Posted on Mon, Aug 05, 2013 at 01:32 p.m. (EST) & 11:02 p.m. (IST), JULY-AUG 2013 Edition
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“Seek After Lord Valiantly And Take In Omnipotent Newness! (S.A.L.V.A.T.I.O.N)”
Ramesh C. Reddy
SCRIPTURE:
Observations:
Observation/Interpretation:
Hogwash!
In other words, they would say that you are to attain as many brownie points as possible to
be accepted by the Lord when you die. They could go further and say that if your
good deeds outweigh your bad deeds then you have worked out your Salvation the
correct way and be promoted to Heaven.
There is a reason why Paul told the Philippians to
'continue to work out their Salvation with fear and
trembling' and it is not to emphasize a work based
Salvation but still grace based. They are to focus on the Salvation they have
been given as a free gift of grace by the Lord and continue to live out their
lives in the grace of the Lord. They are to live each and every day by grace for
it is His grace that not only justifies them by grace but it is this same grace
that sanctifies them by His grace as Pastor Ed
would always remind me. It is this grace that continues to transform
a person.
The work here is not to achieve Salvation, for the
Philippians could not do it on their own anyway. It was a gift offered to them
by Jesus as He paved the way for them to receive this Salvation by the finished
work done on the Cross of Calvary.
Now, they are to live it out for others to see that
this Salvation offered to them is not just for Eternal Life but also makes a
difference right here and now. Living out their Salvation is synonymous to the
previous verse that addressed obedience which is a fruit of our Salvation.
Philippians are reminded to continue to show fruit in their lives because of the
Salvation they have received as a free gift of grace.
I asked myself why is 'fear and trembling' mentioned?
Implications: HOW GOSPEL GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING S.A.L.VA.T.I.O.N: I can be sure of my Salvation in Christ for it is dependent on Jesus, my Good Shepherd who has saved me when I gave my life to Him on Feb 14, 1985. On that day, I was assured of my Salvation when Jesus came into my heart and made my heart His home, living in me. Thank you Jesus! He also gave me the promised Holy Spirit to work in me and through me to continue to work out the Salvation that I have received in Christ so the fruit will be a reflection of His grace. This means when I walk in the Spirit, I will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Salvation was not dependent on me earning it but Christ giving it to me. Thank you Jesus. I am not perfect and do mess up but the fruit of the Holy Spirit is seen when Jesus works in me and through me. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.... My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (John 10:14-15, 27-29,) For the first year of my Salvation, I basically grew up on Gospel of John alone and its enormous promises for my life. Then, I focused on Romans and so on! I am reminded of all these verses throughout the New Testament. "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:25-26, NIV) "Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men." (Romans 14:16-18, NIV) "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14, NIV) "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21, NLT) "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another." (Galatians 5:22-26, NLT) When we do receive Salvation in Christ, others will know about it because the fruit of our lives will reflect it. It is not self-effort work but work done by the Holy Spirit's power. This is the work that is asked of the Philippians 'to continue to work out your Salvation with fear and trembling' by the power of the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:3-8 says, "Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone." (Titus 3:3-8, NLT) As Pastor Paul Bucknell, a missionary of Oakland International Fellowship reminds us, "Salvation results in good works produced by the Spirit of God in our lives. We still depend on Christ's righteous works presented because we are in Christ!" "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, NIV) For when we are saved Christ will produce works in our lives but these are works of the Holy Spirit blessed by the Lord. Another way to see it is, these are the FRUITS OF OUR LABOR IN CHRIST. Here we are talking about good fruit as a result of our Salvation. That can only happen when we realize we need Christ's righteous deeds imputed to us. "But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us." (Galatians 5:5, NLT) "May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ —for this will bring much glory and praise to God." (Philippians 1:11, NLT) "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." (Ephesians 1:4-6, NLT) "And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him." (Ephesians 1:13b-14, NLT) You can always be assured of your Salvation in Christ and that His Salvation in your life will show forth His fruit in your life. "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory." (Romans 8:28-30, NLT) I am so thankful to Jesus because He has called me to be His very own, He will also help me resist the devil and live for Him. Help me Jesus! "They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:8-9, NLT) If I say that I am saved by the Lord Jesus, then I cannot go living my life however I want to though. Jesus paid the ransom by His blood to save me and redeem me. How can I again, go back to the old ways of living when Salvation is not only for the life-after but this same Salvation is for me to be able to live by His grace here and now. Christ the Lord will prompt us and help us to live Holy and godly lives when we are saved. "Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?" (Romans 6:1-2, NIV) "This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." (1 John 1:5-9, NLT) This also means when I have Salvation or am saved, it is for eternity and the Holy Spirit works in my life to produce good fruit. My life will reflect that good fruit because of the Holy Spirit's promise. It is the Holy Spirit that will help me 'continue to work out my Salvation with fear and trembling' When I am truly repentant of all my sins and confess them before the Lord, asking Him to be the Lord and Savior of my life to cover me in His precious blood and transform me by His grace to live out my life daily for His honor and glory, He will do it. I can be assured of my Salvation in Christ when I have surrendered my life over to Him.
