October 21 – The Promise Chain of Salvation

 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” – Romans 8:29-30 (NASB)

Some commentators and theologians call this the “The Salvation Chain” but we call it “The Promise Chain.” Promises every faith believer can trust and cling to. These days we might have a difficult time knowing just what to believe. The dishonest media, the nefarious social justice erroneously labeled “woke” invades our lives without warning. It has conceited confidence that it is correct and right.  It isn’t. Being unsettled, worried, anxious about our future need not overwhelm our lives with fear of the future. We may not believe we will ever see the world the way we want it to be. But we can know our glorification, our justification, our calling by God to become his children is certain and permanent. God planned us to be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus the Anointed. He is the preeminent one, the only rightful heir of God who has adopted us and made us co-heirs with Christ.  God our Father knew before the foundation of the earth that He would choose us to be conformed to the image of His Son; so He marked out, appointed, and determined beforehand that we be justified now and eventually glorified.    

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September 4 – Suffering Share

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,”  2 Timothy 1:8-9 (ESV)

This letter written by the Apostle Paul to Timothy was the last writing we have from Paul.  We can assume many were attempting to shame Timothy for being a follower of Paul the prisoner in Rome.  After all, anyone who ended up in a Roman prison had to be considered a failure was their basis. Paul encourages Timothy when shamed, to not be ashamed but to embrace the opportunity. Instead, he was to consider it a blessing to be part of the suffering that was experienced by all who boldly proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This passage teaches the same means of our calling as Ephesians 1:3-6.  Suffering for the His Name’s sake was part of what is appointed to us, taught and predicted by Jesus Himself.  Suffering for the sake of God and His great name comes to believers in this world.  It is coming to those who so far have known a comfortable and easier life. God chose all who believe before the ages began, according to his great love and by grace, has called us to share in these sufferings. It is promised to all who have believed and received Jesus as Lord and Savior

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July 15 – Steps to Follow

“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth: and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”  -1 Peter 2:21-23  (NASB)

We live in a day where accusations are hurled and people are reviled simply for holding opposite opinions.  Especially for those who claim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. When we step out and proclaim the truth we hold, it is common for allegations of all kinds to be claimed of our character, and intelligence.  Our promise today is the example of Jesus and how He conquered bitterness. There had never been any person more grievously sinned against then Jesus. Instead of receiving the honor He was worthy of, Jesus was dishonored more than any other man. As a man we would think Jesus had the right to be angry and bitter and even vengeful. How did Jesus overcome this?  How did Jesus control His reaction when they spit in His face? He had faith in his Father’s righteous judgement. Jesus did not need to avenge Himself and when we suffer indignities for proclaiming faith in Jesus, we don’t need to do so either.  He left us an example of how He reacted and calls us to follow Him in those steps. Don’t strike back. Leave the vengeance in God’s hands. Continue in faith to proclaim the Good News.

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July 3 - Blameless

“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, … - 1 Corinthians 1:4 (NASB)
…who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:8–9 (NASB)

The Apostle Paul used very long and compounded sentence in his letters. Our promises today come from one of those sentences. The passage of verses in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9. The promises are rich and many. Paul knew that believers in his time were under extreme persecution.  Living under Rome which generally allowed the practice of many religions as long as they did not disrupt the peace, Christianity became a focus of those who hated Christ and the Gospel of Jesus. In these verses the first promise is the gift of grace given to all who by faith believe in Christ Jesus. First given on the Day of Pentecost, every person who believes in Jesus receives the Holy Spirit of God indwelling them.  This is a gift of grace promised to us. The promises include enrichment in speech, all knowledge, confirmation of Christ in us, and the promise we are not lacking in any gift. Our confirmation by Jesus Christ is permanent and will last to the end.  We are promised that we will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of God’s faithfulness in calling us into fellowship with, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

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April 28 - If He Calls, He Keeps

“He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  - 1 Corinthians 1:8–9 (NIV)

Here is one reason we believe it is vitally important to understand that every believer who is saved by faith in Jesus has done nothing themselves to earn or attain that salvation.  We are tempted to think that we somehow had something to do in securing our position God’s Family.  It is appealing to believe that God’s invitation to us happened because we qualified by the good we do to be called.  If that is how we think about receiving the gift of eternal life, we are in jeopardy of losing the same gift by not maintaining our good works.  Because we are saved by faith and not by works, none can boast about having any part in their salvation. We have nothing to contribute and we can trust the promise God has given that it is He who called us, and it is God who reckoned us righteous in Christ Jesus. It is a great and wonderful truth of Scripture that God is faithful and will keep forever those whom he has called.  God will make certain we will keep trusting.  He will do whatever is necessary to keep us trusting.

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January 3 – Fear Not, We Belong

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  - Isaiah 43:1  (ESV)

The first five verses of Isaiah 43 are promises from God for His people. Delivered by Isaiah, God's prophet to Israel, these words were recorded for us and all of God's people in the Bible.  As God declares in this verse He is the creator of all His people.  God was not only their creator but the one that formed them into a nation of His chosen people. Today, we also are God’s people and the promises here are for us as well. God has the right of ownership of us because He is our Creator and became our Redeemer because His creation failed to obey Him and sinned in Adam in the Garden.  It is a personal ownership, because He calls us by our name. His ownership is certain, because He seals it by saying "You are mine." When God stakes ownership on us, it is absolute.  God cannot lose ownership of us once we have been redeemed through faith in Jesus His Son. Because of these promises, we have no need to be afraid of what is ahead or what unknown might happen.  So, God is also promising that we have nothing to fear when He commands us to fear not. Again, we have nothing to fear because we have been redeemed if we are indeed in God's family through faith.

