SO GREAT A SALVATION

"Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into."  1 Peter 1:12

"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him."  Hebrews 2:3

          Have you ever stopped to think about our salvation?  What does it mean when we say Jesus saves?  What do we really get after we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour?  I stopped to think about it today and I will never glance over the word "salvation" again.  I am overwhelmed at this great salvation God has given to all who believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid for the sin of all mankind.  All we have to do is believe.  No wonder God says how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation.  No wonder the angels desire to look into it.  Here is the list of what I came up with.  Feel free to add more.  I plan on adding more as I learn more about this great salvation God has freely given to all those who believe.

After we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour:

1.  God's Spirit (the Holy Spirit) moves inside our spirit and quickens it (makes it alive).  He will never leave you nor forsake you.  From that day on, your spirit will never sin against God again.  
2. Jesus' righteousness is imputed unto us, so when God looks at us, he sees Jesus' righteousness not our sin.
3. God's justice will be satisfied.  God will treat us just as if we had never sinned.  Jesus paid it all!
4. God puts angels in charge of us.  These angels fight for us in the spirit realm. 
5. The Holy Spirit guides us down the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
6. The Holy Spirit teaches us all things.  He reveals truth to us.  He decodes God's Word for us, so that each time we read it, we will understand just what God wants us to understand for that day.
7. The Holy Spirit corrects us by speaking to our hearts if we are doing something wrong or going in the wrong direction.
8. The Holy Spirit comforts us if we are hurting.
9. God loves us unconditionally.
10. God is always merciful and kind to us.
11. God is patient and longsuffering with us.
12.  Our soul will be regenerated when we are raptured up, but in the mean time, if we yield our will to God (surrender to his will), he will live the Christian life through us.  If we yield to him, his fruit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance) will flow out of us. 
13. We will get a new body when Jesus returns the second time.
14. We will rule and reign with him in the millenium.
15. We will live forever with him in the new heaven and new earth where the lamb will lay beside the lion.
16. We can come boldly to the throne of grace and bring him all of our cares.
17. We will one day walk on streets of gold and look into a crystal river. 
18. We can meet God in the secret place by coming to him with thanksgiving, praise, and worship.
19. We can draw as close to God as we want to and the closer we draw to him, the closer he will draw to us, and the closer we draw to him, the more of himself he will reveal to us.
20. He provides us with everything we need and many of the things we want.
21. He gives us his peace, the peace that passes all understanding.
22. He puts new desires into our hearts and then gives us those desires.
23. We can do all things he wants us to do because he adds his strength to our weakness.
24. He will rapture up our souls to meet him in the air before the tribulation period.  The tribulation period is the time when God will pour out his wrath on the nations for rejecting Jesus.  This period will last for 7 years and then comes the 1000 year reign of Christ (the millenium).

         Just typing this list is enough to make you want to shout.  Feel free to add more.  I have a feeling I have just scratched the surface of what God has in store for us. 

ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28


“Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” Psalm 76:10



          In Romans 8:28, God promises us that he would work all things together for good. He would work it out, so that everything that came into our lives would be used for good. It doesn’t matter if we did something on accident or if we did it on purpose, it is all included in “all things.” “All things” even include those things that came into our lives that we had absolutely no control over. Then in Psalm 76:10, God promises us that he would even use the evil deeds done to us for good, and he would restrain the part of the evil that he could not use for good. If we just stood on these two promises alone, we would have the peace that passes all understanding knowing that God is in total control.



          God has a plan for your life and you need to believe that everything that comes into your life, good or bad, is there because God gave it permission to be there. Knowing this, you need to endure problems with a good attitude. You should not ask God to remove the problem, but rather ask God to open your eyes to see what he is trying to teach you, because the sooner you learn what he is trying to teach you, the sooner the problem will go away or if it doesn’t go away, it will no longer bother you. Sometimes God lets problems into our lives to test us to see if we are really trusting him. Sometimes God lets problems into our lives to teach us to rely on him for answers. Sometimes God lets problems into our lives to teach us to be patient. Sometimes God lets a problem remain a long time to teach us to wait on him, because his timing is always perfect. Whatever the reason God has for letting problems come into our lives, we need to endure these problems with a good attitude trusting that God has a purpose for them.



          The apostle Paul never asked God to remove the problems in people’s lives. He asked God to help the people endure their problems with a good attitude. Knowing this, we need to pray for ourselves and other people differently. We need to pray and ask God to help us endure problems with a good attitude and also to open our eyes to see what he wants us to learn.


“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” James 1:2-4

          We should not be surprised when problems come into our lives. We should never think that God is upset with us when problems come into our lives. God told us in his Word that we would have trials and tribulations.


“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” James 1:6-7



          One day as I was looking over Romans 8:28, I noticed that it said, “we know that all things work together for good.” It didn’t say, “we know that all things work together for our good.” I pondered this for a few months until one day, God spoke this to my heart. He said that he did promise to work all things out for good, but sometimes it would not be for our good (at the moment), but for the good of others. But he also said that if the good was for others (instead of us at the moment), he would repay us by giving us double for our trouble.



“For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double; everlasting joy shall be unto them.” Isaiah 61:7


          God gave us the ultimate example in Joseph’s life. God worked all things together in Joseph’s life for the good of Israel and after thirteen years, Joseph received double for his trouble. Joseph also endured his problems with a good attitude. In Genesis 37-41, God tells us the story of a young boy named Joseph. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers. He ended up in prison for a crime he did not commit, but through it all God was with him. The Bible says Joseph was a goodly man and well favoured. Wherever he went, he was favoured in the eyes of those he served. Then one day, Joseph stood before Pharaoh and because God revealed to Joseph not only what Pharaoh dreamt, but also the meaning of those dreams, Pharaoh made Joseph second in command under him.



“And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled by his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.” Genesis 45:3-8



          God had a plan for Joseph’s life and throughout all his trials and tribulations, Joseph trusted God knowing that God was with him. I think I can safely assume that our problems are much easier to endure than being sold as a slave to another country by our own brothers or being sent to prison for a crime we did not commit. But then Joseph’s breakthrough came, and so will ours. Endure your problems with a good attitude. Ask God what he wants you to learn. Ask God if there is anything you should be doing, but then go about enjoying your life, trusting that God is just working out his plan for your life and your breakthrough is just around the corner. Be ready, for you just might be standing in front of a Pharaoh one day.



         This is the best day of your life, because God designed it just for you. Enjoy it and leave the rest to him.



“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24