The key ingredient to living life in the freedom of the New Covenant between our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ, is the pure message of Grace. Grace is always hyper and has nothing to do with the Law of Moses. “We do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.” (Galatians 2:21) The Grace of God is the unmerited favor and kindness of God in our lives. It doesn’t have recipes to follow or laws to live up to. It has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with His love for us. Paul warned us about mixing our effort with the good news of Jesus when He wrote, “How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (Galatians 3:3)

Sadly anytime we add our effort to the good news of Jesus, we are attempting to change the good news about Jesus to the good news about ourselves and we can’t add to perfection. The good news of Jesus always defies human logic or worldly ideas and always gives complete freedom. The good news seems too good to be true to the flesh, but Jesus’s sacrifice and resurrection is our one way ticket back into the royal family of God. We don’t need to worry about losing our salvation. We are saved. We are forever saved! Now to clarify, Katy and I are not endorsing bad behavior. We are endorsing that in Jesus you are perfect, despite what you do or don’t do, you are perfect. Hallelujah! 

“Jesus is what God believes about you! In him the righteousness of God is on display in such a way that everyone may be equally persuaded about what God believes about them, regardless of who they are; there is no distinction. (Romans 3:22) This is the too good to be true news. We don’t need to act a certain way to be in good standing with God. Hallelujah! Thank you Lord that we are saved because Jesus is who He said He was. (See Romans 10) This is the New Covenant. We are in perfect standing with God in Jesus (period!). 
“Can we boast? On what principle? On the principle of doing good deeds? Absolutely not, but on the principle of faith in Jesus. We are made right with God through our faith in Jesus, not by doing good deeds!” (Romans 3:27-28) 

When we start to see ourselves the way our Father in heaven sees us we find rest for our conscience. The ministry of reconciliation is all about Jesus and what He did for us. The simplicity of the thief on the cross is where the rubber meets the road. When we wash people in the reality of who they are in Christ, joy begins to well up in them. “For its the goodness of God that leads to change.”(Romans 2:4) As we begin to have revelation, that nothing can separate us from Christ through the Holy Spirit, we are married and become one with Jesus. When we understand that revelation, then we naturally change. 

We begin to sing a new song! “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,  and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”(Revelation 5:9-10) He is Worthy!  “And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.” (1 John 4:17) Since He is worthy so are we! We are new creations, no longer separated. The only thing that will separate us from God and all He has for us is believing that something can separate us. The good news poured into us pushes out untruths and continues to help us walk into the new creation we are. The result, our minds are renewed! 

His glory reflecting off other people is like a magnet to our souls. The moment we believe, His life becomes alive in us. “And through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”(Colossians 1:20-22)

He loves us so much He wants us to see ourselves the way He sees us. He sees us holy and blameless and without fault. Thank you Lord that for all of us reading this, you continue to open the eyes of our hearts to see ourselves the way you see us. Thank you that our spiritual ears continue to  be opened  so that we can hear your new song that you are singing over us. Thank you that we are worthy to receive honor, glory and riches, just as Jesus received because, as He is so are we! Thank you that “we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”(2 Corinthians 3:18) All the glory and praise go to you Father! You loved us so much that you brought us back into perfection where Adam began and removed the curse as far as the east is from the west. We have been justified and glorified to walk in your abundance from this day forward. No longer can we boast in ourselves, no longer can untruths be used to deceive us. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”(Ephesians 2:10)

Embrace the Blessings, they have freely been given to you as a gift from your Father in Heaven. He has infinite Love that is constantly being poured out and filling you with a new song!

Blessings, Kurt & Katy Adkins