Saved By Grace

Songs: God Favors Me – Hezekiah Walker featuring Marvin Sapp
Hymn – Saved, Saved (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/a/savdsavd.htm)

Scriptures:
Ephesians 2 New Century Version (NCV)
We Now Have Life
1 In the past you were spiritually dead because of your sins and the things you did against God.2 Yes, in the past you lived the way the world lives, following the ruler of the evil powers that are above the earth. That same spirit is now working in those who refuse to obey God. 3 In the past all of us lived like them, trying to please our sinful selves and doing all the things our bodies and minds wanted. We should have suffered God's anger because we were sinful by nature. We were the same as all other people.

4 But God's mercy is great, and he loved us very much.5 Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, he gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God's grace.6 And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the heavens. He did this for those in Christ Jesus7 so that for all future time he could show the very great riches of his grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus.8 I mean that you have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.9 It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it.10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.

One in Christ
11 You were not born Jewish. You are the people the Jews call "uncircumcised." Those who call you "uncircumcised" call themselves "circumcised." (Their circumcision is only something they themselves do on their bodies.) 12 Remember that in the past you were without Christ. You were not citizens of Israel, and you had no part in the agreements with the promise that God made to his people. You had no hope, and you did not know God.13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of Christ's death.14 Christ himself is our peace. He made both Jewish people and those who are not Jews one people. They were separated as if there were a wall between them, but Christ broke down that wall of hate by giving his own body.15 The Jewish law had many commands and rules, but Christ ended that law. His purpose was to make the two groups of people become one new people in him and in this way make peace.16 It was also Christ's purpose to end the hatred between the two groups, to make them into one body, and to bring them back to God. Christ did all this with his death on the cross.17 Christ came and preached peace to you who were far away from God, and to those who were near to God.18 Yes, it is through Christ we all have the right to come to the Father in one Spirit.

19 Now you who are not Jewish are not foreigners or strangers any longer, but are citizens together with God's holy people. You belong to God's family.20 You are like a building that was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in that building,21 and that whole building is joined together in Christ. He makes it grow and become a holy temple in the Lord.22 And in Christ you, too, are being built together with the Jews into a place where God lives through the Spirit.

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This past Sunday, just as I was getting to church, the song “God Favors Me” by Hezekiah Walker came on the radio. For some reason, it touched me to the point of tears (I think now that it was God preparing me, sensitizing me to His Spirit of grace.) After the song ended and I went inside the church, I saw in the program that the topic for the day was “Saving Grace.” Grace, Favor. At the end of the service, the Pastor was singing the hymn, Saved, Saved.

I’ve thought of the hymn several times since (even to imagining singing it in an audition before the judges of Sunday Best, and just worshipping God, and having His Spirit manifest Himself during that time - hmmmm), and the grace, the cost, by which I have been saved.

It occurred to me today, that the “by grace” (in Ephesians 2:5) might also be understood as “for grace” as an additional reason for our salvation when considering v7 (Amplified translation):

7He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.

Wow… how humbling…

Thank You, God, for Your amazing grace!!! There is so much more to Your grace...

[Christy Nockels, Grace flows down – (can be heard at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBPNdTowJuc)]

Help me, Lord, to be – to even want to be – an instrument of Your grace. That it would be seen, be manifested in, overshadow and overwhelm my life – only for Your glory. That others would experience it through their interactions with me, and would be drawn to Your sweetness, O God. More of You, less of me…

Revelation 1:4-6 (King James Version)
4John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

... and my journey with Him continues ...

Not Who I Think…

Songs:
Mark Schultz – I Am
Donald Lawrence & the Tri-city Singers – I Am God
Bebo Norman – I Will Lift My Eyes

Scriptures:
Psalm 46:10a (KJV) Be still and know that I am God…
Exodus 3:1-14 (KJV)
1Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
7And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
11And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

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A couple of years ago, I sensed the Lord ask me:

Do you want to know who I am?

