AM I SAVED

Ro 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Ro 10:10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

I was watching The Way of The Master on Monday. It struck me that there are people in this world, that are not sure if they are saved. If you don't know if you are saved, then you are not in fact saved. This is why I want to take the time now to go over this with you.

If you BELIEVE and accept that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, and accept His forgiveness for your sins, you are saved. There is nothing else that you can do for salvation. It is a free gift given to you. You do however need to accept and BELIEVE.

Bottom line, if you put your life in the hands of Christ and depend on Him rather than yourself, you are saved. There are no, well maybe if I improve this, or I hope I am saved, I would like to think so. Friend, when you waiver in this way, you are acting as if the promise of God is a lie, and most importantly you can be sure you are not saved. He makes this point very clear throughout the Gospel. That is why it is called the Good News. That is why when we accepted His Truth are unable to stop talking about it. Don't be worried that you are unable to lead a wholesome life or stop your life of sin. Let Christ do the saving of your soul. All you need to do is BELIEVE He can and will. It is Christ in you that will transform your life, your thoughts and believe it or not, your sinful ways. If you are waiting for perfection before you approach the Savior, you will never be able to do it. He is there waiting for you to accept the Gift. He does not force this, He wants you to make the choice.

YOU ARE SAVED IF YOU BELIEVE CHRIST DIED ON THE CROSS FOR YOUR SINS AND TURN TO HIM. Now run to His open arms and never look back!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT MAKES US HOLY/ WHOLE?

Heb 10:9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second.
Heb 10:10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Heb 13:12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.
1Pe 1:16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.
1Pe 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
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We are made Holy by the blood of Jesus. There is nothing we can do ourselves to attain holiness. We are Holy because He is Holy when we abide in Him. It is His presence in us making us Holy. Obeying His Truth will purify us. This purification is what allows us to love others the way that Christ loves us. Do you BELIEVE that?

GET ON MY LEVEL

1Co 9:20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
1Co 9:21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.
1Co 9:22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
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Instead of judging others, let's try to understand one another by getting on each other's level. When you love someone, you try to see what makes them tick. You study them so that you know all about their likes and dislikes. You go out of your way to get to know them better. We are called as brothers and sisters in Christ, to love one another, and save the lost. This may mean you will have to leave your comfort zone and step into new and different realms.

I have been involved in New Age teachings in the past. While the majority of it I will not participate in any longer, there is a lot of it that is conducive to learning ways to better myself. I am firm enough in my Faith, that I know where the lines are and will not cross them. Even though I don't agree with the teachings that glorify anything but God, I know that God wanted me to learn them, so I can witness to another that has replaced God with an idol or God of some other sort. I know this because that is how God works. Everyone is walking down their path for a reason. It is best to mind our own business on our journeys with Christ, and stop using the Truth that we have been trusted with, to judge one another. This is not our place. It is God's. Our only job is to love one another, and bring as many people to Christ to share in the joy of salvation as possible. If we really want to do this, let's roll up our sleeves and get dirty the way Christ did. He did not come for the healthy but the sick. He came for the sinners. He came for us when we were sinners, and while He expected nothing in return but our BELIEF in Him, it glorifies Him when we reach our hands out to others. If you really want to show God that you are thankful for His Gift, tell someone else why your hope is set on the Lord, while respecting the path they are presently on.

I PRAISE YOU LORD FOR YOUR FAVOR

Lk 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
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Saturday morning at 2:00AM, my son had awakened me to tell me that he needed to move my car away from a retaining wall in our parking lot, that had fallen down on all of the cars parked by this wall. The wall crushed 10 cars and stopped right where my car had been parked. There was a huge rock that should have hit my car, but ended up in the other parking spot with the car that had been damaged already.

If you look in this picture on Channel 9's website, you will notice a sign on the wall. Directly under the sign is where my car was parked.

www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Retaining-Wall-Crushes-10-Cars/YZK6C9dtg0GZLcw2uZWwXQ.cspx

I feel as if the Lord had shown favor on me, and delivered me from this crisis. It is funny that people standing around in the parking lot, were speaking of how lucky that I was. One man even stated that he had saved my car by contacting my son to come move the car. I was thankful that someone had thought of me enough to tell me to move my car however; I had to chuckle inside, because that wall did not fall past where my car was. It was God who spared my car. When my son showed me the situation out the window the next day, he said you were really blessed. It warmed my heart that my son knows where his blessings come from. It was not his first reaction to say you got lucky Mom. I pray and ask you to pray with me that the insurance company will make this as easy, and as fair as possible for everyone involved in this situation. It had also dawned on me that some of these people had both of their cars destroyed. I was able to call of them and see if they needed something. It is important to remember that sometimes God spares us to spare someone else. This is how he uses us to help each other. That is what community is all about. Reaching a helping hand out to someone in need. I encourage you the next time God blesses you in any way, to let your first thought be, is there a way I can use this to bless someone else? Maybe there are also certain talents and abilities that God has given you, that He wants you to offer to someone free of charge. freely you have received, freely give.

