The Hideousness of SIN!

Kah Wor

3/1/2013

God did not send Jesus to die so as to forgive the sinner. God was never angry with the sinner. If He was, He would never have sent Jesus [Romans 5:8]. God hates sin, not the sinner! Jesus died for the forgiveness of sin. God separates the sinner from the sin. He did so to enable me to forgive myself! It is for my conscience to accept Gods love for me. This is so that my conscience can embrace my actual relationship with God as His beloved child! I am Gods beloved child! This is the righteousness of God! AMEN!!!

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Table of Contents
Foreword (3) Gods Integrity (4-7) Free Will (8) Adams Choice, My Choice (9) Sin Is Hideous (10) Pride (11-12) Thieves and Robbers - Guilt, Condemnation and Fear (13) - Misery, Ill-health and Death (14) The Gospel (15) Gods Love (15-16) Justice (16) Forgiveness of Sin (17-19) Justification (20) The Righteousness of God (21) Why Did God Make Me (22-24) Spring Cleaning (25) Holiness (26-27) Anti-blessings? (28) Conclusion (29-30) Note from Author (31)

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Foreword
To know what Jesus the Christ died to save me from would help me appreciate His willing and loving sacrifice so much more. Therein I get to know the love of God for me. Coming to understand and see for myself how much God loves me instills within me a quiet confidence. A peaceful calm that lifts me up in every challenge, speaking softly but ever so reassuringly, Since my loving Father did not spare even His only Beloved Son but gave Him up for me, how shall He not also with Him freely and graciously give me all things? [Romans 8:32]. Although I do not understand the reason for the apparent tardiness in having what I want or prayed for, but I rest in the comfort of knowing that He is working all things together, both good and bad, for my good [Romans 8:28]. God, my loving Father made me the object of His immense love. I am the crown of all His creation, the pride of His Being! He made wonderful plans for me when I was just an idea in His loving mind [Jeremiah 29:11]. He knows much more and far better than I can ever know. He loves me so much and deep that I can never truly understand. He has my best interest at heart. He alone knows what is truly best for me. Hence, it is always His will be done and not mine [Matthew 6:10]. Gods Kingdom is His great love for me. His will is giving me what is truly best for me. Why would I therefore not want His will be done? Amen! Seek first of all [as the principal or most important priority] His kingdom [His love for me] and His Righteousness [being His beloved child], and all the things I need shall be added to me. [Matthew 6:33]

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Gods Integrity
God is a Man of His Word, so to speak. [Numbers 23:19]. Since He has given us the gift of free will, He honours it. [Romans 4:21]. Abraham was a tower of confidence in Gods integrity. Abraham truly epitomized Ephesians 6:13, AMP, Therefore put on Gods complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place] Abraham had to slay Isaac, the son he deeply loved. [Genesis 22:2]. That was a crisis to him. But all the while, he trusted in Gods integrity to provide the sacrifice, God Himself will provide a lamb for the burnt offering, Genesis 22:8. God had earlier promised Abraham that Isaacs descendants would inherit the promises He made to Abraham [Footnote to Genesis 22:5]. If Isaac was to die, how could that promise be fulfilled? Abraham stood firmly on Gods integrity right to the point of lifting the knife to slay Isaac! [Genesis 22:10]. God did provide [Genesis 22:11-13]. The only Beloved Son of God came to reveal Gods integrity by bearing witness that God can be trusted. He came from God. Only He alone has seen God, the Father. [John 6:46]. Hence, Who else could be in a better position to give testimonies about God the Father? "Christ" is derived from the Greek christs, meaning the "Anointed One." This title corresponds to the Hebrew-derived "Messiah. Jesus came to tell us that God is our loving Father Who Himself tenderly loves us. [John 16:27].

