Not One

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Romans 10:8-10, 12-13 NASB 

By the Lord’s amazing grace poured over us Holy Spirit teaches the living, written word of God, the Bible. Once we hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it becomes our choice to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, Because the Gospel is that simple. Salvation freely offered, freely given. 

Jesus was and is God in the flesh. He is fully God and man. He who lived a sinless life, sinless, perfect, and spotless, the sacrifice for all the sin of the world. He was crucified between two others, died and He rose from the grave with all power and authority in His Hands. 

Therefore anyone who believes and receives Jesus Christ is saved. Holy Spirit teaches this. 

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 NASB Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

It is heart wrenching to know Jesus was suffering in a way that we cannot really begin to grasp or even partially understand, so too was this criminal. He was never to come down from that cross alive, and yet he saw, or sensed something in Jesus that moved him in such a way that it became the road to his salvation. 

If ever there was a soul hovering on the brink of Hell it was probably this criminal, a virtual nobody hanging beside the Son of God. In a heartbeat, he voiced what his spirit had detected; that Jesus was indeed the Son of God! Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom'" 

What Jesus did next was a dumbfounding example of understanding, acceptance, love, and compassion all wrapped up in one conclusive act. It is the epitome of the life of Jesus, and He loves each of us the same way! 

Without hesitation Jesus responds to our plea for mercy: “truly today you will be with Me”. 

It is never too late to repent and ask the Lord to receive us. He gives us the choice! Jesus cleansed this man from his sins, received him graciously, and justified him unconditionally. He conferred upon a sinner the gift of eternal life.

We can be saved, even at the very hour of our death, and yet this is not the reality for all. It comes down to a matter of faith in Christ. 

Nehemiah 9:16-17 NASB “But they, our fathers, acted arrogantly; They became stubborn and would not listen to Your commandments. They refused to listen, And did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them; So they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness; And You did not forsake them.” 

WOW friends, God doesn't retaliate or become angry when we try to test Him, He doesn't attack us or abandon us. When we honestly approach Him we can know that we are prized and accepted in spite of past indiscretions.  

His true love and mercy will remove our doubts and subdue our pain. When we come to Him without excuse and offer our heart and soul to Him, we can experience the awesome love and grace of the Lord.  Amazing grace!

Jesus never strayed from His unconditional love and acceptance towards people. His death is a testimony that salvation is a reality for all of us when we voice our allegiance to the Lord of all creation. Jesus gave us a lesson in forgiveness while He hung upon the cross, suffering for mankind, dying for His people.

And so, know this. God has always loved us, and still does. He accepts us under the grace of Jesus Christ.

We can trust God’s Word as truth because when we have spent time with Him we realize He is trustworthy. In that time we spend, we find unconditional everlasting Love — Jesus Himself — and that love leads us to freedom. My friends it starts with an active choice to trust what God’s Word says.  I can’t express this enough. Prayerfully Read the Bible. The read it again and again. 

Deuteronomy 6:6-12 NASB “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. “Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection were more than enough for you—for all of us. When He emerged from that tomb, He was no longer clothed in the sin and shame of this world. Sin and its shame were left entombed. Conquered. Vanquished. Paid for. Redeemed by His blood sacrifice. It is finished. The blood of Jesus has healed us. 

Through the blood of Christ, the penalty was paid for all of our sin, and provision was made for our weaknesses. He not only took our sin upon Himself, He gave us His righteousness in exchange, and with it, He gave us the power to overcome sin seeking the lost for the very saving of lives. 

Jesus paid for our guilt and bore our shame. He carried it all to the cross. But there He left it!  Hallelujah! Death has lost it’s grip!  He is everlasting LIFE. Because God Jesus Christ Holy Spirit is the Lord over all creation and He offers each of us the greatest gift SALVATION.  

The book of Luke teaches us of God’s love while steadily warning us of the devil who seeks to come between us and God, the devil who is ever waiting to ensnare men’s souls. What the Bible says about Satan and his minions is true because it’s God’s Word. The devil harasses, accuses, tempts, deceives, and lies in his dealings with people. He works through his allies, the world, and the flesh. The devil uses worldliness to wreak havoc among God’s people, to hinder the progress of sanctification. Yet we are to fear not! …… When we receive Holy Spirit’s knowledge, the Word of God will defeat Satan every time, we can rely on the fact that a truly abundant life as well as our eternal security can only come from a relationship with Jesus Christ.  

Let’s pray for the people in our lives who need Jesus, also crying out to God for those around our world whom we don’t know but He does.   For it’s God’s desire that no one should perish.