Saved:

What does that word mean?  On October 12, 2010, the first of 33 trapped Chilean miners was saved from a certain grave in the depths of the earth.  To that man and his companions, to be saved meant rescue from death and destruction, deliverance from burial beneath a half mile of rock.

The biblical meaning of “saved” is the same:  to keep safe and sound, to rescue from death and destruction.  But, there is a critical difference between the salvation given to those Chilean miners and the salvation promised in the Bible.  Jesus, our Savior, put it this way:   “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 

Our miners have received the temporary salvation of their physical bodies; one day they will die and their bodies will return to the earth.  But Jesus offers all who believe in Him eternal life.  Yes, one day our physical bodies will also die.  But if we believe in Jesus our spirits will live forever with God in heaven.

Do I really need to be saved?

 John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. God sent His Son “that the world through Him might be saved.”  If we don’t need salvation, then God sent His Son in vain.  Let’s agree with God – we do need to be saved.

But from what are we being saved?  John 3:18   “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”. Jesus came to save us from condemnation, a legal term meaning to be found guilty and sentenced by a judge; in this case, God is our judge. 

What is our crime?  Sin.  God’s word states clearly that all have sinned (no exceptions) and that the wages of sin is death (no loopholes).  Therefore, all deserve, really have earned, condemnation and a death penalty.  That would be the ultimate result if we foolishly demanded a fair trial before God!  However, God, in His mercy has provided another way.  Rom 5:8  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

What is required of us?  Again, agree with God.  Like all men, we have sinned and the wages of sin is death. However, Jesus died for us, once for all, to pay the penalty for our sin.  He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

 What must I do to be saved (from condemnation)?

Here is how the Apostle Paul and his friend Silas answered the question.  Acts 16:30-31  “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  So they said,”Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Their meaning is clear: put your belief, your trust, your hope for rescue on Jesus.  Back to our miners for a moment.  They  had to believe in a rescue capsule to deliver their bodies from death.  They had to trust that the capsule would carry them to safety on the earth above.  For the salvation of our souls we must believe in Jesus.  That He died on a cross for our sins. We must trust that Jesus is able to deliver us to eternal safety in heaven above.   He is able: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

 Do you believe this? 

 Well…… Jesus, knowing our weakness and our doubt, provides help.  One day a father came to Jesus begging him to heal his son.      

Mark 9:23-24  Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,* all things are possible to him who believes.”   Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

If you doubt, cry out to Jesus.  You are on sound biblical ground to do so:  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”  Eph 2:8-9  Even our faith is a gift from God! 

“Do you believe this?”  Yes, there is a choice to be made.  Will you take Jesus at His word, or will you look for some other way?  The choice for the miners was very simple:  take your chances on the rescue capsule or die!  Jesus has also made the choice very simple for us. John 14:6  “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”.  And the great news is that all, absolutely everyone, may come, none excluded!

 Close the deal and pray this prayer!

 Lord, like all men I am a sinner and the wages of my sin is death.  I agree with Your word, that I deserve condemnation.  Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.  Father, thank you for sending Your only begotten Son to die for my sin. Jesus, thank you for dying to pay the price for my sin.  Father, I thank You for the gift of faith.  Lord Jesus, I believe on You to save me.  Because I trust in You, I believe and I know that I have eternal life.I give you my life, come live in my heart, thank you for eternal life. Lord help me to live my life for you. In Jesus name I pray- Amen

 If you just said this prayer please send me an e-mail – We would love to help you get started in your new walk with the Lord. Pastor Joe – jaldrete@ccfoley.com  

‘Surely the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives. Deuteronomy 5:24

To see the glory of the Lord and the greatness of our God in the midst of our trials is comfort to our souls. But to enjoy the greatness and the glory of God in our daily walks with him brings joy unspeakable, and life incredible. And to top it off God speaks to us through His word, oh I pray you would taste and see that the Lord is good.

 Make time for Him and see what happens!

 Pastor Joe

We live in a world that is daily fighting for peace. Peace between countries and peace between world leaders. We cannot even find peace with our natural surroundings, some fight to save our trees and endangered animals; some fight to protect our environment. We have unrest in our cities, unrest in our schools, and our local governments as well as our nation. All this unrest creeps into our very own families and affects us as individuals and we cry out where is the peace? Jesus tells us in John chapter 16 that peace is available to us: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33  We can have peace in this world and it only comes through Christ. Jesus said “In Me you may have peace”. Through His word, through His teachings, through His promises, and through our relationship with Christ we can have a peace that surpass all understanding.” Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”John 14:27 We can experience this peace as born again believers as we have peace with God for the forgiveness of our sins, peace in our personal relationships, as well as with those around us. This peace can only come through a personal relationship with Christ through prayer. Don’t let the circumstances of life or the world influence your peace. You will find your peace in Christ – It’s available to you today! Ask and you shall receive in Jesus name!

 Pastor Joe

January 30, 2011

 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1 & 2  

Transformation is not always an easy process because it involves change. Most of us do not like change and if something needs to change it surly isn’t us. We want others to change, we want their attitudes to change, their hearts to change. It always seems we either want our circumstances to change or those around us to change. The apostle Paul is talking about a transformation that takes place personally, it’s not about others it’s about you, it’s about me. It is our reasonable service; it’s the least we can do knowing what Jesus did for us. Let the power of God transform you – your heart – your thinking – your attitude – all that you are and the result is recognizing Gods perfect will for your life.