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Jesus came to prove that God loves us [Romans 5:8]. Jesus came to prove Gods integrity by fulfilling all that God said He would do in the Old Testament: Luke 24:26-27, AMP, Was it not necessary and essentially fitting that the Christ (the Messiah) should suffer all these things before entering into His glory (His majesty and splendor)? Then beginning with Moses and [throughout] all the Prophets, He went on explaining and interpreting to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning and referring to Himself. Those very words highlighted in red revealed to me that the First Coming of Jesus the Christ was to establish Gods integrity. The things He did identified Him as the Promised Messiah. His death proved Gods love for me. Galatians 4:4, AMP, tells me that God sent His Son to be born of a woman and subject to the regulations of the Law. The words when the proper time had fully come in that verse caught my attention. The greatest blessing came at a time appointed by God. What more the lesser blessings thereafter? I am convinced that God has planned very good stuff for me [Jeremiah 29:11]. But the good stuff will come in His time. Meanwhile, the Bible serves as a great source of encouragement and confidence as I wait to watch and enjoy the unfolding of His wonderful plans in my life. The prophet Isaiah prophesied the birth of Jesus in Isaiah 9:6, AMP, For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace.

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Jesus crucifixion was prophesied in Psalm 22:16-18, AMP, For [like a pack of] dogs they have encompassed me; a company of evildoers has encircled me, they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; [the evildoers] gaze at me. They part my clothing among them and cast lots for my raiment (a long, shirtlike garment, a seamless undertunic). ) It is interesting to note that there were two others crucified together with Jesus. Hence, one can challenge the validity of Psalm 22:16-18 as evidence supporting Jesus the Man as the Messiah. I hear someone shouting, I object! If crucifixion is the proof that this Man Jesus is the Messiah, then anyone who have been crucified could also be the Messiah, in particular these two other men who were crucified with Jesus. This is the ground of objection. God was impeccable in providing laser sharp details to refute any grounds of objection. Psalm 34:20, AMP, He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. The prophesy in the preceding verse serves as one piece of evidence pointing to Jesus the Man as the Promised Messiah.
Roman crucifixion sometimes lasted for hours, even days before the individual succumbed to the torture, and finally died. The method for ending the crucifixion was the breaking of the bones of the legs, called crurifracture. This act was done to hasten the criminal's death as was done to the two other criminals executed on the day Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. See more at: http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/roman-crucifixionfaq.htm#sthash.izu0kjHe.dpuf

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The Promised Messiah came as a human being, a Man. God promised to provide a Messiah in Genesis 3:15. The Old Testament provides details of what the Promised Messiah would be doing. These details served as the means of identifying the Promised Messiah when He came in the flesh the first time round. I saw this in John 10:37-38, AMP, If I am not doing the works [performing the deeds] of My Father, then do not believe Me [do not adhere to Me and trust Me and rely on Me]. But if I do them, even though you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, [at least] believe the works and have faith in what I do, in order that you may know and understand [clearly] that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [One with Him]. All that the Old Testament said the Promised Messiah would do were fulfilled in the Person of Jesus the Christ. By so doing, the Man Jesus proved that He is the Promised Messiah. Matthew 5:17, AMP, Do not think that I have come to do away with or undo the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to do away with or undo but to complete and fulfill them. This is the reason Jesus said in John 5:39, AMP, You search and investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently, because you suppose and trust that you have eternal life through them. And these [very Scriptures] testify about Me! The experts of scriptures in Jesus day were oblivious to the fact that the Man Jesus was fulfilling everything that was said about the Promised Messiah.

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Free Will
Free will involves choices. To have a choice refers to having at least more than one thing to choose from. If only one thing is available, there is nothing to choose. Hence, the gift of free will need not or cannot be exercised. It becomes redundant. Now imagine God saying this, I have given you the gift of free will. I lay before you good. Therefore choose well and choose good. Huh? In line with His integrity in giving us the gift of free will, God always present us with a choice (that is, choosing between two things). His love is seen in Him always telling me in advance what is good. The question is whether I would take His Omniscient advice. Deuteronomy 30:15, AMP, See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil. Deuteronomy 30:19, AMP, I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live. Therefore, the integrity of God can be seen in Him giving Adam the chance to exercise that gift of free will as recorded in Genesis 2:16-17, AMP, And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. Right there, Adam was presented with a choice.

