Tag Archives: salvation

April 11; Ebenezer (Not Scrooge)

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I Samuel 6-9

Do you remember what it was like the day you gave your heart to Jesus? Do you remember the relief, and that overwhelming sense of love? Can you recall the purity in your relationship with God, that precious gift of salvation that Jesus died to give you?

For some of us, that day has been decades ago. Some of us were saved as children, and our encounter with Jesus Christ kept us from living ungodly lifestyles. Some of us were saved later in life, and realize the pain that comes from living life without God. Either way, the choice to surrender to Jesus was a decision that changed our lives. Do you remember it?

Israel had won a victory over their enemy, and the Ark of God was finally home. They were saved, and God’s Presence was among them once again. Samuel didn’t want them to ever forget what God had done for them.

So he built an Ebenezer. He set up a stone to mark the spot, a reminder for generations to come about the salvation of the Lord. “Thus far has the Lord helped us,” he said in chapter 7.

It wasn’t something to worship. It was to remind them why they worshiped.

I sometimes wear a cross around my neck. I guess that could be an Ebenezer in that it reminds me what Jesus did for me on a cross. My nephew’s wife has a tattoo on her wrist that says, “Agape,” to remind her how God’s love changed her life.

An Ebenezer is a tangible reminder of God’s blessings, a way to go back and appreciate what God has done. What is that for me? Even now, as I sit here thinking about this passage, I find it hard to remember the day Jesus saved me. I don’t often think about that moment when my sins were washed away, when my Savior wrapped me up in His righteousness.

But maybe I should. Samuel thought it was important. God must think it’s important or He wouldn’t have inspired this passage to be included in His Word. So let me encourage all of us to consider putting up an Ebenezer to remind us what God has done for us, what He has saved us from, and how He has helped us get this far.

When was the last time you sang Robert Robinson’s hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing?” It’s been a while for me, so I looked up the lyrics. So powerful! Look at the second verse:

Here I raise my Ebenezer;

Here by Thy great help I’ve come.

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger

Wandering from the fold of God.

He, to rescue me from danger

Interposed His precious blood.

All four verses are so amazing. I hope you’ll take time to read then. It might take a bit of effort to understand the outdated phrases from the 1700’s, but it’s so worth it.

Let’s not forget what Jesus did and what He saved us from. Let’s raise our Ebenezer and praise His Name.

March 21; Do You Want The Good News First, Or The Bad?

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Deuteronomy 27-28

So the first thing the Israelites were to do after they’d crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land had to do with the Law. Moses instructed them to erect the equivalent of a modern-day billboard, and carve God’s Commandments clearly enough for everyone to see. Their occupation of that land came with conditions. Their future depended on them obeying God’s Law.

God gave them the good news first. “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commandments… all these blessings will come upon you…” (28:1-2) Then He proceeds to describe what life would be life for God’s obedient children:

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock – the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. (vv 3-6)

It doesn’t even stop there. Victory over enemies, full barns, nations recognizing the fact they are God’s holy people, abundant prosperity…

I’d pick door number one!

Because beginning in verse 15, God describes in gruesome detail what life would be like if they chose disobedience over obedience.

You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. (vv16-19)

Oh, it gets worse. Much worse. From devastating losses in battle, to awful diseases, to broken relationships, barren land and famine, such suffering that cannibalism would be the only means of survival.

There’s more. It’s just too awful.

God spent fourteen verses talking about the blessings for obedience. He took 53 verses to warn them about the consequences for disobedience.

I’m reminded God does not want ANYONE going to hell. He takes no delight in the death of an unrepentant sinner. He is desperate for us to know the truth about what is ahead.

The blessings speak for themselves. You know what I mean, if you’ve given your heart to the Lord, and are careful to follow His rules. The blessings are there! It’s the bad news God wants to make clear.

If you think what we read in chapter 28 is bad, you’ve seen only a glimpse of eternity without God. Only the first day of eternity in hell.

The good news is that God is so desperate, so driven to have us with Him, He came to earth Himself and paid the price for all our sin. When we accept His gift of grace, when we follow Him and choose to obey, He opens the floodgates of blessing. Our enemy is defeated, our sins are forgiven, we experience love and joy and peace like never before. And we know for certain that no matter what happens in this life, what comes next will knock our socks off.

