Today is the day of your salvation.

Romans 10:9-10
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Every religion has some path to salvation but this verse separates Christianity from all others. Salvation is not up to us, its not some checklist of things we must do to qualify. Its quite simple. It can happen in the privacy of your own closet. You don't need rituals, ceremonies, or any other display of religious activity, it is simple.

Whereas others might endure a lifelong quests to achieve an enlightened states or perfection, Christianity is about a simple prayer which states your core belief.

That belief is that Christ did all the work of salvation at the cross, that he was the ultimate sacrifice to pay for the debt of sin in all humanity across all times. Its believing that the God of this universe who is able to arrange a beautiful display of starts a night raised Jesus from his tomb to fulfill his ultimate plan.

So what is the alternative?

Don't believe this and you are left with "me, myself and I". Don't believe this and give yourself a promotion to Chief Salvation Officer of yourself. Are you ready for your new job? Do you want it? How much ambition do you have?

It reminds me of a video I've seen titled "A man fell in a hole."




The video describes how the man was told by different travelers different things about his state and what to do; meditate, pray five times a day, etc. None of their suggestions helped him out of the hole. Then a man came down to him and carried him out of the hole and saved him.

That's such a great illustration of our salvation.

If you've never looked at it this way, I hope today is the day of your salvation!

A state of love bankruptcy

Romans 13:8
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

Wow. We sometimes think nothing about racking up monetary debt but what about the continual debt of love to our friends and neighbors?

I don't think I've ever thought about this or felt that I owe love to anyone I come across. Just think about that for a minute. This verse is telling us that the LAW is fulfilled by continually paying the debt of love to one another.

So in my interpretation of this I come to this sobering conclusion. How many people live a live of bondage trying to fulfill the law on their own when all they have to do is pay they debt of love?

In other words, at some point in my life I was in total bondage of checking off all the things I thought made me "qualified" for God's love; go to church, sunday school, pray, study Bible, etc.

Yet I withheld the payment of love to certain people. I didn't think they deserved it because they weren't involved in the same religious activities as me or perhaps didn't have the same ideals?

And while racking up monetary debt, I was hording love for myself instead of freely making love payments to my fellowman.

Hmmm, here is a sobering thought. Are you racking up monetary debt to love yourself while your fellowman sees you in a state of love bankruptcy?

What if I Fall?

Proverbs 24:16 (NIV)
For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

I like the way The Message puts this verse:
No matter how many times you trip them up,
God-loyal people don't stay down long;
Soon they're up on their feet,
while the wicked end up flat on their faces.

I put together a bible study a couple of years ago based on this verse. Today I came across it while cleaning the office and felt compelled to share it with you.

God gives us THE STRENGTH to get back up.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

So what if we fall?

No fall is GREAT ENOUGH to keep us down!

Psalm 40:2 (NKJV)
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.

No matter how stuck you feel, rejoice for God has already laid out your path to victory.

How hard can we fall?

Psalm 69:1-3 (NIV)
Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.

Do you feel like you’ve come into deep waters?

Isaiah 59:19 (NKJV)
When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.

Peter was a righteous man who fell seven times and rose again.


1. Peter sinks in the water. Matthew 14:28-31 (NIV)
"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

Peter chose FEAR over FAITH.

2. Peter rebukes Jesus. Matthew 16:21-23 (NIV)
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Peter chose the WILL OF MAN over the WILL OF GOD.

3. Peter refuses to have Jesus wash his feet. John 13:7-10 (NIV)
Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."

Peter chose PRIDE over HUMILITY.

4. Peter denies Christ. Matthew 26:75 (NIV)
Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Peter chose DENIAL over TRUTH.

5. Peter falls asleep while Jesus prayed. Matthew 26:40-41
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Peter chose PLEASURE over OBEDIENCE.

6. Peter draws his sword. Matthew 26:51-52 (NIV)
… one of Jesus' companions (Peter) reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.

Peter chose CARNAL WARFARE over SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

7. Peter goes fishing. John 21:3
"I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Peter chose OLD HABITS ove GOOD WORKS.

The Lord not only helps us to rise again but commands us to do so.

John 21:15-17 (NIV)
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"

He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.

Finally, Peter gets back up with the STRENGTH OF THE LORD.

Peter led the people in the upper room to choose a replacement for Judas
Acts 1:15 (NIV)
Now on one of those days Peter arose among the brethren, the whole number of whom gathered together was about a hundred and twenty.

Peter now chose OBEDIENCE rather than a PLEASURE.

Peter delivered the first sermon after Jesus’ crucifixion.
Acts 2:14 (NIV)
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: You Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be [explained] to you so that you will know and understand; listen closely to what I have to say.

Peter now chose FAITH rather tha FEAR.


Peter heals a lame man.
Acts 3:6-8 (NIV)
But Peter said, Silver and gold (money) I do not have; but what I do have, that I give to you: in [the [a]use of] the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk! Then he took hold of the man's right hand with a firm grip and raised him up. And at once his feet and ankle bones became strong and steady, And leaping forth he stood and [b]began to walk, and he went into the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

Peter now chose SUPERNATURAL over NATURAL.

