Father of Salvation

The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (John 4:23) As earthly beings we naturally tend to do everything in the flesh. Many times Christians attempt to worship God in a fleshly manner. It is not possible to please our father until we learn to do it in the Spirit. This is why the Father provided for our righteous salvation and we must discover how to approach God. Every believer knows that the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. (John 5:26) When Jesus came to earth to earn our redemption, the Father gave his Son the right of producing new lives. We are born into eternal death because of Adam but we can seek Jesus for a new eternal life. Yes, Jesus can give us a completely new life, one we were not born with.

Jesus offers us a new life but it is not automatic because of anything we do or think. Just believing in God is not enough. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. (James 2:18,19) The point is not that demons have a chance for Salvation but that we must “walk the walk” to enter eternal life. Some believers say that they study the Bible. This also is not enough to produce life. You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (John 5:39,40)  Of course, believing and studying are both necessary “after” we have given our body, soul, and spirit to Jesus.

There are those who say only certain people can be saved. This is certainly not true. The Bible says, For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. (John 6:40) This verse also says “those who look to the Son,” meaning that we must look to Him every day for the rest of our lives. People must seek God in the correct way. Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. (John 6:45b) When people seek God will be told by the Spirit that they must come through the Son, Jesus Christ. No religion can provide access to God for eternity no matter how right it feels. Anyone that seeks God and listens to what He says, will hear Him say that Jesus is the “only” path to the Father.

God is the Father of our Salvation. For “my father’s will is” it is the (plan) of the Almighty that the redemption of humans be accomplished through Jesus Christ. In other words, our way to God is through his Son and no other way will work. We look forward to the day that Jesus returns for us. The most misunderstood words of our Lord were “feed on me” but it is not hard to understand if we believe.  Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. (John 6:57,58) Jesus lives because of the Father who is the source of all life and now we can live by partaking of the Savior. God is allowing life to pass through Jesus to those serving the Master.

The Son of God obeyed his Father to the smallest detail. I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.   The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” (John  8:28,29) If we allowed Jesus into our life the same way Jesus adhered to his Father, what success would be ours. We should be able to say to people around us “I am sent to you by Jesus my Lord”. We must quit being ourselves so that we can represent Him. If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he (the Father) sent me. (John 8:42) This is giving up your life for God and it will be worth it. Jesus said, My Father will honor the one who serves me. (John 12:26)

In the book of John our Savior mentions his Father one hundred and twenty times. When we write a letter to our friends or visit with them it might be interesting to mention Jesus 120 times. Actually, Jesus was obeying his Father. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.  I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” (John 12:49,50) It is obeying the Fathers command that leads us to life. Of course, this will lead us to the most famous thing that Jesus said to us. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) Many religious people, including our own church, do not like this narrow path to God.

If you love me, you will obey what I command and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. (John 14:15,16) It is important that we receive the divine help and not attempt to follow Jesus on our own. Many people are frustrated due to their own failure. Do what Jesus said, As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  (John 20:21,22) The word “receive” is a command to take into ourselves. It was as if He placed cups of water on the table and then said “drink the water.”

People do not like this last point but here it is. Jesus said, My Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1,2) None of us want to see the dead wood cut off and burned because some are our family and friends. All we can do is try to encourage them to become productive Christians. If people will only turn away from this world and get to know how wonderful God is, they would love Him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3) God the Father is doing so much to call us out of this world, that we truly owe Him great honor.

Spring of Living Waters

The desert is a barren place where everyone thinks of finding water. They begin to worry that if no water is found they will die. After a couple of days without water, most people would pay any price for a cool drink. Our wonderful God invites people to drink free. Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come. (Isa 55:1) We are aware that this world is a spiritual desert but many people do not know that this free water is available. There are also people who feel you only get what you pay for. The opposite is true, that is, no one can afford to buy this water because of its great value. We must tell folks that Jesus Christ is the spring of living waters.

God’s water is more real than anything in this world; because it is invisible does not mean it is not on earth. We cannot see the wind but it is a very powerful force at times. Jesus not only said that the water came from Him but that we could join His water system. Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”   By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:37-39) No, there are not two sources of water; it is simply that Jesus and the Spirit are one. Aren’t we glad that’s the way God is?

