Good morning,

What happens when a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ? Instantly, their lives are changed.

How they are changed will be our focus for the next several weeks.

We will look at what happens when a sinner gets saved, in relation to God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and between each other.

In relation to God the Father…

        7) He becomes an heir of God & a joint heir with Christ – Gal 3v29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.  Rom 8v17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

        8) He becomes a new creature NOT ‘creation’ as in the new CORRUPT ‘Bibles!’  2 Cor 5v17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  We are born with the old nature i.e. the fallen Adamic nature which is called a ‘creature’ in Rom 8v20.  NOW we have God’s nature, & you are a ‘creature’ that has been born again!

        9) The saved sinner becomes a servant of God.  Rom 6v22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

What was the promise of Galatians 3:29? We find the answer in Genesis 21:9-12.

“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.¹⁰ Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.¹¹ And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.¹² And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.”

Through this promise we become heirs and joint-heirs with Christ. When we become a believer in Christ we go from pauper to prince. Nothing to everything.

We are also made a new creature. Sinner to saint. A new divine nature.

Then we become servants of God. Not out of compulsion, but out love for what God has done for us. We are fulfilling God’s will, not ours. We no longer serve self. We now serve God!

What a blessing.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

What happens when a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ? Instantly, their lives are changed.

How they are changed will be our focus for the next several weeks.

We will look at what happens when a sinner gets saved, in relation to God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and between each other.

What happens when a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ?

 When a car is running, the moment the driver releases the clutch, many things happen, but perhaps all the driver knows is that the car is in motion.  This is a good illustration of what happens in salvation for the Christian!

The most dangerous part of a believer’s life in Christ is when the car first gets in motion, because the Devil is very anxious to guide it the WRONG way & thus make the new Christian’s life ineffectual.  Even though the sinner is saved & on his way to Heaven, the Devil wants to make him as ineffectual & fruitless as a child of God by getting him hooked onto some ‘hobbyhorse’ such as ‘Calvinism, baptismal regeneration, tongues & healing’ etc.

Some of the things that happen once a sinner is saved are as follows…

In relation to God the Father…

        1) The saved sinner has access to God’s grace – For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Eph 2v18

        2) We are adopted into the family of God as God’s sons – Gal 4v5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.  Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

        3) We have an inheritance.  Paul preaching says that the Gentiles ‘…may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.’ Acts 26v18

        4) The child of God is elected.  Once a man receives Christ as his Savior, he is elected.  1 Pet 1v2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…  Eph 1v4 – According as he hath chosen us in him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, NO MAN is chosen before the foundation of the world OUTSIDE of Christ.  God doesn’t choose anybody but the people who are IN Christ, & nobody was IN Christ BEFORE the foundation of the world.  As a matter of fact, Abraham, Isaac & Jacob were NEVER in Christ EVER!  So the man is NOT elected until AFTER he is saved.  When a man receives Christ as his Savior, then he is elected because he is IN Christ!

        5) He becomes a child of God – John 1v12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 1 John 3v1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

        6) He gets heavenly citizenship – Phil 3v20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:   7) He becomes an heir of God & a joint heir with Christ – Gal 3v29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.  Rom 8v17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

        8) He becomes a new creature NOT ‘creation’ as in the new CORRUPT ‘Bibles!’  2 Cor 5v17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  We are born with the old nature i.e. the fallen Adamic nature which is called a ‘creature’ in Rom 8v20.  NOW we have God’s nature, & you are a ‘creature’ that has been born again!

        9) The saved sinner becomes a servant of God.  Rom 6v22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

        10) The saved sinner becomes a priest of God – 1 Pet 2v9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:  1 Pet 2v5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.  Note – NOT ‘literal’ sacrifices!

        11) The saved sinner is reconciled to God.  Eph 2v12+13 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:  v13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.  Rom 5v10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

        12) When a sinner trusts Jesus Christ as his Savior, he is sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus 1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.  Acts 26v18 lists sanctification as a direct result of conversion…To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

What happens when a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ? Instantly, their lives are changed.

How they are changed will be our focus for the next several weeks.

We will look at what happens when a sinner gets saved, in relation to God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and between each other.

In relation to God the Father…

         4) The child of God is elected.  Once a man receives Christ as his Savior, he is elected.  1 Pet 1v2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…  Eph 1v4 – According as he hath chosen us in him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, NO MAN is chosen before the foundation of the world OUTSIDE of Christ.  God doesn’t choose anybody but the people who are IN Christ, & nobody was IN Christ BEFORE the foundation of the world.  As a matter of fact, Abraham, Isaac & Jacob were NEVER in Christ EVER!  So the man is NOT elected until AFTER he is saved.  When a man receives Christ as his Savior, then he is elected because he is IN Christ!

