Category: Salvation

Advent Day 11–A Gift for Everyone

Posted on by Paula

Everyone loves gifts, and Christmas is a really big time for gift-giving. I enjoy giving things that I know the recipient will love, but the recipient doesn’t always appreciate the gift I have chosen as much as I had hoped. Sometimes, I am disappointed to learn that they already have the gift I chose. Sometimes, I just get it wrong and find I really didn’t know their wishes as much as I thought.

Have you ever gotten rid of an unwanted gift?  Have you ever declined from accepting someone’s gift to you? Maybe you felt you didn’t deserve the gift or maybe you felt bad because you didn’t get anything for them in return.

God is a great gift-giver, and none of us could ever out-gift God no matter how hard we try. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” That’s what Jesus did for us.

Jesus’ birth is the whole reason for celebrating Christmas, but the story doesn’t end there. You see, God created us in his own image, and our purpose is found in him. Because God is holy and pure, our sin separates us from him. The punishment for sin is death, eternal separation from God. This is not what God wants. 2 Peter 3:9 makes it clear that God doesn’t want anyone to perish but all to come to repentance. He gave us a way to make things right with him. Jesus (pure and holy, God in the flesh) took our punishment for us by dying on the cross. All we have to do is realize our need for God, recognize our need to get rid of our sin and accept his gift. By accepting this gift, we commit to following His ways.

There is no one excluded from his gift. However, not everyone will choose to accept it. Some don’t think they need it, some don’t think they deserve it and some just don’t know that the gift is available to them. Although none of us do deserve this gift, absolutely everyone needs this it, because we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). And even though none of us deserve this gift, God wants each of us to have it no matter how horrible of an act we have committed (Remember 2 Peter 3:9).

There is nothing that God won’t forgive except for continued unbelief; there is no pardon for the one who dies in his rejection to Christ (Matthew 12:31). Our soul can never be at peace until we make things right with God. If you desire this gift but don’t know how to accept it, let me know. I want you to experience the indescribable strength, love, joy, peace and hope that is found in Jesus.

Staying Between the Lines

Posted on by Paula

I am a person who uses the crosswalk. When we go for walks, my husband and daughter happily cross the street at an angle, while I lag behind because I am staying between the lines. If my husband and I are crossing together, and he starts easing me out of the lines, I choose to fall behind him so that I don’t go outside the boundary. I have even been known to go pretty far out of my way in order to use the crosswalk in various parking lots. I have often seen my family standing on the other side, shaking their heads, waiting on me to finish crossing. I can’t help it; I was taught that it is the rule and that it is the safe thing to do.

Another lesson about staying within the lines can be found in Deuteronomy 5:32-33, “You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.”

We must be careful that we are actively seeking God’s will each day. It is true that we are not able to earn salvation by keeping the law; we have all sinned. Salvation is a free gift that we receive when we put our faith in Jesus. We acknowledge that he is Lord, and that we are sinners. We turn from our sinful ways to Jesus and his ways.

Though we are not saved by our works, we do obey when we accept his gift of salvation. Jesus says in John 14:23, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” Our obedience comes out of our love for Jesus. He suffered humiliation and ridicule, violent beatings and undeserved death on a cross in order that we could be forgiven our sin. And just as he laid down his life for us, we too should lay down our lives for him.

When we make that decision to die to ourselves and live for Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. Through him, we receive the power to overcome temptation and sin and to obey God’s commands. As his power works in us, we are transformed. If we cannot see a change in ourselves and we cannot see any fruit of the Spirit, we need to ask ourselves if we have truly repented and started living his way instead of our own.

Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

If you love him, you will keep his commands. Listen for the Holy Spirit, and let him keep you between the lines. He will teach you and remind you so that you will walk in the way of the Lord, not turning aside to the right or left.

Remember All He Has Done!

Posted on by Paula

I was asking “Why?” one day. God has answered so many of my prayers lately, but he has also remained silent or even said, “No”concerning some things I’ve been praying about for a long time. I believe that my motives in what I’m asking are pure and that what I’m asking would advance the kingdom, but for some reason, God has yet to come in and save the day.

Satan can really start to mess with a person’s mind in times like this, “You’ve been praying about this for over 20 years. If God loves you so much, why won’t he help you out? God is totally able to do what you are asking. Why won’t he fix the situation?”

A thought about this came to me recently, “Stop fretting about what God isn’t doing, and remember all he has done!” My heart was convicted, and my mind started thinking of all the wonderful things that God has done for me.