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Adams Choice, My Choice

Adam chose to eat from the forbidden tree. In effect, Adam chose to experience good and evil for himself. He has decided to choose his own course of action in his life, apart from God. In essence, Adam rejected Gods love. Sin is rejecting Gods love and the plans He has lovingly put together for my good. God is a Gentleman. Since He gave Adam the gift of free will, He allowed him to exercise and experience that gift. For this reason, God allowed the temptation in the Garden of Eden. God also foreknew what Adam would choose. Hence, God allowed Adam (and us through him) to experience both good and evil through our own choices. This is so that we can then make an informed and willing choice to accept Gods love. This is in line with Gods integrity to honour His gift of free will. This cost Him His only Beloved Son. It is through my choices that I finally submit to the Infinite Wisdom of God and His love for me to work all things together for my good, in His time [Romans 8:28]. Choices and decisions made without God suck, BIG TIME! Through Adam, we have all rejected Gods love by proxy. [Romans 3:23]. Consequently, we inherited the oppressive sentiments of guilt and condemnation from Adam. We were born sinners. [Psalm 51:5].

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Sin is Hideous
These hideous sentiments weigh me down crushingly, trampling all over me. They reside in my deepest recess called the conscience. They sink their razor sharp teeth deep into my spirit, gnawing me ever so slowly and painfully. They tug and jerk my spirit. I feel miserable but yet cannot get rid of them. I resort to numbing myself through painful toils or vices. Rage overwhelms me as I cannot see them but yet feel them so intensely. I feel so helpless and frustrated. I end up venting the penned up frustration on myself by doing things that would hurt or harm me. Or I let it all out on my loved ones. That makes me feel even more guilty and condemned. It is a vicious cycle. They eat me alive slowly from the inside out.
Image Source

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Pride
Meanwhile, the adversary pin all the blame on God, the only One Who can really get me out of this excruciating misery. In my tormented state of existence and wearied spirit, I readily and easily accept his vile suggestion. I made God my enemy. I blame Him for my misery. Eventually, I become convinced that there is no God. In my misplaced anger, I will never turn to God for help. He is non-existent to me. The adversary is wicked! I drive myself deeper into self reliance. I work my butt off for apparent success that takes me away from my loved ones. I hardly get to see them. I feel like a piece of walking crap but it cant be helped. I justify my actions as being responsible. If I dont do anything, nothing gets done! Yet the most responsible thing to do is to let God love me [Luke 10:39-42]. This is the world! The way to get out of this misery is by striving! I must strive! Sadly, even the most positive meaning of the word strive connotes vigorous exertion, the reliance on self. How much can I do? I am but a mere man! I have been brought up in a culture of ( a real man can bleed but cannot cry) , (a real man do not cry easily) and (head can break, blood can flow but tears cannot flow). It is the prideful and unrealistic expectations of a man to be able to stand up against anything and everything while suppressing all the ensuing emotions. Hello! I am a man; not superman! Even superman has a nemesis kryptonite!

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In all practicality, the word strive more often than not means to contend in opposition or conflict. In short, strife. Yet, I am in misery because of strife. And strife ends in misery. It is a Catch 22 situation! I am lost. There is nobody to help me. There is none that I can turn to for advice. Who can I really trust? Everyone is living an existence on earth with a mask, even in their sleep. It is a dog eat dog world out there! I must get ahead of others or else I will be swallowed up. I must do all it takes no matter what it cost to stay ahead. Its better you dead than I die! When all these agonizing miseries become too great for me to bear, I will choose to end it all through suicide. That is pride; relying on self and my own resources by taking things into my own hands.

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Thieves and Robbers

Guilt
The adversary accuses me of hypocrisy, How dare you take from God when you have already rejected Him? The guilt drives me further away from God by hitting at my image of Gods integrity and sincerity. I was made in Gods image [Genesis 1:26].

Condemnation
The adversary incites further, Didnt you choose to make it on your own? What kind of coward are you to turn back on your own words? It is condemnation.

