Tag: Salvation

The Worst Kind of Fake News

Posted on by Dorci

“You foolish Galatians!  Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” Gal 3:1-3

 

Paul spends much of his time writing, pleading with the new believers to not get sidetracked, but to continue to keep their eyes on their Savior, walking in the Spirit, and receiving from Him the grace and strength they need to live out their faith.

But some of them were being lured into believing that salvation was Jesus and…

That and can be anything.  For the Galatians it was Jesus and the law.

People were telling the believers in Galatia they needed to follow the law to be justified. They needed to rely on themselves and their works, in effect, luring them away from the grace they received by faith in Christ.  And Paul knew that as they moved toward reliance on the law, on themselves, faith in Christ would be left behind.

Paul said they’d been bewitched – to malign, that is, to speak harmful untruths about, speak evil of, slander, defame, injurious, to fascinate by false representations.

The enemy’s ways haven’t changed in 2000 years. They haven’t changed since the garden. he is the originator of fake news.

Sometimes his ways are as blatant as they were in Galatia, but oftentimes the method is more inconspicuous and gradual.

New believers can be easy prey for the enemy. The wolf enters the pen and the lambs are still naive and easily coerced. They can be convinced to do anything other than the simplicity of putting their faith in Jesus and following Him daily.  Surely it can’t be that easy, he tells them. 

Older believers can be led away, too, if they get lazy in their walk, let their relationship with Christ grow cold, or fall into sin, and instead of repenting, they gradually move away from their faith in Christ to reliance on their works to earn favor, forgiveness, grace, and love.

And no matter how long a person has been in Christ, anyone who lets the reading and studying of God’s Word slide and along with it discernment and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, any “inspirational” meme or thought going around social media that sounds good, but is deeply theologically flawed, can be used to alter our course of thinking and begin to lead us away from a pure and truthful faith in Christ.

And as individuals, and whole churches (made up of individuals), it’s easy to get past those early days, weeks, and years after salvation (or after church planting) and begin to go on autopilot.  Instead of relying on the Holy Spirit we gradually start just doing because we’ve done it for so long, forgetting that we’re living a life of faith, a life that requires the Holy Spirit to daily move in and through us.

It is Christ’s life we live now, not our own.  We cannot live it in our own strength or with our own human wisdom.  We can never presuppose we know what direction He wants us to go, what He wants us to do, and when He wants us to do it.

Paul exhorted the Christians in Galatia to not go back to trying to earn salvation or God’s love and grace by works of the law.  By trying to be perfect.  If that could ever be the case then Christ died in vain. Trying to earn our way to God through works says we don’t need the Holy Spirit any longer and we quench Him from moving in our lives.

If we try to finish in our flesh, we forfeit the strength and courage He desires to give us to live out our lives for Him, and the love and grace and peace He wants to fill us with.

There are moments in our faith, whether at 6 months in or 30 years, where we can press in to Christ harder, or we can take a step back, and begin to rely on ourselves.

All of us will have those moments, and most of us will choose at some point, to one degree or another, to rely on ourselves for a time.

The good news is God’s grace toward His children doesn’t run out.

Anytime we’ve been relying on ourselves and looking around we realize we’re not following Jesus anymore, all we need to do is call Him.

Do the thing we did at first: return to our first love. Believe in Christ and repent. Turn our minds back to Him and His Word. Put our faith and trust in our Savior, and ask Him to fill us afresh with His Holy Spirit that He might lead us and give us wisdom to serve Him all the rest of our days.

Come As You Are

Posted on by Dorci

You continue to be on my heart, and I know that’s because you’re on Jesus’s heart. 

He loves us and He wants us to know – if we’re struggling, if we’re resisting, if our shame is keeping us from coming to the cross, from receiving His forgiveness and love, whether for the first time or the hundredth – my friends, look at the cross.

Look at Christ nailed to it, stripped of His clothing, beaten, bloody, spat upon, receiving the punishment saved for the worst of the worst.

