Merciful

There is one aspect of mercy that perhaps we do not always consider. Mercy in God's hands, and subsequently in ours, is not just an emotion of pity and compassion, or a gift of undeserved favor. It is also a creative power. In this week's Sabbath reading, which is titled Ki Teitze, meaning "When you go out", from Deuteronomy Chapters 20-25, one of the themes that keeps appearing throughout is the attitude and acts of mercy. It is no coincidence that this reading portion is assigned during the Hebrew month of Elul (see previous post titled "Transition"), also called the Month of Mercy and Forgiveness, when the Thirteen Attributes of Divine Mercy (Ex. 34:6-7) are prayed. From the Sabbath reading in Deuteronomy 24, the LORD commanded various merciful acts to be practiced by the children of Israel, keeping in mind the following: "But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing." (Deut. 24:18, 22). By stating this in this context, God connected the mighty and miraculous deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt to an act based upon His mercy. We, then, "when we go out" are to treat others with this same mercy, opening the door for God's miraculous creative power of deliverance. In the various examples given by God in the Sabbath reading, regardless of other considerations that might be in play, mercy was to be the first consideration. In another part of scripture where we read what is called the Thirteen Attributes of Divine Mercy, as God passed before Moses declaring His name, He spoke of His mercifulness twice saying, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful (rahum- merciful, compassion, pity, love, tender affection) and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy (keeping: nasar- preserve, keeper, watchmen, monuments, guard with fidelity, protect, maintain/mercy: hesed - mercy kindness, favor, show thyself merciful, bow the neck in courtesy; also includes reproach, wicked thing, put to shame) for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..." (Ex. 34:6-7). As we can see from the Hebrew words used in the above verses, not only does God show mercy, but He "keeps" it. He guards and protects it. He sets up monuments to serve as reminders of it. He appoints watchmen to keep a watch for it. We can also see from the Hebrew meaning for mercy, hesed, that in keeping mercy for some, the LORD must judge the wickedness of others. The LORD, in revealing His name to Moses above, also included, "by no means clearing the guilty..." (Ex. 34:7). God's mercy is present to those He is delivering, but to those who wickedly refuse and obstruct that deliverance, the ultimate rulership of His mercy requires that they be put to shame. Egypt found this out when they insistently resisted God's merciful deliverance of His people out of bondage. Egypt was not destroyed in judgment, but its opposition to the merciful will of God wss powerfully and painfully overcome by His judgments. In this Sabbath's haftarah reading from Proverbs 30, Solomon asked the question, "...Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you know?" (v. 4). Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, became the bodily form of God's mercy for us: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus..." (Eph. 2:4-6). Mary also proclaimed that the birth of her child, the Savior, comes out of God's mercy (Lk. 1:54-55). God's mercy towards Israel, and all men who were dying in sin, became a powerful creative work of salvation, overcoming all of the power of the world, sin, and death (Jn. 16:33). His mercy is not extended because we earn or deserve it. It is extended by God because we desperately need it, and that mercy is the only thing that can help us. We very much need this mercy of God today as we are faced with tumultuous events and dangers. Many times those who needed a miracle from Jesus approached Him crying out to Him as a Giver of mercy (Mt. 9:27, 15:22, 17:15, 20:30-31), and from His mercy the creative works of healing and deliverance did indeed pour forth. From this week's Sabbath reading comes an example of a powerful creative work that began in God's mercy. It is from the haftarah reading in Isaiah 54. The LORD's mercy is stirred on behalf of Israel, whom God describes as an unmarried woman with no children: "...a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit" (v. 6). From her place of desolation and childlessness, God said to Israel: "For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. He is called the God of the whole earth." (v. 5). The LORD continued, "...with great mercies I will gather you...with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you..." (v. 7-8). The LORD told Israel that she must enlarge her tent because the number of her children, though she was barren, would be very great, "and your descendants will inherit the nations..." (Isa. 54:1-3). This promise of the LORD comes after His prophecy in Isa. 53, the chapter describing the Servant who suffered and was killed for the sins of others. That Servant "shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities." (Isa. 53:11). How could Israel have imagined from the LORD's promise of mercy in Isaiah 54, that millions, even billions, of people over the centuries from all the nations of the world would become her spiritual children. While Israel might have imagined that this prophetic promise in Isaiah 54 was referring to future natural children, the mercy of God would produce an even greater miracle. Israel could never have imagined the powerful creative work that was done on behalf of her childless state. Most of those prophesied children, having found the knowledge and faith in El-elohe Israel, the God of Israel, came to that knowledge of Him through the sacrifice