Devotions – Page 2 – J Mike Wills

Blessed Assurance! (Pt 1)

As believers in Jesus Christ we should know that we are saved. Sometimes though, every one of us lets a little doubt creep into our thinking and makes us question our relationship with Christ. In this world that hates God and all the evil influences in our path everyday, doubt can sneak in on us when we least expect it.

Today’s devotion is the first in this series titled: “Blessed Assurance”. As I began to dig down and research, I found many things that could make us wonder about our security. Today we start with the first 2 of 12 characteristics of knowing we are saved: “Spiritual Warfare” and “Scriptural Assuredness”. There may be many other ways to be assured, but these came to me during my preparation! Our goal is to learn how we as believers can call on all the resources that God gives us to have the security we need in knowing that we are truly saved!

What is Salvation?

So to begin with, I wanted to share what I believe the Bible – God’s Word – says about salvation. Simply put, Salvation comes from knowing you need a savior because you are a sinner. Below is an excerpt from my website page “The Gospel”:

1) Man is sinful and needs a savior to be with God in Heaven one day (Rom 3:23)
2) Our sin separates us from God (Rom 6:23a), and without salvation man is destined to eternity in hell separated from God. (2 Thes 1:9) (Rev 20:15)
3) God gave us His Son (John 3:16). He lived a perfect life and gave His life for us. He paid the price for our sins. (Rom 6:23b) (Rom 5:8)
4) Each person must know that he needs and Savior and individually receive Christ as Savior.
5) He must confess his sins and ask Christ to save him. (Rom 10:9-13)
6) Once a man has received Christ he is born again into the family of God. (Rom 8:1 & 5:1)

If you have not made that decision, I invite you to consider today to give your life over to Him. You can see the plan of salvation fully by clicking on this link.

Spiritual Warfare!

Certainly our adversary the devil would attack and accuse us to create doubts. We know that he “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour”. (1 Peter 5:8) We know that his desire is to destroy our testimony, ruin and harm our walk with God causing us to doubt who we are in Christ. He knows that he can’t snatch us out of the hand of God (John 10:28-30), so he does what he can to disrupt our lives in Jesus. Because we know that the forces of evil are constantly at war with us in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:10-17), we are given tools to use and those tools create not just a defensive shield but an assuredness that we are saved and standing firm. You see, the devil has no reason to make non-believers question if they are saved, because he already has them. The same thing goes for people who think they are saved and actually are not. He already has them too! But he does not have you my fellow believer, so he uses every trick and lie he knows to keep you from obeying God and growing in Him. He’s the accuser, the father of all lies and he hates you so much that he will never relent in making you question everything in your life regarding your relationship with Christ.

I thought I’d share a few of the lies he has put in my mind over the years:

1: “There is no assurance, you can lose your salvation.”
2: “Your sin makes you unworthy of God.”
3:“You’re so evil that God will not hear you. Your past sins are disgusting to Him and now He’s turned His back on you leaving you all alone.”
4: “You’ve probably committed the ‘unpardonable sin’ and have no hope.”
5: “If you were really saved, you would be evangelizing everyone. But you know you’re not even close.”
6: “Where’s your ‘fruit’? There’s nothing in your life that even suggests you believe.”

Do those sound familiar? They do to me too! When you hear these lies, remember Satan is the father of all lies. (John 8:44) Rebuke him and he will flee. (James 4:7) When doubt creeps in, immediately submit to Christ and let Jesus know you love Him and that you know you are His! Quoting scripture is what Jesus did in refuting the devil, and that’s what we should do too. Start learning more scripture today! If the devil is making you truly question your salvation, that’s a sign you are saved.

Scripture Assures Us!

As spiritual attacks challenge us in our lives, we need to remember that God’s Word is our source and we can count on it to be true! (2 Tim 3:16) Lets examine several scripture references that assures us of our salvation!

1) “An Inheritance which is Imperishable !” 1 Peter 1:3-5 The entire passage is listed here: ³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Re-read this passage again, the answers are right there in front of us. We need to commit this to memory and say it out loud in rebuke of satanic attack on our assuredness in Him. What could possibly take our salvation away that is in heaven and is “shielded” (guarded in the Greek) by the power of God? The answer Nothing! See our next reference…

2) “Nothing can separate us!” Romans 8:38-39 Paul here writes to the Christians residing in Rome that salvation is so secure that nothing NOTHING, can separate us from the love of God. Not Life or Death, Not angels, Not principalities, Not things present or things to come, Not powers, Not height or depth, Not any other created thing! You can count on it!

3) “Safe in God’s Hands” John 10:28-30 Jesus says “..No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” Once we understand this principle, all our worries about eternal security will be calmed. Another awesome way God lovingly reassures us that we are safe in Him.

4) “Born of God” 1 John 5:1 Many claim to be children of God in today’s confused society. But we know through these scriptures that only people who are born of God are God’s children. He further illustrates this a bit further on in this passage.