I remembered the pile of shells sitting at my table on the porch. Back in June I wrote a post called, “What Do These Shells Mean?” At that time, I was remembering some of the encounters that I had with God and writing them down on seashells I had found at the ocean. I had planned on making a wind chime with those shells, but I didn’t have time to complete the project.

This Sunday, I decided that it was time to do something with those shells. Sorting through them was good. They reminded me of so many wonderful things that God had done. I even had a few things to add because over the past few months, God has continued to bless me and to allow me to experience how good he is.

There are many great spiritual markers written on those shells. Each one of those encounters with God strengthened my faith and deepened my relationship with him. Likewise, each experience with God has made an impact on my life that has helped transform me to be more like Jesus.

I’m sure that I will add even more shells to this wind chime as God continues to pour into my life. There is already one shell on there, though, that will always be the most important shell. It hangs in the center just below the shell that celebrates the day I was born. It reads, “Born Again, July 24, 1977.”

That shell represents the day that I received new life. When my body was immersed under the water, I died to myself; my sin was washed away. When my body came up out of the water, I was raised back to life in Jesus. When I think about the day that I was baptized into Christ, it puts everything back into perspective. Giving my life to Jesus and learning to follow him has been the most rewarding decision that I’ve ever made. After my baptism, the Holy Spirit came to live in me and to empower me to do God’s will. Through Jesus, I will experience eternal life with him in heaven. All the other shells on that wind chime and all of the encounters those shells represent are just icing on the cake. That one encounter helps me to stop fretting over what God isn’t doing and remember all he has done.

Are You Prepared For the Inevitable?

Posted on by Paula

I love summertime! I love wearing dresses, seeing the sun shine and feeling the warmth radiate down to my bones. Summer means blue skies, sheets on the clothesline, watermelon, popsicles, lemonade, flip flops, fireflies, green leaves, bright sunshine and fresh air. Life is good in the summer, and I am happy, happy, happy!

My feelings for winter are quite the opposite. I loathe wearing long pants and bundling up. I have a difficult time emerging from under my electric blanket in the morning. I dread the dark, dreary days and the bitterly cold wind. Don’t even mention the “s” word (you know, that white stuff that looks all pretty falling from the sky but makes the roads slick and the floors muddy). All through the winter, I long for the warm sunshine to return.

No matter how much I want summer to last forever, winter always comes whether I like it or not. The warning signs always creep in. The winter clothes appear in the stores, the grass begins to die, and the leaves on the trees start changing their color. Then the frigid wind starts blowing from the north, and the sunshine hides behind the clouds. Some things, we cannot change. I can either prepare for winter or live in denial and get a rude awakening.

There is another fact of life that we cannot change, and this matter is much more serious. Whether we like it or not, we must face the reality that our life here on earth won’t last forever. Our bodies wear out, and eventually our hearts stop beating. For some of us that time arrives gradually and slowly; for others, that day comes suddenly and unexpectedly.

We don’t like to think about this, but as sure as winter always comes, the day will come when we will leave this world behind and stand before Almighty God. Romans 14:11-12 says, “It is written, ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” Though our physical bodies die, our souls will live on for eternity. We can either ensure that we are prepared for the day we meet or Maker or we can get a rude awakening.

You see, God created everything, and He created man in His image. All was good until we humans sinned by deciding to do things our way instead of God’s. (Adam and Eve ate from the tree that God told them not to eat from). God is holy, and sin separates us from God. The penalty for sin is death; all sinners are doomed. The wonderful news is that God sent His Son, Jesus, to provide a way for us to be made right with God again. Jesus became God in the flesh, lived here on earth and was tempted in every way just like we are, but Jesus never gave in to those temptations. He lived a perfect life without sin so that He could take the death penalty for us. He died on the cross in our place and rose from the dead, conquering sin and death. If we accept His gift of salvation & commit our lives to following Him, our slate is wiped clean. We can stand before God because we have accepted the gift of salvation through Jesus.

Jesus is Lord whether we accept it or not. Those who decide to surrender their lives to Jesus and follow his ways will receive the gift of eternal life with him in heaven. Sadly, those who choose to reject Jesus and his ways, will not be allowed to enter but will be forever separated from God and cast into the eternal torture of hell.

I do not say this to judge or condemn; I say this out of love. Just as God wants no one to perish but all to repent and be saved, I too cannot bear the thought of anyone being separated from God and cast into eternal punishment. Each of us will come face to face with Jesus & each of us will confess Him as Lord. If Jesus is tugging on your heart and calling you into a relationship with him, surrender your life and trust him. If you wait until that day when you are standing before him, it will be too late. Make sure you are prepared for eternity, and if you are prepared, make sure you tell others so that they can be prepared too.

