Resultados da busca por "salvação"

1And that’s about it, friends. Be glad in God!I don’t mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters, and I hope you don’t mind hearing it again. Better safe than sorry—so here goes.

2-6Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they’re interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ’s praise as we do it. We couldn’t carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God’s law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God’s law Book.

20,21But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.

1I saw another Sign in Heaven, huge and breathtaking: seven Angels with seven disasters. These are the final disasters, the wrap-up of God’s wrath.

2-4I saw something like a sea made of glass, the glass all shot through with fire. Carrying harps of God, triumphant over the Beast, its image, and the number of its name, the saved ones stood on the sea of glass. They sang the Song of Moses, servant of God; they sang the Song of the Lamb:Mighty your acts and marvelous,O God, the Sovereign-Strong!Righteous your ways and true,King of the nations!Who can fail to fear you, God,give glory to your Name?Because you and you only are holy,all nations will come and worship you,because they see your judgments are right.

5-8Then I saw the doors of the Temple, the Tent of Witness in Heaven, open wide. The Seven Angels carrying the seven disasters came out of the Temple. They were dressed in clean, bright linen and wore gold vests. One of the Four Animals handed the Seven Angels seven gold bowls, brimming with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. Smoke from God’s glory and power poured out of the Temple. No one was permitted to enter the Temple until the seven disasters of the Seven Angels were finished.

3God, come back!Smile your blessing smile:That will be our salvation.

7God-of-the-Angel-Armies, come back!Smile your blessing smile:That will be our salvation.

19God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, come back!Smile your blessing smile:That will be our salvation.

8A good person is saved from much trouble;a bad person runs straight into it.

19Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live,or chase after phantoms of evil and die.

21Count on this: The wicked won’t get off scot-free,and God’s loyal people will triumph.

1-7"Get out of bed, Jerusalem!Wake up. Put your face in the sunlight.God’s bright glory has risen for you.The whole earth is wrapped in darkness,all people sunk in deep darkness,But God rises on you,his sunrise glory breaks over you.Nations will come to your light,kings to your sunburst brightness.Look up! Look around!Watch as they gather, watch as they approach you:Your sons coming from great distances,your daughters carried by their nannies.When you see them coming you’ll smile—big smiles!Your heart will swell and, yes, burst!All those people returning by sea for the reunion,a rich harvest of exiles gathered in from the nations!And then streams of camel caravans as far as the eye can see,young camels of nomads in Midian and Ephah,Pouring in from the south from Sheba,loaded with gold and frankincense,preaching the praises of God.And yes, a great roundupof flocks from the nomads in Kedar and Nebaioth,Welcome gifts for worship at my altaras I bathe my glorious Temple in splendor.

8-22"What’s that we see in the distance,a cloud on the horizon, like doves darkening the sky?It’s ships from the distant islands,the famous Tarshish shipsReturning your children from faraway places,loaded with riches, with silver and gold,And backed by the name of your God, The Holy of Israel,showering you with splendor.Foreigners will rebuild your walls,and their kings assist you in the conduct of worship.When I was angry I hit you hard.It’s my desire now to be tender.Your Jerusalem gates will always be open—open house day and night!—Receiving deliveries of wealth from all nations,and their kings, the delivery boys!Any nation or kingdom that doesn’t deliver will perish;those nations will be totally wasted.The rich woods of Lebanon will be delivered—all that cypress and oak and pine—To give a splendid elegance to my Sanctuary,as I make my footstool glorious.The descendants of your oppressorwill come bowing and scraping to you.All who looked down at you in contemptwill lick your boots.They’ll confer a title on you: City of God,Zion of The Holy of Israel.Not long ago you were despised refuse—out-of-the-way, unvisited, ignored.But now I’ve put you on your feet,towering and grand forever, a joy to look at!When you suck the milk of nationsand the breasts of royalty,You’ll know that I, God, am your Savior,your Redeemer, Champion of Jacob.I’ll give you only the best—no more hand-me-downs!Gold instead of bronze, silver instead of iron,bronze instead of wood, iron instead of stones.I’ll install Peace to run your country,make Righteousness your boss.There’ll be no more stories of crime in your land,no more robberies, no more vandalism.You’ll name your main street Salvation Way,and install Praise Park at the center of town.You’ll have no more need of the sun by daynor the brightness of the moon at night.God will be your eternal light,your God will bathe you in splendor.Your sun will never go down,your moon will never fade.I will be your eternal light.Your days of grieving are over.All your people will live right and well,in permanent possession of the land.They’re the green shoot that I planted,planted with my own hands to display my glory.The runt will become a great tribe,the weakling become a strong nation.I am God.At the right time I’ll make it happen."