Hundreds of years before Jesus lived on the earth, the prophets told of Him and how the Savior would be poured out to save humans from death. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, (Isa 44:3) The death and resurrection of Christ was for all the people of the earth. The Scripture says, To those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.  As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed. (Rom 4:16,17) Thanks to the writing of Paul we know that God’s Spirit of adoption is for the Gentile as well as the Jew.

The water comes to this dry earth without regard of who people are. Another place in Romans says, Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Rom 10:12,13) A thirsty person begs a drink when they are in need. However, when the Spirit reveals to a person that they are a sinner they have a decision to make.  Are they tired of their life and want a change or do they want to continue living in the dirt? The new life of drinking from the spring includes rest, forgiveness, righteousness, fellowship and eternal life with the Savior.

The old prophet talked about the children of God long ago. See, I am doing a new thing! ...I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen,  the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise. (Isa.43:19-21) We have been quickened and the spiritual blessings are flowing into and out of us, we become very different people. For example, we are always giving thanks to God for everything, although we never even thought to thank God previously. Its not that we are forced to praise God, we just cannot stop because we love Him. The love of God just overwhelms us and the spring of water never stops. In Revelation, we read that it flows from under the throne of God forever.

Paul said that, The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Rom 8:16) This testimony is the reason the Holy Spirit was sent to live in us. The Spirit becomes the motivation for our Christian life. After the day of Pentecost, the water began to flow through the children of God. Suddenly, we begin to understand spiritual things as the grace of God becomes real in our life. The feeling that God is our father flows to us with the living waters. The Lord will guide you always;…You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isa (58:11) We see here that it is our responsibility to become a spring to others in this world. Its not hard, we simply yield to God and gratefully allow Him to work through us.

One day our Savior was talking to the woman at the well and He spoke of this living water. Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,   but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13,14) What wonderful water that we give to others and it will led us into eternal life with God.

God is offering us a glorious drink from His spring of living water. Are we thirsty?

Pledge to Participate

The Christians of this world are involved in a philosophy whether they know it or not. This is true because we live in one world but our hope of life is in another world. In other words, we find our reality in a transcendentalism required by our faith. Our God cannot be explained by natural laws although we observe the handiwork of His creation. The problem of philosophy is that it all takes place in our head if we talk about anything beyond common experience. What is the practical link between God’s world and this world? We usually think of the existence of God as supernatural and His truth as some abstract thought. However, the connection we seek is a fundamental truth of Christianity, which is our full participation in the life of Christ. The Spirit extends the presence of Christ, as today’s ministry of Christ, through our body as we participate.

There was a brilliant 18^th century German philosopher named Kant. He spent a lifetime struggling to explain how these two worlds interact. Later in his life, he said that the bridge connecting them was man’s purpose and determination. Of course, believers know the bridge is faith in the Savior. People of faith sometimes make the same mistake as the philosophers when they fail to make the bridge real in their lives. The Scriptures tell us many times that we are to participate in the activities between our world and the spiritual world. It is ironic that Kant spent his life in search of a bridge to God and his first name was Immanuel. Many years ago there was another man named Immanuel (Is 7:14) that came to earth to be the bridge between people and the Almighty. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men. 1Tim 2:5,6

Churches do have a ceremony that represents this wonderful connection with the spiritual world. Believers often misunderstand the communion service. Paul explained with these questions, Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 1 Cor 10:16 To take part in communion is making a pledge to be one with our Savior. During the communion service we consume the blood of the covenant (the forsaking of all sin) and we consume the body of Christ (the pledge of our life for God). To make this connection with the spiritual world, we must die to this world and ask the Spirit to direct our new life. Believers usually feel this obligation but many times will abandon it and do other things. Jesus Christ is the provision that sustains our state of being eternal in the spiritual world.

Moses was the greatest believer in Israel’s history because he kept the pledge to participate in God’s plan. He persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. Heb 11:27,28  Moses represented the Savior while he directed God’s people out of Egypt. After a faithful follower has taken the communion (Passover) they are to actively represent the Savior (sprinkling of blood). This keeps the Devil from destroying us. The old Catholic idea that somehow the bread and wine can become real Christ (transubstantiation) misses the point completely. The point being that we participate in a complete life of representing Christ on earth today. The Savior does not enter the elements; He enters us. This is why a human is the only thing on earth going to Heaven.

