Salvation

Deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption.

^{Luke 19:9}Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Above all else I pray you know that Jesus desires to sit at your table. Regardless of our reputations may each of us be spurred on by a curiosity in our Savior Jesus. May our curiosity lead to repentance and ultimately salvation.

From the beginning of time, God had a plan to love you. God sent his son to fulfill His promise of deliverance. Jesus sacrificed his life so that you and I could be redeemed.

^{1 John 2: 1}My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ²He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Angela, Day 3

Don't leave me alone.

If you have read this blog for any amount of time, you know that I can be pretty attiment about our role as the "Body of Christ". I really don't think we understand that concept very well.

I was saved while going to youth group in high school. It was hard for me to live in an un-Christian home and try to "become" a Christian. While a few people were loving and guiding me, there were not very many people from our church that would come along side of me and lift me up.

• First: I was never told that "trying" to be good enough for God doesn't work. I failed every single day, not realizing that His sacrifice for me wasn't based on my abilities to be or do good.

• Second: No one, even teenagers, at church want to associate with the real obvious sinners. So, I felt judged and frustrated because I didn't know better.

• Third: I didn't understand anything and no one took the time to teach me. There was an assumed "salvation" and then the idea that I should just "get it".

• Fourth: I didn't know how to pray.

• Fifth: I was alone everyday with questions I was too afraid no one would answer.

I drifted from my faith for many years because I felt worthless. I was unable to attain the one thing everyone told me I had. God didn't leave me. I may have been messing up but He didn't give up on me. In my mid-twenties I was brought back into relationship with God. Being old enough to understand a little more, I asked more questions and grabbed on to the one thing that had answers, His Word.

It has taken many years and tons of support from other Christians to come to the place I am now. I had to relearn (and I am still learning) everything I had been taught to live the life I live now. I am blessed. Blessed by a God that gives His grace to me freely. I am free to live a life in response to His perfect love for me.

I serve people and share His message in response to His Word and His mercy. I know that when I see a Christian that struggles with their flesh and their unknowing that it is part of our fellowship to stand together with them. If you have been in the church your whole life or are new to the family of God, remember that some people really don't know. And YES, even in the United States, there are people and families and generations of unbelievers that don't understand Grace and don't understand Forgiveness and most of all don't know how to Pray.

Acts 2:42~47 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

If there is nothing else I teach you, let me teach you that we are not meant to be alone. We are to do this together. Let us come together, serve God and see His power through His entire body. We all have something to give. We all can teach the saving grace of God to one another.

Thank you for continuing to be a part of this community of believers.

Please continue to pray for Kelly H (WA) this week.

Thanksgiving, Day 1

Thanksgiving, Day 1

A thankful heart

Thanksgiving week around my house this year will be different from any other. This is our first Thanksgiving at our house. In the past we have traveled to my husbands grandparents house for a short visit. Grandma Ada will be remembered but not present this year and Grandpa Dale moved to be closer to his family. We then go to my grandmothers house for the rest of the day, sometimes overnight. This year, she is in Tennessee, visiting Angela and her family. The same trip we took a year ago. This year we will open up our home to Dale's parents, my mom and sister and to a friend of mine, Donna and her daughter, Hannah. The dynamics have changed.

One thing stays the same, the age old question, "What are you thankful for this year". We used to write down what we were thankful for and put it in a shoebox and read all the responses from the previous years. That question usually doesn't cause any need for reflection, it's not hard to find things to be thankful for. This year things have changed. You don't have to look very hard to find people who are struggling. Even in our immediate family we are facing the unknown. Turn on the TV or the radio and you hear about the economy, politics and death. Friends and family members are being laid off or loosing their jobs, businesses are closing, loosing revenue. Vehicles are breaking down, marriages are breaking up, and there is still poverty among us. So what do we do, how do we find joy in the midst of all this? Is there really anything to be thankful for? I believe that we must seek God and be thankful for all the blessings we have in our lives. The fact that we had the money to invest in the first place, a home, a car, clothes, marriages, relationships, jobs. A few weeks ago our pastor said that if everything were how we wanted it to be then we would not be able to bear fruit. We would have never been given the opportunity to learn patience, gentleness, self control, generosity, peace, joy, the list goes on. All of the things that come from living through a storm. So, looking at our responses to the poll we took on what we are thankful for, it makes sense that we would vote Salvation, Grace, and family as the most important. Though our families may change in numbers, those who are in our family hold a place in our hearts and memories, either good or bad. But beyond that, we are all a family, those who believe in God. Because of who we are in Christ, there will be an overflow in our lives, there will always be something to be thankful for. I am sure we all have our own lists, but it is not surprising that we would find these three words among the lists. Grace alone brings us into thanksgiving. I encourage you to bring the overflow with you as you go this week, wherever it is that you will visit. It is with this spirit of thanksgiving that we will find this week more bearable, where we can see beyond our current situations and circumstances. What a blessing that is.

Don't forget to add one more person to your list of guests. God will be with you in the midst of all the chaos and differences you may find at your thanksgiving table this year. He will give you the grace you need to get through it all, who knows, maybe you will bear more fruit where you weren't before.

2 Corinthians 4:15
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 9:11
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

I call the above verse my 911 emergency plan. On every occasion, even those that are not my favorite, I can be generous, I can share the overflow of thanksgiving.

1 Timothy 4:4
For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

Dear Lord, I invite you into my thoughts and my home this week. Through the activities and the gatherings, the relationships and the family time, I ask that you be here in the midst of our plans, of our gathering. That I will glorify you in all that I do and that you will feel welcome. Lord, I ask that you be with each of those who read this, that they will feel your presence. Lord, we give you praise in thanksgiving for all the blessings in our lives. You are amazing, Amen.