"How can I be sure that I’m saved?” It’s a very common question for Christians of all ages. We pray for God to save us, and we try to do what’s right, but somehow we’re still afraid. What if I died tonight? How do I know I’d go to heaven? What if I went to hell?
It’s a scary question but also a really important one—we don’t want to make any mistakes in answering it! God knows we ask it, though, and so He gave us answers: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved ” (Acts 16:31). “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).
What does it mean to believe in Jesus and call on the name of the Lord? It’s simple to understand. Do you believe Jesus died and rose again? Have you asked Him to take your sin and save you from it? Have you acknowledged that He is Lord of all—including you? If your faith is in Christ alone, you can know you are saved from sin and death (Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 John 5:12).
Not quite reassured? Here’s one more thing to realize. Jesus died a horrible death so that you could be saved (John 3:16). If someone trusts Him to save them but isn’t saved, then Christ died in vain. He’s not looking for a reason to reject you. God “does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus has promised to save His people, and we can be assured in that promise (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
God doesn’t want us to live in doubt of our salvation, still afraid of His judgment (Romans 8:1). No, He came to free us from that fear, so that we could live life to the full: seeking Him, following Him, and growing ever closer to Him, knowing that ultimately we’ll live forever with Him and His people (1 John 4:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). • Christiana Cudworth
• Do you think there’s a difference between believing facts about Jesus and believing in Jesus? How do you know which describes you?
• What does it mean to know Jesus? (To learn more, check out our "Know Jesus" page.)
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 (NLT)
How Do I Know if I'm Saved?
April 27, 2020
April 27, 2020 • Emily Tenter
Day 11 - As Far as the East is from the West
April 14, 2020 • Naomi Zylstra • Micah 7:19, 1 John 1:9—2:1
Do you still feel guilty about it? That thing you did. Maybe it happened yesterday, maybe it happened eight years ago. . No matter what it was, you may be holding on to unnecessary guilt. . Guilt does have a purpose. It leads us to repentance and encourages us not to do evil again... but that purpose can be twisted by Satan. . God wants us to feel sorry for our sins, repent, and ask forgiveness. But, once these sins are forgiven, they’re gone. Poof! In Christ, God has removed them from us. If we put our trust in Him, we carry these old sins no more. The Bible even says that God separates us from our sins “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). . God does not want His people to sit in their guilt and pour over sins already forgiven. Jesus took on our punishment for us. He died and was forsaken for our sins, taking on God’s wrath for us so that we don’t have to feel shame for our wrongdoings. . Besides guilt, another problem Christians face is shame. Shame is similar to guilt, but instead of seeing wrong in your sins, you see wrong in yourself. Shame changes “I did something bad” into “I’m a bad person.” . As Christians, we were once defined by our sins. But, when we put our trust in Jesus, He gives us a new identity. We are now children of God, wrapped in Christ’s righteousness (or sinlessness). God wants us to rejoice in Him and not feel shameful. . If you feel guilt or shame, repent of the sins you’re thinking of and ask forgiveness. If you still feel guilt and shame after that, take some time today to thank Jesus for the grace and forgiveness He has already given you. You are no longer captive to the power of guilt and shame. You are held in the love of Christ. • Naomi Zylstra . • Have you put your trust in Jesus to save you from sin? If not, what questions do you have? To learn more about what it means to know Jesus, check out our "Know Jesus" page. . • If you’re a Christian, are you still holding on to guilt for certain sins? Have you confessed them to God? What can you do today to celebrate God’s grace and forgiveness? . As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12 (NIV)
Day 10 - Dead
April 6, 2020 • Emily Tenter • Ephesians 2:1–10
My skin is cold. Though I can’t know for sure how cold—since corpses can’t feel anything. They can’t do anything at all, really. . If I had the ability to touch, I’d feel the icy, rough dirt that holds my stiff body in place. I’d feel the maggots wriggling their muculent bodies around the tips of my fingers, inside my ears, around my mouth, at the corners of my eyes. . If my sense of smell were working, I’d smell the aroma of rotting things decomposing beneath the earth’s surface. . If my tear ducts worked, I might wail as I thought on the fact that I am among them, my body food for the creatures that never see sunlight. . But I can do none of those things. . Because I am dead. . And when a person is dead, that is all they can do. Nothing. . This is my fate. To do nothing. To be nothing. To know nothing. To love nothing. . Until the moment that it isn’t my fate anymore. . Suddenly, the dirt is being pushed away from my body. Gentle hands are brushing the soil from my face, and I feel the warmth of them as they grasp my hands. . I feel them. As I have never been able to feel anything before! . These warm hands that send a blaze of warmth and life flowing up my arms and throughout my body now pull me upward until I’m above the ground. . I squint in the sunlight with eyes that can see! . When my eyes finally adjust to the bright light, I look into the face of the One who pulled me out. The One who has breathed life into my dead body and saved me from a fate of death and nothing. . The Man who smiles back at me wears white robes, free of blemish or spot. On His head is a crown made of the finest metals and precious stones. . This Man is the King. He cares for me. And He has made me alive. • Emily Tenter . • Reread today’s Bible verses. Why is dead the word used to describe us before we know Jesus? . • Our sin leads to death (Romans 6:23). Read Romans 8:10-11 and 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17. How does Jesus’s death and resurrection guarantee that He will bring eternal life to those who have put their trust in Him? . • Have you experienced being made alive by God? Find out more about what this means on our "Know Jesus" page. . But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! Ephesians 2:4-5 (CSB)
Day 9 - The Guard
April 12, 2020 • Kevin Zeller • Matthew 28:1–10
"This is ridiculous,” I said, adjusting my helmet while keeping my spear crooked in my arm. “Why do we need all of these soldiers here. The man is dead, isn’t he?” . The guard next to me shrugged. “They say he made lots of noise about rising from the dead. So they are worried about his disciples coming back and stealing the body.” . “Well,” I said, glancing back at the crowd of soldiers gathered outside the small garden tomb, “Good luck to them. It’s all sealed up, and they would have to get through all that.” . I shifted on my feet, wishing for my cot. “Nice morning anyway.” . He grunted, signaling the end of the conversation. . Resentful, I stepped a few paces away. I looked up into the night sky, seeing a few stars remaining, even as the sky was brightening. Strange, one of the stars was moving... . A roar filled the garden, and the earth shook with an impact. I was thrown to the ground, my spear clattering on some stones. It took me a moment to regain my breath, and, when I did, I shrank back against a tree. . A bright figure, completely clad in what looked like glowing robes, was stalking toward the tomb. His footprints left the ground smoking. . The other guards were shrieking, stumbling over each other to get away even as he raised his bright hand, placed it on the stone, and pushed. . The last thing I remember before fainting was the sound of stone ripping. • Kevin Zeller . • How would you have reacted if you had been one of the guards at the tomb? . • Read Romans 8:11-24, 2 Corinthians 5, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and Revelation 21:1-5. How did Jesus’s resurrection begin the new creation breaking into our world? . He [Jesus] said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.” Mark 9:31 (NLT)