Tag: salvation

Someone is bound to ask you: Just what is so “good” about The Good News? Titus 2:11-14

Titus 2:11-14 New King James Version

Trained by Saving Grace

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

What are your thoughts about this statement?

Living into God’s Great Commandment; The grace that saves is the grace that works through our relationship with ourselves, with neighbors and with God.

When we hear the Gospel or the Good News, what comes to our mind?

Do we think of a heavenly real estate deal that after signing up we are now assured of a place in heaven?

Do we think of a divine fire insurance that after putting our name on the dotted line we can now heave a deep sigh of relief because we are skipping hell?

Is it as simple as ABC?

Accept Believe and Confess?

Is that all there is to the Good News?

In studies of contemporary religion in America, sociologists have found a disturbing trend among teenagers.

For them, “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem…

The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.” [1]

[1]“Death by Deism” by Collin Hansen (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/aprilweb-only/116-11.0.html?start=1)

Simply put, relationship with God became a religion about Him.

But I think that point of view is not just held by teenagers and it is not just found among Americans. Is that it? Is that what the Good News is all about?

So, when that one person asks; What’s so good about the Good News, anyway?

Of course, when we put our faith in our Lord Jesus as Savior, we have eternal life. But there’s more to the Good News than just making sure we would enjoy heaven and won’t endure hell.

Yes, when we believe, we will find peace. But the Good News is not just about peace. It’s not at all just about feeling good. There’s more to the Good News than that. There’s more to it than just making a decision for Christ and then proceeding with our lives as usual. So, what’s so good about the Good News?

Titus 2:11-14 gives us the answer.

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Here we see that the reason the good news is good is because the Good News involves all aspects of our life.

Why? Because the grace that SAVES is the grace that WORKS.

In the Greek, Titus chapter 2 verses 11 to 14 are actually one long sentence.

Titus was the pastor of the church in that place called Crete.

The Cretans or those who live in Crete have a bad reputation.

In Titus 1:12, we read that “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’”

Now that they became believers, they should live differently. But there are some people who “claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are so detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”

There are people like that today. People who claim they are believers yet we wonder as we look at their lives if they really are believers. Now before we think I am referring to that person to your left or to your right, consider first if the person sitting where you are seated right now is genuinely a Christ follower.

First, let us talk about the grace that saves.

Verse 11 tells us, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” Circle the phrase “the grace of God.”

Grace is God’s kindness that He freely gives us even if we are not worthy to receive it.

His grace “brings salvation”.

We read this in Ephesians 2:8-9. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

We can’t do anything to earn salvation.

It is only made possible by grace not by good works.

We receive it through faith in our Lord Jesus.

If that is not clear enough, look at Romans 11:6. “And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”

Grace is God’s gift. If you have to pay for a gift, if you have to earn it, you wont, if you have to deserve it, you never will. (Romans 3:21-24) it’s no longer a gift.

We are saved by grace, not by works.

What does it mean that “the grace of God… has APPEARED to all men”?

We got the word “epiphany” from the Greek word used here for “appeared,” which either means “the sudden realization or leap in understanding” or “the appearance of manifestation of God.”

In the Greek, it means “the dawning of light upon darkness” or “to become visible or known.”

But the grace that appeared here is not just an idea we suddenly understood.

Paul used the same Greek word in verse 13: “the glorious APPEARING of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ”.

Here in our context, the grace that has already appeared refers to our Lord Jesus.

Verse 11 talks about His first coming and verse 13 refers to His second coming.

He is grace in the flesh.

When we talk of grace here we are talking of a person, not a principle.

We don’t just talk about the Lord.

We connect with Him.

That’s what so good about the Good News. Christianity is a relationship, not a religion… an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

Here He is called “our great God and Savior”. This is one of the clearest and strongest verses to prove that Jesus is equal with the Father, that He is God.

Some people would say that “great God” refers to the Father and “Savior” refers to the Son. But it did not say “our great God and OUR Savior”.

If the verse is phrased as such, that would mean that Paul was referring to two persons. But it says “OUR great God AND Savior.”

Literally in the Greek, it goes like this: “the great God and Savior of us Jesus Christ”. Thus, it refers to one person, “Jesus Christ”.

Jesus was not the Father but He is equal with God. And the fact that He is God means that He is Lord, the Master and the Boss of our entire lives.

Verse 14 tell us Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Note that it says He “gave himself for us”.

He voluntarily gave Himself for us.

People did not have to force Him on the cross.

He willingly died for our sins.

Circle the conjunction “to.” It can be translated “in order that” or “so that.”

It gave us the reason why Christ gave Himself for us. He did it in order that He can “redeem us”.

In the Greek, the word “redeem” means “to obtain release by the payment of a price, to ransom”.

For slaves, that word is very precious.

We are no longer bound by sin or wickedness. Christ has set us free.

He Himself is the ransom.

We deserve death.

But He died in our place.

We can’t save ourselves.

He saved us.

Notice here too He Himself redeemed us from sin with Himself as the price for Himself. That other than redeeming us from wickedness, another reason He gave Himself for us is “to purify for himself a people that are his very own”.

Literally, “his very own” is “his own possession”.

We now belong to Jesus.

He Himself redeemed us from sin with Himself as the price for Himself.

We are now His prized possessions Who would do His bidding.

It is clear here that there is a dual purpose why Christ gave Himself for us.

It is “to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

He saved us from wickedness or bad works.

And He saved us for good works.

Underline the last clause: “eager to do what is good.”

The word “eager” means we are to be zealous in doing what is right.

We are to be passionate for good works.

Good works do not save us.

But once we are saved, the moment we belong to Him, that means He saved us for good works – living into and outward from God’s Greatest Commandment. 

Matthew 22:34-40 Revised Standard Version

The Greatest Commandment

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sad′ducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

Let us now talk about the grace that works.

Grace makes works possible.

Note that “the grace of God… teaches us”.

It means that grace instructs or disciplines us.

It is like how a parent trains a child.

Grace leads, guides and directs us to do good works.

We can’t accept Christ and still live the way we once lived.

Now that we are in Christ, we live according to His ways on His terms.

If a person claims to be a believer and yet we don’t see any change at all in his life, we have reasons to doubt his claim.

I am not saying that we become sinless but we look at our lives and see that we sin less.

That’s why the book of James tell us “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead… faith without deeds is dead.”

If Jesus is our Lord, we are to obey Him.

The call to faith in Christ is the call to follow Him.

That’s a pattern in the book of Titus.

In his greeting to Titus, Paul talked about “the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness”.

Later, in Titus 3:8, Paul gave this instruction to Titus:

“I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.”

So, the grace that saves is the grace that works.

It’s not that we need to become holy and pure by our own efforts in order to earn salvation.

Rather, the salvation Jesus freely gives to us also teaches us and forms us into people who live holy lives out of gratitude.

Salvation comes first, and holy living is a result.

The good news for people every­where is that Jesus gives salvation to all who confess with all their It’s not that we need to become holy and pure by our own efforts in order to earn salvation. Rather, the salvation that Jesus freely gives to us also teaches us and forms us into people who live holy lives out of gratitude. Salvation comes first, and holy living is a result.

The good news for people every­where is that Jesus gives salvation to all who confess with their whole heart their belief in him. But the good news gets even better. In addition to giving us salvation, Jesus gives us new life right now.

The gospel is not just about living with God after we die; it’s also about living in holiness and purity with God right now. We can receive the grace of holy living as we follow Jesus each day. believe in him. But the good news gets even better than that. In addition to giving us salvation, Jesus gives us new life right now.

The gospel is not just about living with God after we die; it’s also about living into and outward from our holiness and purity with God right now. We can receive the grace of holy living as we follow Jesus each day if we’ll accept it.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let’s Pray,

Psalm 119:1-16 Revised Standard Version

The Glories of God’s Law

119 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
    who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
    who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
    but walk in his ways!
4 Thou hast commanded thy precepts
    to be kept diligently.
5 O that my ways may be steadfast
    in keeping thy statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
    having my eyes fixed on all thy commandments.
7 I will praise thee with an upright heart,
    when I learn thy righteous ordinances.
8 I will observe thy statutes;
    O forsake me not utterly!

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
    By guarding it according to thy word.
10 With my whole heart I seek thee;
    let me not wander from thy commandments!
11 I have laid up thy word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against thee.
12 Blessed be thou, O Lord;
    teach me thy statutes!
13 With my lips I declare
    all the ordinances of thy mouth.
14 In the way of thy testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on thy precepts,
    and fix my eyes on thy ways.
16 I will delight in thy statutes;
    I will not forget thy word.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

A Gospel being Perverted; “There is no other message that is the Good News, but some people are confusing you. They want to alter, to change, the Good News about Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:6 – 12

Galatians 1:6-12 New King James Version

Only One Gospel

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert[a] the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be [b]accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

Call to Apostleship

11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Scroll through your host of social media feeds, and you will undoubtedly be bombarded by myriads and myriads of different voices, opinions, conclusions.

Some of those messages safely grounded in legitimately proven theories, are sourced from verifiable resources. Still, some of those messages are downright dangerous laced by half truth’s or no truth at all but they are written so cleverly that they are easily believed and in turn is accepted and then become the norm.

But a lie is still a lie no matter how it sounds, no matter how often it is granted the status of truth, no matter how clever, smart, intuitive, educated the teacher.

