“It is the heart that senses God, and not the reason. That is what faith is; God perceptible to the heart and not to reason.”—Blaise Pascal, The 365-Day Devotional Commentary.

It is our heart that first begins to sense – long for – God.  This is a biblical principle: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,”  John 6:44a (NIV)

When we first begin to sense a desire to know God, to be pure, to be ‘better’, it is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  On our own, we would not seek Him: “There is no one righteous, not even one” Romans 3:10 (NIV).

When we begin to seek Him, however, too many of us stop short at finding just enough of God to appease our conscience.  We get just enough of God to begin to feel better about ourselves.  We are ripping ourselves off!   We cannot live in the fullness of all that God offers if we are merely satisfied with appeasing our consciences.

To help you understand this, I would like to discuss – in depth – what salvation is.  We will take it in small bites that I will, hopefully, post to the blog each Thursday. That should give adequate time to ponder, pray, and study each topic in the midst of your busy schedules before we move to the next.  Today, I want to start with what salvation is not.

Salvation is not simply uttering words to God in a prayer form.

For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them. [1]

Whoa! Hold on a minute!  How could it be? The most important and powerful message of all time was of “no value”?  Wasn’t it Paul who said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation?”[2] I may not be the smartest person alive, but I am pretty sure that if Paul said it in the bible, that makes it true, right? But the writer of Hebrews says the gospel “didn’t do them a bit of good.[3]”

The answer is there in the same verse if we read the whole thing. (Oh there are so many answers if we would take in the “whole counsel of God[4]”!) Read the whole scripture:

For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. [5]

If we do not combine our words with our faith then our words are just that, words only!  Salvation is more than just the utterance of words!  It must be the utterance of words that come from a heart of faith!  We will look more at this next week.

Please feel free to contact me with any comments or questions.  I would love to hear from you and pray with you.  Simply click the pic below to drop me an email.

Upcoming Events:

Sunday:

4:00 PM Experiencing God Week 5
6:00 PM 5^th Sunday Sing
7:00 PM Ice Cream Social – UTH fundraiser

Thurs. – Fri.: Annual UTH fundraising Yard Sale
Friday: 4:00 PM H.S. Volleyball – 5^th Quarter Afterward
Saturday: 1:00 PM H.S. Football – 5^th Quarter Afterward

Bible Reading

Mon. (8/30)          Proverbs 30, Matthew 1
Tue. (8/31)            Proverbs 31, Matthew 2
Wed. (9/1)             Proverbs 1, Matthew 3-4
Thur. (9/2)            Proverbs 2, Matthew 5
Fri. (9/3)                Proverbs 3, Matthew 6

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[1] Hebrews 4:2a (NIV emphasis added)
[2] Romans 1:16 (NIV emphasis added)
[3] Hebrews 4:2 (The Message)
[4] Acts 20:27 (NKJV)
[5] Hebrews 4:2 (NIV emphasis added)

In His Service,
Tim Crawford
Jer. 20:9
(click pic to email)

February 10, 2010

A scripture to share

When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
Your love, O Lord, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
Your consolation brought joy to my soul.
Psalm 94:18-19 NIV

A promise to claim

We can have confidence that our God wants us to succeed for His glory.  Even to the point that when our “foot is slipping,” before there is an opportunity for a fall, the Lord is there to support us.  Are things in life trying to trip you up and cause your feet to slip out from beneath you?  Trust in the Love of the Lord to support you!

A thought to share

Our days seem to be fuller with cares and anxieties than they are with praises and joyfulness.  So often we have great anxiety, but the Lord’s consolation is our answer.  His consolation is God’s efforts at helping His faithful followers and working in their lives to make things better.  It was His work that brought redemption to us.  “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

A blessing to impart

O Lord, our Lord, may Your love support us, each one, as we find ourselves daily in situations, trials, and troubles that would cause our feet to slip.  When our anxieties swell up within us, may Your consolations bring joy to our souls.

Read the Bible in a Year

February 10
Exodus 30:11-31:18
Matthew 26:47-68
Psalm 32:1-11
Proverbs 8:27-31

Coming up:

Serve at prayer breakfast Friday the 12^th
5^th quarter after B-ball Friday night

In His Service,
Tim Crawford
Jer. 20:9
(click pic to email)

February 9, 2010

A scripture to share

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7 NIV)

A promise to claim

“The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus” Are you allowing God’s peace to guard your heart?  What are you anxious about today?  Are your troubles bigger than the God who holds the universe in His hands?  Remember, the universe is at least 156 billion light-years wide according to space.com.  So are your troubles bigger than God can handle?

