Salvation

 

Salvation

Titus 3:5

5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 

As we stand at the cross as sheep who are loved, we cry holy, holy to the Lamb of God.  Our hearts adore You, Jesus because You are the Good Shepherd who loved us enough to die for our sins. Our iniquities and sorrows would have destroyed us because we are blind, helpless, weak, and frail sheep. But Your voice is the trumpet that causes our hearts to sing praises to You. Your Word is the lamp and light to our pastures into eternity. John 10:2-5 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Verse 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. Verses 14-15 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 

Our faith is blessed when we trust You. Lord, order our steps back to You when we stray. Sometimes, the road in life is hard for us to know which way to go. The struggles and pain that pierce our souls causes us to scatter and lose our way. The words that we hear in the world sounds enticing because many have accepted the world’s wisdom and knowledge. Therefore, we think that if we follow the world’s way everything will turn out right. Proverbs 14:12-15 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 13 Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, And the end of mirth may be grief. 14 The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above. 15 The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.

The Spirit of the Lord is living within us. We must cry out to the Holy Spirit when we cannot see the next step. As babes in Christ many will wander off the forbidden path. But we must learn who we belong to, so that the thief will not capture us nor lead us away from God’s righteousness. He shows up in ungodly relationships, soul ties, bad counsel, and other doors that are not meant for us to open. Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

Every person that says they are a Christian we must inspect their fruit. There are goats fellowshipping amongst the sheep pretending to be like the sheep that are called. We tend to easily overlook things when we hear certain Christian words. But we still must be sensitive to the voice of the Lord. The Holy Spirit maybe trying to tell us about someone or something. It doesn’t matter if they are of the same household of faith. This is where we must be strong in following the Word of the Lord not men, but the path of righteousness. Some sheep are too lazy to follow orders and are comfortable doing nothing and being in this state is easy for someone to entice them or influence them to listen to another voice. 

Our salvation is settled, and the final arrangements are coming on the Day of the Lord. The scriptures are the living bread that we must build our hope in knowing that Christ is coming back to resurrect His saints. Our faith is alive in Christ. Therefore, we believe with our hearts and faith that our creator knows us by our names. Ephesians 1:4-6 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Time is set for everyman to die and that is an appointment that no one will miss. Therefore, let us get our house in order because there is another home in glory awaiting the saints. This earthly life is fleeting and there is still much to say and do before we close our eyes for the last time. No one wants to talk about leaving here because earth is all that we know from birth. But we must remember these scriptures, Colossians 3:1-4 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

This earthly journey has taught us things that only benefit us in this life. But the Word of the Lord is the living Word and is spirit filled. As we activate our faith, we will be able to witness the power of God moving in us through our circumstances and prayers being answered. Jesus spoke these words to His disciples and demonstrated it to them. Mark 11:20-24 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

We are sealed to the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. The Lord has built a fence around us, so that Satan cannot destroy us. But we must learn to trust the Holy Spirit because He is dwelling within us and helping us to remain on the narrow path. He is instructing us in everything in the natural and spiritual realm. We must listen and humble ourselves and accept that we do not know everything. Only God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit knows everything because they are one the triune God.

We have a living hope that is planted within us. This is the good news of the gospel of Christ. Let us press forward in running our race to the finish line. There is a crown for every soul that believes in Christ. We are partakers in His suffering while here on earth for only a little time. We are children of the light who follow Christ.

Let us love, pray, and encourage one another in the Lord. As we pray to the Father may He richly bless our knowledge and increase our spiritual understanding. The hour is nearer from the first time we believed. Our salvation is a gift of grace from above. We’re not worthy of the gift because of our sins and trespasses against God. We will never be able to boast in ourselves of taking any credit for our salvation and for what God has done through Jesus Christ’s blood sacrifice. It is a gift of grace given to us by God. We know now that God first loved us. Therefore, let us be reconciled to God through Christ Jesus in love, hope, peace, and humility. We must love one another and obey His commandments.

My Ship

 

 On the shores of life, I will keep working

As I learn the Word of God

I have my orders to fulfill before I leave

 He will come back one day for me

I cannot quit in the middle of the race

I must prepare as I minister His Word

 No matter how hard the storm rages

I’m determined to swim through it

For Christ is my Lord and Savior

 Now is the appointed time to prepare

The ship will come and set sail

No man knows the day or hour 

ã2004 “Naima’s Inspirational Melodies”