Monthly Archives: May 2020

MERCY AND GRACE

Uncategorized
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under Grace.” Romans 6:14
 
When our faith is solely and purposefully placed in the redeeming work of Christ Jesus, Grace which always operates in the power of the Holy Spirit, isolates the sin nature which we were all born with due to the fall of man.
 
Religion presents various man made methods and philosophies cloaked in Scripture to due that which only the Holy Spirit has the power to do…isolate the sin nature. These methods seem “right”. Intellectually they appear to be able to work and unknowingly we place our faith in these methods for the victory in which we seek. With our faith placed in another method for victory over sin, we do not give the Holy Spirit latitude to do His mighty work in our hearts and we remain under the Government of Law. This may not be the Mosaic Law but it is a law we have conjured up for victory over sin.
 
“For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death.” Romans 8:2
 
The Holy Spirit is not commissioned to free us from the Law of Sin and Death when our faith is placed in man made methods presented as biblical doctrine for victory over sin. The Holy Spirit is jealous over those parts of our lives we give over to law for victory. He lusts to expel the sin that has so easily beset us but with our faith misplaced, we remain spiritually defeated.
 
“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2
 
This Scripture is not just a saying we repeat but a life that we live. It is the only way to live and living a victorious Christian life.
 
Are we perfect? No. Do we struggle? Yes. Do giants appear in our promise land? Yes. However we continue fighting the only fight Believers are commissioned to fight…the fight of faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Always and without fail, His Grace is sufficient. The Lord is truly a lamp unto my feet as He orders the footsteps of the Believer. His ways are higher than our ways and we do not always understand. Precept upon precept and line upon line, old things indeed pass away and all things become new as His Grace expels the wickedness in our hearts and brings to light the need of repentance. Goodness and mercy surely follow us all the days of our lives but it is not because of who we are and what we did. No, no. If you think that, you have missed it. His Goodness and Mercy follows us all the days of our lives because of Who HE is and what HE did to pay the penalty of sin for the believing sinner and break the power of sin for the believing Saint.
 
Yes, I am determined to know nothing else among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I have tasted and I have seen the goodness of the Lord and He is good…He is faithful; He is the Alpha and the Omega; the Beginning and the End. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and I will follow Him all the days of my life.
 
-Donna Clark Warren

JUST PASSING THROUGH

Uncategorized
“For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.” Romans 14:8
 
This life is but a vapor. Whether you are a Born Again Believer or not, you are just passing through this world. The mortal tent of which we live is decaying. It’s aches and pains are the result of sin. I don’t necessarily mean “our” sin, even though that may indeed be the case, but the result of the Fall of Man which caused all to be born with a sin nature in a fallen world.
 
The difference in the Believer and the non-believer; the Regenerated and the unregenerate, is that we have been born of the Spirit of God when we chose to believe and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. We are now spiritually alive unto God. The Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirit. His Word is revealed unto us by His Spirit not by our intellect.
 
Yes, we too are just passing through but we are passing through with a peace beyond all understanding. We know in Whom we have believed and we are persuaded that He is able to keep that which we have committed unto Him.
 
At Calvary, Jesus Christ paid the penalty of sin for the believing sinner and broke the power of sin for the believing Saint. Trusting in Jesus’ Redeeming Work, the weight of sin is laid waste by the power of the Holy Spirit. We now know what we didn’t know as the yoke of sin is removed and His Yoke is so freely given.
 
There are times the peace of God may seem uncomfortable for the carnally minded. Our intellect fights against the rest offered at the door of Calvary and entices us to do our part. As we wrestle with our flesh, we must purposefully decide to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Jesus.
 
In the midst of it all, Jesus Christ remains the same. He was and is and will forever be the only answer we need. He knows our beginning and our end.
 
Sadly there are those who travel through this life not knowing the peace of God. Their life is ruled by fear. Their final destination is a devil’s hell if they don’t accept the finished work of Jesus Christ as the Sacrifice for their own sin sick life. The Sin Offering is at the door. He is knocking on the door of many hearts that have been hardened by this fallen world.
 
