https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/salvation
Synonyms and Antonyms of salvation
the saving from danger or evil... We spent the night in the cellar praying for salvation from the tornadoes
Synonyms of salvation:
deliverance, rescue
Words Related to salvation:
ransom, recovery, redemption, extrication
defense, guard, protection, isafeguard, safeguarding, security
conservation, guardianship, preservation, safekeeping
2 Corinthians 2 : 9. My purpose in writing you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10. If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And if I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven it in the presence of Christ for your sake, 11. in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
March 31st to April 1st.
April took me to a place I wouldn't wish for anyone. It started with an innocent pain in the lower abdomen that quickly went away. Little did I know my colon had perforated.
In the middle of the night the pain in my abdomen woke me up. I tried everything in the medicine cabinet. There was no relief.
Deciding to go to the hospital, I was surprised that the "Nurse" that came to the ER waiting room to take me to the examination room was 6' 8" tall and had tattoos all over his arms and neck. He asked if I was Rudolph and I said "yes that's me". I didn't think it was a good idea to correct him. Thus, April began. A Euroclydon of Calamity where God blessed me!
Good advise. "Pondered". I take that as thought about it a lot.
I bring it up because I realize now, because of "social media" I can share way too soon. I don't think I'm Mary. I just want to learn from her example.
Too soon, before I've actually grappled with it on a personal level. Too soon, before I've understood what it means to me personally. Too soon before I can be a faithful example.
At first I thought about "wait" as a postition of inaction. Like waiting for my friend to catch-up with me.
Then "wait" as guidance to fit into the plan He was bringing about.
Now I see "wait" as "pay attention" and do only the thing I want you to do to bring about My plan.
God does nothing except by GRACE!
Is this true? Hmm. What is God's Grace?
A free gift. Unearned. That no one should boast. Okay.
His Grace is enough, the song says.
His Grace is sufficient for me.
So. Somewhere in the Bible I read, "God pours out His rain on the just and the unjust".
Rain/Grace, he pours it out over all of us.
The question He's looking to answer? How will they respond?
How will you respond?!
These are terms that define our uniqueness.
They are terms that from the observer are, to an extent, negative.
They are terms that give evidence to the need of each of us to be Overcomers.
Overcome what you may ask? Society defines the terms. But God prioritises. Fear Him, not man!
Happiness is reaping the fruit of your labour. Joy is knowing you stand blameless before the Lord of Eternity even when there is no fruit.
"Now" is the time for Joy and happiness. It can also be the time of regret and dread.
It all depends on who you trust and obey.
At first you think that your family and everything you experience in that sphere is how things are for everyone and you learn to deal with the situation. Then at sometime you experience a paradym Shift in your perspective. There are hints along the way but then it happens. And your perspective gets shaken with additional information that makes you question your previous assumptions.
,This is a good thing!
To many definitions to firmly understand the meaning, yet...
Many think they are "highly" competent to represent the Kingdom of God. Their proof? Signs and wonders?... But!
We should break it down.
Speak the truth in love.
3 words...
Speak. Truth. Love.
in·or·di·nate
inˈôrd(ə)nət/Submit
adjective
unusually or disproportionately large; excessive.
"a case that had taken up an inordinate amount of time"
synonyms:excessive, undue, unreasonable, unjustifiable, unwarrantable, disproportionate, unwarranted, unnecessary, needless, uncalled for, gratuitous, exorbitant, extreme.
A SIGN OF OUR TIMES!
Back to that I go.
Distraction. Occupy your time. Use it up.
If the enemy can't deceive you he will try to distract you. Not just with worthless entertainment but with causes that we perceive as worthy.
These "causes" satisfy our need to feel justified, but fall short of explicit obedience and trust of God's will for our lives.
Well, I certainly have been considering my thoughts. It's been quite... Educational... Inlightning... Convicting... OH CRAP!
I seem to be a little judgemental. It's most apparent on the highway. I won't be specific, you know what I mean...
Do I need to mention at home?...
"?..." means - think about it!!!
Take "every thought captive to the Lordship of Christ". Impossible without a desperate realization that you can't anticipate the next step in your future.
Why? Because things are unpredictable...
For us!
But not to the One who sees the beginning from the end. To the One who goes before those who trust in Him, and anticipates every decision that will be made by those who affect His desired plan for your life. He is able to bring His promise to pass. Just Trust and Obey. Walk through the valley of death. Cling to the promise of your understanding.
And your witness will be. HE IS FAITHFUL!
Life is hard, you will suffer, and in order to handle that suffering, you will have to be prepared. Preparing means taking responsibility for yourself. That’s hard, too, so you may try to avoid it. You may use all manner of evasions and rationalizations to convince yourself that things will sort themselves out on their own, or that others will bail you out, or that if they don’t, it’s their fault and not yours. But that’s a lie. So stop lying. Accept responsibility for your fate.
Prov. 4:7. Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.
So wisely understand this...
Proverbs 3:5-6 (HCSB) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6. Think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.
I think much of what we do (chose/decide) stupifies God.
Not that He didn't know that it was possible for us to do such a "stupid" thing.
More about a sense of disappointment that we fell short of what He had planned for us
Jude 1:3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to "contend" earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
The healing of the physical is a shadow of God's purpose to heal us Spiritually. The enemy of our soul uses spiritual wounds from our past to manipulate our present and to hinder us from responding to others with God's love and grace.
"God speaks most clearly to us in this day through His Word. The more we learn it, the more ready we will be to recognize His voice when He speaks, and the more likely we are to obey what we hear."
1 John 5:4–5 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
"Developing an ear for His voice seems to be at the heart of this issue, for faith comes by hearing, not having heard (see Rom. 10:17). Faith implies a present tense relationship with God. What we know can keep us from what we need to know if we don't stay childlike in our approach to life and ministry." Bill Johnson
"Then they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying "signs". Amen" (Mark 16:20).
But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’
"The terms tactic and strategy are often confused: tactics are the actual means used to gain an objective, while strategy is the overall campaign plan, which may involve complex operational patterns, activity, and decision-making that lead to tactical execution."
a place or occasion of severe test or trial.
"the crucible of combat"
a place or situation in which different elements interact to produce something new.
Certainly it is expressed by the willingness to die for your friend.
But for most of us, what is the common expression of love? Or should I ask the evidence of love?
It is a commitment to relationship no matter the response from the one you love. It is a commitment to their highest good even when they walk away.
It is a willingness to say, "please forgive me". When you have made a mistake.
This love can only be expressed, transfered or passed on when you have experienced it yourself. It comes from an overflowing understanding of your own unloveliness, and the price Christ paid to have a relationship with you.
It is the understanding that you aren't sinless but you can be blameless.
A pivot point where pressure is multiplied. Accusation is the pressure. The accuser has a case. The point is guilt. Guilt is a function of the Spirit. The mind tries, but can not reason it away. Excuse and blame give control away and the lever is lengthened. So we are lost and condemned. Yet.
Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.
Certainly good news.
In every battle there is the "front". In WW2 they were defined geographically. Initially though they were defined by ideas that individuals expressed. These ideas propagated, to influence other individuals in geographic locations. The real battle front is relational. It is the battle between truth and lies. It is a battle between the one who loves our soul and the one who wants to destroy us. It is a battle waged in the hearts of those who know His guidance, provision and care and those who need to know.
Priorities. The difference is between temporal and Eternal. Many will be surprised when they find out where their priorities were.
Knowledge? It is knowing what is fact. Fact is truth. Fact becomes truth as it happens/occurs. Facts are knowable. And knowledge is increased as facts are shared. Knowledge puffs up. Makes you believe you can anticipate the future. Pride has only one predictable outcome. It is an unwelcome surprise for all who trusted in their own understanding/knowledge.
I would give my life for the chance that you would become all that God created you to be.
Have you ever argued with yourself? How is that possible?
I believe what I believe. If there is contradiction in my "thoughts" then that is evidence that some of my thoughts are not my own.
Existentialism --> life is pointless --> crisis reveals our helplessness --> Jesus reveals the solution --> Bible is the witness --> Holy Spirit is the guide --> Faith is how it is accomplished.
"If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!"
Soren Keirkegaard
Humility, a teachable heart and radical dependence on the counsel and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
A clever method used by people who are experienced in a particular type of work or activity.
Through trial and error one can learn "tricks of the trade". We can all learn from "our" mistakes. At least a wise man can.
