“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Do you ever wonder if you are truly saved? John wrote his first letter to give believers assurance of salvation by describing characteristics of those who have been born again (1 John 5:13). God wants us to know we are safe and secure in Him through the salvation provided at the cross to all who come to Christ in faith.

When we by faith receive Jesus Christ as Lord, the Father sets His Holy Spirit within us. Romans 8:16 tells us, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” His internal witness assures us that we are saved—regardless of how our feelings ebb and flow.

When the Holy Spirit takes up residence within the human heart, powerful changes occur. We are given new desires to know God and His Word and to live in obedience to Him. We now have the capacity to hate the sin we once loved and to quickly repent when we feel the Spirit’s conviction. 

If you’ve trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and can see the changes God’s Spirit has made in your life, then rejoice today as a saved and secure child of God.

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” Romans 5:12

I was taking a nap and had just fallen asleep when I heard my wife scream! Being a man of action I lept from the bed and ran to the front door where she was hollering and flailing her arms toward the plant hanging on the wall. “WHAT, WHAT IS IT?” I cried! “SNAAAAAAKE” was her response. “WHERE?” I shouted? “Right there above your head…. QUICK… THE BIRDS!”

We have been watching a nest in that plant as a couple very small birds had built a nest there. They had grown accustomed to our comings and goings and stayed hidden in the nest most of the time when we passed. They were so quiet we didn’t notice the babies inside right away. Now 2 little birds were trying to fly from the ground as a large black snake hung from the viney branches above. The danger of the snake flushed the birds out of the nest just a little before they were ready!

I knocked the snake down and chased it away while the baby birds were trying to fly without much success. Mommy and daddy birds were carrying on feverishly tweeting better than Donald Trump! It was chaos! Using gloves, we caught and put the birds back in the nest, but watched from the window as mom and dad kicked them back out. The rest of the afternoon was quite entertaining!

Mom and dad knew… and so did the snake… that as long as those babies stayed in that nest, they were not safe at all. They HAD to learn to FLY! And IMMEDIATELY was none too soon! All afternoon the tweets and bird yelling went on and on, as babies would make their way to the top of a chair and leap in an attempt to fly! It took a LOT of tweeting and determination, but by dusk I said to Katie, “they’re getting it down. They’ll be gone by morning.” And they were.

We are born into a life of danger and death. That ol serpent brought death to man’s door and rang the bell. And Man answered! Now we ALL face death’s door… immediately! Even from the womb! One of the most dangerous enemies of our young ones is to coddle and pamper them, when teaching truth and squawking are what is necessary for Life!

If YOU have found true life in Jesus Christ, please don’t sit on the fence and watch as brother and sister birds lie in danger… SQUAWK! The serpent is quite determined!

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

The best friend I ever had in my life passed away and I had just completed the research needed to fly out of state for his burial. All I needed to do was press the computer icon labeled ‘confirm.’ My hesitation did not reflect confusion or want, but reality. I clearly wanted and needed to be there. But being in ministry, I knew what I was volunteering for. And this was NOT going to be easy or fun. This was going to hurt!

Everyday we face death. When turning on the TV or radio, we hear about it. Even if it is just a story for entertainment purposes, drama programs often center around death. But hearing and knowing ABOUT death is totally different than experiencing it. The finality and invasiveness of death’s reality is something no one can prepare for. When I stood before the casket, reality crashed in and crushed my heart. I was reminded how much I hate death!

Being a man of the Gospel, I know from experience that people who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are more prone to ‘hear’ it when death is in the room. I also know that Jesus Christ is especially present by the Holy Spirit as well. Mourning myself, I knew that I would be asked by my Master to share the Gospel to those in mourning. A delicate procedure, to say the least! Why? Because when Truth enters the room, hard choices will either be forthcoming… or evaded.

Truth has a way of clearing a room. If there IS TRULY, ONLY 1 Way, and Jesus Christ is it, then hearing and choosing HIM requires radical change. When a baby is born, the process is called ‘labor’ for a reason. It is painful and hard. Spiritual birth is no less stressful. Sharing the Gospel means clearly sharing the process in which we must CHOOSE to dive into our own grave to receive His divine Grace. Grace may be free… but it comes at high cost! There is NO way to be sneaky about its decision!

To live the ‘Free’ life requires work. Loving Christ means we will make the hard decisions to live HIS life HIS way. Reading His Word, praying, going to Church, giving up the sinful distractions He points out and unfriending some non-friends is a process that takes time and decisive effort. Most will CHOOSE death over life because of Life’s inconvenience. Sadly, there is no sound more sorrowful than a casket being locked… from the inside! Are YOU truly free?

Excerpt from Ransomed Heart Daily Reading

I love the story of a certain man whom Jesus interfered with, much to his initial chagrin. Remember when Jesus met the man possessed with many demons in Luke 8? 

“So they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in the tombs outside the town. As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?’” Luke 8:26–28

The man in this true story was tormented by demons to the point that it was impossible for him to live a healthy life. He was isolated from his family and friends, not able to work or do anything other than endure the excruciating torment. And after many years of this, Jesus showed up. When He did, the man came running naked to Him (that must have been a little unnerving—at least for the disciples), shouting, “What are You doing here? Why are You interfering with me? This is my life. I’m fine. Leave me alone!” 

