JESUS CAME TO MAKE US COMPLETE IN CHRIST ALONE

" I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live ; but Christ lives in me.
The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God ; who loved me and gave himself for me ". Galatians 2 : 20 .

Assumptions abound about how to "identify" a "complete and true Christian".
There are diverse good-intentioned counsels and preaching , about how to live "a full and sanctified Christian life" and numerous man-made doctrines and criteria for measuring the Believer's "level" in his/her walk with God.
These criteria include how you talk , look or even walk! How many times you pray, how long and how loud your prayers are; what you wear: how long your skirts and sleeves are, how high your necklines are and how much or how often you give to the poor and your church records. Even, where you work, who your friends are and your marital status are considered in the "holiness and sanctification" package.
You flout even one of these "laws" and you are deemed "unacceptable" to God by some man-made laws..
No wonder, some people are very careful to look stone-faced, sad, pious, respectable, humble and very gentle in their manner and speech, especially in public.
All in the bid to impress their fellow men and to be "completely acceptable" to God.

The new convert is often confused and burdened with this load of "dos and don'ts" in some churches. This demand for "holiness by appearance and works" tend to contradict the message of the Bible which says:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God;
Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
There are NO contradiction or confusion in the Holy Bible . What causes confusion and contradictions is the human attempts at manipulating the Word of God.
Inadvertently, man tries to shift the focus from God to himself, as "Saviour"; by attempting and failing to set up his own system of righteousness and holiness.
The Eternal Truth is that Man did not and does not have the ability to take away his own sins or another man's sins.
Thieves ,whores and other deviants are often advised to "get a job" or "get married as soon as possible! Do this, do that!".
But does that solve the underlining Spiritual Problem ,which is refusal to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?

The futility and foolishness of trying to solve spiritual problems with carnal solutions are evident around us.
Getting a job or becoming rich would not stop a person who has a spiritual problem from being a thief or a prostitute or both.
Why would someone with valid credit cards and store cards and a wallet stuffed with hundreds of pounds be caught again and again, shoplifting ridiculous items like a tie or a pair of panty hose costing £4.99 only?
When a multi-millionaire is appointed into a government office , one would assume that he/she would not be tempted to embezzle huge sums of public funds. But is this the reality?
Why are some educated and talented men and women engaged in prostitution,even while in full-time, well-paying jobs?
In all human societies, marriage is desirable . Sadly, there is proof that getting married for some people ,has not brought the desired cure for promiscuity and sexual depravity; nor is it a guarantee for maintaining a life of holiness.
Despite all the edifying marriage seminars, preachings, teachings ,books and DVDs on marriage, the situation in some marriages are scandalous. Many married men and women engage in extra-marital affairs.
What or who, except the conviction of the Holy Spirit, can transform a heart where big and small lies and evil schemes are fabricated, non-stop?
Many youths from decent Christian homes have become "Children of Sorrow" and thorns in the flesh of their parents!
Why do people hate and murder people,just for the fun of it?
Why have physical punishments and imprisonment not deterred habitual offenders?
The answer is that until we, as individuals, surrender our whole lives to Christ, and until we have a PERSONAL relationship ( not a church or group relationship) with him trusting in his righteousness, not in ours, we would not get it right.

