Tag Archives: Salvation

2012 Day 302 – Hebrews 7

28 Sunday Oct 2012

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Everyday, as sin creeps into my life, I feel beat down by my shortcomings. I have to be reminded that I am incapable of perfection. I needed Christ in my life to forgive my past and present sins and I continue to need Him because He forgave my future sins. Verse 25 says, Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. It is a continual process. While Christ died once, He is continually interceding for us because of our ongoing imperfection. It is comforting to know I am not alone and the expectation is not perfection, but obedience.

2012 Day 297 – Hebrews 2

23 Tuesday Oct 2012

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There is a lot in this chapter that we could discuss, but ultimately I think it comes down to verse 18, Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. I don’t know about you, but this is very comforting to me. To know that Jesus, as a human, experienced the same temptations that I experience today helps me to know how much He empathizes with me. The other part that struck me was the last part of verse 9 where it says, …so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. Jesus didn’t have to taste death for us. Up until this point He did not experience pain, suffering, or death, but He chose to do it out of love for us. That cannot go unnoticed.

2012 Day 296 – Hebrews 1

22 Monday Oct 2012

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Sometimes, I try to imagine what it would have been like to be a Jewish believer during the time the book of Hebrews was written; in 70 AD and as a Jew who believes that Christ is the Messiah. You have non-believing Jews on one side and Romans on the other who are persecuting you from all sides. This Letter is intended as encouragement and to assure believers of who Christ is as the Son of God. Verse 3 further established Christ’s role in God’s kingdom, The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. When it says that Jesus sat down it means His work was complete. Christ’s sacrifice was final and all we need for salvation and relationship with Him.

2012 Day 292 – 1 Peter 2

18 Thursday Oct 2012

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I have never picked up on this before, but in this chapter Peter seems to draw on his personal experience when Jesus referred to him as the “rock” in Matthew 16:18, And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Peter describes those who come to Jesus as “living stones” in verse 4-5, 4 As you come to him, the living Stone–rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him– 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.(emphasis added) As we read on in verses 7-8, Peter describes how stones are great foundations, but they can also be something that causes someone to lose their footing or stumble. We must be careful to be the building blocks of God and not become the things that cause people to run away from Him. It’s easy to get caught up in things that aren’t important. We must consciously strive to focus on God and do the things that draw others to Christ and not away from Him.

2012 Day 291 – 1 Peter 1

17 Wednesday Oct 2012

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I always love reading Peter’s letters, not just because of the substance, but also because he was an actual disciple of Jesus. Every time I read these books I think to myself, “not bad for a fisherman, there is still hope for me.” This first letter was written when Christians are being heavily persecuted and executed by Nero. Paul himself would eventually be executed during this persecution. Paul works hard to encourage the believers and reminds them of the permanence of their purification through Christ in their salvation. In verse 23 Peter says, For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. The encouragement of the imperishable salvation through Christ is what should keep each of us encouraged in knowing our hardship here on earth is temporary but our salvation is eternal.

2012 Day 277 – Psalm 72, 101

03 Wednesday Oct 2012

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I don’t have a lot to say regarding today’s reading, but there were a few verses that stood out to me because according to the notes in my Bible, they are prophetic and pointing to the future messiah. Psalm 72:12-14 says, 12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. 13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. 14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. This Psalm was written by Solomon and it is amazing that even though he lived almost 1,000 years before Christ, he is still pointing to what they are looking for in a savior.

2012 Day 275 – Philippians 3

01 Monday Oct 2012

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After talking through all of his credentials as a Pharisee, Paul goes on in verse 8 to say how much of it is lost when compared to knowing and being saved by Christ; What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. Paul learned long ago how little everything else matters when compared to Christ. My question to myself becomes, why do I work so hard to attain anything? Why don’t I just take Paul’s example and realize the only thing that really matters is the saving knowledge of Christ and helping others to find out the same things? It is my pride, greed, and selfishness that needs to be checked at the door of my life in order to fully enjoy a relationship with Him. Everyday I come closer to wanting nothing more than Him. May The Lord use me or take me home because everything else is rubbish.

2012 Day 274 – Philippians 2

30 Sunday Sep 2012

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While they are not meant to be a complete statement about the nature and work of Christ, verses 5-11 give us a pretty good blueprint for the example He left for us.

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

As believers we must take the example of Christ and lose our attitude of entitlement and allow ourselves to be used by God for the service of others. We should also adopt Christ’s attitude of humility as we serve even in the absence of recognition. Everything we do should point back to Christ and His saving grace for the salvation of others. That is our most important purpose. All glory must ultimately go to Him and God the Father.

2012 Day 228 – Acts 22

15 Wednesday Aug 2012

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There were no specific verses that stood out to me today, but the overall story reminded me of something important. When Paul was standing before the Jews, he had their attention because he was able to tell them the story of how he was saved. It is a compelling story that they could relate to as Jews. However, Paul took it a step further and said God called him to reach out to the Gentiles, which exposed their pride, and caused their anger to flare. The thing that stood out to me is how easy it is to tell the loving and easy part of the gospel, but God has called us to be bold. It’s not always easy to tell someone that their life will end in death if they don’t accept God’s mercy and grace, because they have to admit they actually need it. We have to be bold to share the whole gospel with everyone because this is what God has called us to do.

2012 Day 225 – Psalm 93, 97

12 Sunday Aug 2012

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In a relationship, you either tend to be aligned in your values and moral, or you at least respect them. In our relationship with God, we must be aligned with Him when it comes to how we feel about evil. In Psalm 98:10 it says, Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. If we love God, then we will hate evil; even, and especially, the evil that exists in us. We all strive for a righteous and pure heart, but we are imperfect beings who need God’s grace to make us righteous. So, when our imperfection appears in our lives, we should feel pain when from its existence because of how far we are from the righteousness of God. Praise God for His mercy and grace in forgiving us and allowing us to be pure in His sight.