Finding salvation in Jesus Christ

December 11, 2024

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.

  1. Being rescued from the penalties of sin.
  2. 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.

What sparks my admiration?

December 10, 2024

What is something others do that sparks your admiration?

This is another good question today. What sparks admiration in me? There are a few things.

  1. Servant hearted people – people who just serve others in love, especially those who serve others that can never repay them.
  2. Humble people – people who keep a humble heart no matter how much they achieve in a worldly sense. They remember we are all the same.
  3. God focussed people – I admire people who keep their eyes on Jesus in the midst of all the trouble and strife in the world.

For me it does not matter what you do for a job or where you live, these things always draw my attention and admiration.

The right attitude at communion

December 9, 2024

For communion today I want to read a few verses from 1 Corinthians 11. This is where the Apostle Paul tells the believers at Corinth to have the right attitude when taking communion. As they were a mix of cultures and different religions in the past they needed to focus on the right things when taking the Lord’s Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:23-29

23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord Himself. On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and said, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this to remember Me.” 25 In the same way, He took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people–an agreement confirmed with My blood. Do this to remember Me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until He comes again. 27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.

In this passage there are three main ideas.

1. A past remembrance – In verses 23-25 Paul repeated Jesus’ words when he said this is my body and my blood. It is a call for us to remember Jesus’ sacrifice and Jesus’ death on the cross for us. It is a reminder to focus on the One who paid the price for our sin. The One who died in our place to purchase eternal life for us all.

2. A present reflection – Verse 28 calls for us to examine ourselves. The people in Corinth were using the Lord’s Supper to fill up. Some were over eating, others were getting drunk. Paul called them to focus – on Jesus and their relationship with Him. As Christians, we can use this time to tell Jesus how thankful we are and how much we love Him. We can also use it examine ourselves and confess any things we have done wrong. 

3. A future hope – In verse 26 it looks forward when it says, “For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until He comes again”. Our great hope as Christians is Jesus coming back. He has gone to prepare a place for us. He is coming back so we can be with the Him forever.

So, as we take the bread and the cup this morning. Let us remember Jesus death for us. Let us examine ourselves. And let us look to the future with hope of the Lord’s return.

Starting weight training

December 7, 2024

I have been weight training consistently since 1985. I have not missed a week since then. Because I am often asked for advice about beginning weights training.

These days I mostly do a full body workout three times a week and have three days a week for cycling or riding an exercise bike. I aim for 30 minutes of either weights or cycling per session. This is enough to keep me fit and maintain muscle in my late 50s.

Please note: Please be aware that this is only advice, I am not a qualified fitness trainer. Weight training is my hobby and I explain this to people who ask my advice.

When starting out I give people one exercise per major body part and do one set of ten repetitions. Then wait a minute or two and move on to the next exercise on the list.

An example might look like this below.

On the exercises above I have added links to the exercise demonstrations on bodybuilding.com. This website has lots of beginner workouts too.

The key to remember when you start out is to not over do it. Start with lighter weights than you think you need and slowly progress over 6-12 months.

One final piece of advice is to rest for 48-72 hours after your gym session. This is to allow your muscles time to recover and grow after your workout.