SAVED

What does being saved really mean? Of course, it means that I have confessed that Jesus is Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead. Now the Spirit of God is dwelling on the inside of me and I will go to Heaven when I die. God sent Jesus to die for us so that we could have a relationship with Him like Adam and Eve did. That was the point of salvation. But when Jesus died, were we really saved just from our sins? I don't believe that my God is the bare-minimum kind of God. The fall of Adam and Eve cut off our close relationship with God, but it also opened the door for Satan to be at work in our lives, attacking the things in our physical world like health and money, and Jesus came not only to save us from our sins, but from these attacks of the devil. If God is big enough to save us from the big stuff, why wouldn't He save us from the small stuff?
The simplest healing scripture I can think of is Isaiah 53:5 "But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." But I have been told that the last part is simply referring to being healed from our sins. Well guess what, I wasn't healed from my sins, I was forgiven of them. So to prove that God really has saved us from everything, I did some research to find out what the word "saved" really means. John 3:17 says this: "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." The last word in that verse is the Greek word sōzō, and the definition is as follows:

1) to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction
a) one (from injury or peril)
1) to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health
1) to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue
b) to save in the technical biblical sense
1) negatively
a) to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment
b) to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance

So a huge part of the definition refers to physical healing. You may also find it interesting that this same Greek word is used in the story of the woman with the issue of blood when Jesus says to her "thy faith hath made thee whole."
On the prosperity issue, take a look at Romans 10:12: "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him." The word "rich" used in this verse means:

1) to be rich, to have abundance
a) of outward possessions
2) metaph. to be richly supplied
a) is affluent in resources so that he can give blessings of salvation to all

And that phrase "unto all that call upon him" means that God does not favor one person over another. If he does something for someone else, he has to do it for you!
I've heard people say that our sickness, poverty, and death bring glory to God. It is so backwards to blame your troubles on God, and it just gives you an excuse to not use your faith. God has given us the power we need to resist all attacks of the devil, and then He gets the glory in the end because our faith has made us victorious. Jesus took it all to the cross, and it is totally up to you to receive everything that Christ died for you to have, from your salvation to healing from a headache.

Blessed Be Your Name

There is a song called "Blessed Be Your Name". It goes like this:

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

So it's a pretty popular Christian song, and I know a lot of you have probably heard it a few times. I think it's a really great song...until it gets to the last part. The part about how God supposedly gives and "takes away." That just makes him sound evil.

This song comes from the book of Job, which is in the Old Testament. I think one of the things people miss the most about the Bible is that there is an old covenant (this was the covenant God had for the Jews, in the Old Testament times), and there is a new covenant (in the New Testament). This new covenant was established when Jesus died, was raised from the dead, and provided the final sacrifice for all time, so that anyone can be saved if you simply "confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead" (Romans 10:9).

All that to say that since we are under a completely new covenant, all of the stuff in the Old Testament, which was the former law, does not necessarily apply to us today. However, there are still important lessons and stories in the Old Testament that are useful to teach (when taught correctly) because everything in the Old Testament does point to God in that it shows to us how great God's grace toward us is, and how lost we would be without him.

So Job was frustrated because God's favor kept coming and going, and that's where we get the whole "give and take away" bit. Yes, that is in the Bible. But it's in the Old Testament.

God's new covenant with is through Jesus is all about grace. God does not want to punish us; in fact, He wants to shower us with blessings and every great thing you can think of! God does not take stuff away from us; if He did, He would be a liar. James 1:17 says "What ever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow."

So basically, every good thing comes from God (notice it doesn't say "every good thing, and some bad things), and God never changes. God is good, all the time.

Where does the bad stuff come from then? John 10:10 says "The thief's (or the devil's) purpose is to steal (that's where the taking away in the song comes in) and kill and destroy. My (Jesus') purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Another argument for this is that God takes stuff away from us, makes us sick, or does some other bad thing to punish us. Well, I would love to see where you can find that in
the New Testament! And if you can, please do show me, because then that shatters the
whole idea of God's grace towards us. There was not one single time where Jesus did not heal someone, if they had faith in Him. If Jesus died for you, why would He deny you something that He died for you to have?

2 Timothy 3:16 says that "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." So God does not use sickness, poverty,or any other bad thing to teach us. He uses His Word.

Matthew 6:25-34 talks about the fact that people who believe in Him do not have to worry about the things that unbelievers do. Matthew 6:32-33 says "These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. Matthew 6 talks about how much God cares for the birds and the flowers, so how much more will He care for us who are His children? Again, in James 1:18, it says that "we, out of all creation, became His prized possession."

God is the perfect example of a father. Matthew 7:9-11 says this: "You parents - if your children ask for a loaf of bread, would you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him."

Good parents do not give something to their children and then take it away just because, or to teach them a lesson. That's common sense. So why do people say that God does that, when He is the perfect Father?

Matthew 7:7-8 says: "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

So in conclusion, think about how many times the Bible tells us that God will provide for us (in response to faith). But there is not a single time in the New Testament where God "took away" from someone, whether it be money, health, life, etc. If He did that, He would be a liar, because He never changes. God's grace gives to us, and that's it. It makes me really sad to think how many people honestly believe this song is true. Why would I want to serve a god who I have to be afraid of because he is going to take stuff away from me? Well I don't. God's grace to us is what sets Christianity apart from any other religion.

This was not meant to be offensive to anyone, and I was not thinking of anyone in particular when I wrote this; this is just what I very strongly believe, and will continue to believe until someone disproves me with the Bible.

Here it goes...

Well, I have finally created a blog. It took me a week to do it because I had to come up with a blog name, and I still don't have one. So, if you have any bright ideas, let me know. This blog is a product of my boredom during these long summer days, of my need to get my thoughts about God out of my head and somewhere I can share them with people, and of my love for discussing what I believe and arguing my case for it. Opposition is very welcome
Thanks for reading, my friend :)