How To Be Sure Of Your Salvation

What does it take to be saved? Getting an understanding of what the requirements for salvation are. When this is truly understood then the rest is a bit easier.

What does it take to be saved? Romans 10:9-19,

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made resulting in salvation.”

If you’ve ever wondered if you’ve messed up and made bad choices and you need to start over keep reading.

The words in Romans 10:9-10 about salvation is really simple. All it takes to be saved is to believe in Jesus, and that He is God’s Son, and that He died on the cross for our sins because there is no way that were going to be able to pay the penalty of our sin.

Jesus rose again three days later. He is sitting on the throne in heaven and He’s going to come back again for His people. If you recognize that you are a sinner who is incapable of saving yourself and that you cannot pay the price of sin, which is death, and recognize that Jesus is your Lord and has paid the cost for you, then you will be saved.

All it takes is for you to believe. Sometimes we wonder and question how we can know for sure that we can reconcile with Jesus. This can be a big burden depending on what you believe, what you are taught, and how you grew up.

I grew up with no teaching about Jesus and was told that if I didn’t do what I was supposed to I would go to hell. I grew up under fear-based parenting which resulted in low self-esteem and some mental health difficulties. Believing that I would never be able to please my parent or God and believing It was hopeless to even try.

John 10:27 in context is a parable of the Good Shepherd. Jesus explains how He is the Good Shepherd and that people who follow Him are His sheep.

“My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I gave eternal life to them, and they will never perish and no one will take them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” – John 10:27-30

Jesus is clearly explaining that if you believe in Him, you are His sheep, you are saved, and you are His follower. This is how to become a Christian -to follow Christ Jesus. Once that happens, you have eternal life and your soul will never perish. This is how you can know that your salvation is secure. If you follow Jesus you are secure in the hands of Jesus and His Father.

Matthew 10:28 tells us,

“Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body m but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Jesus says no one can take His sheep, His believers, His followers, out of His hands, and that includes yourself. You can’t take yourself out of His hand. As long as you continue to believe. Then He says that His sheep can’t be taken out of His Father’s hands either. You are doubly secure.

Rest in truth in knowing that scripture says right from the mouth of Jesus, that nothing is going to take your salvation away from you. Once you believe you are secure. That is it.

Another way that you can know that you are saved is when you go through conviction from God. Romans tells us that no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Satan comes to accuse us and he condemns us, but that doesn’t apply to children of God because you are secure in the hands of the Father and of the Son.

But when you go through discipline, you do get convicted by the Holy Spirit when you are doing something that does not line up with your new identity as a child of God.

John 15:1-2 tells us about the vine illustration it says you are to abide in Jesus.,

“I am the true vine and My Father the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.“

This tells us that as children of God, we are going to be disciplined. We are going to be challenged and stretched to grow through the process of specification, of becoming more and more like Jesus.

So we are pruned if we do and pruned if we don’t. Jesus does this because He wants us to bear fruit and the only way to make sure that whatever we are growing is producing what we want it to is to prune. To get rid of the things that don’t need to be there, to get rid of the dead branches and things that are sick. That’s exactly what God does in our lives and in our hearts.

He knows us and He begins to search our hearts, and He lets us know when something is going on in our hearts and our minds, in our lives that doesn’t align with our new identity as His child. It doesn’t feel good, but ultimately it is for our good.

If you are wondering if you’re saved ask yourself if you feel conviction. Are you going through discipline? Do you not enjoy doing sinful things that you used to do in your past?

That is a sign that you belong to God

The Fear Of The Lord

“The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and principal and choice part of knowledge; it’s the starting point and its essence; but fools despise skillful and godly wisdom, instruction, and discipline” – Proverbs 1:7 amp.

Walking in the fear or respect of God is the beginning of wisdom. You will never be able to walk in reverence of Him unless you honor Him in your life. Without honoring God and giving Him His place in your heart you will continue to walk after your own desires instead of His and you’ll never experience the high life of God’s plan in your life.

Honoring Him

The most you change your decisions and your lifestyle to line up with God’s Word, the more honor you are giving God in your life.

“For those who honor me, I will honor, and those who despise me will be cursed” -1 Samuel 2:30

Failure to honor Gosis when you face a choice between going God’s way or your way and you choose to do what you want to do instead of what He says. A lack of respect for God is what causes the foolish to eat of the fruit of your own way, and be filled with their own schemes (Proverbs 1:31).

