Tag Archives: salvation

I Forgive You

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When a hate-filled young white man walked into a church attended by Christians of color, they welcomed him. He sat with them for over an hour, heard them talk about their Savior, listened to their prayers, then pulled out a gun and killed nine of them, just because of the color of their skin. He may have wanted to start a civil war. What he got, instead, was something he never imagined.

At his bond hearing, several loved ones of his victims spoke to him. If you get a chance to hear their statements I hope you take the time to do so. Through their fresh and devastating grief, they forgave the killer. They asked him to repent, to turn to Christ. They refused to allow hatred into their souls.

In this day and age of Ferguson and Baltimore, these people have demonstrated what it means to be followers of Jesus Christ. They set aside their “right” to seek revenge, and held on to the One who is the final judge of us all.

If you don’t understand how these people can forgive, or if you don’t believe they really have forgiven this murderer, you don’t know their Savior. I invite you to read the book of John in the Bible and get to know Jesus, who forgave his own murderers.

What Satan intended for evil, God will use to bring about good. You see, the people who died that day closed their eyes in prayer, and opened them face to face with Jesus Himself. Do not grieve for the lost lives. Rather pray for those who are left to live with the void their deaths bring, until the day they are reunited. And they will be reunited because of their faith in Jesus.

Dear Comforter, I pray that you will wrap your arms around those who mourn in Charleston today. I pray for that church. May the members stand together and strong in their obedience to you. I pray for the shooter, that he will humble himself and accept what Jesus died to give him – forgiveness. And I pray for everyone who reads this blog or hears the testimony of the grieving loved ones. May hearts turn to you by the thousands. Maybe this will spark the revival we so need in this country. May we not be overcome by the evil played out here, but overcome the evil that led this man to commit this crime, with good, with love, with faith, and following the example of the people in Charleston, with forgiveness.

Wishing Doesn’t Make Is So

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I was reading in Acts 4 this morning and ran across the verse many people wish didn’t exist. Peter, just a short time after he’d watched Jesus ascended into heaven, stood before the Jewish leaders – men who studied the Law of Moses, men who were respected, who were obeyed – and said that he was proclaiming Jesus, the Son of God, whom they crucified, Jesus who died and rose again, Jesus the Cornerstone by whom everything is measured. Then he said:

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (4:12)

Some people don’t like to hear that. They want to believe they are good enough on their own, because if they believe in Jesus, they have to believe they are sinners in need of a Savior. They have to repent, which means turning from sin and to a Holy God. They want to believe good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. They want to believe sincere Muslims, devout Jews, peaceful Buddhists, kind agnostics, will get to bypass Jesus and go to heaven.

What does Scripture say? What does “no other name” mean except NO OTHER NAME?

Don’t be fooled. Heaven is reserved only for those who accept God’s gift of forgiveness, paid for by his Son Jesus on the cross. Wishing that wasn’t the case doesn’t change the fact.

Acts 4:12 doesn’t stand alone. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father expect through ME.” John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in HIM will not perish but have everlasting life.”

The fact is we are sinners. We have failed a Holy God. There is nothing in any of us that can measure up, that can make up for our failures, or cover the cost our sin debt has incurred. We need Jesus.

I pray you know him, that you have humbled yourself before him, taken responsibility for your sin and asked him to forgive you. Don’t think for a minute you don’t need to. There is just no other way. I promise that if you do go to Jesus on his terms, you won’t be sorry. In him is eternal life, that’s true. But also in him is a glorious today.

Dear Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, thank you for providing forgiveness. Thank you for providing the avenue to God, to everlasting life, to fellowship with you as I walk this earth. I pray for those who read this blog today. Draw our hearts toward the truth of your written Word. And may we all rejoice in the fact that you, Jesus, the name given to us through which we must be saved, have made salvation possible through your precious blood.

Black and White

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Saul meant well. He didn’t want to go into battle without going to the LORD first, but Samuel wasn’t there at the time. (I Samuel 13). What would be the harm in making the sacrifice himself? After all, he was king, wasn’t he?

Saul’s reign over Israel was blessed by God for only two years before Saul tried to go around God’s rules, rules that Saul knew and understood. After only two years, God announced that he had given the kingdom to someone else as a direct result of Saul’s disobedience.