14But God faced him directly: "Go in this strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven’t I just sent you?"

15Gideon said to him, "Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter."

23But God reassured him, "Easy now. Don’t panic. You won’t die."

9Lift your hearts high, O Israel,with abandon, volunteering yourselves with the people—bless God!* * *

12Wake up, wake up, Deborah!Wake up, wake up, sing a song!On your feet, Barak!Take your prisoners, son of Abinoam!* * *

13-18Then the remnant went down to greet the brave ones.The people of God joined the mighty ones.The captains from Ephraim came to the valley,behind you, Benjamin, with your troops.Captains marched down from Makir,from Zebulun high-ranking leaders came down.Issachar’s princes rallied to Deborah,Issachar stood fast with Barak,backing him up on the field of battle.But in Reuben’s divisions there was much second-guessing.Why all those campfire discussions?Diverted and distracted,Reuben’s divisions couldn’t make up their minds.Gilead played it safe across the Jordan,and Dan, why did he go off sailing?Asher kept his distance on the seacoast,safe and secure in his harbors.But Zebulun risked life and limb, defied death,as did Naphtali on the battle heights.

26Leaving their people dispirited,slumped shoulders, limp souls.Useless as weeds, fragile as grass,insubstantial as wind-blown chaff.

31The remnant will come from Jerusalem,the survivors from Mount Zion.The Zeal of Godwill make it happen.

34I’ll shield this city, I’ll save this city,for my sake and for David’s sake.

1-3Believe me, friends, all I want for Israel is what’s best for Israel: salvation, nothing less. I want it with all my heart and pray to God for it all the time. I readily admit that the Jews are impressively energetic regarding God—but they are doing everything exactly backward. They don’t seem to realize that this comprehensive setting-things-right that is salvation is God’s business, and a most flourishing business it is. Right across the street they set up their own salvation shops and noisily peddle their knockoffs. After all these years of refusing to really deal with God on his terms, insisting instead on making their own deals, they have nothing to show for it.

4-10The earlier revelation was intended simply to get us ready for the Messiah, who then puts everything right for those who trust him to do it. Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it’s not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story—no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah. So what exactly was Moses saying?The word that saves is right here,as near as the tongue in your mouth,as close as the heart in your chest.It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not "doing" anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"

14-17But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why Scripture exclaims,A sight to take your breath away!Grand processions of peopletelling all the good things of God!But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: "Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?" The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.

1-3So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on "salvation by self-help" and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. God helping us, we’ll stay true to all that. But there’s so much more. Let’s get on with it!

9-12I’m sure that won’t happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.

1-6I’m overwhelmed with sorrow!sunk in a swamp of despair!I’m like someone who goes to the gardento pick cabbages and carrots and cornAnd returns empty-handed,finds nothing for soup or sandwich or salad.There’s not a decent person in sight.Right-living humans are extinct.They’re all out for one another’s blood,animals preying on each other.They’ve all become experts in evil.Corrupt leaders demand bribes.The powerful richmake sure they get what they want.The best and brightest are thistles.The top of the line is crabgrass.But no longer: It’s exam time.Look at them slinking away in disgrace!Don’t trust your neighbor,don’t confide in your friend.Watch your words,even with your spouse.Neighborhoods and families are falling to pieces.The closer they are—sons, daughters, in-laws—The worse they can be.Your own family is the enemy.* * *

