Did God Choose Who Would Be Saved?

 

God created us in His image, not to be His playthings like dolls or robots, but to have free will so that we could choose to be His friends. Because God has perfect knowledge of all things, past, present and future (Psalm 139:1-6), the topic of man’s free will always brings up the question of how God can know who will be saved, and who will reject His freely given offer of salvation, without interfering with that choice. That is a mystery we will not fully understand until we reach glory (1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 1:9; Colossians 1:27).

Nonetheless, let me offer an imperfect example by way of illustration. After 33 years of marriage, I know at least some of my husband Richard’s preferences rather well. I can therefore reasonably accurately predict that if he had an uninterrupted evening of television programming to watch by himself, he would choose a live airing of a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game over a rerun of a “chick flick.” If he were to make that choice, it would not be the result of my influencing his decision in any way, even though I had correctly foretold the outcome.

My knowledge of my husband is incomplete, for only God knows the hearts (Deuteronomy 8:2; 13:3; 1 Chronicles 28:9; Psalm 44:21; 139:23, etc.). Yet in His perfect knowledge, He has known from the beginning of time who would be saved by placing their faith in the death, burial and resurrection of His Son (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), and who would be lost and doomed to hell by not believing in Him (John 3:18), instead trusting in their own good works or worldly “wisdom” (Luke 16:15).

Did God choose who is to be saved and who will be doomed? Some believe that is the case, citing Ephesians 1, which says “he hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,” and “He predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself (v. 4,5). A similar verse is 2 Thessalonians 2:13, which says that “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”

Yet if God chose some to be saved and others to be damned, that would contradict Peter’s assertion that God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). It also would be out of character for God, Who is love (1 John 4:8), to decide to send some of His creatures to hell before they even come on the earthly scene and have the opportunity to choose salvation. The apostle Paul, also writing under Holy Spirit inspiration, also states that God wants “all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

Considering the bulk of Scripture in context (2 Timothy 3:16), and rightly dividing the Word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), I believe we should therefore conclude that God created us with free will in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), and that He has known eternally who would trust Christ and who would reject Him, without interfering with that choice. Paul always addresses believers rather than the unsaved, so when he refers to “us,” or “you” he speaks of the church, or believers in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior (1 Corinthians 1:2). 

In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, which says that “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth,” I believe that the choice made by God was not who would be saved, but the means of salvation. Namely, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to indwell us and make us holy with Christ’s righteousness at the moment we realize the truth that we are sinners (Romans 3:23) and that Jesus died and rose again to save us (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

I believe that the “predestination” Paul describes in Ephesians 1 refers not to whom will be saved, but to what is the predetermined destiny for those who will be saved. God the Father has blessed us (believers) with all spiritual blessings (v. 3) “according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (v. 4). In other words, God chose from the beginning of time that those who placed their faith in His Son would be sanctified, or made holy, (1 Corinthians 1:2,30; 6:11; Hebrews 10:29; 13:12) and justified (Acts 13:39; Romans 3:24-30), or freed from sin, by His shed blood (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 5:9)) and His righteousness.

It was for God’s pleasure that He “predestinated believers unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself” (Ephesians 1: 5). In other words, He determined ahead of time that believers in Jesus Christ would become children of God and joint heirs with Christ (v. 11), sealed by His Spirit (v. 13) until He redeems us completely by giving us a glorified body like that of Christ to enjoy throughout eternity (v. 14;  Romans 8:29).

God knew from the beginning of time who would trust His Son, and He predetermined their destiny, which is to be like Christ, to rise from death to eternal life, to be called by the Holy Spirit, to be justified by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, and to live in His glory (Romans 8:29-30).

Because God knew in advance who would be saved, He also predetermined a unique plan and purpose for every believer. He “saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9).

 

God thinks peaceful, not evil thoughts, of each of His children, to give each of us an "expected end," namely, fulfillment of His purpose for which He specifically designed each of us, blessing each of us with talents, desires, resources and opportunities uniquely tailored to that purpose (Jeremiah 29:11).

