"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT 4 SPECIFIC TRUTHS ABOUT GOD'S SALVATION"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT 4 SPECIFIC TRUTHS ABOUT GOD'S SALVATION"

Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,”

Colossians 1:14 “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

(Taken from today's reading in The One Year Bible 10/4/14)

Some explanatory thoughts, application, questions and a prayer.

This first Chapter of this letter, contains a very detailed prayer by Paul for the believers there. What you find in this prayer are specific things that you can also pray for, or in this case thank God for. The two verses selected here, really deal with what God has done for those who have placed their faith in Christ to save them. These truths can be known and understood by You. I pray that God helps you to grasp these and to enjoy understanding what the Lord has done for you. Let's just say thanks to God before we even get into the Devotional.

1. God has delivered you from the power of darkness.

Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,”

The Bible describes our pre-conversion state as darkness. We were darkness, and we resided in the kingdom of darkness.
When you turned in repentance to Jesus Christ, you were rescued from darkness, you delivered from darkness, and you were literally taken out of that kingdom.
God transferred your citizenship.
From darkness to light.
You have been rescued by Your Savior.

2. God has brought you into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,”

God as mentioned above moved you from one kingdom to another.
There are only two kingdoms in the world.
We start out in the one called darkness.
But, upon our faith being placed in Jesus Christ, we are moved out of darkness into the other kingdom of light.

God has done this.
God did this through His power.
God has made Jesus the King of the Kingdom of light.
God has given you freedom from darkness.
God has delivered you to the greatest, the most loving, the most gracious and powerful king that exists. Jesus Christ.

3. God has redeemed you.

Colossians 1:14 “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

What does redemption mean?
It's an important word for us to know.
It's what has happened to us.
It's what God has done for those who have believed.

Redemption means purchased.
To be redeemed, means that God personally purchased you,
God paid a price to buy you, and make You His own possession.

You now belong to God
He paid for you by and through the blood of of His own Son.
God allowed His Son to die in your place, paying for your sins so that You could become His,
You now actually belong to God.
You no longer belong to darkness or to Satan.

4. God has (through the blood of Christ) forgiven you of all your sins.

Colossians 1:14 “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

Here is the 4th truth that is yours.
Forgiven.
Yes, God has forgiven you of all of your sins.
You have the forgiveness of sins.
This forgiveness was paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.

This forgiveness covers all of your sins, past, present and future.
This forgiveness belongs to every person who has placed their faith in Christ.
This is what God has done for you.

Forgiveness means to send away.
Your sins have been removed from you, placed on Christ, paid for, and are now gone.
Your sins have been sent away never to be remembered again by God.

Some Questions:

1. Do you realize how many wonderful blessings from God there are to learn about?

2. Can you see why taking the time to truly learn about God and what He has done is important?

3. Do you know that God wants to teach You these wonderful truths?

4. Do you know that when a person learns the truths of God and combines that learning with application, their lives change?

5. What is God teaching you right now, and what might He be leading you to do?

6. Do you know that God cannot lie, and He has many blessings in store for those who obey His Word?

A Prayer:

Father, as we pray, we are doing what Paul did in his letter. But our prayer today is one of focusing in on what You have done, and it's really a prayer of thanksgiving. Thank You for the blessings that You have brought into our lives through our faith in Jesus Christ.
He is the only way to You, and it's through Him that You bless us. Jesus is the great doorway to God. Jesus is the great doorway for God to bless us. Thank You, Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FROM PROVERBS"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FROM PROVERBS"

Proverbs 24:17 “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;”

Proverbs 24:18 “Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him.”

Proverbs 24:19 “Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the wicked;”

Proverbs 24:20 “For there will be no prospect for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.”

(Taken from today's reading in The One Year Bible 10/3/14)

Some explanatory thoughts, applications, questions and a prayer:

Here in these words of wisdom, the Lord is telling us what not to do and why.
He also encourages us about how to react to evildoers and the wicked.
Finally, God tells us the sad end of the evil man, what will happen to them.

1. God's people are not to rejoice when their enemies fall into trouble.

Proverbs 24:17 “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;”

This is a natural tendency for us in our human nature.
We may have an enemy who runs into some misfortune.
Our natural response might be one of rejoicing.

