This present and future salvation

Salvation is a promise, an inheritance of future fulfillment but also an experience we are to live now.  It is a personal and yet also a corporate action.

We read in 1Peter 1:3-5, "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see."

  

I understand we live in a physical world where the spiritual can become an afterthought; heaven can become an idea, a 'someday' promise that has lost its importance and truth for today.  The worlds standards have slowly invaded our thoughts and actions substituting our longing for God's ways with current fads or acceptable practices of the here-and-now.  The opposite is we can become too heavenly minded we loose sight of why we were created to be here. How we live and interact with others, how we represent the Kingdom of God today will have a huge impact not only on us but those around us.

Do we really live as Peter suggests with "great expectation" looking for a "priceless inheritance" one that is neither silver or gold or can be delivered in a Uhaul? Do we afford our thoughts and hearts to be dictated by our hunger for comfort or do we allow the still small voice of God's spirit to melt and reshape our minds to his thoughts and his standards?

Peter tells us we must go through trials but there is wonderful joy ahead of us.  It is through these trials that our faith grows; we don't see him now but we trust him and the reward for our trust will be the salvation of our souls.

Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour when he will return for us but the Father.  He calls us, he expects us, to be ready at any moment which means we are to live not in fear or condemnation but with hope and expectation.  If we truly believe we are preparing today in this world for a future home that is amazing and beyond anything we could ever experience here shouldn't our lives and lifestyles reflect that?  Shouldn't we be willing to go the extra mile to bring this hope to others around us?  Shouldn't our actions be the sweet aroma of Christ rather than the repugnant scent of complacency and conformity to the world to those around us?  We all long for truth and identity in something (Someone) greater than ourselves.  Not just words spoken Sunday morning, but lived through our touch to others 24/7.   

It should never be enough to know that "we have our ticket to heaven."   The daily cry from our hearts should be "God open my ears and my eyes to see the hurting, the disillusioned, and the rejected from society and may I have the privilege of sharing your Good News, your aroma with them today."

For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT)

What's in The Name?

They brought in the two disciples and demanded, "By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?" Acts 4:7

Peter and John had just brought healing through the name of Jesus to a lame man.  They weren't being questioned for just any name they used, but because the miracle was done through the name of Jesus.

This was more than a healing.  It was yet another direct blow to the core of the religious system that was entangling people rather than releasing them.

Some of those questioning Peter and John were Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.  Matthew 27:52 tells us when Jesus released his spirit (when he died) the earth and tombs opened for many godly men and women who had died and were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus resurrection, went into Jerusalem and appeared to many people!

How could they continue to deny the resurrection when faced with a live 'dead person'?

Peter and John were put in prison for preaching and healing in the name of Jesus, a dead man.  Did the religious leaders really think this would stop the power and spread of the Name they were so afraid of?  Even in prison the power of the Name transcended confinement.

Children in Biblical times were named with great significance and meaning, names weren't just given because they sounded good. 

The Greek word for name in Acts 4:7 literally means everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing or remembering the name including one's rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds etc.

So what does Jesus name represent?

• He was given this specific name by God Jo17:12
• Jesus protected the disciples by the power of the name God gave him Jo 17:12
• God will grant our requests because of Jesus name Jo16:23-24
• We can go directly to Father God with our requests, no intermediary is necessary Jo16:23-24
• Salvation is only in his name Acts 2:21; 4:12
• Boldness and power come in his name Acts 4:29-30
• All will submit to and confess his name, even evil Phil 2:10-11
• His name is above every other name recognized by God and evil Phil 2:9
• All the fullness of God exists in his name Col 1:19
• The world, seen and unseen, exists and is held together through his name Col 1:15-17
• He has always existed, no beginning and no end to his name Col1:17
• His followers have his Authority over all power of the enemy through his name Luke 10:19; Acts 16:16-18
• Forgiveness of sins Luke 24:47; Acts 13:38; Galatians 1:4
• Healing comes through his name Acts 4:10
• Eternal life comes through his name 1John 5:13
• Peace in the midst of hardship John 16:33
• Deliverance from addictions Romans 6; 8:12-13

This list is not all inclusive; to be so would take volumes of books.  Rather an encouragement to realize we don't need to live a powerless and mundane life as a Jesus follower. 

In order to follow someone we need to understand who and what that person stands for. Take the responsibility and search the scriptures for yourself, look for and understand the one whose name you take (Christian).  Discover the rich and abundant life only available through the Name of Jesus Christ.  

He is either the embodiment of Truth or the best con artist the world and history has ever known.

What does his name mean to you?

           

Solid foundation

“Honey you just got the rug pulled out from underneath you.” As a little girl I used to think this was a rather strange saying. How could someone pull a rug out from underneath me while I was standing on it?

As I grew up and lived life I realized the meaning of this saying: the unexpected will come into our lives and unless our footing is secure the very foundation we stand upon will be pulled out from underneath us and usually without warning.

When Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” could Jesus have been saying the same thing? Peter’s answer, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-20) Peter was declaring the very foundation he would be standing on from that day forward. At times, he didn’t understand it, maybe didn’t always live it, but the foundation was being built with every word, every experience, everything he witnessed walking alongside Jesus.

Verse 21 says, “From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many terrible things...” Jesus couldn’t tell them the horrendous things he was about to experience until they had discovered for themselves the foundation they would not only stand upon but lay their very lives down for. That foundation was and is today solid and unwavering; nothing can destroy or change it.

The same question begs an answer from us today. Who do we say the Son of Man is? Our answer becomes the foundation upon which we stand during good times and what supports and keeps us from falling during rough times. Any foundation that is not solid, not built upon the truth of who Jesus is, will collapse at the first tremor. There is no storm the truth of God cannot weather yet remain solid through.

Paul gave witness to this foundation. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
(2Cor 4:7-9) Isaiah said, “In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD will be your treasure.” (Isaiah 33:6)
These are truths we can stand upon.

So, who do you say the Son of Man is? Who or what is the foundation you stand upon and is it safe?