He gives and He gives

In Hosea it says that MY PEOPLE are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. His people.. not the lost.

So I don’t want to be one of the saved walking in what I think is OK but who is mentally, spiritually and physically destroyed on this earth because of my lack of knowledge. And I am learning knowledge comes from the Word of God. I want to walk in spiritual abundance all the days of my life.

So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So I’m trying to dig in to the Word to get some answers about this topic and it is increasing my faith.

I am trying to base my thoughts on His words. Which are truth, life, marrow to my bones, breath to my body, healing and wisdom. His words are inherently true my thoughts on the other hand could be a bit off so hopefully HE shines through and not so much me.

After I read that verse in Deuteronomy 7, which I have been doing alot lately, (“ If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers. 13 He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, etc.”) I wondered how that applies to us since it’s the law and we are free from the law.

Because I’ve heard ,the OT is not for us because we are not under law”

I disagree. ( “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness)

Or maybe they think that those promises are just for the people it was written for at that time. But I know that those promises are for me so I supposed until recently, that the contingencies and curses (mentioned in Deuteronomy 28) that applied to those promises were for me too. I mean I KNEW they weren’t but I was living like they were. My mindset has been wrong. I am super guilty of not walking in the faith and grace that I proclaim to love so much. This is changing though.

So I looked into it Janet and Jesus style. (Janet is my spiritual mentor)

Janet pointed this out in Galatians 3 :13-17

¹³Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse (doom) of the Law [and its condemnation] by [Himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified);^(F)
14To the end that through [their receiving] Christ Jesus, the blessing [promised] to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might [all] receive [the realization of] the promise of the [Holy] Spirit.
¹⁵To speak in terms of human relations, brethren, [if] even a man makes a last will and testament (a merely human covenant), no one sets it aside or makes it void or adds to it when once it has been drawn up and signed (ratified, confirmed).
¹⁶Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham and his Seed (his Offspring, his Heir). He [God] does not say, And to seeds (descendants, heirs), as if referring to many persons, but, And to your Seed (your Descendant, your Heir), obviously referring to one individual, Who is [none other than] Christ (the Messiah).^(G)
17This is my argument: The Law, which began 430 years after the covenant [concerning the coming Messiah], does not and cannot annul the covenant previously established (ratified) by God, so as to abolish the promise and make it void.^(H)

Aha! We are joint heirs for the benefits and promises of God but are free from the curse!

I get the good stuff from the OT and the grace and awesomeness of Grace.

If I don’t do something just right, God isn’t with holding the blessing and the promise from me. I am under his grace and while my sins can give Satan a foothold in the hedge God has about me, it can never separate me from the fact that I am always going to be a child of God and thus a receiver of all things good and perfect from him. And curses and retribution are not for believers.

He doesn’t just take the blessing away.

Fear can though. Fear is the opposite of faith. It binds faith’s hands. We need to be aware that our enemy is actively involved in our affairs and is looking for our fears because they are such an open invitation to him to reek havoc!

Satan = killing and destroying. Jesus = life abundant and everlasting.

So I asked Janet what did she make of what Job said, “My God gives and takes away” She pointed out that Job said that out of great and utter despair. It also says in Job that what Job feared most came upon him. His fears were the open door to attack. He was making unneeded sacrifices everyday for his children just in case they screwed up or sinned. They were big kids. But he was in fear about what their sins may do to them. It seems that instead of claiming the protection of God after the first sacrifice, he continued to beseech God on behalf of them in fear. So naturally since he didn’t have the faith to grasp the protection of God for his children and feared that they would be destroyed, he gave a huge open door to Satan.

And out of Jesus’ mouth comes this. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

Romans 16 says he is the giver of peace.

So then I was thinking about how it seemed that at the drop of a hat God was wanting to kill people in the Old Testament. What's so different now? But then I remembered: Law vs. Grace.

Our retribution and punishments are taken away even if I sin after I have accepted him. My sin will separate me from intamcy with him but cannot “unsave” me because as I gather it, it would mean his grace was NOT enough and wasn’t sufficient for me the first time He gave it to me.

And what about the thought that God can and will take any blessing whenever he wants? ( I suppose this is a lot like Job freaking out continually about the unknown possibilities?)

I have always thought “he’s God he can do whatever he wants even if that means making me miserable for the rest of my life” kind of like he’s the big bad all powerful teacher just waiting to catch someone cheating and thus show them who’s boss.

But his character is all good. All love. Perfect and not lacking.

He is the same God as I had in the Old Testament – He hasn’t changed. The covenant has changed. And it’s all about his grace. Eek!

This means I get things that I absolutely don’t deserve. This means that I receive spiritual blessings and revelations that I don’t deserved. This means that I get to walk by faith and not by sight and that even if I don’t do things just right, he still loves me as much as he ever has and forgives me freely.

It’s impossible for us to be without some type of sin at all times. Some sins will seem greater because they have a longer lasting and more damaging effect on us and others. But then there are the other everyday sins, bad attitudes, slander, not submitting to authority, thinking bad thoughts, speaking before you think and hurting another’s feelings, and the list goes on.

I am finally figuring out that I am always going to be sinning. NOT because I want to be but because it’s my nature. We’d all be dead if we were going by the OT! Dang. Reading the menstrual laws alone are intense!! And what about all of the curses in Dueteronomy 28? Geesh. So glad I'm not included in that!!

Thank God for grace .

Thank God for being Good.

Thank God for being Love.

Thank God for being Perfect.

To kill, destroy, withhold and trick seems that it would be contradictory to his commands and that’s not our God.

My brain hurts.

In 2 Corinthians 2:11

Paul says we are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices. HE is always looking for a foothold to attack our faith. And if he can attack our faith he can attack the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not yet seen. And that is everything to the believer!

I. Hate. Fear.

The disciples also tried to grasp this idea of sin and consequences too:

John 9:1-3 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

³"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

God said it wasn't about someone else’s sin.

It was about HIS glory being displayed.

There is SOOOO much that I don’t understand but I am beginning to get that he is nothing but perfect and awesome, good and love. Anything else is not of him.

So this is me, in the process of laying down the thought that

If I do something just right, then this will happen

or if I mess up I'm going to pay.

That's karma. I don't believe in that.

Accepting and living in this grace and freedom is harder than I thought.

It's a daily process of surrender..