Posts Tagged ‘ Salvation ’

VerseD: Matthew 19:26

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26, ESV

It is the power of God that saves us, by grace through faith. Nothing we can do, have, or give can get us closer to God. It is His gift.

VerseD: Philippians 1:6

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6, ESV

God has saved us, and we partner with Him to work out our salvation, consciously seeing him work in us to make us like Christ.

VerseD: Psalm 2:11

Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psalm 2:11, ESV

We must remember that our God is holy and just, that He does not abide sin.

Yes, He has saved us through Christ, but we also work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12) and examine and test yourself to see if you are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5).

Then we can rejoice.

VerseD: Matthew 5:14-16

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14‭-‬16, ESV

Our works will never save us, but Christ’s work and light shine through us to glorify the Father by leading others to Christ.

VerseD: Philippians 2:12

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling
Philippians 2:12, ESV

We do not earn our salvation. We show the world we are saved by being obedient to Christ and doing good works to help others, encourage each other, and glorify God.

VerseD: 2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
2 Peter 3:9, ESV

We only have this one life to choose Christ. God wants a populated eternity, not empty. He gives us this one time to turn to Him, so be grateful He has waited for you.

VerseD: Isaiah 55:6-7

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord , that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:6‭-‬7, ESV

Today is the day of salvation. Once this life is over, there are no more chances to seek and call on the Lord.

Choose today to know God and be pardoned of all sins!

Preparing Your Heart – The Third Week of Advent 2019

We are continuing the series originally posted five years ago!

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It is now the third week of Advent! (See the last two weeks’ devotional thought here (and here) and here (and here).)

Again, Advent is a time to remember our Lord’s first coming as we look forward to His imminent return.

So, let us prepare hearts for encountering the Lord!

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old“

. . .

“for my eyes have seen your salvation
    that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and for glory to your people Israel.”
Luke 1:68-70, 2:30-32, ESV

The first part of the quote is from Zechariah, John the Baptist’s dad, at John’s birth. The second part of the quote was said by Simeon, an old and devout man, when he saw the baby Jesus at the Temple.

These two men knew that the Lord’s salvation was at hand. If you read all of chapters one and two of Luke, you can see that even they did not understand His plan of salvation. They were on the right track, but they were not aware of how things would unfold.

The Lord had come, Emmanuel, God with us, and he brought salvation. It was first brought to Israel, the Jews in Jerusalem in particular, and then it spread to “all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) over the past 2,000 years.

What most everyone then did not know was that first the Lord would bring spiritual salvation, the forgiveness of sins and the repairing of the relationship with God and humanity; the physical redemption from all enemies is still to come.

Let us remember that salvation has come, but we await our salvation from the pain and evil of this world (see Romans 8). We do not understand fully how it will all happen, but we know Jesus will return!

May we not get caught up in the knowledge we have and miss the signs of His coming. May we remember that we are not home yet, and we await our coming Savior. May we bring as many as we can to all of this knowledge of the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of the Father!

VerseD: Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9, ESV

All it takes is faith, believing God came in the flesh, lived a sinless life, died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins, and rose again bodily from the dead.

Believe in Jesus, and be saved.

VerseD: John 3:17

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:17, ESV

Jesus first came to bring us salvation. Turn to Him and believe in His death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins.

Otherwise, we remain condemned and face judgment at His return.