But wasn’t Saul’s heart in the right place? It’s not like he was sacrificing to an idol. What should it matter who lit the fire on the altar? Wasn’t God a bit harsh?

Here’s what I believe God would have us understand: You’ll never hear him say, “I’ll go ahead and overlook that sin because you meant well,” or “because you were sincere,” or “because you’re a good person.” God’s law is black and white, and he’s very honest about that.

In fact, God’s black and white consideration of sin in the only fair way. His demands aren’t one thing for you and something different for me. Sin is no different today than it was fifty, or a thousand years ago. We never have to guess at what is and isn’t considered sin.

And the wages of sin is death every time. (Romans 6:23). Every sin comes with a death penalty price tag no matter who you are or how sincere you are or how nice you are. Hear God tell us that EVERY sin requires the shedding of blood. (Hebrews 9:22)

And here’s the good news: Jesus shed his own blood to pay that price tag for you. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Don’t try to get around it. There is no other way under heaven that can save a soul. No matter how special you think you are, you need Jesus.

Jesus promises to forgive you, to give you what his blood bought for you IF you ask him. Read his Word. It’s there in black and white.

Dear Jesus, thank you for shedding your blood for the forgiveness of sin. I pray for those reading this blog today who know you as Savior. May we be convinced of your Truth. And may you give us the strength and commitment to stand for what you have inspired men to write in your Holy Word. I pray for any reading this who have not asked you to forgive them. I pray that they will realize their need, and turn to you according to your Word. Thank you for being fair, for requiring the same of all of us. And thank you for being that requirement for us all.

Border Wars

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I have to admit I don’t know Middle-Eastern geography. I am not familiar with nations and cities on today’s maps, much less those in Old Testament times. So when Joshua is naming territories that were given to the Jews to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham, my eyes glaze over. Not only do I not know where these places are (or were), the names of these places are hard to pronounce.

What can God possibly say to me through this geography lesson?

One word kept repeating itself as I read Joshua 15 and 16 this morning: borders. The Jews were given the Promised Land, but it didn’t come without clear borders. Those borders were necessary to separate the people of God from everyone else. The Jews were to live inside the borders. The enemy’s influence was to stay on the other side of those borders.

Do we have borders as 21st Century children of God, living in the blessed Promised Land of fellowship with God? Let me share just a few borders God has laid on my heart:

Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Be holy as I am holy.

Resist the devil.

Flee youthful lusts.

Pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks.

Preach the Gospel.

Confess sin.

Present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.

Study to show ourselves approved of God.

Now, none of these will earn us favor in God’s eye. None of these will buy our salvation. The privilege of living in the Promised Land is a gift of God, it’s ours by the grace of God, it was bought by the blood of Jesus, the only way to the Father. No, these borders can’t allow us to get around the cross. But living within these borders is amazing, like living in a land flowing with milk and honey.

These borders, like the borders Joshua spelled out for Israel, separate us from the rest of the world. It’s within these borders we find fellowship with God himself, life and peace, and help in our time of need.

But there is a war on our soul. Satan wants to tear down the walls, blur the line, enlarge our borders by telling us lies like: God wouldn’t send a good person to hell, there are multiple paths to God, there are big sins and little sins and little sins are overlooked by God, you are ok just the way you are, laughing at sin on TV or neglecting study of God’s Word or keeping your faith to yourself is no biggie, intelligent men and women reject the Bible as inerrant.

I am challenged to guard my borders. The walls around my heart can’t be too high, my resolve can’t be too strong, my dependance on God can’t be too complete. I want to live within the borders God has given us in his Word. There is nothing outside those lines that can compare.

Father in Heaven, thank you for lovingly identifying the borders. Thank you for providing peace and joy and comfort and blessing to those of us who walk inside those borders. Forgive us when we fall for Satan’s tactics to blur the lines, to step outside your perfect will. I pray for your people today. May we let you identify the borders as we read and study your Word, and may we be willing to fight to keep those borders secure. This is war. You give us the victory. Thank you. 

Show and Tell

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The story of Rahab in Joshua 2, and that of the demon possessed Gadarene in Luke 8 have parallel messages. That message is: evangelism.

