Salvation

Week #7 Protecting Our Redemption

Leave a comment

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. (Psalm 91:7-8)

The Psalmist continues his description of the immeasurable protection our Magnificent Lord provides. The use of “thousand, ten thousand or multitude” implies an infinite number of ways the Lord intercedes for us. Our greatest danger is from Satan, who prowls around seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Our salvation and faithfulness is of supreme importance to the Lord. In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus prays specifically for Peter to return to his faith after being sifted like wheat. Also, in John 17:15, Jesus prays to the Father to keep the disciples and us from the evil one.

Working in tandem with the evil of Satan is the Lord’s judgment. How this occurs is more than we can fathom; for God’s judgments and conduct is beyond our understanding (Romans 11:33-34/Isaiah 55:9). It also is part of the redemptive plan (Revelation).

W.A. VanGermeren, Professor of Old Testament writes, “Seeing God’s salvation with the eye of faith will further encourage the godly, whom the Lord has promised his protection and blessing. The godly will witness the righteousness, justice, and fidelity of the Lord as well as the punishment of the wicked. No power in heaven or earth is greater than that of Yahweh, the Divine Warrior!” 

So, in the middle of a song of praise and protection, we are encouraged that redemption from the Lord is faithful to secure us while condemning the wicked.

Write out and memorize: Psalm 91:7-8

Reflect: Can you recall a time when the Lord kept you faithful to Him when your confidence was wavering?

Prayer: Father God, you have secured my redemption through your Son, Jesus Christ. Protect me from the evil one; keep me faithful to your truth and will when I waiver in fear and doubt. Amen.

NCFI Cares: Yahweh Tsidkenu: The LORD our Righteousness

3 Comments

A few months ago I attended a funeral service provided by the Mormon church. I was saddened, as I listened to an Elder of the church discuss the the spiritual journey of the deceased. First, the sermon detailed the need for Mormon’s to keep the 10 commandments found in the Old Testament in addition to the 2 commandments in the New Testament–Love the Lord and Love thy neighbor. The sermon also included how the deceased was in a placed called “paradise” working to achieve his eternal body for the next phase of eternal life.  I have to admit I was exhausted and saddened by all the work the Mormons are required to do to achieve eternal life. It also grieved my soul to be reminded of how people devoted to God can truly believe their hard work will bring them to eternal life.

Yet, at the same time, I was overwhelmed with gratefulness for the grace and mercy of God. For the Lord loved and saved me from a life of worthless devotion and meaningless work. See, I was Mormon until the age of 19. Then, after a period of rejecting God and the Mormon church, I responded to the call of Holy Spirit. Weary and heavy laden I accepted the wonderful free gift of salvation found in Jesus Christ. This salvation secured my righteousness found in the Messiah or God’s other name Yahweh Tsidkenu—The LORD our Righteousness.

The name Yahweh Tsidkenu was first used by the prophet Jeremiah when he said, “The days are coming,” declared the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5-6). This was the anticipated Messiah for the Israelites and for us.  

As we meditate upon the name of God–Yahweh Tsidkenu and celebrate our unearned righteousness,  don’t forget to pray for the unsaved. Keep in mind, there are millions of people who have been led away from the truth of Christ by the Deceiver.

More information on Mormonism at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism

NCFI Cares: Lost Joy by Guest Contributor

Leave a comment

cf2e1-ncficares_3bloglogo

“The joy of the Lord is our strength” Nehemiah 8:10

There are things we tend to lose, right? The things that we most easily lose in our daily tasks are the pen, the glasses, the cell phone, the piece of paper where we had an important annotation, and some would say “our hope”. But there is something that we all easily lose, especially Christian nurses, and it is joy.

On Sundays we leave the church joyfully excited to serve the Lord. Yet, as soon as we arrive at the hospital, there is bad news, a change in our work plans, the absence of a colleague, work overload, and a host of other things that make us lose our Sunday joy.  Romans 14:17 says: “The kingdom of God is not food or drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Joy is a natural consequence of following Christ. While we are living during these difficult days. we are reminded of Lamentations 5:15 “The joy of our heart ceased, our dance was changed into mourning “. It seems like the complaint and the hopelessness cover us. There are many things that make us lose joy.

  • An unbalanced schedule: the nurse knows a lot about this, we overload our schedule and then frustration comes when we do not comply with everything.
  • Selfishness: when we want to only receive the benefits of our profession and not deliver the added value to our work, such as love and mercy. Knowledge sometimes puffs up, but love builds and as a result fills us with joy.
  • Unused talents: Sometimes we do not use all our talents, our gifts, abilities and fall into a routine.We must use all that God has given us to enrich our work and thus find the job satisfaction we so crave.
  • Unconfessed sin: inside we know that we have unresolved things, such as not accepting a partner, feeling upset with our supervisor, jealousy, anger, strife, and others. We need to confess to the Lord and help us look at the another with the eyes of Christ.
  • Unresolved conflict: like negativity, gossip, bad humor, bitterness.
  • A malnourished spirit: we can only face all these things that rob us of joy, strengthening our spirit with the Word of God and with prayer.

