savior

March 3, 2020

“Come and See For Yourself”

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.– John 1:46b NLT

Come and See

Each of us must come to Jesus for ourselves. No one else can do this for us. Parents and Grandparents, regardless of how much they love and pray, cannot make this decision for you. It is personal and it is eternal. Just as Jesus knew Nathanael before He came to Jesus, so He knew each of us before we came to Him. He knows us at our very worst, He knows our unkind thoughts. No matter how sinful or how ugly it is, Jesus knows all about it but He still loves us. He is waiting with open arms to receive us. If you haven’t truly accepted Him as your Savior and Lord, then, please, “Come and See for Yourself”. Once you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you will never be alone again.

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

Post 03-03-2020

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December 23, 2019

“Guilty” But Forgiven by Grace

10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. — James 2:10

James 2:10-13 NLT

The law(s) were given to the children of Israel to show them that sin was in the world. Without the law there would have been no disobedience of the law and therefore they would not have understood sin. With the law, they understood sin and also understood that no human being could live up to the perfect standard required by the law. The law was their/our teacher to show them/us that we all need a Savior. This was no surprise to God. Before the foundations of the earth were laid, He had prepared a perfect Lamb to be our Savior. Because God is merciful, He sent His only Son into the world as the only perfect human. Jesus came to us knowing that He would be sacrificed for our sins, although He was sinless. Now we live under grace, the unmerited favor of God. We did nothing and can do nothing to earn grace and salvation. It is a free gift from God.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.–Ephesians 2:8,9 (NLT)

We should sing praises to God daily. He is a marvelous, amazing God. “What a wonderful Savior is Jesus our Lord”!!!!!!!“

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

Post 12-23-2019

April 12, 2019

“Full of Joy In the Lord”

4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!— Philippians 4:4 NLT 

Philippians 4:4-9 NLT
If you spend any time talking with non-Christians about Jesus and why they have not accepted Him as their Savior, you soon learn that their views on Jesus are not the primary reason for not accepting Him.  It is their view of what they think Christianity is and what it requires them to do or not do. They have this idea that Christians have little or no fun and that to be a Christian, they are going to have to completely change their lifestyle. There will be some changes required.  For some, it will be a very dramatic change.  For others, it will only be a change in their mindset about why they do the good things they have been doing.  The “good” ones are usually the hardest ones to convince that they need a Savior.  Back to the point.  Have we ever considered where the outsiders get this view that Christians must live a dull, joyless life?  Since most of them don’t spend much time, if any, reading the Bible, they get it from watching us and listening to our conversations.  Do we show them that “the joy of the Lord is our strength” or do they see us as sad, beaten down people who are forced to stay home on Saturday night so we can go to church on Sunday morning?   Is our lifestyle a good advertisement for Jesus or does it turn others away from seeking Him? Think about it.

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

Post 04-12-2019

December 31, 2017

“Not Just For Some, But For Everyone”

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9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. – Galatians 3:9 NLT
Gal. 3:6-9 NLT

Abraham lived before the law was handed down. God told Abram to leave his family and his country. Abram did not question God about how or where, he just did what God asked him to do. Because Abram believed God, it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Abram was renamed Abraham. It was quite amazing that Abram would trust a God that he hardly knew. Today, even with the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, how many of us would leave everything and go to wherever God would lead? Abraham did this by faith in God. When God told Abraham that “all nations” would be blessed in Him, it was a foreshadowing of our being saved by grace through faith. Yes, God picked a certain lineage and nation to carry His Name forward and made a covenant with them to do so. That covenant and the law that followed was not meant to exclude other nations or set aside the promise God had made to Abraham. It was meant to show all nations that we need a Savior. And at just the right time, God sent His Son to be that Savior and Redeemer.
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.—Gal. 4:4,5 (NASB)

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

12-31-2017

July 6, 2016

You Can’t Get Anymore Saved

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31 And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read this encouraging message. — Acts 15:31 NLT
 
Acts 15:24-32 NLT
 
“There was great joy” when the people were told that they had done the one necessary thing they needed to do to be saved.  When we are first saved in today’s society, we need to be very careful who we listen to.  As Paul said, “if anyone, including an angel from heaven and/or me, comes to you and gives you some different message, that person should be cursed.”  Gal. 1:6 (my paraphrase}. The letter did go on to give the new converts some guidelines as to what they should or should not do. The letter did not claim that these guidelines had to be followed to complete their salvation.  It is still the same today, when we personally witness to someone who accepts Jesus as their Savior, we need to take a few minutes and give them some encouragement and guidelines as well.  We need to explain to them that satan will waste no time in trying to discourage them and make them doubt their salvation.  We need to encourage them to find a good Bible teaching church and a good mentor to help them along the way.  After the initial acceptance of Jesus as our Savior, we need someone to help us understand that the Holy Spirit will come alongside us and help us learn to “walk in paths of righteousness”.  
Post 07-06-2016
April 25, 2016

Our God Is God!!