        5) He becomes a child of God – John 1v12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 1 John 3v1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

        6) He gets heavenly citizenship – Phil 3v20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Once we are saved, we become God’s elect, His chosen ones.

We also become His children. God the Father will take care of us better than any earthly father. He knows everything about us and will provide for us while here on earth.

Although we are citizens of the United States, our actual citizenship resides in Heaven.

Ephesians 2:4-7 states that we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

Consider your standing in relationship to God the Father and rejoice!

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

What happens when a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ? Instantly, their lives are changed.

How they are changed will be our focus for the next several weeks.

We will look at what happens when a sinner gets saved, in relation to God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and between each other.

In relation to God the Father…

        1) The saved sinner has access to God’s grace – For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Eph 2v18

        2) We are adopted into the family of God as God’s sons – Gal 4v5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.  Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

        3) We have an inheritance.  Paul preaching says that the Gentiles ‘…may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.’ Acts 26v18

None of us deserved salvation. None of us were able to keep the law of God. By an act of our own free will we rejected God.

But God. He saw our condition and provided a way of escape. He drew us to Himself and we trusted Christ as Savior and Lord. GOD’S GRACE! When we get saved we have access to the grace of God.

God then adopts us into His family. We become His children with all the rights and privileges of a natural born child.

One of the rights of a family member is an inheritance. What we will inherit will be explained in future devotions.

Meditate on what God has done for you.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

The local church speaks little about consecration. Why? Read this devotional and think about what a Christian consecrated to Christ could do.

True consecration

(J.R. Miller, “The Shining Light” 1911)

“It is the Lord’s will. Let Him do what He thinks best.” 1 Samuel 3:18

The heart of consecration is not devotion to this or that kind of service for Christ–but devotion to the Divine will, whatever God may ordain. It may not be any form of activity–sometimes it is quiet waiting. Consecration is not bringing a great many souls to Christ, attending a great many religious meetings, or teaching or preaching.

Some weary one, shut away in the darkness in the chamber of pain, may be illustrating true consecration far more beautifully than those whose hands are fullest of Christian activities in the bustling world.

Consecration is devotion to the will of God.It is readiness to do, not what we want to do in His service–but what He gives us to do.

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there.
 The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away! Blessed be the name of the LORD!” Job 1:21

“Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me.
 Nevertheless, I want Your will to be done, not Mine!“ Luke 22:42

“Let the Lord’s will be done!“ Acts 21:14

Your way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be,
Lead me by Your own hand,
Choose out the path for me.

I dare not choose my lot,
I would not, if I might;
Choose for me, my God;
So shall I walk aright!
   Horatius Bonar
   ~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

When the trials of life come upon us, does God care?

Susannah Spurgeon, gives us some encouragement as she answers this question.

What a compassionate, gracious arrangement!

(Susannah Spurgeon, “Words of Cheer and Comfort for Sick and Sorrowful Souls!” 1898)

“My times are in Your hand!”Psalm 31:15

Why then, need I worry or tremble? That great, loving, powerful hand keeps all the events of my life sealed and secure within its almighty clasp! Only He, my Maker and my Master, can permit them to be revealed to me as His will for me. What a compassionate, gracious arrangement! How eminently fitted to fulfill that sweet promise of His Word, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You!” If we fully believed this, we would be absolutely devoid of the worry which corrodes and chafes the daily life of so many professing Christians.

“My times.” Not one or two important epochs of my history only–but everything that concerns me:
  joys that I had not expected,
  sorrows that must have crushed me, if they could have been anticipated,
  sufferings which might have terrified me by their grimness, had I looked upon them,
  surprises which infinite love had prepared for me,
  services of which I could not have imagined myself capable–
all these lay in that mighty hand, as the purposes of God’s eternal will for me.

But, as they have developed gradually and silently–how great has been the love which appeared enwrapping and enfolding each one!
Has not the grief been measured–while the gladness has far more abounded?
Have not the comforts and consolations–exceeded the crosses and afflictions?
Have not all things been so arranged, and ordered, and undertaken, and worked out on our behalf–that we can but marvel at the goodness and wisdom of God, in meting out from that dear hand of His, all the “times” that have passed over us?

You agree with me in all this, do you not, dear reader? Then I beg you to apply it to your present circumstances, however dark or difficult they may be. They have come directly from your Father’s hand to you, and they are His dear will for you!
   ~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This devotion by J.C. Ryle is quite thought provoking. As you read this, consider all Jesus did on our behalf.

Then rejoice and thank God the Father, for sending His Son, Jesus, to pay our sin debt.