And because God is so desperate that no one die without Him, He wants you to know what it is you are choosing when you choose to deny Him, As you read what God said to Israel here in chapter 28, put yourselves in their shoes. Feel the pain, the humiliation, the fear. Feel what it would be like if God removed Himself, no longer tried to get your attention. Realize the desperation, the anguish, the abandonment that comes from disobedience.

Then understand that without following God, there is no hope for mercy. No possibility of relief. Ever.

The bad news… the really bad news is…

Eternity is a very long time to be without God, my friend.

 

March 20; A Relationship

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Deuteronomy 23-26

Religion is full of rules. If you do this, this, and this, and don’t do that or that, your god will accept you, won’t punish you, or will at least tolerate you. We read about religions that advocate sacrificing children, or killing the infidel to appease a god. We hear about religions that require X-number of prayers, abstaining from certain food and drink, or wearing veils and head coverings as part of their religion.

Now I’m not saying Christianity doesn’t have rules. God gave us the Ten Commandments and holds us accountable for obeying them. The Bible, especially the Old Testament like the chapters we read today have pages and pages of rules, often repeated several times.

But there is a reason I believe Christianity stands out from all the rest. The rules God gave His people were given so that He, a Holy God, could fellowship with us. The rules we abide by were given because God loves people.

It’s not about rule-following so we can get Him on our side. He’s already on our side. It’s not rule-following so that He’ll forgive us. He’s already forgiven us by the blood of Jesus. The God of Christianity put down rules so that He can:

“set (us) in praise, fame and honor high above all nations he has made and that (we) will be a people holy to the Lord (our) God, as he promised.” (26:19)

The God of Christianity doesn’t look at people as something to dominate, or control. He looks at His children as “his treasured possession.”

When the followers of most other religions follow their rules, the only thing they can hope for is a god that might let up on them, and maybe promise them some kind of eternal peace. The God of Christianity promises Himself, His Spirit living in us, blessings and joy, as well as an eternity in His Presence.

It’s for that reason I agree with those who say Christianity is not a religion as much as it is a relationship. Here’s God, awesome in power, Holy, Holy, Holy, creator of the universe, wanting to hang out with me. Here is God, knowing that I cannot obey all the rules, that I am a sinner by virtue of the first sin I ever committed, paying the penalty Himself that my sin deserves. Here’s is that same God, knowing I can’t come to Him no matter how many rules I follow, coming to me.

And I, as His child by His grace through Jesus, will demonstrate my love for Him by obeying Him, cherishing Him, walking with Him. It’s not about the rules. It’s about the person of Jesus Christ, a Holy God who came down to my level so that I can have a relationship with Him.

It’s about a God who actually loves me. And I love Him, too.

March 1; No More, No Less

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Numbers 7

Every time I read this chapter I am blessed. It may seem repetitive and boring to read each word. But the truth it represents gets me every time.

The fact this chapter so beautifully portrays is: we are all on equal footing before God. Every tribe came to the Presence of God with the exact same things. Big tribes weren’t required to give more, small tribes didn’t get away with less.

And that’s how it is today. Every one of us is on equal footing before our Holy God:

 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

We are all sinners. None of us has anything more to offer God than the next guy:

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Every one of us is saved in exactly the same way:

If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)

Because, and this is the kicker:

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven give to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

And Jesus tells us exactly who that Name is:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

That’s it. That’s what the Bible tells us in the Old Testament and the New. We can’t be good enough, generous enough, spiritual or religious enough to approach God on our own. Everyone is required the exact same thing. No more. No less.

 

February 6: Not From Yourselves

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Exodus 13-15

Every day I read God’s Word, I write my thoughts and observations in a journal. These past few years my journals have served as a rough draft for the posts on this blog. The journal I am using now has a Bible verse on each  page. Today’s verse is Ephesians 2:8-9, and it reinforces the truth found in these chapters in Exodus so beautifully!

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.