A thought to share

The promise is given after the command to rejoice.  That might seem odd at first, but look closely at the wording. “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Paul here tells us that our rejoicing comes “in” the Lord.  If there is little rejoicing in your life, are you little “in” the Lord?

A blessing to impart

Lord, be near us today.  With your presence, we need not be anxious about anything. Grant us, Dear Father, Your peace which transcends all understanding.

Read the Bible in a Year

February 9
Exodus 29:1-30:10
Matthew 26:14-46
Psalm 31:19-24
Proverbs 8:14-26

Coming up:

Serve at prayer breakfast Friday the 12^th (Centrifuge fundraiser)
5^th quarter after B-ball Friday night

In His Service,
Tim Crawford
Jer. 20:9
(click pic to email)

February 1, 2010

A scripture to share

¹⁴ Sing, O Daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵ The LORD has taken away your punishment,
He has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.

¹⁶ On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.

¹⁷ The LORD your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:14-17 (NIV)

A promise to claim

“He is mighty to save.” Dear friend, what are you bound by that Jesus is not mightier than?  What obstacle do you face in your life that Jesus cannot overcome?  Our Lord “is mighty to save.” This promise is given to us in scripture for a reason.  “All scripture is God-breathed.” (2 Tim 3:16) That includes even these 5 words!

A thought to share

Our God loves us so much, that there was nothing that could stand in His way.  No obstacle was too great for Him that He could not overcome in order that we could “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.” (1 John 3:1 NASB)

There is nothing that is too powerful to stand in the way of God’s love for us and the blessings he has in store for us.  The only true obstacle is do we have the faith to accept this?

A blessing to impart

May the Lord, the King, bring rejoicing to your whole heart.  May he cause gladness and shouts of joy in your life.  May you rest in your punishment being taken away.  Oh Lord, our God, be with us.  He is the mighty one to save. May he take great delight in you today.  May He grant that you recognize that it is He who sings over you this day.

Read the Bible in a Year

February 1
Exodus 13:17-15:18
Matthew 21:23-46
Psalm 26:1-12
Proverbs 6:16-19

In His Service,
Tim Crawford
Jer. 20:9
(click pic to email)

January 28, 2010

A scripture to share

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation; because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything. For God was pleased [to have] all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself by making peace through the blood of His cross— whether things on earth or things in heaven.

And you were once alienated and hostile in mind because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him— if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. [This gospel] has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a minister of it.
Colossians 1:15-23

A challenge to face

“if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel.” Are you remaining grounded?  Are you steadfast?  Have you found you are shifting away from the hope of the Gospel?

A promise to claim

“He has reconciled you . . . to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him” Let Christ do His work!  It was His work, His sacrifice, and His blood that presents you to God as holy, faultless, and blameless.  It is your work to believe and obey. “Having prepared everything, to take your stand . . . Stand, therefore” (Eph 6:13.14)

A blessing to impart

Our Lord and our God, will you bless those who read these scriptures with the fullness of understanding of their standing before you in Christ.  May you richly bless their minds and hearts and souls with the understanding of how wide and high and deep Your love for them is as expressed through Christ.

Read the Bible in a Year

January 28

Exodus 5:22-7:24
Matthew 18:23-19:12
Psalm 23:1-6
Proverbs 5:22-23

In His Service,
Tim Crawford
Jer. 20:9
(click pic to email)

January 25, 2010
In a competition there is always a winner and a loser, however in last night’s NFC Championship game, who was the winner?  To look at the score, Vikings 28 – Saints 31, the first answer is, “Duh, the Saints.”  Yes, they will be going to the Super Bowl.

But if ever a place was to symbolize triumph over tragedy, it will be cemented in my mind last night as the Superdome.

