Category Archives: Salvation: A New You

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October 2, 2025

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Challenges & Difficulty, Church & Worship, God's Plan, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Obedience, Salvation: A New You

COUNTING THE COST

But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, “There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!”… So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own. [Luke 14:28-30,33 (NLT)]

No sacrifice should be too great for Him who gave Himself for us. [Harry Ironside]

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Intrigued by the “starting from” price in the ads for a new community, some curious friends toured one of their model homes. Seeming to have every feature they wanted, the house appeared to be in their price range. It was only after sitting down with the salesman to go over the purchase details that they discovered the true cost. The granite countertops, energy-efficient stainless appliances, and pull-out pantry seen in the model home were not included in the base price, nor were the paddle fans, bar sink, under cabinet lighting, pool, pool cage, rheostats, recessed lighting, crown molding, or tray ceiling in the dining room. After adding their desired upgrades to the “starting from” price, the couple realized the “ending up” cost was too great for them.

When Jesus said “count the cost,” He wasn’t giving us a list of options with a matching pricelist. Although God’s grace is free, we must agree to certain terms if we’re going to accept His salvation. Counting the cost for following Jesus is like giving the builder unlimited access to our bank and investment accounts and then allowing him to determine the size, design, location, materials, amenities, and décor of our new house! Knowing the cost would be greater than the amount we were prepared to spend, that’s not a deal we’d make with any builder.

While we wouldn’t do that for a house, what is the price of a soul? Being a disciple of Jesus is giving Him unlimited access to our lives and assets. As the One who determines the finished product, He takes our old selves and rebuilds us as the people we’re meant to be (which may not be what we thought we wanted to be). Having given God carte blanche, we don’t have an option or upgrades list. We can’t say, “I’ll take the love and forgiveness along with church attendance and Bible study but I’ll skip the self-denial and obedience” or “I’ll keep my independence and pride and take a pass on sacrifice, generosity, and evangelism.”

Consecrating our lives to the Lord is not a decision to be made carelessly or thoughtlessly. Nevertheless, as costly as it may be, choosing to follow Jesus is an excellent value and the best investment we could ever make. Instead of a luxurious new house on earth, we get one in heaven along with a new identity, heart, mind, family, future, and purpose.

For God no cost is too high. Anything can be sacrificed if only we may please Him. Let us daily learn to be obedient children. [Watchman Nee]

Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” [Mark 8:34-37 (NLT)]

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September 25, 2025

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Forgiveness, Obedience, Patience & Perseverance, Salvation: A New You

THE SAMARITANS

Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. [Luke 10:33 (NLT)]

deptford pinkThe hatred between Jews and Samaritans began in 930 BC when Solomon’s son Rehoboam was king and the united kingdom of Israel divided. Ten tribes rebelled and made Jeroboam king of the northern kingdom of Israel whose capital was Samaria. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin along with the Levitical priesthood remained in the southern kingdom of Judah. Fearing a change of alliance if people returned to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam set up his own worship centers in the north.

After Israel was conquered by Assyria in 772 BC, some of the northern kingdom’s Jews were taken into captivity but many of the poor and uneducated Jews remained. Assyria repopulated the land with Gentiles who brought their pagan gods and beliefs with them. Wanting to appease the god of the land after a series of lion attacks on the new settlers, Assyria’s king sent back an exiled priest to teach them about Israel’s Jehovah. As a result, Samaritan Judaism became an odd mix of paganism and Judaism. Only the five books of Moses were recognized as Scripture, many Jewish traditions were rejected, and idols were worshipped along with the God of Israel.

When the southern kingdom’s Jews began returning after their Babylonian exile, the Samaritans interfered with the rebuilding of Jerusalem and tried to undermine Judah’s relationship with their Persian rulers. Since the Samaritans were not welcome to worship in the Jerusalem Temple, they erected their own temple on Mt. Gerizim. Adding more fuel to the fire, they aligned themselves with the Seleucids during the Maccabean wars. Around 113 BC, Judah’s Jews destroyed the Samaritan temple and around 9 AD, some Samaritans snuck into Jerusalem on Passover and defiled the Temple with human remains.