To eat the fruit of your own way is to experience the consequences of choosing to be your own god, and that’s a pitiful situation to find yourself in,

When you exalt and obey your desires more than you exalt God’s desire for your life, you take yourself out of God’s hands and separate yourself from His provision. You become your only deliverance. And relying on ourselves for deliverance just isn’t enough.

In Genesis after Adam disobeyed God, he had to live by the sweat of his brow instead of according to the provision of God. His disobedience forced him to live under a curse that he could not cure. He ate the fruit of His own way.

When you choose God way, you eat the fruit of His way, and His way is always good.

The abundant life He gives is full of love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness and all the fruit of the Spirit. Give God first place over all your desires, over your own ambitions and over everything in your life.

This kind of reverence for God will pull you back from the snare of temptation to do wrong and cause you to do what’s right. As you walk in God’s ways, your obedience will bring continued good in your life.

His life is the good life

God does not expect us to be perfect. But He does expect us to have a respect of Him -to fear Him. We are all going to fail so it’s important to repent, receive forgiveness and start again.

The decision to fear the Lord (honor and respect) is necessary if you want a successful life in God. You must decide. “I’m going to do it God’s way, come hell or high water. I choose God’s will for my life. Whether it seems easy or not, I’m going to do what God’s Word says.”

A person who makes this type of decision cannot be defeated. Nothing can keep them from success. No devil in heck can keep them bound because commitment to God’s way always brings success.

On the other hand, every single choice that goes against God will only produces sin and death.

Romans 6:23,

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.”

If you want to walk in God’s kind of life, you have to walk in His ways.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace“ – Romans 8:5-6

If you choose to walk in the world’s way, you’re going to have a hard walk. And in the end you will come out defeated and worse off that you were before.

I’ve never met anyone who has chosen God and regretted It

Blessed Assurance In The Worst Of Times

If you are paying attention to the world today you can see a lot of crime, inflation, government chaos, wars, money laundering and so much more. If you’re like me and don’t see it as a party problem it’s not about Democrats or Republicans they are both corrupt beyond measure.

History is full of times that were difficult believers, many millions of true believers are being persecuted and have been in generation to generation. But America has been living in some sort of bubble. Because of our Constitutional rights, we have had freedoms not enjoyed in our countries. Yet this seems to be changing, our Constitution s being stripped away by the government elites.

Today we see people being persecuted for standing for biblical, traditional values. The elites are targeting those who do not go along with their agenda.

If we believe the Bible, we know persecution will come. The question is whether we will see it in our lifetime. The world is so upside down right now it appears what Jesus prophesied about the end time is happening right before our eyes.

A one world government is on the rise of the man the Bible calls the “Antichrist” and even a mark required to buy and sell seem to be the obvious next steps resulting from the “great reset” that the World Economic Forum has called for.

We now live in a post Christian culture. Today, evil is called good and good called evil. That is the essence of the upside down world we live in.

Many believe that God still could raise up American but we still have to face the fact that the world is becoming more and more evil, and deserves judgement.

In Revelation 3:10 we have the promise,

“Because you have kept My command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

While it’s not fun to think about, but we may face persecution. Some have been canceled on social media for posting Bible verses, as well as many biblical teachers who have been posting for years without any issues, people are getting arrested for praying in public, and people have even lost their jobs for refusing to comply with heavy handed enforcement of woke policies.

The reality is we are in a spiritual war. And when the Tribulation comes, it will be the war of all wars. So, we must prepare for battle if we are to survive.

The world seems to be raging out of control, and most of what is happening seems beyond our understanding. We know everything is in chaos, but we don’t know what to do. Some compare this period of time in Germany when the Jewish people knew something was seriously wrong, but the Nazi agenda was too horrific for anyone to believe it could actually happen. They hoped the turmoil would blow over. But it did not -it got worse.

Though the world seems to be careening towards the last days, this is not the time to become discouraged. We have the Holy Spirit, and He will never leave us nor forsake us. Moses told Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:8,

“The Lord Himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.”

I tell you this to prepare you not to alarm you.

The Most Delicious Thing I’ve Ever Eaten

What’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten?

