In The Shadow of His Wings: salvation

Showing posts with label salvation. Show all posts

Friday, March 25, 2016

The Cross

'For people who are stumbling toward ruin, the message of the cross is nothing but a tall tale for fools by a fool. But for those of us who are already experiencing the reality of being rescued and made right, it is nothing short of God's power.' ~ 1 Corinthians 1:18, The Voice

If we believe that Heaven is merely a default destination for all, then are we not, in essence, making a mockery of Jesus’s death? Are we not, albeit unwittingly, with our ‘all dogs go to Heaven’ mentality, counting Jesus’s death as meaningless, and turning the Cross into nothing more than a Hollywood movie prop, an air-brushed car and truck decal or a common fashion accessory?

Today -- this solemn day we’ve come to know as Good Friday -- take some time to gaze upon the Cross of Christ, and when you do, consider these thoughts:

How do you view the Cross? What does it mean to you personally?
Are you thankful for the Cross, or offended by it?
Are you awestruck by just how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is…for you?
Are you humbled by the fact that the Son of God gave up the privileges of His Heavenly kingdom and set aside His rights of deity to come here to Earth to dwell among us, to love us, to serve us, and to give His life as a ransom for many?
Are you deeply moved by the fact that Christ gave up His body to be brutally beaten, broken and pierced…for you? For me?
Are you astounded by the fact that WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, Jesus Christ died for us to demonstrate and to prove God’s incredible, amazing, unfailing love for us?

How do you view the Cross now? Do you still see it as a blinged-out trinket in your jewelry box; a piece of decor hanging on the wall in your home, office or an emblem stuck to your vehicle; a horrifying, offensive instrument of death to be avoided?

Or do you see it now, transformed by Christ, as a symbol of love, of life, of hope, of victory? Will you turn from it in fear and disgust? Or run towards it..and Him...with joy and abandon?

Because Jesus didn’t remain in the grave, friends. It may be Friday, but Sunday’s coming. And with it, resurrection, salvation and new life!

"Men of Israel, listen to these words:This Jesus the Nazarene was a Man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know. Though He was delivered up according to God's determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail Him to a cross and kill Him. God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it." ~ Acts 2:22-24, HCSB

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Worship Song Sunday -- Your Name, by Phillips, Craig & Dean

And it will come about that whoever calls on the Name of the LORD will be delivered ~ Joel 2:32 (NASB)

Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high because he has known My Name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him, and let him see My salvation. ~ Psalm 91:14-16 (NASB)

El Shaddai

Adonai

Elohim

Yahweh or YHWH

Jehovah Shalom

Jehovah Jireh

Jehovah Rapha

These are just a few of the many names with which we can call upon the One, True God, be it in our times of worship and praise; in our joy and thankfulness; in our sorrow and pain or doubts; in our need for deliverance and restoration.

Call upon His Name and He WILL answer, for He is faithful, and His love for us is unfailing!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Worship Song Sunday -- My Hope Is In You, by Aaron Shust

Show me Your ways, LORD,
teach me Your paths.
Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
for You are God my Savior,
and my hope is in You all day long. ~ Psalm 25:4-5, NIV

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken. ~ Psalm 62:5-6, NLT

Life is hard. That's a given, isn't it? We all would love to live a smooth, happy life that moves about on an even keel. No surprises or shocks. No hard times or difficulties. No road blocks or detours.

Unfortunately, that's just not possible. Jesus warned His disciples (and that warning stretches through the centuries down to us) that "in this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). There will be times when life doesn't go the way we'd hoped or planned.

But -- Jesus didn't leave them nor us with merely a dire forecast. His next words in the same verse -- "But take heart! I have overcome the world" give us something else. Something better to hold onto.

Hope. Jesus gives us hope. Always.

Let our hope be in Him, all the day long.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Worship Song Sunday -- Create In Me, by Mary Rice Hopkins

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with a willing spirit ~ Psalm 51:10-12, ASV

Allow no one but our Master Creator to create a pure and clean heart within us. May this be the song of our hearts to our gracious, loving Father -- today and every day.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Saved By Grace

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ~ Romans 3:21-23, NIV

Ever since entertainer Whitney Houston passed away, almost one week ago, rumor-filled stories of the way she died and gossipy tales of how she lived abound in the news.

At the grocery store yesterday, my eye caught the Newark Star Ledger touting headlines something along the lines of: 'The Sacred Being Made Into A Circus.'

And today, that same newspaper's online headlines announced: 'Whitney Houston Funeral To Be A Star Studded Event.'

Yes, no matter where you go -- television, online news feeds, newspapers, magazines, Facebook, blogs -- you can't get away from the media feeding frenzy. EVERYBODY has something to say about Whitney, be it good, bad or indifferent. And I guess you can say that now, I'm just adding to the 'noise' with my two cents.

Fans and local pastors are in an uproar because they cannot attend Whitney's funeral service at her childhood, hometown church in Newark, New Jersey, due to her family's decision to make it an 'invitation only' event. Folks who serve or have served in the military are appalled that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has designated that American flags throughout our state be flown at half staff tomorrow, February 18, the day of her funeral, in honor of Whitney. I can certainly understand their indignation over this, although I do not share in it.

But I'm not here to address any of that. I'm here to address something that someone wrote about Whitney Houston which I believe is just absolutely WRONG.