Fear
Both guilt and condemnation give rise to fear. Fear causes me to hide from God. I fear because I am without protection. Fear involves torment! [1 John 4:18] It makes me feel so ashamed to take or receive from God. Adam demonstrated it [Genesis 3:10]. It was God Who came looking for him when he was hiding from God because he was afraid. He was afraid because he was naked. He became naked because he rejected Gods love. The moment I reject Gods love, I become an open goal to the spiritual forces of wickedness. Gods love for me is the force field that protects me from them. Alas! I unwittingly walked out of His invincible shield of protection. My mind becomes satans playground.

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Misery
A life without Gods love is miserable. It is an understatement. It drives me toward utter despair by pushing me way beyond my limits. It enslaves me in the bottomless pit of guilt and condemnation. It is all the way down.

Ill Health
God did not design my body to take all that. As a result, sicknesses, sorrows, grief, pains and infirmities in all shapes and sizes set in.

Death
All of the above experiences can be wrapped up in one word; DEATH! Genesis 2:17, AMP, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

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The Gospel
Here comes the good news! Perfect love cast out fear [1 John 4:18]. Matthew 11:28, AMP, Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] The death of Jesus on the Cross is the conclusive proof that God still loves me. God, through Jesus, is saying to me,I do not condemn you. Dont reject My love for you anymore. [John 8:10-11].

Gods Love
The horrific and gruesome death of Jesus was designed to shock my conscience out of slumber. Awake to my righteousness! Isaiah 60:1, AMP, Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances (arising from guilt and condemnation) have kept yourise to a new life (as Gods beloved child or new creation)]! Shine (be radiant with the glory [love] of the Lord), for your light [Gods love] has come, and the glory [love] of the Lord has risen upon you! 1 Corinthians 15:34, AMP, Awake [from your drunken stupor and return] to sober sense and your right minds, and sin no more (Reject Gods love no more. Cf Luke 8:10-12). For some of you have not the knowledge of God [you are utterly and willfully and disgracefully ignorant, and continue to be so, lacking the sense of Gods presence (love) and all true knowledge of Him (as the loving Father Who Himself tenderly loves you)]. I say this to your shame. NB: Red Italics in brackets added by me.

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1 Peter 5:8, AMP, Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. The adversary can only devour those who do not live a life trusting in Gods love as proven by the death of Jesus the Christ, Gods only Beloved Son in Whom His soul delights [Luke3:22]. When I look close at John 8:12, I see this: Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light (Gods love for) of the world. He who follows Me (understands and accepts Me as the proof of Gods love) will not be walking in the dark (without Gods love), but will have the Light (Gods love) which is Life (being Gods beloved child). NB: Bold italics added by me. I read the word follows as understands, as in Do you follow?

Justice
The demand for justice within me has been met. My conscience demands justice because I was made in Gods image. God is just [2 Thessalonians 1:6]. So is my spirit man, my inner man. The death of Jesus Christ on the Cross met every demand for justice as required by my conscience.

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Forgiveness of Sin
The word Forgiven also means having ceased from feeling resentful. Here comes the stunning part of Gods gracious love. God did not send His only Beloved Son to die on the Cross so that He can forgive me. Jesus died for the forgiveness of sin. God separates the sinner from the sin! Jesus died so that I can cease from resenting myself for having rejected Gods love.

Jesus died so that I can forgive myself!

This brings out the love of God for me ever so clearly! This revelation presents a refreshing and liberating appreciation of 1 John 4:10, AMP, In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins. God, my loving Heavenly Father has never been angry with me. He loved me all this while. He hates sin. He loathes the guilt and condemnation that have bruised and crushed me [Luke 4:18]. But I, He loved from before antiquity all the way through to eternity! The stripes of Jesus were designed to provide a stunning visual to my conscience to reject the inherent guilt and condemnation.

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.The chastisement for the peace in my conscience was on Jesus: Isaiah 53:5, AMP, But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. My conscience has been sprinkled with the precious blood of Jesus. [Hebrews 10:22]. Jesus, Who did not reject Gods love, was made to bear my guilt and condemnation. 2 Corinthians 5:21. For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness]. This is so that I can justify to my conscience to drive out those crushing sentiments! Hence, I am justified by Gods love through accepting the proof of and trusting in His love for me. [Romans 5:1, Romans 11:6, Titus 3:7] It is to enable my conscience to accept Gods love for me. This is so that my conscience can embrace my actual relationship with God as His beloved! I am Gods beloved child! This is the righteousness of God! AMEN!!! I stand before God, my loving Heavenly Father as His beloved child!