A REBELLIOUS NATURE

Ro 7:7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
Ro 7:8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead.

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The laws they speak of are the 10 commandments. It is true, when we are told to do something, it is our nature to want to do the opposite. It is because we live in this world. Our natural desires are typically geared towards selfishness and a me mentality. There is a way to live apart from the law. It is BELIEVING that Jesus is your savior sent to die in your place for your sinful nature. Once you do this, you are no longer under the law. You are covered under the blood of Christ, and receive mercy rather than the wrath of God (judgement). If God is to eventually establish His Kingdom, the only kind of people that can be there will be the people that come from a place of Spirit. Otherwise, it could not be Heaven. Once you BELIEVE, Christ will begin transforming your heart in order to sanctify you, and make you whole. The Holy Spirit will lead you towards the Kingdom and eventually, you will be bringing others along with you. Once you begin to do things out of love instead of obligation, sin will lose its power to draw you in. It will then become your nature to please others, even if that means doing things you really don't feel like doing. You will also avoid doing some things because you will stop to think of how it will affect others. You begin to put the needs of others above yours. I am not totally there yet. It is a work in progress. I have however seen a huge transformation in my thoughts and actions. I have also experienced God's favor in my life like never before. It is true that He protects those that are His. The way of the Lord is never easier, but He promises to walk with us through our lives. Once we are obedient to His words in the Bible, or the Words that He will speak in the silence to our hearts, our Faith will grow as we see His promises fulfilled. In order to hear the promises, we need to be in His Word and keeping communion with Him and other believers.

FEAR OF THE LORD

Ps 34:11 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Ps 34:12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,
Ps 34:13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Ps 34:14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it

Ps 33:16 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.
Ps 33:17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.
Ps 33:18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
Ps 33:19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
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The GOOD NEWS is that if you keep your eyes fixed on Christ and BELIEVE He is who , He says, He will help you to turn from evil. The Spirit of Christ will live in you and keep your paths straight. Read His word, keep community with other Christians (the Church)and speak with Him through prayer, making sure to be still and listen to Him. We do not need to put our hope in ourselves. Without Him, we can do nothing. All we need do is rest in Him and His love.

A LICENSE TO SIN?

Ro 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
Ro 6:16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

Ro 6:20 When you were slaves to sin,you were free from the control of righteousness.
Ro 6:21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
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This reminds me of all of the things I have done in my past, knowing that they were not God's best plan for me. I have read most of the Bible. There are certain rules He tells us to follow for our best, and the best of others around us. Even though this is the case, sin has the ability to entice us into things even when know it is not good for us. An example of this is sleeping with someone before you are married. You know God says not to do it. The devil makes it look attractive to you as with all of his lies, it looks good in the physical but tears a part your soul. There you are again realizing that you gave your heart, and your body away to a person that could care less if you are there tomorrow. Why would they? They got what they wanted and now they can move on, challenge is over. How about when you got really drunk one night, and woke up to find out that you ruined a friendship, because you said or did some things that you could not take back? Maybe you got a DUI and now you cannot drive to work, and have to come up with thousands of dollars in order to fix your mistake. In the midst of all of these things, our first thought may be to feel as if God is to blame. That sure makes a lot of sense, since He is the one that told you to stay away from those very things in the first place. Nothing good has ever come out of any of the things that God wants us to stay away from. The heavier you get involved with these things, the more you feel you need them. You become addicted to the very things that are ruining your life. Once we decide to BELIEVE in Jesus, He is able start working our problems from the inside out. All of the sins that we crave are reflections of brokenness found on the inside of us. It is never just the sin itself. Once we stop listening to the lies and follow the Truth (Jesus), He will begin a work of transformation in our hearts. We will come to a point of looking at these things and saying, you are something I want to live without, because you are not worth the Glory that my Father has in store for me if I would abide in Him and His Word. We cannot do it on our own, we need Christ living in us. I challenge you, look back on your life at your past and present sins that you are clinging onto. What form of happiness have they ever brought you? Why are you clinging to them? Being a slave to obedience will produce freedom. Being a slave to sins will only put you in chains.