Yes, LORD! I said excitedly.

No, do you really want to know who I am. … I'm not who you think I am.

This shocked me into silent reflection. Here I was, sitting in church during Bible study, having the Lord ask me if I wanted to know Him. We were discussing whether God causes things to happen or whether He just allows them. Our Bible study was interactive, and someone in the congregation was voicing their opinion / belief that God doesn't cause bad things to happen - He only allows them. I was only half listening, still wondering about what I felt the Lord had spoken to me, thinking that I agreed with the person who was speaking.

Some people don't want to know the truth. Do you really want to know who I am?

At this point, I was about to cry. That He was asking if I really wanted to know Him suggested that what I thought I knew of Him at this point was not right. This made me pause in fear: what if I didn't like, couldn't love, wouldn't want to be in league with Who God really was? I felt that God had manifested Himself to me in a totally unexpected way in 1996, and then proceeded to challenge, shatter and reshape many of my ideas about Him, religion, myself - about life. My views about everything had been shaken. And now, to think that I still wasn’t getting it right – that I still didn’t know Him – saddened me. I finally said, in fear and trembling, that I did really want to know Him.

I’ve since come to the conclusion that in this life, there will always be so much more of Him for me to know; while I am in this flesh, there will always be correction and adjustment needed to what I think I know about Him, and the need for a corresponding change in my relationship with Him.

A while back, I sensed the Lord focusing again on this topic of knowing Him, when he said, again:

I’m not who you think I am.

I took Psalm 46:10 to heart, and didn’t say anything. I just listened. Then He said:

I’m not Who you think – I AM!

There was such a power in this exchange that it really did frighten me. But in His mercy, God seems to be so slowly, so tenderly wooing me closer, so that I will not be afraid. For example, this past Wednesday, I happened to see Beth Moore (on Life Today, the Wednesdays with Beth series segment on The Bread of Life, part 3) where she said:

- God's Presence with us is a fact.
- It’s fellowship that activates the feeling of Divine Presence.

And I was talking with someone else the other day, about God’s Presence being / going with us:

Exodus 33:12-19 (KJV)
12And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
13Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
14And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
15And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
16For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
17And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
18And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

There are different things going on in my life these days, to bring correction, protection, provision, and change – but I know that it is all so that I will know my God better…

…and my journey with Him continues…

Jesus, My "Good Samaritan"

(**unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are New King James Version, and all from www.biblegateway.org)

The story of the Good Samaritan has repeatedly come to my attention in the past few days. I smile when this happens, remembering how my view of this story changed a few years ago when I saw Jesus in it as the Good Samaritan, and myself as the person who had fallen among thieves. The revelation was kind of like this, with the parable shown from the New Century Version, and commentary (indented) from the New King James Version :

Luke 10:25-37 (New Century Version)
Parable of the Good Samaritan
30 Jesus answered, "As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes, beat him, and left him lying there, almost dead.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

31 It happened that a priest was going down that road. When he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. 32 Next, a Levite came there, and after he went over and looked at the man, he walked by on the other side of the road.

Matthew 5:20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 23:1-4, 23, 27-28 1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

33a Then a Samaritan traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was.

John 1:10-14
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Luke 4:18-19
18 “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

33b When he saw the man, he felt very sorry for him.

Exodus 33:19
Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
Deuteronomy 32:36
“For the LORD will judge His people And have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their power is gone, And there is no one remaining, bond or free.
Psalm 86:15
But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.
Psalm 111:4
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; The LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
Psalm 145:8
The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.
Lamentations 3:32
Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies.
Zechariah 7:9
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘ Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother.
Matthew 9:36
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
Matthew 14:14 14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.
Mark 5:19
However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
James 5:11
Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.

