Declared Good, Right, and Whole

 We hear a lot about executive orders made by the president of the United State. It is within his powers to make those executive orders in line with the laws as they have been passed by the Congress. Some of these orders help the citizens greatly. Today, I want to focus on something that is much better than an executive order by a president. I want us to see that God makes declarations that give us, as believers, eternal benefits that are amazing. (Acts 13:39) Once a person believes in the Raised-up Jesus, God declares that person to be good and right and whole before Him. No declaration could be better than that. What a fantastic blessing for every believer!

All of us are born with a sinful nature, and as soon as we know right and wrong, we decide to sin. That sin separates us from God, and we are no longer good, but we are at odds with God. We are not right, but we are wrong in so many ways. We are slaves of sin, and the devil has his way with us to tempt us to do his will. We are not whole, but we are very broken and lacking in so many ways. Then, when we put our trust in the Raised-up Jesus God declares us to be good in His eyes, which is in line with salvation by grace through faith. Instead of seeing our sins, He forgives them and sends them away, so He sees Christ's righteousness, instead of our sins. We are declared right with God, so we are his friends, and He is our Friend. We are made whole by the presence of the Holy Spirit, Who empowers and guides us to will and to do God's good pleasure. We are changed from the inside out. No, we do not become perfect, but God's declaration stands, and we belong to His family forever. Therefore, if you are a believer in Jesus, I pray you will realize that God has made this declaration and think of yourself as being good, right, and whole with the potential to become better, more righteous, and more complete in Jesus every day.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Acts 14-16.