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December 9 – In Wisdom Was Mercy

“...but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”    - 1 Corinthians 1:23–24  (NASB)

At the time that this letter to the assembly of believers in Corinth was written, the Way of Christ was new to those who were hearing it for the first time.  There was a clear difference in how it was received between Jewish people and non-Jewish people–the Gentiles.  In  the previous verse Paul states that Jews asked for signs and Greeks (Gentiles) searched for wisdom. But he preached about Christ's death and resurrection. Both stumbled over that message and were missing the better news. The message was the promise of the power of God through His Son Jesus Christ. This good news of the gospel Paul preached needed to be heard, and once heard, received and believed.  So, the message preached to all people with no distinction is the death of the Son of God was for all sinners.  This promise was the power of God and all the sign anyone needed. It was given to us as wisdom of God.  From God's wisdom comes Mercy and the means to escape the curse of sin.

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Help from this source.

October 6 – All Things Indeed

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  -  Romans 8:28  (NASB)

Our selected verse is often used to comfort ourselves and others when we have experienced some crisis.  Health, accident, career upheaval, marital conflict, death, or whatever we would rather avoid experiencing if we could.  It is a good truth for times like these,  but it is more than just for crisis times.  It is a promise that we can take to heart every day as we go forth.  God knows all things and the outcome of all things before all things even happen to us.  He loves us and we have come to love God.  We believe He has a purpose for us in all we think, say, and do.  God is weaving the events of our lives into His plan.  Yes indeed, His plan is good and glorious and He can take our efforts and all the things we do and encounter and experience, and weave them into that good plan He has determined for us.  After all we are His because He has called us.  His call is according to what He has determined for us and it is His purpose.

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July 16 – Special, Chosen, Purchased

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”   1 Peter 2:9 (ESV)

Do you consider yourself to be a member of a special people?  If you have believed and received the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you are one of God's chosen race.  Not by human race or ethnic origin.  Not by status or family you are born into.  But by the grace and mercy of God, each of us are part of a very special people of God's making.  It is a people made out of all races, ethnicities, colors, without regard to status or lineage or family tree.  The King James version uses the phrase “But ye are...a peculiar people...”  This may sound peculiar but the word “peculiar” in the KJV does not mean “a strange people.”  It means we are “purchased” and that means we are a people owned by God Himself - we belong to Him.  How do we become a member of this special people?  By faith believing and responding to His call.  We are called out of darkness of the world to live in His light – His marvelous light.  Our promise is that Jesus paid the price and we are redeemed and called by Him to proclaim to the world what the Christ Jesus has done.  

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April 15 – Faithfully Called, Faithfully Follow

“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”   1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)

Over the past few days we have considered how God desires a relationship with us, His created people. We learn what he has done to provide a way and to draw us closer to Him because He wants us close and in service to His purpose.  We have a wonderful God in heaven.  He created people in this world who then rebelled against His will and separated themselves from God.  So, He sent His Son to become a Savior by providing a way to the Father.  All who choose to believe through faith in Him enter a relationship of fellowship with Jesus.  We become a part of God's family with a close relationship to His Son.  The Christian life is living in fellowship with Jesus who is living in us.  We become a part of God's purpose of reaching others about this calling.  Each day our fellowship deepens and makes our relationship closer and more precious.  One day, it will be fulfilled and made perfect with God in heaven – we can count on that because God is faithful to His word and promises. 

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August 5 – Share and Share Alike

“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:9 (NASB)

Our Bible often reminds us of the plans that God has for those He created, and what He wants to do for us.  Today we have a verse with such a reminder.  When Jesus was here on earth, He had some very close relationships with those whom He called to follow Him.  They were together with Him day after day for three years.  They walked with Him, ate with Him, and stayed where He stayed.  They shared with Him in these temporal things and He also shared with them many spiritual and eternal truths.  Well, isn't this a matter of true fellowship?   A basic meaning of the word fellowship is that of sharing, of having things in common with each other.  That is what God has called us to – a relationship where Jesus shares with us His eternal life and His eternal truth.  We know the promise that God is faithful and he is calling to us each day to share our lives with him, and His life through us.  That is a promise that will not be broken. 

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July 30 – Called to Believe

“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9 (NASB)

Our physical life begins when we are born and for those who choose to believe, our Christian life begins when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior.  His act of love brings to us a new life, an eternal life.  We recognize that this idea did not originate with us.  Saving us was God's idea and we see this truth in today's verse.  The Christian life is not something we work out for ourselves. It has always been God idea and plan and He is calling us into it.  Our verse tells us that it is a relationship with Jesus Himself – a relationship of sharing heavenly things which we could never know or possess otherwise.  God calls us into this sharing relationship to experience fellowship with Him.   He also is the one who accomplishes it.  That's what our verse means with the words, “God is faithful,” He will make His call to become true for us today if we will let him. He promises to be faithful because He cannot be otherwise. Let's be faithful today in our belief in Jesus' promise.

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