Now that we have the internet, the World Wide Net, the Dark Internet, the sheer volume of messages is far greater now than during the time of the early church, the consequence of listening, adhering, not verifying truth, remains the same.

With such a burden of weight of information, what are those authentic truths?

Sourced from the Word of God or sourced in the glib clever words of charlatans?

Paul doesn’t beat around the bush about this in his Galatian letter. Immediately following his greeting (vv. 1–5), he gives the main reason for this letter: it is his concern about the impending apostasy of these precious young churches (v. 6).

This is perhaps Paul’s most passionate and zealous letter. Since it was possibly also his first epistle, he may have still been learning to temper his emotions.

His shock and outrage almost leap off the page!

It was unfathomable to him these followers of Christ—with whom he had shared the true grace of God—were now being so easily drawn away by a “different gospel,” which was actually “no gospel at all” (v. 6).

Paul then points a finger at the source of the problem.

Some unnamed influencers had come to the region and were creating confusion by “perverting” the gospel (v. 6). While the English verb “pervert” means to alter the course or distort what was intended, the Greek verb is even stronger.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/nkjv/gal/1/7/t_conc_1092007

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3344/nkjv/tr/0-1/

It describes the act of turning the subject into something completely different.

These meddlers were twisting, turning the gospel into something utterly false.

To underscore the severity of the situation, Paul even pronounces (twice!) a divine curse on anyone— himself and angels included—who would proclaim a different gospel (vv. 8–9).

The only true, authentic gospel was the good news of Jesus Christ, which Paul had preached to the Galatians from the beginning, and the only appropriate motivation for this gospel ministry was centered solely to please God alone.

Going Deeper

2 Timothy 2:14-19New King James Version

Approved and Disapproved Workers

14 Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to [a]strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and [b]idle babblings, for they will [c]increase to more ungodliness. 17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, 18 who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of [d]Christ depart from iniquity.”

Paul says here to study to show thyself approved unto God; we are to not just read God’s Word but we are to fellowship with it, study it, ponder it, asking the Lord to reveal the deeper truths, reveal the real living meaning into, unto, us.

I find myself to many times just reading and not mediating on the Word. If we are not careful we can unknowingly be put in a situation where someone asks us about something in God’s Word and we are unable to answer because we have not yet been studious enough, prayerful, and grasped the meaning in our heart.

This can put us to shame as a Christian. One of our greatest gifts to others is to be able show ourselves able to rightly divide God’s Word and pass it on to them.

Matthew 6:19-21 New King James Version

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

What we put our time into is what we will be knowledgeable about. For example I know people who are very knowledge about classic and collectible cars and movies especially old western and crime and detective (Perry Mason etcetera.)

They can tell you who starred as most of the characters of those movies.

They have invested their time into them and became knowledgeable in them.

Me, on the other hand know very little about them because even though I enjoy watching them I have not invested the same quantity of my own time in them.

On the other hand I can tell you things about writing these biblical devotions as I have written, best guess is well over 1600 of them, shared them over the globe.

As Christian we need to invest time in God’s Word as much as possible, study and mediate upon it so we are able to answer any person’s question about the Lord and Salvation through Him.

Don’t get me wrong; it is alright to love other things and be knowledgeable about them but our first priority should be to know God personally in our heart and to be knowledge in His Word. When we do this we will never be ashamed of the Word of God and God will always be able to use us to bring others to Him.

Proverbs 4:20-24 New King James Version

20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
24 Put away from you a [a]deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.

What “perverse lips,” “deceitful mouths” or “false gospels” vie for your attention and loyalty, contribute to your confusion, muddle up God’s Word?

How can we, with all diligence guard our heart and mind from those influences?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 19 New King James Version

The Perfect Revelation of the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament[a] shows [b]His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
4 Their [c]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a [d]tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, [e]converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the [f]honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of [g]great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my [h]strength and my Redeemer.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Standing? Sitting? Lounging? Asleep? Vacationing? Arguing? Getting Drunk Humming? Behind the Message are all the ‘beautiful?’ Lazy? messengers themselves. Romans 10:14-17  

Romans 10:14-17 The Message

14-17 But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why Scripture exclaims,

A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
    telling all the good things of God!

But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: “Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?” The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful, yet simple, and universal declarations of the good news of the gospel of grace, is found in Chapter 2 book of the Prophet Joel: “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord, will be delivered.”

Joel 2:32 English Standard Version

32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the  Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

Originally, this was an ancient prophetic proclamation made to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament which was subsequently reiterated to the men of Israel in the book of Acts… following Christ’s Resurrection from the dead.

Acts 4:8-12 English Standard Version

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus[a] is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.[b] 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men[c] by which we must be saved.”

And then this good news of greatest joy was repeated to the Gentile nations in the epistle to the Romans, where we, who were dead in our sins, discover the beautiful truth that: “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord, will be saved.”

When God speaks, we should listen, but when He repeats an important truth, it should be received with our laser focused undivided attention.

But then comes the devastating reality from Romans 10:14-17 unless someone is prepared to go and tell lost sinners that “whoever will call on the name of the Lord, will be saved,” they will never hear: “For how can they call on the Lord, in Whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him, Whom they have not heard? And how will they hear about Him without a preacher?”

No matter how amazing the gospel of Christ may be, unless lost souls are told the truth about sin and salvation… and unless the good news of the gospel of grace is proclaimed universally, men and women, boys and girls, rich and poor, Jews and Gentiles alike, will remain dead in their trespasses and sins.

Not all of us may be called into the office of evangelist or preacher, but every one of God’s children has a Great Commission to be THE light in this darkened realm, salt in a putrefying world, God’s witnesses to those that are lost in their sins, a walking talking testimony of God’s grace to those who are dead in their trespasses, and messenger of hope to those that are without hope in the world.

God has long promised to hear the cries of all who call upon Him – but first they must believe in Him… and Jesus Christ, Whom He has sent. How shocking then to realize unless the gospel is preached to a world of unsaved people, they will neither hear the truth, nor be able to call out to the only One Who can save them from their sins and a lost eternity – but how will they hear without a preacher?

A deliberately silent gospel and a purposely hidden witness will not minister to anyone at anytime for those wandering in, stumbling in, the valley of decisions.

Matthew 9:35-38 English Standard Version

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Let us pray that God would send out His diligent, vigilant messengers, laborer’s into the ever expanding, ever present harvest-fields of all the souls that need to be saved by grace through their faith in Jesus Christ, and let us ask God to bring His whispers into our lives people, with whom we can share the good news that:

“Whoever will call on the name of the Lord, will be delivered – for how can they call on the Lord, in Whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him, Whom they have not heard? And how will they hear about His message of salvation without a preacher?”

As we assume whatever our “regularly scheduled” bodily or spiritual posture will be for the moment, for all of the live long days, and the longest darkest of nights, let us take careful consideration of what Romans 10:14-17 means to us.

Or not…just go about our regularly scheduled days with our governing attitudes.

Somebody else will surely come along eventually – maybe, perhaps, some day?

Heavenly Father, I guess that there are multitudes of souls in the world today that remain dead in their trespasses and sins. I gratefully, not so gratefully thank You(?) wondering if You have given me all I need for life and godliness.

Should I dare ask that You would use me to share the good news of Christ with others, and pray that You would send more laborer’s into the harvest-fields of the world and bring many souls to saving faith in Jesus, in Whose name I pray? Or should I not pray one prayer, nor utter even one syllable of even one word? or just cry out to be left alone under any all known circumstances? Hallelujah?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Let us Pray,

Psalm 91 Complete Jewish Bible

91 You who live in the shelter of ‘Elyon,
who spend your nights in the shadow of Shaddai,
2 who say to Adonai, “My refuge! My fortress!
My God, in whom I trust!” —
3 he will rescue you from the trap of the hunter
and from the plague of calamities;
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his truth is a shield and protection.

5 You will not fear the terrors of night
or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the plague that roams in the dark,
or the scourge that wreaks havoc at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand;
but it won’t come near you.
8 Only keep your eyes open,
and you will see how the wicked are punished.

9 For you have made Adonai, the Most High,
who is my refuge, your dwelling-place.
10 No disaster will happen to you,
no calamity will come near your tent;
11 for he will order his angels to care for you
and guard you wherever you go.
12 They will carry you in their hands,
so that you won’t trip on a stone.
13 You will tread down lions and snakes,
young lions and serpents you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he loves me, I will rescue him;
because he knows my name, I will protect him.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him when he is in trouble.
I will extricate him and bring him honor.
16 I will satisfy him with long life
and show him my salvation.”

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

What Do We Think, Just What Do We Believe, What Do We Actually Know It Means to “Work Out Our Salvation?” Philippians 2:12-13

Philippians 2:9-13 Complete Jewish Bible

9 Therefore God raised him to the highest place
and gave him the name above every name;

10 that in honor of the name given Yeshua,
every knee will bow —
in heaven, on earth and under the earth —
11 and every tongue will acknowledge[a]
that Yeshua the Messiah is Adonai —
to the glory of God the Father.

12 So, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey now when I am away from you: keep working out your deliverance with fear and trembling,[b] 13 for God is the one working among you both the willing and the working for what pleases him.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Do any of you love to work out?

Do any of you love to get on a treadmill and either walk or jog or run or sprint from what amounts to from the gym to the furthest, remotest place on earth?