Every Day is Memorial Day to Us–We Remember

Posted on by Paula

What is the true meaning of Memorial Day? Ask any Gold Star family and they’ll tell you what it means. It’s not about the picnics. It’s about the men and women who have given their lives for this country. Every day is Memorial Day to us.”  These words belong to Carol Resh, Gold Star mother whose son, Army Captain Mark Resh was killed in Iraq a decade ago.

I am humbled today as we remember those who died serving our country. Over the years, millions of men and women have committed to serving our nation, and over a million have given their lives so that we could have freedom and security. I did nothing to deserve the blessings that have come because of their selfless acts. It is hard for me to understand why these heroes are willing to risk everything, but I am so thankful to them. I am touched and humbled by these heroes.

At the same time, my heart breaks for the moms, dads, wives, husbands, children, siblings and friends of those who went to battle but didn’t return home. Their lives changed forever as they grieve for their loved ones; our lives changed forever because they saw a greater purpose and gave all they had to achieve it.

May we never take for granted our freedom and safety. These men and women served knowing that they may die fighting for the cause. The price was so high. Their lives were cut short, but their impact lasts through the ages.

This stanza in Moina Michael’s poem, “We Shall Keep the Faith,” says it well,

We cherish, too, the poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led;

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies,

But lends a lustre to the red

Of the flower that blooms above the dead

In Flanders Fields.”

She is right. These men & women did not die in vain; their blood never dies. Let us never forget these heroes.

John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” I am humbled today not only as I remember those who laid down their lives serving our country but also for Jesus who died in my place.

You see, God created us in his image and loves us with an everlasting love. However, we sinned, and sin separates us from God. Romans 6:23 tells us that “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus came to earth knowing that He would have to lay down his own life to conquer sin and death so that we could be made right again with God. He knew what was ahead before He was wrongly accused, mocked, spit upon, beaten and slain. Yet He was willing to give his all so that my sin could be forgiven and I could have eternal life. Again, I did nothing to deserve this. Romans 5:6-8 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We were bought with a price.

This is not something we remember just today. This is not something we only reflect upon when we take communion. Every day is Memorial Day to us. May we never take for granted the sacrifice that Jesus made so that we could live eternally in heaven with him.

There Was No Other Way

Posted on by Paula

He knew what was coming that Thursday. He fell with his face to the ground and prayed to the Father 3 times asking if it was possible to take away the cup of suffering that he had been asked to drink. And though his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground, his earnest prayers of anguish ended with, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

He was full of love, grace and compassion. He was a man of honor and truth. He healed the sick and gave sight to the blind. He was a friend to sinners, the poor and those who others shunned. There wasn’t a mean or selfish bone in his body. He spent his life serving those around him and doing the will of his Father. He never committed a single sin. He didn’t deserve this cup, but he knew that we were separated from God by our sin. He understood that the only way to get rid of our sin was by shedding the blood of a sinless man. There was no other way. He was willing to take the blame, willing to suffer, willing to die. He accepted the cup.

A large crowd arrived that night with clubs and swords. For thirty pieces of silver, he was betrayed with a kiss, and his closest friends deserted him. He was handed over for questioning, accused of blasphemy, spit on, beaten and ridiculed. He was completely innocent, but he didn’t defend Himself.

Then came Friday. Over and over, the whips beat upon his back until it became a mass of torn, bleeding tissue. He was stripped and dressed in a scarlet robe. A crown of thorns was twisted and placed on his head. They put a staff in his hand, knelt in front of him and mocked him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” They spit on him, took the staff and beat him on the head over and over. Then they put his own clothes back on him and led him away to be crucified.

As he hung on the cross, the people continued to mock him. “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God! He saved others, but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

After hours of suffering, he cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He cried out again, and then he gave up his spirit.

The kind, compassionate, loving, giving, completely innocent man died. The crowd deserved to die. I deserve to die; you deserve to die, but he is the one who took the punishment.

He was buried in a tomb. A stone was rolled in front of the opening, and guards were posted to ensure that no one took the body. It seemed like hope was gone, but that wasn’t the end of the story….

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’” (Matthew 28:1-6).

Jesus Christ died for our sin and has is risen! Do you believe?

“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” (Romans 10:9). Just as Jesus laid down his life for you, won’t you lay down your life for him? Turn away from your sin, turn to him and accept his gift of eternal life.