Tag: salvation

Standing Firm in the Armor of God

Leave a comment

It seems difficult times are upon us and my desire is for all Christians to have the Armor of God scripture memorized. Now more than ever we must be ready for the Spiritual battle that many will face. It’s also important for Christians to offer support, encouragement and love for one another regardless of what challenges come our way. The scriptures I’m referring to read;

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with Truth,
having put on the Breastplate of Righteousness, and
having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel
of Peace; Above all, taking the Shield of Faith with which
you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked
one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God.
Ephesians 6:13-17

Last night as I read through these scriptures I felt the need to break down each piece of Armor spoken of to see if I could reveal a deeper meaning. What I found really helped me understand a Truth I never realized. and made these scriptures confirm everything taught by the Lord Jesus and the Apostles.

Having Girded Your Waist With Truth
Galatians 2:5 – We did not give into them for a moment, so that the Truth of the Gospel would remain with you.
Ephesians 1:13 – And in Him, having heard and believed the Word of Truth – the Gospel of your Salvation – you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.
John 17:17 – Sanctify them by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.

Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness
1 John 3:7 – Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.
2 Corinthians 5:21 – God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Shod Your Feet with the Preparation of the Gospel
Romans 10:10 – How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without some one to preach? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News!
Isaiah 52:7 – How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring the Good News, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say in Zion, Your God reigns!

Shield of Faith
1 John 5:4 – Because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: Our Faith.
Galatians 3:26 – You are Sons of God through Faith in Christ Jesus.
John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Ephesians 2:8 – For it is by Grace you have been saved through Faith, and this is not of yourselves; it is the Gift of God.
Romans 10:9,10 – That if you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart, that is the Word of Faith we are proclaiming. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth one confesses and is saved.

Helmet of Salvation
1 Corinthians 6:11 – And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Matthew 10:32 – Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in Heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny Him before My Father in Heaven.

Sword of the Spirit
Hebrews 4:12 – For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Matthew 4:4 – But Jesus answered, It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the Mouth of God.
Luke 11:28 – But He replied, Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it.

When it comes down to it, the Armor of God is all about belief in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, standing firm in the Faith, standing firm in God’s Word and obeying it.

But the very foundation that holds all these pieces of armor together is love. The love we have for God, because, we love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength. And, the love we have for our neighbor. Since God is love, the very essence of love, we need to ensure before we put on each piece of armor we’re completely covered in it.

Just my thoughts…

The Importance of Hebrews 4

Leave a comment

My journey through the scriptures has taught me it’s extremely important to read the Bible, to study it and to listen to those who are acknowledgeable without bringing in man’s doctrines or rules. Hebrew 4 speaks of entering God’s rest.

Let’s read the scriptures to see what it says

Hebrews 4:1-3 ~ Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it. For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it. Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said:

“So I swore an oath in My anger,
‘They shall never enter My rest.’ ”

And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world.

From the very beginning as you read these scriptures, it makes the remark that “entering His rest still stands”. But the only way to enter His rest is by believing in the good news. However, the scriptures provide more information, it states for we also received the good news just as they did but because of their unbelief, their lack of faith, they would not enter God’s rest. So in God’s anger He swore an oath they would NEVER enter His rest.

Who is the Apostle Paul referring to when He says “they” and why did He quote GOD?

For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, 
led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with
those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did
He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Hebrews 3:16-19

Again, we see the Apostle Paul is referring to the Jewish people of the Old Testament who was led by Moses out of Egypt. From these scriptures GOD became angry with them because they rebelled, they did NOT obey. What did they NOT obey? Let’s read from Jeremiah in the Old Testament, which says;

Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths,
where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘we will not walk in it’.

Jeremiah 6:16

What was the old paths that lead to the good way? It was God’s Law along with His statues and ordinances. And it’s the very reason Isaiah says;

This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation
is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed. Blessed is the man who
does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, and who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps His hand from doing any evil.

Isaiah 56:1,2

But Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the prophecies, but, how?

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior, we walk in His path and the Holy Spirit is there to help guide, to teach, to lead and to keep us from sinning among many other spiritual jobs. But, we can still sin if we ignore the Holy Spirit and live according to the flesh. But to provide further information, Jesus says this;

Matthew 11:28,29 (NASB) – Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Now let’s re-read from another Biblical version.

Matthew 11:28,29 (AMP) – “Come to Me, all who are heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST (renewal, blessed quiet) FOR YOUR SOULS.

What is the message of this scripture?

