Posts Tagged ‘Salvation’

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SHARING IN THE WORK

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

Day 160

“You can be sure that the one who brings
that person back will save that
sinner from death”
James 5:19-20

Did you know you could save a sinner from eternal death? Yes, as a child of God you have the tremendous privilege of sharing in the work of the kingdom of God. Can there be any greater privilege than to save people from eternal death? Can there be any greater joy than bringing someone to Christ? All of heaven rejoices at the birth of each new kingdom child.

Paul said, “We are all Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us” [2 Corinthians 5:20]. Just as we were saved and have received His life, we now can be ministers of reconciliation. Your age, education or status doesn’t matter. God’s love has been shed abroad in your heart. The Holy Spirit dwells in us. That love, through the power of the Holy Spirit is not just for ourselves, but to be brought to others that they may see His light in us.

Think about this; we have been trusted with a great eternal treasure. God has made us partners in His kingdom so we can share in the work and rewards. We can extend the kingdom. More importantly, we can save those that are lost by introducing them to our Friend. What better work is there?

“For Christ’s love compels us”
2 Corinthians 5:14

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WE ARE SAVED AND MORE

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Day 157

“That we should be holy and without blame”
Ephesians 1:4

Are you holy? Without blame? Many would no, but the Scriptures say otherwise: “…because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth … for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ [2 Thessalonians 2:13-14]. Salvation is often treated by many as a one time event involving believing on Jesus and that’s it. It isn’t. You are saved ‘from’ something and ‘to’ something and it is an ongoing process.

Our Father doesn’t just save you. When He chose us to obtain salvation in eternity, His purpose was to bring you to glorification – “…and whom He justified, then He also glorified” [Romans 8:30]. His divine plan is one that deeply affects every part of your life. He is a God of glory and your salvation is a glory to His grace for being made accepted in the Beloved. You are to be a praise of His glory. The great glory of His salvation is the working of His grace that continually brings change in your nature.

Salvation not only delivered us from the penalty of sin, but it delivers us from the power and presence of sin. He has given the Holy Spirit to sanctify you. It is the Holy Spirit’s purpose to fully accomplish God’s work in you, qualifying you for His glory. That’s why you are to rest in Him and not lean on your own understanding or strength. This is your confidence; God’s eternal plan is to save you today and tomorrow and He is at work in you right now to that end.

“Christ Jesus came in the world to save sinners”
1 Timothy 1:15

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HIS NAME

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Day 151

“You are to name Him Jesus,
for He will save His people from their sins”
Matthew 1:21

In Jesus’ time names were very important and had meaning. It is true that many may not have thought much about Jesus’ name then and even this day many do not attribute any significance to His name. Even worse, among those who know Jesus and profess faith in Him, there is a lack of knowing the depth of who Jesus is. Do we understand that He offers salvation and that salvation is complete – to the uttermost, completely and thoroughly?

His salvation is to His people, those He said He has chosen [John 15:16]. He brought us emancipation, a release from oppression, delivering us from our chief enemy that had us in death. He emancipated us from the power, guilt, and punishment of sin. He brought us true liberty and freedom. His name represents that very salvation that set us free and all who are set free by Him bear His name as His saved people.

His salvation has saved us from sin and brought us into the kingdom of God where we are now His children and partakers of His nature. The act of salvation has long lasting effects on our lives and the forgiveness of sins not only erases the past, but keeps us in the present and is there for the future. It sets us free to live this day for the Lord.

It is the name of Jesus and all of who He is that saves us.

“He will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace”
Isaiah 9:6

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GOD’S WAY

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Day 137

“And you shall remember all the way which the Lord
your God has led you in the wilderness these
forty years, that He might humble you”
Deuteronomy 8:2-3

God led His people through a wilderness. Needless to say, the wilderness was a very dry place and not pleasing for comfort. After freeing them of 400 years bondage, you think He would directly take them to their new land. but, He didn’t. And for good reasons, as this scripture further enlightens us. He was testing them to know what was in their hearts.