Psalm 104:15
And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man’s heart.
Deuteronomy 1:31
and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’
Matthew 21:1-9
1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 “ Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘ Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“ Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘ Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!”
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Romans 8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Galatians 3:26
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
1 John 3:1
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

35 The next day, the Samaritan brought out two coins, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.' "

Proverbs 19:17
17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given.
Matthew 20:28 (Amplified Bible)
Just as the Son of Man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [the price paid to set them free].
Luke 19:11-13
11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’
Acts 1:9-11
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Revelation 22:12
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

36 Then Jesus said, "Which one of these three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the robbers?"
37 The expert on the law answered, "The one who showed him mercy."
Jesus said to him, "Then go and do what he did."

Hosea 6:6
6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Micah 6:8
8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

From all this, on a larger scale I also considered the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus versus mere involvement with religion (verses 31-33), and how the church, the Body of Christ, could be seen as the innkeeper, entrusted with caring for the ones Jesus has saved.


2 Peter 3:9-14 (Amplified Bible)
9The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.
10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will vanish (pass away) with a thunderous crash, and the [material] elements [of the universe] will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.
11Since all these things are thus in the process of being dissolved, what kind of person ought [each of] you to be [in the meanwhile] in consecrated and holy behavior and devout and godly qualities,
12While you wait and earnestly long for (expect and hasten) the coming of the day of God by reason of which the flaming heavens will be dissolved, and the [material] elements [of the universe] will flare and melt with fire?
13But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to His promise, in which righteousness (uprightness, freedom from sin, and right standing with God) is to abide.
14So, beloved, since you are expecting these things, be eager to be found by Him [at His coming] without spot or blemish and at peace [in serene confidence, free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts].

Isaiah 61:10-11
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Revelation 19:1
After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!

Revelation 22:20-21
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

... and my journey with Him continues ...

Haiti’s Earthquake - My Lessons

Regarding a Song:
Psalm 137:1-4 (King James Version)
1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land?

Ephesians 5:18b-19 (New King James Version)
but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

Scriptures:

Isaiah 55:6-11 (New King James Version)
6 Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. 9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 “ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Ezekiel 18:23, 30-32; 33:10-11 (New King James Version)
23 Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord GOD, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?

30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord GOD. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore turn and live!”

10 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?”’ 11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

2 Peter 3:9 (New King James Version)
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * *
“Why, God? Why?”

The young boy’s screams ripped at my heart as I watched him grasp the reporter’s hand and look up to him with tearful, frightened eyes as if for an answer. Sitting outside on the ground, reportedly with broken limbs and a visible gash on his forehead, this child was crying out to God for a reason – something to understand the devastation in which he found himself following the earthquake in Haiti.

I thought of the book of Job, which I had just finished reading, and prayed that the Lord would reveal Himself to this boy and all others in Haiti as He had done to Job. Not only to the Haitians, but also to all others who were, are or will be there providing rescue and recovery, medical, communication, peacekeeping, protection and other needed services. And not to them only, but to all of us who hear and see of this tragic event. And also to anyone going through a difficult time, asking, begging God, “Why?”

I looked up to see that the newscast was now showing snippets of what they described as a “spontaneous worship service” which they said had broken out on the side of the road. People were singing and clapping, arms raised in praise as they danced.

On another television station, the reporter leaned over a woman who was lying on a stretcher as he spoke of the conditions for those needing medical care. Outside, because the hospital buildings were demolished or unstable. In the heat, with little food or water, and very limited medical supplies or personnel. As he painted this dire picture, the woman reached up and laced her fingers with his as she held his hand. I thought she was reaching out for comfort. He turned away from the camera to look at her as she spoke. He turned slightly to someone who translated her words, and then he conveyed these to his audience: “'It could be worse,' she says. ‘It could be worse.’”

Wow - what strength. How wrong I was in thinking that she was wanting comfort for herself, when her intention was to share hope with others! I think of this when I hear media reports of people giving their opinions as to why this happened, criticizing or condemning others for what they think could have or should have been done to prepare for it, or how it plays politically, or any number of other things. I think back to Jesus’ words when someone asked Him about a situation in Luke 13:

Luke 13:1-5 (New King James Version)
Repent or Perish
1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

So I find that for me, again, it’s a reason to examine myself, and draw closer to God for myself in praying as He leads, giving as He provides, doing as He directs…

Ephesians 5:20 (New King James Version)
giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

... and my journey with Him continues ...

