Showing posts with label redemption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label redemption. Show all posts

September 14, 2021

You're Cordially Invited to the Reading of God’s Will

 

We, the people of God, often speak of God’s Will, and each of us most likely has an idea of what that means. For an accurate reading of God’s Will, however, let's see what God's Word says:

 

God’s Will is for no one to perish. God wants us to turn from ungodly ways.

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance,” 2 Peter 3:9, New King James Version.

 

God’s Will is for everyone to be saved. We agree with His Will – and help to put it into motion – as we pray for everyone.

“…I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone… for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth,” 1 Timothy 2:1-4, New American Bible (Revised Edition.)


God’s Will is for us to trust Him, no matter what!

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” 1 Thessalonians 5:18, King James Version.


A Will does not go into effect until death occurs.

God’s Will went into effect with the death of Jesus Christ, Who overcame death to save us for Eternal Life in the Lord.

 

God’s Will is for all to live in God forever.

“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day,” John 6:40, New International Version.

 

God Wills to save the world!

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him,” John 3:16-17, Holman Christian Standard Bible.

 

 

©2021, Mary Harwell Sayler, poet-writer, Bible reviewer, and compiler and paraphraser of the Book of Bible Prayers, which was researched on Bible Gateway as was this post

 





April 1, 2021

Where are we on the Cross?


As we head toward Good Friday and the crucifixion of Jesus, the biblical command to “take up your cross and follow Christ” comes to mind. Sadly, we might think this means carrying heavy weights or generally being miserable throughout our lives when, actually, it’s the opposite!

Taking up our cross and following Christ is meant to be freeing, not burdensome. It’s meant to exchange our self-will for the will of God.

God gave us free will, so the decision to follow the Lord is ours to make. However, this doesn’t mean, literally, to take up our own crucifixion or other human sacrifice. As you’ll recall, the Bible consistently reminds us that God the Father prohibited human sacrifice as the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 clearly demonstrates.

The only time God the Father required a human sacrifice was of Himself in His fullness as Jesus the Son of God and the son of Mary.

So how do we go about obeying the Lord’s command to take up our cross and follow Him as a living sacrifice? Doesn't it mean to exchange our free will for the will of God and our old selves for new life – new spiritual birth in Christ?

Searching key words and phrases on the Bible Gateway website helps to clarify. For example:

We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin,” Romans 6:6, Amplified Bible (AMP.)

or to put it another way:

This is what we know: the person that we used to be was crucified with him in order to get rid of the corpse that had been controlled by sin. That way we wouldn’t be slaves to sin anymore,” Romans 6:6, Common English Bible (CEB.)

Crucifixion means death, but when we take up His cross as our cross, we can follow Christ Jesus into His resurrection life – His life in the Spirit – beginning now!

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me,” Galatians 2:20, King James Version (KJV.)

In other words:

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me,” Galatians 2:20, New Living Translation (NLT.)

Therefore:

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus,” Romans 6:11, English Standard Version (ESV.)

Praise the Lord for His life, death, and resurrection in us!

May we wear our Lord’s Easter clothing as we follow Christ, now and forever, into the resurrected life.

 


Mary Harwell Sayler



February 16, 2021

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down


This poem originally began on an Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent which often focuses on the penitential Psalm 51 and encourages us to look at ourselves honestly then confess what needs confessing, change what needs changing, accept what needs accepting, and receive the joy of God’s forgiving love. 


Begun in Ashes

Create in me a clean heart, O God
and renew a right spirit within
all who come to You
in sorrow for our sins.

Whenever we’re out of line
with Your love, Lord,
we thank You for revealing
the truth and not hiding
our errors behind ashes!

We praise You for making us
spotless
with pure forgiveness
we don’t even deserve,
yet bringing us back
into Your embrace,
so we can face You again
without shame.

No matter where we go
in this life or this Lent
help us to glow, Lord,
as we walk in the Light
of Your Name.

by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2021

 

July 2, 2020

God’s Word on plagues and other disasters


For months we’ve been plagued by a pandemic of COVID-19 virus with subsequent outbreaks of crime, violence, joblessness, and a spirit of fear. In the midst of this turmoil, we’ve experienced weird weather patterns and natural disasters that make us wonder if all of this is supernatural.  

To get a biblical perspective on current events, I went to the Bible Gateway website and typed “plague” into the search box. Some translations immediately brought up 70+ relevant scriptures, while others showed over 100 Bible verses that included the word.

If you want to know more, just look up “plague” online or in your Bible, but for now, let’s focus on a few verses that convey God’s perspective on the subject:

And the Lord said unto Moses, …stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God…, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth,” Exodus 9:13-14, King James Version, KJV.

For 430 years, the pharaohs in Egypt had made slaves of God’s people, but God wanted (and still wants) His people to be free. He used several plagues to convince Pharaoh to let the people go, but, more than that, God used each plague to show His power over very particular Egyptian gods. This strengthened the faith of God’s people and also brought many Egyptians to Him.

If you act with hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times for your sins,” Leviticus 26:21, Christian Standard Bible, CSB.

This might sound cruel at first, but remember: God is declaring spiritual warfare! He wants us to remain close to Him in faith and obedience. We have that choice for God gave us free will. And, because God is fair, just, and loving, He lets us know what consequences to expect when we reject God and set ourselves against Him.

And Aaron (the priest) …ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed,” Numbers 16:47-48, KJV.

Is it possible for a plague to continue because God’s people forget to intercede? Through Jesus Christ, we have been declared “priests” and given the authority to pray in Jesus’ Name in the strength and power of the Risen Lord.

And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel,” 2 Samuel  24:25, English Standard Version, ESV.

King David responded to a plague threatening his people by building an altar and worshiping God. That’s not crazy! That’s faith. No matter what’s happening, God can be trusted to bring good out of the circumstances. Immediately, the plague ceased and, eventually, that place of worship became the location of the Jerusalem Temple.

"Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways,”  Psalm 91:9-11 KJV.

Think of it! We can inhabit the Lord. We can live within Him and He within us. What could possibly harm us when we seek refuge in God?

In that hour (Jesus) cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many that were blind he bestowed sight,” Luke 7:21, Revised Standard Version, RSV.

Jesus Christ has the power to cure – then and now! As His Body of Christ on earth, the church has been given the authority to bring health, healing, and restoration in Jesus’ Name. That means all power to you! All power to we who believe.

For now, the church must read, read, read God’s Word! With the power of Bible truths, prayer, and Holy Spirit guidance, we’re to represent Christ with faith and boldness. But then what?

What does the end time hold for us?

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them [as their God].He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away.’

“The one who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ Then he said, ‘Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me, ‘They are accomplished. I [am] the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water. The victor will inherit these gifts, and I shall be his God, and he will be my son. But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, ‘Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God,” Revelation 21:1-11a, New American Bible (Revised Edition), NABRE.


MaryHarwell Sayler, ©2020, poet, writer, and lifelong student of God’s Word; author-compiler of the Book of BiblePrayers and Kneeling on the Promisesof God


April 17, 2017

Jesus Christ is Risen indeed!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Christ our Lord
is risen
in each of us each day,
and neither gravity
nor a cruel grave
can keep us down.

by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2017, from her book of prayers, poems, and contemporary psalms, PRAISE! published by Cladach Publishing

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