Other gods, other religions require people to clean themselves up, to suffer for their sins, to pay penance to be forgiven.

But not Christ. He paid the penalty; He suffered for our sins; He bore the shame for us so He could take it from us. He doesn’t want us living with it. 

No matter how far we’ve gone from Him – a day, a week, a decade, we’re only a step away. Only a prayer away.  Only one Name away – Jesus.

If a whole prayer seems too overwhelming, just start by calling out the name of Jesus.

And not just any Jesus. The Jesus who was in the beginning, the Jesus who created all things, the Jesus who left His throne in heaven and came down to us fully God and fully man, the Jesus who was the Messiah prophesied about, the Jesus who is the Savior of the world, the Jesus whose sacrifice paid for your sins and the sins of the world.

And once the door is opened with His Name, confess your sins, and receive the abundance of His grace and mercy and love. It’s why He came, it’s why He died, and it’s why He rose again, and lives to intercede for us.  It’s why He leaves the 99 to go after the 1. It’s why He never gives up. It’s why He invites you to come as you are.

 

 

Come As You Are
by Crowder

Come out of sadness
From wherever you’ve been
Come broken hearted
Let rescue begin
Come find your mercy
Oh sinner come kneel
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal
So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You’re not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are
There’s hope for the hopeless
And all those who’ve strayed
Come sit at the table
Come taste the grace
There’s rest for the weary
Rest that endures
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t cure
So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You’re not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are
Come as you are
Fall in his arms
Come as you are
There’s joy for the morning
Oh sinner be still
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal
So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You’re not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are
Come as you are
Come as you are

No Matter What

Posted on by Dorci

Finally, Saturday’s here!

I’ve been waiting all week long to share this song with you. We live in a rough, critical, judgmental, even cruel world, and it’s not hard to get sucked into that worldly vortex that colors our world dark gray, where even our view of God is obscured.

Where our perspective of Him is shaped more by the negative people and circumstances around us, and even what’s going on within us, than by the truth of His holiness, righteousness, love, and forgiveness.  If that’s you – maybe you knew God at one time but have walked or drifted away, or maybe you’ve never known God at all – this song is for you.

There is hope. While there is breath there is hope, because Jesus lives.  Jesus Christ came to give us life, and through Him God’s grace is big enough to cover whatever you’ve done.  All He wants is your heart.  I pray you hear these words, and come to Him now. Come as you are, and He will receive you with open arms, no matter what.

 

 

No Matter What
by Ryan Stevenson

A lot of us grew up believing
At any moment we could lose it all
And at the drop of a hat
God might turn His back and move on
A lot of us feel like we blew it
Thinking that we’re just too far gone
But I want you to know
There’s still a hope for you now
No matter what you’ve done
You can’t erase His love
Nothing can change it
You’re not separated
No matter what
There’s never been a better time to get honest
There’s never been a better time to get clean
So come as you are
Run to the cross and be free
Oh, be free
No matter what you’ve done
You can’t erase His love
Nothing can change it
You’re not separated
No matter where you run
He’s always holding on
You’re still a daughter, you’re still a son
No matter what
I don’t know what you’ve been taught
Don’t know what you’ve been told
All I know is my God
Will never let go of you, no
And I don’t know what you’ve seen
Don’t know what you’ve been through
All I know is my God
Will never let go of you
He’ll never let go!
He’ll never, never, never let you go
No matter what you’ve done
You can’t erase His love
Nothing can change it
You’re not separated
No matter where you run
He’s always holding on
You’re still a daughter, you’re still a son
No matter what
You’re still a daughter, you’re still a son!
No matter what

It Is Finished

Posted on by Dorci

“Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. 

Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.

Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 

Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself.” Hebrews 7:23-27

 

In the world people believe that if they do enough good, if they’re better than the other guy, if they’re more good than bad, if they just tip the scales, they will earn a place in heaven.

Those with no religion believe it, and those with religion alone believe it. My friends, this is a lie from the pit of hell, designed to keep people believing they’re saved without actually receiving salvation.

