Philippians 4:7 "...the Peace of God, which passeth all understanding..." The peace that comes from Christ being revealed in the heart never goes away. Though this flesh we are in remains what it always was and always will be: our adversary, yet, there's a calmness of the awakened soul that never goes away. Peace may fade when our eyes are on the world, but He never leaves you. Our lives and the things of this world are the storm of sin that swirls around the soul constantly, sometimes with great force, but Jesus is like the eye of that storm, always there, and the closer we come to Him, the calmer we get. Jesus is the calm before the storm and the calm within the storm, the sinless center for His children. When the Spirit wakes us up to how sinful we are is when the storm begins, but then comes the Calm, Christ Jesus Who saved us, our Robe of Righteousness, "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the Garments of Salvation, He hath covered me with the Robe of Righteousness." (Isaiah 61:10) There's a feeling of calm in the soul that the words of men can't explain, a feeling of well-being and though it may fade, it never leaves once planted. No one can take it from you, try as they may. It's miraculous what the Word of God in the heart does to a sinner saved by Grace, "He maketh the storm a calm..." (Psalm 107:29)

Zephaniah 1:7 "...the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a Sacrifice..." When the LORD's children speak of Salvation, by the Power of the Holy Spirit, they speak only of Christ Jesus the LORD. Salvation is synonymous with Jesus, the Sacrifice, Preparer of ALL things required to save His sinners, Accomplisher of ALL necessary to justify them. Anything prepared, worked by mere men, becomes an idol, an ungodly work. The earthly temple building in Jerusalem was a picture, a type of Christ to come, housing the written Scripture, so His earthly body housed the living, breathing, Word of God, Who would save His world with the beating heart prepared to shed His Righteous blood unto death on the cross, in His substitutional, sacrificial act of perfect obedience and love. He is the Kingdom of God incarnate, the Miracle prepared to bless His chosen ones, "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 25:34) He is our Continuing City, prepared for us to inhabit in eternity, "...He hath prepared for them a City," (Hebrews 11:16) "For here have we no continuing city, but we seek One to come." (Hebrews 13:14) He is the ONE HEART, prepared and given, "Thou wilt prepare their Heart," (Psalm 10:17) "And I will give them one Heart." (Ezekiel 11:19) He is our Kingdom, our Continuing City, our Heart, Christ Jesus our LORD!

Galatians 5:1 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." We hear a lot of people today talking about their offerings and their tithes, things they bring to a place of so-called worship. These are merely payments for something they want. The reason there is so much emphasis on it is because it is rooted in man's depravity and unbelief, which still holds to the notion that we have to DO something FOR God. This is the 'yoke of bondage' spoken of here. To stand fast in Liberty is to stand fast in Christ and His finished work. The Gift from God, given freely to His elect, setting them free from this bondage of trying to pay their sin debt with dung, and cover up their sinful flesh with filthy rags. Our nature is that of the Pharisees, "But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over Judgment and the Love of God..." (Luke 11:42) They thought themselves the judges of their fate, all the while passing over Christ, the True Judge, the Love of God. Instead of dropping at His feet in gratitude and looking to Him for all they could ever want or need, they desired to kill Him for raining on their self-righteous parade. This goes deep into the roots of idolatry. People in other countries outwardly offer up sacrifices and offerings with the hope that somehow it will pacify that god and give them a better harvest, or more children, or wealth, or health, or whatever they are looking for. The same goes on here, among self-proclaimed 'christians,' it just may be a little bit more polished, a little more hidden, but fundamentally it is still the same idolatry. They believe themselves to be worth something. They think they can buy Heaven with their own treasure and ignore Christ the True Treasure, "Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but Righteousness delivereth from death." (Proverbs 10:2) Christ IS the Righteousness that delivers from death; our Liberty, our Treasure from God!

Acts 16:31 "Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," Salvation is like an umbrella under which are a large range of elements that makeup the Doctrine of Grace, which is Christ: "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by Grace ye are saved;)" (Ephesians 2:5) Election fits under this umbrella. Reconciliation. Redemption. Regeneration. Justification. Glorification. Sanctification. These are all under the umbrella of salvation by Grace. "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Sanctification, and Redemption:" (1 Corinthians 1:30) "Being justified freely by His Grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" (Romans 3:24) The elect shall be saved, as God decreed in eternity, but, you see, there had to be an outworking of that salvation. So, as far as the time and place when we were declared just and holy before God, the time and place when that legal condemnation which we were born under from Adam was removed, it was there at the cross of Christ at Calvary, at the moment of Christ's death. That is what the Scriptures teach. Because of His obedient shedding of His precious blood unto death, even death on the cross, those for whom Christ died, are saved. Period. "...we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son," (Romans 5:10) So, you may say, "Don't we have to believe first in Christ to be saved?" No, dear friends, belief is not a condition of salvation! Christ fulfilled ALL the conditions, paid ALL the debt accrued. No, belief on Christ is given by the Holy Spirit, in time, as an evidence of salvation: "...and as many as were ordained to Eternal Life believed." (Acts 13:48) As many as God gave to Christ, would believe on Christ, not the other way around. When God causes one of His own to realize their lost estate, and to believe on His Son, and submit to Him as the Only Hope, as the Only Righteousness, then that belief makes it clear that they were chosen in Christ before time began and saved by His finished work, in time, on this earth, at the cross, for God's Glory: "I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do." (John 17:4)