As Christians, we can take comfort that if God says we are saved through His word, then we KNOW that we are. His word is true and you can count on it 100% of the time! Here are some other scriptures that you can reference in your self study. Ephesians 1:13, 1 John 5:11-12, John 10:27-28, John 5:24, 2 Corinthians 1:22

We have covered a great deal in this first installment of our series on assuredness of salvation. We’ve defined what the Bible says salvation is, we’ve seen how the devil will attack us and we’ve seen how the scriptures remind us of whose we are in Christ. The next devotion will be on how “The Holy Spirit’s Leading” and “Answered Prayer”, are clear indications of our security in Christ!

If God is for us…

Since God is for me, the victory has already been won!

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” Rom 8:31 (NASB)

Because of His Preserving Grace, nothing can stand against those of us that love and follow Him!

As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we find ourselves often in challenging predicaments. This year alone we have seen devastating sickness, rioting and attacks on our freedoms as Americans and believers in Christ. The encouraging news is that we know we have complete confidence that God will prevail.

The struggles we have in life can come in many ways. Sometimes we put ourselves into them, other times God is testing us and our faithfulness to Him. Always, we have to be wary of our adversary, the devil, who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1Peter 5:8)

Through all of these times we have to remember that we have been given the most powerful resource that has ever existed and that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have to remember several key and crucial promises He has given to us and claim them in our effort to follow His will for our lives as we battle the struggles that we’re up against.

Let’s take a quick look at what His promises are to those who love and obey Him. We’ll see that with Christ for us, nothing can stand against us.

1) God has called us His Children. (Romans 8:16). If we are believers in Jesus by faith (Romans 10:9-13), we are His children. In Romans 8:16, He says that “The Spirit Himself testifies that we are children of God”. There, He is again talking to people who are saved, and not all mankind. God cares for His children and will not leave one behind. We are not alone in our struggles.

2) Nothing can separate us from His love. (Romans 8:37-39). We read in the last part of this chapter that nothing can separate us from the love of God. “38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That means that in spite of my sinful nature and failings in life, as a believer I am forgiven and nothing can take away His love for me. I can’t earn His love, mercy or grace. It is freely given through His Son Jesus. Once we are saved, we are always saved, nothing can take us away.

3) His Spirit intercedes on our behalf praying perfectly for us. (Romans 8:26-27, 34) So many times in my life I’ve been up against situations and frustrations where I didn’t know how or what to pray. Praise be to God, He always has a perfect solution for me and that is His Spirit praying for me. God has given us the “Spirit Himself who intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”(v26-27) What a comforting fact knowing that despite ourselves Christ is interceding on our behalf.

4) He is Sovereign God and in control! (Romans 8:28) “and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 This is a promise that we can rely upon Him in our struggles if we are following His will. Our God is “Large and In Charge” as a preacher once said to me. He prevails above all things. Nothing can stand against Him. Since God is for me, I can rest assured that the victory has already been won and all the glory will be His. That means that your problem is His problem and He WILL prevail.

5) We can trust Him completely! (Prob 3:5-6). “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” As believers in Christ, we must trust fully what He teaches us in His word. In my life, when I’ve trusted Him completely, He has never let me down, never failed me and never left me alone.

Yes my friends, I will close with this thought:

Since God is for me, the victory has already been won. I have NO reason to fear, NO reason to worry and I’m full of His confidence if my ways are submitted to Him. He will make my path strait, He will win the victory and He will receive the glory. Thank You Jesus, Amen.

Reference Scripture: Romans 8:16, Romans 8:29-31, Proverbs 3:5-6

God is good – ALL the time..

“God is good all the time and all the time God is good!” Don Moen

That is the first line of a very popular song that many of us have sung many times. Yet every time I sing or play it I find such peace in that truth knowing that God is in control and that He is so good!

The first verse says: “If you’re walking through the valley and there are shadows all around. Do not fear, He will guide you He will keep you safe and sound. He has promised to never leave you Nor forsake you, and His word is true”!

As the whole world deals with the seriousness of this deadly virus, COVID-19, we as Christians can take solace in a these words as we sing them out to Him. The lyrics the author used came strait from God’s Word – and His word is TRUE!

In my own career, I’ve been here many times. I’ve been through furloughs, layoffs, strikes, pay cuts and companies just going out of business as the result of the economy or some other issue. One thing that has been constant is that God has been faithful through it all. My wife and I had dedicated ourselves to trusting Him no matter what, and He never failed us – EVER. I remember one time when my airline failed that I had to get a job doing something. We had 2 small children and a mortgage to pay along with all the other bills associated with being responsible adults. I had no other skill other than to be a pilot, and there were a LOT of those looking for work then. We held on for several months until I took a part time job delivering pizzas. Even getting that job was hard to do. I’ll never forget leaving my house in my beat up pickup truck with a 1/4 tank of gas and maybe $3 left to my name – that was it. I came home that night with a full tank of gas, $100 from tips and 3 pizzas. Through it all, God was good. God was faithful. God was large and in charge. God showed His love for us and led us through that phase in our lives. I will never stop testifying of His goodness, mercy and grace that He gives freely to all who love Him!