Today is the day of Salvation. We never know the day nor the hour that the Lord is going to demand of us our soul. Where will you spend eternity? We all must willing choose to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and as our Saviour. Choose this day in Whom you will serve. Jesus came to die for whosoever will believe. His death paid the penalty of sin on behalf of the believing sinner. He’s standing at the door. Seek Him while He may be found.
 
-Donna Clark Warren

STAND FAST

Uncategorized
“1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
 
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
 
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
 
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; you are fallen from Grace.
 
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” Galatians 5:1-5
 
When the works of the law, whether they be made up by an individual or a denomination, are resorted to for “righteousness” (aka Sanctification, sinless perfection, etc.), the Cross of Christ Jesus shall profit us nothing. Whatsoever is not of faith in the sufficiency of the Cross of Christ to expel that which is not pleasing unto God in the heart of the Believer, is sin.
 
When we resort in vain philosophies presented as biblical doctrine to overcome the power of sin which was utterly broken by Jesus Christ when He died on Calvary’s Cross, we are deeming His Finished Work as insufficient and seek to do our part to obtain righteousness by law and not by faith.
 
We who have chosen this day to believe upon the Cross of Christ to remove those things which are not pleasing unto God and look to Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith, wait on the hope of righteousness. Upon repentance of the sin that so easily besets us, we are forgiven and wait upon our deliverance. We know that we know that we know that sin shall not have dominion over us because we choose this day to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Jesus. There is in fact no way to follow Jesus until our abilities, talents and intellect are denied and through the Spirit of God we wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Because we have believed upon Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the Source and the means by which we receive righteousness, we give the Holy Spirit latitude to superintend the work of God in our hearts. Our hearts are circumcised. Old things pass away and all things become new. We are truly a new creature in Christ Jesus once we have believed upon Him for Salvation and as we continue believing upon Him for Sanctification, we are changed from glory to glory into the image of Christ Jesus. This feeble shell of which we dwell will one day pass but our eternal soul will live on. We will all received glorified bodies but sadly some will not spend their eternity in their glorified bodies in Heaven but in a devil’s hell.
 
It is my prayer that all will choose to believe upon Jesus Christ as their Saviour but sadly I know that will not be so. Straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leads unto Salvation. Salvation is available for whosoever will believe…but not all will believe.
 
It is also my prayer that all who have chosen to believe upon Jesus Christ as their Saviour will also believe upon Him as their Sanctifier. At Calvary, Christ Jesus paid the penalty of sin for the believing sinner AND He broke the power of sin for the believing Saint. The problem is, few Saints believe Him and we take on the ministry of the Holy Spirit to circumcise our hearts through vain philosophies cloaked in Scripture presented as “biblical”.
 
Sin shall NOT have dominion over the Believer who remain under the Government of Grace by faith in the Cross of Christ. Wait on the hope of righteousness. Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His Finished work on Calvary. It was and is and will forever be sufficient to utterly break and expel all powers of darkness. Seek Him while He may be found.
 
-Donna Clark Warren

BLESSINGS

Uncategorized
“1 And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently unto the Voice of the Lord your God, to observe and to do all His Commandments which I command you this day, that the Lord your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth:
 
2 And all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall hearken unto the Voice of the Lord your God.
 
3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
 
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your kine, and the flocks of your sheep.
 
5 Blessed shall be your basket and your store.
 
6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
 
7 The Lord shall cause your enemies that rise up against you to be smitten before your face: they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways.
 
8 The Lord shall command the blessing upon you in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand unto; and he shall bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
 
9 The Lord shall establish you an holy people unto Himself, as He has sworn unto you, if you shall keep the Commandments of the Lord your God, and walk in His Ways.
 
10 And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the Name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of you.
 
11 And the Lord shall make you plenteous in goods, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give you.
 
12 The Lord shall open unto you His good treasure, the Heaven to give the rain unto your land in His season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you shall lend unto many nations, and you shall not borrow.
 