Does this unique, perfect plan for each of us negate our free will? No, because at every step along the way, we have the choice to accept or reject what He would have us do. Sadly, therefore, we are unlikely to completely realize His preordained purpose, but we will come closer if we consistently yield to the Spirit Who guides us, rather than to our sin nature leading us astray (1 Corinthians 15:31; Romans 7:14-25; Ephesians 4:22-32).

Abraham would not have become the father of the great Hebrew nation giving rise to Jesus Christ had he not taken that first step of faith toward the Promised Land (Genesis 12:1-4) or had he not been willing to sacrifice Isaac when God commanded it (Genesis 22). Yet there is hope for each of us, for even Abraham stumbled many times, making wrong choices along the way (Genesis 12:11-13; 16:2; 20:2-3). Through it all, Abraham trusted God, and he was saved because his faith was accounted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:9-16; Galatians 3:7-14; Hebrews 11:8,17).

I believe that when we face Christ at the judgment seat of believers, we will not have to account for our sins, which are paid for in full by His shed blood (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2). Rather, we will be confronted with every idle word we have spoken (Matthew 12:36), every missed opportunity He offered us, and every door He opened that we declined to walk through (2 Corinthians 5:10). 

 

I believe that the tears Jesus wipes away from our eyes at the Judgment Seat of Christ will flow from these lost rewards, for only Jesus Christ could perfectly fulfill God the Father's purpose for His life, having completed the work His Father set out for Him to do (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

Adam’s rebellion (Genesis 3) came as no surprise to God, Who has complete foreknowledge of all things. From the beginning of time, He also knew that His solution to Adam’s sin was His plan of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, God taking on human flesh (John 1:14) to be the perfect, sinless sacrifice Whose suffering could reconcile sinful man to Holy God (Colossians 1:20).

Praise God that when He sees believers, He no longer sees our sin, but only the perfect righteousness of His Son, with which we are clothed (Isaiah 61:10) once we place our faith in Him! May we use the God-given blessing of our free will to make the right choices, in accordance with His perfect plan (Jeremiah 29:11) for our lives!

© 2014 Laurie Collett

Edited, expanded and reposted from the archives

How to Vote Biblically

Photo by Jenrmcd 2015

As we in the United States have midterm elections this week, it seems that our nation, and the world as a whole, are at a crossroads between good and evil, between preservation and annihilation. Truly we live in perilous times, and our stand matters more than ever, not only in elections, but in every decision we face.

Can we know how to vote Biblically, when in Bible times, there were no nations governed by democratic choice? God Himself was the only authority over Adam and Eve; later He appointed Noah to repopulate the earth (Genesis 8:15-17) and Moses to lead His people (Exodus 3:10-22). The book of Judges describes how God designated various judges to govern His nations of Judah and Israel (Judges 2:16-23).

Rather than following the righteous example of these judges, the people rebelled against their authority and against God Himself, worshiping false gods (Judges 2:16-23), for “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25). Throughout the book, we see the repetitive cycle of man rebelling, followed by God judging His people. Then the people obeyed for a time, and God blessed the nation.

When a nation and its people prosper, and there is relative peace, citizens tend to believe they deserve their good fortune based on their own merits and want no part of God, just as the self-righteous sinner thinks he deserves heaven because of his own good works (Isaiah 64:6), and turns away from God’s Son.

But no man can be saved without trusting Jesus Christ Who died and was buried as the perfect sacrifice to pay for all our sins (John 1:29), and Who rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), proving that He is God and giving eternal life (John 3:16) to all who trust Him as Lord and Savior. Similarly, no nation can be blessed without seeking God’s will, obeying and honoring Him.

