“salvation” is mentioned, tells a different story. Salvation is an ongoing gift, ever expanding through God’s grace and sovereignty, and one that we need to “wake up to” its reality. Our salvation is based on our relationship with the Father through Christ and with the Holy Spirit; it needs daily maintenance just like any other relationship.

Within our small minds we have some ideas about what heaven might be like. But what about heaven on earth right now? How do we find that peace daily? By following Jesus daily.

Salvation is about finding our authentic selves; we need to know about our created-ness so we can discover all of the gifts that were given to us by God in order to serve Him. When we do this, we become a “new creation” in Christ. Jesus wants us to turn the fullness of who we are over to Him so that we can better serve others. So in order to follow Him, we have to explore ourselves in honesty and truth, allowing Him to cut some here, and add there.

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” So, the key to all this is delighting ourselves in Him. Here are a few synonyms for “delight:” admire, adore, appreciate, be content, be pleased, cherish, dig, eat up, enjoy, feast on, glory in, groove on, indulge in, love, luxuriate in, relish, revel in, and savor.

OK, so I prefer “dig,” “feast on,” and “groove on.” Now we're getting somewhere. So how can we “groove on” God? Again by becoming more radically and truly the authentic selves that God created us to be. Our true identities are locked up in God’s very own heart. We came from Him and look forward to returning to Him. We can do this by making the right decisions a hundred times a day. By allowing our lives to become a perpetual prayer, rather than just giving Him a morning quiet time. We know that we are

In the past, I’ve viewed myself as Dad when I take my daughter to school. When I shoot assignments, I’m a “photographer.” When I have an hour alone with my wife, I’m a “husband.” And when I pray in the mornings, I’m a “Christian.” What God wants is a synthesis of these so that God’s love flows through every part of our lives into everything we are and do. When we delight in Him, we enable Him to work in our lives and infect all our relationships. It’s a simple matter of getting out of His way.

People sometimes ask me, “Are you saved?” I always reply, “YES!” And then I add, “I was once saved, I am in the process of being saved and I look forward to one day being saved.”