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I live (walk) my life in this temporary and transient world as His beloved child! This is how my inherently guilty and condemned conscience can ever be appeased. All my striving and exertion serve only to further intensify those oppressive sentiments! My conscience demands justification to drive out guilt and condemnation. The death of Jesus is that justification. Acts 13:38-39, AMP, So let it be clearly known and understood by you, brethren, that through this Man forgiveness and removal of sins (removal of guilt and condemnation as well as the consequential actions) is now proclaimed to you; And that through Him everyone who believes [who acknowledges Jesus as his Savior and devotes himself to Him (accepts Jesus as the proof of Gods love) is absolved (cleared and freed) from every charge (by my conscience) from which he could not be justified and freed by the Law of Moses (which emphasized on justifying ourselves) and given right standing with God (as His beloved child). Compare Law of Moses with Law of the Lord in Psalms 1:2, AMP, But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord (Gods love for me), and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) (being mindful; that is, mind full of Gods love) by day and by night. NB: Red italics in brackets added by me.

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Justification
Justification has to do with showing proof of a satisfactory reason for something done. This has the effect of exonerating the doer from blame. Who or what is examining the action to assign blame? It is my conscience. My conscience approves or condemns an action or a thought. This same conscience that has been seared (hardened and made unreceptive of Gods love for me) by guilt and condemnation that I inherited from Adam when he rejected Gods love, the source of His loving and gracious provisions. These oppressive sentiments came about because Adam chose to decide and experience for himself what is good and evil based on his limited knowledge and linear perspective. He has unwittingly chosen to live his life apart from Gods infinite Wisdom and panoramic perspective. Through Adam, we have chosen the same by proxy. Adam has chosen to elope from God, his only true love. I believe Song of Songs depicts this theme. Adam has chosen to run away from home to strike it out on his own. He did not know the word die how to write (Singapore colloquialism for overestimating ones own abilities). It is my belief that the Book of Ecclesiastes speaks of one who lived a life apart from Gods love. The end result is the realization that such a life is but vanity, a chasing after the wind. But as with any loving parent, God never left him but kept a constant vigil over him. God has provided the permanent justification to my conscience.

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The Righteousness of God

A closer examination of 2 Corinthians 5:21 gave me a better perspective of the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21. For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [ endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].
]

What I ought to be or who I am really? The beloved child of God. What is approved and acceptable with God? To live as His beloved child. What is my right relationship with God? As His beloved child. Why am I His beloved child? By His goodness; His love! This question brings me back to the beginning. In the beginning was love. Everything was made because of love [John 1:1-3]. Whose love? Gods love! God is love [1 John 4:8]. For who? You and I! Psalm 8:4, AMP, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? The angels are scratching their heads. strange in Chinese).

(This means

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Why did God make me?

This is the reason, My heart is filled with so much love and I need someone I can call My Own. John 3:16 says that God so love the world, that is everyone, that He gave up His only Beloved Son, the Son of His love, so that He can call us His very Own. God made me so that He can call me His very beloved Own! It shatters our Heavenly Fathers heart to watch sin crushing and cashing in on us. Sin has rearranged our faces so badly that we dont even recognize ourselves! Hence 2 Corinthians 3:18 says that as we behold His glory (the display of His love for us) as in a mirror (because we are a reflection of His image) with unveiled faces (who we really are as the object of His love), we shall be transformed into His image, the very same image that God first made us. NB: Italics in bold added by me. We are made in His image [Genesis 1:26]. Jesus the Christ has lifted the veil of satans deception, that God do not love us. Romans 5:8 tells us that God loves us so much that He sent His only Beloved Son to die as proof of His love for us while we treated Him as our enemy! Jesus the Christ is the conclusive proof of Gods love for us! Sin is rejecting Gods love. What more now that He has dug out His heart and placed it on a silver platter as a glittering light (glory) of His love? Jesus said He is the Light [John 8:12], The Light of what? It is the Light of Gods great love for us!