YOU ARE COMPLETE IN CHRIST .
We have to get this truth in all its ramifications, into our mind and soul:
Salvation , by faith , is complete. It is an unmerited gift given by the grace of the merciful God .
There is NOTHING ELSE for us to do or for anyone to do on our behalf to add our salvation. God's word says that "It is Finished!" and it is finished indeed.
"And of his fullness have all we received ,and grace for grace.
For the law was given by Moses , but truth and grace came by Jesus Christ" . John 1:16 .
If our salvation depended on our own efforts and "good works", then the life, death and resurrection of Christ would be meaningless.
Then there would be no difference between the Christian and the Unbeliever who believes that his or her salvation depends on some "judgement by scale" which weighs a person's "good and holy" deeds against their "evil" deeds to determine whether they are "qualified" or not to enter Heaven!
In spite of God's word that Salvation is by grace and NOT by works (Romans 11:6,and Ephesians 2:7), mankind have decided to "help" God by making salvation " MORE complete"!
Sadly, to complicate and confuse issues further for a new-comer in church, some Christians have brought in "old wives tales", man-made doctrines and their local customs and traditions into the church , upholding them as Bible doctrines!
A lot of time is expended and wasted in hair-splitting arguments and numerous scriptures are quoted to support these unChristian doctrines and teachings!
The Bible counsels that we should beware of the tricks of our adversary , the Devil, which shift our focus from Christ and which make us depend on our own righteousness.
" Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men,after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."Colossians 2:7-8
Look unto Jesus , who began a good work in us and he is able to accomplish it.
In moments of confusion , when we are being bombarded with diverse "dos" and "don'ts", remember that we do not stand by our strength alone. We have power divine living in us . Do not be bewildered or swayed by diverse doctrines of men.
Believe God and believe his word that you are loved and you are accepted by God BECAUSE of Jesus Christ.
When God looks at us , he doesn't see our filthy righteousness but he sees Christ in us , our hope of Glory.
The fullness of the Godhead which dwells in Christ we have received by faith . Christ dwells in us , expressing through us , making us complete in Him.
Jesus lives in and transforms the Christian inside out; perfecting all that concerns us.
Daily , we should appreciate this truth and rejoice in it; not be burdened by our guilt, doubts or failed attempts to be "holy"!
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. Colossians 2:9- 10.

Distractions by Perversions

Galatians 2:21

I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Righteousness  also known as uprightness, justice, blamelessness, is the state of moral perfection required by God to enter heaven.

The Old Testament tells us that because of the sin of Adam, we, his descendants, have inherited his sinful nature.
The laws of God were clearly listed in the Ten Commandments as the standards to be met in order to be upright before God.
The Bible details in the Pentateuch , which is made up of the first 5 books of the Old Testament , especially in the book of Leviticus the long list of divine  laws and rules regarding the appropriate preparations necessary for the cleansing and atoning rituals for  sin, diseases , foods and drinks, clothing , family  and community relationships and inter-racial relations and so on.  
In this section of the Bible, the word sets out the divine rules and guidelines which must be met to qualify a person to become "righteous" before God and which God's people had to adhere to , strictly..

These laws show the standards required about prayer , worship , cleansing, making right , atoning , restoring, sanctification, reconciliation.

The main reason for  God's  people's quest for righteousness is to please God enough for God to regard them as blameless .
Therefore people strive  to please God by keeping His commandments .
 But it is these same commandments  which show us how far we fall short of God's very high standards.
"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin."
 (Romans 3:20, NIV).

Man's efforts to qualify to ascend to God's presence by works of self-righteousness, can be likened to Man's attempt to build the Tower of Babel .Genesis 11:4-9

Whenever humans attempt to set up physical and spiritual practices which are preached and practised as the " proper and acceptable " divine paths , or ladders ,ways and means to attain " God's righteousness" in order to gain qualifications to become acceptable to God,such attempts are efforts in futility and they have ended and will end , always , in chaos , failures and super-mega crashes .

The Bible clearly states that human beings cannot achieve righteousness through their own efforts.
All mortal attempts to set up man-made standards for " God's righteousness" cannot endure because they are based on perversions of the infallible word of Almighty God.
What are God's standards to be met by Man in order to attain righteousness before God?

God set up a system in Old Testament times whereby people sacrificed animals to atone for their sins through the shedding of the blood of animals .
When Jesus entered the world, things changed.

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10 : 4

Salvation through this crediting of righteousness is a free gift, which is the doctrine of  Grace .
 Salvation by grace , through faith in Jesus is the essence of Christianity. No other religion offers grace. They all require some type of works on behalf of their participants.