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31 “God’s way is perfect.  All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
32  For who is God except the Lord?    Who but our God is a solid rock?
33  God is my strong fortress,    and he makes my way perfect.– 2 Samuel 22:31-33 NLT


2 Samuel 22:31-37

What a mighty God we serve!  No religion can make the claim that we Christians can make about our God.  No religion can make the claim that they have a God who loved them enough to send His only Son to die for them and  redeem them from the curse of sin. There are other so-called gods but they are all dead and buried or if they were only idols having no life, they have been destroyed.  We serve a living God, a risen Savior and we are guided by an indwelling Holy Spirit.  That is why Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship with a living Lord.  The Bible is a book about our God and what our relationship with Him should be.  How many times have you read a book and wished that you could sit down and talk with the author?  Well, we can do that everyday with the Author and the Finisher of our Bible.  Every day of our lives, we can sit at the feet of Jesus and learn about Him from Him.  When we do that faithfully and obediently, we learn that all of His promises are true.  He is our protector, our Solid Rock, our fortress, our Banner, our Physician and the list goes on and on.  Our God is everything we need when we need it the most.  He cannot and will not fail us.  He is able to deliver us and bring us home to His glory! Praise His Name!!


Jude 24, 25

 

Post 04-25-2016

March 28, 2015

Not by Works

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” 11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” 12 However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.”13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.—Gal. 3:10-14 (NASB)
​Paul continues to​ contrast living under the law as opposed to living under grace. For hundreds of years, all the Jews had known was the law plus all the man-made traditions that had been added by the priests and the religious leaders. That now there was a different way to please God was going to take a lot of “unteaching ” and “unlearning”. The law was not given to be a curse, but it became a curse because the flesh could not live up to its standards. It did not require faith, it was a law of works. It was meant to be a teacher showing “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”. We needed a change, but to have that change, we needed someone to remove us from under the curse of sin and the law. Jesus became a curse and a Redeemer for us. Through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we can now receive the promise of the blessing of Abraham. We could not become the physical offspring of Abraham, but we could become the Spiritual descendants of the “seed” of Abraham. That “Seed” is Jesus Christ.
13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect—Romans 4:13,14 (NKJV)
Post 03-28-2015

January 5, 2015

“Believe What I Do”

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

37 If I don’t do what my Father does, then don’t believe me. 38 But if I do what my Father does, even though you don’t believe in me, believe what I do. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 They tried to take Jesus again, but he escaped from them. 40 Then he went back across the Jordan River to the place where John had first baptized. Jesus stayed there, 41​ ​and many people came to him and said, “John never did a miracle, but everything John said about this man is true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.​—John 10:37-42 (NCV)
​Jesus​ is setting a great example. He does exactly what His Father does and they should believe Him. If they can prove that He has done anything that God Himself would not do, then they have every right not to believe in Him or what He says. But if they cannot find anything that He has done in opposition to the Father, then they should believe Him. Everything that John said about Jesus was true and Jesus had been faithful to that description. Jesus issues the same challenge to non-believers today. If you can find any sin in the things I did in my lifetime or if you can find one promise that God has not been faithful to fulfill, then you shouldn’t believe me or my Word. But if you can’t find anything, then why don’t you accept my Word and accept me as your Savior and Lord? It is really that simple.
Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.—John 14:6 (NCV)
Post 01-05-2015

October 28, 2014

“Come and See For Yourself”

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”​ 46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”​ “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.​ 47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”​ 48 “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.​ Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”​ 49 Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”​ 50 Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”—John 1: 45-51 (NLT)
​Each​ of us must come to Jesus for ourselves. No one else can do this for us. Parents and Grandparents, regardless of how much they love and pray, cannot make this decision for you. It is personal and it is eternal. Just as Jesus knew Nathanael before He came to Jesus, so He knew each of us before we came to Him. He knows us at our very worst, He knows our unkind thoughts. No matter how sinful or how ugly it is, Jesus knows all about it but He still loves us. He is waiting with open arms to receive us. If you haven’t truly accepted Him as your Savior and Lord, then, please, “Come and See for Yourself”. Once you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you will never be alone again.
Post 10-28-14

October 5, 2014

This is Real Love

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.—1 John 4:13-17 (NLT)
​Before​ Jesus ascended to heaven, He told His disciples and us that He would send us a Comforter and that Comforter would teach us everything.
25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.—John 14:25,26 (NLT) ​
The Holy Spirit​ abides in us and His job is to teach us everything, including how to love God and how to love others. The English language does not have words for different kinds of love. In the Greek, there are at least 6 words for love, Let’s look at four of those. We have philos or phileo (brotherly, friendly love), storge (natural or love for family) eros (sexual) love. These three can be accomplished to a degree in the natural and involve both parties loving and giving. The fourth word is agape (unconditional) love. This is the love that comes only from God, It is the love that only the Spirit can teach us. It is unilateral love, God loves us whether we return that love or not. The flesh can not love in that respect. This is the love that we are to be striving to show to others. But, as Paul said, we “must strive toward the mark”. We must keep practicing loving without expecting anything in return.
Post 10-05-14