Samaritans were a continual source of difficulty for the Jews of the south. Controlling the land between Galilee and Jerusalem, they regularly harassed pilgrims on their way to worship in Jerusalem. Because of the intermarriage between the Jews and Gentiles of Samaria, Samaritans were considered “half-breeds” by Jews. Considering them racially and theologically contaminated, Judeans had a proverb: “A piece of bread given by a Samaritan is more unclean than swine’s flesh.”

Bitter, intolerant, and hostile toward one another, the relationship between Samaritans and Judeans was like that between Protestants and Catholics during the troubles in Northern Ireland or Israelis and Palestinians today. This is the world in which we find Jesus telling the parable of the Good Samaritan with the unlikely hero being a Samaritan (the very people known to harass travelers).

We know this parable was in response to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” but let’s back up one chapter to see what preceded it. Jesus and the disciples were on their way to Jerusalem. Rather than taking the longer walk around Samaria, they were walking right through it. When Jesus sent messengers into a Samaritan village to make sleeping and eating arrangements, they were not welcomed. Although Jesus previously told the disciples to simply shake the dust from their feet if a town refused to welcome them, John and James suggested calling down fire from heaven to destroy the village. Luke says Jesus rebuked them but we don’t know what He said.

Part of their rebuke may be found in the story of the Good Samaritan. The parable could have been as much for His disciples (especially James and John) as it was for the legal expert who asked the identity of his neighbor. Jesus easily could have made his point with a Roman soldier as the story’s unlikely hero, but He didn’t. Although the Samaritans had been unneighborly in snubbing Him, Jesus deliberately chose a Samaritan to teach a lesson about neighbors! That parable told the disciples that, even when our neighbor is inhospitable and slights us, he still is our neighbor. Whether or not someone helps us, we are to help them and, when someone offends us, we’re not to take offense. We do unto others as we would like them to do to us and not as they’ve done to us!

Although there are about 800 Samaritans still living in Israel, the word “Samaritan” for most of us refers to someone who helps other people, especially strangers, when they have trouble. How ironic that the despised “pagan half-Jews of the Old Testament” (as one writer called them) took a place of honor in the New!

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But the good Samaritan reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?” [Martin Luther King, Jr.]

Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you. If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! [Luke 6:30-31 (NLT)]

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September 22, 2025

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, Love & Works, Salvation: A New You, Today: Make it Count

OUR TIME IS HIS

The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord. [Psalm 24:1 (CSB)]

The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours. The world and everything in it—you founded them. [Psalm 89:11 (CSB)]

The two were seated next to us on the patio; the frail elderly woman was the mother and the younger woman her daughter. After pondering the menu, the mother had all sorts of questions about it. In no rush to order, she dithered over her entrée choice and, once food was served, she lingered over it. As I observed the two women, I could see and hear the daughter’s growing frustration and impatience with her mother. They reminded me of the times I took my mother-in-law out to lunch. Having “been there and done that,” I wanted to tell the daughter to be patient. One day, mom would be gone and she’d wish they had more days together.

Because they are our possessions and we have control over them, we say we own things like our money, house, car, lawnmower, and toothbrush. I suspect we also think we own our time but, when you think about it, we don’t. Like everything else, it’s a gift from God. While we have clocks and calendars to help us keep track of it, God is the one who owns our time and has ultimate control over it! Nevertheless, because we think our time is ours alone, we often dole it our sparingly or not at all. Moreover, just as a toddler feels put upon when his mother makes him share his toys, we tend to resent the imposition when called upon to share our time in a way we hadn’t planned.

In her later years, we took my mother-in-law to her numerous appointments and a day with Gert was a little like the children’s story If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. In Laura Numeroff’s circular tale, the mouse’s simple request for a cookie leads to a series of escalating demands of things like milk, a straw, a napkin, a mirror, nail scissors, a broom, a nap, a story, paper, crayons, a pen, and scotch tape before ending up with the mouse wanting another cookie!