Luke 8:25 "Where is your Faith?" Without the Spirit, people talk about a 'faith' that they believe they are responsible for manufacturing. It's an intangible feeling or state of mind they put themselves in, especially when dealing with the cares of the world. But that kind of 'faith' is the opposite of True Faith, which is Christ! The Faith that God gives, by His Spirit, is His Son in the flesh. He has substance, His flesh, yet He's God, Who is Spirit. He's not some intangible idea or mystical vapor. He's the evidence of the "unseen" God, "Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) Our Faith came to this earth in a body of flesh and blood, was tempted but NEVER sinned, "...in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15) Jesus was perfect in all He did, living and dying for His children in perfect obedience to the Father. He bare our sins on the cross, shedding His blood unto death, earning the righteousness required to pay the price of our sin with His innocent blood, and to raise us all from the dead, in Himself. We are the recipients of Faith, He is the Gift of God to those chosen before time began, "For by Grace are ye saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the Gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8) Our Faith is Christ and Him crucified, the Grace of God in the flesh, Who was " given " to us and for us, and now sits in glory because the work is done, "...thy Faith hath made thee whole." (Mark 10:52)

Colossians 2:14 "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross." Justification is the legal act of God whereby He declares a sinner 'just' (perfectly righteous). It is clear from this Scripture that the believer's justification before God took place on the cross. All charges against us were paid in full by Christ shedding His innocent blood unto death. And those charges were not just dropped, set aside, or suspended, but paid for in full. Therefore, He fully accomplished forgiveness, redemption, and justification at that time, at the moment of His death on the cross at Calvary. Faith does not complete Christ's work, rather, it is by God's Gift of Faith (the revelation of Christ in a chosen sinner by the Holy Spirit) that they are led to embrace and enjoy, in their experience, what Christ has accomplished for them at the cross! The Peace of mind of the sinner is the result of this revelation of Who He is and what He accomplished for them. "If there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law." (Galatians 3:24) The justification of sinners from beginning to end was by the Grace of God (Christ), through His obedient life and death that earned a perfect righteousness, apart from any work, act of the will, or merit in the sinner. In Romans 3:24 we read, "Being justified freely by His Grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," the word 'freely' in the original means, 'without cause' which tells us it is wholly conditioned upon Christ alone. To make justification dependent in any way upon the sinner's willing, believing, actions, or inactions is to render the death of Christ vain. The chosen sinner's justification, and their resulting sanctification, was due to the pre-ordained, one-time, once-for-all, exclusive accomplishment of Christ in offering Himself unto death, a Just Payment for sin, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10) God the Father accepted His Son's righteous payment, His Sacrifice of His own blood offered up unto death on behalf of those sinners chosen in eternity, and therefore immediately and simultaneously He imputed it to the account of all of His elect at the moment of His Son's death, in this dimension of time. "...Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." (Romans 4:25) Christ and His righteous blood shed unto death, God's Only Way for sinners to be saved unto Life! Praise our Just Justifier!

Hebrews 9:22 "...without shedding of blood is no remission." Some say they can't understand why the Gospel is such a bloody one. They say that it is distasteful and the 'god of love' would never have required such a thing. Well, in their depravity they are right, a 'god of love' would have no need for legal satisfaction and justice for sin because that god is not holy. Their god is weak and subject to change, just like the men that created him. But the True God of the Bible is a Holy and Just God. His justice had to be satisfied with blood shed unto death in payment for sin. Christ is not waiting for anything from us, we are incapable of anything Good. That's why the Father made a covenant with His Son to intervene for His chosen sinners. If you're not convinced of the sickness, wickedness, and evil of sin, then the Holy Spirit has not educated you by His Word. You can't sugar-coat sin. While it sounds nice to say that we 'slipped up' or 'erred' or told a 'little while lie,' in reality, everything done outside of Christ is sin and worthy of death. God didn't leave the fate of His children in their own sinful hands! No, the Sovereign God gave us to His Beloved Son and when He opens your heart to this Truth you'll be beyond grateful, knowing you would be lost forever without Him. "For the life of the flesh in in the blood:...for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." (Leviticus 17:11) The blood of innocent animals was only a covering until the blood of Christ was shed unto death, on the cross at Calvary, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God?" (Hebrews 9:14) Christ was both innocent of sin and righteous by obedience, the only complete, satisfactory Sacrifice. He is the blood that purged, cleansed us from our own dead blood, "And from Jesus Christ, Who is the Faithful Witness, and the First Begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood..." (Revelation 1:5) "For this is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:28) Christ Jesus our LORD, by His blood, we have Life!