But there is another, some might say, better way. "Tricks of the trade" can be passed on from one to another, if the other has a teachable heart.
One does not mean you have the other. Experience and knowledge is a function of our ability to remember. Wisdom and understanding is a function of our ability to anticipate and reason. The problem is that knowledge puffs up, and pride is a stumbling block to wisdom.
Humility is the first step a wise man will make. A teachable heart is the path to understanding.
The key to success in the economy of God's Kingdom?... Know who He created you to be. You "ARE", So "BE" and you'll "DO".
Are, am, will be
Be, being, becoming
Do, act, action, actuate, actuated
You are "Justified".
You are being "Sanctified"
So let Christ be "Glorified" in all you do.
The first part now may be seen in it's proper role...
"Obey my voice and I will be your God and you will be my people."
The first promise is preeminent to the second "Walk in my ways", because life's unimaginable complexity is only fully comprehended by the one who created us..
Obeying His voice, as He answers our questions, as we walk with Him, is what "pray without ceasing" really means.
"But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.""Obey My voice" is a present tense imperative, progressive verb. You only hear Him in the present "here and now." That is when you should obey.
I try to understand the meaning to this and I think of Haggai...
2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’”
3 Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.
Let’s summarize what we’ve been talking about thus far. For our purposes, then, a “disciple of Christ” is someone who has been called first to know Christ, then to follow him, and then to make disciples of all nations. That is, in our knowing Christ we are becoming like him—thinking, feeling, and living as he commands. In this spiritual ambience of personal relationship with him, that is, in light of our experience of the kingdom, he summons us to be his disciples. We are to follow him, through thick and through thin, knowing that he is there and that he will reward us in his time; after all, he is the Master. But discipleship not only involves being with him, being like him, and following him, it also means that we make it our goal to disciple others—indeed, every nation under the sun. The Great Commission is not just another good idea—though it is that—it is the church’s marching order. As far as I know, he never communicated another plan.
Is there anyone in the Bible that has "operated in the fullness of God's guidence, provision and care"?...
YES! Jesus.
Has there been anyone in the Bible who has attempted to follow Jesus? Well Duh...
Philippians 3:12-16 (KJV)
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
How is that different from biblical faith and spiritual guidence? The difference is huge.
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
All the promises find their yes in Him.
Knock and it will be opened up to you
Seek and you will find.
Asking for bread over and over until the owner of the inn finely gives it to you.
My sheep know my voice and I know them.
Do you know His voice? Does Jesus know you?
Have you knocked on His door? Have you been so convinced that you have not given up. Committed to "Travail" through until you receive the promise, to the end?
FULLY ACTUALIZED KINGDOM SAINT...
Operating in the fullness of God's guidence, provision and care. Being established holy and blameless before God.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
LOOK IT UP!
Some more...
for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first.
Falling away? Because of a lie? Before Christ comes back?
A strong delusion? What could that possibly be?
Are you a student of current events?
Make sure that your pride in deference doesn't overshadow your need to reject passivity.
Both are a poor substitute. One for sex with your wife and the other victorious living.
A fully actualized kingdom saint is second, charts their own course, utilizes what comes along. And is not passive but intentional.
It's not where you are at.
It's how far you have come.
It's not what you have been given, but what you have done with it.
You don't need permission. Trust the Lover of your Soul and obey.
There is a season for everything. And in that season, friends challenge what you think. They see first hand the consequence of your choices and ask questions about the veracity of your decisions. That is if they are a friend.
It's good to know what you believe, it's better to know why you believe it. Your friends may "trust in chariots and some in horses"... Google it.
It's all about radical dependence. That is if you are done with trusting your own understanding.
You are responsible for the consequence of your choices.
Trust the Lover of your soul for guidance.
Be wise. Admit your mistakes and know God gives Grace to the humble.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
incongruous
[in-kong-groo-uh s]
adjective
1.
out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming:
an incongruous effect; incongruous behavior.
2.
not harmonious in character; inconsonant; lacking harmony of parts:
conscious
(followed by `of') showing realization or recognition of something
sensible
aware intuitively or intellectually of something sensed
witting
aware or knowing
conscious
knowing and perceiving; having awareness of surroundings and sensations and thoughts