Redemption (Part 1): LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!
No one comes to God before first recognizing that he/she is separated from God
All posts tagged: Salvation
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats: “Do I value others enough to put their needs above mine?”
Love is neither theoretical nor abstract. The lover pays a price to love the loved. Jesus gave His life and thereby proved His love for us. He didn’t, and indeed couldn’t, just stay in Heaven and wish us into salvation; a price had to be paid. We too must be willing to pay any price to love our brethren…
The Parable of the Talents: “We are NOT saved by works, BUT we are saved to do works”
Salvation is NOT gained by works.. But works testify that salvation HAS taken place… “Faith without works is dead”.
History has no Slaves
Though we can, and often do, suffer (poverty, war, alienation) for the sins of our ancestors, we are JUDGED for our own sins. We are not slaves to our History. We can make our own choices and we can choose righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins: “Salvation must be everything or it does nothing”
If Salvation is to achieve its work in us, then it must be everything to us.
Miracles of Jesus: The Blind Man from Bethsaida
Only as transformation (i.e., sanctification) takes place can we start to prove (know with certainty) the will of God. Without transformation/sanctification we cannot know God’s will. And so we stumble, taking uncertain steps in life: never quite sure what we are about, or what to do or where to go and how to get there. We have the Light but not the Sight.
Encounters with Jesus: The Rich Young Ruler
Is Salvation valuable enough to give up everything to get it?… For Salvation to come to our lives, it must displace everything from our lives… If Salvation means ANYTHING to us, it must be EVERYTHING to us. How much are you willing to lose just to get Salvation? How much is too much to lose to get Salvation?
Ready… Set… Answer!
So, as we devote time to draw ever closer to God, this growing bond must also prepare us to better relate to our brother’s needs. And one of those needs is Salvation.
Miracles of Jesus: The Ten Lepers: “It takes more faith to give your life to Jesus than to receive healing”
When Jesus is our Master, we focus on how we can glorify Him, not on how He can satisfy us.
The Wrong Approach to Sin
No matter how much we deny, distort or disguise the evidence of sin, we can never change the fact of sin… Only God can remove the stain and penalty of sin. The longer we hide from Him the longer we have to live with the cancer of sin eating away at our lives… Nobody forces us to sin and God does not put us in a situation where we must sin. We are NOT powerless. We CAN choose to resist the influence of others. We CAN rise above our circumstances.
Reflections in The WORD 