Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Are you Saved?


If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

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Saved means SAVED! It means delivered from something that, without intervention, would result in injury or death. It means to be preserved from something. Even the dictionary will tell you that being saved, in the religious sense, involves deliverance or preservation/redemption. God says true salvation is being delivered from death, but this is not what is commonly believed.

What is salvation? I recently found out that there are people who have been going to church all of their lives and yet they are not saved. There are people who go to church weekly and yet they are not sure that they are saved. they still argue about destination after physical death. Sadly. people do not read their Bible. Friend, you can believe the plan of salvation and go to hell. You're not saved by the plan of salvation; You are not saved by going to church and do good. You're saved by the Man of salvation: Jesus Christ. His blood made salvation possible. You say, "Well, I believe if you live right, you'll go to heaven, "I'm a member of a good Bible-believing church." It's not any of these things. It's Christ. My pastor says to me when I was probably ten years old that Salvation is not believing something; it is receiving Someone: The Lord Jesus Christ.

Salvation is one of the promises of God to all believers: to be given the gift of eternal life. To be "saved" in the full sense of the word means to have received eternal life. The word salvation is also used to describe the process we go through before we can receive eternal life. (In a few scriptures "saved" refers to redemption, one of the steps in the process of salvation). The Bible exposes the life of Paul's epistles we can witness his struggle against his flesh upon accepting his salvation. You cannot be saved and continue the life you lived before, you cannot be saved and continue to lie or cheat or whatever your stronghold may be. Salvation must bring change. It's alright to struggle periodically but true salvation brings transformation.

We are all Spiritual beings. All of us will live eternally. The only question is where will each one of us will spend eternity? There are only two destinations and one simple choice today will decide your destination. It is that simple. Everyone will eventually face the death penalty. Since the wages of sin is death. You should be concerned. It is very important to know where you stand. Where you are going to spend eternity should be a major concern. You know your life better than anyone else. Look inside of you and answer these questions for yourself: Am I saved? Am I a work in progress? Am I changing or am I living the way I always lived? You may lie to your family and friends, and you may even lie to yourself but God is omniscient, all knowing, He sees everything, nothing escapes Him, Glory! It's time to get real and make the proper adjustment. Repent of your sins, accept God grace through Christ and start your new life: Eternal Life. Eternal life does not start after death. You can start it here on earth right now by choosing Christ as your lord and Savior. It is not as complicated as you have heard.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

Salvation is only by faith through Christ. Nothing else will do: not your generosity and not your good heart. You can be sure of your salvation. You no longer have to wonder. My friend, invite the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart today and be sure!

Praise the Lord!

About Love.........

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

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Friend, love is a big theme in our society. There are countless websites claiming to be able to help you find love. It is really quite interesting because each one of them is loaded with thousands of profiles. People are desperately looking for love. Have you ever had an opportunity to read some of these profiles? People are searching for perfection. (Disease free, thin, smart, beautiful, tall, rich or have a great job, good communicator with no relationship baggage, ect.). But God wants you as you are: Sick, imperfect, broken, hurt, full of baggage, loss, confused, rejected. No need to change to find God's love because His kind of love will enrich and transform. Glory! There are times in our lives when those who claim to love us refuse to talk to us and ask for space but my dear friend, there are no silent periods with God's love. God love never takes a break. Divine love will always continue throughout time and eternity. In the darkest and the loneliest of nights, there will always be the eternal light of God's love. Glory to God! All you have to do is submit to love by allowing Christ to reside in your heart. He will never leave you. His promise to be with you through your valleys and mountain tops is true. You can count on His great love.

Love by definition has many components, without any of them, love is missing. This is evident by the seven definitions for love mentioned in the scripture above. Love does not insist on its own schedule and time constraints, and true love is not easily shaken, or only works when it is convenient. Jesus tells us here that our greatest command is to love. God gives us the ability to love when we are born again, the Holy Spirit fills our heart with the love of God so that we can show His love to others. What is it about true love that touches every heart? Why does the simple phrase "I love you" waken such universal joy? Why is it that some spend a lifetime pursuing love? You see, love was what prompted God to give His Son to die for sinners. Jesus explained "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And you must love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27). Responding to true love is part of our genetic make up because we are children of God and Love is God's attribute, which He delights in manifesting openly by sending Jesus to die on the cross.

God's love is persistent, ever-present, and very powerful. Our lives are transformed by the presence of love. All true love originates from God. Christians are to receive and replicate this love in their lives so people can know of God's love. When filled with God's love, we can understand things that we could not otherwise understand. The wonderful thing is that the more we know God’s attribute, the more we are going to obey His command to love "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment Matthew 22:37). Friend, love starts with God. One of my favorite preachers once said that “Trying to find lasting love without obeying God is like trying to quench thirst by drinking from an empty cup you can go through the motions, but the thirst remains.” We often miss out on this comprehensive picture of God's love because we are searching for it at all the wrong places while taking God’s love for granted. Invite Jesus Christ into your heart and experience true love.

Praise the Lord!

I am Choosing Christ...............



"Be alert, your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

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We have been learning about the things that made the Devil feel at home in our lives. The list is quite long, we will not continue to cover example. You understand by now, that anything that does not glorify God in your life attracts the Devil.

Friend, you can pray, you can fast, you can ask people to lay hands on you and cast the Devil out of your life, but I can assure you that nothing will change until you repent and make the quality decision to stop Satan's influence over your life. You have to be willing. Now it does not matter what area of your life need the change, it can be victory over sins, it can be restoration of your mind and soul, or physical health, it can be emotional wholeness, nothing will change until you make the cautious decision to get "your" victory. Remember, Jesus had asked the man at the pool of Bethesda, wilt thou be whole? (John 5:6). He did not ask him would you like to be well. The man had to be willing in order to receive healing.

God sent Jesus to the cross to carry our burdens, to give us victory over sins and to make us whole. He bore our sicknesses, He carried our diseases, and He already won every battle "you are facing by His death on Calvary, but it takes decision from your part to receive the victory you are searching for. It requires determination on your part before you can actually achieve victory. Decide to be free today.

Praise the Lord!