WORKING OUT YOUR SALVATION

Steve and I have a ritual that we started many years

ago while I was driving an hour to work and 

an hour home each day.  Since he had a flexible

schedule and we had always done morning devotions

while the kids were growing up, we decided to do 

them over the phone on my way to work. 

This morning Steve was a little later than usual 

calling, and I was praying about all the many things 

I have going on right now with working a full-

time job, being a musician at our church, 

keeping grandkids on the weekend, teaching 

piano on Monday's and several other things.  

I was pondering on the fact that I have not been

able to hang out with the ladies of my church 

and go to events and I seldom get to make 

it to the ladies bible studies.  As I was praying

about it, I had asked the Lord to help me get a 

better picture of what was the most important at 

this time in my life and that I would be willing to

focus on what that most important thing was.  

For some reason a picture of a mother nursing her 

child came to mind.  As I thought about the mother caring

for her child, I realized when a mother gives birth 

to a new born, normal life as it had been comes to a 

halt.  The mothers diet is affected by this child she begins 

to nurse and care for, the mothers sleep habits change, 

her adventurous activities are put on hold and all of her 

attention has turned to that small child.   

Not fully understanding why I was pondering on a mother 

taking care of her small child other than maybe because my

daughter in love had told me about a friend who gave birth to 

her second child and adapting to motherhood once again. 

About that time, Steve called and read the bible reading 

for the day.  As he was reading, the verses that stuck out 

to me was,"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have 

always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now 

much more n my absence, work out your own salvation 

with fear and trembling. For it is God which 

worketh in you both to will and to do 

of his good pleasure."

He continued to read the rest of the chapter and then
skipped over to the verses in II Peter that I posted below.  

When he finished he said, "What did you get 

out of those passages?'   My immediate response was, "I 

am not to do what I desire but what is most needful at

the present time and the most needful thing is to 

make sure that Thanh is nurtured and his
spiritual needs are met.  

You see, sometimes working out your salvation 

isn't doing what everybody else feels you should

be doing. It is doing what is most needful. 

What is most needful today may not be what is 

most needful a year from now. 

If I try to do the same thing I was doing a year

ago to work out my salvation, I would be 

making some huge mistakes and over looking

areas in my life that the Lord is wanting me to 

grow in and also to help someone else. 

The nursing mom has to change her 

diet drastically for her child so the food 

she intakes doesn't cause her infant to suffer

from stomach aches.  The same is true for us 

if we are mentoring a baby Christian.  The things

that we might normally do might cause the baby

Christian to stumble and fall.  We must choose

wisely how we work out our salvation during 

this process of assisting newborn believers. 

We need to make sure that we are doing as

II Peter says to add virtue and to virtue,

knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; 

and to temperance patience; and to patience 

godliness; And to godliness brotherly 

kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

I began to scratch my head and say, "Wow

that's a lot that I must do; just to assist a 

newborn in Christ."  The Lord ask, "Are you 

willing because just as you nurtured your

own children this baby in the Lord needs 

the same nurturing."  

As the newborn believer grows, we will be 

able to move away from them slowly so they 

connect with other believers who will assist

them in growing in new areas and the Lord will

be asking them to work out their own salvation 

with fear and trembling.  At which time we can 

step aside and fulfill our other rolls in life and watch

that new person grow as he teaches the person 

the things he knows about the Lord. 

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, 

not as in my presence only, but now much more 

in my absence, work out your own salvation with 

fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh 

in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons 

of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked 

and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as 

lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; 

that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have 

not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. Yea, and if 

I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your 

faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same 

cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.

Philippians 2:12-18

 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your 

faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge 

temperance; and to temperance patience; and to 

patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly 

kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

For if these things be in you, and abound, 

they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor 

unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

II Peter 2:5-8