Redemption in Christ

Romams 3:24 "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"

So I decided to study the words in Christ through the Bible. Here is my first post on it. I think that it is interesting that it says redemption is in Christ.

Redemption is to buy back. Here God is say that the ablity to buy us back is found in Christ. Colossians 1:14 says that it is only throught his blood redemption comes.

My redemption or the payment for my sin that brought me back into fellowship with God only comes in Christ. All believers are in Christ therefore they have redemption that is found in Christ.

This redemption is what make me able to be justified by the grace of God. I have been made the righteousness of God by the redemption of God that comes from being in Christ.

I am so thankful that God paid the price of my sin by His blood that I might be bought back.

First Prayer Letter

Dear Praying Friends,

This past week has been a good week here at the Our Generation Training Center. God has worked in some mighty ways in providing me some work that I will be able to do. God has paid everyone of my bills for this month which is a beautiful thing to watch him do.

In all of my classes this week I learned some very valuable things that I will be able to use for the rest of my life. In Spiritual Disciplines on Thursday we learned about how short our life really is. How that I need to live in light of eternity and not the temporal things that are all around me! How that what is eternal is the only thing worth living life for!

In class today with Pastor Gardner we talked about about how that we will be taken advantage of all of our lives. It is part of the ministry. There is no way around it Paul, Jesus, and all the other great men of God were taken advantage of! If I am going to serve God I will be taken advantage of!

I was able to be at the consumed teen Revival on Thursday. It was a great service. God worked in a mighty way! It was a great message on putting God first in our lives.

I also have been able to work at the church more. It is great to see the work and changes that happen at Vision every week.

Prayer Requests:

That I would put God first in every area of my life!

That I would live my life daily in life of eternity!

In Christ,

Micah Rastelli

January 29, 2010

Quotes - Personal Disciplines with Kevin Hall

We must care for our bodies as though we were going to live forever, but we must care for our souls as if we are going to die tomorrow.

-- Augustine --

Our presuppositions shape our perspective, our perspectives shape our priorities, and our priorities shape our practice.

Explained: Our beliefs shape our outlook on life, and our outlook on life influence our priorities in life, and our priorities in life determine the way we live out life.

Fighting from victory not for victory

So I was thinking the other day about this. I have for a long time sought to fight for victory in my life. I knew that God would be pleased with me if I could just do right. If I could just keep all the commandments I would make him happy with me and I would live a victorious life for Christ.

With this attitude I would fail and get discouraged cause I thought I could never have victory. I would think of myself as a failure trying to do what only a success could do. I saw myself as a sinner trying to live as a righteous man. I knew I didn't need to do anything to go to heaven but I thought that God saves us and then we live the Christian life and then God takes us home and perfects us where we failed.

Well I was just thinking about it and I don't fight for victory over sin and self. I fight from victory over sin and death. God has made me his son and I have victory.

Romans 6 and 8 speak all about this. Romans 6 talks about how that through Christ I have been made dead to sin and alive to Christ. If I am dead to sin then I have victory over it and it has no power over me.

Romans 8 talks about life in the Spirit and how that God's children have the Spirit and are guided by the Spirit of God. I know that I have the Spirit of God and He guides me. I have all the tools I need to have victory over all sin and the flesh.

I have victory in Christ. I don't need to fight for the victory. Christ has made me a victor in Him and by his blood. All I need to do now is reckon this to be so and live my life from it and in light of it. The victory is already won I just need to live like it is now!

Anyway enough rambling for today!

Thinking

So yesterday when I was delivering pizza's I started to think about some things. I never thought of them this way before. But it goes something like this. I love working at Vision Baptist Church. I know that it is where God wants me to be right now and serving here has been awesome.

I have been building walls at the church all week long and it has been the greatest time. I know when I build things that God gets pleasure. I know that He is happy when I am using any talents that He has given me for Him. I love working.

I know that God is pleased with me when I preach or study or even sometimes take a break and just relax. God gets pleasure out of what I do for Him.

I am thankful that I don't have to try and please Him. That He is already pleased with me because of what Christ did on the cross. I can now just relax and serve Him.

I am so thankful God allows me to serve Him!

Job 23:8-10 "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

Here Job is answering after Eliphaz had told him that he was unrighteous and God was judging him. Job just said that he wanted to he wished he could talk with God and take his cause before Him that he might know why this was happening.

Here he says that he doesn't feel like God is with him. He feels like God has left him and he is all alone. Job feels like God has abandoned him. But in spite of this in verse 10 he says I know that God knows my way. Even though he could not see God working in his life and everything told him that God had abandoned him. He knew that God was still watching him and taking count of his life. He also knew that God was trying him and would bring him forth as gold.

Job had faith in God that even when everything seemed to say that God had abandoned him. He did not lose faith. He believed God was there and that there was a purpose in what he was going through.

In my own life I want to have this kind of faith. Even when things don't seem true I want to believe God just for the fact he has said it. What God says is true even though it might not seem like it. I will believe God.

Job a man of character

Job 13:15 "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."

Hear in this verse Job is giving an answer to Zophar one of his friends. He just got done talking about the power of God in chapter 12 and here he says if God was to kill him, he would still trust God.

Job's faith in God was not based on how good it seemed that God was treating him. The nice things that he had, his family, God's blessings, or anything that was good. Job's faith was in God and who He is. When God took everything that Job had away he still stood for God a pillar of faith.

Even if God would have killed him he would have still trusted in God.

So much in my life I know that my faith in God and how much I trust in Him is based on what He is doing for me. If things go wrong in my life I often think that God must have abandoned me. I want to have this kind of faith that can stand no matter what I may face in my life.

Oh that I would have the faith of Job and be able to stand for God as he did.