies, Selfish & Selfless! Matthew 16:24-26

Selfies are not wrong or bad! Hey, look at me! They could be called the poster child of selfishness! Selfish seems to dominate American culture! Every group wants attention! They all get up on their soap box! Sin is about selfishness! No sacrifice required! Satan, Adam and Eve thought they could rise above God! Do not be denied God is holding out on you! Jesus said to seek first the Kingdom of God! Would you lose your life for Jesus? Take up your Cross and follow Him! Deny yourself! When you do that you are following Him! Ditch your selfie! His words seem as foreign to our culture as they did back in the 1st Century! To take up your Cross is to live in self-denial and lay your life down and take up His life! You will be exposed to death! For the first time in American history Christians are being executed for their Faith on our home soil. The executed had to carry their own Cross to the execution site after scourging! When you carry your own cross the popular culture will look at you as a criminal. You will undergo suffering, trial, punishment, disapproval and death! The only way to deny self is die to self! Others are more important! No wonder Jesus had so few disciples! Very few sign up and stay on! It is easier to live for you and not for Him because you have to trust your outcome to Him! Faith is taking your destiny out of your control! To follow Jesus means to walk in the same path! It means to be in union on the same road like military soldiers marching down the same path! To lose your life means to destroy it completely with a new identity! Save my life or lose it. The word life used in this scripture means the Spirit or eternal soul. It is more than just the here and now! Self is about the here and now! Gain the whole world and lose your soul? The word soul used here is the same Greek root word used for life! The world will never be able to save your soul. You were purchased with a price! His blood for your soul! Matthew 6:33 To seek first means in time, place and order of importance! Seek His righteousness! That means to seek His innocence and justification! Can we do the math? Then all these things will be added unto you! II Corinthians 5:15 Do you live for yourself? Live for Him! As He was raised He has promised to raise you up from the dead! Live like it! Look for Him and live for Him! Pastor Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.

Guilt and Hope Matthew 11:28

We live in a fallen world! Violence, crime, natural disasters are all around us! From earthquakes, cyclones, floods, fires, pestilences and disease covers the world with tragedy! Wars and rumors of wars! From cop killers to Islamic Jihadist law and order seems like a distant hope? Political failures at home and gains by terrorists seems daunting! Guilt is the product of our fallen world! Guilt drives the Islamist terrorists! They believe the only sure way to get to Heaven is to commit Jihad! Kill themselves and others! How sad! God has a plan to defeat guilt and sin and it lead Him to the Cross! Jesus was raised from the dead for our fallen world! God shed His blood to cover our guilt! To reject God’s blood is to shed man’s blood! Guilt and sin leads to more sin! One sin to cover another! One lie to cover another lie! Bring your guilt to Jesus! Jesus said to come to Him those that labor and are heavy laden! A ship that is heavy laden will sink! Jesus bore your sin on the Cross! A yoke is designed for two oxen! Let Jesus come along side you and carry your load! Do not try to carry too much! God made you to trust Him! Not by your own efforts! Jesus went on to say He would give you rest! Rest means to pause from your own efforts! It means to refresh! That is why God gave us the Sabbath! At Creation God Himself rested from His work on the 7th day! Are you greater than God? Many have tried! The burn out of American families today is the result of not honoring the Sabbath! The 24-7 schedule takes no time for rest in the Sabbath! God not only saves us but he sanctifies us! Philippines 1:6 says we are confident that the good work He has begun in us He will perform in us until the day of Jesus Christ! Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever! His purpose within us will continue forever! Why miss out on the peace and joy of Jesus living in you? Pride and the fool says i can make it on my own! No one ever did! That was Satan’s plan! Sorrow and death is his constant companion! Do you want rest and freedom from guilt and shame? Ask Jesus! Humble yourself and ask for help! It is not that hard to do! What is hard to do and impossible is to try to live without Jesus! He will raise you up from your fallen condition! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.

A Jewish Guest

We had a Jew from Israel meet us in our home last week. He found something peculiar to him in our living room? He told us he had visited a lot of Christian homes here in America but had never seen a Manorah in their homes? Why do you have a portrait of the Last Supper and a Manorah on your fire place mantel? I told him that Judaism and Christianity are linked together eternally! You cannot have one without the other! You can only separate them with bad Theology! Judaism is the womb that birthed Christ and Christianity! You cannot have ice cream without milk! Even the Muslims understand this! The Quran commands them to kill Jews and Christians! He asked me why then in history have Christians persecuted the Jews! I told him that could only be explained by complete ignorance and by Christians who do not read their Bible! I shared with him that even in America often times the Bible is wrapped around popular culture rather than eternity. I shared with him that a lot of Churches in America have removed symbolism from their worship! Not only has the Manorah been removed but even the Cross? I shared with him that Moses was given instruction from God to construct the Marorah. The seven branched Manorah was made of gold! It is also used in the Book of Revelation in our Bible representing the seven churches! The six of the seven branches represent human knowledge and are inclined towards the central branch or Light of God. The seven branches also represent the six days of creation and the center branch represents the Sabbath or seventh day. The central light also represents the burning bush seen by Moses! The central light was never extinguished in the Tabernacle or the Temple. When you add up the total number of blosoming almond sets on the branches you get sixty six! This represents the sixty six Books of the Bible. My thoughts about the number 666 in the Book of Revelation is that the number of man is the number six added to sixty six represents man trying to live without the Word of God and becomes the Beast! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com