We need His grace!

In union with Jesus we share in the righteousness of God
We can discuss and debate the Ten Commandments all we want, but as long as we don't look at them the way Jesus did, they will never make sense. Sacred Sabbath is not about the Law, it is all about the fulfillment! I don't see how the attitude of a believer could differ from the attitude of his Master. Jesus came to fulfill the Law, we can do so too! Well, you might say, that is not true, because we are not Jesus and we are not without sin.
Being a Christian simply means being Christ-like. Jesus is the example of a Christian life. Simply imitating Jesus without accepting His grace would lead us nowhere. Trying to obey His teachings without accepting the forgiveness of our sins would only lead to frustration. The Bible speaks very clearly about the position we have in Christ, for example in Acts 15:11

We believe and are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus.We need His grace! With our sinful nature we could never, ever even come close to fulfilling the Law the way Jesus did. That is why Jesus shared our sin in order that we could share in His righteousness. Our sinful nature has been taken care of when Jesus died on the cross. We have absolutely NO excuse not to follow in His footsteps. There is a powerful scripture about that concept in 2 Corinthians 5:21

Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made Him share our sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of God.Wow! This all happened for our sake! Once we have accepted God's grace and forgiveness, it turns out to be an honor to fulfill the Law in love, the way Jesus did.

Enlightenment

About the guidance of the Holy Spirit
Sometimes people ask me, 'Marja, isn't is difficult to write about the application and interpretation of bible verses? Doesn't that take years of study?' I understand that concern, we are so programmed to think that education is the only way to get knowledge. Don't get me wrong, it takes a lot of reading and studying to learn more about certain things; I study the bible seriously on a daily basis. But we should not forget that as New Testament believers we received a gift, a helper, a teacher in the form of God's Spirit. When reading the bible, I rely upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who inspired the authors at that time, in order to understand what God wants to teach me. I simply ask God to open my eyes for His Word the way the Psalmist did in Psalm 119:18,

Open my eyes, so that I may see the wonderful truths in Your Law.
I know it is necessary for my spiritual eyes to be opened for the secrets of God's Word. Jesus did the same thing for the disciples as we can read in Luke 24:45

Then He [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
It is a turning point in the bible. Jesus then tells His disciples to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit to come down upon them. We know that after Jesus' departure it is indeed the power of the Holy Spirit that opens our eyes. He is still willing to do the same thing for us today.

Medicin for the soul

Sacred Sabbath has healing properties
Once in a while a book gets out there that offers the cure for a disease ridden society. Sacred Sabbath may not look like your average over the counter medicin, but it surely has some healing properties. Ironically, the people who need this prescription the most, are also the ones who find it hard to swallow the pill. In a fast spinning world, in which many people seem to go round and round in circles, it is difficult to find the time to think about time. Hectic schedules and overfilled agenda's make it almost impossible to think about the days that make up a week, the weeks that make up a year and the years that make up our lives. Time is part of the Creator's design and He wants us to use it purposefully. I challenge you, the next time you'll find yourself on the road to nowhere, pick up a copy and pause....

Endless inspiration

'When He spoke, the world was created '
'When He spoke, the world was created'. You can find those words in Psalm 33:9. Besides the world, He created you and me and He embedded His creating power in us. That is why we love to build, to design, to fabricate and invent. That is why I love to write! Never before would I have thought it possible to write so much about just two verses in the Bible, like I did in Sacred Sabbath. It tells me something about the enormous impact of God's words. If just two verses give enough inspiration for a book, just imagine how many books are hidden in the Bible! People get inspired every day, all over the world, when reading God's word. Think again about that word 'inspired', it means in-spirit. I don't get inspired because I am so good and wonderful, it is because the Spirit is alive in me. He shows me things I simply could not see before.
Reading about God must be like being with Jesus. The gospel of John ends with these words:

Now, there are many other things that Jesus did. If they were all wrtitten down one by one, I suppose that the whole world could not hold the books that would be written!
Wow, I am looking forward to endless inspiration! Isn't that every author's dream?!