Salvation

May 30, 2023

“And Believe In Your Heart…”

9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. – Romans 10:9 NLT

Salvation 

It is the old, old story, the story that has been told over and over throughout the centuries. It will continue to be told until every nation, tongue and tribe has heard it and Jesus returns. But, it is also a story that we, as Christians, should hold near and dear to our hearts. We should never hear it or think about it without being amazed by the great love shown to us by our Creator. God, Himself, left all of His glory in heaven and came to earth as a man to redeem a fallen world! He could have wiped us out and started over. He could have done anything He chose to do. And He did! He chose to give His life for ours! Love never-ending and beyond our comprehension led Him to a cross and us to eternal life in glory with Him! Then, He trusted a bunch of redeemed sinners to tell that story to everyone we know until the whole world would hear it. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!”  May we never grow tired of hearing and telling the old, old story.

Victory in Jesus

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

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October 6, 2022

“He Speaks God’s Words”

34 For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. – John 3:34 NLT

John 3:31-36

​John continues to explain to his disciples who Jesus is and why he must decrease as Jesus increases. John’s understanding of all of this is beyond human knowledge. He tells us that Jesus speaks God’s words because God gives Him “the Spirit without limit”. Jesus agrees with this statement:

So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the​ ​Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.–John 5:19 (NLT)

John continues to explain that God has put everything into the hands of Jesus. Jesus also agrees with this statement:

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.—Matt. 28:18 (NLT)

This is why Jesus could say “your sins are forgiven” and “this day, you will be with me in paradise”. When we accept this truth about Jesus, we are forgiven of our sins and on our way to heaven for eternity. But on the journey, we have a purpose and a work to do, just as John and Jesus did. The work could never get us to heaven, but it does get us rewarded when we get there. When God calls each of us to do a work, He enables us to do that work by the Holy Spirit. We have access to “the Spirit without limit”. How much of that we receive is up to us. Just as we could not be saved without asking for and reaching out to accept the forgiveness, we cannot access the power of the Holy Spirit without asking for it and reaching out to accept it. Can we do the works that John and Jesus did? Jesus says we can:

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.—John 14:12 (NLT)

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

October 4, 2022

“And Men Loved Darkness”

19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. – John 3:19 NASB

John 3:18-21 NLT

God has not condemned anyone and He doesn’t send people to hell. People are condemned when they reject Jesus, That is a personal choice and they have to earn their way to hell; “the wages of sin are death” (Romans 6:23) It isn’t God’s will that any should perish/go to hell. We each make a choice to accept the gift of eternal life or work our way to hell. A Christian cannot be condemned since we don’t “practice evil” . We certainly fall occasionally but that is not our lifestyle. Condemnation comes from satan but conviction comes through the Holy Spirit. The feelings of guilt that a Christian has are not condemnation but conviction for failing to live up to the standards that Jesus has set for us. Jesus died once for all our sins, He is not going to the cross again. So, if you are feeling convicted and we all do at some time or other, don’t wait, ask God for His forgiveness and start to walk with Him in joy once again.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.–1 John 1:​8-9 (NLT)

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

September 18, 2022

“And Save Them”

23 Take others out of the fire, and save them. Show mercy mixed with fear to others, hating even their clothes which are dirty from sin. ​ – Jude 23 NCV​

Jude 17-23 NCV

We live in the times Jude is describing in these verses. Everyday, we read more and more articles and hear more comments about people who either disrespect Christianity or refuse to believe in God. They are becoming much more militant in their actions each day, demanding more and more rights but at the same time wanting to limit the rights of others. They use all manner of deception and false claims that others are mistreating them. We must stand firm in our beliefs and refuse to compromise the truth that is laid out in the Scriptures. God has not changed His mind about what He knows to be sin. After all, does the Creator not know what actions will harm the creatures He so lovingly created? Which of us can say to the Creator, “hey, you made a mistake”? After all God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient. We must encourage new believers to stand firm and grow in the faith. We do this with love and mercy, just as God has shown love and mercy to us. We “snatch others from the flames of judgment” by witnessing to them about Jesus. We must do this also with great love and mercy, not judging them for their sins, but showing them a different way of life. We must love the sinner and hate the sin just as God does. As we do this, we must be sure not to allow the sins to contaminate our lives.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

February 6, 2020

“We Know What Real Love Is”

16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. ​ — 1 John 3:16 NLT

​1 John 3:11-17 NLT

As Christians, most of us, at sometime or other, have met other people and we sensed immediately that they were Christians. There was a kindred Spirit that we could easily identify. This Spirit is God’s Holy Spirit indwelling us and we can feel the love of the other person almost immediately. We must never feel hatred for those around us, whether they be Christian brothers and sisters or not. We must always reflect the love of Jesus by loving others. First, to our own household, then our church, and then those around us. We should never have the attitude of the expert in religious law that Jesus encountered in Luke 10. He asked Jesus, “who is my neighbor”? This was an effort on his part to get Jesus to identify specific people that he should help. This would limit his responsibilities to others. We are to help all those that Jesus puts in our path. It is not God’s will that any should perish. Therefore, it becomes our responsibility to lead as many as possible to Christ by showing them the love of Christ. Our lifestyles should show others that Christianity is not a bunch of “don’ts” and negativism, but that it is a positive relationship with a living Lord.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-06-2020