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Darkness is to be without Gods love. Hence in John 8:12, Jesus said that those who follow Him (understands and accepts that He is the proof of Gods love) will not be walking in the dark (without Gods love). How can we who have received Gods love be rejecting His love at the same time? It is impossible! [Romans 6:1-2]. We have either received Gods love or we have not. There is no lukewarm response to such great love. We are naked without Gods love [Revelation 3:15-18]. In the spiritual realm, we are an open goal for all sorts of spiritual attacks without Gods love. His love for us is the force field that protects us from the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly sphere [Ephesians 6:12]. Without Gods love, we fear [Genesis 3:10]. Fear involves torment [1 John 4:18]. Adam was deceived into rejecting Gods love because he was not presented with the privilege of the conclusive proof of Gods great love. We do now! God, our loving Heavenly Father is showering you with the love you have been waiting for; through, by and in Jesus the Christ! What are you waiting for? Grab that love right now. The moment you confess Jesus as your Lord, you are taking possession of all that He had died to give you; the all-encompassing and unconditional love of God, the Creator of the entire Cosmos! God's love is universal. Salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. In other words, we received God's love through the proof of His love; Jesus Christ.

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We accept a testimony by admitting the evidence supporting it. Testimony: God loves me. Evidence or proof: Death of Jesus Christ. Accept or don't accept? That is the question? You may feel indignant that Adam made the wrong choice for you. Today, you get to choose for yourself. What would it be? Wouldnt you agree with me that it is about time to do some spring cleaning?

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Spring Cleaning
It is time for spring cleaning! Cast out guilt and condemnation who overstayed their intrusion! Galatians 4:30, AMP, But what does the Scripture say? Cast out and send away the slave woman and her son, for never shall the son of the slave woman be heir and share the inheritance with the son of the free woman. I have been trodden down by the bondage to guilt and condemnation. With the roots of guilt and condemnation ripped out, fear dies! It is time to usher in the New Year. Old things have passed away [died] and behold, all things have become new! I am a new creation! [2 Corinthians 5:17]. NB: Italics in bold added by me. With the stinking guilt and condemnation driven out, I can now boldly approach the throne of grace, the King of love, to find His well-timed help [Hebrews 4:16]. The Amplified version of Hebrews 4:16 indicates appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it. It clearly points to the Sovereign love and plans of God for my life, Sovereign as in His call and not mine. In His good time, He will make all things beautiful in my life. Meanwhile, I thank Him for having given up His only Beloved Son for me and I wait patiently and confidently for His goodness to shine forth! Hallelujah!!!

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Holiness
Holy means set apart. I read it as reserved. It would mean this in Singlish, God chop His love for me. I am chopped for His love. God is Holy, be ye holy [1 Peter 1:15-16]. God is love. [1 John 4:8]. God, a.k.a. love is set apart for His object of love. We are holy when we set ourselves apart from the world to be loved by Him. To be loved by Him is to not be conformed to or fashioned after this world. Romans 12:2, AMP, Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. Genesis 14:22-23, AMP, But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand and sworn to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor and Maker of heaven and earth, That I would not take a thread or a shoelace or anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, AMP, Jabez was honorable above his brothers; but his mother named him Jabez [sorrow maker], saying, Because I bore him in pain. Jabez cried to the God of Israel, saying, Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and You would keep me from evil so it might not hurt me! And God granted his request.

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From the above verses, I have understood holiness to mean this. Whenever I am in great sorrows (Jabez), a.k.a. trials and temptations, I do not resort to the norms of my age to get what I want, when I want. Doing so will only get my backside burnt (king of Sodom). Genesis 14:22-23, AMP, But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand and sworn to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor and Maker of heaven and earth, That I would not take a thread or a shoelace or anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. Only God alone gets all the glory for the blessings in my life. [1 Corinthians 10:31]. For it is God Who gave me the power to get wealth. [Deuteronomy 8:18]. It is more honourable to look to Jesus to provide what I want in His good time and in accordance with what He knows to be the best for me to have, and when to have them. This is rest, which gives peace. The moment we walk out of this restful peace, we open ourselves to all sorts of unscrupulous manipulations. This is setting myself apart for the love that God has consecrated for me. God has reserved (chop) His love for me. I have been reserved (chop) for His love. I in Him and He in me [John 15:5]. Hence, God is Holy, be ye holy. [1 Peter 1:16].

