Tag: salvation
Living by Faith!
Scripture reading for June 13th: Nehemiah 3-5, Romans 1
Key Scriptures: Romans 1:16-17 “I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Paul, writing to the Roman believers, declared the Gospel of Jesus Christ as God’s power for salvation. This message of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ brought faith to those who would believe. Their faith in Jesus brought righteousness that enabled them to live by faith.
Nehemiah 4:14 “After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
Prayer: Lord, thank You for the faith granted me to believe in Jesus Christ. May I live fully by faith today. Amen.
Thankful for Salvation!
Scripture reading for September 27th: Joel 1-3, Amos 1-2
Key Scriptures: Joel 2:30-32 “I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved, for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”
Joel saw a vision of a devastating locust plague that swept over the land. This locust plague was a type of the judgment that God was planning to send on His rebellious people. Joel called God’s people to fasting, prayer and repentance. He then reminded them of God’s promise of warnings that would precede this judgment and also His promise of deliverance for all who would call on the Name of the Lord! This prophesy has meaning and brings hope for all today who will call on God’s Name!
Thankful for God’s faithful promise: “For their is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly bless all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Romans 10:12-13)
I bow my knee!
Scripture reading for August 10th: Isaiah 43-46
Key Scriptures: Isaiah 45:22-24 “”Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By Myself I have sworn, My mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before Me every knee will bow; by Me ever tongue will swear. They will say of Me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.'”
God proclaimed through Isaiah His prophet that He alone was God and His word was true. He was the only God who knew the future and spoke truth. He spoke that He alone was the source of salvation for all the ‘ends of the earth’. He proclaimed that one day, every knee would bow and every tongue would confess His righteousness and strength!
Rejoice in our Savior: “Therefore God exalted Him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)
Thankful for the Son of Man!
Scripture reading for June 21st: Psalms 79-83
Key Scriptures: Psalm 80:17-19 “Let Your hand rest on the Man at Your right hand, the Son of Man You have raised up for Yourself. Then we will not turn away from You; revive us, and we will call on Your Name. Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.”
The psalmist prayed for God to bring revival and restoration to His people. The key was the Man at God’s right hand! This person was a “Son of Man” that God raised up for His purposes! The psalmist desired God’s smiling face to look upon him and all God’s people. This would result in salvation! What a prayer a thousand years before Jesus Christ came to earth!
Thankful for God’s Man at His right hand: “For the law appoints men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.” (Hebrews 7:28-8:1)
God our Rock of rest!
Scripture reading for June 15th: Psalms 61-65
Key Scriptures: Psalm 62:5-8 “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” Selah
David encouraged himself in the Lord. He had healthy self-talk and healthy God-centered worship! We find him confessing rest in God alone in this psalm (vs 1) and then commanding his soul to find rest in God alone! (vs 5) He declared that God was his only hope of salvation and honor and his refuge! He encouraged all peoples to make God their refuge and cast their cares on Him!
Jesus calls us to rest in Him: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Watch your life and doctrine!
Scripture reading for September 28th: 1st Timothy 4
Key Scriptures for over-comers: 1st Timothy 4:12-16 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
Disciples who over-come pay attention to the word of God and sound doctrine. They don’t just teach and preach it, but live it out as an example for other believers and the world of the blessings of knowing God living in us. We are all learning to do this each day and the climb is upward! Progress will be evident as we persevere. Good ministers read the Scriptures publicly because God’s word has power to transform and convict. They preach the Gospel because it has the power for salvation to all who will believe. They teach by word and example, wanting, along with their Lord Jesus, all to be saved!
Observations for over-comers: Over-comers pay close attention to doctrine (sound teaching) and daily application in their own living. “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his savior.” (Psalm 24:3-5)
Not ashamed of the Gospel!
Scripture reading for June 15th: Romans 1
Paul wrote a letter to the church at Rome from Corinth during his third missionary journey to help them understand the Gospel and to clear up some issues between Jewish believers and Gentile believers. He longed to visit them but had not yet done so.
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God–the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him and for His Name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.”
Paul introduced himself to the church as a ‘servant of Christ Jesus’. God had called him and set him apart to preach the Gospel–the good news of Christ Jesus the Son of God. Jesus was a descendant of David–the Jewish king as foretold in the Scriptures through the prophets. However, Jesus was declared with power from God to be His Son by resurrection from the dead as Christ the Lord! Through God’s grace in Christ, Paul became an apostle and preacher to the Gentiles, as well as the Jews!
“I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew and then for the Gentile! For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”” (Romans 1:16-17)
Lessons from jail!
Scripture reading for June 25th: Acts 16:16-40
As Paul and Silas were going to prayer in Philipi, they were followed by a slave girl with a spirit of divination. She was owned by some people who used her in fortune-telling. This girl kept after the missionaries day by day shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” (Acts 16:17-18) Finally, Paul became fed up with her taunting and in the Name of Jesus Christ commanded the spirit to come out of her.
It is interesting to note that the demons in this girl recognized who Paul and Silas were and what they were doing. Their taunt, however, was derogatory. Paul and Silas waited on the Holy Spirit and finally acted to silence this evil spirit. This threw her owners into an uproar because they lost their source of income! The idols of money and power go down screaming! Paul and Silas were arrested, severely beaten and imprisoned before they could evade the worked up crowd! They were placed in jail in stocks and under guard as vicious criminals.
Paul and Silas were not in despair, even if they were hurting and uncomfortable! “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly their was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here.”” (Acts 16:25-28) Where God guides, He provides! God responded to their faith and sent a most unusual earthquake. His purposes were being worked out through the suffering of His servants and their trust in Him.
The jailer was so touched by Paul’s care for him that he asked how he might be saved! Paul and Silas told him to believe on the Lord Jesus and he and his household were saved and baptized that night! What was meant for evil, turned out for great good! If you are suffering today because of your faith, why not take time to pray and worship? God may send you a special earthquake!