Whether we took Gert to doctor, hairdresser, seamstress, or shopping, the undertaking was guaranteed to take all day. Once done with the first task, Gert would add more errands to run and more places to visit. By then she’d be hungry and insist it was time for lunch. Once in a restaurant, she’d scrutinize the entire menu forever and discuss the various items before finally requesting the burger she always ordered. She was even slower to finish her meal and, once done, she’d order coffee before deciding about dessert. Once Gert was home, she’d insist we come in and “sit awhile” which often led to our staying for dinner at her senior residence! Just as the act of giving one cookie to a mouse led to a whole series of unexpected events for the little boy, a ride to a one appointment with my mother-in-law led to a full day’s outing for us.

It wasn’t just her advanced age that made my mother-in-law seem so needy, slow, and indecisive. I suspect she wanted to spend more time with us and the numerous errands and lengthy meals were a way to do that! As pleasant at those days with Gert were, they were time-consuming. I admit there were times we felt she infringed on time that was rightfully ours! As much as we loved her, it was easy for us to resent the hours she took from our day. That feeling of being imposed upon didn’t come from God—it came from the enemy. Our selfishness came from the mistaken assumption that we owned the 24-hours of each day and could spend them as we wished rather than as God desired.

If Jesus appeared and asked us to spend the day with a widowed elderly woman, we gladly would say yes (and be thankful it wasn’t a bigger ask). What if He asked us to spend time packing groceries at the food bank, helping at Vacation Bible school, volunteering at the charity thrift shop, visiting a house-bound neighbor, bringing communion to a shut-in, or tutoring youngsters at the Boys and Girls club? Because He asked, we’d happily do it without resenting Him or those we served. The thing is—Jesus asked us to do those things when He was here so He shouldn’t have to ask us again now! He calls on us to use His time as He would have it used! Never rushed, if God Himself found time to feed the hungry and heal the sick, we have the time to serve both loved ones and strangers alike!

In truth, nothing—not our time, talents, or even bodies—are truly ours; they all belong to God. Rather than the owner, we are merely stewards of God’s gifts. The time God gives us is to be used for His glory. When given the opportunity to serve Him by helping others, let’s respond with joy, enthusiasm, and a large dose of patience on the side—always remembering that what we do for others, we are doing for Him! As the Psalmist said, let us “Serve the Lord with gladness, come before him with joyful songs.” [100:2]

How could we enjoy heaven if during our lifetime we had used most of our time, treasure, and talents for ourselves and our select group? [Daniel Fuller]

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?” And the King will answer them, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” [Matthew 25:37-40 (CSB)]

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August 11, 2025

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Attitudes & Behavior, Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, Knowing Him, Salvation: A New You, Trusting God

HE’S BIGGER

Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. [1 Peter 1:8-9 (CSB)]

lion - tanzania

Although C.S. Lewis never intended the seven books in The Chronicles of Narnia series to be allegories, they are filled with Christian imagery and allusions. Having enjoyed reading (and re-reading) the Narnia books, I was pleased when the Pastor opened his sermon on “The Supremacy of Jesus” by quoting from it. In Prince Caspian, after a year’s absence from Narnia, Lucy encounters Aslan the lion (the Christ-like figure in the series) and says, “Aslan, you’re bigger.” The lion replies, “That is because you are older, little one.” When she asks, “Not because you are?” the lion assures her, “I am not.” He then explains, “But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

Only a year had passed in Lucy’s world since she last saw Aslan, but 1,300 years had passed in Narnia. Even so, in all that time, Aslan hadn’t gotten larger. As Hebrews 13:8 reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Indeed, God is unchangeable in His being, character, will, attributes, power, and promises.

Lucy’s misperception of Aslan’s size is not because she’s another year older or two inches taller. While we tend to think of growing as getting older or larger, growing in the spiritual sense is different. It’s a little like seeing people from a distance. From afar, they seem small but, as we grow closer to them, they seem to enlarge. Once face-to-face, we finally perceive how large they really are! Spiritual growth is coming closer to God so that we perceive how big He is and how small we are. Growth in our spiritual life doesn’t mean there is more of us; if anything, there is less of us and more of God! While God is immutable, our relationship with Him is not.