13 And the Lord shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if that you hearken unto the Commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them:
 
14 And you shall not go aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” Deuteronomy 28:1-14
 
The blessings of the Lord are and have always been conditional upon obedience. For the Old Testament Saints, it was their obedience to the Law but for the New Testament Saints, us who are under a “Better Covenant” because of the Blood of Jesus Christ, we are obedient unto the faith; the faith which was given unto us at Salvation…that mustard seed of faith planted in our hearts when we chose to believe upon Jesus Christ as our Saviour.
 
It is this faith which we contend and fight for daily. The blessings of the Lord are incumbent upon our faith in Jesus as the Source and His Cross as the means by which we receive such blessings. The blessings we speak of are not always materialistic but so much more. These blessings are the Grace of God made strong in our weakness; it is the peace of God beyond all understanding and joy unspeakable as the storms rage.
 
These blessings are conditional on our obedience to the faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is WHY we who have tasted of the goodness of the Lord are so determined to know nothing else except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We NEED His Grace to see us through. We have SEEN His Hand move in our circumstances as we have set our face like a flint unashamed of His Gospel.
 
Yes, there are many who are determined to know nothing else among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We are peculiar as we pass through this pilgrim land but nonetheless, we are just passing through; running a race yet occupying until the end. Not looking to the right hand or to the left but going on with Jesus every step of the way!
 
“For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” Isaiah 50:7
 
-Donna Clark Warren

FROM SOMETHING TO SOMETHING

Uncategorized
“1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God,
 
2 (Which He [GOD] had promised afore by His Prophets in the Holy Scriptures,)
 
3 Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the Seed of David according to the flesh;
 
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the Resurrection from the dead:
 
5 By Whom we have received Grace and Apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His Name:
 
6 Among Whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ:” Romans 1:1-6
 
All who have accepted the Call unto Salvation; all of the ‘whosoevers’ who boldly claim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour have been called from something to something. We have been plucked up from the miry clay and set on higher ground.
 
The Believer’s call unto holiness does not stop at Salvation but begins at Salvation. The Lord is forever drawing His Children closer unto Him. Since the time the Lord roamed the garden with Adam and Eve, His Will was and is to fellowship with His creation. Due to Adam’s Fall we have been separated by sin. All who are born of water (natural child birth) are born spiritually dead. They do not yet know God as their Father because they have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Unless a man be Born Again, born of the Spirit, they do not know the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ.
 
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” John 3:5
 
This is the Rock of which the Church is built. It is the revelation of Who Jesus is, the only begotten Son of God, that the Church is built; not Peter (sorry my Roman Catholic friends).
 
“16 And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
 
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but My Father which is in Heaven.
 
18 And I say also unto you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:16-18
 
It is the revelation of WHO Jesus and WHAT HE has done at Salvation that the Church of God is built upon. Knowing Who He is and what He did at Calvary’s Cross to pay the penalty of sin for the believing sinner and break the power of sin for the believing Saint, there is no doubt as to His Resurrection.
 
This revelation given to all who are Born Again and OUR continued faithfulness in the Cross of Christ is what affords the Believer the Divine Grace of God for continued obedience to the faith.
 
It takes the Grace of God to continue in obedience to the faith. It is the fight of faith, faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified, that we must fight every day. Denying ourselves and looking unto the Cross of Christ Jesus is the only means by which the Grace of God flows uninterrupted. The Holy Spirit is not commissioned to superintend the work of God when we are fighting any other fight…no matter how good and/or right it may seem. Even though it’s cloaked in Scripture and presented as biblical doctrine, if it’s not faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the answer; we are not being obedient to the faith and God’s Grace will not flow.
 
When we so often say that we are determined to know nothing else among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified; it is not just a saying but a fight – a daily fight of which we purposefully choose in our hearts in Whom we are going to believe this day. It is a fight to enter into HIS rest and let Him fight our battles. Denying ourselves is no easy task but is a necessity to receive the Grace for obedience unto the faith.
 
All who have believed are called from something to something and we need the Grace of God to carry us along the way. His Grace is sufficient in our weakness and it is a river of living water as we purposefully look unto the Cross of Christ.
 
Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, is the only means by which we receive Grace for obedience to the faith. Look to the Cross and live.
 
-Donna Clark Warren