Come to Me, Follow Me as My disciple, learn from Me, do as I do and I will give you REST! The REST Jesus speaks of is our SALVATION! But we must EMULATE CHRIST, to pick up our cross and follow Him. And even Jesus says in Revelation,

Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.

Revelation 14:12,13

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, when we believe in Him we’re given the Holy Spirit as a pledge, as a guarantee. And it’s the Holy Spirit which guides, teaches, convicts, prays for us, gives spiritual gifts, comforts, and leads us so we can walk in God’s ways. But faith comes by believing in Christ. Because when we believe, we receive forgiveness of sin, our hearts are purified, we are justified, we are sanctified, we receive God’s peace, our faith grows, we receive salvation, the fruit of the spirit works within us, and we enter God’s rest.

Because we walk by FAITH not by SIGHT

Rest My Soul Be At Rest

Leave a comment

Rest my soul be at rest,
return to your state of peace
give your fears to the Lord
onto Him your anxieties release.

Revisit His loving kindness,
dwell in the calmness of His ease
retire thyself in His fullness
let His grace bow your weary knees.

Rest my soul be at rest,
recall the day Jesus you met…

CHRISTian poetry ~ by deborah ann

Rest My Soul Be At Rest ~

What is Salvation?

2 Comments

The word salvation is the act of saving, delivering or redeeming. When Christians speak of salvation we’re referring to God’s plan to save us from our sin, from ourselves and from this world. Because it is only God that saves us. God tells us this in the Old Testament;

Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and Savior; There is none besides Me.

Isaiah 45:21

God is our only hope for salvation, but, to fully grasp His plan we must understand why it’s needed. It simply comes down to realizing that God is holy, just, righteous and we are NOT. We are sinful! But, because He is holy and just He cannot allow sin to go unpunished and that penalty, is DEATH!

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

So what does God do? He makes a New Covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah and He sends His Word (Christ), because we’re told;

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.

John 1:1-5

We’re also told further down in John 1:14, that the word becomes flesh. The Word which the scripture is speaking of is, the Christ, the Chosen One, the Mashiach, the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus, the Son of God. We’re told God sends his only Son to pay the price for our sin.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

This scripture means exactly what it says, Jesus paid our debt. He was blameless, sinless, pure and He was our sacrifice on the cross. We were given this free gift by God through Jesus, but, what a debt He paid. Look what Isaiah says about it;

But [in fact] He has borne our griefs, and He has carried our sorrows and pains; Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken, struck down by God and degraded and humiliated [by Him]. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]; the punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him, and by His stripes (wounds) we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, we have turned, each one, to his own way; But the LORD has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing] to fall on Him [instead of us]. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth [to complain or defend Himself]; Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before her shearers, so He did not open His mouth. After oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation [His contemporaries], who [among them] concerned himself with the fact that He was cut off from the land of the living [by His death] for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke [of death] was due? His grave was assigned with the wicked, but He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. Yet the LORD was willing to crush Him, causing Him to suffer; If He would give Himself as a guilt offering [an atonement for sin], He shall see His [spiritual] offspring, He shall prolong His days, and the will (good pleasure) of the LORD shall succeed and prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He shall see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge [of what He has accomplished] the Righteous One, My Servant, shall justify the many [making them righteous–upright before God, in right standing with Him], For He shall bear [the responsibility for] their sins. Therefore, I will divide and give Him a portion with the great [kings and rulers], and He shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because He [willingly] poured out His life to death, and was counted among the transgressors; yet He Himself bore and took away the sin of many, and interceded [with the Father] for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53:4-12

But, how are we to be saved?

The way to receive salvation is to believe in the Lord Jesus, the Christ. In Acts 16 the apostle Paul was asked by one of his jailer, what must I do to be saved? They said, believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. It’s our belief in Him and our faith that He does save us which opens the door to God’s plan of salvation. But look what Jesus himself says in John;

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me, will never die. Do you believe this?

John 11:25,26

But when we believe in Him, it’s believing everything that was taught by Him and by His Apostles. It means we must believe all these things;

When you believe in Christ as the Son of God, who came in the flesh to save us from our sin by sacrificing Himself on the cross, you’ll feel conviction in your heart. You’ll remember all your wrongdoings (sin) whether physically, the words you say, your thoughts, and your actions. It’s during this conviction you want to humble yourself and pray. Letting God know you believe in Jesus as His Son, who came in the flesh, was sacrificed for our sin on the cross and was resurrected on the 3rd day. Then you want to repent of all your sins, and if you can name them, that’s even better.

God has a Plan of Salvation, but because He gives us the ability to make our own decisions, it’s up to each of us to accept it!