#slavation

“He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” - Ephesians 1:9-10

Before all things, we are united in Him. We are united in God with His Spirit for sin did not yet enter the earth. However, when sin entered the earth and infected all of us, there’s a great barrier between us and God.  We have not united with God anymore, instead, we are more united with sin and death. Yet, because of His grace and mercy, He has saved us and pardoned us from our sins through Jesus Christ. He came to earth to save each one of us and to proclaim His salvation to us. Through Him only we will have our eternal life. 

Now, all of these are not just in a snap of the fingers of God, or God instantly decided that He will save us. Instead, God has purposely planned all of this. He carefully planned and lovingly decided eons ago how He will save us from our wickedness and how He will unite us again in the future through Christ. God carefully planned the fulfillment of this, and to put effect this plan through Christ in His own perfect time. So, we really cannot say that God does not care for us. In fact, He cares for us and He loves us so much that the moment we succumb to the pit of sinfulness and death, He planned to save us from it. 

After all, He is indeed our Savior and through Him alone we can have our salvation. We can never redeem ourselves and we can never try to ask for any credit for our salvation because there’s nothing that we did that made us deserving of it. His salvation is only through His grace and this is indeed not because of our works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Now the plans of God are bound to Christ, so that the Son will put it into effect, and will fulfill the prophecy about how God will save the world through His Son. Thus, we are saved not because it is time for us to be saved or that we deserve it, but because of God's perfect timing of God that He made known His perfect plan towards saving us through Christ. 

Therefore, in connection with this, the result of us being saved through Christ is that we will be united back to God. When we lived a life filled with sin and hate, that’s the barrier that’s been hindering us to experience the presence of God. Now, through Christ, that barrier is broken, and now we are united with Him through Christ that whenever we are, whatever we do, or wherever we are-- we can talk to God and ask for His forgiveness. The salvation that was planned by God is by His plans, and to His mercy. It was not just to save us, but it is to unite us back to Him through Christ-- this is the most wonderful plan that God has revealed to us.

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The second death is only for those who DO NOT overcome Satan’s grip on them. Revelation 2:12 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Sorry late reply! I used to have many regrets but the LORD eventually let me know my regrets will stop guilt-tripping me as long as I remember to turn them over to God (again) and repent/confess if I have to. And eventually the memories stopped just resurfacing and distracting me. But I’m not perfect so sometimes I’ll have new regrets here and there and the beauty of my relationship with God is it’s a cycle that reminds me this is all a process that I just have to trust God with.

Your regrets, they must be repented again and again to the LORD. Please don’t take this the wrong way....once you repent of your sins genuinley, He handles your sin right away. Sins leave us regretting especially if they are not confessed, and the sooner the better, but regret in itself is a sin as well. It’s a sign of worry and fear and God commands us not to. Confess Jesus is your Savior and Redeemer, and say His name plenty of times in your prayers because there is power in it. If your past mistakes ever haunt you again, it means go back to God and take your time to worship Him and also thank Him for that time because it’s got your attention on Him. Focusing on your past and regrets is Satan’s way of keeping your eyes on him. Whenever that happens, remember to turn your eyes on God and praise Him, declaring that He is more powerful and mightier and that He is greater than any of your sins because His Son has already paid that debt for you.

Through this remembrance, accept Jesus intentionally and wholly into your heart again, submitting yourself to Him and seek to turn away from your disobedience and fear the LORD instead. Believe with all your heart that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one goes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).....because when you identify with His death, your old self dies as well and as He was resurrected to be with the Father so are you. Believe and trust in His might. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. When you do not fear HIM enough, you will fear many other things. I’m praying your soul is brought to peace as you acknowledge that He has been guiding you this whole time and He will never stop. How do I know? He loves all His children. His children are persevering, hopeful, and desperate for change. Lay it all at His feet, your salvation comes through confessing Jesus is LORD of your heart and soul. Let your mouth speak this to every ounce of your being.

By His Grace, Sheela (via godfirstgodalways)

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

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“In the Cross is salvation; in the Cross is life; in the Cross is protection against our enemies; in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit; in the Cross is excellence of virtue; in the Cross is perfection of holiness. There is no salvation of the soul, nor hope of eternal life, save in the Cross.”