Isaiah 53:5

(J.C. Ryle)

“He was piercedfor our transgressions,
 He was crushedfor our iniquities;
 the punishmentthat brought us peace was upon Him,
 and by His woundswe are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

Was Jesus scourged?
It was that “through His stripes we might be healed.”

Was Jesus condemned, though innocent?
It was that we might be acquitted, though guilty.

Did Jesus wear a crown of thorns?
It was that we might wear the crown of glory.

Was Jesus stripped of His clothing?
It was that we might be clothed in His everlasting righteousness.

Was Jesus mocked and reviled?
It was that we might be honored and blessed.

Was Jesus reckoned a malefactor, and numbered among transgressors?
It was that we might be reckoned innocent, and justified from all sin.

Was Jesus declared unable to save Himself?
It was that He might be able to save others to the uttermost.

Did Jesus die at last, and that the most painful and disgraceful of deaths?
It was that we might live for evermore, and be exalted to the highest glory!
   ~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

I will be having cataract surgery on the 10^th and 17^th of February. I asked some of my friends to do the Daily Devotions for the next two weeks.

I appreciate your willingness to help me. You were chosen because you have played an important part in my growth, knowledge of God’s word, encouragement, or faithfulness in service over the 38 years I have been in Alaska. Please continue to minister and help others.

Enjoy!

Set it Aside

Fear not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. – Isaiah 41:10

We all do better when we see more clearly.  Yesterday, I noted how God sent Jesus – the Great Light – to show the world the way of life.  His light makes our vision possible.  Without it, we stumble in darkness, often living in a deep self-deception that we can know what is true, reliable, and useful apart from God.  

Our human nature is at fault.  Born to sin and to separation from God, we need our Redeemer to transform us from people living the nature we are born to, into people living in a very unnatural way – God’s Way.

This usually doesn’t happen in an instant.  Paul, having lived one of the most impactful justifying experiences of anyone, still wrote of his continuing journey towards sanctification.  As followers of Christ, we strive continually to get better, and we should never believe we’ve finally reached that point when God is finished making us a better person – at least not in this life.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. – 2 Corinthians 3:18

This is important.  Christ calls us to live above our human nature.  His power makes it possible for us to do this, and His Spirit shows us how.  But our humanity gets in the way.  

David McClelland (1917-1998) was a psychologist on the faculty at Harvard University when he developed a model of human motivation.  McClelland contended that three dominant needs – for achievement, for power, and for affiliation – underpin human motivation.  While his model explains a lot of human behavior, it falls short of a universal theory of human behavior.  And any serious reader of the Book of Genesis could have easily told Professor McClelland about the motivations behind the things we do.  Look at Joseph.

Joseph had quite a high opinion of himself; so much so that he irritated his brothers beyond endurance.  They conspired to kill him, but relented and “merely” sold him to slavers.  I wonder how Joseph’s experiences felt to him.  Was he afraid?

We humans respond powerfully to any threat that one of those things Professor McClelland cites might be lost.  Fear is one of those things that can literally overcome us to the point we can no longer think or act with reason.  At the very least, fear is a challenge to living faithfully.

That’s why God reminds us SO MANY times in scripture, “Do not fear,” usually followed by the reason we should not fear, “for I am with you.”  

Joseph must have reminded himself over and over again that, “God is with me, I don’t need to be afraid.”  This simple statement of faith helped him become the man God intended.  A slave in Egypt, Joseph set aside his understandable bitterness, resentment and anger.  He lived above his nature and accepted whatever God put before him.  In this obedience, Joseph became the man who saved his people from terrible famine, becoming the patriarch God ordained.

Contrast this with one of the saddest stories of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  There was a rich young man who earnestly wanted to follow God.  He kept the law and prayed obediently.  He came to Jesus wanting to know how to find the way to eternal life.  With love, Jesus told him to sell all he had and to, “Come and follow me.”  But the rich man went away sorrowful because he had much to “lose.”  

My heart breaks for him, yet I can see so much of myself and my friends in him.  He was afraid to lose power over those things Professor McClelland says are such powerful motivators. Standing face-to-face with Jesus, he chose the same things so many of us choose every day on the path of sanctification.  He chose to retain control over the things that mattered to him.  He did not surrender them because he was afraid.

Joseph set aside his fear and abandoned the notion that he would attain achievement, power, and affiliation on his own.  Stripped of everything he had relied on, he relied instead on God.  In doing so he found his life.  

Let us, who have not been stripped of everything, also find our life in the Lord.  Let us set aside our fear, for God is with us.

Chuck Foster, CEO, Wasilla Area Seniors, Inc

Good morning,

I will be having cataract surgery on the 10^th and 17^th of February. I asked some of my friends to do the Daily Devotions for the next two weeks.

