Effie Darlene Barba

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1 NET).  Are there any sweeter words than these?  Paul, himself, had said this mortal body in which I dwell continuously desires that which is not of God.  Had he not concluded, “²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be^[y] to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).  Can I ever possibly live this new life so freely given by God to me?  Jesus cloaked me in His righteousness.  How can I ever hope to be fully transformed from the inside out?  It is as if my new life is trapped within this old body of death from which there appears no escape, no matter how hard I try.  So, what about this dilemma between life and death?

How can I ever overcome this dilemma between life and death?  The new life  which should be vibrant, joyous that I have been so freely given by Jesus Christ should be so evident.  However, the more I know of His righteousness, the more wretched I realize my own heart is.  The more I notice the stench of death that lurks so within my heart.  Do I ever genuinely love another as Jesus did?  Or is there always a bit of my wretched pride that hampers absolutely loving anything as I should?  If that is true, then how can I or we ever overcome this wretched dilemma between life and death?  To be fully spiritually alive, I must put to death once and for all the mortal body of sin?  But how while I remain in this world within this mortal flesh?

Jesus Christ provided us a way for just that.

How to Overcome the Dilemma between life and death?

Jesus said, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you…the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:16-18,26).

A comforter who abides with you forever.  The Spirit of Truth, abiding in you—the Holy Spirit who provides all we need to combat this dilemma between life and death.

The Holy Spirit Overcomes within us.

The disciples had to wait for day of Pentecost, after Christ’s final ascension into heaven, for the Holy Spirit’s arrival.  Until then they had Jesus with them.  Either in his walk upon the earth or in His resurrected body.   In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit would intermittently indwell great men of faith.  But now, the Holy Spirit was being dispersed to reside within every believer’s heart.

Jesus said, “⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” (John 16: 7-11 NKJV).

And Greater Things

Furthermore, Jesus promised, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12).

How I long until this can be true!  That the works which I do will bring glory and honor to His name, not for me.  I long until my works be those which lead others to Christ.  That I might be a beacon of light to this darkened world.  Yet, I am keenly aware, I cannot on my own?  For that to happen, I need His power and His love reflecting off a mirror that no longer holds any of the smudges or reflections of my former self.

The dilemma between life and death remains.  I am a new creation in Christ Jesus.  However, I carry around with me this old corpse of death within this mortal body filled with desires which only lead to death of my witness, grief in my spirit, and distancing from the fullness of life I possess in Jesus Christ.

Romans 8: (NKJV)

 ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of ^[f]corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 

²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Concluding Thoughts:

So, must this dilemma between life and death continue on?  Perhaps to some degree; however, we have hope both in this life and the next.  The Holy Spirit is there to help with our infirmities and in the next post, I want to share even greater news.  The Provisions of the Holy Spirit for every believer is what can give us victory today.  When we embrace these, we will find that the in the dilemma between life and death we face here on earth–life wins!

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD?

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link.  There is nothing more important than this; because   He is the way, the truth and the life.   Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.

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Previously

4 Reasons I know He is Risen and Hope Reigns

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Disclosures

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2019
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

credits:

New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Photo by Marco Bianchetti on Unsplash

During a time when many hearts are filled with fear caused by a tiny microbe, how can I know hope reigns eternal.  For as I paused to consider the true meaning of Easter, I realized there are 4 reasons that I know He is Risen.  And it is because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, hope reigns eternal within my heart.  Regardless of what happens today or tomorrow upon this earth or within my life, I know whom my Savior is and what is my destiny.  He rose from the dead and with the same power, I will one day rise from the dead to be with Him.  But it is not just a hope for one day, the truth is as Ephesians 2 proclaims, I am already seated with Him in heavenly places endowed with every spiritual blessing.