of His Son, the Messiah, Jesus. When we think of the mercy of God, do we understand the earthmoving creative power that it engenders? As the LORD commanded the children of Israel to remember His mercy in Deuteronomy 24, and to do likewise to those who needed it, Jesus also gave the same commandment. After His parable about the mercy that the Good Samaritan had shown to the wounded stranger, Jesus said to His listeners, "Go and do likewise." (Lk. 10:30-37). Mercy is not just about being "nice", or trying to "earn" spiritual credits with God. Mercy is about a foundational element in God's name, and the power of it that changes seemingly hopeless situations. May our thoughts, words, prayers, and actions towards others always incorporate the miraculous mercy of God. If you would like to learn more about the mercy of God, you can start with a prayer: "Heavenly Father, mercy is Your name. You sent Your Son, Jesus, to be mercy for me. While I was dead in my trespasses, I remember that Your mercy made me alive, and raised me up in Christ Jesus. Jesus sent another Comforter (Parakletos) to me, the Holy Spirit, Who joins God and His mercy to me. By this same Holy Spirit, help me to extend the mercy of God to others in need, that the God of Israel might move every circumstance in the power of His deliverance. I ask You this in Jesus' name. Amen."

Resurrection

We have entered the season of the resurrection of Jesus! There are several occasions in scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, when the dead were raised. However, the resurrection of Christ is different from these other events, which is why He is called the First Fruits of those who are raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20-23). Something extremely powerful in the spiritual realm was achieved by the singular event of the resurrection of Christ. We assume that the others who were raised from the dead in scripture went on to finish their natural lives on the earth. Christ, however, was a Door to the eternal through His resurrection. He said, "I am the door of the sheep...I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." (Jn. 10:7-9). Notice that Jesus said the sheep shall go both in and out. He is a two-way Door. Jesus showed this to His disciples after His death. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples at different times. On one occasion, although He could be physically touched (solid), and told His disciples that He was not a spirit, Jesus could mysteriously enter a room where doors and windows were shut (Jn. 20:19, 24-29). Jesus became the Door by which eternity and natural space and time existed in the same place. The Greek word anastasis is translated into the word "resurrection" in English. It means what we would expect: raising up, raising from the dead, raised to life again. The root word, anistemi, also includes the meaning: of those who leave a place to go elsewhere, of those who prepare themselves for a journey, to cause to be born, to cause to appear. It also means "to stand, as the foundation of a building". The most basic meaning of the Greek words used for "resurrection" here is "to uphold or sustain the authority or force of anything". Resurrection comes from a place of absolute authority and power. It was by this absolute authority and power, and even by God's glory, that Jesus was raised (Acts 2:22-24, 3:14-15, 4:10, Rom. 6:4, 1 Cor. 6:14). The only faiths that include resurrection as a doctrine are those that have an all-powerful Creator as their center. We associate resurrection with going to heaven, and this is a blessed destination for those in Christ. However, the goal of the authority, power, and glory of God does not end at heaven. The resurrection accomplished through Christ ultimately brings the eternal to the earthly realm. As we will see, I hope, the Resurrection is not just about where we will end up, but what we are to be now. This principle of the intermingling of eternity with the earthly realm is also found in this week's Sabbath reading portion. The title of the Sabbath reading is "Sh'mini", meaning the 8th. The 8th day in this case refers to the ending of Passover and the beginning of the 49 days until the next feast, which is Pentecost. The Jewish concept of the number 8, or 8th day, also means going beyond the measurement of natural time, which is represented by the seven days of creation, and into the eternal. In Lev. 9, Moses called the priests, Aaron and his sons, on the 8th day to begin offering sacrifices to "make atonement for yourself and for the people" because "...today the LORD will appear to you...the glory of the LORD will appear to you." (v. 4, 6-7, 23-24). This also serves as a prophetic picture of the sin offering, the grain offering and the peace offering, which was embodied in Christ, that allowed the presence and glory of the God of eternity to be seen by all men. It is also recorded in scripture that at the same moment of Christ's sacrifice, the separating veil in the temple was also torn, and allowed men to see into the Holy of Holies, containing the Mercy Seat, or the Throne of God (Mt. 27:51). Even after showing Himself before Israel on the 8th day, the LORD had to teach a necessary but sad lesson to the priests regarding His absolute authority. This is the same authority involved in the resurrection of Christ, and the melding of the eternal and the natural creation. Two of Aaron's sons decided to offer to the LORD burned incense from their priestly censers. However, the LORD called this offering a "profane (to be strange or foreign, as opposed to Jehovah) fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them." (Lev. 10:1). Aaron's two sons died that day when the LORD sent out fire and devoured them. The thing that made their