Working Out Our Salvation
Philippians 2:12-13 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Have you noticed that some scripture, at first reading, makes little sense? Today’s scripture says we are to work out our salvation. What is there to work out? God sent His Son, He saved us by His blood, it is a free gift by grace, and that’s it, right?
Yes, salvation is free, but it is the way we live out our salvation that must be worked out.
We have each been given spiritual gifts, granted to us through the Holy Spirit, and aren’t you thankful for these gifts designed for the building up of the saints and the edification of the Church? Depending on the nature of the gifts and the person who has received them, these gifts are grown and used in various ways. So it is our individual responsibility to allow the Spirit to direct us in growing, developing and then applying our gifts to the body of believers.
May we each seek out the beauty of His face as we allow Him to grow us in His beauty and His grace. And may we work out our salvation according to his will.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
God Has This
Isaiah 40:28-31 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
I like to say verse 31 as a prayer, ending wit the plea, “teach me, Lord, to wait.”
Is waiting as hard for everyone else as it is for me? Depending upon what the wait is for, I find myself either engrossed in anticipation or on the verge of worry.
Why do I say I am on the verge of worry? Because I know, understand and believe that whatever the circumstance God will take care of me. If He had not proved Himself to me over and over, I would still believe. But He has.
May we start each day with thanksgiving, knowing that whatever happens, God has this!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ministry of Reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:14-19 (NIV) 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation
Reconciliation means to be reunited, brought back, being restored. I once heard it said this way. God demands holiness, but we are sinners and cannot achieve holiness. Yet, God cannot lower His standards. So because of His great love for mankind, He fulfilled His requirement by allowing Jesus to take on the sins of the world and die in our place, thus reconciling us to Him.
The above scriptures have always been some of my favorites. When we receive the free gift of salvation, everything changes. As we become molded into the image of our Savior, we then become ambassadors of the faith. Isn’t that wonderful? We receive salvation by grace through faith, but we become disciples when we answer the call to follow.
May we each become reconciled to God through Jesus, and may we understand that one of our highest callings is to become ministers of reconciliation so that others might be saved.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Majesty of God
1 Chronicles 16:23-27 (NIV) 23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
25 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his dwelling place.
In today’s scripture, the Hebrews are once again in possession of the Ark of the Covenant, and David is instructing the priests on worship. He has borrowed from multiple psalms to extol God’s majesty.
How often do we remember God’s sovereignty? And why is it important to acknowledge God as the supreme power and ruler? If we fail to recognize and exalt God as the One who created everything from nothing, the One to whom we owe worship, then we can fall into the trap of self-reliance. One of the most cringe-worthy phrases I’ve ever heard is “self-made man.” Many of us began our lives with very little—few resources, even less money, and sometimes no emotional support. But God—
I was raised in church and I don’t remember a time when I did not believe, but there were times when I did not follow. I foolishly made decisions, asking God to bless my choices because, after all, I was a good little Christian. But God—regardless of where my path took me, always brought me back to the pathway of holiness.
May we be quick to offer Him our praise and our worship, and slow to make decisions on our own.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Our Hope is in the Lord
Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Joshua 1:9 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Isaiah 35:3-8 3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
During our lives most of us have seasons of good health and poor health, times of want and times of plenty. Yet the one thing that remains constant is our hope in Christ. How do we sustain our hope when it seems that all is gone? We begin and end each day with the name of Jesus on our lips.
You see, we are too often paralyzed by the physical, viewing lack as a punishment and poor health as a clear sign that Jesus no longer cares. What if we instead begin each morning speaking the name of Jesus? What if we begin praising God out loud every day, rather than becoming as one without hope?
Will engaging in praise each morning change our circumstances? Maybe not, but it will change how we view our circumstances. Suddenly we will find ourselves thanking God for all of the times our health was good rather than poor. We will thank Him because we will remember that God is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider. He is Jehovah Rapha, our Healer. And He is Jehovah Raah, our Shepherd.
May we ask God to give us a new attitude, one where gratitude spills out of our mouths as easily as the water spills over the dam.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Seeking Holiness 