I ask you now dear friend, what path have you taken for
S.A.L.V.A.T.I.O.N in your life? I am also reminded of the wonderful example Andrea and Jason Huang share with students regarding the sickness of the soul using milk as an example. Imagine you have a glass of milk you want to drink, but then you see someone spit into it, will you still drink it? People won't say to themselves, 'Yeah, I will drink it because it is 99.99% pure and only 0.01% of spit.' On the contrary, they will say that the milk has been polluted by the spit, so they don't want it. In the same way, you and I can think we have been so good in our lives and did this and that but what about the bad we have done? Unless you and I are perfect, we can always do good things. Since none of us is perfect and 'All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23), we have done bad things. Even if we have broken 1 commandment of the Lord, we have done a bad thing. That means if we think we have been good 99.99% of the time, it is polluted by that 0.01% of bad we have done. When we present ourselves to the Lord because of our good works, He will see us as spitting in His face because there is that 1% of bad, so the Lord cannot accept us for we have been corrupted. And a Holy God cannot allow sin into His presence to pollute Heaven. The Bible reminds us that all the good works we think we are doing on our own are still filthy rags to the Lord without us acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. You nor I cannot do anything to earn Eternal Life because all our good works are like filthy rags to the Lord. The filthy rags actually describes a women's menstruation cloth filled with unclean blood during her period. That's how God sees our works if we are trying to use our works to attain God's favor. God will have none of that. That's the problem with all the religions of the world that think they can reach God by the good they do. But God does not see it as good. Our greatest goodness is still sin in the eyes of the Lord if it is not done in Christ for man's definition of goodness is filthy rags to God. "But you have been very angry with us, for we are not godly. We are constant sinners; how can people like us be saved? We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:5b-6b, NLT) "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV) And a Holy God cannot allow sin into His presence and that's why He sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins so when we accept His free gift of grace and pardon, we will be saved not for anything we have done but for everything Christ has done. So, the point of Salvation is not dependent on us by our works but totally on the Lord by faith. It is because He chooses us and because He chooses us, we will live for Him as His Spirit works in us and through us by His grace, we will produce good fruit as a result of our Salvation and not as a means to earn our Salvation. "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV) The only way for our good works to count and be seen as pure is having us covered in the Blood of Jesus Christ and accepting His Salvation by grace through faith. The awesomeness of this Salvation is that it is God who works in us to will and act according to His good purpose. Now when we die and approach the judgment throne, God sees us pure because we are covered by the BLOOD of JESUS cleansing all of our impurities and making us pure. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)
So come to Jesus as you are and receive the Salvation
He wants to give you friend! No matter what you have done, no matter who you
are, no matter where you have been, His Salvation is for you. So, come as you
are and find help in time of need. Come to the throne of grace and find His
mercy. Yes, friend it is for you. You need not struggle to earn you Salvation
for the Lord already paid for it. Yes, He did. Thank you Jesus. Allow Him to
work in your life! Amen!
It is the Holy Spirit that will have a marked seal on
us assuring our Salvation as He produces the work in us! Praise the Lord!
