Category Archives: Forgiveness and Salvation

Krystal R Simpson helps us find forgiveness and salvation from God as we learn to live joyfully in humble submission to God’s will and plan for our lives.

How to Pray for Forgiveness and Salvation

Posted by Live Joyfully, Forgiveness and Salvation 7 Comments
How to Pray for Forgiveness and Salvation

Do you know how to pray for forgiveness and salvation? For many people, receiving forgiveness and salvation as a Christian can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. There are simple steps that the enemy wants us to think are too complex or too complicated to understand. This post will explain how to receive the forgiveness and salvation that Jesus died to give you.

How to pray for forgiveness and salvation

Sometimes, we can find ourselves stuck in a cycle of guilt and shame, feeling unworthy of God’s grace. The enemy wants us to remain confused, and he does not want us to understand how to use prayer to gain the forgiveness and salvation we seek. In this post, let’s learn the importance and power of expressing repentance in prayer to find proper redemption. You don’t have to feel alone or powerless in this journey anymore. You can use prayer as your weapon to gain true solace and peace with God.

The Importance of Forgiveness and Salvation

As Christians, our ability to be called a child of God starts with requesting and receiving His forgiveness and salvation. Salvation is available to all who ask for it. Salvation refers to being saved or rescued from harm, danger, or spiritual death. In Christianity, it refers to the deliverance of a person’s soul from sin and its consequences. Unfortunately, sometimes, we put off getting the right relationship with God until tragedy strikes.

When something like this happens, it shakes us and makes us look seriously at our lives and our beliefs about eternity. Recently, a young adult passed away unexpectedly, and the community as a whole was affected. In the face of such tragedy, we recognize our need for forgiveness and salvation, guaranteeing our eternity with God.

Believe in the Lord for forgiveness and salvation

God’s promises, including eternal life, apply to those who have been forgiven and have accepted the gift of salvation. There are no guarantees that we will all get to live until we are 100. We do not know when the Lord will call us home, but being “saved” makes us a child of God and ensures we can spend eternity with Him after taking our last breath on Earth.

The enemy will try to convince us that we are not worthy or that the process is too complex. We cannot listen to him. Becoming a child of God starts by asking for forgiveness and salvation. After that, we can freely receive God’s joy and peace.

The Importance of Faith in Forgiveness and Salvation

Being forgiven begins with recognizing our need to apologize, which in the Bible is called “repenting.” Apologizing to God happens when we pray a prayer of salvation or a “sinner’s prayer.” This prayer expresses to God that we understand our need for Him. The sinner’s prayer also reinforces that we believe Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are why we have the offer of salvation. 

Forgiveness-by-confessing-our-sins

The truth is the only way to know that we are right with God is to ask for forgiveness. In God’s eyes, no sin is considered worse than the other. Thankfully, He will forgive every sin when we repent. We can not be afraid to apologize for everything.

It is not always easy to apologize. Admitting that we did something wrong can be uncomfortable. It is much easier to excuse ourselves by saying things like, “Everyone else is doing it” or “It’s not that bad.” We cannot make excuses for sin, and no one has to tell us whether we have sinned, broken a commandment, or made a wrong choice; our conscience tells us.

 After Receiving Forgiveness and Salvation

What needs to be adequately understood is that salvation is not just a one-time event but an ongoing journey. Salvation is a process that begins when we repent and accept Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. As we pray a prayer and ask Jesus to become our Lord and Savior, we begin a life of change and growth that leads us to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Salvation is not a one time event

After apologizing, we want God to lead and show us how to live His way. When we judge ourselves, we will feel sorry for our actions, and we should have the desire to change. God wants us to recognize that we need His help. We cannot fix ourselves; we need a Saviour to help get our lives right. All God wants is that we first demonstrate a desire to change.

We will never be perfect and must constantly ask God for forgiveness when we falter. God loves us and wants us to feel the love and joy of knowing we are His. By faithfully understanding God’s plan, it is possible to find the peace and understanding of God’s love that our spirit so deeply desires. It is possible to know where we will spend eternity.

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Romans 10:8-10 ESV

Ways the Enemy Tries To Stop Prayers of Forgiveness and Salvation 

The enemy tries to stop prayers of forgiveness and salvation because until you become a child of God, you aren’t one. One trick the enemy uses is to convince us that we can wait until later to choose Jesus. He also tries to convince us that we can be good and do right without being saved.

Some friends and family members believe they have time to clean up their act before coming to God. Perhaps they struggle with addictions or sins, and that causes them to feel guilty. They want to try to quit the habit or fix their issues first. The enemy wants to keep them from God’s saving grace, and he convincingly tells them to wait. Waiting is what the enemy wants.