Rahab wasn’t a Jew but she believed in God because of what she had seen God do in Israel. “…the Lord your God, He is God…” She was told to place a red ribbon on her window, then go and tell her loved ones how they could be saved.

Jesus told the man whom he healed of demon possession to go home and tell people what God had done for him. The man did, and many believed Jesus as a result.

That’s what it means to be “chosen”. God didn’t choose Israel to separate them from the rest of us for any reason other than to reveal God to a lost world. And as Christians, we are chosen to do the same. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel…

So how am I doing? Do people see Jesus in me? Do they recognize God’s hand in my life? Do I live it? Talk about it?

Rahab put a scarlet thread on her window to identify herself as a believer. What is it that identifies me as a child of God? Is it visible? Is it beautiful?

May it be so.

God, I pray for your children today. May we be those vessels through which you can draw all people to yourself. May we realize that each of us has a commission… to share the Good News of Jesus with our world. May we show them what it looks like to be forgiven, to have you present in our lives every minute of every day. May we tell them, speak with them, use Scripture to share your plan of salvation. And may the result be the same as we read about in Joshua and Luke, that our loved ones and neighbors will be saved because of our testimony.

A Moment of Praise

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I was reading my MacArthur Daily Bible this morning for March 28. Moses prophesied concerning the coming Messiah, and Jesus told us that he is that one!

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, ” Moses said in Deuteronomy 18. And in Luke 4, Jesus read from the book of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… to preach… to heal… to proclaim…” Then he said: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

The whole Bible is about Jesus, isn’t it? Every page, every verse points us to the Savior.

He is our priest, our prophet, our shepherd, the way, truth, and life, the sacrificial lamb, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is God in human form who went to the cross to buy me back. He is love. He is holy. He never leaves or forsakes us. Nothing can separate us from his love.

He died on that cross once and for all, that WHOSOEVER believes in him will have eternal life. He died and rose again. He went to heaven to prepare a place for us.

And one day, HE’S COMING BACK with the sound of a trumpet to take us home.

Praising God today!

A Hometown Prophet

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The people in Jesus’ hometown knew all about him. They knew his parents Mary and Joseph, and many of them probably sat on furniture made by Joseph, perhaps even made by Joseph’s apprentice, Jesus, before Jesus began his ministry at the age of 30.

The people knew Jesus’ brothers and sisters. Maybe some of them played on the same soccer teams or sat in the same math class in school with Jesus and his siblings. They probably had a little pride in the fame this small town boy had earned, and were quick to tell tales about him:

I remember Jesus when he was a teenager…

My son used to go fishing with Jesus when they were kids…

Sure I know Jesus. Why, once when Jesus was just a boy…

Yes, these people knew all there was to know about Jesus. But Mark 6 tells us they didn’t believe in him. They didn’t accept his teaching. They couldn’t see beyond the young man who grew up down the street, and because of that, Jesus couldn’t do great things among them. Knowing about Jesus wasn’t enough.

There is a difference between knowing about Jesus and allowing him to change us. We can read the Bible every day, but unless we take in the Words and obey them, Jesus can’t do great things in our lives. Growing up going to church doesn’t guarantee you know the LORD.

I believe Jesus wanted to pour himself out on the people in his hometown. He loved them. He grew up with them. He knew them like they knew him. But because of their unbelief, he walked away without showering them with the blessings that could have been their’s.

Don’t let that happen to you. My prayer is that each of us will give ourselves to the LORD, that we will repent of sins and allow him in.

Then watch what happens. The God of Creation, the Messiah, The Great I AM wants to do great things in your life. And He will, if you know Him.

A Grieving Father

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My mom died in 1996, but I can still remember how hard it was to watch my father’s grief. He was lost without her. I remember making the 60 mile trip every weekend to be with him, just to sit with him, take a ride in the car with him, watch an old movie with him, just to do what I could to help ease the burden of his grief. It’s not that I wasn’t grieving. I was. But somehow his grief looked different than mine.

When my sister lost her son in an automobile accident, watching her grief was, and is hard. There is a sadness in her smile, a tear in her laughter. And as someone who loves her, her grief breaks my heart. Watching someone you love go through tremendous grief has to effect you, too, doesn’t it?