As we grow and mature spiritually, like Lucy, our perception of God will change proportionally. The more we move toward Him, the larger He becomes! We will come to see both our spiritual brokenness and the greatness of God’s mercy, our sinfulness and His immeasurable holiness, our weakness and His infinite power, our poverty and His limitless grace, our emptiness and His abundant love. As we accept our inadequacy and hopelessness, our small perspective of God changes and we begin to grasp the full extent of God’s wisdom, glory, power, and majesty. Indeed, our God is a big God!

Aslan played a prominent role in the first Narnia book so all four of the children know he exists. Nevertheless, upon their return to Narnia, they don’t see him. But, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there. Lucy is the only one who finally sees him, perhaps because, unlike her siblings, she was the only one who believed Aslan would help them. For the other three children, Aslan remains invisible until, one by one, like Lucy, they start having faith in him. It’s been said that “seeing is believing.” In this case, it is the believing that allowed for the seeing! I expect that, as their faith increased, like Lucy, each sibling said, “Aslan, you’re bigger!”

And, so it is with Jesus. We must believe in Him to see Him and the more we trust Him, the bigger He gets!

Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” [John 11:40 (CSB)]

Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” [John 20:29 (CSB)]

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. [Hebrews 11:6 (CSB)]

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July 28, 2025

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Salvation: A New You, Sharing Our Faith, Temptation & Sin

STUMBLING BLOCKS – (Part 1)

Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. [Romans 14:13 (NRSV)]

Having witnessed Jesus’ God-like power over nature when He walked on water, the disciples recognized Him as “the Son of God!” [Mat 14:32] Recognizing Jesus’ divinity, however, did not mean they understood He was the Messiah. While Jesus’ power to heal, multiply food, still storms, and walk on water implied a godlike nature, most 1st century Jews didn’t expect the Messiah to be divine. Expecting a righteous judge and a great political and military leader coming from the lineage of David, they assumed he would be a human being. So, when Jesus asked His disciples who people thought He was, they said John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or another one of the prophets—godly men who performed miracles, spoke of judgment, and called the people to return to covenant faithfulness.

Jesus then asked the men, “But who do you say I am?” With insight that came from God, Peter identified Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”[16:15] He understood that Jesus was both divine and the Messiah! Blessing the disciple, Jesus gave Simon (meaning “hearer”) the new name of Peter (meaning “rock”). When the disciple recognized Jesus as both the Messiah and “the Son of the living God,” the hearer became the foundation rock upon which the new church would be built.

Following Peter’s confession of faith, Jesus began to tell his disciples the implications of His Messiahship. He clearly described His suffering and death at the hands of the Jewish high court. Unfortunately, like the rest of the disciples, Peter believed the Messiah had come to provide economic and political relief for the Jews—not atone for our sins with His blood.  Still thinking about an earthly kingdom, Peter took Jesus aside and said, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” [16:22]

It was then that Jesus addressed the rock as “Satan” and called him a “stumbling block.” In an instant, the man to whom Jesus gave the keys to the Kingdom and a name meaning rock had become a stumbling block and a tool for Satan! Like Satan’s temptations in the wilderness, Peter’s words tempted the Lord to thwart God’s plan and achieve greatness without suffering and death. Jesus roundly rebuked the disciple for wanting to put man’s plan ahead of God’s.

Hoping to protect Jesus from the suffering He’d predicted, Peter didn’t deliberately choose to be Satan’s tool. His error was in assessing the situation from his viewpoint rather than God’s. Having just proclaimed Jesus as the Son of the living God, Peter should have known that God had the situation firmly in control and that the only plan that mattered was God’s!

