”[God] has delivered us from the power of darkness…” Colossians 1:13

History’s crowning moment occurred when ‘…Christ died for the ungodly’ (Romans 5:6). He didn’t just die for His friends and supporters; He died for people who despised Him. It was no quid-pro-quo deal where Jesus said: ‘I’ll accept you if you accept me.’ No, it was a selfless, one-sided act of love. No conditions, nothing demanded in return. As a result, God ‘delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the dear Son.’ Selah! Stop and meditate on these advantages you enjoy through Jesus’ blood: 1) You’ve been delivered. The Greek word Paul used means to literally rescue by drawing us to Himself. Your deliverance was a deeply personal event to Jesus. By His shed blood He drew you to Himself. The distance sin had put between you and God was reversed and you were ‘…accepted in the beloved’ (Ephesians 1:6). 2) You’ve been freed from the power of darkness. That ‘power’ is satan’s tyranny over those living under his control. Christ’s blood liberated you from the darkness, ignorance and blindness satan uses to deceive and manipulate you. 3) You’ve been translated into the kingdom of God’s son. The word ‘translated’ implies being transferred from one place to another. In Paul’s day superpowers like Rome would annex other nations and make them part of Roman territory. Often the conquered were better off under Rome, enjoying such privileges as safety, food, mail service, travel protection, etc. Christ’s blood transferred you into His kingdom to enjoy these advantages: guaranteed protection, abundant provision for all your needs, full status of sonship, and unlimited access to His throne.

(via Word For Today)

There is no such thing as “too much sacrifice” with God. If Christmas teaches us anything, it is that God’s love for us knows no bounds so our love for Him should in its response, be boundless. And I’m still growing and learning to let Jesus into every room of my heart and life - I’m taking down the “off-limits” signs and allowing Him to roam about freely, making any changes wherever He deems them necessary.

#Jesus

mikeclevenger:

If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?
-David Livingstone 

I’m not going to post much today. I want to honour God by spending such a day with Him, remembering what He did, pondering what my life would be like if He hadn’t died on the cross, thinking about what my fate would be if He had decided that we weren’t worth dying for or that He was through with humanity. But see, this is why He is God, He showed us through His death on the cross, that He doesn’t love the way we love, He doesn’t just love those who love Him back, He doesn’t love only the worthy or the deserving, He doesn’t operate the way we do. His love, on that day when He died, reached across many different races, many different religions, different backgrounds; no matter the level of sin in a person’s life, regardless of what the world thought of them, regardless of whether or not they knew Him or appreciated what He was about to do. He died for them. 

He died for you. 

Today, I’m lifting my hands to the heavens and singing about the love that saved my life, I’m singing for my King. For He alone is worthy. 

The death of Jesus Christ on the cross teaches me that in loving Him, we must never hold back. In His humanity, He gave us His very earthly existence. In His divinity, He gave us supernatural cleansing from sin through His blood and healing through the wounds that were inflicted. As God, He gave us His one and only son. As Saviour, He who knew no sin became sin for our sakes. We are to keep giving and surrendering all that we have to Him until we have nothing remaining but Him, until He is everything that we have.