What about lifting those weights – doing those bar bells in ever increasing weights, working those abdominal muscles to get those 6 or 12 pack of abs?

Anyone out there, male and female, who who are trying to become, or on their way to becoming a professional competitive body builder, weight lifter or the world’s strongest athlete, compete in an Olympic level Decathlon or Marathon?

If you are, I say … keep it up, get in shape, be competitive, follow your dreams, Exercise those heart muscles, lower your blood pressure, lower blood sugars.

God the Father Bless You! God the Son Bless You! God the Holy Spirit Bless You!

From my own personal experience from 18 1/2 years of military service, from my efforts to keep my own vital signs and sugar levels down, Triple Bypass Open Heart Surgery one year ago, from what I understand, it’s a fluid time ebbing and flowing from an acquired taste to an absolute medical necessity.

A person may begin a workout regimen and hate it right off the bat and quit, but then as they push themselves, keep at it week after week, they may begin to see positive results mentally, physically, or both. The hard work of working out almost becomes addicting and before they know it, they’ll do love to work out!

The bottom line is anything good for us requires hard work, whether it be monetarily, emotionally, physically, or even spiritually, and with that hard work, pain may come at the start. Seems to contradict the goal, doesn’t it?  

However, I believe that humans, by nature, have a desire to work out things for themselves. We read it in the Bible and we will see it in certain religions, where doing hard works is more palatable than accepting God’s free gift of salvation.  

So how do we reconcile Paul’s statement in Philippians 2:12b,

“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling?”

Doesn’t that contradict the fact that we cannot work our way into heaven and too God has given us the free gift of His Son Jesus who finished the work on the cross? 

Philippians 2:13 gives us the answer,  “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

You might respond, “Okay, so… how do I work out my salvation?”

 Let’s look at how together:

Recognize God’s Power Within You

As we discussed above, working out takes willpower, discipline, and a stick-to-it attitude. There needs to be a strong desire to start working out, discipline to continue, and a spirit hardened stick-to-it attitude for it to become a habit.

We can apply this same series of attitudes to our walk of obedience to the Lord by first recognizing God’s power within us to renew our minds to that end.

The Apostle Paul tells us in the verse mentioned earlier that it is GOD who works in us!

Jeremiah 32:17 expands upon that further:

“We believe that you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and your outstretched arm. And that nothing is too hard for you, Lord God. So we pray boldly for things that are impossible apart from you.”  

So how do we apply this to working out our salvation?

By recognizing God’s power within us “both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13b).

Obedience unto God is hard.

Yes, I said it.

In our sinful state, even as children of God, we can easily fall prey to our selfish hearts and choose what we want rather than what God has called us to do.

Sometimes it can feel impossible to stop sinning. Like Romans 7:18b-19 says,

“For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”  

Step 1 = the hardest one = If we want to recognize God’s power within us …

When we recognize God’s power within us, we will pray boldly for things that are impossible apart from God.

We need to ask God to help us with any besetting sin we might have and seek Him with our whole heart for help to walk in obedience day after day.

In doing so, we will be working out our salvation through the power of God at work within us.

Obey the Spirit’s Leading

Like me, I’m sure we have all had that “little nudge” from the Holy Spirit prompting us to do something.

Too often, though, we might respond like Moses in Exodus 4:13:

“But Moses said, ‘Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.’”

Moses felt that he did not have the gift of speech even though God told Him He would give Him the words to speak!

That being said, did Moses really even want to go?

It would appear that he didn’t want to under any other caveats and conditions other than his own. We can be like that, right? We try to justify our reasons, but the reality is, for whatever reason, we just don’t want to do it. It could be fear, it could be selfishness, it could be any number of reasons, all of which have their root in our adversary Satan trying to hard stop us in our tracks in serving God.  

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

This is how we work out our salvation, by submitting, obeying the Holy Spirit’s leading, completing the works He prepared for us to do before the world began.

Repent of Anything Contrary to God’s Will

Even though we have received the free gift of salvation, it doesn’t mean that we have a free pass to sin or to live our lives independent from Christ.

I know I’m stating the obvious, but sometimes, we can and in truth, do, will act that way without even realizing we are doing it.

How do we act that way?

Through selfishness. And I’m sure you all would be nodding your heads in agreement. Selfishness is a real struggle for most people. It makes sense. Of course, we want to look out for ourselves, but we end up taking that too far.

I would say that a majority of the difficult stories (Jonah) in the Bible all had their root in selfishness and pride. Wanting what they wanted at any cost.

All acts of wars, all wars, will start in this manner. Most crimes are a result of complete hardened selfishness. Selfishness is wanting our will and not God’s.  

Philippians 2:3-7, leads up to our passage on working out salvation, says,

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”

Here, we see in context that this is a means of working out our salvation.

How do we put this into practice?

By repenting of our selfishness whenever a selfish thought comes to mind and repenting immediately. We would then find that a lot of the issues we deal with such as anger, frustration and anxiety would all disappear.  

By becoming disciplined in this manner, immediately repenting of anything contrary to God’s will, we will indeed be working out our salvation through our accountability to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit with every selfish thought.

In that moment, He will renew our minds to seek after His will. (Romans 12:1-2)

Loving Your Neighbor as Yourself

The interesting revelation about our topic on working out your salvation is how the entire passage in Philippians 2 is basically giving us God’s instructions on how to obey the second commandment which is “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31).

“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b) is literally bookended by those admonitions.

What does it mean to workout your own salvation with fear and trembling?

This biblical statement implies a need to live out—to practice, demonstrate, and exhibit—the salvation which believers have in Christ. The concept of “fear and trembling” addresses worshipful respect for God. This echoes back to the context of every knee bowing before the Lord mentioned in verse 11.

Let’s take a look at Philippians 2:14-16b which are Paul’s final exhortations regarding working out your salvation.

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing;  so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life.”

Now more than ever we need to work out our salvation by being lights in this fallen world through loving our neighbor as ourselves.  

This past April, we had the privilege of being able to see total eclipse of the sun.

There are no words to describe the experience.

When the moon fully covered the sun and we could take our eclipse glasses off, to see the licks of fire shooting out all around and to watch the darkness fall and the stars come out, we felt like we had a special glimpse into God’s handiwork.

I was especially struck by the sight when there was just the slightest sliver of sun showing through before the total eclipse, yet there was still a dusk-like lighting outside.

It amazed me so little of the sun could be showing and still create that much light!  

If you feel like you don’t have much to offer in the Kingdom of God, that you don’t have spiritual gifts that could do great things for God, I’m here to tell you that you do!

Even if you are not a great evangelist filling stadiums with thousands of people, your light has great impact.

You may feel your light is small, but like my experience with the eclipse, even though your perception of how you light up the world may seem small, I am now here telling you that your light is significantly impactful to those you come in contact with. 

Don’t ever feel that your light doesn’t matter because it does! 

Matthew 5:14-16 says,

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”.

When we show, reveal, the love of Christ to others and let our light shine to all mankind, we are working out our salvation.

So, What does it mean to workout your own salvation with fear and trembling?

This biblical statement implies a need to live out—to practice, demonstrate, and exhibit—the salvation which believers have in Christ. The concept of “fear and trembling” addresses reverent, worshipful respect for God. This echoes back to the context of every knee bowing before the Lord mentioned in verse 11.

Have you ever wondered why a visit to the gym is called a “workout”?

Maybe it’s because somewhere deep inside you is a strong, svelte, and trained body ready for rigorous competition.

But that body is not present here and now—it needs to be worked out!

It’s similar with farming.

Through plowing, planting, seeding, irrigation, fertilization, and weed control a farmer works out the results of a potential crop. One can only work out results if something already has potential to work hard, harder, hardest hardcore at it.

In today’s text, Philippians 2:12-13 Paul is urging us to engage in a spiritual workout and to take it seriously.

By grace, God—through the work of Jesus Christ—has placed into our lives the most precious of gifts: salvation to new life!

We do not earn our salvation by our own efforts; rather, we are each called to cultivate and develop this gift of God, provided at the cost of his own Son’s life.

We are to work it out to its full potential.

The Holy Spirit is our personal trainer for this workout.

Pointing us to Jesus, he urges us to be

“like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

That’s a big challenge, and it reminds us all that we still have much to work out.

May we all work out our salvation not in our own strength but by truly allowing GOD’s strength to showcase His power and the free gift of salvation that lives within us by recognizing God’s power, obeying the Spirit’s leading, repenting of anything contrary to God’s will, and loving God, our neighbors, as ourselves.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 27 Complete Jewish Bible

27 (0) By David:

(1) Adonai is my light and salvation;
whom do I need to fear?
Adonai is the stronghold of my life;
of whom should I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assailed me
to devour my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
they stumbled and fell.
3 If an army encamps against me,
my heart will not fear;
if war breaks out against me,
even then I will keep trusting.

4 Just one thing have I asked of Adonai;
only this will I seek:
to live in the house of Adonai
all the days of my life,
to see the beauty of Adonai
and visit in his temple.
5 For he will conceal me in his shelter
on the day of trouble,
he will hide me in the folds of his tent,
he will set me high on a rock.
6 Then my head will be lifted up
above my surrounding foes,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, sing praises to Adonai.

