A New Thing

A New Thing

Isa.43:19 “Behold I shall do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

With God, all things are possible! He is not limited in the resources available to Him. When he wants to bless you and meet your needs, He has the means!

Jesus is our way in the wilderness! He is our road to the mercy seat of The Father! He is our River of Life, filling all the dry places in our parched souls! Don't give up on Him, He has not forgotten you! Your sins are not bigger than his grace. The Lamb Of God has already taken away your sins! The cross worked! You are forgiven! Do you believe it?

You will find strength, where you never expected to find it. You will find the ability to forgive people, when they have broken your heart. You will find unexpected provision when your reserves have been exhausted.

Don't look to the same old solutions that you have relied on in the past, look to your Heavenly Father: through Jesus, he has provided for you.

Don't forget that you are still here, and still in the race! He has brought you through fire and flood, time and time again. In good times and hard times, he has been standing with you, whether you have realized it or not.

In this world, and in the next, God is wanting to be the new thing in your life. He wants to make you into something new. He is working in you; to change you on the inside, and to make you willing and able to do the things that please him, and to be a blessing to those around you.

Rev. 21:5,6 “ and He who sat on the throne said, Behold I make all things new.” And He said unto me, write: for these words are true and faithful.

And He said unto me, It is done, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him who is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

God bless you, as you continue trusting in His grace!

©2014 Rev. Charles J. Loubert

He Makes All Things New

He Makes All Things New

1Cor. 5:17 “ Therefore, if any be in Christ, He is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Rev. 21:5a “ And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new.”

Are you ready for a change? Without change, there can be nothing new in your life. You can never walk in the 'newness of life', unless you are willing to let the old life die.

Jesus is the one who can disrupt the old patterns that have been holding you back from your God-given inheritance of peace and joy in Him. You have been redeemed from the power of sin, but you will never enjoy that freedom, until He has made changes in your outlook, and your way of doing things.

When Christ is actively creating change in your life, you will find yourself doing some of the same things, but with a new joy in their accomplishment. Your work and your relationships will be energized by His grace which flows through you. Old resentments and prejudgments will no longer be a consideration as you conduct your daily life, and as you decide how to approach people and projects.

He Makes all things new! Your life can be an adventure, rather than a drudgery. you can find joy and satisfaction in your life, even though your circumstances may not have changed significantly. Sometimes a new outlook, or a new viewpoint is all that is needed to make something seem new again.

Renew your mind by studying the bible, and begin to look for Jesus and His grace as you read the words there. Quit looking for ways to condemn yourself. Quit trying to find new flaws in yourself and those around you that you can criticize with your self righteous , legalistic point of view.

You are accepted in the beloved! Jesus died for you when you were still a sinner, He loves you no matter what! your relationship with Him is not based on your performance. Your purity was provided for you by Him at Calvary! Trust Him to make the necessary changes in your thinking and your behavior that will bring glory to Him. He will reveal himself to the people around you through your words and your deeds, as you trust Him to make all things new in you!

You were created to be a temple of the Holy Spirit. He will complete the work that He has begun in you, as you trust Him and rest in his grace.

There is a rest for the people of God! all of our failures and shortcomings can be traced to our tendency to try to operate independently of Him. When we lean on His ability and wisdom, we come out winners every time. We bear good fruit, and feed those around us with the goodness of God.

God bless you, as you trust in His grace!

Rev. Chuck Loubert

You are fighting with a dead man!

Col. 3:2,3 "Set your affection [mind] on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."

Rom. 6:6,7,11,12 "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

7. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

11. likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof."

The Christian who finds rest and peace in serving God, is the one who believes that Jesus died for the whole person, and not just parts of him.

Quit fighting with your "self", and begin to rest in the finished work of Christ! "Your old man is crucified with Him...". Quit using self effort to fight 'self', and allow God's grace to perfect you. Jesus will finish what He has started in you, if you will get out of the way, and let him do what needs to be done. The Holy Spirit is your counselor, teacher, comforter, and guide: start trusting Him, and relying on Him.

Too many schizophrenic Christians have split themselves up into two or more parts, and are trying to fight themselves. Don't waste your time trying to do what Jesus has already done! He has died on your behalf, in other words, He has died AS you. If he died for you and as you, than, the old you must be dead!

You will never, by your own efforts, be able to eradicate your selfishness and your self- centered viewpoint. The only remedy for the old man of sin, is death on the cross. Jesus said "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me".

Self cannot nail self to the cross, but you can reckon yourself to be dead with Him; dead to the old sin nature, and alive to the righteousness that is in Christ.

When Jesus was nailed to the cross, you were nailed to the cross, (along with all your sins, shortcomings,faults and failures). By faith, you can believe the word of His grace, and find rest and victory! You are redeemed, and your sins are forgiven!

Are you 'born again'?, if so, the old you is dead, and the new you is now alive in Christ. The seed has fallen into the ground and it has died; something new has been born, and it is alive with resurrection power. You are one spirit with the Lord. He is in you, and you are in Him!