Sometimes even believers can slip into a subconscious belief that we must add good works to the grace of God given through the sacrifice of His Son, maybe not for salvation, but for acceptance and love. 

The sacrifices of old were given as a forerunner, a sign of the full and complete Sacrifice to come. Jesus Christ, and He alone, was the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Any attempt to add onto that perfect sacrifice is sin. It is an offense to Christ and His work done on the cross, and to the Father who gave His Son to do it.

It was given once. No other sacrifice, by Him or any one else, is needed for salvation ever again.

It was given for all. Anyone and everyone – no matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done – is invited to partake of the Sacrifice, to receive it by faith, for full payment of one’s own sins, now and forever.

If you recognize that you’ve been trusting in your own good works alone, or as an “add on” to Christ’s sacrifice, or trusting in another person to be the one who sits between you and God, offering up prayers for your forgiveness, or giving you ways to atone for your sin, telling you that through them you will be forgiven, I urge you to hear what Christ Himself said on the cross:

“It is finished.”

That phrase means to end, complete, execute, conclude, to discharge a debt, to pay. It’s done. There is nothing left for us to do, and no other human being needed to remove the guilt of our sins. He is the LORD, and the High Priest who lives forever, and no other can take His place.

All we need to do is believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior sent to die as the perfect and last sacrifice that paid for our sins, and pray, asking God for forgiveness, receiving Christ and His sacrifice, by faith, as a free gift in payment for every sin we’ve ever committed, and ever will commit. And then follow Him. If you want to read more, click on How You Can Know God at the top of this page.

And to my brothers and sisters in Christ who, for whatever reason, struggle with feeling like you need to earn God’s love, to you, and to myself, I say this: rest. Take a deep breath and rest in His abiding love; rest in His grace; rest in His mercy; rest in the finished work of the cross; rest in the resurrection.

You may have had to earn someone else’s love, or try and try and still never receive it, but that’s the world’s way, not God’s. That’s not who He is.

God is love, and the source of all true love. He cannot deny Himself. The Father sent His Son out of love, and the Son came out of love, and died out of love. He is preparing a place for us in heaven out of love. He is maturing and readying us out of love, and will come back again out of love.

It was His love that drew us, and it’s His love that will keep us, and welcome us home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for the Spirit

Posted on by Dorci

 

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
1 Peter 2:9

 

Heavenly Father, we praise you. Thank you for calling us out of the darkness and, through your Son, adopting us as your own dearly loved children. And then you called us, as brothers and sisters, into a sacred life to carry out your will, to show the world your light and your love. Father, give us continued passion for living and breathing and walking in your Spirit, that we would never be tempted to live out this calling of a spiritual life in our own strength.  We are called to think differently, act differently, and speak differently than the world and it’s only by your Spirit that we can do that with truth and integrity. Search our hearts and show us where we need to get right with you through repentance and obedience, and help us to do that. And then we pray your Spirit will fill us to overflowing with so much love and light and boldness of the good news that countless people will hear your calling, turn to you, fall to their knees in repentance, receive your forgiveness, and join us as your chosen ones.  Father, our world desperately needs you, and we ask for a renewal of your Spirit within and upon all of us and for a revival of your salvation throughout the world.  In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, amen.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Victory

Posted on by Dorci

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. Ephesians 1:3-6

 

Heavenly Father, we praise you.  You know that many of us were not chosen in the world for much of anything.  You know that we were, and are, the neglected, rejected, and outcast. But you have chosen us.  You, the Creator of all the universe, the originator of all things, the LORD Almighty, the Beginning and the End, has chosen those the world deems as foolish and weak to bear your holy name.  You saw us and loved us, and drew us to yourself so that you could pour on us the greatest blessing of all – to receive the life of your Son, and be made holy and blameless.  You have made us the proof of your glory, and we are overwhelmed with gratefulness.  May we live every minute of every day in the victory you bought for us through the sacrifice of your Son.  May we walk in your glorious light, and never give the enemy a foothold.  Please keep us from falling into sin, so that our lives are an unbroken testimony of your glory.  And when we do stumble, help us to quickly repent, and receive your grace.  And Lord, please help us to freely give the love and grace and mercy and forgiveness that you have given us as an act of worship to you.  In Jesus’ holy and precious name we pray, amen.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer to Proclaim

