Vaclav's blog

Job 4:20
"Between morning and evening they (human beings) are beaten to pieces".

By nature, even we Christians are morally weak and failing.

We get "beaten to pieces" by our sin, and our suffering.

And that's why "between morning and evening" we need Jesus and his free undeserved grace, every day of our lives.

We never qualify or deserve to receive God's grace.

God gives his grace richly to us simply by faith in his Son Jesus.

One with the Son and the Father we need lack no supply of grace for this moment and the next, and the next...

"Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 117)

This is the shortest Psalm, but one of great importance. In it, all the nations are called upon to praise and extol the LORD. Not only his redeemed people, but also all peoples from all the nations are to stop, ponder and praise and make much of their God, and maker and redeemer.

New things have come. The new normal is here. The old way of life as we know it is gone. Things will never be the same. The virus has changed our lives to be more difficult in different ways. Social distancing. Wearing of masks. Disinfecting hands, surfaces, and things that we bring into our homes. Fear of the future is among us. And all that many times results in anxiety on peoples’ faces.

I took these two pictures two days ago at West Mabou Beach after water-running (great workout). One picture is of the sunset looking west and the other one is of the moon looking east. It really looks like they were taken at two different places and at two different times of the day. It’s like a person who is looking at themselves and feels sad about their life, but when the person turns around in the same place and starts looking at Jesus who loved them and gave himself for them, instantly they can feel joy and peace rising in their heart.

We are saved and brought into relationship with God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, without nothing added to it of our own good works.

But doesn’t God command and require works of our obedience to God in order to be accepted by him?

Yes, he does, but none of us do it. We would have to obey God’s law which simply teaches to love God our creator and our neighbor, perfectly.

Can anyone keep God’s law so perfectly? Can anyone love God and others so perfectly?

As Christians we have become used to meeting with our church families every Sunday and throughout the week as well. It seems to me that God has taken away for a time that privilege from us during this pandemic so that we may see afresh that our lives have been redeemed by Jesus, and therefore remember to be Jesus to our families, friends, and neighbors. 

We can get to know Jesus better and make him known to others by:

Jesus, the only priest sworn-in into the priesthood by God - Hebrews 7:11-28

“For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.” (Hebrews 6:4-6 ESV)

These words, possibly written by the apostle Paul, were addressed to Hebrew Christians. They are a stern warning against apostasy.

Before his death, Jesus said these three following Scriptures regarding the work the Father gave him to finish:

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” (John 4:34)

“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.” (John 5:36)

“I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:4)

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Since our salvation is purely by God’s undeserved grace, I believe we cannot lose our salvation.

God doesn’t save us because we deserve it and he doesn’t un-save us because we don’t deserve it. It is simply “the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).