Category Archives: Salvation: A New You

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June 17, 2014

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Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Joy, Salvation: A New You

WHAT ROBE AM I WEARING?

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels. [Isaiah 61:10 (NLT)]

Lord, don’t let me forget that you have clothed me with a robe of salvation and righteousness, not one of condemnation and self-righteousness. I am redeemed and righteous, not because of anything I have done, but because of what you have done. It is your love and forgiveness that have saved me. If I don’t extend that same love and forgiveness to others, I am simply a sanctimonious, pious, and holier-than-thou hypocrite.

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. [Luke 6:37 (NLT)]

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June 8, 2014

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Salvation: A New You, Today: Make it Count

THE TIME IS NOW

And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. [Hebrews 9:27-28 (NLT)]

Since life isn’t like the movie “Groundhog Day,” unlike Bill Murray, we’re not going to wake tomorrow and get another chance to improve upon today. Since life’s not like the new movie “Edge of Tomorrow,” unlike Tom Cruise, we’re not going to die and return to life with our past knowledge and get to fight our battles over again. When we learned how to play golf, we may have been allowed “mulligans” when we missed the ball. When the kids started baseball, they might have had an unlimited number of strikes. In real life, however, there are no “do-overs” when we miss and there are no “gimmes” if we’re just “close enough.” There is no reincarnation; we don’t get another go-around to be better people and we don’t get to relive each day until we finally get it right. If we’re going to re-examine our life and priorities, the time is now. If we’re going to make changes, the time is now. If we’re going to accept Jesus, the time is now. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. What are we going to do with it?

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. [Romans 10:9-10 (NLT)]

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June 7, 2014

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God's Word: The Bible, Obedience, Salvation: A New You

LET’S NOT BLOW IT!

Teach me, O Lord, how to live by your laws, and I will obey them to the end. [Psalm 119:33 (GW)]

Just because I knew the rules at my boarding school doesn’t necessarily mean I obeyed them. After all, I was a rebellious teen in the 60s. Smoking was strictly forbidden and immediate expulsion was the punishment for that offense. In spite of knowing that, I’d stashed some cigarettes in my luggage when I returned to school one September. A friend and I snuck off to enjoy some furtive puffs and we narrowly escaped being caught. As we anxiously hid in a closet, all I could think of was the shame of being sent home before classes had even begun. Worse than my shame, however, would be my father’s disappointment in me. He’d made a financial sacrifice so I could attend this special school and, for a moment of rebellion, I nearly blew an amazing opportunity! Fortunately, we managed to escape detection. Once safe, I tossed the cigarettes and, from then on, was a model student (at least most of the time).

As an adult, I now think about the sacrifice our Father in Heaven made for our salvation. He gave His only Son to pay for our sins; that’s a heavy price to pay for his rebellious children. Think of His disappointment if we squander this gift. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity; I’m not about to blow it. How about you?

God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. [John 3:16-17 (GW]

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May 22, 2014

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Bible Stories, Obedience, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin

What Will it Be: Dust or Ink?

Lord, hope of Israel, those who leave you will be shamed. People who quit following the Lord will be like a name written in the dust, because they have left the Lord, the spring of living water. [Jeremiah 17:13 (NCV)]

 “…This woman was caught having sexual relations with a man who is not her husband. The law of Moses commands that we stone to death every woman who does this. What do you say we should do?” …

But Jesus bent over and started writing on the ground with his finger. When they continued to ask Jesus their question, he raised up and said, “Anyone here who has never sinned can throw the first stone at her.” Then Jesus bent over again and wrote on the ground. [John 8:4-5, 6b-8 (NCV)]

I’ve always wondered why and what Jesus was writing on the ground that day when the adulterous woman was brought to him. What is the reason for the inclusion of this detail? The IVP New Testament Commentary Series sheds some light on this incident. It was unlawful to write on a Sabbath or holy day (and this was likely the last day of the Feast of Shelters.) One could, however, write in the dust. By writing only in the dusty ground, Jesus showed that he knew religious law.

That tells me why Jesus was writing in the dirt, but what could he have been writing? The IVP Commentary speculates that Jesus could have been writing the words of Jeremiah and/or the names of the woman’s accusers. Since they were Pharisees and teachers of religious law, they would all have been familiar with Jeremiah’s warning. They knew they were sinners and that those who sin against the Lord would soon be forgotten; their names would blow away like the dust. We will never know why or what Jesus was writing that day but, as for me, I want indelible ink (not dust) used to write my name in God’s book.

But you should not be happy because the spirits obey you but because your names are written in heaven. [Luke 10:20 (NCV)]

The glory and the honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing unclean and no one who does shameful things or tells lies will ever go into it. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city. [Revelation 21:26-27 (NCV)]

 

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May 14, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin

We Always Have a Choice

Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. [Deuteronomy 30:15 (NLT)]

God always gives us choices. Adam and Eve made a bad choice when they decided to eat the apple and mankind hasn’t stopped making poor choices since then. The Israelites chose the golden calf, Samson chose Delilah, Judas chose 30 pieces of silver, and the crowd chose Barabbas. Unfortunately, it is no better today. Some choices (the blue or white shirt, pizza or burgers, the Cubs or Sox) are of little or no consequence. Others, such as the choice of a spouse, career, or friends are of major importance. Certain decisions, however, have eternal consequences. Will we choose to love or hate, to believe or not, to follow Christ or man, and to serve God or ourselves? What choices will you make today?

Tell all the people, “This is what the Lord says: Take your choice of life or death!” [Jeremiah 21:8 (NLT)]

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May 6, 2014

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God's Promises, Salvation: A New You

Seek the Lost

Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.” In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents. [Luke 15:8-10 (NLT)]

Yesterday my husband found a plastic Easter egg behind a throw pillow. Perhaps that speaks badly of my housekeeping since Easter was more than two weeks ago; I prefer to think of it as an opportunity to ponder Jesus’ parable of the housewife searching for the lost coin.

When my granddaughter was here for Easter, I filled several plastic eggs with spare change and hid them throughout the house. Of course, she was thrilled to search for her hidden treasure on Easter morning. Once she found the basket with her gift and the “golden egg” (containing a five dollar bill), however, the search for the rest of the eggs waned. Shortly after her departure Easter Sunday, I spotted one egg in a flower arrangement and later that week I came across two more. Even though I knew more eggs probably still hadn’t been found, I wasn’t interested in searching for them. I knew they’d show up eventually. “What are a few pennies and dimes?” I thought. At least they weren’t real eggs that would eventually smell!

Instead of celebrating as the parable’s housewife did when she found the lost coin, I just got annoyed when another egg showed up. It meant that I still had those bothersome coins and had to get out the ladder so I could reach the Easter storage box to stow the egg.

The housewife in Jesus’ parable would never have left any pillow unturned until she’d found the lost coin. She would have looked under every bed and sofa, behind every curtain, and on top of every shelf. Instead of being annoyed when it was found, she would have thrown a party!

Unlike my grandchild, God doesn’t get distracted when he gets a few souls; he wants to save them all. Unlike the eggs, with their varying amounts of money, every soul is equally precious and valuable to God. Instead of grumbling, there is great rejoicing in heaven when one lost soul is found and restored to God.

Father, thank you for the reminder that everyone is important to you and that you celebrate every time a lost soul is found. Thank you for helping us understand that we are seekers of the lost. Let us never give up in our search.

So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” [Luke 15:3-7 (NLT)]