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PROGRAM outline is transcribed below.

DOREEN:

Greetings once again to you all out there! I often wonder who is listening to this program. Anyway, God bless you today!

This program is ComfortForToday.com. It was named after my website of the same name - ComfortForToday.com. The names are the same because each weekly broadcast is based on a short article on the website.

Today we are going to look at the central message of Christianity - that we have a "Redeemer" to save us from receiving what we deserve if we were judged by the Old Testament laws.

HYMN: We are first going to listen to Norma-Jean Mainse of Crossroads TV Ministries sing:

"THERE IS A REDEEMER"

I am going to read two articles to help us get a fresh view of the very foundatiion of our Christian faith. The first article, #26 on the website, is "I Dreamed I Was a Witch." The second, #249 is entitled "A Place of No Condemnation."

A few years ago I dreamed I was a witch, and the next morning I wrote the following article. I Dreamed I Was a Witch

I Dreamed I Was a Witch

I dreamed I was a witch, complete with all the regalia. I was hilariously happy and laughing so much I couldn't seem to stop.

When I awoke, I thought, "Now what could that be all about?" Then I remembered that the previous evening had been spent with family members and I had been laughing all evening. The things we had been laughing at were wholesome and, as far as I could see, had been good Christian fun. Why then would I connect this laughter to something evil?

As I considered this dilemma, I realized what had happened. If we are trying to live a clean Christian life, if we seek God's will in all things through prayer and reading the Bible, if we ask God for forgiveness for every small deviation from His will, we should be happy and free. Sometimes, however, the witch of condemnation robs us of our joy and tries to take us on a guilt trip.

Satan is called "the accuser" (Rev.12:10). If we have sinned, God causes us to feel guilty and this is the way it ought to be. However, if we confess our sin and try to clean up our act and still live under heavy condemnation, it is not God who is condemning us.

Many times modern psychiatry helps us sort out our problems from the past and we get a temporary feeling of peace. The only problem is that if we have not taken our guilt to the cross of Jesus Christ, we have difficulty forgiving ourselves. This accusing spirit continues to harass us and it is not only ourselves we accuse, but we become very critical of others, especially Christians. The world of the spirit is very real and we need to learn to understand it.

The witch of my dream who appeared happy is exactly how people feel when they begin their trip into the occult, the world of Satan. At first things go well, for Satan is described in the Bible as "an angel of light" (2 Cor.11:14). Sometime later, however, their lives become tormented and often end in depression, suicide, or murder. The euphoria does not last, but ends in misery.

There is a strong power with which Christians need to get to touch to dispel evil. It is the resurrection power Jesus left for each true believer. It is a Light which dispels the darkness. "In Him there is no darkness at all" (I John 1:5).

To get in touch with this power which turns on the Light, we must give our lives and hearts of Jesus. We need to admit our sin and ask Him to forgive us.

John the Baptist was a man sent from God to call the people to repentance so that they would be prepared to accept Jesus when He came to minister to them. Today God's "John the Baptists" - His prophets - are calling His people to repentance so that they will be ready to go with Jesus when He comes for them (I Thess. 4:16-17).

Let us repent, therefore, and free ourselves from that life-long burden of guilt. But when we have repented, let us not allow the witch of condemnation to rob us of our peace and joy: "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (NIV Rom. 8:1).

"If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36 NIV).

That is the end of the first article, so I shall now read the second article, "A Place of No Condemnation."

A Place of No Condemnation

Psychiatrists may question the reason that some Christians come to them filled with guilt when Christianity claims to be the way to get rid of guilt.

The first reason is that many Christians, especially those new to the faith, do not understand the meaning of the Christian "grace". You see, grace is something no other religion mentions because they don't have it. Grace was what God did for us at Calvary by providing a sacrificed Lamb, His own Son, to be killed to take away our sin. All other religions think they can get rid of sin by right living. Yes, Christians still try to follow the rules set out in the Ten Commandments, but, as the Bible says, these rules are only "a schoolmaster bringing us to Christ" (Gal 3:24). They are to help us understand our inability to live perfect lives. If we ever think we are keeping these rules, Jesus reminded His followers that even to be angry with one's brother, or thinking thoughts of lust, are really breaking God's laws (Matt 5:22 & 28). In other words, we are sinners in need of grace (1 Cor 15:10) and all our own righteousness as filthy rags (Isa 64:6).

The second reason many Christians are subject to guilt is one even less well known. You see, when we allow the Spirit of our resurrected Lord to dwell within us, we have a spiritual adversary to torment us with guilt and accusations. Because many people do not believe in the reality of God, they have even more trouble believing in Satan, "the accuser of the brethren" (Rev 12:10). He torments Christians. This means that when we do something wrong, Satan is very happy knowing he can make and keep us unhappy about it. For Christians who are aware of such condemnation, they can simply quote the scriptures "There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit (Rom 8:1). They know they are free from guilt because of what Jesus did at Calvary.

Those who understand their faith and practice their prayer life find they can go to a place of rest in the Father's arms when the accuser screams words of condemnation in their ears. The old hymn put it this way "There is a place of rest near to the heart of God". This place of rest is hard-earned and comes only through much striving. So instead of striving to live a perfect life as those of other religions and cults do, Christians should be striving to find this place of perfect peace and rest by disciplined long hours of prayer and Bible study. It is the "sabbath rest" of which the Bible speaks (Heb 4:9 NIV).

This place of rest is appropriating the grace or love of God into our lives. The good deeds will naturally come from such a life, but they will be done in love rather than duty. Then we will be obeying Jesus' commandment to love God and love our neighbours as ourselves.

When we know the true meaning of our Christian faith, we can rest in a place of no condemnation, a place we can go at any time under any circumstances to bask in the presence of God.

HYMN: "MERCY OVER ME" from Robert Critchley's CD 'How Big is He?'

Suggestion to invite Jesus to live in you forever. INVITE JESUS....