He has shackled my shame...

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to attend a Shane and Shane concert.  Which was so exciting and such an amazing evening!  I am so blessed by Shane and Shane, a band who does not seek worldly acceptance but sings for the glory of our great God.  Their lyrics are filled with truth and continually set my eyes on the glorious work of the cross.  Sadly, this is a great rarity among Christian bands.
I've always enjoyed the Shane's music but it wan't until this summer at Ellerslie that I really came to love their songs.  We sang their songs all the time for our worship and often discussed the lyrics.  I love when I know a song so well from singing it that I'm not just listening to recordings for my entertainment but actually hearing the words and worshipping God. (in the car by myself is the best place for this... :-)

Children  from "His Little Feet", an orphan choir. 

So because of having recently gone to the concert, I've been listening to Shane and Shane all week.  Loving the old songs and finding new ones.  I have had so many songs I want to post but I can't decide which one.  But the lyrics of "Liberty" keep running through my mind.  And as I reread through the song this morning I decided to post it.  This is truth; there IS liberty in Christ, He has WON and shackled our shame!  Oh what unspeakable joy and peace there is resting in the work of our Jesus!

The Lord is the Spirit
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, now
There is liberty
And the Spirit lives inside of me
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, now
There is liberty, there is liberty,
There is liberty

For freedom You set me free
And yes, I am free indeed
You rewrote my name
And shackled my shame
You opened my eyes to see
I am free

When the spirit of the world
Comes to kill me and enslave me I will say
There is liberty
For the chains of sin that once entangled me
Have been broken, now I'm singing 'cause I'm free
There is liberty, there is liberty,
There is liberty

The storm rolled in
It was dark in the land
As the Son of Man
Was crucified
You don't take his life
He laid it down
He paid the price
And shed His blood

It is done!
The veil is torn
He has won
And I am free

For freedom You set me free
And yes, I am free indeed
You rewrote my name
And shackled my shame
You opened my eyes to see

I am free

-"Liberty" by Shane and Shane from the album "The One You Need"

Peace through the blood of His cross

--I am in no way any sort of Bible scholar or educated writer.  This is simply my feeble attempt of putting to words what God revealed to me this morning and the extraordinary beauty that I am seeing the Gospel is.--


"All things were created through Him and for Him." Colossians 1:16b

This verse began my morning bible time today.  Such a simple passage yet do I fully comprehend it's depth?  ALL things exist for Him.  You and I exist for Him.  The reason we were created by Him is for Him!  For His glory alone.


"For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross." Colossians 1:19,20

It was that last sentence that stopped me.  How often have I read through these verses and never seen, or rather understood, this statement of the cross.  Christ has made peace through the blood of His cross.  As the following verses say, that through His death we are presented holy and blameless in His sight.  This is the peace of His blood on the cross.  Do we live in this peace, confident and firm in having been reconciled to Him?

"And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight..."  Colossians 1:21,22

It is this that fills me with complete awe and leaves me speechless at what Christ accomplished on the Cross.  I, a depraved, wicked, sinner have been made presentable and blameless unto God!  The King of Kings!  No matter how hard I try, how good I am or how much I desire to glorify God, I can not even be presented to Him without having been made blameless through Christ's blood.  This is the abundant peace Christ has offered us through His blood.  But we must continue on to the following verse:

"...if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard." Colossians 1:23

We must continue in unbending faith to grasp hold of this peace.  Stand firm in this truth that He has reconciled us through His death and be grounded in the hope of the gospel.

I praise God for revealing to me at a deeper level the power and peace of the blood of the cross.  It amazes me that the clearer I understand the Gospel, the more overwhelming and vast becomes.  Oh what a God we serve; mighty, powerful and glorious beyond our imaginations!
May you have peace and joy resting in Jesus today.