The Great Salvation In Christ
The salvation in Christ is a complete one, not only in that it deals with the sins of men, cleansing men from them, but dealing with the heart. When Christ saves a soul, He makes of that soul a new creation in Christ, freed from the bondage to sin, Satan, and the world. But He also puts within the heart of the redeemed soul, the very power by His Spirit to live for God, to love and serve Him.
Surrender To Christ
What does it mean to surrender to Christ? It means first coming to a true understanding of who He is, the Son of God, and Savior or the world. When the heart is convicted of its sinfulness, and lost condition far from Christ, it means to come to Him as one is in sincerity and truth, seeking His grace to trust Him fully as one's eternal Savior and Lord, yielding one's life to Him.
Seeking God And Finding Him
Is it possible to seek God and find Him? The Scriptures tell us that it is. What is first required is a heart thirsting after Him, then a willingness to seek Him in God's word, for by the truth can we know Christ. And lastly, if there is the call of the heart and soul to God, in all sincerity and truth, God will hear and respond, leading the seeking heart to find Him.
In Christ
What does it mean to be IN CHRIST? It first means that God the Father placed every believer in living union with Christ, a relationship and communion from which and in which he is to live. Christ has become the believer's life, and all is in Him, so that Christ by the Spirit can work in and through the believer, revealing His blessed life by the Spirit to the world.
Hearing God's Voice Today
Does God speak to our hearts? If there is a fundamental fact and truth in Scripture, from the very beginning pages of the Bible to the end, it is that God speaks. He speaks creation into being, and life into the dead. In light of such a reality, can He not, will He not, speak to the hearts of those for whom He gave His Son to die on a cross? The issue is not, does He speak, but, will we truly listen?
To Love Christ
It is one thing to "say" we love God; it is quite another to truly love Him in an acceptable manner. Peter told the Lord that he loved Him, and he meant it. But Peter had failed in his love. It was only after Pentecost, and the coming of the power of the Spirit, that Peter truly could love Christ. Only by the power of the Spirit can one be committed wholeheartedly to Him, receiving from Him by faith, the power and strength to truly love and follow Christ.
The Prayer For Guidance
One way of proving the faithfulness and wisdom of God is in the matter of His guidance in the life of an individual. God gives His wisdom to the one who is first willing to receive and obey it, but also, to the one who will believe Him wholeheartedly to make it clearly known. David made this clear when he wrote: "He (the Lord) leadeth me beside still waters." God has not changed since the days of David.
The Covenant Of God
The covenant of God begins with God and extends to man. It is an absolute commitment of God to specifically meet the needs of men, whether materially or spiritually. The key component of the covenant is the promise of God, and the call to man to believe and obey Him. God gives His covenant, and fulfills it, to the one who will trust Him fully, and obey Him implicitly.
Spiritual Discipline
It is one thing to know that the believer has all in Christ, that he is complete in Him. David expressed this truth by declaring in Psalm 23, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." It is quite another to live day by day, with heart opened to Christ, receiving from Him all that is needed to honor and glorify Him. The follower of Christ is called to live as a good receiver, receiving all from Christ to give to others.
Hope Beyond Disaster
In the economy of God, there is always hope beyond disaster. Why? For the believer in Christ it resides in the fact of who God is. Though Christ was touched with the feeling of our infirmities and weaknesses, and can meet us in them, He is unchanged, and unalterable Rock which cannot be moved. There is hope in Christ because He is compassionate, merciful, and gracious, never ceasing to care for, and meet the deep needs of His child.