“Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.” Galatians 6:4 NLT
God tells us that He prepared good works for us to do before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 2:10). When we focus on our own work, we are able to give it our best effort. We are also too busy to look around and compare ourselves to others and what they are doing. Focussing on our work helps us to be satisfied that we are playing our part in God’s unfolding plan for this world. Remember, we could have be born at any time in history, but God chose for us to live now to do certain things for Him. Let us all pay careful attention to them today.
Prayer
Lord, help me to keep focussed on the work You have created me for and called me to do. I pray that I will not compare myself to others and the work they are doing. Help me to remain focussed on You and Your work for me. Help me to give it my absolute best. Amen.
Would you like to find salvation and peace with God? If we are thinking about God and His plan for our salvation, it is important to look at His book – the Bible.
When the Bible talks about salvation it touches on two main areas.
Being rescued from the penalties of sin.
Being brought in to right relationship with God.
In the Bible we see that when Jesus came and died on the cross. He came to pay the price for our sin. He took the punishment that was rightfully ours.
Jesus’ death opened the way for us to be forgiven of our sin and to be brought back into a right relationship with God. In a future tense it means that those those who put their faith and trust in Jesus will spend eternity with God.
The Bible tells us that salvation is found in Jesus Christ and He is the way to the Father in heaven.
Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
John 14:6 says, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.
Each of us must respond personally to God’s plan for our salvation. God played His part by giving His Son to die on the cross for us to pay the price for our sin. Our part is to receive what Jesus has done for us. God requires us to do three things to find salvation.
They can be described as the A, B, C of salvation –
A – Admit and Ask
We need to admit to God that we have sinned and fallen short of His standards and to ask for His forgiveness.
The Bible says…
Romans 3:23-24 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
1 John 1:9-10 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
When we admit to God that we have sinned and not fully followed Him or His ways, it is like a huge weight is lifted from our shoulders. We can know that we are right with God and our sins are forgiven.
B – Believe and Become
We need to believe in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sin.
The Bible says…
John 3:16 – 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.
John 1:12 – Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
When we believe in Jesus and what He has done for us, we become God’s children and have the promise of eternal life with Him. We can know in this life that our eternal destiny is sorted out by God. God promises us this in the Bible.
C – Call and Confess.
We need to call on Jesus to save us and we need to confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
The Bible says…
Romans 10:13 – Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Romans 10:9-10 – That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
The final step in the ABC of salvation is to call and confess. We call out to Jesus to save us and we confess Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. This means we are trusting Jesus to save us from our sin (our Saviour) and we are asking Him to be our King and ruler of our life (our Lord).
Prayer to find salvation
Responding to God is as simple as praying a short prayer that expresses our thanks for what He has done, confessing your sin and asking Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour. You can pray this prayer right now.
Heavenly Father, I thank You that Jesus came and died on the cross for my sin. Right now I ask for Your forgiveness for all of the wrong things I have done in my life. Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God, that You died on the cross for my sin and that God raised you from the dead. Right now I surrender my life to You and I ask you to be my Lord and Saviour. Please guide me and lead me in all I do. Help me to live for Your Kingdom by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
I live in a smallish country town about 300 kilometres from Perth. Perth is the capital city of Western Australia and my favourite place to go in Perth is Kings Park.
The great thing about it is that I worked opposite Kings Park for 11 years and every lunch time I would go on a prayer walk. It became a real place of relaxing and spending time with God for me.
Kings Park is a great place for families too. There are so many walking trails, picnic spots and playgrounds for kids. When we lived in Perth we would often go as a family and have a great time.
These days I might only go once a year to Kings Park when I visit Perth. I usually spend some time there when I have some sort of conference or training in Perth. I grab an iced coffee at the kiosk and sit and just enjoy the view.
If you ever visit Perth I would encourage you to check it out. The views of the city and river are amazing. Here is a link to the Kings Park website.
My favourite prayer is the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus gave to His followers. It was in response to them asking Jesus to team them how to pray (Luke 11:1).
There are several version of the same text. One is in more modern language and one is in the older King James style. I find I pray the older version as that is what I learned first. It tends to just flow out.
Here is the older version taken from Matthew 6…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen
The thing I love about this prayer is it covers all areas of life. It honours God and seeks His will, asks for provision, forgiveness and protection, and finishes with giving God His glory.
I also love that depending on how I am feeling I might focus in the one line. Sometimes I might be about worship and honouring God. At other times it might be about provision, protection or forgiveness.
I am so happy the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. It has given us a great template to follow. One that allows us to connect with in God in a way that honours Him and also asks for our needs.
What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?
As a teenager and in to my early twenties I did not believe in Jesus or the salvation He offers. I believed He was a historical person that some people believed in.
I can look back at times when people would talk to me about Jesus and I would reject them and their message. Some I even ridiculed and told them they were crazy.
At the age of 22 I came to believe in Jesus as more than a historical person. A friend gave me tract explaining that Jesus loved me and He died on the cross for my sin. This got my attention.
The more I read, the more I realised this was true. I realised I was a sinner, Jesus died on the cross for me, and I needed to repent and accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I realised what people told previously me was true.
Accepting Jesus as my Lord and Saviour was the best thing I have ever done. It truly turned my life around. Without Jesus I had no hope, no purpose or no meaning. With Jesus that all changed.
In the image above is a copy of the tract my friend gave me back in 1989. It contains the prayer I prayed to receive Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
PASSIONAustralia.blog 