God is telling us not to do that.
Do not be happy when your enemy stumbles and falls into some trouble.

2. God tells us why we are not to rejoice at the misfortune of our enemies

Proverbs 24:18 “Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him.”

Essentially an attitude of rejoicing over our enemies troubles is displeasing to the Lord
God will be displeased with us if we have that attitude.
And, He may just turn His anger away from your enemies.

God loves everyone, including our enemies.
Jesus died for the sins of the whole world.

3. The Lord tells us not to fret because of evildoers, nor to be envious of the wicked.

Proverbs 24:19 “Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the wicked;”

There are actually two bits of instruction here for us. They are both needed in our lives.

First of all, we are not to fret because of evil doers. Or we are not to allow them to cause us to worry.
Don't let them cause you to worry. That's the message for us from God.

Secondly, we are instructed not to be envious of the wicked.
It's very easy for us to fall into being jealous or envious of the wicked.
If we get our eyes off of the Lord, we can lose sight of His beauty.
And, the wicked can seem attractive to us.
This is something to really consider.

4. Now we are given the reason for the previous instruction.

Proverbs 24:20 “For there will be no prospect for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.”

The wicked do not have any future like the children of God do.
They have no future in heaven.
They have a future, but it's not a good one, to say the least.
They will be forever separated from God in the lake of fire.
Their light will be snuffed out is how God puts it.
What a sad ending they have waiting for them.

Some Questions:

1. Have you ever caught yourself rejoicing over the misfortune of your enemy?

2. Have you ever found yourself being happy when trouble has come upon your enemy?

3. I'm certain when we are in our better mind that we don't want to displease the Lord.

4. Have you ever found yourself being jealous of the wicked?

5. Isn't it something that we can lose sight of the future of the wicked?

6. God has a certain future for the wicked based on their choice to reject His love and grace.

A Prayer:

Father, Your Proverbs are appreciated by us. They show us what we are capable of of and give us warnings and reasons to avoid evil and to turn our hearts to You and seek to please you and obey You. Thank You for giving us such precise and detailed instruction about life.
May we take the time to let Your Word sink into our minds and heart and respond appropriately to what You tell us.
It's Your instruction combined with our application that leads to change in our lives. We love You, Father, and wait with great anticipation to see You face to face one day in Glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE, GIVING US WISDOM ABOUT THE WICKED AND THE RIGHTEOUS"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE, GIVING US WISDOM ABOUT THE WICKED AND THE RIGHTEOUS"

Proverbs 24:15 “Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not plunder his resting place;”

Proverbs 24:16 “For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.”

(Taken from today's reading in The One Year Bible 10/2/14)

God has given us what some have called Power Principles. That is, the principles given to us in the Book of Proverbs contain the power of God because they are principles given to us the our Powerful Savior. God's power is meant to rescue people, guide them along the way and the paths of righteousness, and to protect them from the evil that lurks within and out. We also see in Proverbs the truth of what will happen to the wicked. We who now believe were once also wicked, but by His grace He has changed us, and we can now receive His truth and live by it. We can also avoid the dangers that are around us if we take heed to His counsel. And we can pray for the lost, just as Christ did on the cross when He said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" Luke 23:34.

1. The wicked are warned not to lie in wait for or against the righteous.

Proverbs 24:15 “Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not plunder his resting place;”

This is God's word to the wicked.
Don't do this is what He is saying.
Do not be like an outlaw, or a criminal who hides to hurt the home of the righteous.
Do not go in and do a "home invasion" in today's terms.
Don't try to hurt the righteous or their home.

2. The righteous are described without sugar coating who they are, but offering hope nonetheless.

Proverbs 24:16 “For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.”

(Personal note. I first read this scripture early one morning back in Feb 1973, and it was a tremendous encouragement to me.)

The truth is that though a man may be righteous, he may also fall many times, even 7 times as an illustration.
Fall means to fall into sin.
To err.
But, along with the righteous falling here is the good news.
The righteous will rise again.
You see God is with His people.
He is with them to forgive, to restore, to help, to guide, and to bless.
He is our loving Father, who did not come to condemn, but to save.
And when we fall He is there ready to help us up.
And He does.
He certainly has for me, and for every other Christian I've had the pleasure of knowing, for the last 41 1/2 years.