Like the old hymn Doug Oldham sang, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.”  I do not fear the coronavirus.  No, I am not behaving foolishly or being careless.  Instead I take all the precautions.  However, I am not afraid; because I know if God permits this virus to attack my mortal body, He has a plan for good for me.  I far more fear the microbial sins that attack my mind or heart because they keep me from resting fully in Him.  Doubts, bitter thoughts, a heart that does not love or sacrifice like His.  Those are the things that I would fear more.  Not for fear of losing my salvation.  Rather my fellowship with Him at times is in jeopardy.

Of a certainty, I know I have seen many parts of my sin nature slain over the years.  But the more I know Him and His righteousness, the more acutely I know how far short I fall.

4 Reasons I know He is Risen

Continue reading “4 Reasons I know He is Risen and Hope Reigns”

We Worship a Risen Lord As Foretold in Scripture.

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10).

Key to the gospel message is this:  Christ died on a cross paying the price justly deserved by humanity.  Therefore, the unblemished shed His blood as an atonement for the sins of the ungodly, unrighteous who deserved death of whom we all are.  But if that was all, there would be no reason to rejoice at His death.  That is, apart from this truth! God raised Him from the dead, victorious over death, sin and hell. He returned to His throne seated at the right hand of the Father.  And because of that He can offer eternal life to all who will believe and accept Him as Lord and Savior of their life.

Foretold in Scripture

Continue reading “We Worship a Risen Lord–Part 1: Foretold in Scripture”

Patience is not a trait I seem to have much of.  A lesson God has worked on in my heart for a long time.  Yet, just when I think I have it, I am tested and again find I have none.  In part, I am a “doer” in a sense.  The one not satisfied until I have mastered a computer skill, solved the medical mystery of a patient’s symptoms, or to find the solution of how to do it better.  All of which are good traits in their right place.  However, when asked to wait with patience, I don’t fair so well.  I want the answer now!  For me it is not always a lack of faith.  I know and trust that God can and does desire to do the best.  Yet, I just wish sometimes He did not ask me to wait.  Is that when doubt arises? Definitely!

Doubt about Him?  Not really, the doubt arises as to me.  What if I mess it up? Could it be that my failures could change it before it is realized?  What if?

Recently, this has presented itself with blaring tones, once more.  A decision was made to move me into a position I had wanted.  It truly was miraculous how it happened.  How marvelously God works His wonders!  Then, everything slowed down to a crawl to await credentialing.  So, I with great patience wait?  I wish I could say yes.  But alas, that is not the case.

Called to Wait with Patience, yet how?

Continue reading “How to Wait with Patience. Who? Me?”

Christ Jesus won the victory over sin and death at the cross.  He defeated my sin once and for all when He paid the price for my sin at the cross, receiving the full wrath of God against sin.  My penalty of death was eradicated once and for all.  Then He victoriously rose from the grave, providing a way for me to be eternally united with God. Spiritually alive the moment I first believe and accept His gift of salvation.  Knowing He has won the victory, why do I still struggle so much with the evil within?  Why do I so often feel defeated?  Shouldn’t I be able to live my life fully devoted to Him? But I don’t always! Yet, what if I told you hidden in Romans 6, are 5 strategies of battle to win every time.  To stop being defeated by the evil within)!

Wouldn’t that be worth knowing?

Our spiritual journey is much like our life journey here on earth.  We are continuously looking forward to the next step, thinking there is where we will finally find the peace and joy we seek.  Seldom do we relish the moments now.  Shouldn’t we relish each moment along the journey?

Remember back! How much you longed to grow up, be your own person.  Finally, you would move past school into a career, only to find yourself longing for retirement. Then once retired, so many discover it wasn’t what they imagined it to be.  Now their days filled with loneliness, despair and heartbreak.  Some wanted marriage and family, only to discover that they longed for just some “me” time apart from the hustle and bustle of family.  We relate well with Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes 1:14 “all is vanity and vexation of spirit.”

The Evil Within

Continue reading “How to Stop Being Defeated by the Evil Within”