Sola Fide - Faith Alone

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

This week as we remember and celebrate the 499^th Birthday of the Reformation let us enjoy and bask in what the Reformers fought to unleash from the corrupt Church of Rome…  The Bible clearly declares that our salvation from sin and death is through FAITH ALONE in Jesus Christ and not by any of our works.  It is very humbling to read from God’s Word that He declares us righteous before we actually start to work on becoming righteous through any of our deeds. The Lord’s declaration that we are perfectly Holy before Him, our Holy God, is not in response to any spiritual or moral improvements within us, but is an imputation, a declaration by God that we have Christ’s righteousness and He has taken our sinfulness. When we trust Christ, that very moment we are clothed in his perfect holiness, so that even though we are sinful, we are judged by God as blameless.  This incredible God given truth in Scripture was taken captive for almost 1000 years by those who were supposed to be proclaiming it.  Thank you Lord for this amazing gift of Salvation through Faith Alone – Sola Fide -  and thank you Reformers for giving your lives so that this truth would be proclaimed once again.

Father, Thank You for Your son Jesus Christ who has become our sin and His perfect Holy righteousness has become our righteousness through faith alone by Your grace alone.  Thank You for loving us that much!  In Jesus name, Amen.

The Best Rest!

Hebrews 4:9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, ¹⁰ for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

We worship a God who has given us rest in Jesus Christ!  That kind of rest is better than any other rest that we can possibly comprehend on this Earth.  As believers we can rest from working our way to righteousness and striving to be acceptable by a Holy God.  This was accomplished by Christ and now we can rest in Him as our Sabbath.  Jesus gives us spiritual rest.  Let us take time as believers to dwell on this rest that only Christ can give.  We are resting in Christ knowing that we are totally accepted by God, made Holy in Christ, our sins have been removed, God’s wrath has been appeased, we are no longer alienated from God, the price has been paid for the penalty of sin, and the powers of darkness have been defeated all by Christ.  All of this was done by Christ for us, so lets joyfully rest in Him knowing that He is our Sabbath rest.

Thank you Father for making a way for us through Jesus Christ!  Let us enjoy You through resting from our spiritual works.  Let us rest in Christ for that amazing gift of salvation that comes from His death on the Cross.  Please, give us a fuller comprehension of what Chirst has accomplished for us in His death and resurrection on the Cross at Calvary. In Jesus name!

Looking Toward November 8 With Hope

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will.

As we look at the upcoming election and quite possibly get completely discouraged and hopeless, let us remember the truth of God’s Word.  Let us be forever hopeful remembering that yes, Hillary and Donald both have moral freedom, but the Lord turns and maneuvers their actions and decisions wherever He wills.  No matter how ridiculous, immoral, tyrannical, liberal or conservative our president is let us rest comfortably on the truth that our sovereign God uses whomever leads the USA and any other nation for HIS own purpose in HIS own way.  Let us pray that the Lord will give us a president that we do not deserve and rest in His perfection plan and decision that will be revealed to us on November 8.

Father God, let us rest completely in You as our God who directs presidents and kings throughout this world for Your purpose and plan.  Give us that level of trust that we can confidently say with utmost hope, “Let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  Let us as Your followers rest peacefully in Your decision as You move kings in their perspective office.  Remind us that we can only do this as we rest in what Your Son Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross, complete redemption from this temporary life on Earth.  In Jesus name!