God wants us to come as we are and give Him all the broken pieces. He will help us get on the right road. The Bible says we can experience forgiveness and salvation if we confess and believe. We are not all promised a long life on this Earth, and we do not know when our time will end, but eternity with God awaits if we start with this step now.

A Simple Prayer for Forgiveness and Salvation

Let’s pray a simple prayer for forgiveness and salvation. First, we will recognize our need for salvation, and then, the Bible says we must confess and believe that Jesus rose from the grave as our Savior, and we will be saved. Salvation is a gift that we must want to receive. This prayer for forgiveness and salvation proclaims by faith that Jesus is Lord and was raised from the dead. Let’s pray today!

A Simple Prayer for forgiveness and salvation

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What To Do When We Are Guilty As Charged

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What To Do When We Are Guilty As Charged

How do we handle being guilty? I believe that God gave me this topic to write about this week because He wants us to understand His view of this critical concept.

What to do when we are guilty as charged

First of all, what is guilt? Dictionary.com explains that guilt occurs when we commit an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, especially against moral or penal law. Additionally, guilt is a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc., whether real or imagined. 

So, in essence, we can be guilty and feel guilty. We will deal with both in this post, but let’s ensure we understand that this post is for everyone. The Bible tells us that we all make mistakes and sin, so we have all been and felt guilty. Only one lived on Earth without sin, and that is our Savior, Jesus Christ. God wants us to know what to do when we’re guilty as charged. 

Romans 3:23 KJV

The Bible contains stories to help illustrate what God wants from us. We can use a familiar story of David and Bathsheba, which is found in 2 Samuel chapters 11 through 12, to demonstrate guilt. In this story, David wrongfully sleeps with Uriah’s wife, and she becomes pregnant. Uriah is a soldier fighting in battle, so David sends for him, hoping that he will spend time with his wife, but Uriah is too committed to the fight and doesn’t go home. Next, David resorts to sending Uriah into battle and placing him on the front line, where Uriah dies. After Uriah’s death, David marries Bathsheba, and the prophet Nathan visits David because what David did displeased God.

When the prophet visits, he tells David a story about a rich man who took a poor man’s only lamb. In hearing the story, David did not initially realize the prophet talked about him taking Uriah’s wife. When the prophet told David that he was the rich man in the story, David admitted that he was guilty of sin against God and repented.

The Wrong Way To Handle Being Guilty

John 3:17 KJV

Unfortunately, the enemy will try to convince us to deal with guilt wrongfully. The enemy does not want us to confess or repent. He wants to condemn us and prevent us from finding forgiveness, grace, or mercy. The enemy wants our guilt to separate us from God, but God wants to forgive us and help us do better. We must watch out for the three ways that the enemy wants us to deal with guilt wrongfully:

  • by lying
  • by letting someone else take the blame
  • by excusing the wrongdoing

Don’t Deal With Being Guilty By Lying

As parents, when our children make mistakes, we watch how they handle guilt and realize that we all have an innate desire to deal with guilt incorrectly. Sometimes, our children choose to deal with wrongdoings by lying, but I think we have all been guilty of lying.

Even when we feel terrible about what we have done, we may hide behind a lie and deny our guilt rather than confess our wrongdoings. Similarly, sometimes we may admit our wrong, but we may lie about whether we knew it was wrong.

Don’t Deal With Being Guilty By Letting Someone Else Take The Blame

Sometimes, we may do something wrong and allow someone else to take the blame. For example, we wrongfully do this if we break something accidentally but walk away only to let the next person deal with it. We avoid confessing our actions and unfairly try to cover up our wrongdoing, hoping that no one sees our error, but we must know that God sees all.

Walk Upright

Don’t Deal With Being Guilty By Excusing Actions.

Similar to lying, sometimes, we wrongfully deal with guilt by excusing our actions. For example, we may condone taking copy paper or supplies at our job by saying that no one will miss it since there is so much. Worse yet, we justify the wrongdoing by explaining the boss does not pay us enough anyway.

In our relationships, we may repay a wrong with a wrong and justify that the other person had it coming. Additionally, rather than confess that we have hurt someone else, we may excuse our actions by telling the other person they are just too sensitive. We must be careful when justifying our actions rather than admitting a mistake or wrong choice.

Repent and Deal with Being Guilty God’s Way

To David, God sent the prophet Nathan to convict him by bringing the mistake to his attention. Feelings of guilt or conviction help us to become aware of our mistakes. These feelings are not to hurt us but to alert us that we must rectify our wrongdoing. It’s not God’s purpose to condemn us; he desires to take away our sins, to keep us from sin, and to save us through Jesus Christ. When we realize that we have done something wrong, we should be quick to ask for forgiveness and repent as David did.

