Jesus took ALL the punishment necessary to secure your peace. All your sin, the evil, the sickness, the disease, the mental anguish—it all went upon Him. That means there is NOTHING in this earth that comes from the devil—sickness, disease, evil, oppression, poverty, bondage—that Jesus hasn’t already borne upon Himself and taken care of for you. Don’t let the devil deceive you into paying a bill that’s already been paid!
You’ll never rise above the view you have of yourself. That little movie screen in your mind that keeps showing your mistakes and weaknesses of the past has to go, because that’s NOT who you are anymore! When you were born again and became a New Creation IN CHRIST, the old you in Adam ceased to be, and Jesus came to live in you with all His power and ability. Start finding yourself in the scriptures, then stand up and be who you really are!
When you put all the promises of God from His Word together, that is what salvation means. The blessing of God, being in Christ in the Father, living in and from Him—that’s what you have—every single one of His promises! You’ve been redeemed and restored!
In the New Testament it says, “With His stripes we are healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Must we wait for God’s good old time? No! Live all of God’s promises in the NOW! His grace has already been poured out to mankind in the new covenant, and is available to us the moment we are born again. Salvation, and everything contained in it, is waiting for us to receive it! When a sick man believes, he is healed—because it was already given to us 2,000 years ago, long before you or I were even here to need it!
In the Old Testament God told Moses that His name was “I AM.” God never changes, and in the New Covenant I AM now lives in us, reminding us: “I AM what you need me to be, I AM your comfort, I AM forgiving, I AM mindful of you, I AM your healer, I AM loving, I AM a deliverer, I AM a giver, I AM a friend!”
The Apostle Paul said in Phil. 4:6-8 not to be anxious about anything, but that when we thankfully commit those things to the Lord, He will guard our hearts and minds with peace. He follows that up by telling us what to think on instead—whatever is true, good, virtuous, pure, loving and commendable. In other words, don’t let your thoughts keep you slogging through the gutter of worry, fear and anxiety about what MIGHT happen. Remember, the future is a phantom—it hasn’t happened! Keep your thoughts and thanksgiving in the NOW, trusting God to take care of those things you have placed in His care. Let HIM take care of the future!
In many areas of life you can slip back into old patterns that you had previously freed yourself from. You wake up one day and realize you are back in the rut of doing what you were stuck in 10 or 20 years ago! This can also happen in your thinking, which ends up limiting the power of God actively working in your life. It happens when you start reading the Bible more as a history book than as a living letter to you, to be applied and acted on every day. Remember, back then it was the ministry of Jesus in a Jew. BUT NOW, it’s not just history, it has become the ministry of Jesus carried out through you!
As you negotiate through the traffic and the bustle of stores, and thrill in the beautifully decorated scenery around you, remember that on that night an angel stood in the heavens declaring the reason for our celebrations. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…” (Luke 2:11). Merry Christmas! What a precious and amazing gift God has given to us!
When you really get it that Jesus paid the entire price for sin, you’ll understand that you’re no longer under the devil’s tyranny and oppression. Know this as confidently as you know your name—the devil has NO power over you anymore, in any area, because Jesus took your sin and permanently gave you HIS righteousness!
Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Our sins for His righteousness. Our fear for His love. Our sickness for His health. Our unbelief for His faith. Our life for His LIFE. “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).
