The Holy One calls to me this morning. The brilliant sunrise is a very welcome change from the dark clouds that have been hovering over my world. Winter is my least favorite time of the year but today reminds me of the hope for warmer days to come.
The Holy Spirit often uses the physical to speak of the spiritual. "Your salvation is as reliable as the sun in winter; always there beyond the clouds that may darken the season or the day."
While I personally do not question my salvation, there are those who do and yet more heart rending than questioning our own salvation is doubting God's amazing provision for it.
I celebrate my salvation, not because I am anyone special, but I celebrate my salvation knowing that I am not. If there is one thing about our Creator's plan for man's redemption and cause for all the thanksgiving our hearts can muster, it is God's clearly defined equity in salvation.
We live in a world of intense competition. It seems that we have to vie for everything from a parking place in the mall to the one we find we want to spend our life married to. In the world and from early on we learn that to excel, we must compete and there is only one 1st place. The subtle idea of performance and reward takes root and can affect all areas of our lives.
The idea that all men are created equal gets scoffed at as we see the vast array of humanity struggling with handicaps, skin color, and wealth (or lack thereof). That disparity is not found in God's economy nor in His coveted salvation as the eternal gift that it is. Man's salvation is dependent on one thing only and it is in the grasp of everyone born. It is called individual free will.
Our salvation has been ordained by God the Father, provided for by God the Son, and activated by God the Holy Spirit within. The only thing we can and must do as an individual beloved by our Creator is "choose". We must choose Him. We cannot earn our salvation. We do not have to compete for it. We do not have to be perfect to attain it. But we must choose to receive it. We all must come just as we know (in our hearts) that we are: flawed, imperfect, and helplessly sin-prone. Being able to confess our need opens the door for the Lord to step in and meet it.
The equity of God's justice leaves me almost speechless and the quality of His unconditional love is truly beyond words. Where in the world can we go to receive equal treatment for sinful actions? Sin in God's eyes is sin. From the most grievous to the least offensive in man's opinion, God's judgment is based on His Holiness not man's relativity.
In the equity of God's justice, all are condemned. All of us have the same potential for condemn-able acts. We humans weigh motives and judge actions according to our personal internal standards, but God's standard is Holiness. It is absolute and any violation is punishable by death to the soul.
If we kill a man who gets in the way of our agenda, it is called murder. If we kill a child before they are born, it is called an acceptable right. There are countless examples of the same act bringing up differing judgements according to the standards of men and society.
The equity of God's judgement is only exceeded by the equity of His pardon. His pardon is our salvation and has nothing to do with the depth or weight of our individual sin. Our salvation is based strictly on and found in His unconditional love and knowledge of His created. Man (in his fallen nature) cannot rise in and of himself to the level of atonement that Sovereign Holiness requires. The standard cannot be changed so the Holy One took the penalty for our sin dominated nature upon Himself.
The equity of God's salvation blows my human mind. It is a plan so equal to all and available to any, that it must be proclaimed as PERFECT!
The one thing each one of us has and that no one can take is our free will to believe. Independent from anyone one else whether it be our parental unit or a "master captor", we all have the ability to think about and choose where we will spend our eternity. (And for those who may have been born without such an ability, no worries, God's equity will make a way.)
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him". John 3:16-17
We love and quote John 3:16 but John 3:17 is equally powerful in understanding the Holy One and His incredible equity. The world is all of us; each and every human born of woman, and all we have to do to qualify for "salvation" which is an eternal destiny and relationship with the Creator, is to believe in the One that He sent. Everyone is included in the offer and no one is exempt from the gift.
This is the season we celebrate the incarnate birth of God into our world. Jesus is the One sent to save us. With all the distractions and man's ignorant attempts to despoil the event and minimize the true gift that Christ Jesus is to the world, remember that the choice is yours, personally and individually.