In Psalm 51:12 the psalmist asks for the restoration of joy. “Return to me the joy of your salvation and noble spirit sustain me.”   When you become aware that you have lost your joy, remember that nothing is comparable to what God has done for you.

“And the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” Romans 15: 13.

Lic. Martha Fernández Moyano, Argentina NCFI IB

Member of Prayer & Care committee of NCFI

 

NCFI Cares: Just A Sprinkle

Leave a comment

 

I New sproutslive in a part of the United States where there is a distinct difference between the “dry” and “wet” seasons. This is especially true since the past few years have been exceptionally dry and has left my neighboring hills and fields with the barren tundra of cracked dirt and parched grasses.  Thus, when those first drops of rain sprinkled across our thirsty landscape bringing just enough moisture to wet the pavement, the hard dirt gave way to small shoots of grass straining to find the sun. This small amount of moisture awoke the grasses in anticipation of nutrients and growth.

I couldn’t help but make the parallel to the human soul or spirit. Like the drought ridden dirt blown away and grasses with withering roots, a soul and heart can be barren without the nutrients of Christ. Whether it is a blade of grass or a dry soul, a drop is all that is needed to awaken the soul to spring forth in anticipation of the nutrients of a renewed soul.

Many times in the evangelical world we think that a non-Christian heart needs a bucket or river of water to bring growth, not necessarily. All life sprouts anew in response to a sprinkle of water. Imagine the greater miracle when the moisture is the living water of Christ (John 4:14; Rev. 7:17; 22:1).  Don’t worry about bringing the bucket or river of salvation. Just sprinkle God’s love to our drought-ridden communities and watch the fruit of the Spirit bloom!

1 Cor. 3:6 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow.”

Blessings for 2015

cf2e1-ncficares_3bloglogo

NCFI Cares: My Shelter, the Sovereign One

Leave a comment
 
Psalm 91:9-10 For you have taken refuge in the Lord, my shelter, the sovereign One. No
harm will overtake you; no illness will come near your home.

 Our testimony is more than a way to bring the lost into the saving grace of Christ.
It is also more than our “salvation” story. It is a constantly changing
expression of how the Lord is working in our lives. Our testimony is a continuous
narrative of our faith journey filled with valleys of sadness and peaks of joys.
These times can be Godly intercessions for us personally and professionally,
and may also include family, colleagues and/or patients. Whether our family is
protected from an accident, our patients are healed from an illness and/or a
colleague finds cancer in the early stages. The Lord’s will intersecting in our
day-to-day events is opportunities to share. When we tell others the mighty
deeds of the Almighty we build up their faith and encourage their spiritual
growth (Psalm 145:4; 1 Cor. 1:4).
I encourage you to take time and reflect on a recent time the Lord has strengthened and/or encouraged you as a Christian nurse. Pray for the opportunity to share with a colleague how
“my shelter, the Sovereign One” worked in your nursing practice. Like the
writer of the 91st Psalm, we can use our life journey of living in
the refuge of the Lord as a teaching tool for our patients and colleagues.        

NCFI Cares: Protecting Our Redemption

Leave a comment


Psalm 91:7-8 Though a thousand may fall
beside you, and a multitude on your right side, it will not
reach you. Certainly you will
see it with your very own eyes –you will see the wicked paid back.
The Psalmist continues
his description of the immeasurable protection of our Magnificent Lord. The use
of “thousand, ten thousand or multitude” implies an infinite number of ways the
Lord intercedes for us. Our greatest danger is from Satan, who prowls around
seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Our salvation and faithfulness is of
supreme importance to the Lord. In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus prays specifically for
Peter to return to his faith after being sifted like wheat. Also, in John
17:15, Jesus prays to the Father to keep the disciples and us from the evil
one.
Working in tandem with the evil of Satan is the Lord’s judgment. How this
occurs is more than we can fathom; for God’s judgments and conduct is beyond
our understanding (Romans 11:33-34/Isaiah 55:9). It also is part of the
redemptive plan (Revelation).
W.A. VanGermeren, Professor of Old Testament writes, “Seeing God’s salvation
with the eye of faith will further encourage the godly, whom the Lord has
promised his protection and blessing. The godly will witness the righteousness,
justice, and fidelity of the Lord as well as the punishment of the wicked. No
power in heaven or earth is greater than that of Yahweh, the Divine
Warrior!” 
So in the middle of a song of praise and protection, we are
encouraged that redemption from the Lord is faithful to secure us while
condemning the wicked.