Hebrews 7:25 says, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him…” Hebrews 1:14 was regarding angels. It says, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who WILL inherit salvation?”

No one is exempt from God’s love. Salvation is for all. 1 John 4:8-9 says, “…God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.”

Romans 10:13 says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Never give up on anyone in your family or friends. There is always hope until they take their last breath. Let’s look inside of God’s heart. 2 Peter 3:9 says that He is, “…not willing that any should perish…”

Ask the Holy Spirit to bring names to your mind throughout your day. When He does, pray for that person. He knows how to bring conviction at the right moment. He knows their thoughts before they think them.

Jude verse 23 says, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” As I meditated on how God is able, my mind went to a kaleidoscope of Scriptures.

Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” That’s the same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead. The Amplified ends like this, “…(infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams).”

Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that He should lie…” Titus 1:2 says, “In hope of  eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.” Isaiah 59:1 says, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear.”

Isaiah 40:25 says, “To whom then will you like Me, or to whom shall I be equal? says the Holy One.” Verse 28 says, “His understanding is unsearchable.”

1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

2 Timothy 1:9 says, “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” 

We have a heritage. Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord.”

Colossians 3:3 says, “…your life is hidden with Christ in God.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

At salvation, we were set free from satan’s slave block of sin. Sin is no longer our master ~ sin is a choice.

In 1967 I stood in my front room and asked the Lord, “Who am I?” I was bound by the expectations of others. It took me many years to walk in the freedom that was mine through salvation.

Do you celebrate who you are? You are unique ~ no one else is like you. We all have combined experiences from our pasts that make up who we have become. Learning to walk in our identity in Christ, is part of our journey of progressive sanctification.

Bondage comes from the lies that we have believed along the way. Hosea 10:13 says, “…You have eaten the fruit of lies, because you trusted in your own way…” Proverbs 14:12 and Proverbs 16:25 say the same thing. It’s a double warning to us.

The Amplified says, “There is a way that seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.” Our fleshly appetite gets us into trouble. Galatians 5:16 says that when we walk in the Spirit, “…you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.”

Consider this: all negative thoughts, conversations, gossip, worry, fear, unbelief, doubts, complaining, and the *list goes on. They are like contaminated dirt that covers our two gifts, so that we do not actively experience them.

The moment we realize that our inner peace or inner joy is gone, we should stop and ask the Holy Spirit why. He knows. Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…” 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Do not quench the Holy Spirit.”

Proverbs 4:23 says to diligently guard our hearts. Be proactively vigilant through applying Psalm 143:4’s warning. It says, “Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works…” Matthew 13:34 says, “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Think of a pot of beans on the stove. If we don’t watch it can boil over in seconds. I know this from experience. It’s a great illustration for Psalm 19:13. It says, “Keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins…” We *presume we know something, and it boils over into sin.

Peace is a gift given the moment we accept Jesus as our personal Savior. Peace is an attribute of a Person, not a continual state of being. Isaiah 9:6 called Him the Prince of Peace.

Paul aptly described it in Philippians 4:7. We release all the things through prayer that are making us feel anxious or worried. Then the verse says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:14 says, “For He Himself is our peace…” Colossians 3:15 says, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you…”

Joy is also an attribute of a Person, and is not changed because of adverse circumstances. Romans 11:29 says, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Though peace and joy are irrevocable, we can block their presence through wrong thinking ~ toxic heart-thoughts. Matthew 15:19.

Consider, ponder, meditate on this. Isaiah 40:25 says, “To whom then will you like Me? or to whom shall I be equal?” There is only One who can set us free.

John 8:36 says, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed!” How does He do it? Through truth. Verse 32 says that when we abide in His word, that we, “…shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Assimilated embraced truth.

Truth is a Person, not a fact. John 1:14 says that He is the word, “…full of grace and truth.” I love this verse in the Amplified. I picture it as one stacked upon the other. Verse 16 says, “For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and we were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift (heaped) upon gift.”

2 Peter 1:3 says that He has given us, “…all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him…” All things…

Colossians 2:6-7 says, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” 

One of the ways we can be built up in Him is to worship Him through His goodness. I often use Psalm 40:2-3 in my heart-words of gratitude. He brought us up from that horrible pit. We were helpless, hopeless, and lost.

He set our feet in Himself ~ the solid Rock of our salvation. He put new songs of praise in our mouths. Those who knew us before, were astonished at the dramatic change. Proverbs 9:10 says, “…the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

I encourage you to read A. W. Tozer’s book, “Knowledge of the Holy” if you never have. He writes in detail about many of the Lord’s attributes. Although he says that there are those we don’t even know about.

The Lord reveals Himself in the ways that we need Him to be for us in our crucible-trials. Glory hallelujah!

Faith sets the stage for our walk with the Lord. Romans 12:3 says, “…as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” In 2 Peter 1:5-7 Peter gave his readers the charge to add to their faith with diligence: virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

Verse 8 says, “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Everything in our walk with the Lord comes through our gaining experiential knowledge. It comes through our intimate communion with Him.

I placed John 15:5 as wallpaper on my heart. It is a constant reminder that, “…for without Me you can do nothing.” Anything we do in our own strength is without faith. We know from Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing His word.

Ephesians 1:13 says, “In Him you also trusted, after you HEARD the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom you also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” Hear ~ Believe ~ Sealed.

I remember the chorus of a hymn we often sang around our communion time. “A thousand, a thousand thanksgivings, I bring, blessed Savior, to Thee!” We have countless things to be thankful for. First our salvation. Without it we would be lost, condemned, and without hope.

I read a book by Ann Voskamp. It is called “One Thousand Gifts.” She kept a log of surprising moments and as they occurred she expressed thanks. The Holy Spirit led her into an enhanced understanding of what it means to give thanks for everything.

Psalm 100 is a song of praise for the Lord’s faithfulness. Verse 4-5 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.”

December after covid hit the scene, there was complaining in many camps. I determined before the Lord to express five things of gratitude to Him before I went to sleep. I’ve continued that practice, only no need to count ~ I encourage you to try it.