Sin has no more dominion (control) over you, you are now a child of grace. The law cannot give you victory over your sinful nature, only grace can prevail.

You are "alive unto God", enjoy it! You are a new creation, act like it!

You are accepted in the beloved, Your Heavenly Father loves you very much, Just as you are! Quit beating up your 'self', and trying to crucify him; instead, consider the old you to be dead, and begin to enjoy your life of victory in Christ. He is your peace and your power !

Self fighting 'self' is a lost cause, trusting Jesus is your victory! Holiness is the life of Christ flowing through the new person that he has created. The death and resurrection of Jesus, is more than an historical fact, it is the present reality of every born again believer.

You don't need to fully understand the mystery of God's redeeming grace in order to accept it by faith. God supplies the faith that we need in order to trust Him, and the understanding of His ways will come, as we get to know Him better.

There is a rest for the people of God, and any truly good works or godly behavior that we do, are the result of us (as new creations), resting in the finished work of Jesus.

Phil. 2:13 "For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

God bless you, as you trust in His grace!

Rev, Chuck Loubert

Jesus Is Our Forerunner

Jesus is Our Forerunner

Heb. 6: 19,20 ESV “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

John 14:2b,3 KJV “ I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Under the old Mosaic covenant, no one was allowed to follow the high priest into the Holy of Holies, behind the curtain of separation. The priest entered alone into the presence of God with an offering of blood, which would cover the sins of the Israelites for a year, until the next Day of Atonement.

Under the New Covenant, Jesus entered once, for all of us, into the Holiest Place with his own blood, and restored mankind to right standing with God. He made it possible for us to receive His eternal life and His righteousness.

When Jesus said “it is finished”, and left His body on the cross, the curtain which denied access to the mercy seat in the Jerusalem temple, was ripped apart from top to bottom, showing to all the world, that access to the throne of mercy is now freely available to anyone-Jew or Gentile.

Whoever desires to, is free to approach Him and receive His grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Every miserable sinner, every self-righteous loser- whosoever will, is welcome at the throne of God, because we have a Forerunner who has cleared the way for us. No one will be turned away: including YOU!

According to Adam Clark's Commentary on the Bible, a forerunner runs before, shows the way, does something first, and it also refers to the first fruits of the harvest.

We see here a wonderful picture of Jesus our High Priest and Redeemer.

He went before us, as a man, into the very throne room of Almighty God, secured forgiveness for all of us, and then defeated death by rising from the grave, to live forever as our Intercessor, our King, and our High Priest.

Jesus is the beginning of the new creation. He is the first born, the Forerunner. Through the miracle of the new birth, we who were born into the race of Adam, can now, be born, of the Spirit, into Christ. We have been transferred into the family of God: Jesus, our forerunner, is not only our Redeemer, but He is also our Elder Brother. He is God, and He is also a Man.

By grace through faith, we can enjoy all the benefits and blessings which are made available to us through Christ, our Forerunner and our High Priest.

“ Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who hath called us to glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us exceedingly great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” II Peter 1:2-4

God bless you, as you rest in His grace!

©2012 Rev. Charles J. Loubert

Got The Victory?

Got the Victory?

1 John 5:4,5 "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"

When I was a new believer, there was a brother in our church who was an old-timer with many battle scars, and he would always greet people with the question "good mornin' brother, you got the victory today?"

I didn't know then what I know today, so I thought that 'the victory' was something that would come or go, depending upon my performance as a Christian, or upon my circumstances. Thank God, I have since learned from the Bible, that our victory is the result of our standing in Christ, and not some elusive state of mind or circumstances that can come and go in random fashion.

Our victory is the result of the God-given faith that is the birthright of every Born-Again Christian! When you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and you know that you have been placed in the body of Christ and forgiven through his grace and mercy, you will know that your victory is a guaranteed fact. You are free from all condemnation and guilt as a result of Jesus' victory over sin and death at the cross, and by his resurrection.

Consider these promises from the New Testament:

1 Cor. 15:56,57 "The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God , which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (We are victorious because Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf, suffered the punishment for all of our sin, and defeated death by his resurrection!)

Rom. 8:31-35 "What shall I say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? it is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?..."

Things don't always go our way, and we sometimes feel that we are going to be buried under our trials and our problems, but always remember that God is truly on your side, and he does not withdraw his love from you every time that you make a mistake or fail to do the right thing.

He is our peace! Just knowing and believing in his freely-given grace towards us, gives us the firm expectation that all things will work for our good. Our victory is in Jesus, because WE are in Jesus. Always believe that God is on your side, in spite of how things look to you!

Rom.10:12,13 " For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lords shall be saved."

When the frijolies hit the fan, and you get splattered, always remember, you are still his child and he will never leave you or forsake you!

God Bless you, as you rest in him!

©2012 Rev. Charles J. Loubert