The most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten is called Gyulai pariskilbasz. It is a renowned Hungarian smoked and cured sausage. It is a careful balance of selected spices, like Hungarian paprika, pepper, cumin, and garlic finely chopped Hungarian bacon. It produces an unmistakable aroma.

My father used to make it when I was growing up. It required the right conditions and preparation. I remember sneaking into the room where my father cured it, just so I could take in the smell. I remember if I got caught in there I would get in big trouble.

My father was an amazing cook. I have never tasted anything so amazing. Even the restaurants that say they it, take nothing like my fathers.

If I Were Forced To Wear One Outfit

If you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?

If I were forced to wear one out fit it would be a dress and cowboy boots.

The Blessing Of Forgiveness

God forgives our sins and He command us to forgive those that offend us. When we do, we have a lot of blessings that come our way.

I remember the exact day God forgave my sins. I ever remember the place. I had been praying silently for God to please forgive me while I was grocery shopping. I had worked so hard to tear down the walls I had built up when trying to protect myself from ever being hurt again. I returned my cart to the corral., and was walking to my car. I was over powered by an intense heat on the top of my head. As I got to my car I thought I was having a stroke. As I sat down the heat rushed through my body. What felt like an eternity only took about 4 minutes. After I felt a heavy weight had been lifted off me. I felt amazing.

I don’t tell of this account often because I think people will think I’m crazy. But I knew it was God showing me He forgave my sins -everyone.

Forgiveness is a powerful action that releases us from negative emotions and allows us to move forward. It creates space for healing and growth. It brings on peace and closure. It allows us to focus on the present moment and the positive aspects of our lives.

When God forgives us He begins to transform us. When God forgives us He expects us to forgive others. Unforgiveness is like poison. It destroys our lives.

It’s impossible as human beings to avoid offending others or being forgiven by others. While we do not have the ability to control how others feel or act when they are offended, we do have free will over our own lives to decide how we react when we are offended by others.

Forgiveness is wholeheartedly the secret of a happy full life. While it’s not easy to forgive others, it’s what God commands us. Even if the other person is not really sorry, we still have to forgive them in order to fulfill the will of God.

In order to understand what forgiveness means, we need to look at what it is not.

Forgiveness does not justify the offender. Forgiveness does not make the person being forgiven innocent. Forgiveness is not approving what the other person has done, but overlooking it out of love, and with the expectation that the offender will benefit with a profitable change of action and attitude

Unforgivable Sin

How many sins can you list that God won’t forgive? I used to worry about this because was not a good person in the past. Some of the things I’ve done are probably on that list.

The only sin that can not be forgiven on God’s list is rejecting Him and refusing His offer of forgiveness and new life in Christ Jesus. When we do this it is saying that the Holy Spirit’s witness about Jesus is a lie (Like 12:20).

It is serious to reject Jesus because of who He was, He wasn’t just another bible teacher; He was God in human flesh -but when we deny this, we limit Him and assume He is unable to save us.

Jesus is God’s appointed means of salvation. Our greatest need is to have our sins forgiven, if we don’t have any reason to expect God to welcome us into heaven. But by Jesus’s death and resurrection, He provided a way for us to be forgiven and cleansed of all our sins.

Blasphemy is a thoughtless mistake. Think about the Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t jump to a conclusion about Jesus, if you follow the Book of Mark, you’ll see there is a progression to their unbelief. They were initially curious about Jesus and His ministry. They had questions. And in time grew indifferent, but their indifference metastasized into a malicious attitude that became so hateful and vengeful that it nailed Jesus to the cross.

“The unforgivable sin is marked by a hardened attitude and an embittered and unrepentant heart” -David Jeremiah

Blasphemy is a progressive rejection. When God convicts us of sin and presents us with the good news of the gospel, it’s dangerous to neglect it, especially if our proclamation becomes chronic. After continued resistance, we can become so hard-hearted and sin-hardened that our souls become calloused. Our ears can’t receive the truth. Our minds shake off the conviction of the Spirit. Our conscience becomes cynical and while God’s grace is still available to us, we push away from it.

The Pharisees had become Jesus-resistant because of their time-lapsed attitudes in their evil hearts. Tragically, the Pharisees devoted their lives to copying the Word of God and yet couldn’t see Him when we walked up to them.