offering offensive is that God had not instructed them to do it. Moses explained this shocking event to Aaron by relating what the LORD had told him: "By those who come near Me, I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people, I must be glorified." (v. 3). It was and is vital for the people of God to understand His absolute authority, and have complete confidence in it, because it would be by that same authority that God would bring about the resurrection of His Son and His Kingdom to the earth. His priests undermined that authority that day by doing something that God had not commanded them to do. How many times have we decided what we will do before the LORD, when He has not instructed us to do it? How many words have we spoken in His name that He never gave us to speak? This undermines His (resurrection) authority before the people. In another example, this time from this Sabbath's haftarah reading, David decided that he would build a temple for the LORD, because God should have a house instead of a tabernacle of tents (1 Chron. 17). David tells his idea to Nathan the prophet, who also thinks it is a wonderful and appropriate idea. God, however, has other ideas. Nathan, after having a dream, had to go back to David, and explain the LORD's thoughts: "Go and tell My servant David, Thus says the LORD: "You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another." (v. 4-5). God then, however, began to prophesy to David about the eternal throne and house to be inhabited by one from David's natural line (1 Chron. 17:11-15). Here again, there is promised an intermingling of the eternal with the natural or physical time and space of the earthly realm. This promise made by God to David was concerning the coming Messiah. In another haftarah Sabbath reading, Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that man has no satisfaction, no fulfillment, no completed purpose without the assurance, the knowledge and the experience of the eternal. Life without eternity is like "grasping for the wind...For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?" (Eccl. 6:9, 12). Solomon knew that there had to be an intermingling of the eternal with the natural for a man's life to be an effective life, a life of meaning. This Sabbath's reading, as well as dealing with the importance of "the 8th", is also dedicated to the re-birth of the nation of Israel in 1948. Because of this anniversary, this Sabbath is also called "Atzma-ut" in recognition of this event. The nation of Israel, as well as should be the case for all of the people of God, is a living testimony to the intermingling by God of the eternal and the natural. God showed this prophetic pattern to Moses, and commanded that it should be told to the priests and the people. On this special Sabbath of Atzma-ut, Isaiah 60 is read. Knowing now what we have discovered regarding the plan of God to intermingle His eternal realm with the earthly realm, as we read Isaiah, this becomes very apparent: "Arise (qum: to rise, be raised up, be established, to make binding), shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD has risen (zarah: arise, rise up, come forth, break out, shine, appear, irradiate-to shoot forth beams of light) upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise (again the use of zarah) over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising (zerah: dawning, shining, a rising of light)...Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy...They (those who come to these "risen" ones) shall ascend with acceptance on My altar, and I will glorify the house of My glory. Who are these who fly like a cloud, and like doves to their roosts?...I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations...You shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob...you shall call your walls Salvation (Yeshuah: the name Jesus), and your gates, Praise (tehillah: adoration, thanksgiving to God; root meaning: to shine, to flash forth light)...the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory...I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time." As we see in the prophecy of Isaiah, those who understand the full implications of the resurrection of Christ, and the opening of the Door into the eternal for those here on earth, will have tremendous impact even on those who are in thick natural and spiritual darkness, because of our qualities of eternal "light". Daniel also prophesied that those who know God will be "wise": "Those who are wise (sakal: understanding, wisely understand, have insight, to look at or behold (a figure, a likeness), to put his hands across) shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever (olam: perpetual time, time out of mind) and ever (ad: forever (of God's existence), also to put on (as an ornament)." (Dan. 12:3). This also is the plan of God which is fulfilled through the resurrection of His Son, and our understanding of all that the resurrection accomplished. The Living Door of resurrection, Jesus, not only opens the gates of heaven to us, but opens the gates of earth to heaven. Our Father, by His authority, power, and glory, has united eternity and earth by raising His Son, Jesus, from the dead. If you would like to know Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life, you can pray: "Lord Jesus, I believe that You died to cleanse me from my sin. I believe that You rose from the dead. I believe that You have opened the door of heaven for me, and made earth and eternity one, which is the Kingdom of God. Baptize me, Lord, in Your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, and teach me to be the radiating light of Your resurrection, and the eternity of God, even in the middle of darkness here on earth. I ask this in Your blessed Name, AMEN."