Peter preaches again and glorifies God.
Acts 3:11-12 (NIV)
Now while he [still] firmly clung to Peter and John, all the people in utmost amazement ran together and crowded around them in the covered porch (walk) called Solomon's. And Peter, seeing it, answered the people, You men of Israel, why are you so surprised and wondering at this? Why do you keep staring at us, as though by our [own individual] power or [active] piety we had made this man [able] to walk?

Peter now chose HUMILITY over PRIDE.

Peter is arrested and spoke boldly to the Sanhedrin and marveled them.
Acts 4:8-10 (NIV)
Then Peter, [because he was] filled with [and controlled by] the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and members of the council (the Sanhedrin), If we are being put on trial [here] today and examined concerning a good deed done to benefit a feeble (helpless) cripple, by what means this man has been restored to health, Let it be known and understood by all of you, and by the whole house of Israel, that in the name and through the power and authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, [but] Whom God raised from the dead, in Him and by means of Him this man is standing here before you well and sound in body.

Peter now chose TRUTH over DENIAL.

Peter and the Apostles get arrested again.
Acts 5:29-31 (NIV)
Then Peter and the apostles replied, We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus, Whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree (cross). God exalted Him to His right hand to be Prince and Leader and Savior and Deliverer and Preserver, in order to grant repentance to Israel and to bestow forgiveness and release from sins.

Peter now chose THE WILL OF GOD over THE WILL OF MAN.


The enemy tempts you to fall and when you fall then he scourges you for it.

How will you react after your next fall?

How will it shape your ministry? Your life?

The War is Over

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

I think this verse sets people apart. It divides people because either you believe it or you don't. On one side of this verse you have people who believe and are confident that Jesus is Lord and their savior. On the other you have people who think that Jesus was just a great prophet and someone who achieved the spiritual level we should all strive for.

So Jesus, as portrayed in the Bible and this verse is God humbling himself as a human being to come to earth to not only to be our model of perfection but actually be a sacrifice to serve as a way to fulfill the punishment we deserve for our lack of compliance with the law.

So I've been wondering lately, how do we reconcile these sides? Wars have been fought for thousands of years as a result of these opposing views. While I don't even consider the possibility of putting this issue or argument to bed, I would like to offer my views.

Let's start with common areas of agreement:

1. Does God exist?
Many people in the world can agree that their is a God or at least a supreme being who created this universe. I'm a believer that it actually takes more faith to believe there is no God. When you go outside on a dark star filled night and look up, to not believe there is a God is amazing to me. If you fall in this category maybe you would have hit the back button already.

Try Google search for "does God exist" and you will see lots of support (even scientific) for God's existence.

2. Did Jesus model God's intent for us perfectly?

Even non-Christians will agree that Jesus is a great person to model and he is a perfect example of compassion, humility, love and purpose. Many agree that if our society exemplified the traits Jesus modeled, the world would be a much better place.

There are many examples of great men and women (including non-Christians) who not only understood these traits but lived them through their actions (Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, etc)

Now for some more challenging questions:

1. Was Jesus God in the form of a human?

Today's verse addresses this directly with an emphatic yes. But so many do not consider this to be true. From their perspective questions arise such as why would God do such a thing?

One way I explain this is with an analogy of an ant hill. Let's say you are God and you have created an ant colony. A vibrant place full of activity in which you gave all the ants free will. You want to see them flourish, grow and do great things, and most of all, worship you.

But when you see their endless toil and quest for self reliance, you have two choices. You could destroy them. I remember as a kid using a magnifying glass and frying ants. That would be fitting punishment for some of us!

It would be easy to stomp on the hill and drown the ants in water and insecticide. As God, you could just start all over.

Or you could make yourself into an ant, personally talk to your creation, model a perfect life and be sacrificed for all their wrong doings.

Its a very simplistic example but after all, I don't think the concept of Christianity shouldn't be complex at all.

2. Was Jesus perfect?

Yes. He never sinned. That doesn't mean that he wasn't tempted. He was charismatic & attractive, I'm sure he was tempted specially by many women who were involved in his ministry.

He was tempted more than any of us will ever be, but never sinned. That means if a beautiful woman was walking by, he was tempted with all kinds of thoughts but he never succumbed to them.

3. Did he actually die for our sins and resurrect? Why would God come up with a plan like this?

Very much the same as a parent would rather take chemo themselves rather than see their baby suffer from a battle with cancer, our father in heaven could not stand to see us pay for our sinful ways.

So at the very moment of the cross, Jesus took on every sin, all sickness and all poverty with him. In other words, he became our sin, our sickness and our poverty and it was nailed to the cross.

4. But you may ask: why are those three things still around today?

Jesus paid the ultimate price for these three things which is death. This act of love ended the war but battles still rage.

History is filled with accounts of wars that have been declared over but battles and skirmishes continue to flare afterward. The devil and his demons would like us to think that the war is not over. So to a great extent, we live our lives believing lies and deceptions that draw us into these battles.

One day, we will know for sure that the war is over. We will know the extent of the lies that have caused us so much hate, so much sickness and trouble.

(Note: This message took me over two weeks to compose. I meditated over issues that separate so many people. I don't believe my opinions are always perfect so I welcome comments. )