Wait a minute! God didn’t know what was in their hearts? Far from it. In fact, He not only knew, He wanted them to know. They needed to see themselves and know how corrupt their natures were. And thousands of years later, it’s the same today. God sets us free with His salvation. He takes us out of Egypt, the world. But, there is still the need for Egypt, the world, to be taken out of our hearts. And until we see ourselves for who we really are, we cannot be humble.

This is God’s love for us. Christ said, “Without Me, you can do nothing” [John 15:5b]. He loves us so deeply that He must take us through the wilderness for us to see what is in our hearts. When we come to that place where we can cry out with Isaiah, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips” [Isaiah 6:5], then, and only then, can we lean wholly on Him for our sufficiency.

“Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives
by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord”
Deuteronomy 8:3b

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GOD’S INVITATION

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Day 121

“He sent his servants to those who had been
invited to the banquet to tell them to
come, but they refused to come.”
Matthew 22:3

Our response to God’s call is often thought of as an independent act on our own. God’s plan tells otherwise. In Romans 8:29-30, it says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” First, God foreknew (chose) us in eternity before time. He then predestined and called us and then justified and glorified us. Foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified.

Because all off us are born in sin and separated from God, we must be ‘called’ during our earthly life. That calling is the call of salvation and it is very much like the wedding invitation. Yet, many refuse the call. In spite of man’s reluctance, God exhibits incredible patience. How many times has God tried to get our attention prior to the day of our acceptance?

Because God is so patient and delights in giving salvation to us, He persists in calling, regardless of indifference and even out right rejection. The parable is expanded in Luke 14:23 – “Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.” That ‘make them come in’ is based on His foreknowledge of us and His predestination. God is able to enlighten the understanding and cause the heart of man to turn to Him. His love causes even the hardest hearts to turn. That is why His call to us is an effectual call. He will not lose one.

“Whoever is thirsty, let him come;
and whoever wishes, let him take
the free gift of the water of life.”
Revelation 22:17

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THE BODY OF CHRIST

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Day 115

“There is one body”
Ephesians 4:4

When you were born, you were born in a family. When you were born again, you were born in a new family. Many see salvation as an individual act, but it really isn’t. Although there is an individual response to God’s calling, your birth made you a part of a family known as the corporate body of Christ. It is God’s house, known as the church. It is here that you work out of your salvation [Philippians 2:12].

The word ‘together’ is closely bound with your salvation. Paul says in Ephesians He has “quickened us together in Christ”, and “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus [2:5-6]. Our togetherness is corporate and corporately we were included in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. In other words, He has taken this glorified humanity with Him back to heaven – “we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones” [5:30]. We are now corporately seated with Him in the heavenlies!

As we live out our temporal life here on earth, God has given us a new kingdom to live in. It is here we are “gathered together in one” [1:10] and we are “fitly framed together” [2:21]. This is God’s marvelous plan for us. We find His love, His strength, His forgiveness, His peace, His provision, and His blessing in the body of Christ.

“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual
house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ”
1 Peter 2:5

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HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Day 114

“He [man] is the image and glory of God”
1 Corinthians 11:7

We are the image and glory of God.

Have you ever considered this? Christ, as the firstborn and our Elder brother, has reconciled and restored us to our rightful place as sons of God. We were created to have an intimate relationship with God our Father. Because we were made in His image and likeness, we have part of His nature. God has placed that in every person and this is the reason why man cannot find full satisfaction and peace unless he is restored to his original purposes. Only God can satisfy man’s hunger and thirst.

Christianity isn’t being ‘good’ or doing the right thing. It isn’t even about getting rid of sin. Being a Christian has everything to do with going home and taking our rightful place in the household of God. The meaning of faith is the restoration of our life in full dependency on our Sovereign God and Father. Although not divine, we are like God who created us. We are now partakers of the divine nature [2 Peter 1:4]. It is the ultimate goal of a Christian to be Christ-like because we have been predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son [Romans 8:29].

Do you know before the foundation of this world God called you according to His own purpose and grace through Christ Jesus [2 Timothy 1:9]? Yes, you were chosen in Him. And now you are the glory of Christ. Great opportunity is open to you to be a light to others, revealing our glorious Lord and His excellency. You can be a blessing to many, a messenger of reconciliation, telling them the Good News. What a privilege to be a testimony of God’s goodness!