We are considering a spiritual life that is beyond the common experience of humans. Paul talks about this new life many times. Anyone who eats and drinks (communion) without recognizing the body of the Lord, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 1 Cor 11:29-31 There are believers who think that they must be very careful of the way they take communion as if transubstantiation were true. It is not the service we are warned about but our participation in the life of Christ. This is why Paul says “but if we judged ourselves” there will be no reason for judgment later. Instead, some people will excuse their behavior by saying “it’s not possible to live like Jesus did”. Faith is the only way for a mortal to utilize this connection with the spiritual world and sincerity of our faith is what God judges.

Having Jesus in us or being in Him is the way we reach our destination of another world to live in heaven forever. The Scriptures say that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50). It should be obvious that we need endless spiritual help. At times believers are caught up in Bible studies as a substitute for their participation in the body and blood. Paul warned the Jews about this very thing, You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. John 5:39,40 Look at this as a partnership with Jesus the savior. We should actively socialize with our Savior in order to understand the will of God for our life. The quickening of the Spirit is the power that changes us from a mortal into an immortal.

Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 1 Pet 2:21,22,24

Honor the pledge and participate.

No Grading on a Curve

Many church people believe the Almighty is grading us on a curve. They think God will let them in to Heaven because they are better than some other person is. According to the Scriptures, this is an erroneous idea. The fact is that we are being assessed by one overriding proof in our life. How much do we love other Christians? It is well known that “God is Love” but somehow we don’t think the same should be true of His servants. Maybe John understood this better than most. He wrote about love after learning from Jesus for a few years.

It seems that depending on Jesus may be our place of learning as well. If anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:5,6 Jesus walked totally in God’s love and we must do the same. One translation says that God’s love can be brought to completion in us. In other words, love comes from God, through the example given by Jesus, and passed by us to others. This is how God knows what our grade is for a Christian life.

There are people who seem to think that if they are not loving others, then they will take up the slack with prayer or something else. That will not work either because Jesus ties our love directly into the life and death of our soul. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.  1 John 3:14 How tragic that a life in the church is lost in eternity because it could not allow love in this world. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16 Can we give up our life for a brother?

The answer depends on whether we have given our life completely to Jesus. The mission of Jesus on earth was to bring God’s love down and make it available to human beings. If we join with the Savior, His mission becomes our own. Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:7-9 When the love of God is in our heart by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5) we really don’t know how much love can be in our life.

Commissioned By God

There is more to life than existing. People today are capable of cruising through life without ever showing the world any sign that we exist. With the advent of the T.V. and other electronic devises, we eat, sleep, and vegetate in the sitting position. Most of us know nothing about the people around us and spend no time finding out. Some of us get up and participate in hobbies, which also shuts out the world around us. Christians today are not set apart from unbelievers because of our desire for the modern life. It could be said that we have been assimilated. The truth is that a believer is supposed to be set-apart for the purpose of God. Our Father has commissioned everyone in His family as an ambassador with grave responsibility toward other people.


The Creator has favored each of us. A Christian has resources available that worldly people know nothing about. It is important that we fulfill our assignments here on earth. This is training we will need as rulers in Heaven someday. Living a righteous life here on earth is difficult but we need the tutoring as we prepare for our role in eternity. In addition to a righteous life for ourselves, Jesus commissioned us with these words, Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. (Mark 16:15) God loves us individually but His complete goal is to acquire a LARGE family of righteous children. We do not know what challenges are in our future but God has authorized us with His Spirit. God’s resources were prepared in advance for our help.

Paul said that God was calling him through Jesus to a purpose that required a life of service. I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me…I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:12,14) Whatever it is that God has called us for, we must struggle to fulfill it while remaining true to our Savior. Jesus is our Lord and Master. When we serve Christ the will of God is being fulfilled. Jesus said that he had come to earth as a servant of God and He asked us also to serve. I have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (John 13:14) When people serve themselves they are demonstrating their importance to be greater than that of Jesus.

God could reach out to this world by some other method but He decided to give Christians the responsibility. Telling other people about the Gospel message is the privilege of each of us. How, then, can they call (believe) on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe (call out) in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Rom 10:14) Paul was saying that people who know the Lord MUST tell others. We have the knowledge and understanding that any person who does not hear and respond properly will live in Hell forever. Our commission is very important yet most of the church calmly sets and watches people walk past into eternity without any struggle for Life.

Life will find a way, if someone fights for it.