Tag: salvation

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Ascension Day

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11 NIV

Today is the day that those who are followers of Jesus celebrate His ascension into heaven, when He was taken up into the clouds, alive, right in front of the disciples. Christians and churches all over the world celebrate this event today. 

This event, the ascension, is important to our faith, the Christian faith.  For us to believe that the ascension meant anything, we have to first believe that what Jesus did on the cross is real and true.  We have to believe that Jesus went willingly to the cross, to not just take our sins and pay for them, but to actually bear our sins as if He had committed each and every one of them. 

After paying the ultimate and final price for our sins, so that we could have a relationship with God, the Father, Jesus was placed in a grave and remained there for 3 days.  After those 3 days, Jesus rose from the grave, not as a spirit, not as a ghost, not as a zombie, not as anything other than a live human being.   He defeated the one thing that every human has to face in their life, He defeated death.

After spending time with His disciples, Jesus was taken up to heaven, not by dying again but in the very body He had been walking around in – His glorified body.

The Ascension marks the exaltation of Jesus to His rightful place as God, sharing the heavenly throne with His Father.  The ascension of Jesus happened right in front of a lot of witnesses, it was visible for everyone to see, it was physical – He was lifted into the clouds to heaven. This very visual, very physical occurrence is just one more thing that skeptics could not explain.  They tried using their limited earthly knowledge and there was no other explanation than that Jesus had risen from the grave and 40 days later rose into the clouds in front of a large crowd of people.

It is important that people saw this, just like when He rose from the grave.  It was important for people to see Him, touch Him, eat with Him, talk with Him, walk with Him.  The witnesses needed that physical reassurance that He was no longer dead.  Not ascending right after the resurrection made it hard for the unbelievers, the pharisees, to be able to say that the resurrection was made up.  The same is true for the ascension, if there had been no witnesses to it, those who opposed Jesus would have said that it was all made up too.  That His followers were not letting go of what they believed and were willing to tell lies to continue with their claims.

I am sure that the unbelievers and the pharisees did that anyways, but those who saw Jesus physically and were with Him when He ascended, they had the physical and visual experience of watching Him ascend that probably stayed with them for the rest of their lives.  Others could say that they were lying but they knew they were not.

It is important to us that Jesus ascend because it showed that He had finished what He came to earth to accomplish. Now that His objective was completed, He was returning to heaven.  Jesus needed to return, to ascend, so He could take His rightful place at the right hand of God the Father.

Hebrews 1:3 says “The Son is the shining brightness of God’s glory. He is the exact likeness of God’s being. He uses his powerful word to hold all things together. He provided the way for people to be made pure from sin. Then he sat down at the right hand of the King, the Majesty in heaven.”

In returning to His rightful place beside God the Father, Jesus is able to do a few things on our behalf. First, He is able to mediate for each believer. Pleading our case so that God will continue to forgive us because we are righteous through Jesus. Second, He went to prepare a place for us there so we would be at home with Him.  He promised His followers that He was going to prepare a place in His father’s house of many rooms.  He is preparing a home for us so that we will be comfortable with Him in heaven.  Heaven, where there is no war, no death, no pain, no tears, no hate, but instead there is peace, eternal life, love and joy. Where we are able to spend eternity with God and with Jesus.

Every heart that is troubled, every mind that is filled with regret and guilt, every person who believes the lies that the devil has told them about being too far gone to be saved, every one of us is able to come to Jesus and be saved.  I pray that if you have not accepted this gift, that you will reconsider your decision today.

Below are some questions that you can answer. Again, I would love to hear your responses if you are willing to put them in the comments section. If you don’t want to leave them where others can read them, you can private message me on my Facebook page ‘For His Honor.’

Have you accepted the gift of salvation that God planned and Jesus carried out?

What do you picture heaven to look like?

What do you imagine the disciples were feeling as they watched their friend, the Messiah, float up into the clouds and out of sight?

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Acknowledge

“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.” 1 John 4:15 NIV

Jesus is the Son of God. I have never heard a truer sentence.

Can you do that? Do you do that?

Acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of God is hard for some people because they are still living with the mindset of wanting to fit in with the world, the people around them. Being a follower of Jesus is something that they hide.

However, Jesus did not hide wanting to help and save ALL of mankind, even the individual who is afraid to acknowledge Jesus is the Son of God out loud. He proudly acknowledged His Father who sent Him and He went to the cross for each one of us.

If you know that Jesus is the Son of God, I pray that you are willing to acknowledge it and acknowledge it out loud to others.