LOVE

We are all familiar with the topic of "Love", especially for those of us who are part of the Christian faith. We all believe that we have an understanding of what love entails. We know that God is love. We know that we are to love the LORD our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. We know that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus said that our love for each other identifies us as His disciples (Jn. 13:34-35). If we don't have love for our brethren, then we don't love God (1 Jn. 4:20-21). However, this love is not just for family, friends, and brethren of the faith, but it is to be shown to those who do no good to us, even those who are our enemies. This is the model set before us of God's love (Lk. 8:32-35). Proverbs 10:12 tells us that love covers all sins. The very precious salvation faith, which we all treasure, began in love: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (Jn. 3:16). The first item mentioned as the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love (Gal. 5:22). Paul wrote that all of the spiritual gifts, which we so highly value and desire to manifest in our lives, mean absolutely nothing without love. Then the apostle goes on to describe the character of love, which he called "a more excellent way" (1 Cor. 12:31 and 1 Cor. 13:1-13). We believe that we have an understanding of love already, and we seldom think that we have a need to examine it more deeply. We can see that love plays an enormous and defining role in the Gospel. However, I'm not sure that we really understand the spiritual power of love, and why it is so heavily emphasized in the Gospels and New Testament teachings. In order to take a different look at the subject of love, I would like to refer to the Torah and haftarah portions of scripture that have been assigned for this Sabbath. We begin with the portion from Gen. 23. It is titled, "Chayai (meaning: living, revive, restore to life, remain alive) Sarah". In English, this would be "The Life of Sarah". The odd thing about this portion is that instead of dealing with Sarah's life, it begins with her death, and Abraham's efforts to find her a burial place. Isn't it odd for it to be called "The Life of Sarah"? This gets my attention right away. There is a mystery here that makes me want to look into it. Sarah died at Kirjatharba. This Hebrew word and its roots mean "to lay beams/flooring of a building; to be 4-sided, to be quadrate, four-square; to encounter, to chance to meet; stretch out, repose, lie down". It was later known as Hebron, which means "joining, association; fellowship, to unite, to couple together". To me, all of these meanings are very significant, because they bring the Gospel to mind. At his wife's death, Abraham wept and mourned (to beat the breast, to wail, to weep over). Then "Abraham stood up from before his dead" (v. 3). "Stood up" means: arise, to establish, to become powerful. What was Abraham about to extablish in power out of his love for Sarah? Abraham approached a local tribe of people called the sons of Heth (terror, broken to pieces, go down, terrify, shattered, dismay, break down by confusion and fear, violence). He says to these people, "I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight." (v. 4). These sons of Heth address Abraham as " mighty prince among us" or "prince of God", and offer to give him burial land for free. Abraham insists on paying for the land. Abraham then asks them to speak to Ephron (fawn-like, a calf, a goat, to be dust, powder) the Hittite (descendant of Heth; fear, terror), the son of Zohar (whiteness, to dazzle (so similar to the meaning of Lucifer: light-bearer, shining one, morning star, brightness), who owns a cave in Machpelah (double portion). Ephron also offers to give the land, valued at 400 shekels of silver, to Abraham, but Abraham again insists on buying it. The land was then deeded to Abraham for a possession before witnesses (v. 17-18). The meaning of the phrase "deeded...for a possession" in Hebrew includes: confirm, accomplish, arise, acquisition, bought, purchase, possession, price, something