Scripture

For God says, “At just the right time I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Today is the day of salvation.

Observation

Paul begs them to not ignore the gift of God’s salvation. Now is the hour to be saved.

Paul lives in such a way as to confirm the message. He shows in everything he does that he is a true minister of God. He has been beaten and thrown into prison, but he proves himself with a pure life, with understanding, and with love.

Paul serves God whether the people honour him or despise him, whether they slander him or praise him. He is poor but has spiritual riches; he owns nothing but has everything.

Application

The right time to be saved is now.

Many people put off a response to the gospel until “later”. But later is like tomorrow – it never comes.

Some want to have fun while they are young without the inconvenience of worrying about God’s opinion about their lifestyle.

Some put the message away, thinking they will consider it later, but they forget about it. An encounter with God fades and is soon forgotten.

Paul says that right now is the time to make a decision. We may we may not get another chance, for who can say when we will die?

If you are reading this and have not turned away from your selfish lifestyle then do not delay. Now is the time of salvation. Now is the time to repent.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for dying to rescue me. I give my life over to you now and trust you to raise me to eternal life. Amen.

Scripture

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them.

Observation

God knows that Paul is sincere in what he does. He is not commending himself, but giving them a reason to answer those who brag about spectacular ministry but lack a clean heart.

We believe that Christ died for all, so we have died to our old life. Christ died so that those who receive His new life no longer live for themselves but for Christ.

Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The old life has gone, the new has come. This is a gift from God who was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. He gives us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

Application

The gift of salvation is available to everyone who will receive it. God is reconciling the world to Himself.

God’s grace is so huge that, even though He knew who would receive him and who would not, the offer of salvation is made to everyone. Many choose to exclude themselves, but that is there choice not God’s rejection.

He no longer counts our sins against us, as long as we are “in Christ.” If we accept fellowship with Christ, our sins are forgiven and our guilt is removed. But if we are not “in Christ”, then our guilt remains.

God has declared an amnesty on sin to all who will receive it. You have to be in the program, so to speak, but your sin will be removed, your record purged.

Best of all is that this is not merely a legal reckoning. God brings us back into friendship with him.

We were once far away from God, separated by a wall called sin. Now we are invited into the throne room to dine with the King.

Prayer

Hallelujah! What an awesome saviour you are! Bless the Lord! Amen.

Scripture

God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

Observation

Our bodies are tents that will be taken down when we die. Instead, we will receive an eternal body made by God Himself.

We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our new bodies. God has prepared us for this, and has given us the Holy Spirit as the guarantee.

We can be confident, because we live by faith and not by what we see. We know that we will go to be at home with the Lord.

Whether in the present body or the future body, we must aim to please the Lord. We will all stand before Christ to be judged by Him according to our deeds.

Application

God has prepared us for the transition to eternal life. We will be raised with a new body to live with God forever. This body will be made directly by God and not by human activity, and so it will be perfect and not subject to death, sickness, or decay.

The Holy Spirit is our guarantee of eternity. God has placed Himself within the spirit of every believer to testify to us that we are born again and will live for ever.

Whenever I pray in tongues or listen to the still small voice of His Spirit, it is a reminder to me that I am destined for eternity.

God has prepared us to pass from this world to the next. We live in a culture that actively avoids the reality of death, but God has a transition plan that He has hard wired into the spirit of every person when they are saved.

We know that this planet is not our home, and this body is not our final body. So we have hope when our bodies age, or we get sick, or a pandemic threatens our health. We do not pan like those who have no hope

Prayer

Thank you Father for your grand plan that will see me gain a new and perfect body in your Kingdom. Amen.