Author Archives: Pam Ford Davis

Bible Studies, Christian Growth

Got Saved?

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Saved, what does that mean? To unbelievers the term might mean, “Got religion.” Another phrase takes our consideration further. “He was saved from a fate worse than death!” I turn to a trusted thesaurus, and chose most applicable save synonyms: rescue, deliverance, ransom, liberation, release, salvation, atone, redeem, free, liberate. (Roget’s International Thesaurus)

Saved, what does that mean to you, personally? Look through the list of synonyms again.  Without Christ, all are in dire straits, in need of rescue from sin, deliverance from the bondage of sin. He paid the ransom with His sacrificial death, freeing all who trust Him as Lord and Savior.

Jesus saves sinful men.

“And she will bear a Son; and you shall call his name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21 NAS)”

“For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10 NAS).”

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through Him (John 3:16-17 NAS).”

“But what does it say? ‘THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART’-that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved (Romans 10:8-9 NAS).”

“for WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED (Romans 10:13 NAS).”

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9 NAS).”

 

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Bible Studies, Christian Growth

Peter’s Pointed Question

 

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“Why?” The repetitious questions of a three year old try the patience of parents. “What?”  The pointed question of Apostle Peter pricks my conscience. He was not giving believers a pop-quiz; his query is not testing intellect or IQ. Instead, he questions my commitment and character.  Do I pass the test? He sets the scene for a day of reckoning.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with a fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness (2 Peter 3:10-11 NKJ)…”

What type of person should I be and where should my focus be? “…looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat (2 Peter 3:12 NKJ)?” God has called me to testify of His mercy; yet, as Noah, I warn of His pending judgment.

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Christian Growth, Devotionals

Buttons and Bows

 

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We recently received two female kittens from our next-door neighbors.  I affectionately named them Buttons and Bows. The first couple of days they were reclusive but now put on regular entertainment. As children first learning to walk prefers the risk of running, our kittens know one speed, wide open. We wanted the kittens to curtail the farm mouse population; they throw in the antics as a bonus. I seldom see one kitten without the other.

“Also, on a cold night, two under the same blanket gain warmth from each other, but how can one be warm alone? And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer, three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:11-12 Living Bible).” A third kitten…three kitty stooges. Hmm… Buttons, Bows and Barrettes. I think I’ll pass on that.

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Christian Growth, Devotionals

Validity of Divinity

 

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We are touchy-feel folk. We like to see a car with our own eyes, grip the steering wheel with both hands, and take it for a test drive around the block. Then, after exiting the sale model we firmly close the door, step aside and kick the tires. Seeing is believing. In faith, we believe before we see…

Doubting Thomas sets a clear example of setting feelings aside as validity of divinity. (John 20:19-29) “Jesus was standing among them and greeting them. Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger into my hands. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!’ ‘My Lord and my God!’ Thomas said (John 20:26b-28 Living Bible).”  

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Uncategorized

Big Sisters

FIRST BAPTIST #2

God gave me two big sisters.

He knew they would love me and make me feel special.

Today, I am remembering Donna, my big sister. It was her birthday.

I cannot give her a call or send an e greeting.

I can simply post an entry on my blog in her memory.

She left an imprint on my heart.

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Christian Growth, Devotionals

Blind Will See

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I can be so blind. The optometrist may chart me as having 20-20 vision, yet I cannot see. I should see not only with my eyes but also with my spirit. There are forms of temporary eye blindness as well as permanent loss of sight. Spiritually, the Holy Spirit can remedy my temporary blindness.  The blind want to see… “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened (Isaiah 35:5a NKJ).”

Christ Jesus brought sight to the physically and spiritually blind. Afflictions can damage my visual perception. “while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18 NKJ).”  What I am blind to is beyond description.

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Christian Growth, Devotionals

The Angels Sing

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It’s not really over when the fat lady sings; she frequently comes back for encores. Doomsayers predict the end of the world. Yet, the end of the age looms on the horizon, not the end of the world. God will make a new heaven and earth. (Revelation 21:1) It’s not over until the angels sing!

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise (Revelation 5:11-12 NIV)!”  

 

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Christian Growth, Devotionals

The Simple Life

 

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My mother was a very beautiful lady. In many portraits, she looked more like a model than her role of worker in oils at the photography studio. Some family and friends compared her to popular starlet and singer Deanna Durbin. It was only natural that Mom became an admirer of the movie star.

 I remember Mom’s excitement when receiving a Christmas card from the celebrity.  Recently, I saw headlines of the death of Deanna Durbin at the age of 91. She had turned her back on Hollywood fame and notoriety after only a few years before cameras. She lived, and died, in seclusion in France. She preferred the simple life.

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 NIV).” Fans will remember Deanna Durbin; family will cherish her…

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Christian Growth, Devotionals

Gong Show

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We moaned, we groaned; yet, we watched. In the 1970’s viewers tuned in for the Gong Show with host Chuck Barris. It may have paved the way for reality TV. Contestants were gonged when their performances were bad; humiliated, they cringed at the sound of the gong. No cymbal could have such a menacing ring.

“If I could speak the languages of men, of angels too, and have no love, I am only a rattling pan or a clashing cymbal (1Corinthians 13:1 Williams New Testament).” God hears my empty words. I visualize angels hitting a gong and my exiting the scene with my head hung in shame. He is the God of second chances; he also says, “Well done…” (Matthew 25:21)

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Bible Studies, Christian Growth, Devotionals, Family

Family Occupation

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A blue jean and flannel shirt clad man proudly speaks up. “I’m a farmer; my father was a farmer and his father was a farmer.”  Your church pastor emeritus celebrates fifty years of service to congregations and to his Lord; he agrees to say a few words to the crowd. “I’m a simple country preacher; my dad, grandpa and great-grandfather were all preachers.” An occupation or trade often flows through family lines.

Jesus is the Great Shepherd. Caring for sheep went back to ancestors, Abraham, King David, Joseph and his father-Jacob. “This is the history of the descendants of Jacob and this is Jacob’s line. Joseph, when he was seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers (Genesis 37:2a Amplified Bible).” Joseph later made the family occupation clear when his family joined him in Egypt.

“I will go up and tell Pharaoh and say to him, My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been keeping livestock (Genesis 46:31b-32a Amplified Bible).” Yes, Jesus followed in His earthly father’s trade as a carpenter; yet, He has the heart of a shepherd. He continues to gather His sheep and appoints family members to carry on shepherding responsibilities.

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