Romans 8:15 "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." This flesh, this world, and the enemy will all hound you while you are on this earth. Death, sorrow, suffering and fear seem to prevail in this fallen world. Like Lot, the regenerated children of God are vexed, distressed by this world of evil, "...Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked." (2 Peter 2:7) But these things that vex us are ALL temporary and yet, ordained of God, for His glory. Aren't we told by the Holy Spirit in Luke chapter 12 and verse 6, that God takes care of even the little sparrows, "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?" (Luke 12:6) We still fret, don't we, in our sinful minds? But He tells us to remember that every detail, even the hairs on our head, are numbered by the very God Who made each hair and placed each hair where it is, or isn't, "But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." (Luke 12:7) God may seem very far from us during times of distress and trial, but that's only a symptom of our fallen and depraved flesh, the short-sighted weakness of our unbelief. But we are told to cast ALL our cares on Christ Jesus our LORD, our Father, Who shed His precious blood unto death on the cross to redeem us. He is ALWAYS with us, even when we think He has forsaken us, "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." (1 Peter 5:7) As Paul reminds us, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5) So, dear friends, may we glorify our Heavenly Father while we are in this flesh, by crying out from our hearts, by His Spirit, "Abba Father!" "...God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." (Galatians 4:6)

John 14:2 "In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you..." So, how exactly was Christ going to 'prepare' a place? Was He going to build some furniture to put in those mansions maybe? No, Christ is speaking here of His death on the cross. You see, in order to prepare a place for those given to Him by the Father before time began, He had to shed His blood unto death to purchase the release of each one from the sentence of an eternity in hell. They had to be redeemed, made righteous, justified from their sins against God before they would be allowed to spend eternity with Him in His mansions. I can remember many years back they always used to say, "Leave the Gospel of John everywhere you go because that is the simplest of all Scripture to understand." But the more I study the book of John, the more I realize how little I know by this flesh. There is such amazing depth and such richness regarding Christ Jesus in each verse of Scripture, that apart from the Spirit of God teaching us, we would miss the very One that's set forth, "But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." (1 Corinthians 2:10) Being finite creatures, we know so little of the universe around us and even less about the God Who created it all, but in time, He is pleased to reveal the rich, yet free Truth to His children, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." (1 Corinthians 2:12) "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven..." (Matthew 13:11) So may we rejoice in the Word of the LORD, savor Him, be grateful for Him and, "Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given." (Mark 4:24)

Galatians 4:4 "But when the fullness of the time was come..." In the dimension of time, natural men are ruled by it. We celebrate the passing of time even as we inch closer to our end. We say that time heals all wounds but it's not time that heals the wounds of our sinful flesh, it's Jesus Who came into time for us; "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son..." We can only be truly healed by the wounds of our Substitute; our LORD Jesus Christ, "For thus saith the LORD, thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous." (Jeremiah 30:12) "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities...and with His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) It's all Christ: His perfectly obedient life and His perfectly obedient suffering and His perfectly obedient death that healed His children from our sins, for ever more. Ordained in eternity, where there is no time, yet carried out in time and the "fullness" thereof; He is our Healing, "That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in One all things in Christ, both which are in Heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him..." (Ephesians 1:10) We celebrate the One Who heals; the Greatest Physician. We'll have no scars in our new flesh from our sin that He saved us from, only the scars of our Savior will remain to His glory and we'll rejoice in Him forever more! "Behold, I make all things new..." (Revelation 21:5) ...in Christ alone!

Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the Door, and Knock: if any man hear My Voice, and open the Door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with Me." So, is the LORD of All Creation standing outside some kind of 'door' of free-will, waiting for someone to answer? No, He is the Door, "I am the Door: by Me if any man enter in, He shall be saved..." (John 10:9) We enter in by Him. The Knock is the preaching of the Gospel, the Word of God, "...praying also for us, that God would open unto us a Door of Utterance, to speak the Mystery of Christ..." (Colossians 4:3) His Word, the Voice of God, goes forth at His direction and those who hear His Voice were given ears by Him and they had the Door opened by Him, "...how He had opened the Door of Faith..." (Acts 14:27) The "Knock" of Christ and Him crucified draws us to Him, the Door of Heaven, "...behold, a Door was opened in Heaven..." (Revelation 4:1) "And I...will draw all men unto Me." (John 12:32) The Knock of the True Gospel isn't an opportunity but an announcement, a declaration of Salvation, by the Key of David; God in sinless flesh, Who unlocked, opened the Door of Heaven by His sacrificial death, "...These things saith...He that hath the Key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth..." (Revelation 3:7) Jesus is the Door into Heaven, unlocked by Him, opened by Him, He is the Knock, He gives the hearing to hear His Knock, He draws His sinners with His Knock and we eat of Him and with Him; the Bread of Life. ALL the glory goes to Christ Alone!