Tag: Salvation

Morning Musing: 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

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“Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: ‘Be reconciled to God.’”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

If you are a follower of Jesus, have you ever wondered what salvation is for? Have you ever pondered why it is God has drawn us to Him through His Son? Well, the “why” is easy: His love. But what’s it for? In these verses Paul gives us an answer that’s as challenging as it is powerful. Check this out with me. 

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Morning Musing: 1 Peter 1:3-9

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“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter) 

This is a whole lot bigger a chunk of text than I usually include in these notes, but I couldn’t take this one in piecemeal fashion without spending several days on the whole thing—something I will come back and do at some point in the future. I defy you to find a better, richer, fuller expression of the incredible hope and joy we have in our faith and the salvation that comes from it than what Peter writes here. These words are worth reading several times with some meditative prayer along the way. 

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 5:1

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“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever been in a place of turmoil? Of course you have. We all have. We’ve all been there multiple times. Sometimes turmoil is an almost daily affair. And in these times when life is topsy-turvy what is it that we most want? Peace. We long for peace. We need peace. We want life to feel like a scene from a Bob Ross painting. How do we get this? 

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The Man Who Got It

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In this second-to-last installment of our series, Hard Sayings, we wrestled with the power of the cross.  Just how big is the grace Jesus won for us there?  It can save a normal sinner, sure, but can it save the worst of them?  We’re actually faced with a harder question here: Do we want it to?  Is Jesus’ offer of life to anyone fair?  Keep reading to see the answer.

 

The Man Who Got It

Do you remember your parents ever doing something for your brother or sister that they did not do for you?  What was your immediate complaint?  That’s not fair!  Actually, you probably said it with a bit more…emotion in your voice.  That’s not faaaaaaiiiir!!!  Worse yet, do you remember your brother or sister or cousin or a friend or, really, just about anyone, getting something you were convinced in your heart of hearts they didn’t deserve?  What did you say then?  About the same thing: “That’s not fair!” Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Revelation 20:7-8

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“And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Hell is hard.  Perhaps no orthodox Christian doctrine is as difficult for folks to get their hearts and minds around as is the notion that those who finally reject God will, upon final judgment, spend an eternity separated from Him in Hell.  And, I’ll say this as gently as I can: If the doctrine doesn’t give you at least a bit of unease, you may not be paying very much attention to it. Read the rest…