The parting of the Red Sea is a familiar story to most. The dramatic rescue of the Jews from the Egyptians is nothing short of spectacular. God revealed His power to the whole world when those waters parted, and the Jews were saved.

I am reminded the Jews didn’t build a dam to stop the water. They didn’t throw together a barge to float across the water. They didn’t do a part-the-water-dance. In fact, God told them to be still.

Their salvation had nothing to do with anything they did. It was His grace that saved them. And His grace is still saving souls thousands of years later.

Someone told me recently that a friend of their’s who lived a very difficult life with health issues and heartache was in heaven now because, “She paid her penance on earth.”

Dear one, that isn’t close to being true. Your troubles here on earth – or even all the good you do – have zero to do with whether or not you spend eternity in the Presence of God.

ZERO.

There is only one thing that will save you. It’s not from yourself. It is a gift from the heart of God. It’s His grace.

The Jews walked through the waters of the Red Sea on dry ground because God alone made a way. And we can walk through this life and into the next because God made a way. His name is Jesus.

There was only one way for the Jews to be saved from their enemy. And there is only one way for us to be saved from ours. They had to go through the Sea. We have to go through Jesus.

Acts 4:12 tells us there is no other name on earth or in heaven, no other salvation in anyone else other than Jesus Himself. No other way. And we can accept what Jesus did on the cross, because of the grace of God.

If you haven’t already, please surrender to God. Be still. Quit trying so hard. Ask God to forgive you, and He will. Let Him save you by His grace through the precious blood of Jesus.

 

January 19; Come As You Are

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It stood out to me today that God changed Abram’s name to Abraham before he was circumcised. Abram had gotten Hagar pregnant with the mistaken idea God needed a little help fulfilling His promise. Abram did what he thought was right, but it was sin.

Then God changed his name. But Abraham’s name wasn’t the only thing changed.

Hasn’t today’s Church adopted the “come as you are” mantra to a fault? Not just in church attire, but behavior inside and outside the church, too. It’s gone to such an extreme that the word “sin” is left out of some sermons, and in some fellowships sin is ignored or promoted in the name of tolerance and love.

When Abram met God, he fell on his face, a sign of humility and worship. He got up with the name Abraham, and that same day obeyed God and was circumcised. No, of course he didn’t become perfect after the name change. He questioned God seconds later. A work in progress, Abraham progressed.

Friend, if Abram was circumcised before the name change, I’d tell you to clean up your act before going to Jesus. I’d tell you to quit smoking and drinking, to quit being mean to your neighbor, to start telling the truth and be faithful to your wife. I’d say you’d better start going to church, and quit using God’s name as a punctuation mark, then ask God to save you.

But, I’m not going to tell you any of that.

Go to God today, just as you are right now smelling of smoke and hung over, caught in a lie, or in the middle of an affair with your husband’s best friend. Go to God with your doubts and fears and scars and tears. Fall on your face before Him and ask Him to forgive you. He will.

But let me warn you; if you do, it can change your life. It can make you want to obey, even in the difficult things. (I have to believe being circumcised at 99 was a difficult thing. But the new and improved Abraham obeyed.)

Even if you’ve already asked Jesus to be your Savior at some time in your life, but find yourself chained to a sin today, go to him bound. Ask Him to forgive you and break those chains.

If you go to God today, if you confess your sin, if you repent you will receive His forgiveness. That’s His promise to all of us. It’s not make yourself a better person, clean yourself up, then repent. It’s ask, and receive.

Ask, and receive.

Come to God just as you are, but don’t stay that way. Let Him change you into the person you and He both want you to be.

1&2 Peter; Too Late

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Can you celebrate the birth of Jesus and ignore the fact that He is coming again? He first came as a baby boy, grew to be a man, rocked the world at that time, and continues to rock our world after His death on the cross, and resurrection.

Christmas is not just a birthday. It’s the beginning of the end. Jesus will come again, and Peter reminds us it will be a day of reckoning. Are you ready?

I hope your Christmas holiday will be blessed with happiness and precious moments with family and friends. But I also hope – no, I pray – that when you consider that baby in a manger, you will consider how His birth has impacted you. That baby was born for love of you. That baby was born to save you.