Samuel was not only a prophet, but also the last judge appointed by God. Thereafter, the people rebelled completely against God’s plan and demanded that they, like the other nations of the day, have a king. In effect, they were saying that they trusted an earthly king more than they trusted God, and that they rejected God’s reign over them. Through Samuel, God warned Israel of the dangers of having a king rather than judges, for a king would be tempted to use his power for his own self-interest and for that of his family, even if it meant oppressing God’s people (1 Samuel 8:4-22).

But the rebellious people did not listen, so God allowed them to have a series of kings. Thereafter, we again see the cycle of man rebelling, usually under the rule of a king who dishonored God, followed by God’s judgment. Then the people realized their need for God, at least for a while, encouraged to do so by the example of a king who honored and obeyed Him, and the nation prospered by His grace.

At times, God’s judgment on Israel was so severe that He allowed her to be brought into captivity, as in Egypt and Babylon. During New Testament times, Israel was occupied by Roman officials who ruled over cities and nations, ultimately answering to Caesar, a type of emperor. Bible history seems to indicate that God gives nations what they deserve – good rulers when the people obey him, and bad rulers when they rebel. No power can take the throne unless God ordains it (Romans 13:1), “for the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations” (Psalm 22:28).

None of these rulers, even the good kings of Israel and Judah, were elected – they took power via inheriting, capturing, or overthrowing the throne. So based on Scripture, how is a Christian living in a democracy supposed to know how to vote?

First we can look at how God Himself distinguished good kings, like David and Solomon, from bad kings like Saul. David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22), and repented earnestly when he fell into sin (Psalm 51). Solomon’s chief desire was for wisdom to know and serve God (1 Kings 3:7-9), even though he was later led astray by alliances with pagan women (1 Kings 11:1-13).

Saul, on the other hand, was driven by greed, pride, and ruthless ambition (1 Samuel 8 - 31; 1 Chronicles 10).  God departed from Saul and deposed him because of his disobedience (1 Samuel 28: 15-19) allowing the nation to be defeated by the Philistines and Saul to die in disgrace (1 Samuel 31)

King Asa was a good king, for he “did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (2 Chronicles 14:2), including destroying places of pagan worship, and commanding Judah to seek God and follow His laws. God rewarded his faithfulness by blessing the nation with peace, which Asa used productively to build fenced cities (2 Chronicles 14:3-7). Asa cried out to God in prayer to defend Judah against the invading Ethiopians, and God honored that prayer (2 Chronicles 14:11-12)

If we as Christians wish to honor God in our civic duty, first we will humble ourselves before Him in earnest prayer for revival that we and our nation would turn from all wicked ways, knowing that He will hear and forgive us and heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). And we must ask Him to give us wisdom as we vote, by choosing leaders who most closely align with His laws. No earthly leader obeys God perfectly, for all are men and women subject to the curse of sin (Romans 3:23).

With voting, as with any decision we face, Christians should seek God’s will, wisdom, and discernment. If we trust Him with all our heart, rather than our own understanding of personalities, political parties or economic issues, and if we acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will guide our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Political issues about which Scripture illuminates God’s will include sanctity of life, support of Israel, and sanctity of marriage. God condemned infant sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21); He knew us from even before we were conceived (Psalm 139:16); He guided every step of our development in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-15); and His Spirit indwelled John the Baptist even before he was born, allowing him to recognize and rejoice over Jesus His Savior (Luke 1:41-44).

God has promised to bless the nation that blesses Israel and to curse the nation that curses her (Genesis 12:2-3). Scriptural views on God-ordained marriage as being between one man and one woman begin with the creation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:21-24) and are reiterated by Jesus (Matthew 19:3-9; Mark 10:2-12) and Paul (1 Corinthians 6: 15-20; Hebrews 13:4) in the New Testament.

If we are unsure of where candidates stand on these issues, we can check their voting record online and glean their views from their websites or other media. May we continue faithful in prayer for our nation’s spiritual health, and may we give thanks that no matter who wins the election, God is still on His throne!