Just over 4 short years ago, the entire Gulf-coast region was devastated by hurricane Katrina.  No place symbolized that devastation like the Superdome.

http://www.nerdylorrin.net/jerry/Katrina/photos/Katrina-NewOrleansSuperdome-Bldg+Crowd-MonLandfall-1stFood+EvacuationsFri2Sept05-Reuters-JasonReed.jpg

http://www.nerdylorrin.net/jerry/Katrina/photos/Katrina-NewOrleansSuperdomeSat3Sept-MoreTrash+StillWaiting2BEvacd-Reuters-ShannonStapleton.jpg

http://www.nerdylorrin.net/jerry/Katrina/photos/Katrina-NewOrleansSuperdomeStragglersWait4Evac-SunPiercesBrokenRoof-AFP-JamesNielsen.jpg

Remember those images? Remember that helpless feeling you had?  What could we do, where could we turn?  Many Christians turned to prayer.  The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Ministries hit the ground running.

The images last night were slightly different:

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/0f/fullj.891e1f7e35ce24735f3b0031b8c2b3ae/891e1f7e35ce24735f3b0031b8c2b3ae-getty-95653900mh105_nfc_champions.jpg

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/d5/fullj.3fdcec536dc28f4c6bf68865334b3da3/3fdcec536dc28f4c6bf68865334b3da3-getty-95653900mh082_nfc_champions.jpg

Do you not know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly, or box like one who beats the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.  1 Corinthians 9:24-27

I do not wish to idolize the athletes who competed; I want us to remember that as great a victory as that was, it is temporary, fleeting, and perishable.  The greater victory is our ability to overcome adversity through Christ.  We can persevere if we keep our eyes focused on him.

Not that I have already reached [the goal] or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 3:12-14

“Forgetting what is behind.”  Another lesson learned last night is the lesson of perseverance.  “Forgetting what is behind.” The Saints now will be able to forget 43 years of being mostly on the bottom of the league with only a few exceptions.

We too, can “forget what is behind.”  Our sins, our failings, our shortcomings for:

He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. Psalm 103:10-13

Have you sought Him out so he can remove your sins, shortcomings, and transgressions as far as the east is from the west?  Are you prepared to “run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith?” (Heb 12:2)

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:5)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:3-4

Read the Bible in a Year

January 25
Genesis 50:1-Exodus 2:10
Matthew 16:13-17:9
Psalm 21:1-13
Proverbs 5:1-6

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Outline

January 20, 2010

A scripture to share

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.

A challenge to face

“and having prepared everything,” (Eph. 6:13)

Have you prepared everything?  What a tough question!  Are you sure everything is ready?  So many of us “go to church,”  we go to youth group, we got to “church” activities, we even pray when called upon in a group.  But have we really “prepared everything?”

“These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” (Matt. 15:8)

Have you spent so much time on the “outside” that you haven’t got the “inside” right?

A promise to claim

When you “have prepared everything,” then you will be able to “Stand, therefore.”  In the face of whatever this day may bring, you can “Stand” after you have “prepared everything!”

Read the Bible in a Year

January 20

Genesis 41:17-42:17

Matthew 13:24-46

Psalm 18:1-15

Proverbs 4:1-6

A prayer for you today

Lord, may you help us all to truly “prepare everything” today.  Examine our hearts with your gently, yet truthful and honest Spirit today.  Lead us into the changes we need to make so we can “Stand, therefore.”  Thank You, dear Lord, for loving us the way only You can.  In the mighty name of  Jesus we pray, AMEN.

A thought to share:
Many in our country celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. day yesterday. Many of us have never had to face true discrimination and we can not relate to MLK’s passion for equality. But remember, that until Christ, we would have been excluded from the hope of salvation available to ALL mankind! Take a minute and follow this link. Watch, listen, or read this speech. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

A scripture promise to claim:
11 So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” done by hand in the flesh. 12 At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, with no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.
14 For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, 15 He did away with the law of the commandments in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. 16 [He did this so] that He might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross and put the hostility to death by it. 17 When [Christ] came, He proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
19 So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. 21 The whole building is being fitted together in Him and is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:11-22 (HCSB)
A blessing to impart:
May the God of unity bless you as you seek to live in unity, even amongst diversity. May our God guide you to live in unity without conformity. May God remind you, “there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”

A challenge to offer:
Imagine you were denied the promises of Christ simply based on the family you were born into. Then thank God for Christ’s removing of the wall that separated us. Thank God you live in a country where freedom truly does ring. And ask God to reveal to you any prejudices you may harbor when it comes to sharing the Gospel.