The Fullness of Salvation

Songs: Indescribable – Chris Tomlin
More to This Life – Steven Curtis Chapman

Scriptures:
Colossians 1:13-18 (New King James Version)
Preeminence of Christ

13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Thinking the other day about an experience I had a few years ago…

The church parking lot was always packed, leading the church’s pastor to ask members to park in a nearby shopping center parking lot. Permission had been granted from the shopping center management, and there were parking spaces to the rear of the stores so that membership parking would not negatively impact the stores’ customers. Although not a lot of other members seemed to be complying with the pastor’s request, I did. Sometimes I would drive by the church and let my children out, see them into the church building, and then drive to the shopping center to park. That is what I had done that pleasantly warm, sunny morning, and I was walking alone along the dirt path in front of the house that was located next to the church.

Suddenly, I don’t know what happened. The field of vision before me changed, and I didn’t know what I was seeing in front of me. I don’t know if I stopped walking or continued on my way. I don’t remember moving my head, or looking around to see if anything else was different – I was just trying to figure out at what was I looking straight ahead of me. Even as the question formulated itself in my head, the answer seemed to drop into my spirit: “The Fullness of Salvation.” Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the vision disappeared. I didn’t know how much time elapsed, although it seemed to be almost instantaneous.

Like Mary (Luke 2:19), I pondered this thing in my heart. I couldn’t remember anything about what I had seen, because there seemed to have been no frame of reference. I thought it must have been light, because the contrast with the bright sunshine would have been noticeable had it been dark, right? For the same reason, it must have been in color, for I supposed that the contrast with the spring-like day and colors around me would have been memorable had they been absent. It was like when you shift your vision to look at a “magic eye” 3D picture. The problem was, I hadn’t had the time (and maybe not even the ability!) to shift my vision. Nor had I known for what I was to have been looking.

I went on to church, although I was really “out of it.” Afterward, while several of us were standing in the parking lot talking, someone said something about salvation, and I just remember intimating that we (people) don’t even really know all of what salvation entails. There was not a lot of agreement with me, though I tried unsuccessfully to share with them what I had experienced. Guess it was just for me at that time.

So I know that there is something more…

1 Corinthians 2:9-11, (Amplified Bible)

9But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].
10Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny].

... and my journey with Him continues ...

Truly Saved?

Songs: Come Thou Fount – performed by Paul Heflin
Bless the Broken Road – performed by Selah

Scriptures:
Luke 9:62 (New King James Version)

62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

2 Peter 2:20-21 (New International Version)

20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

Hebrews 6:4-8 (New King James Version)

4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

John 10:25-30 (New King James Version)

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one."

Romans 8:29-31 (New King James Version)

29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

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A friend of mine and I were talking recently about an incident where a person was voicing their beliefs about one’s ability to “lose their salvation and die in their sins.” I’ve heard others talk about people not being saved “for real” or where “their salvation didn’t stick,” just as I’ve heard the “once saved, always saved” defense. I have heard and read of people who “turned away from God.” So, having heard all sorts of conflicting viewpoints on this - many supported by the seemingly credible use of Bible verses - I asked God what was and was not true. And, knowing that His truth is sometimes revealed in dichotomy, my query was not only for which belief was true, but how could I understand, relate to, and make sense of what was meant by the Scriptures used in these views. As He often does, He didn’t answer the question one way or another, but reminded me of an experience I had.