Huh. We all know he wasn’t fine. His life had not been his own for quite some time. In fact, it wasn’t him at all who was shouting at Jesus to go away but the inner tormenting demons compelled by fear. And Jesus, mighty Love incarnate, refused to leave. Instead He interfered; He intervened. 

Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, all sixty-four square miles, to get to this one man. And He has crossed galaxies and heavenly realms to get to you. He passed through unimaginable opposition and endured unfathomable suffering to get to you. To mess with you. He has come, and He is coming still. To save us. To heal us. To help us. To love us. To guide and comfort us. And to interfere with our lives—particularly in the places we do not want Him to. 

Yes, it can be uncomfortable, but remember who Jesus is. He has the right to interfere. 

“NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO ESTABLISH YOU IN ACCORDANCE WITH MY GOSPEL, THE MESSAGE I PROCLAIM ABOUT JESUS CHRIST.” ROMANS 16:25_

I had 3 places I needed to be yesterday, but because they were related
by order and location, I had to make a plan. I needed to go to A to get
something for B. C was closer to B so it easily squeezed into 3rd place.
When I got to A… what I went to GET for B was not there. Making
arrangements, B agreed to proceed without having A… WITH a promise of
my delivery of A’s thing later.

When I got to C, the guy said he could do what I needed, but only if I
got to location D later. Later, when I got to D, C man wasn’t there and
asked, by phone, if I could return to the original location of C
today… EARLY! I hadn’t planned on that!

Ever have one of those days? If I am honest, MOST of life goes like
that. There’s an old saying that goes, “if you want to make God laugh,
tell Him your plans!” He has a whole comedy channel named just for me!
Driving on the road is a lesson of planned futility… as traffic seems
to move AGAINST my progress. Life can be frustrating indeed.

I have had a very good friend for 40 years. Because he lives out of
state and I had moved from there, we didn’t talk much. But when we did,
we always seemed to pick up where we had left off. Relationship was
always the same. We share life and stories together… but separately…
if you know what I mean.

Yesterday my friend didn’t have anywhere to go. He actually couldn’t.
Lying in bed under hospice care, with no place to go and no knowledge of
what was going on around him, he finally DID take a trip. From A to
Z…in a nanosecond! He went from this world… straight into the arms
of Jesus! And while it hadn’t been HIS plan to go so soon, his ultimate
trip HAD been established by our mutual Savior long ago.

When a friend or loved one dies, it pretty much becomes a major stifle
of plans. Life kind of stops and reflection takes over. What we call
death is a shock. To God the word simply means separation. My friend
separated from this old body and life… and took up NEW residence with
a NEW body in a NEW place… WITH Jesus Christ! Z wasn’t the immediate
plan… but it WAS the ULTIMATE! And it was God’s established plan before
he even arrived here at A!

It will be wonderful to see him again!

“He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord.” 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9

I was is a hurry and grabbed my sunglasses off the buffet. Unknowingly, the ear piece was hooked around a crystal goblet, When I pulled the sunglasses off the shelf, the crystal came with it. In nano-seconds I saw what was about to take place and thrust out my hand to catch it. But it was too late! All I could do is watch the inevitable as the glass hit the ceramic tile and exploded all across the room! My reaction? “OOPS!!!!!!”

That very night I had grandkids over for a sleepover. One of them dropped a glass of juice onto the floor. Thankfully (or wisely) I had put the juice into a PLASTIC glass. My reaction from earlier in the day was a fresh nano-second reminder that ‘accidents happen.’ All I could say was, “It’s OK honey.. I’ll clean it up!” Grace had won!

I will never forget the time when, as a child, I spilled a glass of milk on the dinner table. My parent’s immediate reaction was to whack me across the face. The punishment was EXTREME, to say the least! It is STILL shocking to both you and I when I relay the story. It invokes serious emotions. But looking back, I am forced to remember something else! To be honest… the whack wasn’t for spilled milk!

The scene wasn’t normal. My parents were stressed about something and the tension among all of us was high. I had been told several times to settle down at the dinner table…but I hadn’t complied! Furthermore, I had been warned… which made no difference. The WHACK was NOT because I had spilled my milk, but because I had been grossly insubordinate in my disobedience to my parents wishes.

When we see the above Bible verse standing alone, it causes shock. It is easy to think Jesus Christ too violent in His actions. ESPECIALLY since He suffered and died FOR the very people about to be punished when He returns. The initial reaction might be to label Him a big meany! Which would be a gross mistake. His action of judgment will NOT be because of a stressful day. But because of gross insubordination and disobedience to Gods will of Salvation.

Jesus Christ was passionate in His suffering and dying for MY sins. God the father added constraint to allow it to happen. Ultimately, God’s horrific suffering was the ONLY way possible for mankind to be redeemed from destruction. He offered it FREELY to ANYONE who would receive it! Maybe I should be less shocked about HIS reaction to the Gospel’s deliberate refusal, and more shocked about MY disobedience to proclaim it!