Efforts by Man to work out man's righteousness are distractions from the Salvation Plan of God .
These distractions are ploys by Satan  to shift mankind's focus from the Lord Jesus and instead to focus attention on man's ability to save himself by setting up a "sanctification system" which is completely different from God's Salvation Plan.
What does God say pleases Him ?
"He [ God] shall see the trail of His soul and shall be SATISFIED :
by His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many ; for He shall bear their iniquities ". Isaiah 53 : 11.
Christ's cruxificion and resurrection satisfied God's justice.
Christ's shed blood not only atones for (covers ) humanity's sins, His blood was shed for the remission of our sins .This means His blood blotted away, washed and erased completely , every record of our sins .
No more sacrifices or works are required by any man .
As a Believer , what are your convictions about attaining God's righteousness ?
Beware of man-made standards which are the perversions of the word of God .
These are fallacies coated craftily with suitable scriptural references which are preached and upheld as "the God-given qualifications for men and women to become righteous ".
They are distractions from the Salvation Plan of God , which is the substance to make people to focus on self-righteousness which is the shadow.
The only solution to these distractions by perversions of the word of God is to accept AND believe God's plan of Salvation.
People , even some Christians who are the heirs of salvation through faith in Christ , have succumbed to all forms of distractions by attempting and then failing to reach God's standard of righteous through "self-help sanctification " methods forged from man-made doctrines about how to please God by saying , doing and thinking Godly stuff and trying to put up other forms of Godliness.

Could be you are thumping your chests because you know you are " not like those other sinful men and women " because you think you can pray, fast , preach and give offerings , tithes and alms more than other people.
Maybe you are in the church daily and you are even meticulous in keeping ALL the 10 commandments and many more other religious laws .
" Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to MY righteousness, According to the cleanness of MY hands in His sight. " Psalm 18:24. ( Emphasis mine )
Passages like this are not only found in the Bible but they are expressed by millions of people today as their right to be qualified for justification before God because of their works and their offerings.

God's heart is accessed through faith in the gift of God expressed in Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world.
People receive righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. Christ, the sinless Son of God, took humanity's sin upon himself and became the willing, perfect sacrifice, suffering the punishment mankind deserved.

All we need do to please God is to comprehend , to believe and to live by the scriptures which teaches that :
" For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast ". Ephesians 2: 8, 9.
What this passage means is that no amount of works are enough to please God to make any man justified before God .
Our self-righteousness is not enough and would not get us to the place of acceptance by God.
" But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;" Isaiah 64:6.

God-pleasing Faith is accepting , believing in and confessing God's standards for righteousness .

Pertaining to qualifications necessary for receiving the righteousness of God , faith in God coupled with working out that faith are the necessary factors.
The truth is that Faith in words cannot exist in isolation.
" For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" James 2: 26..
It is this aspect of "working out faith" which has made  people to embrace the perception that the "proper" ways to express faith in God are  by doing , saying or thinking of  things which meet up with God's standard of righteousness

Brethren, if all we need to do as Christians to enter heaven is to set up doctrinal standards of "righteous and sanctified works "; then what is the difference between us and Unbelievers ? 

Then, of what importance is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ ? 

^{" 20} Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 

²¹ “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”  which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 

²³ These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.  Colossians 2 : 20-23  .

Faith is , simply, believing whatever God has said about Himself and what He said about anything even without seeing the physical manifestation / evidence . Hebrew 11: 1-3.
Faith bestows the grace and the righteousness of God upon any man who believes in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
"Without Faith it is impossible to please God ". Hebrew 11:6
God bless you as you accept and believe His word. Amen

The Just shall live by Faith

" And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. 
And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,
Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:
And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again ". Mark 10: 32 - 34.
  Christ's death on the cross and His resurrection on the third day are the bedrock of the Christian faith and belief in this bedrock is imperative for living a glorious life in Jesus Christ. This is a life-time spent in accepting , believing in and confessing faith in the Salvation Plan of God for all mankind .
 The Salvation Plan of God says : All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3 :20 - 26 .
All men needed a Saviour to take upon Himself the guilt of Man's sin and  without the shedding of blood , there is  no remission of sin . 
Therefore not the blood of goats,calves and bulls was required ; but the perfect  blood sacrifice was the only  blood offering acceptable to God for the remission of sin to effect the salvation of mankind.
 The shedding of the blood of the Spotless Lamb of  God was the perfect blood sacrifice . 
Hebrew 9 : 11 - 15 .
 Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrificial lamb , spotless , holy and acceptable  to God; chosen from the beginning of the world as the Saviour of  mankind, to bear the sins of the world

When Israel sinned by speaking against God and against Moses in the wilderness , God sent fiery serpents into their midst which bit them causing the death of many Israelites.
  Then in their agony and terror , the people raised up a huge outcry to God  for mercy and  deliverance. Numbers 21 :4 - 9. 
 God's answer to their cries and God's solution for their pain and death was based on a simple condition which seemed foolish and hilarious to many of them .
Who amongst them would have thought that the cure and deliverance from death  would be found in no other source but through their faith in staring at the brazen image of the very same dreadful serpent  that was causing so much horror and death in  their midst ?
God told Moses to make a serpent of brass and to set it on a pole and to tell the people that all that was required for the snake bite victims to do was , simply , to believe that they would be saved from death by lifting up their eyes to gaze at the serpent of brass lifted up on a pole.  
Those who survived the terrible ordeal were those victims who had a child-like faith in this solution and they looked at the  brazen fiery serpent hanging on the pole .  
But those who perished were the disputers who despised and rejected this God-given solution; by dismissing it as "foolish , unreasonable and unscientific " .
Incidentally , even today , that same symbol of the serpent on a pole is the world-wide symbol of the Medical Profession . 

In the days of Christ , the cross was a dreadful symbol of a very shameful and painful death .  
Spiritually, the Jews regarded death on the cross as an abominable death .
 Any one who was crucified was regarded as a cursed person . Deuteronomy 21: 22-23.
The occupying Roman government used the cruel punishment of death by crucifixion  to make a public example of hardened criminals and the Jewish dissidents who rose up to rebel against Roman  occupation and forced rule of Israel.
  Therefore the sight of Jesus Christ  hanging on the cross in great agony like a common criminal was a very painful and shameful  one for His family and disciples to behold. Galatians 3 :13,14.
 Hours after the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified and He was confirmed dead and His body was removed from the cross , He was buried and His body was sealed up in a cave , heavily guarded by Roman soldiers to ensure that the grave of the Saviour of the world remained sealed , permanently. Matthew 27: 62 - 66.
There was great jubilation in the camp of  Jesus' enemies both on earth and in the Satanic realm because they thought Jesus Christ had been silenced for ever.
When Jesus died on the cross and was buried, the events were witnessed by His mother and some of His disciples; that is those ones who did not go into hiding after Jesus was arrested..
John 19:25 -27, 38- 42 .
Most of  Jesus' disciples and followers had come  to believe that Jesus was the Messiah
 indeed ; because of His miracles , His teachings and His promises of eternal life .
The  fear , despair and grief of Jesus' mother , family and friends must have  been great  because before their eyes was the finality of Jesus' death on the cross and of His burial in a heavily-guarded and sealed grave.  
They too must have thought it was all over and finished indeed.
  " It is finished !" John 19 : 30.
. " He  paid  the debt He did not owe.
I owed the debt I couldn't pay ;
I needed someone to wash my sins away 
And now I sing a brand new song ! 
Amazing Grace !
Lord Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay !" 

Christ  was the rejected stone which was despised and set aside as nothing  by the " expert builders" of this world . He was the rejected stone which has become the head stone , indeed the Chief Corner Stone. 
There is  no salvation in any other name but the name of Jesus Christ and there is no other name under heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved. Acts 4 :11 - 12.
 Just as the brazen serpent was lifted up on the pole for the dying victims to look at it and to live ; so also is the belief in the crucified , dead , buried and resurrected Christ the only way to eternal life .  John 3 : 13 -18.
Faith in the redemptive blood of Jesus and His finished work on the cross is what justifies a sinner  before God.
This Faith is upheld and built  not only upon the words of our confessing that "Jesus is Lord !";  but on the Belief that Jesus is Lord and Saviour who is able  to deliver to the uttermost ,  all the days of our lives on earth and that Jesus is the giver of eternal life 
 " For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, 
The just shall live by faith ". Romans 1:16,17.

"Arise and WALK ! " .

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. " 
Jeremiah 29:13

 On a certain day, a large motley crowd gathered in a room  in the town of Capernaum to hear Jesus preach.  Mark 2:1-2 .
 The crowd , as usual, was made up of  diverse kinds of spectators .
There must have been people  in there listening  to Jesus , people whose "religious hobby " it was to attend any and all religious meetings ;  just  for them to be part of the crowd,  just for them  to say  "I was there when the great minister of God was in town..... !". 
These were the same as  those persons in the present age who  would listen , then they would interject  with  loud "Oh yeah ! Amen!. This is DEEP, man! Preach it , Pastor , pump it up!"!
 They  would clap , cheer and enjoy the songs , the preaching and the "religious atmosphere". 
Thereafter  they would go their merry way  and continue living their  usual lifestyles, a.k.a. the  "business  as usual" way.
The second type of people present there would have been those who had come hoping and believing that they would receive the word and the  touch from Jesus  to heal them to the utmost.
Such spectators  would leave the place with life-changing miracles.  
Then , there amongst the crowd were the privileged few who could get  seats or standing spaces in the same room with Jesus . 
Present  were the Pharisees , the scribes and doctors of the law ; some of who  were  mockers and antagonists. These were people who would have come there to listen to Jesus and to antagonise Him. Their mission was to assess Jesus' compliance with the  Judaic Scriptural doctrines and to question  Jesus' spiritual level of authority to preach and heal the people .
 Religious spies were present to  hear Jesus speak and then use His words to accuse Him of "blasphemy " and all sorts of crimes.  Luke 5:20-24  

 On this occasion, as the crowd gathered around Jesus , notwithstanding  their missions there, it was recorded  that " and the power of God was present to heal them" .Luke 5 :17.

To that meeting came a group  of people who carried on a bed a man crippled  by  palsy(paralysis).   

¹ And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him ". Luke 5:18 .                                       
The Bible does not tell us whose idea it was to bring the afflicted man with his bed to that place where Jesus was teaching  and preaching.
 Was it the paralysed man whose  faith  made him

Sowing during Drought

"I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water".
Isaiah 41: 18.
The term "Drought" conjures a picture of an arid , barren and desolate landscape .
It is synonymous with devastation and dryness; lack of rain or of water; especially, such dryness of the weather as affects the earth, and prevents the growth of plants, which is a prelude to severe scarcity of water and food and failed harvests.
Drought conditions are so depressing and undesirable.
The Bible says "Drought" is a curse:
"They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD". Jeremiah 12:13.



Apart from drought affecting agricultural produce and causing severe famine; drought , also , could manifest as the scarcity of worthwhile places, profitable projects and even of trustworthy people to sow into .
Scarcity , or disappearance of expected harvests and of lack of expected reward or revenue could dissipate human energy and crush the will and desire for further investments of time and labour in any forms of futture sowing and investing.

Drought and barrenness trigger societal upheavals which could become life-threatening situations. They cause changes which breed unpleasant character traits in hitherto decent human beings. Human dignity and integrity become a rarity ; while selfishness , deceit, fraud and greed, amongst other crimes, become rampant in the society.
Lifestyles would become modeled on attitudes of "Survival of the Fittest!"," None of my business! Am NOT my brother's keeper!" Everybody to himself ; God for us all!" .

The general mind-set of sowers in any drought-afflicted society is " Get all you can ; can all you get!" There is hardly any thought of reaching out to help others.
During drought, due to discouragement resulting from past failed harvests, there is a scarcity of sowers.
Sowers become weary from their past unprofitable labours and they are wary of sowing in drought conditions , of sowing in unprofitable