One morning, about 4:00am, I was coming home from driving my son to work. I was about 5 minutes away when the “check engine” light came on my dashboard. I thought I would make it home since I was so close. As I merged from one expressway to another, I felt the car lose power and I steered it off to the shoulder of the road. Stopped, I just sat there for a few minutes. I honestly had no idea what was wrong with the car. I contemplated calling Triple A (AAA road service), but realized I couldn’t tell them what was wrong with it. Then, I got mad. I was mad at “God and everybody.” I got out of the car and started walking down the expressway, fussing at God for my situation. Several things in my life weren’t going as I wanted or expected at that point, but I thought I was doing what God wanted me to do (even when it didn’t make sense to me or wasn’t something I wanted to do.) So I figured that if things were going to go so badly, I might as well stop these efforts at obeying God (which must not have been working, or else I wouldn’t be in this mess, right? Didn’t think about Job…) – might as well go back to doing things my way, the way I’d been doing them before I’d really been trying to know God better. The time came, as I was walking, for me to call some ladies that I had prayer with in the mornings. Having exited the highway onto the street, I sat on a wall and called them, just letting them know that I wouldn’t be praying with them that morning. I was in no mood for prayer – I was already talking to God, telling Him what I thought and what I was going to do.

All the way home, God was silent during my tirade. When I finally crossed the threshold into my house, I heard that still, small voice say sadly, almost remorsefully, “Do you want to leave Me too?” At that I broke. Sobbing – my anger spent - I poured out my heart to Him: all of my thoughts and fears, my pains and discomfort, my frustration and confusion. I realized (like the disciples in John 6:66-68) that there was no other place, no other way for me to go. As I’d recently heard a pastor say, I was “in too deep.”

That was a sort of turning point, where my mind was made up – I had decided to follow Jesus. My goal was that there would be no turning back because of circumstances, feelings, whatever. I repented and was forgiven. Then came thanksgiving – for God’s blessing in the restoration of our relationship, for His protection in getting me safely home that morning, for His provision in the way and place my car had given out, for lessons presented and learned.

As in the song, Come Thou Fount, my prayer was that God would continue to keep my “wandering heart” by binding it to Himself:

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

So I can’t say that I have the answer for anyone else but me. I was asked if I wanted to leave Him, which leads me to believe that I could have left Him, His way, His protection, if that was what I chose to do. Whether or not that would have been leaving or “losing” my salvation, I’m not sure… and I’m not sure it’s that important to me, if that’s even the right question on which I should focus. I do know that I really don’t know the fullness of salvation… (see upcoming blog entry, The Fullness of Salvation.) What matters most to me is my current relationship with Him. My salvation is an ongoing thing – for the present as well as the future – my being able to receive, give back and share His love, and His living His life out through me.
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Ephesians 1:3-14 (New King James Version)
Redemption in Christ

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

... and my journey with Him continues ...

Psalm 51

Songs: Great is Your Mercy – performed by Donnie McClurkin (written by Don Moen)
I Love You Lord (and I Lift My Voice)

Scriptures: (except where noted, all from www.biblegateway.com)
Hebrews 1 (New King James Version)
God’s Supreme Revelation

1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional was around Psalm 51…

I remember a time when almost every time I opened a Bible, it opened to Psalm 51 and I knew I was to pray it. The first couple of times, I figured that repentance was good, right? So no problem. But after so much time had elapsed and I seemed to be stuck in this repentance mode for days and then weeks - (and I couldn’t even think of what I had done “that bad” recently for which to repent!) - I started having a real problem. I thought I had repented of past sins, received forgiveness, and couldn’t understand why I still kept getting this Psalm to pray.

I was beginning to dread opening the Bible, afraid of seeing this Psalm again, and feeling that I must really be beyond forgiveness. I was confused, and feeling defeated and condemned.

Then, in His mercy, when I guess my spirit was totally broken, contrite and humbled before Him, God spoke. He addressed my feelings with the truth of His Word:

Hebrews 7:25
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

1 Corinthians 14:33
For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

Psalm 19:13
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 great transgression.