© 2016 Laurie Collett

Edited and reposted from the archives

 

 

Salvation’s Ongoing Transformations

Photo by Tamilan pugal 2021

As we saw last week, salvation has an instant rewards program beyond compare! We are positionally justified in Christ, a new creation in Him, and sealed and indwelled by the Holy Spirit Who gives us at least one spiritual gift. We have instant and continual access to God the Father through prayer, and we are His adopted children and joint heirs with Christ.

But that is only the beginning! Throughout our Christian life, from the moment we are saved until the moment the Lord takes us home, we are progressively sanctified, meaning that we become more like Christ and progressively conformed or shaped into His image (Romans 8:29-30). He is the Potter, and we are the clay (Isaiah 29:16; 64:8; Jeremiah 18:6; Romans 9:21), continually molded and reshaped into a vessel of honor increasingly useful for His service (2 Timothy 2:20-21).

The process of progressive sanctification occurs through meditating on God’s Word, through prayer, through obedience, and even through trials causing suffering. God may allow trials into our life to increase our faith in and reliance on Him (2 Corinthians 12:9); to give us compassion and experience to be able to help others going through similar trials; and to help us identify with and understand Christ’s suffering on the cross (Philippians 3:10) as He paid our sin debt.

Beginning at the moment we are born again, the Holy Spirit is there to guide us (Romans 8:9;Galatians 5:25), to teach us from God’s Word, to let us know through our conscience when we are sinning, to comfort us in difficult times and to give us wisdom (John 14:16-26).

As our Guide, the Spirit teaches us to understand and know the Word, both the Scripture and Jesus Christ (John 14:26; 1 Corinthians1:18-31;2:9-15;13:9-12), Who is the express image of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3), Through the Spirit, we know that we belong to God evermore (Romans 8:16; 1 John 4:13-16). The Spirit keeps us in communication with Jesus Christ, and with the Father through Christ (John 14:17,20), allowing us to be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19).

At the moment of salvation, our indwelling by the Holy Spirit gives believers the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5). As we die to our sin nature and yield to the Spirit, we gain more and more access to that perfect Mind, and we are more able to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16,25). We increasingly subject our body to His will, offering it to Him as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) and recognizing that it is the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

We receive God’s grace upon grace, in a never-ending stream (John 1:16). Not only did His grace save us (Ephesians 2:8) and justify us (Romans 3:24), but it allows us to serve Him and work to bear fruit for His kingdom (Hebrews 12:28; 1 Corinthians 15:10). His grace strengthens us in our weakness and allows us to endure trials (2 Corinthians 12:9). It is a limitless resource, flowing more abundantly as our need increases (James 4:6; 2 Corinthians 8:7) and as we grow closer to Him in our Christian walk (1 Corinthians 1:3-5; 2 Peter 3:18).

We become His ambassadors through the work of the Holy Spirit! (2 Corinthians 5:20). As the saying goes, we are the only Bible many lost people will ever read, and the only Jesus many lost people will ever see. God has placed every believer in a unique sphere of influence and equipped each of us in a unique way to represent Him and to spread His Word in that community as we fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28: 19-20).

We grow and have opportunities for service to the community of believers. Led by the Spirit, we support one another in love (1 Peter 1: 22) as a church family, bearing one another’s burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).  As we become more like Christ, we begin to love self-sacrificingly, as He did, showing that love not only toward God and toward fellow believers, but also toward the unsaved and even toward our enemies (Luke 10:27).

Just because we are saved does not mean that our problems will go away. Our health and financial condition may not improve, but our attitude will change toward our life circumstances. The Spirit helps us to realize that our earthly life is temporary and transient (James 4:14), and that we can look forward to eternity with our Lord and Savior! (1 Corinthians 2:9; Revelation 21:23)

Through the fruit of the Spirit, we will have peace that passes all understanding about whatever happens, because we will have faith that God is working it all out for our good and His glory (John 14:27, Romans 8:28). To unsaved people, that peace will be incomprehensible, because they rely on themselves alone to work out problems, and they cannot have peace when there is no apparent solution (Philippians 4: 6-7).