Do you now Him? I pray you do. But if you’ve never confessed your sin and allowed Him to forgive you through the blood of Jesus, do it today. I can’t imagine a better birthday gift to give that Baby Jesus, than your heart.

Because He is coming again. It could be today. And when He comes it will be too late for you to suddenly accept what He died to give you.

May you celebrate the birth of YOUR Savior this season.

1&2 Thessalonians; Here Comes The Judge

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As I read Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, some of the old hymns were running through my mind. “One Day He’s coming, O glorious day!” “With power and great glory, He is Coming Again.”  “When The Role Is Called Up Yonder I’ll Be There.”

There is a lot of speculation about the events surrounding the day Jesus returns to earth. There always has been. Paul reminds us that the only thing that really matters is the fact that Jesus will come back, in the blink of an eye. And no one will have a heads-up on His timing.

If you read these letters, you’ll hear Paul encourage us who know the Savior to be busy doing His work, reaching out to the lost, telling people about Jesus. Because when Jesus comes back, He will judge the world.

And He will show no mercy to those who don’t know Him.

Only those who are wearing His righteousness, purchased for us with His own precious blood, will be declared, “Not guilty,” because Jesus took our guilty verdict on Himself. We will be able to look into the eyes of this Holy, fearsome, Judge, and see only forgiveness and love.

But anyone looking into those same eyes, standing before Him trying to wear their own righteousness, will have reason to be terrified. Those who stand before the final Judge on their own will hear the guilty verdict they deserve.

Personally, I look forward to gazing into those piercing eyes. Because, when He judges me, He’ll be seeing someone who is washed clean by the blood of the Lamb. I pray you can say the same.

 

Acts 9-14; Catch the Fever

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I love reading about the birth of the Church. I love Saul’s conversion, Peter’s vision and Cornelius’ faith. I love reading how Peter followed an angel out of prison right under the noses of all those guards. I love the accounts of healings, of the Holy Spirit poured out on new believers.

But what spoke to me today as I read was the effect the Word of Truth had on so many people. Peter spoke so plainly of Jesus, as one who had been an eye-witness. Peter used Scripture to back up what he was saying, and I believe many people finally understood what their Old Testament Scriptures were about for the very first time.

Lives were changed. And the Good News spread like wildfire. People were excited to share what they believed with people they loved.

Sometimes I assume everybody knows Bible stories, everyone has heard Jesus died on the cross for sin. I think everyone knows there’s a heaven and a hell. But I am wrong to think those things. There are people right here on this island who have no clue.

We have the Truth. We have the best news ever. We have the answer to every longing, and we hold the keys to heaven. Does that excite you? Does that make you want to get out there and share what you have? I think it should.

At least that’s where I’m convicted today. Am I excited about Jesus, the cross, grace, eternal life, freedom from sin? Or do I take those things for granted? Ouch.

I’m thinking if I went back to my roots, like Peter directed the early church to go back to theirs, and if I remember what it was like to find my Savior, I could get excited about sharing that experience with someone else. And maybe, my excitement will be contagious. Maybe you’ll catch the fever, too. And maybe others will catch it from us!

 

Luke 1-3; It Changed The World

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It is the birth that changed the world. Luke’s account of that birth and the events surrounding it is the most familiar to us of all the Gospels. As a Gentile, Luke would not have been raised in the Jewish tradition. He would not have studied the Old Testament prophecies from his youth. But Luke was a man of details, and researched those details about the birth of Jesus for himself. What we read is not a fairy-tale.

These things happened to Elizabeth and Mary, to Zechariah and Joseph, Simeon, Anna, and John. The shepherds really did witness the angel’s announcement, really went to see the newborn Jesus, and really spread the news to everyone they knew.

The Messiah has come!

I hope you’ll read these chapters and put yourself in the scene, and allow yourself to feel what it must have been like to be one of the first to realize what was hoped for all your life has finally happened.

Because the truth is, everything you’ve hoped for, all that you’ve longed for, has already happened in the birth of that precious baby so long ago. That baby grew up to die for you, and to give you Himself. It is the birth that changed the world. It’s the birth that changed my world. And it’s the birth that could absolutely change your world, too.