I'm not certain of where I read this. Again, there is so much out there right now about Whitney, it may have been on someone's blog (no one's blog I actually follow, just one I happened upon) or I might have read it as a post that someone shared on Facebook. That is unimportant. What is important is that someone actually believes this and is spreading this lie. Perhaps they heard it preached in their church.

This person was questioning people (family, fans and such) who are consoling themselves with the fact that Whitney is at peace and in the presence of her Heavenly Father. This person stated that they should NOT be doing so because more than likely, Whitney is not in God's presence at all. They declared that she had lost her salvation because she had turned her back on God by choosing drugs over Him.

Ok, whoa, WHOA, WHOA!!! Stop right there, someone hit the Rewind button!!!!

SAY WHAT????!!!!

I make no apologies for stating that this is SUCH a load of malarkey!!! To me, this is appalling. Really!!!

Appalling because, if this is so for Whitney, then it stands to reason it is true for everyone. True for me. True for you.

Again, I have no clue as to where this person came by such a belief; perhaps, as I said, they heard it preached at their church. But this is a false teaching!

Now, I didn't know Whitney Houston personally, so I have no idea if she surrendered her life to Jesus Christ. I've learned that just because someone goes to church and sings in the church choir doesn't necessarily mean they are followers of Christ. I can say this because I lived this way for many years. I grew up singing in the choir and was a pew warmer extraordinaire for over half my life.

But, for the sake of argument, let's say that Whitney had surrendered all to Jesus and she was His follower, despite the fact that she battled a drug addiction for some years (and let's 'judge not, lest ye be judged' here because believe me -- everyone is battling something). She was offered and accepted the free gift of salvation -- free to her (and to us), but at great cost to Jesus: purchased with the shedding of His precious blood on the cross. If this is so, we would consider Whitney Houston 'saved.' Saved by grace. The apostle Paul makes it ever so clear in Ephesians 2:4-8 ~

'But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God....'

We are saved by grace, a gift from God. Yet are we to believe that if we 'mess up' in life -- as Whitney did....as we all do -- our loving, Abba, about Whom James says 'does not change like shifting shadows' (James 1:17), about Whom Balaam declares in the Book of Numbers '...is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind' (Numbers 23:19), and Who Himself says in the Book of Malachi "For I the LORD do not change," (Malachi 3:6) -- are we to believe God will change His mind and snatch back that awesome gift?? I just cannot wrap my brain around this mindset.

Because really, if we are honest with ourselves -- we will admit that we all 'mess up' in life, many of us on a regular basis. And that's why there are Christian counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists available to us; that's why there are Christian support groups like 'Celebrate Recovery' popping up in so many churches. Because we are a fallen, flawed people, saved by grace, yet still in a battle with some temptation, some addiction, some sin in our lives, threatening to take us down.

'Calvary,' by Stephen Sawyer

The enemy of our souls would love for us to believe that our salvation can be taken away.

I want to believe that Whitney Houston gave her life to Christ and called Him her Lord and Savior somewhere along the way in life, so despite the fact that her addiction to drugs ended her life, she found herself in the arms of Jesus. Truly, I do. So I cannot speak the following truth to her.

But -- perhaps there is someone reading this today who believes or knows and loves someone who believes that their salvation can be taken away. That in the midst of their battle with some sin or addiction, God will come along and snatch back His gift of salvation, His gift of amazing grace and unending, everlasting love. That in essence, God is what they used to call back in my day 'an Indian giver.'

I am no learned preacher or educated theologian, but I am here to say:

Please DO NOT believe the lie!!!

My pastor has preached and taught on this subject many, many times. And interestingly enough, I recently heard a sermon podcast which addressed this very subject! I'd like to share some of what I learned from it:

*For those who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, NOTHING can hijack their salvation. Grace always triumphs!

*Jesus's death paid for our sins. Sins we could never pay for ourselves.

*Don't cheapen grace. Our sins cannot undo Jesus's work by His death on the cross at Calvary and His resurrection from the grave three days later. Because if that were so, then NONE of us has ANY guarantee of eternal life with our Savior.

And finally, this statement:

*Jesus's death either pays for ALL sin, or it doesn't pay for ANY sin.

So, regarding the above statement, let me ask you now:

Which do YOU believe?

Believe that you are saved by grace. That you are safely in the hand of God and NOTHING can snatch you out of His hand. Nothing.

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace ~ Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone), by Chris Tomlin

Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Escape

Lying still
Eyes shut tight
like shutters closed
and curtains drawn
across the windows to her soul

You pass on by
With a cursory glance
But cannot see
The pain

Her pain

Rejected
Abused
Abandoned
Humiliated
Frightened
Exhausted

So small a girl
All alone
in the dark

Now mouthing a silent prayer
while making her way slowly

Soundlessly

crawling across the cold, stone floor
of her broken heart and mind

Frantically feeling for
the door

The door to the wardrobe
The door that leads
to her escape

The door that leads
to HOPE

And with her last ounce of strength, she

ARISES!!

And victoriously steps through

the open doorway

Pushing her way
past the forest
of wooden coat hangers,
dark, stiff woolen coats
and cool, sleek furs

Amidst a hailstorm of moth balls
FINALLY FREE!!

Running towards the light of her Narnia

Searching for and
crying out to Aslan --

her salvation
her strength
her savior