Posted on by Dorci

Image result for ruth 4:14
 

 

Heavenly Father, we praise you.  Thank you for not only providing Ruth with a redeemer, but for giving us a Redeemer in your Son through her.  We pray you will give us boldness to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ and that He would become known in more and more hearts in our families, in our neighborhoods, at our places of business, throughout our country, and into the world. Lord Jesus, help us to continually seek you, to trust you, and hear from you so that our steps our led by you with wisdom and grace.  When we face difficulties, help us proclaim your name. When we are blessed with success, help us proclaim your name. When we don’t understand, help us proclaim your name. In life and in death, help us to continually, boldly, faithfully proclaim the Name that is above all names, – Yeshua Hamashiach – Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed One, our Savior and Redeemer. In His glorious name we pray, amen.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer of Trust

Posted on by Dorci

 

Dear Heavenly Father,

We praise you.  Thank you for lifting us up out of our sin and redeeming us for Yourself.  For being a fortress for us where we can safely live and rest in you, where we can know that no matter the storms that rage around us, you are our hiding place.  Thank you for making our hearts new and filling us with songs of praise, for you are praiseworthy.  Lord, we entrust ourselves to you to keep us from wandering, to keep us walking with you in the narrow places. You know our individual hearts, and you know how to love us, bless us, and mature us, each in our own unique way. Help us to not fight against what you’re doing in our hearts and lives, even when it’s painful. Show us people this week who we can extend the love and grace you’ve given us, that they would be encouraged to entrust themselves to you in all ways, too.  For your glory, and in Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Unrivaled Trust

Posted on by Dorci

“Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord, my soul.

I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.

He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
He remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.

The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.”
Psalm 146

 

Heavenly Father, we praise you today, from the depths of our souls we praise you. We praise you for all you’ve done, all you are doing, and all you will do.  We put all our trust, hope, and confidence in you and in no one else. Help us to see where we have put our dependence in someone over you and may we re-place it where it belongs – in you, in your perfect will, in your plans, in your love for us as our good, good Father. If you choose to use someone to do good in our lives, we praise you knowing it was by your will and prompting. Thank you for providing for every need we have, especially our spiritual freedom, and with it, your peace, both now and forever.  Help us be a light pointing those you put in our path to you, so they, through your Son, can also have an intimate relationship with you and along with it the confident assurance of your grace and mercy to be their provision, their portion, their all.  You are our hope, and we will put no other in your place. We pray in the name of our El Shaddai – the All-Sufficient God, our El Roi – the God Who Sees Me, our Jehovah-Rapha – the God Who Heals, and our El Sali – the God of my Strength, through your Son Jesus the Christ.  Amen.

 

 

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for a Spirit-Filled Life

Posted on by Dorci

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you today for your grace and mercy in calling us out of the world to a life spent with you.  To walk with you and talk with you, and to declare to others the same grace and mercy you have given us.  Help us to live a life so full of your Spirit that we are a light to the dark world around us, that they may see you in us and praise your name.  Help us to never do anything to gain the praise of others, but may our motives always be pure, that we might point others to you so that they see you and receive you and walk with you, too. That those who scoff – as Paul did himself at one time, but then saw you in Stephen, our beloved brother, and was called by you to live a life of love and service by which we are still blessed and comforted and ministered to this day – will see you in us and through us and by your grace be convicted and brought to repentance that their souls will be saved and you might do great things through them, too.  And that those who do know you will see you in us and be drawn to an increasingly closer walk with you.  May your voice within us speak volumes louder than anything we say ourselves.  Thank you, Father, for the amazing life, and after-life, you’ve given us.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.