1 John 1:18 KJV

The first thing we must do to deal with guilt in God’s way is to confess that sometimes we make mistakes. Our Heavenly Father loves us, and he will allow us to be convicted of our sins so that we can repent. He wants to forgive us, but we must be willing to admit and confess our faults. If we could live this life without making mistakes, we would not need a Savior. God knows we can’t live this life correctly without sin, so He sent Jesus. We must trust and allow Him to help us.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

Christians do not have to live this life trying to convince others that we are innocent. We must live this life forgiven. We strive to do the right thing but must be humble enough to be convicted and corrected when mistakes occur. When we feel convicted of wrongdoing, we need to activate our faith and believe through confession, repentance, and forgiveness that the blood of Jesus washes us clean and helps us do better.

A Prayer To Help Us Deal With Guilt God’s Way

Sometimes, our errors have consequences, but God is faithful to forgive and restore those who repent. The first child born to David and Bathsheba died, but God was faithful in allowing David to have another son, Solomon, who was blessed to be the wisest king ever to live. No matter what we have done, God promises that nothing can separate us from His love. His forgiveness and help await all those who ask. Let’s pray to ask God to help us deal with guilt His way.

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A Prayer to help us deal with guilt Gods way

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Has God Changed Your Name?

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Has God Changed Your Name?

When a baby is born, parents often search in books or on computer websites for name ideas. Choosing a baby’s name usually takes a while, but when parents decide on a name, they can explain where the name originated and the reason for their choice.

Some parents, like mine, wait until they meet their baby to choose a name. My parents tell me that they decided to name me Krystal after my birth, based on my eyes. My mother recanted that my eyes were like crystals, which prompted her to choose my name, but she wanted a distinct spelling.

Has God Changed Your Name?

Often, parents choose names that “sound good,” or they don’t want a name because they knew someone with that name, and perhaps that person did not have a good reputation. It is fun to look up the Biblical meaning of a name on the computer. According to my internet search, Krystal means “Follower of Christ,” and Rene’ signifies “born again.”

In the Bible days, choosing names was very important. Sometimes, God told parents to name their child a specific name as He did with John the Baptist (Luke 1:13 KJV) and Jesus. There are also several examples in the Bible when God changed a person’s birth name later in life. The name change from God altered the person’s destiny and life trajectory.

God Changed Names in the Bible

God changed Abram to Abraham when he was 99 years old. He simultaneously changed Abram’s wife’s name from Sarai to Sarah (Genesis 17). God promised that they would have a baby in the next year and that Abraham would be the “father of nations” and Sarah would be the “mother of nations.”

Abram to Abraham Genesis 17:5 ESV

Later in Genesis, there is a story of Jacob, who was born as the youngest twin, with his brother Esau being the oldest. The Bible states that Jacob grasped Esau’s heel when the twins were born. Jacob’s name indicates that he was following behind and on Esau’s heel. His name also means “supplanter,” someone who purposefully takes over or takes someone else’s place. In Jacob’s case, he was very skilled at using trickery to get what he wanted. One of the things he wanted was to be considered the firstborn.

The firstborn child was supposed to inherit the birthright blessings, and Jacob was determined to take it from Esau. In Genesis, Jacob convinced Esau to exchange the birthright for a food bowl. Jacob spends his life as a trickster. He deceived his father, brother, and Uncle until he ultimately had a name-changing experience with God. After wrestling all night, God changed Jacob’s name to Isreal.

no longer be Jacob Genesis 32:28 ESV

There is Power in a Name Change

Names are spoken to us several times a day and an innumerable number of times throughout our lives. Names are words, and spoken words have power. Whatever we decide to call our children, whether a name or nickname, should be chosen with care and with the child’s future and destiny in mind.

Proverbs 22:1 ESV

Sometimes, we have nicknames given to us when we were younger that are different from our names. Nicknames can be given based on personalities, actions, talents, or other characteristics. As adults, childhood nicknames may no longer be appropriate and can lead to embarrassment or humiliation later in life. We should think of the unintended consequences of nicknames for our children. It is important to have a good name.

Sometimes, our decisions and our path in adulthood can cause us to be “labeled” with unpleasant names. Being labeled “thief, murderer, liar, cheater,” or other unpleasantries is prevalent in our society.

