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Salvation

A Prayer from Isaiah 33

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O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. (NIV) Isaiah 33:2

O Lord, be gracious to me. . .I long for you. Be my strength every morning, my salvation in times of distress. For You O Lord are exalted because You dwell on high. You are the sure foundation for these times. You are a rich storehouse of salvation and wisdom and knowledge.

Who of us can dwell in the presence of the One who walks righteously and speaks what is right? As I read of Your holiness, of Your judgment, of You consuming anger, I see how insignificant I am. . .forgive me for thinking that I am anything, that I have any answers, that I have any wisdom, that I am anything but sinful in Your midst.

O Lord, it seems that so often I pridefully put myself in Your category; whether it’s thinking that I can run my own life or thinking of myself first, instead of serving and worshiping You. I pray that I will see You as holy, that I will come to know You in a more intimate way. . .and as I do, that I am driven to my knees in fear, a holy fear of You. May everything that I do and think today honor You. Amen

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Cost of Redemption

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Paul uses the term, redemption, as one of the processes by which Christ secured salvation for believers. He states that redemption comes from Christ (Romans 3:24). Paul writes in Titus 2:14 that Jesus “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness” (NIV), or “from all iniquity” (RSV). Jesus “rescued us from the dominion of darkness ” and it is in Jesus that we have redemption and the forgiveness for our sins (Colossians 1:13-14).

As Paul explains, Jesus willingly offered Himself as the payment for our ransom. Christians “were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23). The price paid for our redemption was Christ’s shed blood on the cross (Ephesians 1:7). Jesus said there was no greater love expressed than to lay down your life for a friend (John 15:13). But, Jesus demonstrated even greater love when he laid His life down for those who were His enemies.

Is there anything that God is asking you to do, that you look at it as too big a “price to pay” to be obedient? God did not consider it too great a cost (His Son) to pay to secure your future in Heaven!

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Do You Believe?

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As I’m journeying through the gospel of John, I’ve been attentive to themes and words that are repeated. John used the greek word for “believe” 98 times throughout the book! Talk about wanting to get your attention! John used it first in John 1:7.

He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. (NIV, John 1:7)

John’s last use of “believe” sums up his purpose for writing.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (NIV, John 20:31)

The varied episodes and teachings in John all help to develop the idea of “belief.” I guess that the question I have for you is: “Do you believe?” Do you believe that Jesus is the Word? Do you believe that in Him is light and that He is the life? Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? Do you believe that He is the Son of God, who was to come into the world? Do you believe that Jesus is the bread of life? Do you believe in Him and so you have crossed over from death to life? Do you believe in the Holy One of God? Do you believe in Him, as the Scripture has said, and therefore have streams of living water flowing from within? Do you believe in Christ and therefore worship Him? Do you believe He is the resurrection and the life and therefore have eternal life in Him?

Perhaps you’re saying: “Yes! I believe!” Well…how is it impacting your life on a daily basis? I’d love to hear from you. Email me at: mk@anchoryourlife.com.

For a complete listing of the use of “believe”

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Our Advocate

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And he spoke and said to those who were standing before him saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” (NAS) Zechariah 3:4

In Zechariah 3, God gives us a picture of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the cross. . .

Joshua, the high priest (not the Joshua at Jericho), has returned from captivity in Babylon. He stands before God and Satan in filthy garments. Joshua is representing the sinful people. God is there to judge him. Satan is there to accuse Joshua – he’s like the prosecuting attorney with a seemingly open and shut case. But Joshua has an advocate, Jesus Christ, acting as the defense attorney. Jesus stands at God’s right hand, and silences all the accusations of Satan. Christ has already served the sentence for the peoples’ sin. Instead of condemnation, God removes Joshua’s filthy clothes, symbolizing his sinful nature, and replaces them with clean, rich garments. Joshua is made clean. He is forgiven.

This is what Jesus Christ has done for us. He has already paid the price, on the cross, for our sins. God removes the filthy garments of our sin and clothes us in His righteousness.

God’s desire is that we repent of (or turn away from) our sins and turn to Him. Have you, in faith, turned to God? confessed that you have sinned? and believe that Jesus’ death on the cross is payment for your sins? If not, please don’t waste another day, investigate Jesus Christ. Why not trade in those “old dirty rags” for a set of “clean royal garments” given by the King of Kings?

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