Police Devotion 8-1-2017
“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;” (Psalm 51:12)
The Bible tells how to be saved and know it. It’s truly simple to know. A child can understand how to be saved. Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3) He didn’t mean that full-grown adults should act like little kids, He meant that just as little kids tend to trust what people tell them (which is why kids are told not to talk to strangers), and people should trust what God tells them in His Word about how to be saved.
The best thing that can ever happen to you is receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. It’s great to be able to look at Scriptures like Romans 10:13—“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” and say, “I did that! Jesus said He’d save whosoever would call on Him and I asked Him to save me, trusting Him to do so, so I’m saved, according to God’s Word!” The Bible not only tells us how to be saved, but also gives us words of assurance that once we have Jesus as Saviour, we’re saved.
Many people think you can’t be certain of heaven until you die, that is not true. God doesn’t want people to live their lives on pins and needles, hoping that they’ll make it. God made a way for people to be saved and know it. Jesus once said to a crowd, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) Now what if someone in the crowd asked Him, “But Lord, how can I be sure not to lose my soul?” And Jesus said, “There’s no way to know until you die.” The next question would surely have to be, “Then why warn us against losing our souls if there’s no way to be sure?” God doesn’t play head games. God wants people to have peace of mind knowing that heaven can be their home.
Jesus once told a group of His followers, “…rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20) So obviously they were headed for heaven. Knowing Jesus as your Saviour is the happiest thing that will ever happen to you. It is “…joy unspeakable and full of glory:” (1 Peter 1:8) Yet even though you can’t lose salvation, you can lose the joy of salvation, as our opening verse says.
King David had seduced the wife of one of his soldiers, then tried to cover up her pregnancy. When that didn’t work, he had her husband killed in battle and then he married her. Galatians 6:7 says, “…whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” David reaped plenty of heartache and grief for his sin. In Psalm 51:12, he asked God not to restore his salvation, but to restore the joy of it. So you can’t lose salvation, but you can lose the joy of salvation due to unconfessed sin. If you’ve received Jesus as your Saviour but you find yourself not very interested or joyful about the things of God, maybe the problem is unconfessed sin.
It doesn’t have to be blatant sin, t can be as simple as missing church, neglecting your Bible, or reading or watching or listening to things that pollute your mind. Don’t you get enough mind pollution on the job anyway? Cops also work crazy hours, work part-time to support families, and have goofy sleep schedules. The devil has ways to tempt you to be drawn away from fellowship with Christ. So please decide now, and ask the Lord to help you, to make time for the Lord with your Bible and prayer, and make time for church. Ask Him to help you prioritize your life, get closer to Him, and to restore to you the joy of your salvation.
If you’ve not seen in the Bible how to be sure of heaven, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links”, then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 8/1/2017
Cleveland Baptist Church | 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 | 216.671.2822