Have a great day!

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Have you asked?

“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 16:24 NIV

This verse is part of the conversation Jesus was having with His disciples on the night He was arrested. Jesus had had many conversations with them but this one is the first time, according to my research, that Jesus told them to pray ‘in’ His name. By doing this He is giving them the knowledge that He is the mediator between them and God, that His will can be done because He has the authority to make things happen.

When we practice asking ‘in’ Jesus’s name, we are acknowledging that we are unable to do anything without Jesus. Once we accept this it becomes easier to realize that we need Him for everything. Jesus is the mediator between us and God. He is the only one who can go to God on our behalf and we definitely need someone to go to God on our behalf because of our sinful nature.

The last part of this verse says ‘Ask and you will receive’. I want to emphasis that it is not telling us that whatever we pray for we are going to receive. That is not what this verse says because that is not how it works. We need to understand that praying ‘in’ Jesus’s name is different than praying and simply using Jesus’s name at the end of the prayer. When we pray ‘in’ Jesus’s name, we are to be doing it in unison with God’s will. If we are not in union with God’s will then we should not expect to receive what we are asking for. We need to remember that God knows better than we do what we need. After all, He is God!

When we accept that we can do nothing, that we have the One who can do everything on our side, we can give it all to Him. He was willing to the cross for us, He is willing to be our mediator and give us what we ask for as long as when we do it in His name we are doing it in unison with God’s Will.

Are you asking for things simply using Jesus’s name at the end of your prayer or are you seeking God’s Will and asking for things ‘in’ His name?

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Be on guard

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV

In 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 Paul has a lot to say. He is encouraging the believers in Corinth on several fronts and that areas he is encouraging them about rely on each other. First he is telling them to be on guard, to be watching around them, knowing what is going on in their community, church and family. Sometimes people like to overlook things so that they don’t have to admit them or address them. Paul is telling the church in Corinth and I believe us as well since we are followers of Christ too, to be alert to our surroundings. The believers in Corinth were going against their culture and customs in some areas and knowing what was happening around them enabled them to not return to those ways using the reasoning of ‘not knowing what was going on’.

The second thing is to stand firm in our faith. This means to not give up. The believers in Corinth were very new to the faith and this way of living. Paul was encouraging them to not lose heart but to remember that Christ was there for them, that their faith was worth dealing with hard times. There are going to be times when things get hard for us as well, and we should expect that because being a follower of Jesus does not give us a guarantee of a life without problems. Actually, it sometimes initiates some problems because not everyone else is a follower of Jesus. No matter what, we are to stand firm in our faith, don’t let life’s problems or hard times, shake our faith that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. He didn’t let hard times stop Him from standing in His faith that His father in heaven was with Him.

The third thing is to be courageous. As I said, these areas go together, and being courageous is made stronger by remaining firm in our faith, knowing Who we have on our side. In addition to making hard choices in life, being courageous or brave can also mean keeping our word or promises. When we follow through with what we have said we would do or not do in the face of adversary, we are being brave and courageous. This is especially challenging for new believers, which is what the believers in Corinth were dealing with. It is hard because not everyone around them believed what they did and challenged them, probably daily. We go through this same challenge as we begin to develop our walk with God and become courageous.

The fourth is to be strong. Strong, as Paul is talking about here, is not just physical strength, it is also emotional strength. The male population of Paul’s time were not very good at acknowledging emotional needs or strengths. They were better at exercising self-control than admitting that they couldn’t do something. So for us, when we recognize that we can admit when we are wrong, that we can exercise self-control, we are showing that we are being emotionally strong. Again, this can be built on knowing what is happening around us, being willing to remain in our faith and being courageous. By building those areas up in our lives, we are able to admit a weakness and it not destroy us as a person.

The fifth is to do everything in love. Paul writes in a later chapter of this book, that love is the greatest of 3 things, hope, faith and love. Love truly ties everything together. He was letting them know and letting us know that without love that our awareness of what is happening around us is dulled, our ability to stand firm in our faith is weakened, our willingness to be courageous is challenged and our committed to Christ, overall, is not strong.

Paul is reminding all of us that love is the greatest weapon against evil, against our enemy. Without love we are not as powerful as believers in Christ as we can be. Let’s not let our enemy have any kind of upper hand in our lives. Let’s practice and build, each and every one of these areas, each and every day of our lives so that our enemy has no foothold on us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for being our Lord and Savior. Thank You for always giving us what we need to be able to do Your Will, and be the warriors of our faith that You know we are capable of being. Because of You, Lord, we are able stand strong in our faith and show our enemy everyday that we are Your children. Please be with us as we continue to walk out our faith, growing stronger each day. In Your Son’s most precious name, Amen.

