Category Archives: Salvation

Bible, Evil, God's Will, Rescue, Safety, Salvation, Scripture

RESCUED

GALATIANS 1:4

“who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,”

We’ve all heard stories of people who have been rescued from a life-threatening event. Some were rescued from a near drowning. Others may have been pulled from a wrecked vehicle. Each and every rescue had at least two things in common – the rescued and the rescuer. Today’s verse is the same. Let’s look.

Paul says in verse 4, speaking of Christ, “who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us.” It is always good to look at the original language of a passage if you can. The Greek word for “rescue” means a complete and total rescue. Jesus completely rescues us, not just half-way. When God does something, He does it perfectly, wholly, completely. Our salvation is no different.

APPLICATION

What does this mean for us? The very fact that He rescued us means we have value to Him. He willingly died for us. We are important to Him. Psalm 139 tells us that. Verse 17-18 say, “17 How precious also are Your thoughts for me, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.”

Did you know that? God is always thinking about you. If He never gave a thought about you, would He have sent His Son to die for you? I don’t think so. John 3:16 tells us what He did for us. You know that verse, right? And how about Luke 12:6-7? “‘Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.’”

So, my friend, believe God when He says He loves you. He completely rescued you from this “present evil age” through His Son. You and I may still have to live in this world right now, but we have been set free from its grips. Sin no longer has power over us. We have been rescued. We have been delivered. We are free. Praise the Lord!

You are my Rescuer, and I am eternally grateful.

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Accountability, Bible, Cleansing, Fire, Forgiveness, Judgment, Purity, Salvation, Scripture

CLEANSING POWER

MALACHI 3:2

“‘But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap.’”

I have had some pretty, dirty jobs in my lifetime. I grew up in Southwest Georgia and worked tobacco fields on my cousin’s and uncle’s land. There is nothing much dirtier than working tobacco fields in the morning. All that tar from the plants stains your hands, arms and clothes. I could literally come home from work and stand my jeans up because they were so stiff from that tar. We discovered that green tomatoes rubbed on our hands would remove the tar. Nasty, dirty work!

Today’s verse has been often quoted. The Lord is still speaking here and referring to the coming of His Son. Whether this is referring to His first coming or the second, the Lord goes on to say how His conviction for sin “is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap.” What does that mean? Every person will be judged one day. Some will accept His grace and avoid final judgment. Our sins need either a fire to purify us or soap to clean us up. One is harsh, and one is more gentle. One or the other is needed though to take away our sins. Those who refuse this will not be able to stand before Him.

APPLICATION

Albert Barnes says of this refiner’s fire, “But as God is ‘a consuming fire, Who must burn out the dross, unless we be ‘reprobate silver’ which ‘the founder melteth in vain,’ either He must, by His grace, consume the sin within us, or must consume us with it, in hell.” That is pretty much to the point, isn’t it? We either fly or fry, turn or burn, get right or get left. Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.

Seriously, God’s cleansing power is for all people, if they will accept it. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 even tells us our works will be judged by fire. “12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire.”

This is not a devotional to scare you into repenting. I am simply bringing out the message in today’s verse as it applies to believers and unbelievers. Where are you today in your walk with Christ? Do you need a good scrubbing with landerer’s soap or maybe your sins need the refiner’s fire? Just come to Him.

O Lord, purify me. As James says, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

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Abiding, Belief, Bible, Commands, Following, God's Will, Intimacy, Marriage, Salvation, Scripture

THE WRONG MARRIAGE

MALACHI 2:11

“Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.”

There are a lot of marriages that should never happen. People who jump into a marriage often jump out. Some people think if they live together first, they will have a better chance of staying married. You know, the old take the car for a spin first mentality. Those marriages often don’t make it either. So, what’s the secret?

Well, we see in today’s verse one think is obviously a problem. The priests had married foreign wives, which had been strictly forbidden long ago. Why was this banned? Because they brought in their idols and corrupted the people. The priests were given even stricter marriage laws than the people. Leviticus 21:13-15 tells us, “‘13 He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by prostitution, these he shall not take; but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people, 15 so that he will not profane his children among his people; for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.’” Pretty clear, huh?

APPLICATION

So, how does this apply to us today? Well, we may not bring idols into our homes, but we can be unequally yoked with someone. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” If you want to read more on that, read verses 15-18. Wow!

