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“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13 KJV)

You were once far off. Alien to the covenants of God. But Father ran to meet you. He broke you free from every tie that kept you from His courts and flung the doors wide open.

You have been ushered into a new life, a realm of existence previously closed to you. God has chosen you from all the people on the planet to be His friend. His arms stretched across an impossible impasse and carried you across from the Kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of His dear Son.

Now your eternity is secured. No man can pluck you from His hand. His plans for you are good, to give you wonderful hope and a glory-filled future.

The question now is simply this. Will you take advantage of the entrance you have been given? Will you choose to step behind the veil that once closed you out and bask in the warm atmosphere of the Sanctuary?

Exchange your guilt for peace, your shame for security, your doubt for confident expectation.

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost eagerly wait.

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8 NKJV)

The world trades in fear. Stock options are open for all and most are in a buying frenzy right now. It is costly on so many levels.

God, on the other hand, is giving his stocks away for free to anyone who’ll believe Him; power, love, a sound mind. These among many others are the rich deposits He wants to add to your account.

Fear is a spirit

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV)

Take note that fear is a spirit. A spirit that grips the heart of man when faith is not present. A vacuum craves to be occupied. Left alone, it will suck in whatever the prevailing atmosphere is crammed with. Brethren, be careful what you charge the atmosphere of your life with!

We were all subject to this imposter called fear until Christ made a way. Fear turned up in the garden of Eden fast following the fall, driving humanity to hide. But Jesus exposed the real perpetrator, stripping him clean of his disguise.

The King rose victorious and paraded His enemies through the heavens making an open show of them. At the head of this motley train of adversaries is fear and death.

Even satan’s biggest guns are powerless against His grace!

Jesus came to “deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:15 KJV)

He sets His people free, exchanging freedom for fear.

Death has no sting for the children of the King.

Jesus has so fully resolved the tragic situation humanity found itself in, becoming the second Adam, spotless and pure, a perfect representative. Where Adam failed, Jesus conquered, and in Him we conquer too.

This love, this power, this sound and fixed mind of Christ, pushes fear from our lives. Even death has no dividend.

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 KJV)

The cross addressed all that was lost in Adam.

Joy, healthy strength – won! Sin, sickness, poverty, confusion, disease. All were nailed on the same stake that dealt our sins their final blow.

In Christ, we step into liberty. Sickness and disease have no place in the life of a believer. In the same way we resist sin and temptation, we resist symptoms that speak of the fall. The old world was subjected to futility and fear. The new creation steps into a new Eden.

Dead to sin, alive to Christ.

Our bodies given as instruments of righteousness.

The Holy Spirit Himself has taken up residence in your body.

Faith, my friends, comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

It is too easy in a fallen world to be afraid to challenge the sin and sickness-soaked status quo for fear that you might offend. Being fearful to call out a lie and fanfare the truth however, gives free-rein to the ravages of satan to stand unchallenged.

Instead, we declare the free reign of God. Regardless of the common wisdom, we count the blood of Jesus uncommon, and expect and welcome uncommon results!

A thousand may fall at our side, ten thousand at our right hand, but it will not come near us!

Today I’m celebrating an exchange that took place, a giving of gifts.

I give Him my sickness, He gives me health.

I hand over my weakness to Him, he bestows strength.

He bore my sickness and carried my diseases.

What a gift!

Mine is a story of rags to riches.

Jesus gave me …

“the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” (Isaiah 61:3 KJV)

In the Scriptures we see Joshua dressed in rags dragged before the courts of heaven, satan baying at his heels. Spirits flank his sides and accusations shower his burdened soul.

The entire passage is worth reading:

“And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.” (Zechariah 3:1–7 KJV)

Who are these standing by? The Spirit asks. I’ll give you place to walk among them. Take his filthy garments and clothe him from above. Place a mitre upon his head.

With this new authority and entrance to the heavens, you have the highest privilege of all – the ability to praise the King in spirit and in truth. To step with confidence from the realm of men into the realms of God. You are a co-citizen or two worlds.

No longer an outsider, an alien from the covenants, your place of authority and seat in the heavenlies is set. Your garment of praise is prepared.

Beautifully arrayed you stride without shame or fear into the presence of a holy God, and call Him Father.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4–7 KJV)

Jesus gave me…

“the oil of joy for mourning” (Isaiah 61:3 KJV)

Joy is the atmosphere of Heaven. Streets of gold are made for dancing not dragging your feet.

Delight pervades the air, and every atom sings praise to the one who made them.

Man’s last enemy, death, is dead in the dust. No more tears shed for sorrow, but an eternity’s worth for joy.

Mourning a memory, a long-forgotten shadow of a sinful world set free.

Heaven’s oil now drips from beard to skirt. Old things passed away and everything made new. This is the world we ache for.

“For all creation, gazing eagerly as if with outstretched neck, is waiting and longing to see the manifestation of the sons of God. … And more than that, we ourselves, though we possess the Spirit as a foretaste and pledge of the glorious future, yet we ourselves inwardly sigh, as we wait and long for open recognition as sons through the deliverance of our bodies.” (Romans 8:19–23 WEYMTH)

This is the dream we dream weeping as we imbibe the bitter waters of Babylon, longing for the clean rivers of Zion.

But that great day is coming. Soon, and very soon.

Zion’s joy will flood our soul and we’ll sing songs of deliverance done and Kingdom come!

This is the hope we carry. Mourn not for the man or woman crucified, your old unrenewed self. Nothing of the old life will pass through the gate of eternity, only that which has been redeemed.

This world and all its glory are like dung compared to the glory to be revealed.

“… what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him” (Philippians 3:7–9 KJV)