Salty Zebra

 Ok, friends. I know some of you are NOT snake enthusiasts, and I apologize for any discomfort that the next video brings, but the analogy was just too strong for me to pass up!   “For this is God’s will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality.”   1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy.”  Hebrews 10:14  This morning as I considered sanctification, that progressive growing to be more and more like Christ, I was given the image of a snake shedding it’s skin. I didn’t want to go there, snakes having the bad reputation that they do…, I even researched hermit crabs and lizards to find a suitable alternative. But, eventually, I found the video above and it was clear that this is what God was trying to teach me.   As a snake grows, it’s skin does not stretch like ours. The snake within the skin grows larger, but the skin stays the same size causing it to feel tight and constr...

“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”   Romans 5:1 “yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”  Galatians 2:16   Last time I wrote about sanctification. Turns out I got a little ahead of myself because that’s tomorrow’s topic! The team that put together Firm Foundation did a fabulous job of structuring it so that the topics build on each other well. Today we look more deeply into something I alluded to last time, justification. According to the real Webster , justification is, “In theology, remission of sin and absolution from guilt and punishment; or an act of free grace by which God pardons the sinner and accepts him as righteous, on ...

   I'm currently on my ninth consecutive day crossing the Atlantic Ocean. I'd be inclined to say that I've seen it! The reality is though that I've barely scratched the surface, literally. According to Brittanica , the average depth of the Atlantic Ocean is 11,962 feet. That's over two miles deep on average! In some places it can be as deep as 27,493 feet.   By comparison, Mount Rainier is 14,400 feet. I could literally be sailing over mountains, actually I guess I have. I crossed over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, also called the Mid-Ocean Ridge, at some point on my journey. This is the most extensive chain of mountains on earth  stretching nearly 40,390 miles. What I'm getting at is, there's a lot below me.  Between me and the ocean floor are fish of all kinds, plants, all sorts of plankton and micro thingys. While I feel like I've seen all there is to see of the Atlantic Ocean, there's so much more that I can't even conceptualize it.   Where am I go...

  “Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out,”   Acts 3:19 “The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”  2 Peter 3:9  I set out this morning on a challenge. The verses I was given deal with repentance, which I acknowledge is crucial both in our salvation and in walking out our life with Christ. But why? The more I looked at these verses, the more I felt like they applied to unbelievers and their coming to Christ. So what is the role of repentance in a believer? What does the Bible have to say about that?   But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgi...

  “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.”   Hebrews 1:1 “because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation.”   Romans 10:9-10  Disney taught us that all we need is, “Faith, Trust and Pixie dust!” I wouldn’t let my children watch that version of Peter Pan because I didn’t want them getting that idea into their heads. Of course, I didn’t think they’d really believe that if they could get their hands on some pixie dust they could fly, but I didn’t want their idea of faith to be mixed up with this clearly impossible thing. I get a lot of flack for what I didn’t let my kids watch, but my heart was in the right place. I wanted to guard them from the lies of this world and keep their hearts focused on the God who ...

  “For by grace you are save through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not form works, so that no one can boast.”   Ephesians 2:8-9 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.”   Titus 2:11  The Bible is clear; we are saved by grace through faith. We are not saved by our works; we cannot take any credit. There is no possible way for us to earn our salvation. Jesus is the ultimate gift of grace to us, we did nothing to deserve what He did for us on the cross, and yet He did it. He did it because He loves us. Because it was His will, equally, it was the Father’s will.  So was it Jesus’ choice to die on the cross for us, or was it the Father’s plan and He did not have any say in it? I have struggled with the question of free will vs predestination for as long as I’ve been a believer, maybe longer, but today I finally feel like I have a satisfactory answer.  I’ve always landed on t...

  Hey there! I'm an Amazon Associate, which means I earn a commission when you click one of these links and buy something. This does not change your cost at all. “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”   Galatians 5:22-23 “for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth –”   Ephesians 5:9  When we come to Christ, believing in who He is and what He’s done for us, putting our faith in Him for our worries and our future, a miraculous change occurs in our spirit. We move from death to life. We were literally dead in our sins and at the moment of trusting God we become alive in Him. Here’s where there isn’t an instantaneous change. When we connect with God, He meets us where we’re at. He doesn’t expect us to clean up our lives or change all our bad behaviors in order to join the family of God. But He loves us ...

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.”   1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children. And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ) – if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.”   Romans 8:15-17  As we explored earlier , once Adam and Eve ushered sin into the world, we have all fallen victim to its lies. The ultimate generational sin is sin itself. Just as certain behaviors are encoded in our DNA, I wonder if this is one of them? Like, once they sinned, Adam and Eve’s DNA was changed and when they procreated their tendency to sin was passed on...

“he will swallow up death permanently. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face, and remove this people’s disgrace from all the earth. Indeed, the Lord has announced it! At that time they will say, “Look, here is our God! We waited for him, and he delivered us. Here is the Lord! We waited for him. Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!””   Isaiah 25:8-9 “Look! He is returning with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes on the earth will mourn because of him. This will certainly come to pass! Amen.”   Revelation 1:7  When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! I love that old song. I’ve got to be honest, I don’t understand the timing of all of it. Will we go straight to Heaven when we die? Will it be like we did even though many years will have gone by on the Earth? The most important part though I am sure about. I will get to Heaven. If the timing were important for...