Tag Archives: salvation

December 21, 2012

It’s The End of the World As I Know It

By Ryan Miller

With all this talk of the world ending today I just couldn’t help but comment.

REM said:

“It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.”

I wanted to reflect on that idea biblically so here some of my thoughts about the end of the world as I know it.

First, I already experienced the end of the world, well more like my world. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that the day I became a Christian, the old nature inside me died and a new creation was birthed. All my old desires, thoughts, and frankly my whole world was dead. Looking forward, everything was new. So on August 13, 2006 I experienced the end of my world at that time. But it doesn’t stop there (and didn’t for me). The Bible continues to be clear on the topic of “death to self”. It can be found in 1 Corinthians 15:31, Galatians 2:20, Luke 9:23-24 and many other places. Some passages refer to the death we experience upon acceptance of Christ while others speak of a daily event. But can you really die every day? Well kind of.

Blog---The-End-of-the-World

Every day of my life is a new day. Every day I wake up and ask God to forgive the things I did the previous. Every day I ask for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to renew me. This is my process of Christian growth (santification). The junk inside me must die every day. I must allow the old world of mine to end EVERY SINGLE DAY. My world ends over and over again, but how about you?

Were you afraid for 12.21.12? Do you fear death? You don’t have to. Jesus Christ conquered death so those that accepted Him would not have to fear it. Instead, Christians embrace the reality that when we leave this world, we will immediately be with Him. Maybe you weren’t worried about today because you were sure of your place in heaven but you struggle with getting rid of the daily junk, truly letting your old nature die.

Let me leave you with these words of encouragement:

  • Jesus died for you knowing that you weren’t perfect nor would you ever be.
  • From God, by Jesus and through the Holy Spirit you don’t have to live like you always have. You can overcome your world!
  • Ask for prayer, help, and support and you’ll be surprised at how refreshing the end of your world can really be!

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November 15, 2012

Guarantee

By Ryan Miller

There are performance guarantees and money back guarantees.You can get them in durations of days, months, years and even a lifetime. Unfortunately most of those guarantees have loopholes. The fine print is so small you couldn’t see it with a microscope. You void the guarantee as soon as you get it.

And even if you find the perfect-no-loopholes-guarantee, it will only last until you die. Then you don’t need to care, right?

That type of thinking may work with products and services, but not our actual lives. There is a huge debate in regards to what happens after you die. That debate leads to many conversations and HUGE amounts of worry. People are freaked out by death.

But what if there was a guarantee for life (against death)?

I’ve got one for you. Clear as day, for you to read and receive even right now.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”

Those beautiful words were penned by the apostle Paul in the Book of Romans (Rom 6:23). It is a signed, sealed, and delivered guarantee that if you accept Jesus Christ as Lord of your life you are given the gift of eternal life. This means that you do not have to fear death. NOT NOW, NOT EVER! You may experience a tragedy and leave this earth early or you may not wake up from a good night’s sleep at some point, but that isn’t death. That’s the beginning of the rest of your life loving, worshiping, and experiencing Jesus face to face.

So what are you waiting for? This isn’t a guarantee that will cost you a thing. It was bought and paid for over two thousand years ago.

All you need to do is accept it!

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September 23, 2012

Past, Present and Future

By Ryan Miller

Everybody sins and there is no getting around it. And if that’s not bad enough, we are told that because we sin, we have to pay the penalty of death. We are totally depraved and cannot help ourselves. Thankfully God sent Jesus down to pay the penalty for those that will be saved. In one of the most incomprehensible acts the world has ever seen, our sins our erased.

But it doesn’t stop there!!!!

The more I grow in my relationship with Jesus, the less I will sin (hopefully). But I will still sin and the wages of those sins is still death. Wonderfully, Jesus’ death on the cross paid for ALL my sins (not just the past).

PERFECT PAYMENT

Today in church my pastor shared a bit on the security of our salvation. We were studying 1 Corinthians and in chapter 1, verses 7-8 the apostle Paul says Jesus will sustain us to the end. It is an awesome promise and stems from the perfect payment Jesus gave on the cross.  There are plenty of other verses in the Bible which confirm our eternal security in Jesus. Check out Colossians 1:21-23, 2 Timothy 2:11-12 and Philippians 1:6 to name a few. 

There was nothing that I did to earn my salvation.

There is nothing I can do to ever lose my salvation.

I love knowing that I am eternally secure in Jesus because while I want to live in such a way that obeys Jesus’ commands and glorifies God, I am bound to have days that just aren’t so good.

You can be confident in that too!

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July 20, 2012

Not Negotiable

By Ryan Miller

There are some things in life that just aren’t negotiable. If you live and work in the United States, you must pay taxes. It is not a negotiable thing. Taxes are based upon what the law says. Certain parts of the tax law pertain to everyone while other parts are left to interpretation. Now people will find ways around paying their taxes or just simply avoid paying their taxes but sooner or later it will catch up.

In many ways Christianity is the same. There are specific commands and references in the Bible, if you are to consider yourself a God-loving Christian, that are not negotiable. They include such statements like Mark 12:30-31 where Jesus says “And he said to him, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” or Romans 10:9 where Paul says “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”. 

There are other things in the Bible which I believe God has left to our own interpretation. In doing so, God has said that those things are for our own personal exhortation and conviction and not to cause division. These include things like election versus free will, the time of the rapture, and even the consumption of alcohol.

So what’s my point? Two things.

  1. There are certain things that you have no option to lend your own opinion to. God has made it clear that when it comes to areas such as who He is as part of the trinity and how you inherit salvation, there are NO OPTIONS. Quit trying to tweak God’s word for your personal interests.
  2. There are certain things that you need to settle down about. It is great to constantly challenge our heart and intellect in studying scripture, but if it doesn’t keep someone from understanding who God is and how someone is saved think twice before challenging others. As Christians, we end up causing more damage to each other than the world could ever do.

Not sure what to think of certain areas of scripture?

  • Pray and ask God for wisdom
  • Read your Bible yourself instead of solely relying on others to tell you what it says
  • Seek advice from well leaders
  • Pray and ask God for wisdom
  • Pray and ask God for wisdom
  • Oh, and pray and ask God  for wisdom!

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