Tag Archives: salvation

Not Just Going to Heaven

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But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5, NIV*

“Why should I believe in Jesus?”

“So you can be saved from your sins and go to Heaven when you die.”

As a child, that’s how I thought. But there’s so much more to it than that.

Even “saved from your sins” means more than fire escape. It means freedom from their domination and from the destructive mindsets we’ve accepted. Freedom from ourselves, too!

And healing for our brokenness. Peace for our anxious spirits. Forgiveness… and the strength to forgive.

Most of all it means a relationship with the God who formed the universe and who welcomes us like a longing parent welcomes a long-lost child.

He’s with us. He’s our strength for today and our hope for tomorrow. He won’t leave us, always understands us, and His presence makes the difference in whatever we’re going through.

At Other Food: daily devos, Violet lists some of the facets of this salvation Jesus bought.

Holy and merciful God, we were all damaged goods, without hope of healing. But Jesus came willingly to be our Saviour. Thank You for the grace to believe. Open our spirits to receive the full extent of the healing and restoration You want to work in our lives, and help us to be living examples to those who still need to come to You.

∞

The Newsboys used to do an extended version of their song, “I Am Free,” where Peter Furler (former lead singer) quoted parts of Isaiah 53, ending with today’s verse. This is the Gospel message: for now as well as when we die.

*THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Review: Promises You Can Count On, by Natalie Gidney

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Promises You Can Count On, by Natalie Gidney (Word Alive Press, 2009)

Bible promise books, complete with a helpful index, are great resources, and every Christian’s bookshelf should have one. But you only need one.

That’s why Promises You Can Count On takes a different approach. Natalie Gidney focuses on ten essential promises, including peace, salvation, grace and joy, and invites readers to “claim them and watch and see what He can do.” (p. 6)

This slender book is ideal for new believers or for those considering faith in Jesus Christ. It’s also a good refresher for more seasoned Christians. Each chapter draws on a number of Scriptures to explore one of God’s promises. With an easy conversational style, Natalie looks at what this promise can mean in our lives, and she offers candid examples of what it’s meant in her own.

Naturally, salvation is one of the early topics. It may surprise some readers, then, to see forgiveness rounding out the number ten spot as the final chapter. But as Natalie explains, forgiveness is something that’s required of us as well as something we need from God. That can be a hard truth to hear, and I think she’s wise to build up to it.

In some ways, forgiving others—or ourselves—isn’t possible until we’re sure we can trust God’s promises. So it makes sense to immerse ourselves in them first and grow our faith.

Promises You Can Count On was a finalist in the Relationships category of The Word Guild’s 2010 Canadian Christian Writing Awards (for books published in 2009).

Canadian author and speaker Natalie Gidney blogs at Promises for All. You can watch her interview on 100 Huntley Street: part 1 and part 2.

[book source: my personal library]

What Will Jesus Say?

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In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 2 Timothy 4:1-2, NIV*

I’ve read these verses before, and always focused on Paul’s charge to Timothy. This time, I saw the word “judge”.

My first response was a sense of reassurance: it’s Jesus as Judge. I trust Him. 1 John 1:9 and other verses promise His verdict for those who’ve accepted His salvation will read, “paid in full”.

On second thought, I realized it won’t stop there. Will I hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? (Matthew 25:21, NIV*)

Or have I been wasting my time, coasting, doing my own thing?

So many things take me back to Proverbs 3:5-6. Be sure God is directing. Spend time with Him daily. Trust and obey.

I can’t let the fear that I might mess up make me not step up, when there’s an opportunity. Nor can I believe the lie that pictures a stern God shaking a finger.

I need to trust His grace and forge ahead. Out of love, not out of dread or obligation.

Father God, thank You for reminding me I am accountable to You. Sometimes I forget I have limited time and opportunities, and I waste them. Thank You for Your grace that forgives and empowers. Grow in me a willing, trusting, obedient heart. Help me be a good, faithful child of the King.

∞

Jason Gray’s song, “More Like Falling in Love,” points us back to the motivation we need if we’re going to serve our King.

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Good Works

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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. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10, NIV*

Good works aren’t the cause of salvation, they’re the effect of it. Christians know that, although sometimes we catch ourselves trying to “earn” our way.

What strikes me about this passage today is the notion that God has prepared the good works for us. They’ll flow out of our obedience to Him; we don’t have to go hunting them. After all, if we initiated our own good works, that might be grounds for boasting.

The good works, like everything else, are not about us. They’re about God, “to show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:7b, NIV)

They’re not all big things, or dramatic. Remember what Jesus said about giving a cup of cold water in His name. A lot of them will be opportunities in our daily routines.

For me, those good works include preparing nutritious meals for my family and keeping the laundry up to date. They include my daily interactions with those around me. As I learn to ask God, “What did you give me to give today?” I’ll fit better into His plans.

For my friends who were on a short-term mission trip to Haiti when the earthquake struck, the good works weren’t what they expected when they signed up! But God has used them in many ways to provide support and comfort and to show His love.

Precious Father, it amazes me that You would love us like this—and save us when we were helpless and very unlovely. Thank You it’s all a gift from You, and not something we have to earn. Thank You for giving us a part to play in Your work, and Father today please help each of us to recognize what You’ve given us to give—and to whom. Help us serve in Your strength, because it’s about You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

I think an appropriate song this week is “Oh, Master, Let Me Walk with Thee.” If you have time (it’s over 8 minutes long), there’s a beautiful, orchestral version here. Otherwise, here’s the 2-minute version nicely rendered by a choir:

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Faith to Receive

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In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, ‘Stand up on your feet!’ At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
Acts 14:8-10, NIV*

Paul was spreading the good news of Jesus: Emmanuel, God with us. He saw this crippled man – really saw him, and saw he had faith to be healed.

This reminds me of Jesus teaching in his home town: “… he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” (Matthew 13:58, NIV) And of the way He had to first deal with the father’s faith issue before healing the tortured son:

“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
Mark 9:19-25, NIV*

God is all-wise, and if He chooses not to heal someone, no amount of manufactured faith can make it happen. But if He offers healing, or deliverance, or salvation… it seems to me like we need faith to receive it.

The good news here is it’s God who gives us the faith: “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.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)

The gift of God: but we still need to receive it.

For the people on my prayer list, this adds to my prayers. I’m praying for God to give them faith to receive the salvation, healing, and/or deliverance they need.

For me, I need to pray for faith to receive whatever God wants to give me. He’s still growing and shaping me, and I don’t want to miss anything because I couldn’t receive it.

I wanted to share a link to Robin Mark’s “With All Faith,” but couldn’t find it on YouTube. Instead, here is a song the LORD and I shared yesterday as part of my prayer for a young man who doesn’t know Jesus. I’m playing it now in anticipation of the day when he can sing it himself. This is the David Crowder Band’s rendition of “Heaven Came Down” from the Illuminate CD. I prefer the simpler version on their Lime CD, but this is still great – and check out the pictures with it.

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.