View Site Map

Just-if-id from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Years ago, in seminary, an instructor of mine taught the book of Romans. The theme the Apostle Paul stresses strongly in his letter to the Romans is being justified before God. Yet, what does that mean to us? Let's start with the basics and break it down as simply as possible.

(Romans 3:23 NKJV)  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

(1 John 1:8 NKJV)  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

(1 John 2:4 NKJV)  He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Ok, so all of us are sinners. There's no denying that, but we also want God to hear our prayers. We want to be forgiven and healed, to have sweet, intimate fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. To see miracles and breakthroughs happen. How do we do that?

(James 5:16 NKJV) ...The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

How does a sinner become righteous before God? How do we move from point A (sinner) to point B (righteous)? Let's go deeper. 

Sin originally meant "to miss the mark, fail in duty." It is actions that violate the law or moral standard of God, knowing what is right, but choosing to do wrong. Sin is plain and simple disobedience. The word sin occurs 769 times in NKJV Bible, so it's a well-established topic the authors knew about. 

Under the law of Moses, an atonement sacrifice had to be offered to atone for the people's sins. Without the shedding of blood, there was no forgiveness:

(Hebrews 9:22 NASB)  And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

There are also many types of sin, like a cactus with ten-thousand needles. Some sins are against God, some against others, and some even against yourself. There is also inner and outer sin. Consider this scripture in Isaiah about the Lord Jesus Christ:

(Isaiah 53:5 NKJV)  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

Notice the wording. Jesus was wounded and bled outwardly for our transgressions, which cover things we do externally in the flesh, like adultery. Yet, there is sin internally, for a man can commit adultery in his heart without knowing the woman:

(Matthew 5:27–28 NKJV)  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Jesus was bruised for our iniquities. Bruising is internal bleeding, which covers the sin living inside of us, like lust and greed. We are covered by His blood inside and out. He was beaten and given those stripes for us, and by His stripes, we are healed. 

The Lord Jesus Christ was our sacrifice, our atonement. So consider what we have covered so far: we are sinners. All have fallen short of the glory of God. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. The blood of Jesus Christ can cover our sins inside and out. 

Now how do we make a sinner righteous? Through a process called "Justification." Being justified is best described as "Just as if I'd never sinned."  We accept by faith what Jesus Christ did for us. Being justified builds a bridge between the sinner and righteousness before God. 

Sinner -> Justified -> Righteous. 

The Apostle Paul wrote it like this:

(Romans 10:9–11 NKJV)  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

We often call it being saved, but this is only the beginning of our journey. At this point, we should begin to live as saved people should. We are instructed to walk as Jesus walked. Walking denotes action and direction. As we walk in the light, we are continually cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

 (1 John 2:4–6 NKJV)  He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Dead faith is dead. Now God will decide who goes to heaven when they die, and none of us, so I don't need to go any further than the words of James: 

(James 2:17–20 NKJV)  Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Even demons and satan believe in God but refuse to live as He requires, and every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 7:19). It's not enough to say the words. You have to walk the walk.  

When we are in fellowship with the Lord, and not trying to hide like Adam in the garden, and our consciousness does not convict us, we can come boldly before His throne in prayer:

(Hebrews 4:14–16 NKJV)  Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

I said all of that to ask you to prepare for what is coming. This week, I had a vivid dream with meaning. It was a follow-up to a dream I had when we started Refreshing Hope. I will share them both with you:

Seven years ago in October, the Lord gave me a vivid dream showing Sylvia and me on a school bus, seated near the middle. There was a small gold light on the floor, partially covered over by some books. When I reached down to uncover the light and move the dusty books away, tiny sprinkles of gold dust began to drift down from the ceiling. We were amazed. You could look up into it, and it didn't hurt your eyes. 

As we held our hands out in awe and caught the gold dust, it slowly became golden mana. One side resembled a saltine cracker, while the other side was shiny gold. It was small at first but became larger until it was almost the size of your hand. It poured down onto us and began stacking up around us.

We tasted it, and it was great. It had healing power that restored your body. Some people on the bus grabbed some, began eating it, and were instantly healed of sickness and disease. The people on the back of the bus were hoarding stacks of it, while the people at the front were not very interested. The shower continued to thicken until stacks of the golden wafers began building up around us. 

I thought, "Wow, this is really going to be a game-changer." I felt that it was a turning point in our life. Like I had waited my whole life for this moment, and now it was here. Then I woke up from the dream.

I was very moved and got up and wrote the dream down in my journal. I did some study, and a bus often represents a ministry, a school bus a teaching ministry. The dusty books covering the light are man-made traditions. The gold represents something precious, Glory, Wisdom, Truth. It's a healing word (Psalm 107:20).

The dream/vision came when I needed serious encouragement to continue the work here, and it started when we expressed interest in uncovering the truth. Some people wanted it, but some didn't. 

This week I had a follow-up dream, again in October. We were on the same school bus or possibly in a classroom. We were seated near the middle when miracles began happening all around us. First one there, then another here, then multiples as people realized what was happening. Gold was raining on us all, but it was having a greater effect on some than others. 

I began weeping and cried, "Oh My God, it's finally happening. I had almost given up."  Then I woke up from the dream.

To be honest, I needed some more encouragement. I pray so much for people but often watch them grow worse. I pray for RHM members while cutting grass, in the morning, at night, while running a table saw, as well as in our prayer network and live meetings. I want to see a breakthrough in their life. I want to see people healed. But remember that old saying, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink? This is the scripture level we want to arrive at, but all those scriptures above it come first:

(James 5:16 NKJV)  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

I often encourage people to pray for others during our live meetings, and this is why. When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord changed his circumstances (Job 42:10). Great things are coming, but they won't include everyone because of a simple lack of desire to live differently. Jesus said, "If any are thirsty, let them come to Me and drink" (John 7:37). 

Get on the bus and take an interest in the Lord, for it's pulling away from the curb. Let's get the sin out of our lives and stop believing watered-down, feel-good, cost-me-nothing gospels. Fact: You will not be filled with the Holy Spirit or divinely healed until you repent of your sins. You can't boldly pray when the Holy Spirit is convicting you. So get sin out of the way now. Allow the Lord to wash us clean, and don't be like a dog returning to its own vomit (internally), or washed hog returning to the mud (externally) (2 Peter 2:22).

Don't miss the bus. You are going to want to be a part of what is coming. Every major revival begins with deep repentance. You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please forgive me of my sins, cleanse me, and help me live a life pleasing to You. I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Please guide me, and teach me what I need to know. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!