They had copied Isaiah 53 about the Suffering Servant. They copied Psalm 22 about the death of Jesus. They knew Micah 5 and the prophecy of our Lord’s birth. Yet, their hearts had become so hardened they couldn’t receive His grace when it arrived in Jesus.

It is possible to become harderen to spiritual truth by living in the middle of it.

It’s denying the deity of Jesus. By attributing the miracles of Jesus to Satan they were saying He could not be God. Yet by His miracles, He was showing Himself to be nothing and no one less than God. Only God Himself could do what Jesus had done.

It’s the Holy Spirit who witnesses to the deity of Jesus in our world today. So if you refuse to accept the ministry of the Holy Spirit or you attribute the ministry of the Holy Spirit or attribute His ministry to Satan, you deny Jesus’s deity.

This unforgivable sin has haunted people for centuries. If you are bothered in your spirit that you may have committed a sin God will not forgive, the very fact that you have anxiety over that is evidence you have not committed the sin. If He is still working in your heart, it’s not possible to have committed the unforgivable sin.

The unforgivable sin is hardening your heart against God by repeatedly refusing to respond to His appeal to your soul. By continuing to resist and reject the Lord you build callouses on your soul until the conviction of the Spirit of God no longer registers in your heart. Over time you become hardened. You hear and the Word of God, and it makes no impact on you. If you die in that condition, there is no further forgiveness available. For those who reject Jesus, there is no forgiveness anywhere else, anytime, either in this world or the next. He died for you, and if you reject that, there’s no other sacrifice for sin.

Don’t worry that you’ve committed the unforgivable sin. But if you know Jesus as your personal Savior, be concerned. If you’ve resisted Jesus and refused Him as your Savior, and if something happens and you do, you will have committed the unforgivable sin. You don’t get a second chance after death.

Whatever we do concerning Jesus in this life we shouldn’t gamble that we have time to respond later.

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call on Him while He is near“ – Isaiah 55:6

When the Lord becomes your unforgettable Savior, you’ll never have to worry about the unforgivable sin.

My Spirituality

How important is spirituality in your life?

My journey in spiritual life is a huge part of who I am today. My journey has helped me understand how vast the divine is, and how little I truly understand.

When I was young I didn’t understand who God was. I used to pray that He would get me out of the situation I was in -to save me from the pain and suffering. At a very young age, I definitely believed in something higher than myself. But I couldn’t understand why a good God would keep me in the situation I was in. I always knew I was different and the answers were somewhere.

I have made a lot of mistakes in life. But later in life, I knew I had become spiritual I began to spiritually know who I was and I began connecting to God more and more. I began looking beyond the surface of things and trusting the process of how lives unfold.

I began to believe that I was born of God and began being changed by His grace when I chose to surrender and be obedient to the Holy Spirit and began to live to please God, my entire life changed for the better.

Practicing Self-care

How do you practice self-care?

Self-care involves working at good physical health and well as mental health. And makes you feel good about yourself.

Healthy practices reduce stress and release feel-good hormones. There’s one rule I do for self-care and that’s whatever I choose to do should refuel me and not make me stressed of anxious. Our physical self-care impacts our mental health .

Regular exercise, eating healthy, good hygiene, periods alone so I can meditate and receiving needed health care along with getting my nails done and my hair done on a regular basis goes toward my self-care.

There Are No Coincidences

The world likes the idea of coincidence. It takes away any accountability to acknowledge the existence of a Creator or purpose in our lives. If things just happen by chance, then our actions really don’t matter. But the Bible leaves no room for coincidence.

God is sovereign. He is the Alpha and the Omega, all-knowing and all-powerful. (Revelation 22:13; Romans 11:33-36; Job 42;1-2). From the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation it is evident that God is in control. Even before Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, God knew that Jesus would have to die on the cross to bring redemption. He knows every decision we will make and the consequences we will experience. For God, there are no surprises, accidents, or karma.

God cares for us -His creation. He knows the number of stars in the sky and even the number of hairs on our head (Like 12:7). He accounts for every detail from something as simple as a flower to the complexity of the human heart. Matthew 6-28-30 says,

“Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toilm neither do they spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. But of God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t He much more clothe you, you of little faith.”

