What Does Being "SAVED" Really Mean?

I have decided that I would like to explore this topic. I realized recently that there may be a lot of misconceptions about this subject.  I do know that there are quite a few disagreements on the subject but the Bible is clear.

During Sunday School last week we were discussing the parable of The Rich Young Ruler. Of course, I had heard this story multiple times and I was used to generally looking at it from the usual perspective, which was a rich person who didn't want to give everything up to follow Jesus. But I was thinking about it from a different angle this time.

Before Jesus died and returned to heaven there was no helper. (John 16: 6-8, John 14:16 & John 14:26) The Holy Spirit only came upon people when God specifically sent Him to someone, as in the case of Mary when she conceived Jesus. Prior to this, the Jews believed that when they were blessed financially it was a sure sign of God's favor.

Just imagine how mind boggling this new concept that Jesus was preaching must have been. He asks Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" After all, no one knew about 'accepting Jesus', right? So I was wondering how people were "saved" prior to the coming of Jesus. The following is an excerpt from
                             

                              HOW WERE PEOPLE SAVED BEFORE JESUS CAME?

                                                            BOB BRYANT

                                    Cypress Valley Bible Church Marshall, Texas

How were people saved before Jesus came? Just like you and I are saved—by faith alone in Christ alone. For them, it was by faith in the Christ who had not yet come. For us, it is by faith in the same Christ who has come. No one has ever been or ever will be saved apart from believing in Christ for eternal life. We must reach people with the one and only message that provides eternal salvation today, just as it did before Jesus came. (End of Excerpt)

But we have the benefit of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible to help us. People back then really had to rely more on faith. That's why scripture says that Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness.  He believed what God told him.

Then we look at Job, which kind of seems at odds to what Jesus says but I like this particular perspective on it:
Matthew Henry Commentary
1:1-5 Job was prosperous, and yet pious. Though it is hard and rare, it is not impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. By God's grace the temptations of worldly wealth may  overcome. The account of Job's piety and prosperity comes before the history of his great afflictions, showing that neither will secure from troubles. While Job beheld the harmony and comforts of his sons with satisfaction, his knowledge of the human heart made him fearful for them. He sent and sanctified them, reminding them to examine themselves, to confess their sins, to seek forgiveness; and as one who hoped for acceptance with God through the promised Saviour, he offered a burnt-offering for each. We perceive his care for their souls, his knowledge of the sinful state of man, his entire dependence on God's mercy in the way he had appointed.

Now back to The Rich Young Ruler. What it boils down to is that he didn't believe Jesus. He was too attached to his worldly possessions to think beyond this world. He walked away sad but lost as a billy goat. After hearing the gospel from Jesus Himself! Wow! But are we so very different, really? Every one of us has the opportunity to believe God, to seek forgiveness and accept His Son for who He truly is. Why haven't we all done that?? You know that each and every one of us is going to die one day, right? Not only can we have the assurance of an eternity spent in Heaven with our heavenly Father instead of an eternity spent in a fiery hell, but we will have the presence of Jesus every day to help us through this difficult journey that we call life. Someone to hold onto, to guide us, to love us, and to give us life more abundantly. John 10:10. I can't think of a better way to live our lives. He promises all these things in His word. 

Think on these things.  Search your heart. Are you really saved or just pretending? What would happen if today was your last day on earth? No one knows when that time will come. Are you prepared? Do you know that you know that you know that you're saved? I can't think of anything more frightening than that uncertainty.

I'm here for you. If you have any questions please contact me. If anyone has any additional comments they'd like to add as well, I'd love to hear them. There's always more that can be said but I need to stop. I cannot stress enough the urgency of making the very important decision. If not now, when? Don't wait!

I love ya'll! If you want me to pray for you I will be happy to. Just contact me.

Knowing and Living what you Believe!