Romans 6:14
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 8:1
[ Free from Indwelling Sin ] There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

...and showed me how to view Psalm 51 as a finished work of Jesus, to see how Jesus was the answer to what was requested in the Psalm.

[From the Complete Jewish Bible (at www.crosswalk.com)]

For the leader. A psalm of David, when Natan the prophet came to him after his affair with Bat-Sheva:

1 God, in your grace, have mercy on me; in your great compassion, blot out my crimes. 2 Wash me completely from my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my crimes, my sin confronts me all the time. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil from your perspective; so that you are right in accusing me and justified in passing sentence. 5 True, I was born guilty, was a sinner from the moment my mother conceived me. 6 Still, you want truth in the inner person; so make me know wisdom in my inmost heart. 7 Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness, so that the bones you crushed can rejoice. 9 Turn away your face from my sins, and blot out all my crimes. 10 Create in me a clean heart, God; renew in me a resolute spirit. 11 Don't thrust me away from your presence, don't take your Ruach Kodesh away from me. 12 Restore my joy in your salvation, and let a willing spirit uphold me. 13 Then I will teach the wicked your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Rescue me from the guilt of shedding blood, God, God of my salvation! Then my tongue will sing about your righteousness 15 Adonai, open my lips; then my mouth will praise you. 16 For you don't want sacrifices, or I would give them; you don't take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God, you won't spurn a broken, chastened heart. 18 In your good pleasure, make Tziyon prosper; rebuild the walls of Yerushalayim. 19 Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then they will offer bulls on your altar.

Then He led me to pray thanksgiving from it …

1 Thessalonians 5:18
… in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Thank You, Father God, for Jesus - for revealing Yourself to us through Him, for answering all of our requests in Him. Thank You for Your grace, by which we are saved through faith- not of ourselves but as a gift from You. Thank You for Your mercy which endures forever because of Your goodness and unfailing love. I praise You, Lord God, that You have shown mercy and kindness, compassion and tenderness, according to Your nature and not limited by my need. You are an abundant God, and You have redeemed me, blotted out my transgressions, through Christ Jesus in Whom You glorified Yourself.

Lord, I am so grateful that You are so faithful, so just and so true, that if I walk in the light of Christ - letting Your Word abide in me – and I repent and confess my sins to maintain unbroken communion with You, You will forgive my sins, and cleanse me from all unrighteousness as the blood of Jesus Christ, Your Son, cleanses me from my sins. I am so humbled by Christ’s sacrifice for me, covering my sins, removing them from Your sight, such that I could be freed from my guilt and reconciled to You. Thank You, Lord, that though my sins be like scarlet, You have made and shall make them white as snow.

Lord, You loved this world that You created – loved me - so much that You gave Your best, Your only begotten Son, so that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. You did not send Your Son to condemn the world or me, but that the world- that I - through Him might be saved. You are the God of my salvation, and I thank You for loving me so completely, so personally, so redemptively.

Thank You, O Lord, for Your Son, Who is the Way, the Truth, the Life. Thank You for Your faithfulness to Your promise to put Your law, Your Spirit, Your truth into my heart and my mind – for working in me to will and to do Your good pleasure. Thank You for Your Presence in my life, for Your Spirit within me to lead me and guide me in the way that I should go; for Christ, having been made unto me wisdom. Thank You for the joy I experience in Your Presence, and for all of the reasons and opportunities You give me to praise You! Thank You for the ability to sense Your nearness, and to desire You, Whom I don’t see, but love.

Thank You for a clean heart, O Lord; for a pure heart. Please let my life be seen and experienced by others as evidence of Your goodness, Your mercy, Your grace, Your majesty, Your beauty … all that can be seen of You in and through me as I decrease and You increase and are magnified in me. Thank You for Your help in developing and sharing the fruits of Your Spirit, that others would know You, know and receive the love You have for them, and love You, too. Thank You for overcoming all my evil with Your good, for dispelling all of my darkness with Your light.

I love You, Lord. In Christ Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

... and my journey with Him continues ...