7 Listen, Adonai, to my voice when I cry;
show favor to me; and answer me.
8 “My heart said of you, ‘Seek my face.’”
Your face, Adonai, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
don’t turn your servant away in anger.
You are my help; don’t abandon me;
don’t leave me, God my savior.
10 Even though my father and mother have left me,
Adonai will care for me.
11 Teach me your way, Adonai;
lead me on a level path
because of my enemies —
12 don’t give me up to the whims of my foes;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
also those who are breathing violence.

13 If I hadn’t believed that I would see
Adonai’s goodness in the land of the living, . . .
14 Put your hope in Adonai, be strong,
and let your heart take courage!
Yes, put your hope in Adonai!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

About Inviting God into Your Heart, About Taking a Selfie, Painting a self portrait Inviting God into our Hearts? Revelation 3:20-21

Hunt, William Holman; The Light of the World; St Paul’s Cathedral; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/the-light-of-the-world-230132

Revelation 3:20-21 The Message

20-21 “Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors!

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

See? Here I Am! Knocking

Revelation 3:20-22 Complete Jewish Bible

20 Here, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If someone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he will eat with me. 21 I will let him who wins the victory sit with me on my throne, just as I myself also won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities.”’”

An unexpected knock at your door from a dear friend or family member is a welcome surprise.

Few occasions are as heart warming and precious as seeing a long-­absent loved one unexpectedly comes from a great distance, who comes to visit his friend.

“Here I am!” they say as you open your door, their presence fills you with joy.

Jesus stands at our door, knocking.

We may think sometimes that he is far removed from us and our church bodies.

But here he is, by his own revelation, as close as the door to our homes and our church communities. He wants us to see, hear his knocking—he is that close.

And Jesus longs for us to do more!

He wants us to be immediately hospitable, respond and open all our closed doors we have somehow (purposely?) neglected to install any door knob on.

Maybe you are afraid to open the door of your life to Jesus. After all, how does one welcome the Son of God, the Almighty, into their whole life? Or maybe just having Jesus walk inside your church building is as close as you want him to be.

But Jesus keeps standing outside, keeps knocking on the door, ­eager for us to open our lives to him. He wants to be as close as a beloved friend in our lives.

Proverbs 17:17 Complete Jewish Bible

17 A friend shows his friendship at all times —
    it is for adversity that [such] a brother is born.

Proverbs 27:17 Complete Jewish Bible

17 Just as iron sharpens iron,
    a person sharpens the character of his friend.

Do not worry about how to welcome Jesus in.

Do not worry about his intentions or reasons for the unexpected visit.

Just be hospitable, just open the door with the biggest and widest smile you can.

He promises to take care of the rest.

He will come in and celebrate with whoever opens the door, bringing joy and abundance and a meal of the finest food, so your life will be filled—with even more than the greatest feasting, fun, and goodness of life you could imagine.

Taking a Selfie, Painting a Self Portrait of You, Jesus

There’s a famous painting that I first saw many years ago that still resonates with me today.

The painter portrays Jesus Christ, looking directly at you, holding a lantern, standing outside of a door, knocking on it and just waiting to be let inside.

However, if you notice, there is no knob on the door for Himself to open it.

Only the person inside of the home, church, can open the door and let Him in.

According to Wikipedia, “The Light of the World (1851-1854) is an allegorical painting by English Pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt (1827-1910) representing the figure of Jesus preparing to knock on an overgrown and long-unopened door, illustrating Revelation 3:20.”

Hunt said, “I painted the picture with what I thought, unworthy though I was, to be divine command, and not simply a good subject.” He also mentioned that the lack of handle on the door represented “the obstinately shut mind.” 

How many of us have shut Jesus out of not only out of our mind, but our heart?

Over the years, I’ve heard these popular reasons why people don’t choose Jesus.

It is not fashionable or the hottest or latest craze being spread on social media.

Mom and Dad did not do it so why should I?

Who has the time?

Who has the money?

Who has the inclination?

I spoke with a young woman who believes you only live once, so you need to party hard and have fun. She told me that Christianity just isn’t her “thing.”

An older woman told me that one of her Christian friends “finally” stopped talking to her about Jesus and beating her over her head with the Bible.

She was offended because she said that she held her own beliefs with the right to think and say whatever she wants to whoever, and however she wants. Pop culture also says to live your own truth and be the charter of your own destiny. 

While all of these takes sound solid and reasonable to a point, they could not be further from the truth.

The Bible clearly teaches us that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

And the only way to Heaven is through Him (John 14:6).

But Jesus is gentle, kind, so He will never force His way into our heart and life.

Just like Hunt’s painting of Revelation 3:20 shows us, we have to invite Him in. 

Revelation 3:20-21 Amplified Bible

20 Behold, I stand at the door [of the church] and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me. 21 He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will grant to him [the privilege] to sit beside Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down beside My Father on His throne.

This passage of Scripture matters because this world is not our forever home!

Human history on Earth will end and eternity in Heaven will begin for all who have confessed Him as Savior, let Jesus in and have decided to follow Him there.

We are all the worst kind of sinners incapable of saving ourselves, in desperate need of a Savior, but the Gospel news is we have a living Jesus to fill that role. (Romans 3:23)

Meanwhile, we cannot on our own successfully lead ourselves alone, navigate anything and everything in this thorn laden briar patch-life, without a Guide.

The good news is that God is willing and ready and able to lead us through our journey, help us survive all the figurative most energetic storms we encounter.

We have an everlasting hope when we have Him!

He is our only promised and willing and capable and able, everlasting hope!

Genesis 9:11-16 Complete Jewish Bible

11 I will establish my covenant with you that never again will all living beings be destroyed by the waters of a flood, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God added, “Here is the sign of the covenant I am making between myself and you and every living creature with you, for all generations to come: 13 I am putting my rainbow in the cloud — it will be there as a sign of the covenant between myself and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth, and the rainbow is seen in the cloud; 15 I will remember my covenant which is between myself and you and every living creature of any kind; and the water will never again become a flood to destroy all living beings. 16 The rainbow will be in the cloud; so that when I look at it, I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of any kind on the earth.”

There’s a beautiful song by Cheri Keaggy called “Part of Your Story.”

She sings that Jesus wants to be part of our life story, but we often don’t think we need Him.

Yet, He continues to shower us with blessings! He wakes us up every morning.

He sends sunshine to brighten our days and rain to water the grass. He’s given us a wide variety of beautiful flowers for us to admire and lovingly share with each other. Yet, the greatest demonstration of God’s love is the sacrifice of His Son (Jesus Christ) who unquestionably knows we are each worth dying for. (John 3:16-17) 

The gift of salvation is completely free!

There’s nothing you nor I can do to earn it or deserve it (Ephesians 2:8-9).

All we need to do is hospitably open our doors and let Jesus into our heart.

He wants to spend eternity with us!

John 14:1-7 Complete Jewish Bible

14 “Don’t let yourselves be disturbed. Trust in God and trust in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many places to live. If there weren’t, I would have told you; because I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 Since I am going and preparing a place for you, I will return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be also. 4 Furthermore, you know where I’m going; and you know the way there.”

5 T’oma said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going; so how can we know the way?” 6 Yeshua said, “I AM the Way — and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me. 7 Because you have known me, you will also know my Father; from now on, you do know him — in fact, you have seen him.”

That’s the whole point.

We have seen Him standing at the door.

We have heard Him knocking at our door.

Now, we need to be hospitable enough to open it and invite Him in?

In these most unusual and distressing of times, are we hospitable enough?

Jesus wants to spend time with you.

He knows you much better than you do and wants the same, you to know Him.

Only He can offer you an abundant life (John 10:10).

If you let Him, He will be your most faithful friend, advocate, counselor, and brother, ultimately your Savior who is the bridge between Earth and Heaven.

Will you go, let God in, and allow His glory to change your story for the better? 

Intersecting Faith & Life:

John 10:7-16 Complete Jewish Bible

7 So Yeshua said to them again, “Yes, indeed! I tell you that I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All those who have come before me have been thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I am the gate; if someone enters through me, he will be safe and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12  The hired hand, since he isn’t a shepherd and the sheep aren’t his own, sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf drags them off and scatters them. 13 The hired worker behaves like this because that’s all he is, a hired worker; so it doesn’t matter to him what happens to the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; I know my own, and my own know me — 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father — and I lay down my life on behalf of the sheep. 16 Also I have other sheep which are not from this pen; I need to bring them, and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock, one shepherd.

If you haven’t invited Jesus to be your personal Savior and truest friend, what do believe are the excuses, the rationales, the theologies behind the hesitation?

How might it feel for you to know that the Creator of the Universe, the One who created you in His own image, loves you and wants to be part of your life story?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord Jesus, what a gift of love and honor you bring by knocking at our door. Please forgive our inhospitality and do come in and transform us by your presence. Amen!

Psalm 23 Complete Jewish Bible

23 (0) A psalm of David:

(1) Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing.
2 He has me lie down in grassy pastures,
he leads me by quiet water,
3 he restores my inner person.
He guides me in right paths
for the sake of his own name.
4 Even if I pass through death-dark ravines,
I will fear no disaster; for you are with me;
your rod and staff reassure me.

