Tag: salvation

Finished

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When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

John‬ ‭19‬:‭30‬ NIV

After the unfair trial.

After the man’s judgment.

After the sentence to death.

After the unbelievable physical pain.

After the unbearable separation from the Father.

After receiving horrific judgment and sin of the world upon Himself.

Before His final breath.

“It is finished.”

My sin paid for. 

My debt paid.

My forgiveness, offered.

My redemption, complete.

My relationship with God, possible.

Before you ever began, He finished it.

Restoring Joy

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Friday

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭51:12‬ ‭NIV

Today I am praying for the wind of restoration to sweep away the cobwebs of the fear and regret that are clinging to your soul.

I am praying for the worries and wonderings of “what if’s” be swept away because what is done is done and today is a new day.

Today is a new day to invite God in.

Today is a new day to embrace the hope you have in Jesus.

Today is your new day to walk in the power and purpose of God.

Put all your yesterdays and tomorrows into God’s hands – He is big enough to handle them. 

May you live fully filled up with God’s peace and have a willing spirit to fully engage in what God has given you to do today.

Judgment

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“All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children”.

Matthew 27:25 

After Gethsemane, Jesus was betrayed Judas, the disciples abandoned Him, Peter denied Him and He was brought before by Herod to be judged. Herod sent Him to Pilot but Pilot couldn’t find a reason for a death penalty. It came down to the people and the people demanded that Jesus be crucified and the murderer, Barabas, be released to them.

Unfair, unjust, unreasonable are just three words that come to mind but that is not what captivated me. What captivated my attention was the truth of the statement written in the account: “His blood be on us and on our children”.

He must have stood there marveling as He heard the crowd cry out for His death, knowing that He was going to bear the judgment physically, spiritually….literally, not only for them but for all mankind.

Now their cry has become mine: “His blood be on us and on our children”,  not the blood of judgment but the blood of forgiveness.

While Jesus was on the cross, He drank deep from the cup of God’s fury against sin so that you and I could drink deep of the cup of forgiveness. He took our judgment so we could be pardoned for all eternity. Thus is the gift of salvation!

Now their cry has become mine: “His blood be on us and on our children”,  not the blood of judgment but the blood of His amazing love and forgiveness. It was the strength of His love for us that drove Him to become the sacrifice for us.

If you don’t know how much Jesus loves you, look at the cross – the proof lies lifeless there.

 

 

Good Friday

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When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.  John‬ ‭19‬:‭30‬ NIV

After the trial.

After the judgment.

After the sentencing.

After the shame.

After the pain.

After the spiritual separation.

After the spiritual pain.

Before His final breath.

“It is finished.”

My sin paid for.

My debt paid.

My forgiveness, offered.

My redemption, complete.

My relationship with God, possible.

Before you ever began, He finished it.

 

 

Dripping with God’s Grace

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quotation-st-francis-de-sales-god-grace-meetville-quotes-40195

Good morning.

I wanted to remind you that you are saved by grace so that you can:

Love by grace,
Forgive by grace,
Grow by grace,
Give by grace,
Work by grace,
Eat by grace,
LIVE BY GRACE

“And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭11:6‬ ‭NIV‬

Grace, as in – God’s work for you vs. my work in me.

We begin to start working on “being better” and “doing better”.  We begin to work on being a good Christian. But it doesn’t work, does it?

How easy it is to slip into the “flesh work” after we accept Christ’s gift of salvation. Sometimes it takes minutes not days.

“Self -improvement is no more God’s plan than self-salvation. God’s plan is not just for us to be saved by grace -it is for us to live by grace. God’s plan is for my daily life to be given, guided, guarded and energized by the grace of a God.”

– John Ortberg,
The Me I Want to Be, pg 39.

God hasn’t redeemed you so that you can be a “good Christian”, He has redeemed you to love you and empower you to love others.

Jesus has opened wide the door for you to walk with Him every day and draw from His unquenchable source of love to pour into every area of your life.

May you be so drenched in His love that is drips off you and onto everything you touch.