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Do you have a word for the year?

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.” Psalms 130:5 NIV

About 5 years ago, I heard about a practice of ‘having a word for the year’. I heard about it on “The Message” channel of Sirius XM. So, over the past several years, I have tried to think of a word to focus on each year. When I heard about this practice I decided to give it a chance, and 5 years later I believe it is still a good practice to have. Since 2020, I have focused on the words PEACE, GRACE, LOVE, FAITH and OBEDIENCE. So this year, I have been thinking a lot about the word HOPE.

I had a friend named Hope who went home to be with the Lord in 2023 and recently I have been thinking about her a lot. So I want to focus this year on the word HOPE. Hope is defined in the bible as “a confident expectation of what God has promised in the future”. There are so many verses in the Bible about this word, Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 5:5 to name a few. So I don’t think it will be hard to study this word through the year.

In the beginning of this psalm, David is looking for God. He is searching for forgiveness. So he is determined to wait for God. When David says that his whole being waits, he is telling us that he is all in. He is not giving up on his waiting for God, he is instead determined to remain in hope. The hope that God will answer his prayer and forgive him. David knows God has promised His children that He will answer their prayers.

God continues with that promise even today, when we go to Him in prayer. It may take a while and it may not be the answer you are looking for, but He will answer it. When we remain in that place of hope, we can commit to remaining there as well. Putting our whole being into something is total commitment, God is pleased when we totally commit ourselves to Him.

Some people are afraid to hope for things, but with God we never have to be afraid to hope. God is with us always. So as you begin this new year, I encourage you to think about picking a word that you can focus on for the year and then search for it in the Bible, study God’s Word in regards to it. I pray that you have begun your year in God’s Word and have plans to remain there, growing in your faith and walk with God as you study. Have a great day!!!!

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Changes

As of today, January 1, 2025, I will be posting my blog “For His Honor” a few times a week instead of daily. I am not sure how long this will be for and there may come a time when the blog is posted daily again, but at this time I feel led to cut back on the rate at which I was posting my blog. I am struggling with not having enough time to properly study the verse or verses and then write the devotions.

So, here is the devotion for today…

“But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” Colossians 3:8 NIV

I know that this is an odd verse to start a new year off with, but if you think about a new year as a time when you are able to make changes, begin with a clean slate, then I believe this verse applies. This verse covers many areas, our hearts, our tongues, our minds and our actions. These seem like extreme categories but if we let it sink in for a moment, I believe we can all say that we have some actions that, if not kept under control could begin to fit in these categories. I know we don’t walk around expressing rage or we don’t have malice in our hearts, but we are human and we are not perfect. We may not mean to be saying things about others or using profanity but we all slip at times.

I am talking to myself as much as I am talking to anyone else. I get angry, and in moments of frustration I have said things that I don’t want to say and don’t mean to say, but I have said them. I have asked for forgiveness, and I know that God has forgiven me. However, I don’t want that way of thinking or that way of expressing myself to be how I interact with others. It is not who I am and I don’t want to become that person. I don’t believe I can direct others to Christ acting in that manner, and that is my chief goal, to direct others to Jesus. We can all do that through how we show the love to other people that He has shown us.

As this new year begins, I am going to focus my prayers on making sure I am listening to God’s voice and following His direction in regards to any changes He feels I need to make in my life. I encourage you that if you want to make changes as the new year begins, to take this time, pray and ask God to direct you in any changes He feels need to be made in your life. Then, relying on Him, join me in doing our best to make the changes as this new year begins.

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Taking a break

Good morning, I will be taking the week off from posting my blog. I will post again on January 1, 2025. So I leave you with this passage for the last week of 2024.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8-12 NIV

As we close out the year, I encourage you to seek Jesus as the shepherds did that first Christmas after the angels told them about the wonderful gift the world had just been given. Please let the announcement of “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:12 NIV fill you with excitement and awe that Jesus was willing to come down from His heavenly throne and save us. We celebrate this marvelous, miraculous event each year as we wait for the second coming of our Lord and Savior, please don’t let it become comfortable and mundane. I pray that we each keep this celebration exciting and anticipatory as we wait anxiously for our Lord to return to us.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I will post again on January 1, 2025.