As part of the fruit of the Spirit, we will have joy in the Lord. The apostle Paul told us to rejoice always (Philippians 4:4), and he himself was able to do that despite being imprisoned, shipwrecked, beaten, and suffering from his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 11:24-30; 12:7-10). 

Happiness is based on circumstances, but true joy comes from knowing that Christ died and rose again to give us the gift of eternal life (John 3:16). Nothing and no one can ever take that away from us (Romans 8:38-39. 

Whatever sorrow we experience on earth will disappear once we are with Jesus in Heaven (Romans 8:18). Earthly sorrow lasts a very short time, but the joy of being in His presence will last forever.

That is our blessed hope (Titus 2:13), of spending eternity with Christ and with fellow believers (Romans 15:13). We hope, not in the sense of wishing for it to happen, but in the faith-filled anticipation that it will come to pass, for He has said it and it is so! Our hope is in all the eternal rewards of salvation, which we shall discuss in a future post!

© 2013 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Salvation’s Instant Rewards Program

 

At the moment we call out to Jesus in prayer, realizing that we are a wretched sinner in desperate need of Him as our personal Savior, and we place our faith in His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only way to Heaven (John 14:6), we are automatically enrolled in an instant rewards program beyond compare!

We are positionally justified in Christ.(Romans 3:24,25,28; 5:1,9; 8:30; Galatians 3:11,24) All our sins, past, present and future, are forgiven and paid for by Christ’s death on the cross (Psalm 103:12). When God looks at us, He no longer sees our sins, but only the perfect righteousness of His Son (Ephesians 4:24; 1 Peter 3:14). In His eyes, it is “just as if” we had never sinned (1 John 2:2;4:10).

We are adopted as a child of God the Father, and a joint heir with Christ, through our relationship to Our Father and as the betrothed of God the Son (Romans 8:16-17). When we are born again, we become part of the church, which is the bride of Christ. (Revelation 19:7-9). Just as an earthly bride gains access to the family, legal, and financial heritage of her husband, every believer is elevated to heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6) and entitled to live, rule, and reign in His kingdom (Romans 5:17; Revelation 20:6).

We are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). This doesn’t mean that we will never sin again, because we still have our sin nature, but we will no longer want to sin (Romans 7:14-25). We will want to yield to the Holy Spirit, pleasing Him with our life, choices, habits, words, and thoughts (Romans 8:1-5). Others recognize that we are different from what we used to be and different from the world (1 Peter 1:14-16), because we are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).

We are indwelled by the Holy Spirit (John 14:17).  He enters our heart and remains there throughout our earthly life, guiding us, teaching us from God’s Word, convicting us of sin, comforting us in difficult times and giving us wisdom. He is our constant Comforter (John 16:7), Companion, and Guide. How can He leave us, for He inhabits our very body as His temple! (1 Corinthians 3:16).

At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit give us at least one spiritual gift to be used to tell others about Jesus, to encourage and teach other believers, and to glorify God.in all that we do (1 Corinthians 12:13-28).

We have immediate, continuous access to God the Father on His throne 24/7, because Christ is the perfect sacrifice and the Great High Priest Who tore away the veil separating sinners from Holy God (Hebrews 10:5-20). We never have to make an appointment or worry that His line is busy, for we can boldly approach the throne of grace! (Hebrews 4:14-16). The Spirit makes our prayer requests clearly known to the Father when we don’t even know how or what to pray! (Romans 8:26).

We have abundant life (John 10:10) beginning at the moment of salvation. Life is richer and more meaningful because the Holy Spirit leads us, and we are never alone, because He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).He is the Friend Who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

We have the assurance of security that nothing can separate us from God’s love. We did nothing to earn our salvation, and there is nothing we can do to lose it (Romans 8:35-39), for we are held securely in the double grip of Jesus’ hand clasped tightly in the Father’s hand (John 10:28-29).