 It’s worth it

Pastor Joe

January 3, 2011

  As you look back at 2010 what do you see? Were their difficulties, trials, and disappointments? Maybe you experienced a tragedy or the loss of a loved one. But through it all did you see the faithful hand of a merciful God working in and through your life?As we face the year 2011 we are 1 more year closer to our Lords return and as each day passes we are one day closer, and as each hour ticks away we are just an hour away from our blessed Saviors return. The year 2011 may it be a year of many people coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through the fruit of our labors. Jesus said in John 4:35 “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” I pray that the year 2011 would be a year of harvest. I pray that Almighty God would pour out His spirit upon His church, His servants, and His ministers. I pray that the saved would hear the call of God and the unsaved respond to the call of God. May we see the Lords faithful and merciful hand working in and through our lives in power this year? The Lord will use every difficulty, every trial, every disappointment, and every tragedy to save the lost, and increase our faith as believers. He will not leave us as orphans but will give us the Holy Spirit, the helper, the comforter, the encourager, the Spirit of truth who will lead us and guide us in all we do. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:27

We have nothing to fear in 2011

If we face it head on with Christ taking the lead

 Pastor Joe

It’s easy to say but it’s another thing to live it out. We pray prayers of faith daily but do we really believe that God will come through and answer us. There was a man who came to Jesus 2000 years ago, a centurion, a man of great authority. He was a man who had servants and soldiers a man of great wealth. He would say to one do this or that and to the other go here or there. He was a man who recognized and respected those in great authority. It is obvious by his observations of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that He possessed a power and an authority that was from heaven. So he came to Jesus and asked Him “Lord my servant is lying at home paralyzed dreadfully tormented.” And Jesus said to him “I will come and heal him.” The man replied “Lord I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word and my servant will be healed. And Jesus healed this centurion’s servant. Our Lord said of this man “Assuredly I say to you I have not found such great faith not even in Israel!

This Roman Centurion took Jesus at His word – that’s all he needed – he knew that if Jesus spoke it – then it would be done!

He didn’t ask for a sign nor did he ask for the answers to all his problems.

And Jesus marveled at this man’s faith. May God give us this kind of faith, the kind of faith that trusts what is written in His word. What situation are you in today that you need to take that freeing step of faith? Don’t stay limited by your own resources when the all sufficient God is your heavenly Father.

(Matthew 8:5 thru 8 scripture reference)

Trusting in the written word of God

Pastor Joe

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever.

Hebrews 6:19-20 NKJV

As we go about our daily lives and look at the headlines in the news papers, the top stories posted on the internet and the news flashes across our television screens; it doesn’t take much in this fast moving, God ignoring world to show us that we need an anchor for our lives. As an anchor securely keeps a ship from drifting into danger we find our anchor in Jesus Christ. Our only hope in this world is to hope in the resurrected Christ, He is our anchor; and we need to be securely anchored to His word. He is absolutely faithful to do what He has told us in His word; to forgive us of our sins, to guide our steps, to be with us always, and so much more. The Lord is always faithful in our lives and will fulfill His promises to us. Our confidence and our hope will come from the anchor of our lives Jesus Christ.

Ask Him to be your savior!

Ask Him to forgive you of your sins!

Ask Him into your life and give Him your heart!

Receive His love today!

Receive the gift of salvation!

May your life be anchored in Jesus Christ – The hope of heaven!

In Jesus name Amen!

Praying for your salvation!

Praying you will find hope, peace and rest for your lives!

Pastor Joe

How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes sweeter than honey to my mouth!

From your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. Psalm 119:103, 104, 130, Jeremiah 15:16

What a marvelous thing to know that the word of God not only comforts us but it is joyous and sweet to the taste. There are those crazy times that our taste buds will not be satisfied unless we have that favorite dish of ice cream, and as soon as it hits our taste buds they just explode with satisfaction. But there are also those crazy times in our lives where we are looking for some kind of relief, some kind of satisfaction, life seems bitter, and you feel as if some how you have been given a lemon of a situation. Well I have sweet news for you! Go to the word of God open it up and see how much God loves you, read of His great mercy and grace by which he extends to your life. He has fearfully and wonderfully created you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Every promise He has made in His word is yes in Jesus Christ. His word is perfect, sweet to the soul satisfying in every situation; through His word we find understanding and joy to our hearts. Therefore my heart is glad; my flesh also will rest in hope. You will show me the path of life; In your presence is the fullness of joy; At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Taste and See

Pastor Joe

And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
John 11:41 and 42

There are many times in our lives when go through periods of great attack from the enemy. But there are also many times we go through our own doubts, and fears, we even experience discouragement and depression as we focus on the problems we are facing in this life. Because life has a way of becoming overwhelming and we can even lose site of our purpose and direction, forgetting the goal before us because we have been caught off guard by our problems. But thanks be to God we serve a savior who always hears our cry, he hears our voice as we call upon Him. If you are not going through it right now it is just a matter of time before the storm hits. Who will you call? Who will you trust? Who will come to your rescue? Don’t let the enemy get the best of you nor let your emotions and feelings control your heart. Call upon the name of the Lord! Call upon the one who will answer you always! Call upon the one who knows everything about you. He will answer you guaranteed!

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14 and 15
Call on Him He always hears

Pastor Joe