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new”
2 Corinthians 5:17

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THE LORD’S PASSION – PART 3

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Day 113

“He might be the firstborn among many brethren”
Romans 8:29b

Jesus was to be the firstborn of many brethren, leading them to be conformed to His likeness, members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones, and set apart as sons of God. His love was so immense and so deep towards us that for the joy set before Him He endured the cross, despising the shame, to save us [Hebrews 12:2]. This is why He is declared the Author and Finisher of our faith.

That passion which brought Him to humble Himself and die on a cross is the same passion He has for us today – “The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” [Romans 8:26b]. We are loved so much by God that the Holy Spirit yearns for the day we are free from every sin so we will glorify God forever in the perfection of holiness and joy. That groaning that cannot be uttered is the deep cry of His heart. He is working God’s purposes out in our lives.

The Spirit which He made to dwell in us yearns for us even unto jealous envy [literal James 4:5]. It is the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin. Do you hear the cry of the Father’s heart? Read how He cried over His children: “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I cast you off, O Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboim? My heart is turned over with Me. All My compassions are kindled” [Hosea 11:8].

Yes, He is a God determined to bring His children home.

“It is Christ . . . who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us”
Romans 8:34b

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THE LORD’S PASSION – PART 2

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Day 112

“He might be the firstborn among many brethren”
Romans 8:29b

What is the purpose of Jesus coming to the earth and becoming man? Many say to save sinners, but that is not correct. Jesus’ purpose is stated in the word and prophesied before He came; “Behold I have come (in the roll of the book it is written of Me) to do Thy will, O God” [Hebrews 10:7]. He came to be the firstborn among many brethren, to do what Adam and every man after him failed to do – obey God the Father. In doing the Father’s will, He saved man.

For us who love the Lord, this is a very important understanding to have. He came to be our Elder brother. He came to show us the way, be an example, and then die for us. He came not only to save, but make us holy and place us in His family. We have been restored from that which was lost. God, who foreknew us, has also predestined us to be conformed to His likeness [verse 29a]. The sum of the Jesus’ ministry is declared in Hebrews, “bringing many sons unto glory” [2:10]. Our Elder brother has made us members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones [Ephesians 5:30].

Our glorious Lord and Savior does not consider himself complete apart from those who He came to save! His glory is US! What a tremendous revelation of Jesus’ ministry! He has taken this glorified humanity back to heaven – “So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers” [Hebrews 2:11b]. You are foreknown by God, predestined, called, conformed, justified, and glorified in Him, our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ.

“Looking unto Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith”
Hebrews 12:2

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THE LORD’S PASSION – PART 1

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Day 111

“He might be the firstborn among many brethren”
Romans 8:29b

Great respect was given by the Old Testament households to the firstborn. He had headship over his brothers, authority over younger members of the household, succeeded to the father’s authority, special claim to the father’s blessing, and he received a double portion of inheritance. It meant foremost in time, place, order and importance.

Was Jesus the first firstborn? No, He wasn’t. Adam was. Created in His image and likeness for fellowship, God gave man preeminence over every living thing and over the earth itself. More importantly, God created Adam a living being with a free will. He did this to bring the highest order of creation in man. But, Adam was not proven. There were choices before him. Out of everything given to Adam, there was one thing he was instructed not to do. He made a choice and it wasn’t for God. Because of this sin, Adam lost his birthright. He became a living soul. He was not saved. And the word tells us that by him came death to all men (1 Corinthians 15:21).

Adam’s choice made it impossible for man to be saved. Man cannot save himself. Sin blocked that road. God’s divine plan, which was set before creation came into existence, did not change. God chose who was to be His. But, when man could not save himself, He sent His only Son to become the firstborn among many of brethren. He sent Jesus to be the second Adam and firstborn of a new race!

“Both the One who makes holy and those
who are made holy are of the same
family. So Jesus is not ashamed
to call them brothers”
Hebrews 2:11

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