bought, redeemed, recover, create, as God creating and redeeming His people, to erect, to found, of acquiring knowledge, wisdom. To me, from the meanings of the words used in this passage, Abraham, out of his great love for Sarah, separated out, or redeemed a possession from the place of the dead, a place of demonic torment/destruction. He redeemed it to establish a specific place for his beloved wife in death. I believe this spiritual place separated out of a hopeless death, which was established out of love, is the same place tht became known as "Abraham's Bosom". This is the place that Christ referred to in Lk. 16:22 of one who was "carried by the angels into Abraham's Bosom (meaning the upper chest part of a garment used for keeping and carrying things as in a fold, or pocket. "Bosom" also refers to one who so reclines at table that his head covers the bosom of the one next to him. And, of course, the bosom is the dwelling place of the heart. "Abraham's Bosom" in Christ's parable was not the place of torment for the dead. It was the place where those who were righteous, having died believing the prophesied promise of the Messiah to come, were kept in death before the resurrection of Christ. This is not really about Abraham's Bosom, though, but rather about a redemptive, creative spiritual work that came out of the kind of love that defines God, that Christ taught, that the Apostle Paul wrote about, that Abraham had for Sarah. The kind of love that we only think we already know about. The haftaraah portion for this Sabbath comes from Proverbs 1. We saw above, in the phrase "deeded... for a possession", the meaning in part: acquiring knowledge, wisdom. In Prov. 1, wisdom is crying out, raising her voice, at every possible place for people to listen to her counsel. Wisdom is saying here, "I have stretched out my hand...I have called"..."I will pour out my spirit on you" (v. 23-24). For those who ignore wisdom, calamity, terror, destruction, distress, and anguish, will come upon them (v. 26-27). For those who ignore wisdom, a separation from wisdom develops that cannot be remedied. They will then call on wisdom, but will not be able to receive an answer..."Because they hated knowledge..." (v. 28-29). The passage ends with, "But whoever listens to me will dwell (settle down, to abide, continue, lie down, sleep, rest) safely (assurance, hope, without danger and fear, to set one's hope and confidence upon), and will be secure (at ease, rest, be at peace), without fear (dread, terror, a causer of terror) of evil (wickedness, affliction, malignant, broken in pieces, punishment)." (v. 33). What would drive wisdom to cry out so, to reach out continually in Proverbs 1, but love? It is not spoken of as such, but this is the voice of love. The creation of a place of safety, and the rescue from terror is a work of love. Later, in Proverbs 8, wisdom reveals "...and my delights (meaning includes to dandle or bounce a baby up and down in an affectionate way) were with the sons of men", and who also says, "I love those who love me...". "Love", as the scriptures speak of it, as this Sabbath's portion demonstrates it, means more than the commonly held idea. Love creates redemptive works through those who know it and practice it. Perhaps we need to take a serious look at how we view love. Are we thinking of it as the world does, or are we viewing it as God views it, and creates through it? Our Father has called us to walk in love. May the Lord help us to walk in the knowledge of the creative, redemptive power of love. If you would like to receive the truth of Jesus as Lord, and as your salvation, believe and confess: Lord Jesus, You have redeemed me, and called me by name. I believe that You died for me through love, and were raised from the dead so that I may have everlasting life in You. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and His fruit, which includes the same kind of love. Be Lord of my life, and teach me to walk in truth, knowledge and wisdom. By Your love, You have reconciled me to the Father, Who IS love. I give you thanks, and come to you in Your holy name. Amen.

