Bird Song Art Print by TheVintageArtist

Have a glorious Sunday!
Jennifer from ElegantQuirk

A Perfect Peace

After hearing a relative talking about her family heritage and a father who had taught her what it meant to be a Christian I could tell that she was leaning hard on her own efforts for salvation.  This was not a surprise to me, given the background of our family's spiritual roots.  Even so, when it was said in the way that it was said it struck me to the core that this dear woman may not have the assurance of salvation that is so readily available to those who believe.  That breaks my heart.

The gift of salvation is a just that...a gift.  Not something we earn or strive to accomplish.  The work of salvation was done on a rugged cross about two thousand years ago by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  It was finished when having defeated Satan and Death He rose again declaring permanent victory and the elimination of sin's curse to all who believe in Him.  Our belief that on the day of judgement we will not get to heaven by declaring that we were a good person, that we did more good than evil or that we tried as hard as we could.  Our only acceptable answer on that day will be that we are hiding in Christ.  He paid the price for our salvation.  In Him our sins were dealt with and we are clean.  That is it.  There is no more.

But lets talk about the works that are so often confused for salvation, shall we?  These works are also gifts.  Given to us through the Holy Spirit as our hearts are changed.  We are told that we will bear fruit that will show ourselves and others that we are changed.  We are His.  I love that God grants us a visible turning from death to life.  That He molds our hearts to do His will.  The process of being sanctified is not always easy but it is so good for us.  In that process we become able to share with others and help them along the way.


And yet...it is granted to those who believe...those He calls...those He justifies...those he glorifies.   We find this in Romans 8:30.  What an awesome chain of events.  It is ALL Him.  Not of us ....no cause for pride or boasting in ourselves.

Yesterday in our monthly ladies meeting at church I asked for volunteers to share their testimonies.  Some looked at me like deer in the headlights while others smiled with confidence and willingly shared.  Now, understand, I don't believe that those who looked at me in terror have any less of a testimony to share.  Knowing these ladies I'm confident of their walk with the Lord, but some personalities just find it harder to speak in public or to put something so personal "out there".

It was so neat to hear the common thread in all of the testimonies we heard.  First, that the work of salvation was so obviously that of the Holy Spirit in their lives.  Every one acknowledged that it was God's Word that gave them understanding.  Although most, if not all, had some kind of "church background" it was not until God wooed them into reading the Bible that they had the heart change that totally turned their lives around.

I think also, that every one of them had a person in their lives that instigated their renewed interest in things of God.  For one it was a Sunday School teacher when she was a teen/young adult for another a former school mate that just felt prompted to call her and ask about the state of her salvation.  Pretty cool how God uses His people in this most important process.

For me, I grew up in the church.  My father was a pastor and I knew all of the right answers.  I also knew that I had a horrible temper.  At one point I had been so mad that I swung my younger brother around until he hit his nose on a chair and it bled and bled.  I knew that I needed help beyond myself.  I was about 8 or 9 years old.  I prayed and prayed but it seemed that nothing really changed.  You see, I was asking God to change one thing about my life when in reality I should have been asking Him to change ALL of me.  To make me into all that He would have me be.

One day during a regular old church service...no revival...we hadn't even gotten to the sermon yet, I was singing a hymn and the words spoke to me.  It was there and then without fanfare or even tears that I totally committed myself to God.  I accepted His invitation to follow His leading to the best of my ability.  Strange, huh?  All of those times that I had responded to altar calls.  All of the tears and trying on my part.  And yet it was a quiet moment when no one else knew that changed me forever.

I hope that you'll think back to that day....or that period of time when God got your attention.  When you realized that you couldn't use God as a band-aid or a crutch but you had to surrender.  All of you.

That's what He is after.  He will not be our co-pilot.  He is the Pilot.  The buck stops with Him.
And that, my friends is the best place in the world to place our trust.

I pray that some how, some way when I get to Heaven there will be people there because He used me in their lives to get their attention.  That would be so sweet.  But however He chooses to use me I'm fine with that and I know without a doubt that He could use a donkey, a landscape and even a person's worst enemy just as well.  It is not about us.

Amen Printables

For those who may be reading this and you haven't accepted the wonderful gift of salvation let me just share a few verses that may help make it clearer:

Romans 3:10 - 12  “There is no one righteous, not even one;
11     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one"

 (We are all in the same condition upon our birth...no one is born a Christian.)


Romans 3: 25, 26   "God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."

(Everyone who comes to God walks through the same door.....acceptance of the Holiness of Christ Jesus and the rejection of our sins on the cross, which He bore for us.)

John 3:16 - 18  "16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."

(Such great news!  It is for all who hear and believe.)

by Phyllis Ducey
pfdoriginalartwork

Simeon was a blessed man. He got to see the salvation of the world prior to his death. I often wonder if I was there at the time of Christ's life if I would have believed. After all He was born in a lowly stable to a young woman who was a virgin. Could I have believed that? Could I believe a carpenter's son could save the world? Would my eyes recognize Him as the light for the Gentiles and the glory of Israel? I am not convinced I would.

I am often relieved that I live at this moment in time. I do not think I would do well skinning my food or plucking chickens for dinner. I like getting the boneless, skinless chicken breasts on styrofoam with plastic wrap on top. I like having water run through a faucet in my kitchen and a toilet inside my house to flush. And I love antibacterial wipes!

But what I love even more is having a Bible that gives me the information that God knows I need to live by and to understand salvation in His son Jesus. I did not accept the Bible as fact easily and spent time researching its validity and reliability. But found when finished it to be true and when I read about the incredible gift of Christ... the son of God... who came in form of a man, born in a stable and willing to die for me I am in awe.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

Simeon was a man who lived a good life and was devoted to God. God honored his devotion by answering his prayer. God still does that for us. First and foremost the prayer we all seek answered (whether we state it or not) is to have meaning to life, then we hope that there is more to life after we die. In addition we all have this emptiness within that for the most part we can't articulate what it is. Once we accept the free gift that God presented to us that first Christmas of long ago, our lives begin to have meaning, the prayer for eternal life is answered and that emptiness is filled.

Isn't that all a wonder? And wonderful? How that date in history over 2,000 years ago when a star shown in the sky leading shepherds and wise men to where a baby laid, could change the world, change our hearts, and create a way for us to have eternal life.

WOW!

<><><><><><><><><><><>

On a personal note:
I made a commitment to the Lord to write a post weekly for a year which ends in January 2011. After considerable prayer I have decided to limit my CAST Team posts to once a month. This past year I have featured almost 400 awesome shops! I love to write about the greatness of our Lord but featuring the shops and discovering the great talents takes more time than I have to give to it right now.

The CAST Team blog has been a blessing to me and I hope to you too. It would be nice to have someone take up the devotional writings... even once a month like I am doing. Please pray about it and do not shy away because you think you can't. I can't on my own either. It is only through the grace of the Lord that I am able to write at all!

I wish you a blessed Christmas filled with Christ's peace and joy!

Your sister in Christ,

Phyllis

<><><><><><><><><><><>

Please check out these wonderful shops who have honored the true meaning of Christmas with their talents.

Stained glass nativity by DianasStainedGlass

Holy Family by Precioust


















Personalized story book by kplus