5 You prepare a table for me,
even as my enemies watch;
you anoint my head with oil
from an overflowing cup.

6 Goodness and grace will pursue me
every day of my life;
and I will live in the house of Adonai
for years and years to come.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Am I Accepting my Imperfection: Am I that World’s Worst of All Sinners? 1Timothy 1:12-17

1 Timothy 1:12-17Amplified Bible

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has granted me [the needed] strength and made me able for this, because He considered me faithful and trustworthy, putting me into service [for this ministry], 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer [of our Lord] and a persecutor [of His church] and a shameful and outrageous and violent aggressor [toward believers]. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord [His amazing, unmerited favor and blessing] flowed out in superabundance [for me, together] with the faith and love which are [realized] in Christ Jesus. 15 [a]This is a faithful and trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance and approval, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost [of sinners], Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example or pattern for those who [b]would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King of the ages [eternal], immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

“Of Whom I Am the Chief, the Foremost, the Worst”

In Paul’s incredible statement in 1 Timothy 1:15 the man who says that if anyone could have confidence in the flesh it was him (Philippians 3:4-6), reminds us that he is the chief of sinners, the foremost of sinners, the very worst of sinners.

Notice his wording was “I am” not “I was.”

This word is not past tense as in “I was” but present tense as if to say: no matter how far I’ve come, from confessing “13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer [of our Lord] and a persecutor [of His church] and a shameful and outrageous and violent aggressor [toward believers], by God’s mercy  in light of God’s holy perfection to professing “I still desperately need the grace of Christ.”

When we attempt to minimize the cross or our own sinfulness, we are attempting to minimize our need for Jesus. Today, no matter how holy and sanctified you are, be careful where (in whom) you are placing your trust in.

The apostle Paul was passionate about attaining righteousness (Philippians 3:7-11), but he was also honest about his own imperfections (Romans 7:14-20).

In today’s verse, he openly accepts and confesses that he is like an old beat-up neglected car. But he accepts his dents and dings, even as he drives on for God.

Maybe we would be happier too if we accepted the dents, dings in your own life.

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh — Philippians 3:3 NIV

Am I the proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy?

1 Timothy 1:12-20 The Message

12-14 I’m so grateful to Christ Jesus for making me adequate to do this work. He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry. The only credentials I brought to it were violence and witch hunts and arrogance. But I was treated mercifully because I didn’t know what I was doing—didn’t know Who I was doing it against! Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus.

15-19 Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever.

Deep honor and bright glory
    to the King of All Time—
One God, Immortal, Invisible,
    ever and always. Oh, yes!

I’m passing this work on to you, my son Timothy. The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we’re in.

19-20 There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two of them. I let them wander off to Satan to be taught a lesson or two about not blaspheming.

Today, when we think of the Apostle Paul, we think of a Saint.

Yet, in his own words, in his own thoughts he counted himself the worst sinner.

But how is that even possible, because Paul wrote much of the New Testament? 

Paul, more than most of us, had an understanding of what it means to be a sinner. He didn’t look at others around him and feel better about himself.

He recognized the depth of sin that was born within him, and each one of us is so deep, that, without a Savior, sin taints our blood to the point of eternal death.

He understood that whether zealous or meek, rich or homeless there is not one difference between a little sinner, a big sinner. Without Jesus, we all fall short, (Romans 3:23) all sin leads to the same destructive destination (Romans 6:23).

Romans 6:23 Amplified Bible

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is a good Time to Come Clean; A Little Self-Examination Goes a Long Way

It’s easy to look at others and feel like we’re doing better overall. But with this type of attitude can come pride and haughtiness. Proverbs 16:18 explains how “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

2 Corinthians 13:5 urges us to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”

Sometimes, we decide how we’re doing compared to another person, rather than looking at God’s word to see how we’re doing in life. Often, if we do, we’ll discover areas of our lives where we are far off-track in following God’s ways.

Worldly Effects

So many people today, some Christians included, are living their lives based on how well or poorly others seem to be doing. With social media’s daily updates, many individuals are comparing their lives to the lives of others to see if they are succeeding, up to date, or what they need to do next to get ahead in life.

But as believers in Jesus Christ, we don’t want to follow the world’s leading but look to God for our future. 1 John 2:15 warns, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.”

As well, Paul in Romans 12:2 urges, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Being conformed and transformed to the world can be so gradual in our lives, that we don’t recognize what direction we may be taking in life. Before long, we can be so far off course without really knowing, realizing what’s taking place. 

Feeding Our Faith

Romans 1:16-19 Amplified Bible

16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation [from His wrath and punishment] to everyone who believes [in Christ as Savior], to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.”

Unbelief and Its Consequences

18 For [God does not overlook sin and] the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who in their wickedness suppress and stifle the truth, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them [in their inner consciousness], for God made it evident to them.

When it comes to living into and outwards from our faith, we don’t just stay in one place; through the Gospel, we are either growing steadily in it or we’re slowly slipping back into worldly patterns and thinking without realizing it.

So how do we keep the world at bay?

Paul states, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Philippians 3:13-16 Amplified Bible

13 [a]Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us who are mature [pursuing spiritual perfection] should have this attitude. And if in any respect you have a different attitude, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us stay true to what we have already attained.

As James 1:27 explains, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

James 1:23-27 Amplified Bible

23 For if anyone only listens to the word [a]without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets [b]what he looked like. 25 But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and faithfully abides by it, not having become a [careless] listener who forgets but [c]an active doer [who obeys], he will be blessed and favored by God in what he does [in his life of obedience].

26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious [scrupulously observant of the rituals of his faith], and does not control his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless (futile, barren). 27 Pure and unblemished religion [as it is expressed in outward acts] in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit and look after the fatherless and the widows in their distress, to keep oneself uncontaminated by the [secular] world.

Jesus Sets Us Free from the Power of Sin

Like Paul, we want to remember that sin can so easily lead us astray.

Because it can, we don’t want to lose sight of where our Salvation lies and where our power to resist sin comes from.

Romans 5:21 explains, “So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

We are set free from its power, as Romans 6:14 describes, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

Intersecting Faith & Life:

Psalm 139:23-24 Amplified Bible

23 
Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 
And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalm 139:23-24 The Message

23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
    find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Am I, Are you, is the Church comparing ourselves to how most people in the world are living their lives for direction in your own life? If so, look deep into God’s Word to see where you are in your faith. Pray, Ask Him to examine your heart and show you any areas where you’ve unknowingly wandered off track. 

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 139 The Message

139 1-6 God, investigate my life;
    get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
    even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
    I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
    before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
    then up ahead and you’re there, too—
    your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
    I can’t take it all in!

7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
    to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
    If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
    to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
    you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
    At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
    night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.

17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
    God, I’ll never comprehend them!
I couldn’t even begin to count them—
    any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
    And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
    all the men and women who belittle you, God,
    infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
    see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
    Your enemies are my enemies!

23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
    find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Are We Skipping Over the Incredible Verses which Surround John 3:16??? 2Timothy 3:10-17

2 Timothy 3:10-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

10 Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, [a] perseverance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! 12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is [b]inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for [c] training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Transformation Through the Word

2 Timothy 3:16-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

16 All Scripture is [a]inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for [b]training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The study of God’s Word is the secret discipline for spiritual formation.

Other books may be useful for information, but the Bible was given for transformation.

Timothy had the privilege of reading, studying, and memorizing God’s Word from infancy. He learned firsthand how the much Scriptures transform us.

Paul explains that God’s Word is profitable “for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

It is a guide that helps us fine-tune every part of our being.

Teaching focuses our mind and shapes our thinking.

Rebuking pricks our conscience so that we don’t travel the wrong direction.

Correction molds our will so that we see the wisdom of God’s plans.

Training in righteousness shows us how to act more like Christ.

In this way the Word of God initiates a four-step process of transformation.

Put simply, teaching tells us what is right, rebuking tells us what is not right, correction tells us how to get right, and training shows us how to stay right.

The Holy Scriptures are the breath of God.

If you want to be productive, useful, and fertile as a Christian, get into the Word of God. Reading the Bible for its teaching, studying Scripture systematically, meditating on God’s Word devotionally, and memorizing it faithfully—each of these are invaluable transforming activities that you will truly not want to miss.

For Example: Those Verses Surrounding John 3:16

John 3:16 Amplified Bible

16 “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] [a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.

One of the most well-known Bible verses is John 3:16.

This is such a powerful message, but it is always important to look at the context. If we just focus on John 3:16, then we miss out on the whole picture. Have you ever wondered what was said right before and after John 3:16? Today, we are going to learn about the incredible verses which surround John 3:16.

John 3:1-21 is often titled, “Born Again.”

The famous verse comes smack dab in the middle of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was a dedicated Jewish Pharisee who would have known the law and the Old Testament accounts.

Nicodemus was looking for the Messiah, but missed the fact that Jesus was ultimately who he was searching.

In this secret meeting, Jesus revealed the truth:

John 3:13 Amplified Bible

13 No one has gone up into heaven, but there is One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man [Himself—whose home is in heaven].

Jesus says here that He is God.

This is a huge deal.

Sometimes people will argue that Jesus never claimed to be God.

But, this verse is one example He, the Son of Man, came down from heaven.

This is also significant because He uses the phrase “no one has ascended.”

At that point in history, not a single person had gone up to heaven.

There was no forgiveness for sins by the Messiah.

No person could get back to God without the help of God Himself.

We could no longer approach Him after the garden; we were exiles.

However, Jesus came to us.

Here we read of Jesus revealing His deity and salvation plan without Nicodemus even minimally catching on to the huge significance of what he had just heard.