Uttermost

I don't know about everyone else, but I didn't seek salvation. Salvation sought me. Salvation coaxed me along, drawing me with things that He (Salvation is a person named Jesus) knew I couldn't resist. Salvation knew me before I was even born (Ps. 139:13), and He knew what made me "tick". He used that knowledge to attract me, and to pull me to the place where He wanted me, to the place where He was waiting to finally reveal Himself to me. He didn't force me to salvation against my will, but He made the revealing so compelling, that I could not deny what was happening to me.
Salvation is not limited to a heavenly destination after death, but it is a process of transformation begun here on earth. The fullness of this transformation is the image, likeness and stature of Christ formed in each of us. It is a life-long process of "becoming" (Rom. 12:1-2). The Hebrew meaning of salvation is "save, victory, health, welfare, deliverance, prosperity, aid, preserve, defend, rescue, ample, opulent, liberty". It is also Jesus' Hebrew name.
Salvation is not a religious decision of a person, but it is a sovereign work and power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Rom. 1:16, 1 Pet. 1:3-5, Rev. 12:10, Rev. 19:1). All of Their great power is directed towards salvation:
Who is this that cometh...that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save."  Isa. 63:1
"Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy (heavy, hardened, insensible, dull), that it cannot hear..."  Isa. 59:1
"O God the LORD, the strength (power, might, force, prevailing) of my salvation..." Ps. 140:7
"...Now salvation and strength, and the kingdom of God, and the power of His Christ have come..."  Rev. 12:10
Before our Father even created the earth, He and His Son made the provision for our salvation (Rev. 13:8). It was His provision and plan for us before the beginning.
As you can see, salvation is not a weak thing. It does not come out of weakness, and it does not create weakness, but it is the great power and strength of God Himself.
The authority behind salvation is the authority of our Creator, whose authority is unchallengeable:
"My sheep hear My voice, and I (Jesus) know them, and they follow Me; And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them (to) Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand."   Jn. 10:27-29
There is no other authority in heaven or on earth that can countermand the authority with which God commands forth His salvation. There is no situation or circumstance, no distance or time, that is beyond Christ's ability to save:
"Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost (entirety, completely, perfectly, to the end, purpose, aim) that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them."  Heb. 7:25
Even those held captive in death before the manifestation of the Savior in the flesh and His work on the Cross, were not beyond Christ's ability to save:
"Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity (prisoner, taken away, precious stone of the priest's breastplate) captive, and gave gifts to men." (Now this, "He ascended"- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?)"  Eph. 4:8-9 (Ps. 68:18)
"...by whom (the Spirit) also He (Jesus) went and preached to the spirits in prison."  1 Pet. 3:19
Even though it comes from the deepest part of the nature of God, which is His love (Jn. 3:16-17), and is the foundation of His plan and all of His will (Jer. 29:11), and is a miraculous mystery that can hardly be comprehended (1 Pet. 1:12), salvation does not require a complex religious ritual. Our Father makes it very easy:
"...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."   Rom. 10:9
Even just the hearing of Jesus' salvation (Rom. 10:14), creates the basic but powerful belief needed to save, mentioned above in Rom. 10:9.
Scripture assures us that His power of salvation can be accomplished in the greatest simplicity:
"For whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  Rom. 10:13, Joel 2:32
Another example of the ability of Jesus to save simply is shown in His statement:
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."  Rev. 3:20
Just the opening of a door. That is all a person has to do, and Jesus will handle the rest.
As much as we desire for others to receive salvation, Jesus desires it even more. Our heavenly Father gave everything, even His most Beloved, in order to make the way for His greatest power- the power of salvation.
If your heart is heavy with concern for the salvation of your loved ones, be encouraged. Let your heart know that Jesus hears your prayers, they are His prayers as well, and He is an expert at salvation. He will not fail. Remember how He led you to find Him. Remember how He saved you.
If you do not understand salvation, and have never experienced it, you can see that all you have to do is open the door of possibility to Him, and He will graciously deal with you personally, regardless of your circumstances, revealing Himself to you and teaching you all that you need to know- and the most incredible journey of your life will begin.

Our Father's plan is to save to the uttermost.

"One Thing Remains"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_KXsMCJgBQ