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The First Christmas

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” Luke 2:6-7 NIV

It is here!!!! The first Christmas. Jesus is born, He is wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger. Mary gives birth in a stable not a fancy hotel, with Joseph to help her, not handmaidens. A manger is a feeding trough, which fit since He was born in a stable surrounded by animals. A very humble beginning to a life that would be filled with serving others as He modeled what God’s Kingdom looks like.

Mary and Joseph knew that Jesus was the Messiah and they knew from prophesy that He would have to suffer at some point in His life. They had no idea the extent that they would also suffer, as His parents, watch Him go through all that He was going to have to endure. I believe none of that mattered at that moment, because they were holding their baby boy. He was not only the Messiah, He was their son and they took raising Him very seriously.

Without the event that we celebrate today, there would be no Easter. There would be no crucifixion that took the sins of the world away for those who believe, and there would be no resurrection. I am so thankful that we are able to celebrate this event today.

Have a Merry Christmas and always keep your focus on Jesus.

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They arrive in Bethlehem

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,” Luke 2:6 NIV

They finally make it to Bethlehem and as with most pregnant women, all that walking and possibly the bumpiness of the ride on the donkey, labor begins. Mary has told Joseph that the time is very close and he goes to find them accommodations so Mary can give birth in private. However, there are no rooms available anywhere because there are a large number of people in Bethlehem. Many families had ancestors from there and had traveled just as Mary and Joseph had, to be counted.

Joseph is checking everywhere and finally a man tells Joseph that he has some room but it is with his animals behind the house. At this point, it has to be better than Mary giving birth to the Messiah on the side of the room or outside the front door of someone’s home. Imagine the conditions of this area where the animals were. It was a stable or barn area, there was hay and dust, possibly mud from the animals. Joseph did his best to make a space for Mary that was clean and acceptable for her to give birth.

This is the Messiah, the Savior of the world, being born into our world and it is happening in a stable where the animals are watching. Jesus was born in a very humble environment, not in a palace surrounded by guards, linens and handmaidens but in a stable surrounded by animals, cloths Mary brought with her and Joseph. This would be the perfect way for our Lord and Savior to begin His life on earth, humbly. He came as a humble servant not a conquering king.

Jesus’ birth, the first Christmas is tomorrow. Let’s celebrate as Mary prepares to give birth in Bethlehem to our King, our Lord, our Savior, thereby fulfilling prophesy about where the Messiah was to be born.

If Jesus is not your Lord and Savior, I implore you to reconsider your decision and ask Jesus to come into your heart. He gave up being a King as He sat in Heaven with God the Father to come to our world as a helpless baby to save us. Who does that? JESUS does!!!!!!

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The journey continues

“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.” Luke 2:4&5 NIV

This journey took between 4 and 7 days. According to maps from Mary’s era, there were some towns along the way to possibly find places to stay in but there were also long sections of the travel paths that were simple open and not settled. On those sections of the road, there were not many places to stay, so at night they had to either find shelter under a tree, in a cave or sleep out under the stars.

There are not many women who are 9 months pregnant who sleep well in the beds we have in our time, so can you imagine sleeping on the ground and then having to get back up the next morning, to begin walking again. Mary was carrying the Messiah, the Savior of the world, but she did not have it easy.

When the angel came to Mary, she gave up certain things about her future that she may have had planned such as the wedding to Joseph, the friends who would celebrate with her, the house they were going to have. Joseph gave up the plans of being the biological father of ALL of his children but took Jesus as his own and raised Him as if he was Jesus’s biological father. I wonder how much of this they both thought about and maybe even talked about on this long journey.

When we talk about this part of the account of Jesus’s birth, we should also remember that they were not the only ones going to the town their ancestors were from, everyone was, as the decree when out to the entire Roman world. This means that the roads would have been crowded with travelers going in all directions. Other people from Nazareth would have been making the same trip and some of them knew that the baby Mary was carrying was not Joseph’s. It is fair to believe that there were comments and looks from them as they passed Mary and Joseph on the journey.

There were also no restaurants to stop at when it was lunch time or supper time. All of that had to be packed in the items they brought along. For Mary, that meant having to figure out how to cook the meal and not take up so much time that the journey took longer. Traveling in our time takes some planning, but traveling in Mary and Joseph’s time took not only planning but preparation and organization to be successful and eat meals while traveling.

Christmas is 2 days away, have you thought about how much you are willing to give up to follow God’s will and plan for your life? As we think about everything that Mary and Joseph did to follow God’s plan for their lives and fill prophesy, may today would be a good day to take some time to think about what you are willing to do for God.