John 3:14-15 Amplified Bible

14 Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever].

Here, Jesus points Nicodemus toward Old Testament Prophesy.

Jesus knew His audience. Nicodemus was a scholarly Jew.

He would have known the story of Moses backwards and forwards.

Jesus refers to Numbers 21 when the Israelites were bitten by venomous snakes in the wilderness.

The only solution was to look at the snake on the cross.

Everyone who did not look at the cross died. Everyone who gazed upon the bronze snake on the cross lived. This is such a powerful representation of the living gospel. Jesus became sin for us so we could have His righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 Amplified Bible

20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us; we [as Christ’s representatives] plead with you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. 21 He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].

Jesus was perfect, but He took on our sins so we could be freed and forgiven.

When we ponder the parallels of the garden here – the snake, the bite, and death – we cannot help but be amazed at the fulfillment of His covenant.

Jesus was revealing Himself as the Savior in how He was about to fulfill the prophecy of the past and provide the way to eternal life in the future.

During this current moment, He was on this earth well before His death and resurrection. He was in the middle of His time on earth. Nicodemus was given the true answers to His greatest questions, but he had a response to decide.

Jesus Gives Nicodemus the Promise of Eternal Life

John 3:16 Amplified Bible

16 “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] [a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.

After this, John 3:16 says,

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus shares that God loved the entire world in the way that this snake on the cross was provided for the Jewish people.

God gave His only Son for everyone who believes in Him.

There is a promise of eternal life.

Just like the people with the snake bites were all doomed for death, we are all doomed for hell and eternity away from God.

However, Jesus became the “snake” for us and everyone who looks to Him (Jew or Gentile) will have eternal life with Him and be spared eternal death.

This is a huge deal.

We need to realize the weight of what Jesus is saying.

We need to be busy pointing others towards the cross of Christ in hopes that they too will look and be rescued from the coming death.

Just like a venomous snake bite means death unless we receive the antidote, we are hopeless. 

Science Nordic reveals that it takes on average between 20 minutes and 72 hours to die from a venomous snake bite.

This means that when we ponder the time of the Israelites in the wilderness, death was occurring all around them at different rates.

Just like here on earth, we are all destined to die, but Jesus steps in and provides the way to eternal life.

We all have the “bite” of sin, but we do not all have to die and go to hell.

Jesus provides a way for all who look to Him to go to heaven and be restored.

This is the hope of the gospel.

Jesus Has Already Given Us the Victory

John 3:17-18Amplified Bible

17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because [a]he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and]  only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].

Here we read of God’s heart. He did this not to send judgment, but to send salvation. We read of another visit from Jesus in the second coming, which will be a time of judgement, but this visit to earth was for hope and forgiveness.

Jesus makes it clear that anyone, meaning any person who believes in Him, is not condemned.

I love how this is present tense.

There is a peace that every believer can have right now that Jesus has already given them the victory. There is no reason to wait to celebrate.

Instead, we invite others.

Jesus here describes Himself as the one and only Son of God. In other words, He is the only God. He is the only Way to heaven (John 14:6).

6 Jesus said to him, “[a]I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Jesus Shares the Ultimate Truth

John 3:19-21 Amplified Bible

19 This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the [a]darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned. 21  But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually]  comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].”

Jesus does not hide this truth.

He shares that darkness is real and the light (Himself) has come into the world.

People chose sin, but He is the truth that sets them free.

His life and sacrifice would be done so that people would know that He Himself truly was who He claimed.

Jesus was and is and always will be God.

These verses surrounding John 3:16 are powerful.

As we reflect on the beauty of Jesus claiming to be God, acknowledging the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, the salvation plan is revealed.

The gospel is, no exceptions for everyone, and Jesus is the Light of this world.

Glory to Jesus our Savior and thank you Lord for Your Holy and Perfect Bible. 

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 119:1-16 The Message

119 1-8 You’re blessed when you stay on course,
    walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
    doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
    you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
    now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
    keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
    in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
    I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
    don’t ever walk off and leave me.

* * *

9-16 How can a young person live a clean life?
    By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;
    don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.
I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart
    so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
    train me in your ways of wise living.
I’ll transfer to my lips
    all the counsel that comes from your mouth;
I delight far more in what you tell me about living
    than in gathering a pile of riches.
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
    I attentively watch how you’ve done it.
I relish everything you’ve told me of life,
    I won’t forget a word of it.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Why Do I, Might I, Should I, Would I, EVER Desire to Doubt My Salvation? Psalm 37:34-40

Psalm 37:34-40 New American Standard Bible 1995

34 Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a luxuriant [a]tree in its native soil.
36 Then [b]he passed away, and lo, he was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the [c]blameless man, and behold the upright;
For the man of peace will have a [d]posterity.
38 But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The [e]posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
leaning on the everlasting arms. Text: Elisha A. Hoffman

Most of us have had frightening times during our Christian walk where we doubt our salvation and the salvation of our family members and friends.

Knowing what they believe, knowing what they think, knowing their mindset, in comparison and contrast to what I know I believe, what I think, my mindset.

In light of events from the recent General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the seismic shift of beliefs, of orthodoxy, leaves many to wonder if a whole portion of the Body of Christ has just turned their backs on Salvation.

Isaiah 53:1-6 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Suffering Servant

53 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender [a]shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should [b]be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of [c]sorrows and acquainted with [d]grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely our [e]griefs He Himself bore,
And our [f]sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
[g]Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was [h]pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our [i]well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To [j]fall on Him.

“All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way”

Rather than feeling secure in our salvation, going astray to our own way, do we now feel somehow that we are not really saved. Maybe we feel we didn’t believe “enough” or we feel we wouldn’t doubt our salvation if we were truly saved.

If we are going through this or have gone through this, or know somebody is, or wonder if someone or a whole group of someone’s, or suddenly become aware there are others whom God sees, has compassion for where we ourselves are lacking or ignoring because of our deeply seeded biases and prejudices or self imposed legalistic “do not touch” avoidance measures, know you are not alone.

With words and phrases such as “who has believed our message, And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” and Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him  whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?“ in the Word of God,

It’s probably very common for believers to doubt their salvation at least once during our lives, non believers to wonder about another Christians salvation. 

Micah 6:6-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

What God Requires of Man

6 With what shall I come to the Lord
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
7 Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams,
In ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love [a]kindness,
And to walk [b]humbly with your God?

Knowing what God Requires of me, am I Really Saved?

Personally, I have faced the question of “Am I actually saved?” countless times.

Just last week I had the same question come into my mind after finishing the Gospel of Matthew.

Rather than focusing on the salvation that Jesus has given us,

I was focused on all of Jesus’ statements on hell, of weeping and gnashing of teeth, on “begone I knew you not,” the very foreboding words of Matthew 25.

All the admonishments of “always being ready, the Parables of the Talents, and the soils and always investing myself into the work of laboring, planting toiling harvesting” of the Kingdom of God but find myself too biased, too hesitant, too fearful of too many unproven self imposed prejudices and untouchable beliefs.

I started connecting salvation with works, which is never very good to do.

While Jesus does talk more about hell than any other topic during His earthly ministry, he never tells us that if we place faith in Him, we will go to hell. 

There is so much irrational over rationalization coming from too many places.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
leaning on the everlasting arms. Text: Elisha A. Hoffman

Salvation is based solely on placing faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Placing faith in Jesus means believing that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

The Lord tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).

As Jesus tells us, the Father loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. 

Moreover, Jesus tells us that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

Now, if you’re like me and have been told John 3:16-17 too many times for you to count, most likely the effect of the verse has been watered down, washed out.

Since you’ve heard it so many times, John 3:16-17 has become mindless words.

If it has become mindless words to you, the all encompassing truth of the verses have become muddied, have become an ocean of quicksand, I then challenge all of us to carefully read and pray John 3:16-17 just as I did, see how it highlights the deeper truths of God’s love, how we have eternal life by believing in Jesus.

Our heartfelt believing in Jesus is sufficient for salvation. (Romans 10:9-13)

We don’t have to follow the law in its completeness, nor are we required to be the “perfect” Christian people.

By the words of truth contained in Acts 4:8-12, rather, believing in Jesus and accepting Him as your Savior and Lord is all that is required for salvation.

8 Then Peter, [a]filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “[b]Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are [c]on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, [d]as to how this man has been made well, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that [e]by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—[f]by [g]this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 [h]He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

We cannot earn salvation in any other way. Salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-10).

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [a]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

There is nothing we can do to earn salvation, and there is nothing we can do to lose it. There are many people who spread the lie that one can lose salvation, but this isn’t true. Once you have placed faith in Jesus, you are eternally saved.

Doubting Salvation 

Truth is we don’t have to know the exact moment when we were saved in order to be saved. As long as we have placed our heartfelt faith in Him, we are saved.

Yet, even with this being established, we can still often doubt our salvation.

Even many strong Christians I know also have doubted their salvation at some point. I have been around Christian pastors, professors and read from Christian authors how they, have doubted their salvation at least once in their lifetime.

What of the Samaritan woman at the well who has been divorced five times?

What of the woman with the chronic years long issue of blood for whom no cure could be found no matter how much money was spent, which doctor treated her in that chronic never ending state of “hopelessly unclean and untouchable?”

If mankind wants nothing to do with me, wont talk to me, wont even touch me, ignores me, ignores my family and friends, my people, go so far and treats me like the Leper’s walling me off from society trying to separate me from my God?