God has a plan, He weaves together all events and all decisions for His greater purpose of redeeming His creation and being reunited with it. Moses coming across a burning bush was not a coincidence (Exodus 3:1-17), God meant to meet him there. Abraham finding a ram to sacrifice instead of his son was not a coincidence. God knew Abraham would be faithful to Him and provided an alternative sacrifice (Genesis 22). Jesus arriving in Jerusalem the week of Passover was not a coincidence. Jesus Himself would take the place of the Passover lamb forever destroying the power of sin with His final sacrifice.

In Isaiah 46:9-11 God says,

“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me. I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times that are not yet done. I say. My counsel will the stand, and I will do all that I please. I call a ravenous bird from the east, the man of My counsel from a far country. Yes, I have spoken. I will also bring it to pass. I have planned. I will also do it.”

A few passages in the Bible have phrases with the undertone of coincidence. Such as the account of the good Samaritan in Luke 10 it is said the “by chance” a priest passed the beat-up man on the road. Yet when taken into the context of the Bible as a whole, it is clear that while the priest passing by was unexpected from a human perspective. God already knew that it was not the so-called righteous of society, but the disliked samaritan who would stop and help the man. Perhaps the role of coincidence in God’s eyes is best captured by the words of Albert Einstein, “Coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

Is Evil Increasing?

Evil is coming out of the c, set. No more hiding in the darkness, we can see it in the daylight. The problem with defining evil centers around perspective. Those who are captive to sin have a different worldview of evil. The verse from Isaiah reveals why one man’s evil is another man good,

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight” – Isaiah 5:20-21

A view of self without the biblical mirror provided by God gives off a false self-image. We see ourselves as the experts on right and wrong. Our rationale is primarily guided by our feelings and emotions. Pride rules over decision-making and pride separates us from God. Pride is was caused satan (Lucifer) to be cast out of heaven.

The Bible is the only moral guide we have. Outside of it, we have chaos. Without a clear moral code, we have everyone deciding for themselves what is their moral truth. We see it all around us, men and women making decisions and choices that are biblically wrong and in some instances even evil. They justify and rationalize what they do as right for them, and declare their decisions and actions as truth.

In the Bible, God reveals Himself to us, the origin of mankind, the fallen nature of mankind is sin, the redemptive work of Christ Jesus, and clarity on what is good and evil. The only worldview that counts is the one that is provided by the creator of all life. God is the Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end. He is truth. He is the starting point for all life.

Evil has always made its presence in the world. But, I do believe we are seeing a rise of evil at this time on earth all around us and it’s undeniable. One of the key indicators that evil is on the rise is because of the cultural unity around sinful behavior. There are several terms America has come to familiar with. Cancel culture, social justice, critical race theory, LGBTQ, transgender, same sex marriage, woke, and white privilege.

They are different but they have one thing in common, they seek universal compliance. There is no room for dissent. No discussion, no other point of view that the culture acceptable view. We have seen this throughout history, where one group or another rises to power and seeks to transform cultural thinking, actions, and behaviors. What we see that stands out today is the demand for compliance. In the 70’s we have an overall cultural attitude of “live and let live.” In other words, you do your thing and I will do mine, we don’t have to agree we just have to tolerate it.

Today “live and let live” has been replaced with what I choose to do you must accept, defend, and promote. In such a culture, morality loses its definition. There is intense social pressure to conform to group thinking. Legislators are passing laws, written to defend immorality.

Psalm 7:14 says.

“The wicked conceive evil, they are pregnant with trouble and give birth to lies,”

Those in power are seeking to determine the truth for everyone. The battles rage in court, the loses weight out the wins. Religious freedom is at risk as evil rises up to crush it.

Throughout history, there have been evil empires. What we see now is the coming together of a one-world empire that seeks the submission of all mankind. An empire where evil is called good and good is called evil.

No one wants to suffer but in a fallen world, it is unavoidable. Whether physical pain or mental anguish suffering is part of the human condition for everyone. Exactly what it will be like is not yet clear, but it seems unlikely that it will be favorable to those who follow Jesus. The signs if opposition are already apparent.

Persecution is simply a clash between two irreconcilable value systems. The clash is what we are seeing now, and it is ultimately between those who believe, trust, and love the God of the Bible and those who do not.