3. But now back to the wicked.

Proverbs 24:16 “For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.”

The wicked will also fall.
They will fall by calamity.
Calamity means wickedness, mischief, malice, evil.
One calamity is enough to lay the wicked low (NLT Version).

Notice that there is nothing said about them rising again from their fall.
The sad truth is that that they are without hope, without God, without Jesus in their lives.
They have no helper, no savior.

We were once like that.
But now we are not.
We have gone from darkness to light.
Oh that men would seek the Lord, and He will be found.

Some Questions:

1. Do you have against you wicked people?

2. Do you know of others who have wicked people against them?

3. Do you see wickedness around you hurting the righteous?

4. Take heart, the righteous may fall, but God will help them back up.

5. Haven't you found God faithful to help you back up when you have fallen?

6. Will you take a moment to reflect on His love for you, and thank Him for it.

7. Will you also take a moment to pray for those you know who do not yet know the Lord?

8. Do you know that in your own church body there are many who profess to know God, but are not yet saved?

A Prayer:

Father, a good day to You, Lord. Thank You that we can begin each day anew with You. Giving our lives to You. Inviting You to take us and to use our lives as You please. And we can pray to You, Father, to teach us more and more about You, and to build us up in our faith, and cause us to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Lord, there is no greater joy in this life than to know You and to walk in Your ways, and to wait upon You and find You faithful to do just as You have promised you would do. We give heartfelt thanks to our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who is one day going to come back and receive us unto Himself that where He is we may be also, forever and ever. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHAT GOD WILL DO FOR YOU"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHAT GOD WILL DO FOR YOU"

Psalm 73:23 “Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand.”

Psalm 73:24 “You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.”

(Taken from today's reading in the One Year Bible 10/1/14)

Some explanatory thoughts, application, questions and a prayer:

This Psalm is a record of a man who had gotten his eyes off the Lord and onto the people and circumstances of life.

He was a Godly man who found himself looking at the apparent prosperity of the wicked. He wondered if it was really worth it for him to to serve the Lord. He looked at his troubles and they were many, and he looked at the wicked and they seemed not only to be without trouble, but to have many blessings in their lives. But everything changed when he went into the temple and there he saw the truth.

God gave him the true perspective. He saw what would ultimately happen to the wicked. And, God refreshed him in the hope he had, and the fact of God being with him. The things of the world are a passing charade. The things of God are an eternal reality that does not and will not change. Here is just a snippet of what this Godly man came to realize once again. May God bless and encourage you today.

1. The child of God is continually with God.

Psalm 73:23 “Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand.”

This man realized that he belonged to God.
He realized that regardless of all his troubles, he still belonged to God.
You also belong to God if you have given your life to Him.
If you have received Jesus Christ as your savior, You are His child.
This is the truth to focus on, not the troubles around you.

2. The child of God is being held by God.

Psalm 73:23 “Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand.”

We often see a parent holding their child's hand as they walk.
We as parents will say to the child, "please give me your hand”.
Children are so trusting and will automatically give their hand to you.
We are God's children, and this verse tells us that He is holding us by our right hand.
Your hand is in His hand,
In fact, Your entire life is in His hand.
And no one can take you out of His hand.

3. The child of God is being guided by God's counsel.

Psalm 73:24 “You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.”

The truth is that God is guiding us even when we can't see it.
It's His promise and ministry to us.
We are the sheep of His pasture.
He is our shepherd who cares for us.
Even if you feel confused, take heart and be comforted, God is guiding you

4. The child of God will one day be received up into glory.

Psalm 73:24 “You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.”

What God is doing now (guiding us), He will continue to do for us.
When it's the right time His guiding will cease.
When it's the right time He will then receive us into glory, into heaven itself.

All of His guiding now in your life, is leading you to heaven.
What a glorious God we have, who wants to bring us into His glorious and holy heaven.
God is going to keep on guiding you.
You have a glorious destiny ahead of you..