Yes my friends, God is good all the time and all the time God is good!!

Giving Thanks!

Today marks another day in our year where we stop and remember what we are to be thankful and grateful for in our lives. Thankful for what we have had, currently have and what we to look forward to in our lives.

But I would say that as a Christian – a follower of the One, The King of Kings and my Savior – the greatest thing that I could ever be thankful for is the gift of salvation that He gives freely to all who call on Him. (Rom 10:13)

So I echo the song that Don Moen sang “Give Thanks”.

The opening lines read: “Give thanks with a grateful heart, Give thanks to the Holy One, Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son”. As a believer and servant of Christ, I cherish the opportunity to thank Him. My heart cries out with deep appreciation to give Him the praise and glory for who He is and His great love for me.

In a recent study through the book of Psalms with my awesome wife, we saw all throughout the books how God is given praise and we see the thankfulness of those who penned the words!

Psalm 66:1-4 reads “1 Shout for joy to God, all earth; 2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! 3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. 4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah

As you sit down with family and friends to eat a delicious huge meal, or if you are alone and eating warmed up food in a hotel room somewhere, remember to take a few minutes to reflect on what He has really given you – salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

If you have not received this free gift of salvation, or if you’re not sure; I encourage you to reach out to me or any believer for a better understanding of how to receive God’s gift.

Happy Thanksgiving Y’all!

We are to acquire wisdom and understanding!

How we relate to God’s commands and promises will grow our lives in Him

Scripture: Proverbs 4:5-8, 13

Lately in my studies I have desired to learn more about God’s wisdom for my life. There is an interesting passage that I came across recently which presents a perspective I have not thought about regarding gaining wisdom and understanding. That scripture is found in Proverbs 4:5-8, 13.

Proverbs 4:5-8, 13 (NASB) 5 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 “Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you. 7 “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding. 8 “Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her.
13 Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life.

“Aquire Wisdom, Get Understanding” Obey His ways

There are 6 commands in this passage that I believe that we as Christians are taught to follow that will bring us closer to acquiring wisdom and gaining knowledge:

1: Do not Forget her (v5)
2: Do not Forsake her (v6)
3: Love her (v6)
4: Prize her (v7)
5: Embrace her (v8)
6: Guard her (v13)

Do not forget her!
The interpretation can be read as *”It is so important to remember that of all things remember God’s ways.” We need also to keep in mind the promises He has made to those who remember His ways and obey them.

Do not Forsake her!
The translation appears to mean *”Do not leave behind.” Solomon is reminding us of the critical importance to always remember God’s teachings. He is reminding us to stay on the path God has set for us. Don’t turn left or right, but stay on the straight path. Most importantly, do not abandon His truth and His ways.*Strongs Concordance H7911

Love her!
We need to Love God’s teachings and His ways. We are to *”Desire, Breathe after and be so inclined for His ways.” I believe it calls us to a higher level of passion for Him and His Word. Just as “The Deer pants for water so my soul longs after you, O God” (Psalm 42:1), we too should have a deep longing for His words. If we love Him, He will watch over us. We are His children and He longs to protect and care for us!
*Strongs Concordance H157

Prize her!
We are to revere her, *”literally to exalt, esteem highly.” His Word should be so valuable that nothing is more important. If we obey God’s ways, wisdom will “cause to raise or rear (children), cause to grow up” (Polel) God shows His tender mercies to raise His children and mature them. Oh that we would listen and grow in Him! *Strongs Concordance H5549

Embrace Her!
We are to desire it so much that we *”clasp and hold firmly in our arms.” Just as we hold our loved ones so tightly, we are to hold on to the teachings that wisdom provides to us. I remember when my oldest son graduated from US Army Boot Camp grabbing him and holding on to him so tightly. I didn’t want to let go. That same way is how I believe I am to treasure and hold on to God’s ways. *Strongs Concordance H2263

Guard her!
The Hebrew word is *Natsar. The Greek is Kustodia or “custodian”. The impression that many scholars and theologians seem to consider in this tense is to “To receive and take charge of and guard even to the point of danger”. God’s ways are to be held to the highest level and to be followed at all costs as it is that important to our lives! “Guard her for she is your life.” (V13)

*Strongs Concordance H5341

I also cherish the promises God gives to us if we follow these few commands!

He will:

Guard You
Watch Over You
Give You Understanding
Exalt and honor you

“For she is your life” – She meaning the wisdom of God.

As I read this passage and apply it to my life, I am in awe of Him beyond measure of His love for me. But this gift and the gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ is available for all mankind. (Rom 10:8-13)

I hope that in my life I will never forget, not forsake and always love His ways. I pray that I will be able to prize, embrace and guard those teachings in my life and that I will allow Him to grow my life – all to the glory of Him and Him alone.

Will you commit to obeying these commands and allowing Him to give you wisdom and knowledge?