14-17Shepherd, O God, your people with your staff,your dear and precious flock.Uniquely yours in a grove of trees,centered in lotus land.Let them graze in lush Bashanas in the old days in green Gilead.Reproduce the miracle-wondersof our exodus from Egypt.And the godless nations: Put them in their place—humiliated in their arrogance, speechless and clueless.Make them slink like snakes, crawl like cockroaches,come out of their holes from under their rocksAnd face our God.Fill them with holy fear and trembling.* * *

18-20Where is the god who can compare with you—wiping the slate clean of guilt,Turning a blind eye, a deaf ear,to the past sins of your purged and precious people?You don’t nurse your anger and don’t stay angry long,for mercy is your specialty. That’s what you love most.And compassion is on its way to us.You’ll stamp out our wrongdoing.You’ll sink our sinsto the bottom of the ocean.You’ll stay true to your word to Father Jacoband continue the compassion you showed Grandfather Abraham—Everything you promised our ancestorsfrom a long time ago.

17O God, God of Israel, let this all happen—confirm and establish it!

36-39When they sin against you—and they certainly will; there’s no one without sin!—and in anger you turn them over to the enemy and they are taken captive to the enemy’s land, whether far or near, but repent in the country of their captivity and pray with changed hearts in their exile, "We’ve sinned; we’ve done wrong; we’ve been most wicked," and turn back to you heart and soul in the land of the enemy who conquered them, and pray to you toward their homeland, the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you chose, and this Temple I have built to the honor of your Name,Listen from your home in heavento their prayers desperate and devout;Do what is best for them.Forgive your people who have sinned against you.

41,42Up, God, enjoy your new place of quiet repose,you and your mighty covenant Chest;Dress your priests up in salvation clothes,let your holy people celebrate goodness.And don’t, God, back out on your anointed ones,keep in mind the love promised to David your servant.

2"Keep my Sabbaths; treat my Sanctuary with reverence. I am God.

11-13"I’ll set up my residence in your neighborhood; I won’t avoid or shun you; I’ll stroll through your streets. I’ll be your God; you’ll be my people. I am God, your personal God who rescued you from Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I ripped off the harness of your slavery so that you can move about freely.

43-45"The land will be empty of them and enjoy its Sabbaths while they’re gone. They’ll pay for their sins because they refused my laws and treated my decrees with contempt. But in spite of their behavior, while they are among their enemies I won’t reject or abhor or destroy them completely. I won’t break my covenant with them: I am God, their God. For their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I, with all the nations watching, brought out of Egypt in order to be their God. I am God."

15All here want to be remembered to you. Say hello to our friends in the faith. Grace to all of you.

1-5Moses, man of God, blessed the People of Israel with this blessing before his death. He said,God came down from Sinai,he dawned from Seir upon them;He radiated light from Mount Paran,coming with ten thousand holy angelsAnd tongues of firestreaming from his right hand.Oh, how you love the people,all his holy ones are palmed in your left hand.They sit at your feet,honoring your teaching,The Revelation commanded by Moses,as the assembly of Jacob’s inheritance.Thus God became king in Jeshurunas the leaders and tribes of Israel gathered.

24,25Asher:"Asher, best blessed of the sons!May he be the favorite of his brothers,his feet massaged in oil.Safe behind iron-clad doors and gates,your strength like iron as long as you live."* * *

29Lucky Israel! Who has it as good as you?A people saved by God!The Shield who defends you,the Sword who brings triumph.Your enemies will come crawling on their belliesand you’ll march on their backs.

