The Time of Your Salvation

When you believed you WERE…

JUSTIFIED- Romans 5:1; Gal. 2:16– The Judge irrevocably declares you are “Not Guilty!”

As God works in your struggles, you ARE BEING …

SANCTIFIED -  Philippians 2:13; 3:13-14 – You reach far and push hard toward becoming what He says you are.


You live with hope because you WILL BE…
GLORIFIED – 1 Cor. 15:51-53; Philippians 4:21; 1 John 3:2 – You become all that you were meant to be.

The Cross and Scotty McMillan

Not a week has passed since three year-old Scotty McMillan was pronounced dead. Many of us were calling down the curses of hell on three people responsible for the systematic torture of a little boy.  Many moms of young children are still shaken by the reports of a mother who would watch and laugh while her boyfriend beat her child.  It grates against the grain of a mother—and invokes her God-given call to protect with all of her being.

The incident, however, will soon vanish from our thoughts in the flurry of information overload. But the memory of this little boy will not vanish from the mind of God—of this we are all as certain as we are the existence of hell and our wish that his perpetrators be cast into it.  

But are these thoughts God’s thoughts?  I’m not speaking of whether the offenders can be forgiven. Thank God it’s not our business. To hope for forgiveness for them feels like a betrayal to all that is good. But to deny the possibility of forgiveness is to say that Scotty’s murder is somehow more powerful than Jesus’ Blood and forgiveness.  If that is true, then we are all lost. It may be that how these events effect us, as far as we are concerned, has far more to do with our faith than with the fate of Scotty’s mother and boyfriend.

You and I have two options in the face of evil. Rage and curse or run to Jesus. As I think on Scotty and the unthinkable alleged negligence of the woman who was supposed to protect him, all I can do is think about how incredibly grateful I am for Christ, who leads me out of my own darkness.

Paul wrote that I was an enemy of God and that I was darkness myself.  I didn’t kill a child. But I killed the Lord of Lords. He conquered my act of murder and told me to follow. No matter how horrible the things I hear and judge—in the news, in my relationships, in myself, following the path of the cross must govern what I say and what I think.  It is not my sense of justice or mercy that must prevail within me—but the intensity of justice and mercy clashing at the cross. Grace must govern my steps and my voice in following the Savior. 

Grace does not mean there is no outrage over injustice. Grace does not mean we look the other way. But grace recognizes that I stand where I do not because I am better than someone I deem to be a monster—grace remembers that my Savior died for me—and there is no offense that is worse than the offense of the Cross, my offense, which was forgiven and which produced unspeakable joy.

There is freedom from hate in that perspective--a freedom to trust that He is just and He is merciful and He will prevail—even in our tears and confusion. 

Cookie Cutter Christians

God doesn’t make cookie-cutter Christians.  He makes snowflakes—and He makes followers. Snowflakes are like people who follow Jesus. No two snowflakes formed in the entire world have ever been completely identical. But every real snowflake carries the same properties as every other real snowflake—they are all made of water; they all function according to the properties of ice; they are light and beautiful; and yet together they become a powerful and formidable force.

There are no two Christians in the entire world who have ever been completely identical. But every real Christian carries the same properties as every other real Christian—they are all born of water and Spirit; they all function according to the properties of the Holy Spirit; they are the light and beauty of  meekness; and yet together, they becomes part of a formidable and powerful force.  Being wholly Christ-like doesn’t mean losing your identity—it means being holy like Christ through your identity.

Eleven Things You Do When You Believe Jesus Is Better

If Hebrews had a theme, it would be “Jesus is better.” The writer of the Book summed it up in Chapter 13 with 11 things someone who believes Jesus is better does:

1.   I believe Jesus is better when I love others.

2.   I believe Jesus is better when I am hospitable.

3.   I believe Jesus is better when my empathy for the suffering of others drives me to action.

4.    I believe Jesus is better when I honor marriage.

5.   I believe Jesus is better when I practice freedom from the love of money and things.

6.   I believe Jesus is better when I imitate the Christ-centered faith of others.

7.   I believe Jesus is better when I guard the basics of my faith.

8.   I believe Jesus is better when I remember that Jesus is coming back.

9.   I believe Jesus is better when I continually and verbally practice gratefulness to God.

10    I believe Jesus is better when I do good, and when I share what I have.

11    I believe Jesus is better when I obey and submit to my leaders.

©2014 by Nancy L. Maurer

Three Reasons to Stop Worrying about Discipleship

A Guest Post

by Wayne Rissmiller
Calvary Bible Fellowship Church

Here we are, almost at the end of the week, and I’m wondering what you’re thinking about last Sunday’s message on following Jesus from Matthew 4:19.

 Janene Naugle summed up the sermon in her Facebook post: “Discipleship is an intimidating word in Christianity. But no more. It’s simple: growing followers growing followers.”

She also said something that a lot of people seem to worry about:  “I’m not good at it because I keep waiting to be a finished work before I help others grow.”

But if “growing followers begin growing followers” the moment they trust Christ, then there are three things that you should NOT worry about.

1) How much you know.  A disciple usually begins knowing very little about the Bible.

I have been a pastor for more than 20 years, so it’s expected that I know a lot.

But God has taught me new things on a regular basis through the newest of believers. I’ve been inspired to follow Jesus with more excitement. I have been spurred on to grow in areas of my spiritual walk I would not have thought about on my own.

 You don’t need to know anything, except that Jesus saved you. 

That one thing is enough. 

2) How good of a Christian you are. None of us are going to be a finished work until we get to Heaven.

The remarkable thing is that no matter where you are in the process, God wants to use you to help others grow.

This doesn’t mean that you should ignore spiritual growth—that would be ignoring the point of discipleship. But it does mean that God uses the sincere and forgiven follower of Christ at all stages of the journey to spur others on toward growth. 

3)  Learning special methods. Discipleship is natural. It happens when you intentionally open your mouth to talk about spiritual things.

Small groups and Adult Bible Fellowships are great places to grow and encourage others to grow.

Talking with your family about what you are learning about Christ at church, in devotions, or elsewhere is discipleship.

Talking with believers at work or school about spiritual things is discipleship.

Ask “so what” questions of yourself and others.

How will this be put into play in my everyday life as a growing follower (who is growing followers)?