With Peter we see how easy it is to unwittingly move from being a rock to a stumbling block. Are we rocks—the solid people who can be relied upon, the ones who encourage, who can be trusted to hold things together, the firm foundations who support those who are weak and lift those who fall? Is ours a rock-solid faith that will follow God’s plan wherever it takes us? Or, like stumbling blocks—do we ever discourage, hinder progress, or cause doubt? Could our hypocrisy or less than stellar behavior hinder our witness? Even unintentionally, are we stumbling blocks that trip up the faith of those around us?

We know that wasn’t the last time the Apostle would disappoint the Lord. He wasn’t perfect and neither are we. Nevertheless, Peter proved to be the rock upon which Christ’s church was built. Like the Apostle, we too can be rocks that serve as stepping stones to further God’s purpose.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” [Luke 17:1-2 (NRSV)]

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June 12, 2025

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

PRIDE

The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. [Proverbs 16:5 (NIV)]

peacockWith few exceptions, when we find mention of pride in Scripture, it has a negative connotation. It refers to arrogance, conceit, disrespect, haughtiness, and effrontery. Often called stubborn, insolent, willful, and selfish, prideful people don’t fare well in Scripture. Consider Pharaoh whose pride made him stubbornly defy the power of God; as a result, his entire nation suffered plague after plague, he lost his eldest son, and his entire army was decimated. Lucifer’s insolence and pride got him evicted from heaven. Nebuchadnezzar’s conceitful boasting resulted in the king living as a field animal and eating grass for seven years! When arrogant King Uzziah overstepped boundaries and burned incense in Temple (something only priests could do), the proud king became an outcast leper. Indeed, “pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” [Proverbs 16:18]

Since Scripture makes it clear that pride is a sin, where does that leave us when we enjoy the satisfied feeling of a job well done or the pleasure of receiving praise? What emotion is appropriate when we have attained a goal or succeeded at a difficult task? What feeling can we share with someone who has achieved something extraordinary? If not pride, what?

I confess to feeling good when I receive a compliment on a devotion I’ve written, a sermon I’ve given, a cookie I baked, or a meal I served. I’m proud of the accomplishments of my children and grands. Is that wrong? Since the Apostle Paul admits to pride and to boasting about the Corinthians and Thessalonians, the Lord, the cross, and his hope, there appears to be a good or acceptable kind of pride.

Good pride has a sense of worth and is earned through effort and hard work; sinful pride over-estimates its worth and is competitive by nature. Rather than doing its best, it just wants to do better than others. Good pride makes a realistic assessment of itself and sees its faults. Sinful pride, however, has an inflated ego blind to its faults; instead of self-esteem, it is more like a low regard for everyone else. Good pride, like the pride Paul had in the Corinthians and Thessalonians, encourages others because it isn’t threatened by their success. Generous, it takes satisfaction in others’ accomplishments. On the other hand, sinful pride discourages and demeans; selfish, it takes satisfaction only in itself. While good pride is humble, quiet, and self-assured, the other arrogantly blusters and brags.

The biggest distinction between good and sinful pride is its relationship to God. Good pride sees the need for God and has confidence in His power but sinful pride has confidence only in self and sees no need for God (or anyone else). Good pride exalts and worships God. It takes no credit for God’s gifts and, if it boasts, like Paul, it boasts only of what God’s grace has accomplished. Sinful pride, however, exalts and worships itself, takes all the credit, and sings only its own praises.

Rather than two different prides, could pride exist on a continuum with acceptable or good pride on one end and sinful pride on the other. After all, there must be a continuum for other sins. At some point, enjoying good food (which is not sinful) can move into over-eating and then onto gluttony (which is a sin). For that matter, at what point does admiration turn into envy, desire into lust, or conversation turn into gossip? Somewhere on those scales, what’s acceptable becomes what’s not.

Let us be cautious of self-reliance and over-confidence, lest our acceptable (and humble) sense of pride imperceptibly slides down the line toward conceit, arrogance, haughtiness, and self-glorification. We must never forget that anything we’ve managed to accomplish was possible only because God encouraged, empowered, equipped, and sustained us.

If you have anything to be proud of, remember what it is and that it is not your own, but has been given or lent to you by God, who especially hates pride. [Richard Baxter]

This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. [Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV)]

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