Hope for Salvation
2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and p0ray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Job 42:10 And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Jeremiah 24:7 Then I will give them a heart to know m-Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 And you will see Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and given them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people.
John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day
John 10:7-9 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Acts 26:18 ‘ …to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD.
Romans 10:1-4 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Colossians 4:2-3 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people–for kings and all those
Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance; and not perish
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness
Revelations 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
Do you have friends and family members who are not saved? They may or may not believe in God at all; others may believe but think they have all the time in the world to make a decision to learn about Him. But a catastrophic accident can happen without warning–and then it is too late. That makes my heart cringe and ache. Although these folks are kind, loving, gentle and wonderful and would give anything to help another–they still believe THEY are responsible for all their success and they are good and kind because of how they were raised, and what they have learned living life. They have found it is easier to be polite and helpful when dealing with those who might be impatient. Sarcasm does not get them positive outcomes. Anger builds and then destroys–and is not generally worth expressing. They recognize they have more financially than many others, so will donate to causes that are important to them. So, although they live kind, gentle, caring lives, they do not know Jesus, have not accepted Him as Savior, and seek to follow Him, knowing how reluctant they are to seek–because they do not believe Him to be the Savior, even believe there is God, creator, omnipotent, omniscient. Their beliefs are if you live as a “do unto others” philosophy, then you are good and will be all right.
There are at least two in this set of important people who do not believe at all in an afterlife, state they are unsure there is an actual creator. How one can say that and seemingly believe that and enjoy and cherish the beauty of this world, is beyond me. I understand God gave free will to all, to make the decisions to believe or not, to sin or be kind and loving, and to live righteously or not. But I have difficulty knowing there is a loving Father, who gave us HIs only Son so we could have salvation, believing in Him. It is the only religion where God chose to die (an absolutely horrific death) to save us. Then rose again, lived and taught amongst His disciples and followers, then rose to be seated beside HIs Father, and remains there still. He intercedes for us, mediates, has given us the Holy Spirit so we can have daily contact and direction when needed. It is a relationship, a friendship, and kinship–not just a belief, but a relationship.
Many do not understand the relationship aspect. ‘He’s dead, not like He’s walking about. . .’ “But He speaks with me, He guides me” I tell them, and they roll their eyes. God gave them the ability to make choices, and at least for now, they choose to refuse to believe, never mind follow Him. My hope is in the verses that remind me God does not want any to perish so He gives every opportunity for people to choose Him, to lean on trusting Him, and not relying on their own arrogance that all their success is their own ability. All their education and everything has brought them success, but it is not the same reassurance, comfort and confidence that I have.
Two years ago, this coming Labor Day, one of these folks who flies commercially for a fishing lodge in Alaska during the summers, had a mid-air collision–which is usually (98.7) deadly when a helicopter pilot who did not know where he was, just lifted up, and caught the tail end of the plane he was piloting. He had six passengers onboard, four guests, and two guides. Only one guest had seen the rise of the helicopter, but not before it took out the tail end of the plane, and the helicopter rotors went into the plane. There had not even been a second from seeing to impact. The guests then watched as the helicopter pilot went into a spin, then was able to land, so they had an idea where that was–all assumed he had died. The airplane pilot, reported what had happened, and where he was going to be able to land on the river, and all six passengers were safely evacuated. The plane pilot had also reported the general location where they had seen the helicopter pilot crash. Once that news goes out over the radio, all pilots in the area fly to that area to start rescue or recovery mission. Thankfully, this was a skilled helicopter pilot, and although the bird was totaled, he was okay. He was taken to Anchorage, evaluated and released within a couple hours. The six other men onboard the plane were shaken, some cried, all praised God–and the skill of the pilot–but realized they had all been saved by unseen Hands that day. As soon as I heard the next day, I prayed fervently, that the pilot realized he had not been alone, and that Jesus say beside him saving the plane. The plane certainly eventually sank–within a couple hours–but ALL THE PERSONS on board were saved. I do believe that initially, the pilot did feel he was not alone, but as he went through the process of questions and the testimonies of the people who had been onboard, he began to doubt, and finally decided that it had been his skill, and “something” that had saved them all. There were no deaths in that incident–not the helicopter which had risen with no visual, and no knowledge of where he was–he would have heard the pilot report he was going over the American River and about to land–but since he didn’t know–he didn’t give it a thought. But my God was there–and I continue to pray that eyes will be opened and see, ears will hear, hearts will be receptive, and finally changed. All of these people could be such volunteers and soldiers in God’s kingdom. And I want them there.
So, I pray for them daily. Prayers that God will send others to give a word, that even with all my faults they can see the difference in my life, loving Him, knowing Him, and living Him. Certainly, they are all much more patient, kind than I see myself being, they all have so much to offer.
Lord, You know my heart for those friends and family who do not YET believe, as You do not want any to perish. You have been a constant in my life for more than fifty years and I am so very grateful for the friends, family, and all you have given to ‘me and my bellaviews.’
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