1-8Following this I saw another Angel descend from Heaven. His authority was immense, his glory flooded earth with brightness, his voice thunderous:Ruined, ruined, Great Babylon, ruined!A ghost town for demons is all that’s left!A garrison of carrion spirits,garrison of loathsome, carrion birds.All nations drank the wild wine of her whoring;kings of the earth went whoring with her;entrepreneurs made millions exploiting her.Just then I heard another shout out of Heaven:Get out, my people, as fast as you can,so you don’t get mixed up in her sins,so you don’t get caught in her doom.Her sins stink to high Heaven;God has remembered every evil she’s done.Give her back what she’s given,double what she’s doubled in her works,double the recipe in the cup she mixed;Bring her flaunting and wild waysto torment and tears.Because she gloated, "I’m queen over all,and no widow, never a tear on my face,"In one day, disasters will crush her—death, heartbreak, and famine—Then she’ll be burned by fire, because God,the Strong God who judges her,has had enough.

20"O Heaven, celebrate! And join in, saints, apostles, and prophets! God has judged her; every wrong you suffered from her has been judged."

21-24A strong Angel reached for a boulder—huge, like a millstone—and heaved it into the sea, saying,Heaved and sunk, the great city Babylon,sunk in the sea, not a sign of her ever again.Silent the music of harpists and singers—you’ll never hear flutes and trumpets again.Artisans of every kind—gone;you’ll never see their likes again.The voice of a millstone grinding falls dumb;you’ll never hear that sound again.The light from lamps, never again;never again laughter of bride and groom.Her traders robbed the whole earth blind,and by black-magic arts deceived the nations.The only thing left of Babylon is blood—the blood of saints and prophets,the murdered and the martyred.

6,7Don’t you realize it is God you are treating like this?This is crazy; don’t you have any sense of reverence?Isn’t this your father who created you,who made you and gave you a place on Earth?Read up on what happened before you were born;dig into the past, understand your roots.Ask your parents what it was like before you were born;ask the old-ones, they’ll tell you a thing or two.

39-42"Do you see it now? Do you see that I’m the one?Do you see that there’s no other god beside me?I bring death and I give life, I wound and I heal—there is no getting away from or around me!I raise my hand in solemn oath;I say, ‘I’m always around. By that very life I promise:When I sharpen my lightning swordand execute judgment,I take vengeance on my enemiesand pay back those who hate me.I’ll make my arrows drunk with blood,my sword will gorge itself on flesh,Feasting on slain and captive alike,the proud and vain enemy corpses.’"

43Celebrate, nations, join the praise of his people.He avenges the deaths of his servants,Pays back his enemies with vengeance,and cleanses his land for his people.

23-25"But even then an angel could come,a champion—there are thousands of them!—to take up your cause,A messenger who would mercifully intervene,canceling the death sentence with the words:‘I’ve come up with the ransom!’Before you know it, you’re healed,the very picture of health!

26-28"Or, you may fall on your knees and pray—to God’s delight!You’ll see God’s smile and celebrate,finding yourself set right with God.You’ll sing God’s praises to everyone you meet,testifying, ‘I messed up my life—and let me tell you, it wasn’t worth it.But God stepped in and saved me from certain death.I’m alive again! Once more I see the light!’

29,30"This is the way God works.Over and over againHe pulls our souls back from certain destructionso we’ll see the light—and live in the light!

19,20"Good people see bad people crash, and call for a celebration.Relieved, they crow,‘At last! Our enemies—wiped out.Everything they had and stood for is up in smoke!’

21-25"Give in to God, come to terms with himand everything will turn out just fine.Let him tell you what to do;take his words to heart.Come back to God Almightyand he’ll rebuild your life.Clean house of everything evil.Relax your grip on your moneyand abandon your gold-plated luxury.God Almighty will be your treasure,more wealth than you can imagine.

26-30"You’ll take delight in God, the Mighty One,and look to him joyfully, boldly.You’ll pray to him and he’ll listen;he’ll help you do what you’ve promised.You’ll decide what you want and it will happen;your life will be bathed in light.To those who feel low you’ll say, ‘Chin up! Be brave!’and God will save them.Yes, even the guilty will escape,escape through God’s grace in your life."

34Jesus said to her, "Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague."* * *