Those thoughts, beliefs and actions have not disappeared in thousands of years!

No one would stand innocent of these grievous sins before the judgment of God!

Doubts are ever before me, crashing into my thoughts

Truth also is (Genesis 3) The one who plants these seeds of doubt is Satan.

The devil wants to make us unproductive for the Lord and cause us to stumble.

By planting uncountable numbers of the seeds of doubt in our minds, it is the perfect way to make us unfruitful for the Lord. Instead of going out and making disciples or growing in our own walk with Jesus, we are being plagued by the lies of Satan—that we aren’t ever saved or that we didn’t believe “enough.”

These doubts are enough to paralyze or make you question your entire beliefs.

As someone who has been there, know you are not alone.

Know also that these lies are but lies, and they are not true.

If you have placed your heartfelt faith in Jesus, you are saved.

You believe, and you believe enough.

My Pastor in my Lay Speaking and Licensing classes talked deeply about this subject as it was something he freely confessed also had struggled with during his early years of walking with the Lord and in his call into ordained ministry.

He shared his epiphany that there is no point in someone believing more than someone else.

As long as you heartfelt believe in Jesus, you are saved.

There are no differing degrees of belief, nor are there people who believed more than you or knew more than you, were older wiser that would nullify your faith. 

When you believe, you believe.

You did not have “not enough” faith when you placed faith in Christ.

The devil wants to cause these doubts to rise in our minds, but we can talk back to them. Whenever you doubt your salvation, pray to God, talk back to the lies.

Tell them that Jesus saved you and that you are saved.

Nothing and nobody can take away your salvation.

Remind yourself that you are eternally saved by God, and this will never change.

Acts 4:12 tells us, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Jesus is the ONLY Name we are saved by.

We are not saved based on our works.

Rather, we are saved by the Name of Jesus.

When doubts circle your mind too much, and you find yourself paralyzed, call out to God and ask Him for His help. It’s God alone who reads all of our hearts.

1 Samuel 16:7 New American Standard Bible 1995

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for [a]God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

As Psalm 51 so rightfully teaches; Tell Him you are struggling with assurance of your salvation and that you need exactly Him to fill your heart with the blessed assurance of knowing you are completely and unconditionally saved in Him.

While these thoughts may return, you can talk back to them and ask God for His help again and then by Psalm 32, communicate the truth about His forgiveness.

Psalm 32 New American Standard Bible 1995

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.

32 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent about my sin, my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c]groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d]vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. [e]Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the [f]guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [g]in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with [h]songs of deliverance. Selah.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

Causing you to doubt your salvation is a common tactic of Satan because he knows it is efficient.

Don’t allow Satan the pleasure of doubting your salvation or feeding into it. If you have placed heartfelt faith in Jesus and accepted Him as your Savior and Lord, you are eternally saved. You are given forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life. None of these things will ever be taken from you. 

Confide in God

Matthew 11:28-30 New American Standard Bible 1995

28 “Come to Me, all [a]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is [b]easy and My burden is light.”

Whenever you begin doubting your salvation, turn to God.

Tell Him your doubts and ask Him to help you overcome your unbelief.

He is faithful, and He will help you in your time of need.

As you continue to grow in your walk with Christ, you might have these doubts rise again, but talk back to them and return to the Bible.

Remind yourself of John 3:16-17 and how salvation is only found in the Lord.

Placing faith exclusively in Christ is the only requirement for salvation.

There is no way for someone to be saved apart from Christ.

A person cannot earn their own salvation nor do other faith systems save a person.

The Source of Salvation

Psalm 37:34-40 The Message

34 Wait passionately for God,
    don’t leave the path.
He’ll give you your place in the sun
    while you watch the wicked lose it.

35-36 I saw Wicked bloated like a toad,
    croaking pretentious nonsense.
The next time I looked there was nothing—
    a punctured bladder, vapid and limp.

37-38 Keep your eye on the healthy soul,
    scrutinize the straight life;
There’s a future
    in strenuous wholeness.
But the willful will soon be discarded;
    insolent souls are on a dead-end street.

39-40 The spacious, free life is from God,
    it’s also protected and safe.
God-strengthened, we’re delivered from evil—
    when we run to him, he saves us.

Every person wants a life that is rich, full, abundant, and free.

These good things satisfy the deepest longings of our heart.

We receive these gifts by focusing on our creator God.

St. Augustine of Hippo, an early church leader, wrote these words to God:

“Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.”

Our inner peace comes when we turn our life over to God, who made us.

By the revealed Word of God, by the revealed truth inside, We yearn for a special relationship with God, but it can be hard for us to rest in him. We don’t see God; we don’t hear, smell him or talk with him the way we do with people around us.

Our relationship with God is different from every other relationship in life.

God is absolutely unique.

How do I find and focus on God?

Where do I get faith in God?

What makes me feel that God and I belong together?

Thankfully, knowing God is a gift from him.

He reveals himself freely.

David discovered that and wrote about it in Psalm 37.

You want the great life with God?

Just ask for it. Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete” (John 16:24).

John 16:21-24 The Message

21-23 “When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there’s no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you’ll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. You’ll no longer be so full of questions.

23-24 “This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!

God wants us to ask for all kinds of things like this that are within his will for us (see 1 John 5:14).

1 John 5:14-15The Message

The Reality, Not the Illusion

13-15 My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.

Ask God to make himself known to you.

He did that already when his Son, Jesus, died for you.

This is the time for a right relationship with God!

Only Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected three days later.

Only Jesus is God in the flesh (John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-8).

The Lord has the victory, defeated death, and all who will place faith in Him, too, will overcome death and spend eternity with Him. (1 Corinthians 15:50-57)

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

How desperately I want a rich and right relationship with you, dear God. Thank you for giving it as a gift through the death and resurrection of your son, Jesus. Amen.

Psalm 24 The Message

24 1-2 God claims Earth and everything in it,
    God claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
    laid it out on River girders.

3-4 Who can climb Mount God?
    Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
    only the pure-hearted;
Men who won’t cheat,
    women who won’t seduce.

5-6 God is at their side;
    with God’s help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
    to God-seekers, God-questers.

7 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
    King-Glory is ready to enter.

8 Who is this King-Glory?
    God, armed
    and battle-ready.

9 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
    King-Glory is ready to enter.

10 Who is this King-Glory?
    God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
    he is King-Glory.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Continually Being Reminded by God exactly who we are: the Worlds Worst and Greatest Sinners! 1 Timothy 1:15

1 Timothy 1:15-17New American Standard Bible 1995

15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those [a]who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King [b]eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory [c]forever and ever. Amen.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Am I the World’s Worst, World’s Greatest Sinner?

When we think of the Apostle Paul, we think of a Saint.

Yet, here in the opening words of his letter to his protégé Timothy, in his own words, written by his own thoughts, he counted himself the very worst sinner.

But how is that even possible, because Paul wrote much of the New Testament? 

Paul, more than most of us, had a deep understanding of what it means to be a sinner. He didn’t look at others around him and feel any better about himself.

He recognized the depth of sin that was born within him, and each one of us is so deep, that, without a Savior, sin taints our blood to the point of eternal death.

He understood very well that there is no difference between a little sinner and a big sinner. Without Jesus, all sin leads into the same destructive destination.

A Little Self-Examination Goes a Long Way

It’s easy to look at others and feel like we’re doing better overall. But with this type of attitude can come pride and haughtiness. 

Proverbs 16:18 explains how “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

2 Corinthians 13:5 urges us to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”

2 Corinthians 13:5-9 The Message

5-9 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won’t show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we’d rather the test showed our failure than yours. We’re rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn’t possibly do otherwise.

We don’t just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.

Sometimes, we decide how we’re doing compared to another person, rather than looking at God’s word to see how we’re doing in life. Often, if we do, we’ll discover more areas of our lives where we are off-track in following God’s ways.

Worldly Effects

So many people today, some Christians included, are living their lives based on how well or poorly others seem to be doing.

With nearly continual moment by moment social media’s daily updates, many individuals, across the globe, are comparing their lives to the lives of others to see if they are succeeding or see what they need to do next to get ahead in life.

But as believers in Jesus Christ, we don’t want to follow the world’s leading but look to God for our future. 

1 John 2:15 warns, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.”

1 John 2:15-17 The Message

15-17 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

As well, Paul in Romans 12:2 urges, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Romans 12:1-2 The Message

Place Your Life Before God

12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Being conformed to current cultural trends, the world can be so gradual in our lives, that we don’t recognize what direction we may be taking in life. Before long, we can be miles off course without really knowing what’s taking place. 

Feeding Our Faith

When it comes to matters of living into a steadfast and immovable faith, we don’t just stay in one place; we are either growing steadily in it or we’re slowly, steadily slipping back into worldly patterns and thinking without realizing it.

James 1:13-15The Message

13-15 Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.

So how do we keep the world at bay?

Paul states, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Philippians 3:12-14 The Message

Focused on the Goal

12-14 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

As James 1:27 explains, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

James 1:26-27 The Message

26-27 Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

Jesus Sets Us Free from the Power of Sin

Like Paul, we want to remember that sin can so fool us, easily lead us astray.

Genesis 3:1-7 The Message

3 The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”

2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”

4-5 The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”

6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.

7 Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.