PRAYER: May the Lord Jesus guide you in His love leading you! Amen! No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help by His grace alone! Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-641-9426 "This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB) |
2013 DEVOTIONALS: Philippians 2:12-13: "What is the point of O.B.E.D.I.E.N.C.E in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, Aug 03, 13, 01:28 p.m.) Philippians 2:9-11: "How do you handle the N.A.M.E of Jesus in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Fri, Aug 02, 13, 07:58 a.m.) Philippians 2:8: "What can the C.R.O.S.S do for you in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Thurs, Aug 01, 13, 08:03 a.m.) Philippians 2:5-7:"How do you match Jesus' A.T.T.I.T.U.D.E in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, July 31, 13, 10:50 a.m.) Mark 10:6-9: "What does Jesus want for your M.A.R.R.I.A.G.E in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Tues, July 30, 13, 11:24 a.m.) Philippians 2:3-4: "How do you respond to God's C.O.M.M.A.N.D.S in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, July 29, 13, 09:53 a.m.) Philiippians 2:1-2: "What C.O.N.D.I.T.I.O.N are you in?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, July 27, 13, 11:42 a.m.) Philippians 1:29-30: "How do you handle S.U.F.F.E.R.I.N.G in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Fri, July 26, 13, 10:02 a.m.) Philippians 1:27-28: "How do you C.O.N.D.U.C.T yourself in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Thurs, July 25, 13, 11:17 a.m.) Philippians 1:22-26: "What are your C.H.O.I.C.E.S based on?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, July 24, 13, 09:50 a.m.) Philippians 1:21: "Why D.I.E for Christ?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, July 22, 13, 3:33 p.m.) Philippians 1:21: "Why L.I.V.E your life to be appreciated by others?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Fri, July 19, 13, 10:20 a.m.) Philippians 1:20: "Where do you need to have C.O.U.R.A.G.E in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Thurs, July 18, 13, 05:17 a.m.) Philippians 1:19: "Who should you C.A.L.L often in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, July 17, 13, 09:41 a.m.) Philippians 1:19: "What reason do you have to R.E.J.O.I.C.E in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Tues, July 16, 10:23 a.m.) Philippians 1:15-18: "How are your M.O.T.I.V.E.S in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, July 15, 04:57 a.m.) Philippians 1:12-14:"What have your C.H.A.I.N.S done to others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Thurs, July 11, 10:40 a.m.) Philippians 1:12: How can you A.D.V.A.N.C.E the Gospel?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, July 10, 11:46 a.m.) Philippians 1:9-11: "What is your L.O.V.I.N.G response based on?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, July 07, 03:24 a.m.) Philippians 1:7-8: "How can your A.F.F.E.C.T.I.O.N grow towards others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Thurs, June 27, 10:21 a.m.) Philippians 1:7-8: "Why can you only be saved by G.R.A.C.E alone?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, June 26, 10:42 a.m.) Philippians 1:3-6: "Where are you C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.T in?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Tues, June 25, 12:42 p.m.) Philippians 1:3-6: "How can you attain a P.A.R.T.N.E.R.S.H.I.P in the Gospel?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, June 24, 11:22 a.m.) Philippians 1:1-3: "How will others R.E.A.C.T towards God when they remember you?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, June 22, 11:34 a.m.) Philippians 1:1-2: "Why bother to let others T.R.A.I.N you when you are already a leader?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 21, 10:58 a.m.) Philippians 1:1-2: "When do you B.L.E.S.S others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 20, 08:33 a.m.) Philippians 1:1-2: "Who will you be a S.L.A.V.E to in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 19, 1:26 p.m.) Philippians 1:1: "Why should you believe you are H.O.L.Y instead of a sinner?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 17, 11:38 p.m.) Psalm 46:1: "Where do you need R.E.F.U.G.E from?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 14, 08:30 a.m.) Proverbs 14:12: "Why seek God's R.I.G.H.T over our right?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 14, 08:30 a.m.) Psalm 42:5: "Why H.O.P.E and praise the Lord in your distress?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 13, 01:36 p.m.) Psalm 40:1-5: "Where do you need to be L.I.F.T.E.D up in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 13, 01:34 p.m.) Mark 9:28-29: "What can P.R.A.Y.E.R to Jesus do in your friends lives?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 11, 07:53 a.m.) Mark 2:2-5: "What kind of F.R.I.E.N.D will you be thought of as?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 10, 07:03 a.m.) Mark 3:14-15: "Why S.P.E.N.D time with Jesus daily?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 08, 11:07 a.m.) Psalm 34:4: "What can you do with your F.E.A.R.S in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 07, 2013, 8:43 a.m.) Psalm 33:4: "What will you do with F.A.I.T.H in your classes?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 05, 2013, 9:31 a.m.) Mark 1:43-44: "What does your disobedience C.A.U.S.E for others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 03, 2013, 2:57 a.m.) Mark 1:41-42: "What past do you need to be C.L.E.A.N from?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 31, 2013, 10:54 a.m) Proverbs 29:25: "Where will you take a S.T.A.N.D without wavering?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 30, 2013, 07:43 a.m) Matthew 18:21-22:"Why F.O.R.G.I.V.E when it will happen again?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 29 2013, 09:35 a.m) Psalm 27:14:"How do you C.O.P.E with your hurt?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 27, 2013, 11:13 a.m) John 12:24:"Who do you remember physically and spiritually on this M.E.M.O.R.I.A.L day?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 27, 2013, 11:13 a.m) "What has the law P.E.R.M.I.T.T.E.D you to do but it goes against the Lord?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 09, 2013, 6:57 a.m) "Who do you become an A.T.T.R.A.C.T.I.O.N to and why?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 08, 2013, 6:58 a.m) "What has A.N.G.E.R done to your relationships?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (April 29, 13, 1:28 p.m.) "How can the L.I.G.H.T impact your life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (April 06, 13, 11:48 a.m.)
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