So when I was reading in Genesis 37 this morning about Jacob’s grief over his son Joseph’s supposed death, I thought of Dad and Peggy. I could almost picture the look on Jacob’s face in the days and weeks following the horrible news because I could picture their look.

Then I found myself getting a little angry at Joseph’s brothers. How could those ten men watch their father’s grief over losing Joseph, when any one of them could have stepped up and told the truth? They had it within their power to relieve Jacob’s grief. And they did nothing. Jacob would have paid any price to buy Joseph’s freedom from slavery. Couldn’t just one of the ten of them care enough for their father to do what could be done to bring their brother back?

Maybe the brothers really did hate Joseph. But didn’t they love their dad?

Then it hit me. My Heavenly Father is grieving over his own lost children. His heart is broken when any of his children deny him, or ignore him. He agonizes over those who have yet to hear of Jesus. Every sin committed against my Heavenly Father is like a knife in the heart.

Couldn’t just one of us who are a part of his household, his family, care enough about our Father to do what can be done to relieve our Father’s grief? God will pay anything… he’s paid with his life… to buy his children out of slavery to sin.

Witnessing to a lost friend isn’t just about that friend. It’s also about our grieving Heavenly Father’s agony over our lost friend. I have to ask myself if I’m ok, knowing my Father grieves, and doing nothing about it. Can I love my Father and still be ok if he is grieving?

We Christians are in the same place Joseph’s brothers were in. We know the truth. Maybe it’s time we stepped up and did something about it.

Dear Heavenly Father, picturing you grieving over unsaved people breaks my heart. I love you. I want to picture you with a smile on your face, not tears streaming down your cheeks. What can I do to bring that smile back? Do you want me to talk to my neighbor today? Do you want me to call that person you’ve laid on my heart? Do you want me to introduce you to the waitress at the restaurant, my hair dresser, my child’s teacher? May I never be ok with the fact that you are grieving. May you find me a faithful daughter, sharing your Truth, and bringing a smile to your face. May I never be satisfied with just saying, I love you. Help me to show you how much I love you today by bringing one of your lost children home.

Piece of Cake

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I was reading in Matthew 9 this morning where Jesus said that forgiving the sins of a paralytic man was easier than healing the man’s paralysis. He said this before he went to the cross, so as far as everyone there knew, forgiveness from sin required an animal sacrifice. Yet here was this guy, granting forgiveness and there’s no blood being shed.

I can understand why the people were shocked, why they questioned Jesus about it. This went against everything they had been taught up to now. Jesus, to prove he had the power, healed the sick man. But he said that act was harder than the forgiving of the sick man’s sin.

Yesterday at church, the pastor spoke about God’s ability and desire to forgive our sins. He reminded us that there is no such thing as a sin too great for God’s forgiveness if we just go to him and ask. Being washed clean by God is not all that complicated. Ask. Receive.

That forgiveness was bought at a very high price – the painful death of Jesus on the cross. He could forgive the paralytic because, for one he is God, and he knew he was willing and able to pay the price required of that man’s sin.

Today, forgiving us is a matter already done. My sins, your sins, are forgiven. Period. Jesus doesn’t have to go to the cross again and again each time we disobey him, each time someone goes to him with a repentant heart. He’s been there, done that.

God doesn’t require any of us to do something, pray a number of prayers, beat ourselves, or carry a wooden cross to make up for some deficit his own death couldn’t cover. Forgiveness is already ours (John 3:16, I John 1:9) Receiving it requires confession of sin, a repentant heart, and a request.

Us: Jesus, will you forgive me?

Jesus: Sure.

Piece of cake.

Jesus, I don’t want to minimize what it cost you to purchase my forgiveness. I read about what you went through at the hands of your murderers and I shutter to think you did that for me. I don’t want to minimize your holiness, your fierce hatred of sin, your demand that I be holy before you, a holy God. But I want to thank you for your grace, for the simple act of asking you to forgive me, knowing you already have and are just waiting to shower me with your love and forgiveness. Thank you for making it so easy to come to you. Forgive me when I try to make it so difficult.