Some Questions:

1. Do you ever feel as if serving God is a waste of time?

2. Do you ever like the Psalmist look with envy at the wicked?

3. Have you noticed how the wicked seem to be having such a good time?

4. Has God shown you the end of the wicked?

5. God will give you the whole picture.

6. Do you know that He is with you now, and will continue to be with you, guiding you, and one day, say "come into glory my child"?

A Prayer:

Father, our hearts are so comforted and uplifted by You, and by Your word. Each day as we open the Word of God You speak to us with the most lovely words in the world. We have no one on earth like You. There is no book like the Holy Bible. Thank You for expressing Your truth, care, love, and hope to us. You explain what we need to know when we need to know it. Today our right hand is being held by Your hand. Make us feel Your hand, Lord, make us feel it and rejoice in Your salvation, which has become our salvation. Praise the name of our God. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WORKING OUT OUR SALVATION"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WORKING OUT OUR SALVATION"

Philippians 2:12 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;”

Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

(Taken from today's reading in The One Year Bible 9/30/14)

Some explanatory thoughts, application, questions and a prayer:

Paul is exhorting the believers about growing in their walk with the Lord. He uses a phrase "work out your own salvation" to reference growth. This is a beautiful exhortation and encouragement, and much to be learned from it. May it be a blessing to you and help you to grow also. In Jesus’ name.

1. May we have the same great love in our churches as Paul and this church did.

Philippians 2:12 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;”

Please notice how Paul refers to the believers, “My beloved”. Or as the NLT reads, "Dearest Friends”.
What a joy to have this kind of love among ourselves.
This love stems from, and flows from, our God through the Holy Spirit into our lives.
It's God great commandment to us, that we love one another.
Love builds us up.
Love covers a multitude of sins.
Love testifies to the world that we follow Jesus.
Love is a blessing indeed.

2. May we also seek to walk or live out our lives in obedience to Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:12 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;”

Paul speaks of them as having been obedient to the Lord in the past.
They were that way when he was with them personally.
And he is now encouraging them to be obedient in his absence.

Obedience to Christ is accomplished by both His grace and power and our wills.
We not only can love our Lord, but we can obey Him as well.

Jesus not only loved us, but He obeyed His Father in coming to the earth and dying for our sins.
He wants us to emulate His example of love.
O the great love of God, how sweet it is to our souls.

3. We are encouraged to work out our salvation.

Philippians 2:12 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;”

It's important to note what is not being said here.
We are not being told to work for our salvation.
Rather we are being told to "work out" our salvation.

The idea here is that we are to put into action the saving work of God in our lives.
We are to live our lives with a deep reverence for God.

God has saved us, and He wants us to grow in our salvation.
He is calling us here to do our part in the growing process.

Trust and obey, as the old hymn says, there is no other way.
Have faith in God and walk in His ways, and we will grow.

4. God not only saved us, but is actively working in our lives to bring us to maturity in Christ.

Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Paul reframes the focus of his earlier point.
Now he directs us to what God is doing.

God is working in us, and the goal He has in working in us is two fold.
It's to will and to do of His good pleasure.

In other words, as the NLT put it, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him”.

God is giving us the desire to obey, it comes from Him.
God is also giving us the power to do what pleases Him.

Some Questions:

1. Do you ever wonder, now that you are saved, what you ought to be doing?

2. These two verses help answer the question above.

3. Can you see from these verses that we have our part, and God has His part?

4. And, can you see that this not working for, but working out our salvation?

5. It's actually saying, bring your salvation to it’s logical, and God intended, end.

A Prayer:

Father, You started this work in us, and You have promised to finish it. You are the author and the finisher of our faith. All honor, and all glory and power belong to You. Thank You for the greatest gift possible to a human being. Eternal life. Praise Your Name, God most high.
How grateful we are for what You have done for us. Thank You that You are working in our lives to accomplish Your goals for us, and that You give us clear and plain instruction on what we are to do as Your children. One day Your work in us will be completed, and our work in Christ will also be completed. We will arrive safe and sound in heaven, and see You for the first time face to face, and hear Your voice in a new way. We will be in Your visible presence. What a glorious future we have. And, what a blessed life we can enjoy now here below. We bless Your name, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHAT TO PRAY FOR"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHAT TO PRAY FOR"

