Alive in Christ

Galatians 2:20-21

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

Paul is making quite a statement here. He's saying that he is dead! Wow. Are we dead yet? Is that old guy/gal you used to be dead, or is he/she still alive and kicking? Is Christ seated on the throne of our heart, or are we still ruling and reigning from there? One thing is clear in Paul's statement here.......his trust in the Lord Jesus and what He did on the cross to forgive his sins. He's not trusting in his own ability to keep this law or that law; which was the case in the old covenant. We are part of a NEW covenant, not sealed with the blood of goats, sheep, or bulls, but sealed with the precious blood of Jesus. Every year the high priest used to have to make atonement for the sins of the people, and for his own sins. He sprinkled the blood of a perfect lamb (one without spot or blemish) on the mercy seat in the holy of holies in the temple. But Jesus was the perfect Lamb of God. Unblemished by sin and perfect in all respects. His blood sealed our salvation once and for all. He doesn't need to die for our sins every year, every 1,000 years, or every 1,000,000,000,000,000 years. Once we receive that free gift of salvation, we are sealed and our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Eeeeeeeeeeee glory! All the sin I committed last year, 10 years ago, 20 years ago......it's all gone. And it's as if it never occurred. There is no record of it written in heaven. As I've mentioned in several of my last posts, there books written about the children of God. The book that records your every tear (Psalm 56:8). The one that records every time you speak about the goodness of God, and His word (Malachi 3:16). And of course, the one we already mentioned......the Lambs Book of Life. There is no Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Pentecostal, or other sections of heaven. There is only one heaven and it is reserved for the blood bought children of God. Read the biblical descriptions of heaven. The best thing about heaven is, Jesus is there! All the patriarchs of the faith are also there. Imagine talking to King David, Moses, Enoch,.......some may say they're looking forward to punching Adam in the face. Hey now........that sounds like the old man...not the new one. Hehehehehe. If you don't like praise and worship, chances are you won't be happy in heaven. There will definitely be a lot of that there. Also in heaven, there won't be any need for faith. We'll see Jesus face to face, no need for faith then. There won't be any need for hope, our hope is right in front of us. But love, will indeed endure forever (1st Corinthians 13:13). Have a wonderful folks. Keep smiling, Jesus loves you and He's on your side. :-) James