We must not allow others to label us and change our names. God says we are more than a conqueror. He says we are well-able, strong, wise, and blessed. Sometimes, it can be hard for others to see us as God sees us, especially if we have suffered a public misstep. God can give us a new name and set our lives on a better trajectory. We must walk in the light of His love. All we need to do is come to Him by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

God’s Name Change

In the book of Revelations, which is the last book of the Bible, God promises to give us a new name. God wants to exchange our life for a better one, and we can have it when we accept, believe, and confess His son Jesus.

White stone Revelations 2:17 ESV

As we live this life right now, God wants us to know that He does not call us by the names that the “world” calls us. If we receive the gift of salvation given to us by faith and trust in His son, Jesus, then we have a right to be called new names such as a friend, beloved, renewed, children, and royalty.

Names that God calls me

We can rise above the names and labels of our past when we accept the grace and forgiveness that the life, burial, and resurrection of Jesus offers. The most notable name that God can call us is “forgiven” and “Christian.” When He calls me a Christian, He is giving me His name.

As Christians, we must refuse to carry the shame and condemnation that the enemy brings and remind him that our past is now under the blood of Jesus Christ. We must believe that God accepts us. Jesus washed away our sins, and despite our failures, He gave us His holiness and forgiveness. The Apostle Paul explained that we all have to strive toward the future as followers of Christ.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3: 13-14 NIV

A Christian’s Simple Prayer Of Thanks

Our Heavenly Father waits to give each of us a new name. He wants to call us “forgiven” and “Christian,” but he wants to give each of us a distinct new name one day. As Christians, when we take the name of Christ, He gives us His righteousness and lives in our hearts. Let’s bow our heads in prayer to thank God for changing our names and blessing us.

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A Christian's simple prayer of thanks

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What Does God Really Want From Us?

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We all want to know what God wants from us. Does He want us to do certain things? Is it enough to have faith in Him? Does He have expectations of us? These are common questions that have been asked since the dawn of time, and this article will provide valuable insight into understanding God’s true desires for us. This post will give a fresh perspective on what God truly wants from us.

I pray about what to write each week and ask God to help me write my posts. Today, the message seems so essential. What does God want from us? The answer is so simple that it brings me to my knees, hoping I can accurately relay God’s heart the way He revealed it to me.

What Does God Really Want From Us??

The enemy tries to convince us that being a Christian is difficult. He tries to convince us that his defiant way is better and more fun. As a youngster, the enemy successfully convinced me that there were too many rules to being a Christian. I remember feeling like there were too many things that I could not do. I now know that the enemy was causing me to focus on what I should not do so that he could tempt me. The enemy knows we can all be like little rebellious children.

What Does God Really Want From Us? 2

The enemy tries to get us to go against what God asks, and he has been running this scam since the Garden of Eden. The truth is that God created Adam and Eve (Genesis 1-3). He wanted them to replenish the earth and have dominion over the fish, fowl, cattle, and the land. God enjoyed a good relationship with Adam and Eve until they allowed the serpent to convince them to disobey the only rule that God gave them, which was not to eat the fruit of the one tree that God said not to touch.

Despite God’s provisions, the enemy could take the one thing God asked Adam and Eve not to do and make it seem irresistible. When Adam and Eve disobeyed, they lost their closeness with God, and their relationship was now different because of sin.

So, what does God really want from us? God wants our obedience and trust. He loves us and wants a loving relationship with us as our God. He wants to be our Father, but He gives us the ability to choose. When we decide to do things our way or listen to the enemy, we essentially say “no thanks” to God’s offer.

What Does God Really Want to Be to Us?

If we decide to live by our own rules, we stop God from being our leader, savior, provider, protector, and counselor. See, the question is not what God wants from us, but what God wants to be to us, and will we accept it? God wants us to be His children. He wants to adopt each of us into His family. As his children, he wants to give us a better life, eternal life.

When we think of our children, we want to protect them from harm. We love them and do not want them to experience unnecessary hurt. We want them to come to us when they need something, be it provision, protection, or counseling. As parents, we would not expect our children to look to someone else, especially not the enemy, right?

What Does God Really Want From Us? 3

To be His child, we must accept the gift of salvation by Jesus’ sacrifice. When we take God as our Father, we can have all the benefits of being a member of His family, but we must choose. As children, we may make mistakes; when that happens, we need to ask our Father for forgiveness.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 ESV

What Does God Want to Give Us?

As our loving Father, God has beautiful plans for us and does not want us to miss out. God wants to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). He also wants to provide us with eternal life in a place that Jesus is preparing for us.

