Archives for 2020

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.

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

In Relation to God the Son

16) The believer becomes a love gift to the Son from the Father – The Lord Jesus said in John 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 

Every saved sinner is a special love gift from the Father to His Son Jesus Christ.

17) The moment you trust Christ as Savior, you are indwelt by Christ, & you are saved by Jesus Christ – Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.  Acts 4v12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.  You are indwelt by Jesus Christ the moment you trust Him for your salvation!  Jesus said in speaking of these matters… John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

The Lord Jesus Christ lives in us. Every place we go, Jesus goes with us. Everything we see, Jesus sees. Everything we say, Jesus hears. We need to consider how we live our lives.

18) When a sinner trusts Jesus Christ, he possesses ETERNAL LIFE! John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

We never have to be afraid of death! For believers in Christ, when we die, we go to be with Jesus in heaven. All who are saved will be there.

19) When the sinner trusts Jesus Christ, he has peace with God.  Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Rom 5v1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: John 14v27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Today our world has no peace. The great cry of this world is Peace on Earth. But there is no peace. However, believers in Christ have the peace of God within them. We no longer have to stress and struggle. We trust in the peace we have through Christ.

God is so good to us!

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.

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

In Relation to God the Son

13) The sinner is ‘accepted in the beloved’ Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

We are accepted by Jesus. How? When we trusted in the finished work Jesus did for us on the cross, His blood paid our sin debt, and we became acceptable to Jesus.

14) The believer is baptized into Christ’s body by the Holy Spirit – 1Cor 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  Paul says in Gal 3v27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Every child, every sinner who trusts Christ, is put into Christ’s body by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

15) When the sinner who trusts Christ is ‘accepted in the beloved’ (Eph 1v6) & is baptized into Christ’s body by the Holy Spirit, he is buried with Christ by ‘spiritual’ baptism – Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  Col 3v3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 

Romans 6 helps us understand the old nature versus the new nature. It uses baptism to illustrate the burial of Christ. Please read Romans 6. Satan no longer has dominion over us. We belong to Jesus. Why? Because He bought us through His blood sacrifice for our sins.

Rejoice in what Christ has done for us!

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…

        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.

This is just the beginning of what happens when we get saved. It is amazing what God has done for us. When we are tempted to think God has abandoned us, grab this list and rejoice in the fact that God cares for you.

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…

        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