February 5, 2020

“Children of God”

10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. – 1 John 3:10 NLT

1 John 3:7-10 NLT

A child of God is anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. When we do that, our sins are forgiven and we become a new creation. We are filled with God’s light and where there is light, there can be no darkness. Does this mean that if we sin or fail that we are no longer God’s children? Not at all, each of us will fail at times. The question is not about a single sin, but a lifestyle of sin. If our salvation experience does not change our lifestyle then we need to question whether it was a real life-changing event or merely an emotional experience that we had. Don’t be deceived, God is faithful and just. Getting saved is a rational, logical experience. There may be emotions and feelings involved, but the true experience is a decision that we make to trust our souls and our future to Jesus. If we have done this, then there will be changes in our lifestyle. Some immediately, some as we mature in our walk with Christ. Our lives will bear the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-26 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-05-2020

February 4, 2020

“I Will Follow Wherever”

57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”  – Luke 9:57 NLT

Luke 9:57-62 NLT

We all know the old hymn, “Where He Leads Me, I Will Follow”.  We sing it quite often in worship services across the nation regardless of the denomination.  It is a great invitational song for getting people to commit to the mission fields. But I wonder if we really hear the words that we are singing or if we are just making noise. I think we need to change the song for a while and sing “Where He leads me, will I follow?”.  Will I go on a mission trip? Oh no, can’t spare the time for that.  Will I visit those in prisons? Nope, not my calling.  Will I visit the sick in the hospitals and pray for their healing? Again, I just don’t feel the call.  Will I feed the hungry? Well, you know I give to charities to do that. Will I walk across the street to witness to my neighbor? You know, they might be offended, really need to be careful there.  Will I ask a lost family member if we could pray together? Well. they are not going to listen, they know I’m not perfect.  Don’t I need a calling to do those things?  Well, here is our calling,

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matt. 28:18-20

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-04-2020

February 3, 2020

“We Do Know That We Will Be Like Him”

2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. ​ – 1 John 3:2 NLT​1

John 3:1-3 NLT

God’s example of unconditional love is something I can’t really grasp. Hopefully, you can do a better job than I do. How does a Creator have such love for creatures that He has to give His only Son to redeem? Thank God that His “thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways”. How exciting it should be to each of us to know that we are not “going to be” His children, we are ​ALREADY​ His children. While we are not able to grasp all that really means and we don’t know exactly what the end result of it will be, let’s just revel in it here and now! Enjoy His love today expecting greater things tomorrow and things that we cannot even imagine in the future!! Our lives should be so full of joy that everyone around us wants to know why we are so joyful! No matter the situation, “count it all Joy”!!

Praise Him for His goodness and mercy! God loves to hear His children singing regardless of what it may sound like to those around us. Make a joyful noise!!!“

The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-03-2020

February 2, 2020

“Remain In Fellowship With Christ”

28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. – 1 John 2:28 NLT

i John 2:26-29 NLT

We need to remember that we are always in God’s presence. He is omnipresent, there is no escaping His eye as it roams to and fro over the earth. We must strive to live holy lives every day.

17 I see everything they do. They cannot hide from me the things they do; their sin is not hidden from my eyes–Jeremiah 16:17 (NCV)

While our sins are forgiven, any unconfessed sins in our lives temporarily breaks our fellowship with God. That was the reason for the prayer that Jesus prayed in Gethsemane. He knew that when all the sin of the world was put upon Him, His fellowship with Our Father would be temporarily broken. That would be the one and only time that would be true and it caused Him great anguish. We should feel that same anguish when we fail. When we fail, we should never let satan use that as a weapon to bring us down. What we should feel is not guilt or condemnation, but conviction that causes us to repent. But that is not the end of the story. Just as Jesus was restored to full fellowship with God, so will we be. When God looks at us, He sees us through the blood of Jesus. So, He sees us as righteous just as Christ is righteous. Hopefully, as we strive to live obedient lifestyles, we won’t have to suffer through many of those times of broken fellowship.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-02-2020

February 1, 2020

“Do Not Love This World”

15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. ​ — 1 John 2:15 NLT

I john 2:15-19 NLT​

God is not in competition with anyone or anything in the world. He will not accept the position of the leader in the race, The only position He will accept is being the only One in the race. He is not in some game to be the first on our list, He wants to be the only One on our list. He wants us to love Him so much that there is nothing or no one that we would not give up for Him. After all, that is exactly what He did for us. He gave up His glory and His position in heaven and finally, His very life. Why should He accept anything less in return? The world and satan tempts us with things that please the lusts of the flesh, they tempt us with our desires for beautiful possessions that please the eyes and they tempt us with power and positions that cause pride in our lives. We cannot love both, either we love Jesus or we love mammon. The time for the return of the true Christ is closer now than ever. We see and will continue to see wickedness in the world and more wickedness in high, spiritual places. We see people that we have respected in positions of leadership who have failed and we must arrive at the same conclusion that John did. If they had truly been one of us, they would have remained with us, but their going showed they did not belong with us.

Hebrews 3:12-14 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-01-2020