Jesus is the Savior sent by the Father to pay the price for your sin and mine. All you have to do is choose to believe. Eternity awaits your personal decision and God will honor what you decide.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
The Holy Spirit often uses the physical to speak of the spiritual. "Your salvation is as reliable as the sun in winter; always there beyond the clouds that may darken the season or the day."
While I personally do not question my salvation, there are those who do and yet more heart rending than questioning our own salvation is doubting God's amazing provision for it.
I celebrate my salvation, not because I am anyone special, but I celebrate my salvation knowing that I am not. If there is one thing about our Creator's plan for man's redemption and cause for all the thanksgiving our hearts can muster, it is God's clearly defined equity in salvation.
We live in a world of intense competition. It seems that we have to vie for everything from a parking place in the mall to the one we find we want to spend our life married to. In the world and from early on we learn that to excel, we must compete and there is only one 1st place. The subtle idea of performance and reward takes root and can affect all areas of our lives.
The idea that all men are created equal gets scoffed at as we see the vast array of humanity struggling with handicaps, skin color, and wealth (or lack thereof). That disparity is not found in God's economy nor in His coveted salvation as the eternal gift that it is. Man's salvation is dependent on one thing only and it is in the grasp of everyone born. It is called individual free will.
Our salvation has been ordained by God the Father, provided for by God the Son, and activated by God the Holy Spirit within. The only thing we can and must do as an individual beloved by our Creator is "choose". We must choose Him. We cannot earn our salvation. We do not have to compete for it. We do not have to be perfect to attain it. But we must choose to receive it. We all must come just as we know (in our hearts) that we are: flawed, imperfect, and helplessly sin-prone. Being able to confess our need opens the door for the Lord to step in and meet it.
The equity of God's justice leaves me almost speechless and the quality of His unconditional love is truly beyond words. Where in the world can we go to receive equal treatment for sinful actions? Sin in God's eyes is sin. From the most grievous to the least offensive in man's opinion, God's judgment is based on His Holiness not man's relativity.
In the equity of God's justice, all are condemned. All of us have the same potential for condemn-able acts. We humans weigh motives and judge actions according to our personal internal standards, but God's standard is Holiness. It is absolute and any violation is punishable by death to the soul.
If we kill a man who gets in the way of our agenda, it is called murder. If we kill a child before they are born, it is called an acceptable right. There are countless examples of the same act bringing up differing judgements according to the standards of men and society.
The equity of God's judgement is only exceeded by the equity of His pardon. His pardon is our salvation and has nothing to do with the depth or weight of our individual sin. Our salvation is based strictly on and found in His unconditional love and knowledge of His created. Man (in his fallen nature) cannot rise in and of himself to the level of atonement that Sovereign Holiness requires. The standard cannot be changed so the Holy One took the penalty for our sin dominated nature upon Himself.
The equity of God's salvation blows my human mind. It is a plan so equal to all and available to any, that it must be proclaimed as PERFECT!
The one thing each one of us has and that no one can take is our free will to believe. Independent from anyone one else whether it be our parental unit or a "master captor", we all have the ability to think about and choose where we will spend our eternity. (And for those who may have been born without such an ability, no worries, God's equity will make a way.)
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him". John 3:16-17
We love and quote John 3:16 but John 3:17 is equally powerful in understanding the Holy One and His incredible equity. The world is all of us; each and every human born of woman, and all we have to do to qualify for "salvation" which is an eternal destiny and relationship with the Creator, is to believe in the One that He sent. Everyone is included in the offer and no one is exempt from the gift.
This is the season we celebrate the incarnate birth of God into our world. Jesus is the One sent to save us. With all the distractions and man's ignorant attempts to despoil the event and minimize the true gift that Christ Jesus is to the world, remember that the choice is yours, personally and individually.
Jesus is the Savior sent by the Father to pay the price for your sin and mine. All you have to do is choose to believe. Eternity awaits your personal decision and God will honor what you decide.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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