  - Thomas a Kempis

The thing with witnessing is people only buy into it if your actions match your words/beliefs and energy. You must believe in yourself, but more importantly believe in the One who is in you. I’ve noticed in person that people are more interested in my beliefs when I speak in general with love and joy in a calm manner. I believed for a long time that you always had to be enthusiastic about witnessing....well that can only cause more anxiety. What’s more effective is actually believing every word that comes out of your mouth and that can look energetic or calm. I had an ex (he was a pastor’s son) who became my boyfriend before I got serious with God…he saw my potential as a Christian. I was drawn to him because of his faith, but every single conversation was about God and it always seemed like he was trying to “rescue me” from my old ways. It became overwhelming and eventually I distanced myself from him. If we’re being practical, a real relationship with anyone isn’t always going to have conversations about God and faith....we’re only human. People are drawn more to you when you communicate your faith in other ways other than having “Christian conversations”. Make sure that you’re not giving fear a chance believing that witnessing must be done all in one day. It takes time and patience, and a real relationship with the person, understanding their strengths and weaknesses and also an openness/transparency from you. If they seem to reject your words, it doesn’t mean they won’t ever want to listen to you again. There’s other ways and other times, but don’t get caught up in being responsible for their salvation.

I get that feeling though….”After the moment has passed, I think of all the things I should’ve said.” Can you try remembering what you wanted to say and journal often about it? This is something I personally do whenever I regret not saying something. The more often I meditate on it and bring it up in prayer, pleading with the LORD that my intentions are righteous, the more confident I become for actualizing it. Maybe it’s in God’s will that the time hasn’t come for you to be confident about speaking up because you really aren’t that ready. Well now, you know and have more desire to prepare for it. Bring it up often in prayer, express to the LORD how much you want to say just the right things at the right time, and ask Him to speak through you because your past experiences regarding witnessing is humbling (not embarrassing). Believe that this experience is all with good intent coming from God because now it makes you desire even more to be careful with your words and actions. Ask Him to show you what you should work on with yourself because before we try to make people change their ways, no matter who they are, there will always be something about ourselves that we see in them (good or bad). Explore your commonalities with that person through much prayer so the LORD can reveal to you how you can communicate clearly and effectively with this person out of love. Take your time to believe over and over again that the Holy Spirit is guiding you knowing your motives please the Father. You’re in my prayers tonight friend!

1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

2 Timothy 1:8-12 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.

Romans 15”13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

By His Grace, Sheela (Via godfirstgodalways)

Yes, no problem :) I am so sorry for this late reply.

Heavenly Father, we adore You who is the Creator and Finisher of life, we surrender this time to You right now through honoring Your will for us. God, You have given us each a purpose and plan and we want to obey with a heart You continue to mold. We praise You the perfecter of our faith, we thank You so much for all that we are and have, the good and the bad, for all that we will have according to Your good will, for all our knowledge and the resources you provide, and for all the relationships You’ve given us to maintain. LORD, we are sorry for our shortcomings, if we have not said or done what You convicted us with or do if we did not do enough, if we did not meet Your expectations when it came to obedience. Forgive us Father. LORD, God, we lift up my friend who is concerned for the salvation of someone they deeply care about. We know that You love them more than we can ever show or tell this person, but we ask for the Holy Spirit to move mountains for this couple. Please, guide our friend to continue living for You so that in Your will their significant other comes to realize how awesome You have been moving in their loved one’s life. We understand that Your will is good so we completely entrust our lives, our whole future to You who creates all good things and all things new, but help us to keep the eyes of our heart open to be aware of opportunities to show love to our loved ones, because we know that when we love according to Your will, we allow for Your work to be done in us and in the people we love. Heavenly Father, be our confidence as we stand in faith and in obedience to follow You at all times. Please use this man’s situations that You may be the focus of his heart so he grows to depend on You more and more everyday. Use the people in his life to bring him back to You. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

I can relate. My significant other and I have been together for almost 5 years. It’s somewhat of a long distance, far yet not too far and I’m so grateful for our situation. He’s an awesome guy, I see so much potential in him to be more proactive about his faith, but he is definitely more on the practical side than the faithful side. Nothing wrong with being practical but he could use more faith in his life. My parents are praying for our relationship and I do my best to be an example. You are in my prayers friend. :)

Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Luke 18:1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

1 John 5:14-16 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

The first ever Bible verse I can remember anyone texting me is Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future….I’ve texted this at least 3 times to others in the past and I believe it’s very reassuring to the person receiving it, because it’s undeniable how confident the Lord is. Maybe you can also add, “You’ve been heavy on my heart lately…in a good way, and I hope all is well with you.” Start from there. I hope that helped! I will keep you in my prayers. ;)

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

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