The other day my Pastor, Dr. David Joyner, was delivering a sermon, continuing in the book of Acts. He was talking about an incident that took place a couple of years ago where a Judge in Alabama was asked to resign from the bench because he refused to take down the Ten Commandments from his courtroom walls.  He said that people all over the country was up in arms and rallying around this Judge in support of his decision. Then he asked us something interesting. He said "How many of you who call yourself Christians actually can recite the Ten Commandments in the correct order. I was totally under conviction about it. I have been a Christian for many years, I've read the Bible through, cover to cover, 7 times and I taught Sunday School and VBS for a number of years but I didn't know the Ten Commandments verbatim. I was flabbergasted. So it became my mission to memorize them. Not that it's really necessary to have them memorized in order to be saved and to have eternal life but I thought it was important that I knew them. So here goes.

#1 I am the Lord your God. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.

#II Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

#III Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

#IV Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

#V Honor they father and thy mother.

#VI Thou shalt not murder.

#VII Thou Shalt not commit adultery.

*VIII Thou shalt not steal.

#IX Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 

#X Thou shalt not covet

There you go. I challenge everyone that reads this to memorize them in the correct order as shown.

Is it important to your salvation? Not really. But I think it's really important that we know what we believe. why we believe it and stand ready in all knowledge to defend those beliefs. I think that's particularly important in this day and age.

Another thing that Dr. Joyner said Wednesday night that really got me to thinking about this is that he's seen such an upsurge in the last few years of people interested in all this supernatural stuff. Zombies, Demons, all kinds of crazy stuff, and he thinks people are just craving something. Of course, we all know that we were all created with a God-shaped vacuum that only He can fill. I can only presume that this is people trying to find something supernatural to believe in. Something beyond themselves and their lives. We have something much better for them. Something supernatural and super powerful and we need to share it with them any way we can. 

We need to suit up, armor up and get ready to do battle for the souls of this world. Time is getting short! I'm praying that God will use me in a mighty and powerful way to reach out to the people who need Him desperately. 

There's no time like the present. I love you guys!

My Responsibility and Joy!

Hello, everyone! Welcome to my new blog. I'm really excited about this new adventure. Let me explain to you what I hope the Lord will do through me here.

The last few weeks our Pastor, David Joyner of First Baptist Church of Acworth /has been bringing a a series of messages on Acts and the early church that have been incredibly inspiring and motivational.

The Lord has had me under conviction for quite awhile and  I want to share my faith any way that I possibly can. I've been doing it through music with One Voice, and I love that, but I don't have that many opportunities sharing with the outside world because I work from home.

I realized how much I missed teaching Sunday School. It's been quite a while since I was privileged to help in the shaping and molding of young minds and decided that I would use this medium to reach, teach and in the process, hopefully the Holy Spirit will use me to inspire those who need it the most.

I've been so blessed by God in so many ways throughout my life that I need to scream these things from the rooftops but instead I will do as the scriptures say and share my experiences and my testimony, I don't plan on being "politically correct". I feel like there's just not enough truth spoken aloud in the world today and people are suffering because of it. But I will tell it in love. The message of the scripture is all about love. People who really don't know what the Bible is about, do not understand that everything God has done for us since the dawn of creation has been all about His love for us.

Remember that song, "What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love"? It's never been more true then it is now. I have a responsibility. It's called the Great Commission and I plan on fulfilling it. There's too much at stake. Time is short, the end times are drawing near. One day, very soon, Jesus is coming back and we have to be ready.

I feel a lot more optimistic about the direction that our country is taking these days. The future is looking so much better, but we must never lose sight that ultimately there are certain things that are prophesied that have to take place in order for Jesus to return.We need to be aware of these things and prepared for what's to come.

I want to channel God's blessings to other people. I want them to see what a loving, compassionate God that He is. That His plan for their lives is perfect and if they will just follow Him, He will never lead them astray.They can have an abundant, fulfilling life now and, when they die, an eternity spent in Heaven with Him. What could be better?

I welcome any comments or questions that you may have. If I don't personally know the answer, I know how to get it, so don't hesitate to ask. You can post them here or send me an email. Discussions are welcome.

I guess that's about it in the way of introduction so stay tuned for upcoming posts. I'm not sure what direction the Lord will lead me here but I can't wait to find out. God bless you!