What Does God Really Want From Us? Scripture 1 Corinthians 2:9

The Bible calls all who believe in Jesus the Bride of Christ. While Jesus is away preparing a place for us, we must be faithful to the relationship. He should find us ready to go with Him to our heavenly home when He returns.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

John 14:2-3

God loves us so much that He made a way (Jesus) for us to spend eternal life with Him, but He has given us a choice to decide if we want that. We must accept the gift of salvation by faith in Jesus. We must allow God to help us. What God wants most is a loving relationship with his children.

We demonstrate love when we trust, obey, and accept His Son. Although the enemy wants to convince us that being a Christian is difficult, God wants us to know that choosing to be led to eternal life lead is much easier than listening to an enemy who is trying to lead us to destruction.

A Prayer For When We Have Gotten Off Track With God

Sometimes, we get off-track, and like Eve, we believe the lies the enemy tells us. We sometimes rely more on our thoughts or are led astray by false promises. Thankfully, God understands and welcomes us back with loving arms when we ask. Let’s pray for restoration to our rightful place in God.

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Understanding the Gift of Salvation

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Understanding the Gift of Salvation

I have recently started reading the entire Bible in one year. It’s interesting that humans tend to want to know everything, yet we struggle with obedience. Reading the story of Adam and Eve, I realized that we might have made the same mistake if we had been in their place. However, I am grateful that God is willing to save us. But my question is, what does it mean to be saved? As Christians, it’s essential to understand the gift of salvation and what it truly means.

Understanding the Gift Of Salvation

Salvation is a concept that the enemy doesn’t want us to understand, and he does not want us to explain to others. I believe God wants all Christians to explain salvation clearly to as many people as possible because it is a gift God wants us to have. Others can not accept this precious gift without understanding the gift of salvation. Most of us avoid explaining salvation to others; the enemy knows it. The enemy convinces us that someone else is the “expert.”

Luke 6:40

As I write this post, I must tell you I have to stop and pray because the enemy is very busy and does not want me to feel comfortable writing these words about salvation. It is easy to think that someone with more authority in the church should explain this idea, but God is challenging me and all of us to share what we have learned about salvation with a world that may not know anything. Sharing what you know may encourage others to attend a church where they can learn more. It may help them to pick up their own Bible. We should all be willing to do anything to point others to Jesus.

What Does it Mean to Accept the Gift of Salvation?

When sin entered the world, it separated us from having a relationship with our Holy God. As a result, we all were born into sin, and no matter how hard we try, we sin against God. We can not “be good” or avoid sin on our own.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Romans 5:12 ESV
For the wages of sin is death Scripture

The word “salvation” is synonymous with “redeemed,” “justified,” and “forgiven.” God knew that we were in a hopeless condition, and because He loves us, He sent a way to save us from the death our sin requires. God sent a gift of salvation, which is His son Jesus. Jesus died in our place and created a way for us to have a relationship with God. All we must do is accept the precious gift, and we will be redeemed, justified, and forgiven. It is that easy.

The enemy wants us to believe that salvation is hard. He wants us to think that this gift requires something difficult. The enemy also wants us to feel that we are too far gone, or maybe we should wait. Each of us has to decide to accept Jesus as our Savior. It is a personal decision made individually.

Salvation a cross in the cloud

The Bible teaches that to receive the gift of salvation, we must confess Jesus with our mouths and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead. Whatever our issues or hangups are, God wants to help. He understands and wants to save us from our sins. Jesus died for all of us!

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:9 KJV

A Prayer For Salvation

When we pray, we should always speak from our hearts. God knows if we mean what we are saying. He understands that we may think we do not know how to pray. Below is a prayer for salvation. Say it aloud, believing, or say something like this, and you will be saved!

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A Prayer for Salvation

I Accept the Gift of Salvation. What Are The Next Steps?

After accepting Jesus and getting saved, celebrate and share your decision with others. The angels are rejoicing in heaven for you. Share your choice for salvation with other believers who will want to welcome you into God’s family. After that, I would recommend the three following steps. Be careful about believing that any of these are optional. 

  1. Pray regularly, asking God to teach, lead, and guide you so that you learn how to live for Him. Prayer is how we communicate with God, and we want to open our hearts to Him and allow Him to help us in every area of our lives.
  2. Going to a loving, Bible-preaching local church is essential to continue learning more about God, Jesus, and what the Bible says. You should be willing to attend a local church to bring your gifts and talents to the church. You will be an encouragement to others, and you will be learning alongside a church family.
  3. Get baptized according to Bible teaching. Some feel that baptism is not necessary. I am not sure why because baptism is biblical. Being lowered into the water symbolizes that our old life is buried. When we rise out of the water, it represents Jesus’ resurrection and that we have been given a new life in Christ.
I confess and believe girl praying

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