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Anti-blessings?
I hear one asking, Are you against blessings? No! I am for blessings! There is no doubt about it! Proverbs 1:20 says that the Wisdom of God is crying aloud. Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and honour. [Proverbs 3:16]. Wisdom is to know that God loves me and to live my life by that conviction. Seek first to accept the truth that I am in the kingdom of His love for me as Jesus died to place me, and live my life as His beloved child. Then all the things I need shall be added to me. [Matthew 6:33]. Colossians 1:13, AMP, [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Another asks, What about wants? Who would ever want something they do not need? Even if someone wants something that is not needed, does it matter if that is not given? It is not something needed anyway! In all my ways, I acknowledge that God loves me. [Proverbs 3:6]. I take possession of His love and I live by that conviction.

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Conclusion
There are numerous records of the plight of those who lived their lives without Gods love in the Bible. In the same evidential document, there is a cloud of witnesses who bear testimonies of how Gods love for them has benefited them. Hebrews 12:1-2, AMP, Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin [rejecting Gods love] which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Italics in bold highlighted in red added by me. You may very well be living a life of struggles right now. Or you may be feeling lonely in a crowd of friends. You may feel like living in abject poverty while having immense material wealth. You may be feeling fearful for no rhyme or reason. Have we been brought into this world only to be waiting for our time to be buried? It cannot be! The One Who truly loves you and Who can really empathize with you has left you volumes of love letters written in His Blood,

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the Bible. He is waiting right now for you to crack it open to see His heart of love for you. He is asking you to know Him for yourself [Mark 8:29]. Dont just be contended by looking at what others are doing or saying about Gods love for you. Find out for yourself. Jesus the Christ remains the one and only conclusive proof of Gods love for you. God has chosen the national of Israel to tell the world that He is real. Gods Word can be trusted because of what He has done or is doing in and for Israel. Israel as a nation was dispersed for hundreds of years without becoming extinct. She came back as a nation in one day. Yes, just one day! Just as God promised He would do. God cannot lie [Numbers 23:19]. Since Israel is real, God is real. Since God is real, Jesus is real. Since Jesus is real, the proof of Gods love for you is real! God loves you! God is impartial [Romans 2:11]. God is the same yesterday, today and forever [Hebrews 13:8]. Since He has fulfilled His promise to Israel, He would do the same for all His other promises. For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. [2 Corinthians 1:20]. Jesus Christ is the conclusive proof of His love for you. God made all those promises because He loves you! Jesus the Christ is standing and knocking at the door to your heart. [Revelation 3:20]. Will you let Him in?

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Note from Author

Anyone can interpret the scriptures in favour of an adopted stand [2 Peter 3:16]. I find that the only constant in the Bible is Gods love for me. I find the love of God is beyond any doubt the crimson thread running through the Bible from cover to cover. Therefore, I have chosen to read and interpret the Bible in the greater context of His love for me. This is my personal conviction. This is how I enjoy my Bible. This is my stand. When the Lord returns, He will weigh my stand according to my heart [1 Samuel 16:7]. I am the beloved child of God that Jesus the Christ has made me to be [2 Corinthians 5:21] in the process of getting to know Gods love for me. If you have been blessed by this literature, let all the glory and praise redound to our loving Father God. If there is anything you find amiss, let God judge my heart. If you would like to support the declaration of Gods great love, you can do so HERE. This has been brought to you by Enjoying the Bible. 1 Timothy 4:13, AMP, Till I come, devote yourself to [public and private] reading, to exhortation (preaching and personal appeals), and to teaching and instilling doctrine.

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Colossians 2:15, AMP

[God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross].