SALVATION AND AFTER

“Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise" (Psalm 106:47 NKJV).

Here in this verse, the Psalmist is praying for Israel to be delivered from captivity and restored to their land. Our verse speaks of salvation, separation, and service.

Salvation – “Save us, O Lord our God.” The word for “Lord” here is Jehovah, the covenant keeping God. And the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus of the New Testament. So, when we genuinely repent and trust Christ for salvation, we enter into a covenant with God. Just as God faithfully kept His covenant with Israel in spite of their repeated failures, He will keep His covenant with us. The Lord faithfully keeps us, in spite of ourselves. We are not kept by our own goodness, but by the power of God

Separation – “Gather us from among the Gentiles.” The salvation of the Israelites would result in separation from the Gentiles. Similarly, the salvation that comes through the gospel brings separation. Believers are to separate themselves from the world. Many believers like mingling with the world. But the Psalmist warned in v. 35 “But they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works” Believers must separate from people, places, practices, and philosophies of the world or we will be corrupted by the world.

Service – “To give thanks to Your holy name, and to triumph in Your praise.” Believers are saved so they can serve and honor the Lord. This is the purpose of salvation. Any blessing we get from God is primarily for the purpose of serving and honoring Him, and not just for our own joy and pleasure. We are saved not just to be delivered from the clutches of hell, but to serve God and bring honor to Him. Many believers have not yet learned this lesson because they are very reluctant to commit to any service in church. But salvation by God ought to inspire service for God.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“We are pardoned from sin, but we are not excused from service!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Disturbances

In Luke 21:9 we read, “When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately!” (NASB).

Disturbances is the Greek word akatastasia (ἀκαταστασία = ak-at-as-tah-see'-ah). It is made up of two words: “a” the alpha negative, and “kathistemi” which means to set in order. Hence the word literally means without order or stability and thus has a basic meaning of instability. It carries the idea of an unsettled state of affairs, a state of violent group disturbance, a tumult, or unrest, especially in a political or social setting.

In Classical Greek akatastasia carries the idea of a disturbance such as a rebellion, riot, or insurrection, and disorder. In the Septuagint the word carries the sense of ruin and destruction. In the New Testament, akatastasia characterizes disorder and disruption. The New Testament warns against disorderly behavior, which stands counter to God’s nature. And so Paul warns in 1 Cor. 14:33: “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah will preach righteousness in Israel (Psalm 40:9)

New Testament Fulfillment – Matt. 4:17

Did You Know…

Moses changed the water of the Nile into blood (Exodus 7:20). The Lord Jesus changed the purification water into wine (John 2:6-9). During His last Passover celebration, the Lord spoke of wine as representing His blood. His blood was to become the sign and symbol of the new covenant (Matt. 26:27-28).

Bible Quiz

Where did Moses die?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: In the Book of Romans, Paul compares the Jews to branches of a tree. To what does he compare the Gentiles? A wild olive tree (Rom. 11:11-24)

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

"Captain of your soul”

“My eyes fail with tears, my heart is troubled; my bile is poured on the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children and the infants faint in the streets of the city” (Lam. 2:11 NKJV).

“Captain of your soul” - The expression “captain of your soul” carries the idea that you determine your own fate. No human being can rightfully claim to be “captain of their soul.” We do not determine our own fate. Because all men are flawed and sinful, we need a pioneer, a champion, or a leader. The Lord Jesus is the only champion. He is the perfect pioneer who has cut the perfect path to God. Christ, the perfect human, was able to fulfill what no other human was able to fulfill.

Did You Know – Christian History

Robert Jaffray was born in 1873 in Canada. He was a missionary to China, Indonesia and several other countries, with The Christian & Missionary Alliance. Jaffrey founded the first Chinese missionary society called the Chinese Foreign Missionary Union (CFMU) in 1929

Jaffray’s family was wealthy; they owned the Toronto Globe. His father wanted him to one day become the CEO and owner of Toronto Globe. After an encounter with A.B. Simpson, founder of The Christian & Missionary Alliance, Jaffray decided that he wanted to serve as a missionary to China. His father was deeply opposed to this and threatened not to pay for his expenses to travel to China, although he would be willing to pay for the return trip if young Robert ever wanted to return from his long-term missions.

The Christian & Missionary Alliance sent Jaffray to Wuzhou, Guangxi, China, in 1897. While there, his responsibilities included mission administration, preaching, evangelistic itineration, assistance in founding the Wuzhou Bible School, editor of the Chinese Bible Magazine, and writer for his publications. The Chinese-language Bible Magazine, which he edited and wrote many of the articles, was read in Chinese communities all over the world. Jaffray was known for his leadership qualities and was called a ‘missionary strategist and statesman.’ He wrote for and edited, Bible Messenger, published by South China Alliance Press. He used this publication to send training materials to Cantonese missionaries and then later to others, reprinted in their colloquial language versions.

One year after arriving in Wuzhou, Jaffray began making trips to what is now Vietnam. In 1916 he was elected Superintendent of the Vietnam Field. To meet the urgent need of serving overseas Chinese in South East Asia, Jaffray founded the CFMU to send out missionaries to Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

In spite of a heart condition and diabetes, Jaffray served in Wuzhou for 35 years. In 1942, Japan invaded an island in Indonesia where he was stationed with his wife, and daughter. Soon after the invasion, Jaffray and other missionaries were arrested by the Japanese, and sent to internment camps. Jaffray remained captive until his death in 1945 from illness and malnutrition.

A Little Humor

The furious customer called the waitress over to his table and demanded to know what was in his soup. She looked and shyly said, “I will have to call the boss; I don’t know one insect from another.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Man is saved by believing Christ - he is lost by believing the devil!”