“Our Daily Bread” http://odb.org/
The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie
http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht
“Homily Grits Devotional” http://www.homilygrits.com/
Isaiah 30:15… For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and restyou shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not, (NKJV)
Today, God willing, I am going to try and write about this same opening scripture I started with yesterday…but in a whole different light…
It’s hard for some people to understand just how easy God makes it, for someone to be graced with salvation by saving faith alone in Jesus Christ…Ephesians 2:8-9… There are religions that preach a works-based salvation…where there is a set of laws written by the church that a person must follow, in order to be forgiven of their sins… These good works done in the name of the Lord include being told that going to church every week is a must; and failure to do so is a sin… There are several of these works based beliefs that have been written by leaders in these churches over hundreds of years…but this works-based salvation is very clearly warned against by Jesus Himself, in…
Matthew 7:21-23… “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (NKJV) (Those trying to keep the laws of their church)
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (for the most part), is not presented in these churches… I wrote about this just yesterday, as being the most important part of any church that God would honor, for what is being preached… When someone has no idea of what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about…it’s a pretty good indicator that they cannot be a Christian in God’s eyes… This means believing that they are Christians…it is only in their minds, with no heart change that will result from being filled with the love of Christ…
When someone becomes a Christian in God’s eyes, God forgives their lifetime of sins, and graces the new believer with salvation; and at the same moment in time, the Holy Spirit is given to the new believer by God, as a lifelong, live-in Helper…John 14:26…
When people are told that becoming a Christian in God’s eyes, is as simple as understanding and obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…many times they just can’t believe that it is as simple as believing in saving faith alone in Jesus Christ… The caveat here, is that an unredeemed sinner must first be drawn in by God (John 6:44)…and upon hearing the gospel of Christ, they must believe in saving faith alone in Jesus Christ…loving the Lord with ALL of their heart, their mind, and their soul…Matthew 22:36-40…
Jesus Himself tells us this, in…Matthew 11:28-30… “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (NKJV)
Much like the opening scripture, we see that the Lord wants us to come to Him…placing our full faith and trust in the Lord, that He knows best… The opening scripture tells us that we come to the Lord “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength”… It’s not about fulfilling all the good works that we try to do for the Lord, to make ourselves presentable to Him, by keeping the law… (“all you who labor and are heavy laden”)
It takes total submission to the Lord, through understanding and obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, to become a Christian… And once an unredeemed sinner has been graced by God with the gift of salvation, through saving faith alone in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9)…they must remain yoked to the Lord by remaining obedient to the Holy Spirit, in order to“find rest for your souls”… The Holy Spirit has all the supernatural power that we will ever need, to carry our heavy load for us…
Any sins that are being harbored in the believers heart…must be confessed, repented of, and turned from…1 John 1:9… But once the believer is filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18-20)…and they stay out of their own way, by allowing the Holy Spirit to control their every move (remain yoked to the Lord)…they will find that the Lord “In quietness and confidence will be their strength”…
This would be a good place to revisit the wise Solomon’s advice, which he penned, in…Proverbs 3:5-6… Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And leannot on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (NKJV)
It really is pretty simple… God knows what is best for His children… If we let Him direct our lives…He will do it in His perfect way… Will we have trials ?? Absolutely !! But knowing that God always does things His way, to benefit the lives of His children, should take the load off of our mortal minds…Romans 8:28…
The Apostle Peter pens this, in…1 Peter 5:6-7… Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for Hecares for you. (NKJV)
Heavenly Father, I for one am ever so thankful for Your loving guidance and direction for my life… I pray Lord, that all of Your children would become yoked to the leading of the Holy Spirit, so as to place their burdens and their cares upon You… I pray for this fullness of Christ, and a perfect peace that only You can provide for all of us…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
Blessings in Christ, bruce r mills
P.S. Here is a link for this most important days writing, about how God’s grace is received to become a Christian in God’s eyes; through obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…
God's group 
Great post! God bless you 🙂
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