Philippians 1:9 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,”

Philippians 1:10 “that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,”

Philippians 1:11 “being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

(Taken from today's reading in the One Year Bible 9/29/14)

Some explanatory thoughts, application, questions and a prayer:

In this first chapter of this letter, often called the "Letter of Joy”, Paul is praying for those believers in the city of Philippi. Our Lord had sent him there to plant a church. What great love existed between Pastor Paul and the saints in that fellowship. In this letter, Paul is very personal with them, because they had a very deep and personal connection. These verses are some of the specific requests he made to God on their behalf. The benefit for us is that we can see several things that we can also pray for. May God hear you and may He answer your prayers, for yourself and for those you may be praying for. These things are in the will of God. He will hear, and He will answer.

1. You can pray that your love for each other will abound, or overflow more and more.

Philippians 1:9 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,”

Paul prayed. He interceded or talked to God on behalf of these people.
You and I can do the same for ourselves and for others.
He prayed this in particular, “that their love would abound yet more and more.”
What a beautiful and God honoring prayer to pray.
God's love can grow in our lives.
Prayer for it to grow is one way to bring about it's growth.
Let's pray like Paul did.
Lord, cause our love to grow.

2. You can pray that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:9 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,”

Paul also prayed along this line.
Not only that their love would grow, but that they would keep on growing in their knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is eternal and infinite.
There is no end to our understanding of who He is.
What greater knowledge to grow in than the knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ.
Lord, we pray for that right now, this very day, bring this about in our lives, Lord, and in the lives of those in our own church body.

3. You can pray that God gives you understanding as to what really matters, so that you can live a pure and blameless life until Jesus returns.

Philippians 1:10 “that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,”

Some things really matter and some things don't.
Paul was praying that the believers would receive from God an understanding as to what really did matter.
Knowing what really matters would lead to living a life of sincerity and a life without offense.

Paul believed in the second coming of Jesus. He states it in this prayer.
His prayer was that God would work in the lives of His chidden all the way up to the return of Christ.

Lord, let this be our prayer also. Show us what really matters, and help us to be focused on those things, and to do so until we see You face to face.

4. You can pray to be continually filled with the fruit of righteousness, those are the good things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ. These will cause your life to bring great honor and glory to God.

Philippians 1:11 “being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

How interesting that God can fill us with the fruits of righteousness.
We can make the choice as to what we are filled with.
Let's choose what God wants.
What better thing can you think of, than to be filled with what is right.

When our lives are filled with the fruit of righteousness, our lives bring glory and praise to God.
Father, You created us for Your glory, and as You fill us with the fruits of righteousness, than our lives are truly accomplishing that which You created us for.

So Lord, we pray to be filled according to Your will.

Some Questions:

1. Do you ever feel at a loss as to what to pray for? If so you are not alone.

2. Do you know that the Bible itself will provide you with a blueprint of things to pray for, just like in the verses we have looked at today.

3. Will you take just a few moments, please, to read slowly through Paul's prayer in these verses, and then make them your prayer to God your Father?

4. What happens when we pray according to God's will?

5. Are you encouraged right now, that you can see a little bit of how to pray with confidence and expectancy?

A Prayer:

Our Father, You are in heaven and we are still here on earth. There are many people we have known here on earth who are now with You in Heaven. One day we will all be together in Heaven. Lord, right now we can talk with You, and You promise to listen, and more than that You promise to answer us when we pray according to Your will. Thank You for giving us such great examples of specific ways in which to pray. The prayers in the Bible are a blessing to us. They lead, Lord, they show us how to pray. Help us to not only learn what to pray for but to actually take time in our lives to talk with You and make our requests known unto You. Father, it is truly a joy to know You, in fact there is no greater joy. We pray for those in our own church body who want to talk to You but don't really know how. Just as You are helping us to learn how to pray would You please do the same for them. May our lives bring glory, honor, and praise to You, Lord. In the name that is above all names, Jesus Christ.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia