Oneness With Christ
By Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
“I am [have been] crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20).
What is salvation? It is actually coming into oneness with the Lord Jesus Christ.
“The wages of sin is death” and “the soul that sinneth it shall die,” but Christ was not a sinner. Even Pontius Pilate, after having examined Him carefully, said: “I find no fault in Him” and “I find no cause of death in Him.”
It was therefore not His death that He died at Calvary. It was ours. He had come from heaven to be born into the human race as one of us in order to die our death.
It is when we view that death at Calvary and say: “This is not His death He is dying. It is mine;” it is then that, by an act of faith, we become one with Him. His death was ours; the penalty for our sins, but it is not applied to us until by faith we accept it as ours. Thus the Apostle Paul declares by divine inspiration:
“I have been crucified with Christ” and he adds: “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith [the fidelity] of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
Since the believer has been united with Christ in death, he is united with Him in resurrection life also. Col 2:12 says that believers are “buried with Him in baptism.” This is not baptism by water. This is a divine baptism, the work of the Holy Spirit, for he goes on to say: “wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God.”
Little wonder the Apostle begins this lesson for believers with the declaration:
“For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily, and ye are complete in Him” (Col. 2:9,10).
Today's Devotional Sponsor:
What About Me?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
Hebrews 2 states that unbelievers are, “through fear of death… all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Ver. 15). How often they must ask themselves: “What will become of me: finally become of me?” The best they can hope is that God will be merciful to them and accept them at last, but God cannot do this without a just basis, and since unbelievers have rejected His gracious payment for sin, they must remain under its condemnation. Many hope that physical death will be the end for them, but they fear that the Bible may be true and that death will not be the end.
This writer once talked with a profane barber who had boasted that he was his own “God,” and would be until they put him “six feet under.” To this we replied: “The Bible says that ‘it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this is the judgment.’ You may not believe this, or accept it as the Word of God, but you can’t prove it isn’t so, and I would urge you to look into it carefully, asking God to give you light.”
Here we ask the reader a very personal question: Are you saved? Have you accepted Christ and His payment for your sins, now standing before God “justified from all things,” and “accepted in the Beloved”? If not, we beg you: do not delay. These are serious times and who knows how soon God will take His own away and bring this dispensation of grace to a close. Then it will be too late, so we urge you, face up to your sinful condition now, and place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ who, in infinite love and grace, bore the burden of your guilt and condemnation at Calvary. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” (Acts 16:31).
DAILY SMILE:
Two Women Archaeologists
Word Play Jokes
Submitted by wadejagz
Two women archaeologists are down in Mexico excavating an ancient Mayan burial ground looking for some remains to take back to their museum.
Unfortunately, everything they run across is badly decomposed. One of the two says, "We don't seem to be having much luck."
The other replies, "Keep on digging, honey, a good Mayan is hard to find!"
AMAZING EASY CHEESE DANISH
Ingredients:
• 2 cans of crescent rolls
• 1 x 8 oz package of cream cheese at room temperature
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ¾ tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp sour cream
How to make it
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Place a sheet of parchment paper on cookie sheet or baking pan.
2. Open the crescent rolls carefully so as not to tear the dough. Do not unroll…you will need to leave it in it’s cylindrical shape. Slice the dough into pieces about 1/4 inch thick (as though you’re slicing cookie dough). 3. Place the slices on a cookie sheet. Now press the center in to make an indentation for the cream cheese filling.
4. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cream cheese, regular sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and sour cream. Add a dollop of the mixture to the indentation you made in each circle of dough. I find that about a tbsp works well, but you can use as little or as much as you like.
5. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. While the danish are baking, you can make a quick royal icing to drizzle over the tops.
Drizzle for top:
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp softened butter
1. Mix together the confectioner’s sugar, milk and butter in a small bowl. 2. Use a spoon to drizzle it over the tops of the danish, or you can put it into a small zip-top bag and snip of the corner for an easy “piping bag.”
3. Take the danish out of the oven and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes before icing.
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