Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Today's Chapters: Psalms 48-53
Message Title: Making Dreams Come True

In the past twenty-four months of my life I have seen so many unbelievable things happen, not only in my life, but friends and family as well. I remember when I was a little girl, I made a list of all the things I wanted to do. Now, here I am, and I do not think I have done any of them. Do not get me wrong, I have accomplished many things, but life sure is not like what we plan it out to be. While our dreams may not always come true, God's promises do, and who knows, if we keep trusting God, we may see some of our dreams coming true. “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” - 2 Peter 1:3,4.

While God does not promise that life will be as we plan, He does promise that every person who believes in His Son, Jesus Christ, will receive eternal life. That means, if you have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior then you are a forgiven child of the living God. Not by any good that we have done, but by the grace of God through our faith in and acceptance in His death, burial, and resurrection are we saved. We learn this even from the Psalms. “They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.”- “Psalm 49:6-10.16-19.

No amount of goodness, no person, place, or thing on this earth can save a soul bound for hell, the only way we can escape that fate is Jesus Christ. Jesus paid our sin debt on the cross, and He gives the gift of eternal life to all who believe in and receive Him. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” - John 3:16-18.

Even before Jesus came to earth people looked to the cross to be saved, this Psalm foretells the end of the law or Moses and beginning of permanent redemption through Jesus Christ. “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.”- Psalm 50:14-17,22,23.

God will only show those who want to know Him how they can be saved. I used to think that God chooses the people He wants saved (false doctrine), but the more and more I read the Bible I understand that, while God creates everyone in hopes that they will believe in Him and want Him in their lives, not everyone will. He will not save a soul that refuses to acknowledge Him as God. How do I know this? The devil. God created him and within a matter of days he got cast out of heaven because he wanted to be God. While he does know who God is, he is landing himself right into hell because he refuses to acknowledge God as his Creator and Savior. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” - Revelation 20:10,13-15.

Judged according to their works means that everyone will stand before Jesus in judgment, we will receive our rewards for what we have done after we got saved, and be shown any missed opportunities that we had. However, those who have received Him will pass on into eternal life, those who did not, eternal death, which is the second death. People use these verses to try to justify their claim that one can lose their salvation, but this is untrue. We must always remember not to let an obscure passage change the message, once saved, always saved. This does not mean we will not face any consequences for our sins, but it does mean that those consequences will not the second death. “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” - Titus 3:3-7.

Not by works of righteousness are we saved, only by believing in and accepting Him are we saved. So what happens when we sin? We acknowledge it to get right with God. David sinned many times, perhaps the most memorable one is when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. He wrote this Psalm after he was reminded that his sin was acknowledged by God.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”- Psalm 51:1-4,7-12.

While sin does not make us lose our salvation it does make us lose the joy of our salvation. I love this Psalm, and often recite it to God when I fear I am letting God down. Perhaps the number one reason our dreams do not come true is because we have something hidden in our heart that God sees and wants us to get rid of. Once we remove it, we will not only revive our spirit, we will see our dreams come true, or rather God's dreams of us coming true. “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” - 1 John 3:20-22.

Today's Prayer: God, It still is a mystery to me that with all I have done You call me one of Your own. Thank You for loving me and not giving up on me and for making me who I am today. I am nothing without You and I know that no matter what I go through that You are still with me, even if I do fall. Lord, keep my eyes on You so that I can be alert and ready for any evil that comes my way. Help me to endure my afflictions and keep looking to You for peace through my burdens. I know that everything will come to pass and I will be able to see some souls saved through my light affliction. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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