From Sin To Salvation

Many people say “I love God” to express good feelings about the Lord, but Jesus taught that only those who obey God’s commands truly love Him. So, what are some actions that show that we love God?

Pray often. Jesus taught that frequent prayer is essential to the Christian life. However, when we pray with wrong motives—ones that center around what we want rather than what God wants—we’re not expressing affection for Him. True prayer seeks to determine God’s mind in order to carry out His agenda. This kind of prayer, accompanied by an obedient response, says “I love You” to God.

Read the Bible regularly. Since Jesus defined love as obedience, it’s essential that Scripture reading be accompanied by application. Otherwise, we’re just hearers of the Word (James 1:22).

Serve at church and in the community. If we ourselves choose how to serve instead of obeying the Lord’s direction, our efforts are simply good works rather than an expression of love to Him.

God’s love for us was demonstrated through the sending of His Son Jesus (1 John 4:9-10). Our compliance to the Father’s known will reveals how deeply we care about Him. Take steps each day to show God your love.

What do you think about during the day? Do you set aside time to dwell solely on Jesus? Do you remind yourself periodically to bring your attention back to our Creator. One way to do this is to read several psalms and notice how the author refocuses on almighty God.

David, the great king of Old Testament times, was able to trust in the Lord because he knew how to meditate. That is, he focused his mind and spirit on God’s character, ways, and will in order to know the Lord better and obey Him.

By continually focusing on God, David found peace in the midst of turmoil. We would be wise to follow his example. During times of difficulty, set your eyes on the Father and meditate on His Word.

Whether you’re fishing or hang gliding, have a wonderful weekend. And while you’re at it—Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

God’s plan for us is greater than we can imagine. But not many people realize that. We usually get so preoccupied with the demands of life that few of us give much thought to what it will mean to be sanctified.

Sanctification is a process. When we get saved, God sets us apart for Himself. Then throughout the rest of our life, He works to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus. We all struggle with sin, but when we die, our spirits will ascend to heaven and be completely sinless. Then we’ll see Jesus as He truly is, and we won’t struggle with “all that is in the world”.

However, as great as this will be, it’s not the final step. Some day Jesus will descend from heaven and bring the souls of those who have died in Christ. They will be united with their resurrected bodies, and believers who are still alive on the earth will be changed 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54. Then sanctification will be complete—spirit, soul, and body.

Then, spotless and without blame, we will walk in the Lord’s presence for eternity. Knowing this, how will you live today? The promise of salvation isn’t meant just to give hope, but to encourage us to live a holy life.

How does one get the favor of God? Isaiah 66:2 quotes God as saying, “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” God shows favor to those who seek His favor by loving Him, respecting Him, honoring Him, and taking delight in His Word.

This does not mean one must be perfect. None of the people of the Bible who are recorded as receiving God’s favor were perfect. It does mean, however, that one must have a heart for God. II Chronicles 16:9 says that “the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”

One can also receive the favor of God simply by asking for it. Psalm 119 says, “I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise (Psalm 119:58 ESV). Today, as you live the life God has given you, why not ask Him for favor, like Jesus had, “with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

Do you need answers? Do you need direction for your life? Do you need reassurance that you are loved? I’ve found the source of all joy, love, happiness, confidence, riches and protection through the Word of God.

I teach Sunday School and as a result I’ve gone deeper into God’s Word to aid my presentations to our class. Through my studies I’ve found little nuggets of wisdom and open gestures of love given to us through our Heavenly Father.

In the past I would spend the cursory amount of time in the Bible, however, I’ve found that deeper study lends itself to greater benefits in living. God wants the very best for us and He says so in His word. But, how would you know that unless you are meeting Him on a daily basis in your prayer and study time?

Don’t short yourself on all that God has for you. His treasures are beyond compare. The biggest and most loving treasure given to us is His Son Jesus Christ. I am thankful for all that He has done and I am sure you will find the same result.

Be patient! Guard against being emotionally drawn to insignificant things. Every single one of us has a part in the life drama unfolding on earth. God wants us to take some time to readjust our focus.

He wants us to take heart! Fight the problems that arise. Do not give into the apathy that the world induces. Do not accept the easy deliverance, which the carnal mind and this world offer. God will help, as only He can. And when one’s problems are over, we can say, “I didn’t do it. The Lord is my Helper.”

Therefore, we can stand on His wonderful promise that He will never leave us. Christ is alive, and He loves us.

If you had a tough weekend spending most of your time alone or feeling unloved by others, family or significant other, then here’s a recipe for what ails you. You won’t find it on social media, T.V. or the internet. Unquenchable love can be found in one person. Want to know who? Read on.

If you knew every thought people had about you—or if they knew your thoughts about them—how long would those relationships last? Thankfully, God isn’t limited in this way, even though He knows everything about us, not just our thoughts. He hears each word and sees our most private actions. And though He alone knows the full extent of our brokenness and loneliness, His love for us persists like an unquenchable fire. He’s there waiting for you.

Acknowledging our situation before God changes the way we think about our own sin, loneliness, and feeling unloved. He has love for us in spite of it. It causes us to grieve, not only for ourselves but also for the sins of the world. Yet we should remember Jesus didn’t just mourn sin or overlook one’s loneliness He conquered it. And He invites us to pursue something more than this world can offer: the greatest love of all—His love.

If you were researching a topic for school or work, you’d look for a trustworthy article and then consider the writer’s credentials, wouldn’t you? Let’s try the same approach with Scripture. We can trust the Bible because

(1) The Holy Spirit is all-knowing. In John 16:8-13, Jesus declares that God’s Spirit will come into the world, not only to teach us about sin, righteousness, and judgment but also to “guide [us] into all the truth.” It is God’s omniscient Spirit who delivered His complete Word in what we now know as the Bible.

(2) The Holy Spirit inspired the writers. As we saw yesterday, all Scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16), whose Spirit led over 40 different people to write His inerrant Word over the course of 1,500 years.

(3) The Holy Spirit guides the readers. 1 Corinthians 2:10-14 reminds us that the Holy Spirit reveals truth to us and helps us understand Scripture. Without God’s Spirit, we can’t comprehend spiritual things.

Aren’t you thankful that the Bible is trustworthy? I know I am. We have reliable stories and testimonies of a loving God in whom we can put our faith.

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.—John 6:44

Our calling, our life in Christ begins when the Father directly interfaces with our mind for the purpose of revealing Himself, His ways, His purpose, His plan, His mind, His attitude, His perspective, His character, His love, His power, His mercy, His forgiveness, and on and on, that we might use our life and free-moral agency to choose life.

But most important is that the Father Himself does this. God miraculously joins His own mind to ours! There is nothing mysterious about this at all. He begins to transfer His thoughts, His attitudes, His character—the Spirit of His mind—into our minds. When it tells us, “Grieve not the Spirit of God,” he means, “Don’t grieve the Father by resisting Him.” He is transferring the invisible essence of His mind through the access that we have to Him by means of the death of Jesus Christ. He is by no means kidding about the importance of this process. He is helping us to understand that, even as we are influenced by those around us, unless we are in the presence of God, we will not be influenced by Him. This is why it is so vital for us to share life with Him.

This is where prayer and Bible study become important because we are literally in His presence and He can transfer the essence of His mind into ours. Nobody sees it. When we obey, we are giving Him permission to do this. We submit, using our free moral agency. There is nothing magical about this at all. It occurs when we respond to the influence of the interface that He creates between us when we believe His Word and submit, and when we strengthen the relationship through prayer, Bible study, and meditation.