I appreciate your willingness to help me. You were chosen because you have played an important part in my growth, knowledge of God’s word, encouragement, or faithfulness in service over the 38 years I have been in Alaska. Please continue to minister and help others.

Enjoy!

Light

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. –  Isaiah 9:2

This time of year brings a flood of light to Alaska.  It’s still February, but I always look forward to March because there is so much sunlight gained after a dark winter.  Thinking of that, I spoke with a friend who asked rather matter-of-factly, “We never think much about light.  What is it?”

Christians know the prophet Isaiah spoke of Jesus, the great light that showed all mankind the way of life.  But my friend was thinking about the literal light that comes from the sun, or the moon, or a ceiling fixture.  What is it?

Scientists say it is a segment of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by organic beings.  That may work for scientists, but it isn’t what most of us think of when we hear the word.  Common folk probably think the definition from Webster’s Dictionary says it well: light is “something that makes vision possible.”

I like that.  It’s clear: no light means no vision.  In darkness we are blind to both the blessings and evils that surround us.  We can neither perceive nor understand the reality in which we live.

I should pause here to acknowledge that those who have no eyesight would differ that they cannot perceive reality around them.  That’s not what I’m saying; of course they can!  But they see only through efforts which those of us with “normal” eyesight regard as rather extraordinary.  Sometimes they see reality more clearly than the rest, but given the option, everyone seeks to see more clearly.

So back to my point: if we have no light, we have darkness, and in darkness we live in peril and fear. This is true in both the material and spiritual sense.  In the material world, when we dwell in darkness, we are at a terrible disadvantage and nothing we do is as easy or safe as when we do it in the light.  Living in darkness, we can perceive neither the blessings nor dangers around us.  When we live in material darkness, one of our first desires is to get some light to dispel the dark.  We want to live in light.  The light makes our lives better.  But often we settle for just enough light to get by.  After all, a single candle lights a room, and sometimes that’s enough.

Is it enough, though?  We allow “a little” Jesus much the same way we might settle for a single candle in a dark room.  That single candle makes a BIG difference.  That’s Jesus. But Jesus doesn’t call us to settle for a little light.  Isaiah prophesied that we would live in a “Great Light.”  When we follow Jesus closely, we see his Light more.  In that Great Light, we will see things about our lives that we might wish could stay hidden in the dark.  But the Great Light did not come to shame us, but to illuminate our lives so we see reality – material and spiritual – in all God’s glory. 

When we walk in God’s Light, we see ourselves and the world as it truly is: broken and fallen, yet redeemed and restored.  Only with God’s Light are we able to see the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  When we walk in Jesus’ light, we see fully.  Let’s pray to see the world in God’s Light, through Jesus’ eyes.

 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. – John 8:12

Chuck Foster, CEO Wasilla Area Seniors, Inc

Good morning,

I will be having cataract surgery on the 10^th and 17^th of February. I asked some of my friends to do the Daily Devotions for the next two weeks.

I appreciate your willingness to help me. You were chosen because you have played an important part in my growth, knowledge of God’s word, encouragement, or faithfulness in service over the 38 years I have been in Alaska. Please continue to minister and help others.

Enjoy!

Help me Father, to do Your will……

So important for all of us to do, share with others about Salvation and the truth of God’s love for each of us!

Psalm 40:9-10

9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation:  lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.

10  I have not hid they righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation:  I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

You may be saying, ‘I am timid and shy.  I can’t talk to others about Jesus”.  It’s easy if you first pray and let Him give you the words to say opening a conversation of how He blessed you this day or a day in your past.  He will give you the power, the joy and ‘watch His hand move mightily as you do just that’!

Let us pray:

My Father, God, make me bold to tell all people about your justices.  Make me not afraid to speak out.  I don’t want to keep this good news hidden in my heart; help me to talk unashamedly about your faithfulness and saving power.  Oh how much You love us!  Give me the words to say to others so that they will know and Holy Spirit open up minds and hearts to see. 

Rev. Priscilla Fulford, Pathway to Heaven Mission

I conduct the Christian Services here at Wasilla Senior Center.  every Sunday in the Meeting Room, 1301 S. Century Cir., Wasilla, AK 99654 at 11:30 am.

I am giving you a ‘special invitation’ to come and see how you like our services.  I promise you, you will feel the love and joy of the folks who are already coming and will enjoy feeling the Holy Spirit’s presence as you worship in song, praying, and hearing the anointed messages preached by me.  It is a Non-Denominational Service. Please call me if you would like to talk with me at 357-7274.  God bless you!