Because sin can be so insidious, so maliciously subtle. we do not want to lose sight of where our Salvation lies and where our power to resist sin comes from.

Romans 5:21 explains, “So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 5:20-21 The Message

20-21 All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.

We are set free from its power, as Romans 6:14 describes, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

Romans 6:14The Message

12-14 That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.

Intersecting Faith & Life:

Psalm 139:23-24 The Message

23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
    find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Am I, are you, are we, the Body of Christ, the church, comparing ourselves to how most people in the world are living their lives for direction in your own?

If so, look to God’s Word, plumb its depths to see where we are in our faith.

119 1-8 You’re blessed when you stay on course,
    walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
    doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
    you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
    now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
    keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
    in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
    I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
    don’t ever walk off and leave me.

Ask Him to examine each one of our collectives heart and collective souls and reveal the remotest areas where we have unknowingly wandered far off track. 

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 119:9-16 The Message

9-16 How can a young person live a clean life?
    By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;
    don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.
I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart
    so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
    train me in your ways of wise living.
I’ll transfer to my lips
    all the counsel that comes from your mouth;
I delight far more in what you tell me about living
    than in gathering a pile of riches.
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
    I attentively watch how you’ve done it.
I relish everything you’ve told me of life,
    I won’t forget a word of it.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Our Sunday will be Coming! Our Sin, Suffering, and our Salvation: Have We Lost Our Grief over Sin? Psalm 38

Psalm 38 New American Standard Bible 1995

Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.

A Psalm of David, for a memorial.

38 O Lord, rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your arrows have sunk deep into me,
And Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation;
There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities are gone over my head;
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of my folly.
6 I am bent over and greatly bowed down;
I go mourning all day long.
7 For my loins are filled with burning,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am benumbed and [b]badly crushed;
I [c]groan because of the [d]agitation of my heart.

9 Lord, all my desire is [e]before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, my strength fails me;
And the light of my eyes, even [f]that [g]has gone from me.
11 My [h]loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen stand afar off.
12 Those who seek my life lay snares for me;
And those who seek to injure me have [i]threatened destruction,
And they devise treachery all day long.

13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For I [j]hope in You, O Lord;
You will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, would magnify themselves against me.”
17 For I am ready to fall,
And my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I [l]confess my iniquity;
I am full of anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous and [m]strong,
And many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who repay evil for good,
They oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, do not be far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

As I was preparing my presentation for Good Friday, I was reading the Psalms.

I eventually got to reading David’s disquieting words from Psalm 38 and there was my profound reaction to a reaction by David that leaped off the page at me.

His reaction was over his sin, and when I read it, I thought deeply about how we view sin in our lives.

I know how we often view sin in other people’s lives, many times being quick to highlight it, even quicker to cancel its relevance, or quicker to condemn them.

My concern is not about sin found in other people, but for us to consider what happens within our own hearts, souls and spirits when we sin in our own lives.

King David in and throughout the Old Testa­ment had his fair share of suffering.

That’s clear from Psalm 38, ­described as “a psalm of David.”

He speaks often of being wounded and filled with pain.

Friends and neighbors abandon him. Enemies hate him and accuse him.

Even his own family dynamics turns against him as his son Absalom kills his brother and gathers an angry army against his father to over throw him as King.

Many are sick and tired of all the intrigue emanating from his throne room.

Many do not believe he is not the least bit worthy of such a high office as a King.

Some want to kill him.

It’s “because of my sin,” he says.

And he’s painfully right.

Not every sin leads to a particular suffering.

And not all suffering is from particular sins.

But rebellion against God’s ways does unleash a torrent of suffering into our human experience. So David the sinner suffers, and from the very throne of his self inflicted suffering he cries out to God. Maybe you know what that’s like.

We are no different in our own ways making questionable choices, decisions and getting people all hopping mad, consistently questioning our motives.

God certainly knows all about His creation’s sinfulness. (Genesis 3)

Jesus certainly knows having in these last days of his own life witnessed the fickleness of the human heart and soul, limitless depths of human depravity.

It’s all profoundly expressed there in Psalm 38.

Perhaps Psalm 38 was rolling through Jesus’ heart and soul in Gethsemane.

Yes, this psalm is about sin.

And no, Jesus himself never sinned.

But he did suffer enormously – echelons more than anyone else in all history.

He suffered because the full weight of all the sins of the world, including my sins and yours, were laid on him. He carried that immense burden to the cross.

One cannot imagine the measure of weight of all that sin upon his shoulders.

The silent anguish, the pounding heart, the failing strength, the pained cry of forsakenness—it’s all right there in Psalm 38, and it was all there on the cross.

But that was not the end. From his own suffering, Jesus cried out to God.

And his cry was heard. On the third day, God raised him from the dead.

Jesus had won the ultimate victory over sin.

Yes, we still sin.

And we still suffer.

But sin no longer has the power to separate us from God. Jesus saw to that!

Have we lost our Psalm 38 Grief over our own Sins?

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 New American Standard Bible 1995

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

I am wondering where that attitude toward sin has gone in our westernized interpretation of “Christian” culture – where sin is dismissed all too easily.

The Sheer Horror of Sin Has Not Changed one bit

Hebrews 13:5-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” 6 so that we confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
What will man do to me?”

7 Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the [a]result of their conduct, imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Regardless of how the world feels, or refuses to believe about God and sin, the way God feels about it has not changed and we should expect, will never change.

It seems as if the church has slowly been adopting worldly attitudes toward sin.

Instead of living out our call as “Ambassadors”, calling people to repentance, and reconciliation, it is as if we give people justifications for continuing in sin.

Yet, the way God sees sin is still the same.

He hates it.

He hates it because it destroys you and also because it drives a wedge in your relationship with him because he is a holy God. 

I want to be clear, I am not saying we become judges of people in the world.

We need to spare no amount of personal effort and suffering to share the gospel with them and to allow the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sinful condition.

We also shouldn’t expect people in the world to react like David did over his sin.

But, for those in the church, it is a different story.

We have God, we have the Word of God and we have the Spirit of God, so our personal mindset towards sin should radically differ from those in the world.

Instead of focusing on what people in the world are doing first, instead of our cancelling everyone left and right, I am saying we start by calling the people in the church to repent because we all need to change our attitude towards sin. 

Psalm 38 questions to ask yourself about our own Sin

As I stated earlier, I don’t want this to be a focus on someone else.

I want you to ponder about yourself.

Here are some questions that are introspective.

Ask them of yourself, as I am doing the same thing.       

  • When was the last time you felt guilt over sinful behavior?
  • When was the last time you grieved over sin?
  • When was the last time you felt burdened because of sinful actions you had taken?

Think on these questions for a moment, but go to the micro level.

So often we think of the big sins, maybe adultery or some kind of fornication, but we miss the little things such as how we love our neighbor or harbor anger towards someone – up to and including the worst kind of anger against “self.”

When was the last time your heart was anguished over those “insignificant” sins that are just as destructive?

I don’t know the answer to these questions in your life, I do not have all the answers about myself, but I know if we are not careful, the attitudes the world displays toward sin can become the attitude those in the church display towards it as well.

Key Motivators for Changing Your Attitude toward Sin

1. Because You Love Him

John 14:12-15 New American Standard Bible 1995

12 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. 13  Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Could it be that part of David’s anguish and grief over his sin was because he knew God and loved him?

I think so.

After all, the Bible called him a man after God’s own heart.

When you love God, then you know how much sin hurts him and if you love the Lord, why would you want to hurt him? 

I have colleague and I can see the disappointment that wells up in their eyes when they do something that they feels lets so many people down.

They are devastated over it.

For those of us who claim to love Jesus, we simply cannot continue to have casual attitudes towards sin in our lives.

Again, I am not saying we become judges of others; I am saying we become too harsh a judges of ourselves.

2. Because You Know Him

1 John 3:1-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

Children of God Love One Another

3 See [a]how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or [b] knows Him. 7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil [c]has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

If you claim to know God, then sin cannot be an ongoing part of your life.

These verses are not saying you will never sin.

These verses are saying you don’t live to sin or for sin.

When you do sin, your response becomes like David, one of grief and a call to repentance. This happens because you know him and are in fellowship with him. When that fellowship is broken, you quickly seek to repent and restore it.

3. Because His Life Is in You

Since God’s life is in you, in the person of the Holy Spirit, and you have been born of God, this should change your attitude toward sin.

If your attitudes towards sin are growing lukewarm, then maybe you need more of God’s Spirit working in your life. Remember, he has not changed, nor has his attitude toward sin. If yours has, then we know exactly where the problem lies.

Psalm38 Final Thoughts

This devotion is not about judgment or condemnation.

This devotion is really about a call to holiness.

We must be holy because God is holy.

For those who don’t know what that means, holiness is not a state of perfection.

Holiness is when you are set apart for God’s use.

When we are walking in holiness, we see sin the way God sees it and we see people the way God sees them. 

I can’t say where, when, or how the church got off course, but the remedy is simple.

Return to your first love.

It is mu personal belief it’s long past the time we should suffer for Christ as Christ suffered for us to rekindle that love for Jesus we had when we first got saved, that deep passion that sought to please him in every area of our lives.

When we get back to that place, then our attitudes towards sin will change. Not only will we turn away from it, but we will grieve over it should we fall into it.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 13 New American Standard Bible 1995

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

 https://translate.google.com/