 

Hit the Restore Button

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refresh

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭51:12‬ ‭NIV

I am praying for the wind of restoration to sweep away the cobwebs of the fear and regret that are clinging to your soul.

I am praying for the worries and wonderings of “what if’s” be swept away because what is done is done and today is a new day.

Today is a new day to invite God in.

Today is a new day to embrace the hope you have in Jesus.

Today is your new day to walk in the power and purpose of God.

I am praying that you hit the “restore” button with Jesus. Ask Him to restore to you the joy of your salvation and fill you with vision & hope.

There is a sweet joy that captures the soul the moment you receive the washing away of yesterday and release the white knuckling fear you have for tomorrow.

Put all your yesterdays and tomorrows into God’s hands – He is big enough to handle them. 

May you live fully filled up and have a willing spirit to fully engage in what God has given you to do today.

Take Every Chance

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“I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. I live and breathe GOD; if things aren’t going well, hear this and be happy: Join me in spreading the news; together let’s get the word out. GOD met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭34:1-4‬ ‭MSG‬‬

You will have lots of opportunities today to worry, to second guess and be anxious.

You will also have lots of opportunities to bless God, breathe in his presence and receive his joy.

They are the same opportunities, it is what you do with them that makes the difference.

Take a deep breath, expand your lungs and your faith.

Take every opportunity you get to worry today and turn it to worship.

Turn every chance you get to stress today and turn it into a moment to trust.

God will meet you more than halfway and will use every chance you give Him to free you from your fears.

“The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭27:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Take every chance, drop every fear and let the Lord be your stronghold today.

A Reminder

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Quotation-St-Francis-De-Sales-god-grace-Meetville-Quotes-40195

Good morning.

I wanted to remind you, this fine Friday, that you are saved by grace so that you can:

Love by grace,
Forgive by grace,
Grow by grace,
Give by grace,
Work by grace,
Eat by grace,
LIVE BY GRACE

“And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭11:6‬ ‭NIV‬

How easy it is to slip into the flesh work after we accept Christ’s gift of salvation. Sometimes it takes minutes not days.

We begin to start working on “being better” and “doing better”. We begin to work on being a good Christian. But it doesn’t work, does it?

“Self -improvement is no more God’s plan than self-salvation. God’s plan is not just for us to be saved by grace -it is for us to live by grace. God’s plan is for my daily life to be given, guided, guarded and energized by the grace of a God.”

– John Ortberg,
The Me I Want to Be, pg 39.

God hasn’t redeemed you so that you can be a “good Christian”, He has redeemed you to walk in the power and freedom that have been bought for you by the Cross.

He has opened wide the door for you to walk with Him every day and draw from His unquenchable source of love to pour into every area of your life.

Grace is more than a prayer to say before you eat, it is a lifestyle.

So, go ahead and LIVE it
and have a fantastic weekend.

It is Finished 

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When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John‬ ‭19‬:‭30‬ NIV

After the trial.

After the judgement.

After the sentencing.

After the shame.

After the pain.

After the spiritual separation.

After the spiritual pain.

Before His final breath.

“It is finished.”

My sin, paid for.

My debt, paid.

My forgiveness, offered.

My redemption, complete.

My relationship with God, possible.

On this day we call Good Friday, before you ever began, he finished it.


Welcoming God In 

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Welcoming God to walk with you is different than working hard to walk with God.

Deep trusting is a different than incessant trying.

Receiving new mercies every morning is different than stagnantly reliving regulations to achieve right living.

“Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead.

That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation.

With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭10:9-10‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Jesus radically altered the whole basis of “right living” before God. Instead of working every day to live right before him, you receive grace everyday to walk with him and trust Him to shape right living in you. It’s an on going conversation and intimate relationship. It’s a receiving and giving, trusting and obeying.

Jesus is asking you for a relationship of trust, in the small things as well as the really big things. He is persistent in pursuing you and everyday is a new day to begin again.

Begin again today by welcoming Jesus in and allowing him to lead you, to love you and to work His grace deep within you.

Happy Monday, my friend.