All this is just the beginning! From the moment of salvation, we begin our Christian journey of progressive sanctification – of becoming more like Christ as we yield increasingly to the Holy Spirit. And one day, we shall be raised to our glorified bodies and be forever complete in Him!

© 2013 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives 

Search and Rescue

 

I had a dream that I am on a search-and-rescue planning team. Our mission is to determine how best to help people who are adrift in the ocean, like after the Titanic disaster.  We decide that the best shape for life preservers to throw to them while they are awaiting rescue boats is triangle-shaped, rather than circle-shaped.

Our reasoning is that each triangle-shaped float can support three people, one holding on to each point, and that each person holding onto the float with one hand can also hold another person’s hand on another float, thereby interconnecting with many people. This would form a raft or net of people that could support one another emotionally and even physically by improving their stability, so that they would be less likely to be submerged and drown while waiting for rescue.

It would also improve their visibility and audibility, if all yelled for help in unison, when a boat or helicopter appeared.

In contrast, a circle-shaped float would be practical only for supporting a single person, and those holding it would be more likely to drift away from the others, get discouraged, go under, and drown.

When I awoke and considered the meaning of the dream, I realized that “search and rescue” was an appropriate analogy for missions evangelism, which has been the theme of our church’s Missions Conference going on at present. Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), and so should we.

Each of us who is saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6) is a missionary, appointed by Jesus Christ Himself to fulfill the Great Commission:

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Sharing the Gospel with every living creature (Mark 16:15) is not solely the responsibility of the pastors, missionaries and evangelists.

Only the Holy Spirit working in a person’s heart can save that soul, or rescue them completely from drowning in a sea of sin, and set their feet on the firm Rock that is Our Savior (Luke 6:48; Matthew 16:18). In the dream, salvation was represented by the rescue boats.

In our work of sharing the Gospel, we may not be the one who ultimately hears a sinner’s profession of faith, but we will be rewarded for any part we play in leading that soul to the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 2:19).. We are like rescuers tossing life preservers to the drifting, keeping them alive and encouraged until their heart is ready to confess their sin and invite Jesus inside.

The triangle-shaped float in the dream I believe represents the Trinity of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit – three sides of the same eternal Godhead (Luke 3:21-22). Unlike the circle, which is self-contained and has no potential points of attachment to anyone else, resulting in isolation and self-absorption, the triangle has points that allow interconnections with many others.

If our witness to a lost soul does not immediately result in their salvation, we could encourage their conversion by helping to place them in a Christian community – a Bible-believing church, shelter, or fellowship group where the Gospel seeds we have sown are likely to be watered and the tender shoots nurtured so that salvation can be fully rooted in their heart.

Even once a person is saved, being in a network of believers is vitally important to foster their spiritual growth in Christ and to enable them to share the Good News with others. There are many New Testament examples of one person accepting Christ as Lord and Savior, followed by their household receiving salvation (Acts 16:30-33; Luke 19:1-9; John 4:53). Fellowship and service in a local church, uplifting and strengthening one another, is an essential part of our Christian walk (Hebrews 10:25).

The three points of the triangle may also represent Jesus’ saying that where two or three are gathered in His Name, He is in their midst (Matthew 18:20), and that by two or three witnesses, every word is established (Matthew 18:16). Each believer is not an island, but a member of the church, or body of Christ, each with our unique function, mission, and purpose. Each of us is intended to reach out to others using our unique talents and sphere of influence (1 Corinthians 12:17).

In the search-and-rescue mission that Christ has given to each believer, may we faithfully offer lifesaving help to the perishing and bring them into a supportive network of Christians until the Trinity accomplishes their eternal salvation! May we connect with and support fellow believers through the life raft of our church!

© 2022 Laurie Collett