Posts Tagged ‘New Covenant’

God’s word, written on your heart!

Sunday, May 12th, 2013

Mind of Christ, May 12

… “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah–
”not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
”For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
”None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
”For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 8:8-13, www.solascriptura.com

Father, we see that the old covenant, based upon the promises to Israel if they obeyed the law (The Ten Commandments), was replaced by the new covenant. Why? You tell us that Israel did not continue in Your covenant. They sinned and You disregarded them. But thank you Father that was not the end, it was the beginning, for Israel and for all Gentiles. You sent Your only Son, Jesus, to live for us and teach us and He died for our sins.

Now every person lives under the new covenant, one in which You have placed Your truth upon our hearts. We no longer need to be taught by man, You are our teacher. We have equal opportunity and status before You. If we but acknowledge our sin to Jesus and ask for His Light to shine upon our hearts, You have promised to remember our sins no more. Thank You Father that the only sacrifice needed forever more, has been made. Atonement, perfect atonement, once and for all.

Help us this day to rejoice over the new covenant, one which permits us to have the mind of Christ, in us. In His precious and Holy name we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Conscience, Mind of Christ, Religion | 1 Comment »

Responding to God’s call…your call!

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

The Narrow Gate,  May 3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 
having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 
to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:3-6 www.solascriptura.com

Father, You tell us that You chose us and that You choose to bless us with every spiritual blessing. You have adopted us. We are heirs to Your Kingdom.

Here, Paul teaches us that we were predestined to be adopted as Your sons, by Jesus Christ, and that His will to do so gave Him pleasure. His grace to us brings glory to His name and He has made us acceptable in His sight.

First Father, we know that You and Jesus are as one and that our election, our predestination was known by You. You would not be omniscient if You did not know that we would respond to Your love for us, personally. You knew we would accept Your invitation, Your grace and mercy.

Second, when Jesus came here, His life, His death and His resurrection became a pivotal event in history. Where men had been unable to fulfill the Law of the Old Covenant, You taught us, Jesus, that the New Covenant had replaced the Old. We now stand in the presence of the Father, not based on our obedience, but based upon our acceptance of You as savior. We can now stand in the presence of the Father, cleansed of our sin, as sons; sons that He knew would choose to have faith in You Jesus. Perfect! Amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302 Franklin, TN 37064

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Posted in Perseverance, Providence of God | No Comments »

New covenant, Old covenant…does it matter?

Friday, April 5th, 2013

Salvation, April 5

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah–

“not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.

“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:31-33, www.solascriptura.com

Father, this Old Testament prophecy signaled the coming of the Messiah, the One who would cause the relationship of every human being to change as it pertains to You. The Old Covenant was a promise to Israel, Your chosen people. It did not surprise You that they would fail to comply with Your commandments, but You, in Your mercy and grace, provided a solution, a Savior, Your only begotten Son, the Messiah, Jesus.

Father, Your prophet tells us that a New Covenant was coming, wherein all mankind would have Your laws written on their hearts and minds. Father, each of us are recipients of the New Covenant and we praise You for not requiring us to be redeemed by our adherence to the Law, something Israel could not do and something we are unable to do. The straight edge of the Law simply clarifies the extent of our sins.

Yes, we are still to obey the Law, but there is a new Law in place, wherein Your grace, and our faith in Jesus, leads us to want to obey You and this is the best part Father; Jesus not only paid for our sins but He said the Holy Spirit would come to comfort us, teach us and give us counsel after He was resurrected and taken to Your side. We do not depend upon our will and our strength nor are we asked to do so.

We are Your people Father and You are our God. Thank You just doesn’t quite cover the gratitude we feel. How can we adequately respond to the promise of eternal life? We know the answer, because Jesus told us: Love You with all of our heart, mind and soul and love our neighbor as ourselves. Help us do so, today. Amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project P.O.Box 302 Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Forgiven, God's Children, Law of God, Mind of Christ, Providence of God | 242 Comments »

40 years in the desert and their sandals did not wear out?

Wednesday, August 15th, 2012

Temple of God, August 15

Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land
”the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders.
”Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.
”And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet;
”you have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink; that you may know that I am the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 29:2-6, www.solascriptura.com

Father, Your chosen people have experienced firsthand what it is to be the temple of the living God. You did miracles in their midst, giving them manna every day, giving them water where none should have existed and leading them in the paths You wanted them to go.

They saw how they were redeemed from captivity as Moses confronted Pharaoh with miracle after miracle showing him that You Father, were in total control. These people were walking examples of Your glory.

Yet, Father, disobedience persisted. They had eyes that did not see and ears that did not hear and their hearts were not full of discernment.

Father, we, and everyone in the world, have been chosen by You to receive Your grace. Jesus, when He went to the cross and was raised again, told us that His death and resurrection established a New Covenant, one in which the truth is written on the heart of every man, whereby no one is without at least some Light.

We are Your temples and You are our Lord. The evidence of Your love has been verified. Help us and every person in every nation to respond to Your grace. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, God's Children, Temple of God, salvation | 38 Comments »

Fear not, I will help you…do you believe that?

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

Courage, July 11

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
”Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing, and those who strive with you shall perish.
You shall seek them and not find them—those who contended with you. Those who war against you shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing.

For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’

Isaiah 41:10-13, www.solascriptura.com

Dear God, what powerful promises these are. Even in the midst of fear, You lift us up, You extend Your hand to us, in a very personal way. You are our God!

You clearly teach that those who choose to try and bring us down, to upset our faith, will be as non-existent. Their taunts and derisive comments will be silenced and we who endure, through faith in You, will know eternal peace.

Father, even though these words are true, we pray for the enemy; we seek to experience the truth of the New Covenant, wherein Your truth is written upon our hearts. Yes, if the enemy chooses to remain Your enemy as well, they will perish but help us to help them.

Give us a heart to love those who do not deserve our love just as we, when we came to You as sinners, did not deserve Your love. Strengthen us. We can never be as You in our own strength. Amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Courage, Inspirtation, Perseverance, Religion | 26 Comments »

Can the wicked record of my past be erased?

Friday, June 29th, 2012

Forgiven, June 29

… when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right, “if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
“None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

Ezekiel 33:14-16, www.solascriptura.com

Father, you, under the Old Covenant, made the same type provision You have made under the New Covenant. The faith Your people had in You and their obedience to Your laws brought forgiveness. Under the New Covenant, Jesus changed things forever by inscribing Your truth on the heart of every person.

Now we are invited by Your grace, then our faith in the risen Christ, our Savior, delivers us and enables us to bear fruit. Jesus, what You did for us on the cross renders the continuing sacrifice of animals meaningless. Only You, Jesus can cleanse us of our sins.

We too need to focus on obedience but we have a huge advantage as we strive to meet Your expectations. We have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, Comforter and Enabler.  Our gratitude for the love You have shown us is able to be demonstrated in our obedience to Your laws and our love for our neighbor. Strengthen us, through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, that we might serve You this day. In Jesus’ Holy name, we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Courage, Fidelity, Forgiven, God's Gift, Hope, Law of God, Perseverance, salvation | 1 Comment »