When we marry someone who is not a believer, they will almost always weaken our faith, not strengthen it. But Carl, I can win them to Jesus. Then do that before marriage, not after. When we are married to a fellow believer, our priority is Jesus. As we grow closer to Him, we grow closer to each other. You won’t find that kind of spiritual intimacy with a non-believer.

So, what do you do if you find yourself in lopsided marriage? Go to the Word. Ask the Lord how you can lead your spouse to Jesus. Of course, pray daily for your spouse’s salvation. Most of all, exhibit Jesus to them. Live like you know Jesus. Your behavior and lifestyle will do so much toward leading them heavenward. There is always hope. Believe.

Father, I praise You that You have given me a loving spouse who loves You more than she does me.

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Accountability, Allies, Belief, Bible, Covenant, Coveting, God's Will, Ransom, Sacrifice, Salvation, Scripture

HIS COVENANT CONTINUES

MALACHI 2:4

“‘Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, so that My covenant may continue with Levi,’ says the LORD of armies.”

Covenants can be made and broken. Marriage is a covenant between two people who pledge to remain with each other for life. If they are both believers (which is preferrable, by they way), this covenant is made before God. He makes it binding in His eyes, only to be broken in death. As a partner in this covenant, God will never break it. He has covenanted with both the man and the wife to help them sustain this covenant together.

God’s covenant He refers to here in today’s verse was specifically with the tribe of Levi, whom He chose to be the priest for Israel. He has been addressing their behaviors and lack of following Him over the last several verses. God desired this covenant to continue through their sons to show His faithfulness to them. God knows this priestly line will be replaced one day with the Messiah who comes from the tribe of Judah. But that is for another day. Right now, He is concerned with showing them His desire to keep this covenant strong.

APPLICATION

God’s covenant with us, of course, is through Jesus. He gave Him as not only the sacrificial lamb to cover all our sins but also as our High Priest. He fulfilled the Law. He is Lord of the Sabbath. Look at Hebrews 8:6. “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, to the extent that He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.”

What are those better promises? What is this better covenant? Christ died once for all men. No more goats, lambs, oxen, turtle doves, etc. or needed. No more blood is necessary to cover the price of our sins. Once we accept the sacrificial death of Jesus and recognize Him as Lord and Savior, that new covenant is sealed between us and God. His Holy Spirit seals us in.

Are you in covenant with Him today? If not, now is the time. He wants His covenant to continue through you. His Son died for you and wants to be your High Priest. This new covenant is forever. It is eternal. It will never end. You cannot break it once you enter into it, and He never will. Come on in.

Father, I praise You for my eternal covenant with You through Jesus Christ, the final sacrifice.

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Abiding, Allies, Battles, Bible, Choices, End Times, Following, God's Will, Repentance, Salvation, Scripture

SECOND CHANCES

ZECHARIAH 14:16

“Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of armies, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.”

God is a God of second chances. If you don’t believe that, just ask me. God has given me and others that second chance. Mine came at age sixteen, after living a lie for the previous eight years. I had been baptized at age eight but did not know Christ. At age sixteen, I was given new life in Christ when I truly repented and asked Jesus to be my Lord. Second chances are great.

It is pretty clear in today’s verse that the remnant from the defeated ones will repent and worship Jesus on the great and awesome day. They will come to Jerusalem, the very city they were trying to destroy, and worship Him there. The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) is a daily event in the life of the Christian. We are continually “tabernacling” with Jesus.

APPLICATION

Have you thanked the Lord for your second chance? Maybe you are still running in rebellion. Maybe you have not yielded to Him and received that second chance yet. Don’t wait too long. You may miss out. But for those of us who have received it, we are continually celebrating Who He is. Amen?

I am thankful God gave David a second chance after he blew it with Bathsheba. He gave Saul (Paul) a second chance after he was guilty of jailing and even killing Christians. He gave Peter a second chance after he denied Him three times. How has the Lord given you that second chance? What has He rescued you from?

Oh, I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for second chances, even third and fourth chances. My God has never failed me, and He never will. He is watching over me. He is ready to catch me when I fall. He will never give up on me. He won’t give up on you either. Celebrate second chances and give God the glory.

Thank You, Lord, for second chances. You desire for me to live in them.

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Abundance, Bible, Calling, Counting, Friends, God's Will, Gospel, Judgment, Salvation, Scripture, Witnessing

A LITTLE MATH

ZECHARIAH 13:8

“‘And it will come about in all the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘that two parts in it will be cut off and perish; but the third will be left in it.’”

I used to be pretty good at math. I kind of naturally got the concepts. So, when we were taught fractions, I understood it.  Fast forward to adulthood. Who would have ever thought I would use those numbers again? But they come up all the time. Just about every day there is something to measure or weigh or divide. Thanks Mrs. Barry, for all those things you poured into my head.

The Lord did not need to be taught math concepts. He is the Creator of all things. He uses numbers in describing the judgment that would befall Israel. Scholars disagree whether this prophecy shared by Zechariah applied to Israel’s fall under Rome or a judgment yet to come. Either way, it had to be hard to hear that only one third would remain.

APPLICATION

We find similar measurements in other parts of the Bible. Look in 2 Samuel 8:2. “And He defeated Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and a full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.”

How about in Ezekiel 5:12? “A third of you will die by plague or perish by famine among you, a third will fall by the sword around you, and a third I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe a sword behind them.” God has always measured judgment exactly.

Romans 11:5 tells us, “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.” God is always looking out for the remnant, those who will choose to follow Him. Unfortunately, the mass of people in this world will not. It is our job as believers to try to share with as many of them as we can.

While we are doing math, count the number of lost friends you have. How many are there? Now, how many of them are you going to share Jesus with this week? This year? Start counting the number of people you see come to Christ this year because of your friendship. God is counting every soul. We should too.

Father, help me be a better enumerator of souls that are won into your kingdom that are part of my circle of friends.

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Bible, Choices, Distractions, God's Will, Godliness, Obedience, Protection, Salvation, Scripture

DON’T EVEN SAY THEIR NAME

ZECHARIAH 13:2

“‘And it will come about on that day,’ declares the LORD of armies, ‘that I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.’” 

If I told you right now to not think about ice cream, what are you thinking about? Ice cream! You can’t help yourself. When a thought is planted in your mind, your mind just goes there. I have a friend who is an Illusionist. He is good at this. He will have you thinking he can read your mind, but all he is doing is planting thoughts in your head which lead right to what he wants you think. Pretty smooth.

The Lord, through Zechariah, is telling the people He does not even want the names of the false gods mentioned in the land. He is going to remove all mention of them to prevent the people from going towards them. Along with that, He is also going to remove all the false prophets who played into the craving of the people to “know their future.” The Lord is going to clean house.

APPLICATION

We have a practice in my ministry which we teach men who have an addiction to pornography or another unhealthy practice. We teach them to amputate this source. Just like a diseased or damaged arm or leg that has to be removed to protect the rest of the body, we have to amputate those things in our life that lead us astray. We can’t even give them a thought.

2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ. That’s the idea here. We must destroy any concept of this wrong thinking. That may mean some radical changes in your life. It may mean giving up certain types of movies or television programs. It may mean eliminating some friends you hang out with. Remember – amputation is about saving yourself.

When I think back on my decisions after coming to Christ, I had to stop hanging with some of the crowd I had been running with. I knew where that would lead if I did not make some changes. Is there something in your life that you need to amputate? Don’t wait. It will not bring your closer to Christ. Just the opposite! Cut it away now!

Father, help me rid myself of any “idols” or “false prophets” who only want to drag me down.

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Abundance, Bible, Cleansing, Flowing, Forgiveness, Salvation, Scripture

FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER

ZECHARIAH 13:1

“‘On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for defilement.’”

Have you ever seen a fountain that is fed by an underground stream or spring? The water flows constantly and is clean and sweet. I have a tendency to want to find the cutoff valve, but this water is ever flowing. The source comes from deep within the earth. It is a source of refreshment for whoever or whatever comes upon it.

The Lord is speaking here in verse 1 of chapter 13. He tells us there would be a fountain for the house of David and Jerusalem. This fountain would be a source for cleansing of sins. We know water was used in the Levitical law for cleansing of sins. Just read through Numbers 19 to see that. There are several ceremonial uses of water for cleansing. The difference here in Zechariah, however, is this cleansing is permanent.

APPLICATION

We are washed by a fountain also – a fountain of blood from Emanuel’s veins. Christ died and shed His divine blood for the remission of our sins. We don’t have to ceremonially wash in water to remove our sins from us. We observe baptism with water to show outwardly what has occurred inwardly.

The priests had to repeat their ceremonial cleansing with water for themselves and the people. Our cleansing is one and done. When accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are cleansed from all our sins – past, present and future. We are free from the penalty and power of sin in our lives. The fountain we run to is Jesus. His forgiveness is ever flowing. It never ceases.

I am so thankful for the assurance of that fountain of forgiveness in my life. I am so glad I don’t have to go back every day for a new cleansing. Now, I do ask for forgiveness for sins I commit because I want to walk in holiness with Him. But those sins are already under the blood. I just have to acknowledge them to Him. His forgiveness is always there. Have you come to Him lately?

There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emanuel’s vein. And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

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Bible, Blessing, Forgiveness, Grace, Salvation, Scripture

POURED OUT GRACE

ZECHARIAH 12:10

“‘And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.’”

Oh wow! I can so remember the day I got saved. I have shared my salvation experience before, but this verse reminded me of that day. I truly felt the grace of God poured over me that day. There have been times since then when I felt waves of grace flow over me when I needed it most. Every time that happens, it points me more and more to Jesus.

Reread today’s verse with Jesus on the cross on your mind. Isn’t that exactly what God did that day for Jerusalem? He poured out His grace on them. They did pierce Him. And those who followed Jesus and received this free grace mourned for Him. Zechariah even uses the words “an only son.” Zechariah is pointing the nation to their future Messiah.

APPLICATION

I want you to reflect on your salvation today (if you are not a believer, I’ll get to you in a minute, but keep reading). Do you remember the depth of your longing for cleansing? Do you remember how damaged you were in your sins? That flood of grace that poured over you that day is still flowing. 2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;”

I think of that old hymn, “Grace, Grace, God’s grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse within.” It goes on to say, “Grace that is greater than all our sin.” The waves of grace that are poured over you can wash away any and all sin in your life. That should lead you to praise Him today.

Now, if you have been reading this and do not know that grace, turn to Him now. Confess your sins. Admit you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Confess your belief in Jesus as God’s only Son and receive this overflowing grace into your life. Walk in victory, knowing you are now a child of the King. Praise God!

O Father, Your grace is sufficient and great. It is more than adequate to meet my deepest need.

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Abiding, Advocate, Battles, Bible, Defense, Enemies, God's Will, Protection, Provision, Rescue, Salvation, Scripture

THE HAND OF GOD

ZECHARIAH 12:5

“‘Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strong support for us through the LORD of armies, their God.”’”

There are times in our lives when the only way to explain something is to say, “God did that.” I have shared many times about my disease, Amyloidosis, and my two stem cell transplants (2010 and 2020). The only way to explain my healing is God’s hand was in it. He gave the doctors wisdom. He used the treatment to give me a “remission” from this disease for a while. I know He was the one who did that. There is no doubt.

I love this verse today in Zechariah. The “clans of Judah” refers to all the tribes. They all will realize on that day when Jerusalem is defended against their enemies that it was God’s hand and not theirs that did it. The “LORD of armies” did it, not their army. And by coming together and depending on Him, they will be successful.

APPLICATION

Guess what? Nothing’s changed. Isaiah 26:12 is a favorite verse of my boss. In the NIV it says, “LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished You have done for us.” Isn’t that exactly what Zechariah is saying in verse 5 above. If we are honest, we will admit very quickly that anything that is good in us is just Jesus. I know that is true for me.

Yet, God continues to work in and through us to accomplish His will. As the writer of Hebrews closes his letter in Hebrews 13:20-21, he says, “20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord, 21  equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

One day, when I reach heaven, I will find out just what the Lord saw in us that moved Him to redeem us. We are His creation, the work of His hands. I get that. But our flesh is so corrupt and wicked outside of Christ. Only by Him working in us can we be made into a useable vessel, fit for His kingdom work. Praise Him!

Father, I know it is You Who works in and through me. I praise You for finding me worthy to be used by You.

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