Welcome to Hank’s Place
I don’t mean to frighten you, but listen to these verses, which I have taken out of their context:
“… through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22.
“if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us” 2 Tim 2:12.
“For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” Heb 3:14.
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. …Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Rev 2:10.
Tribulations, endure, don’t deny, hold fast our confidence, being faithful unto death! Whoa! This Christian life sounds — impossible. If salvation depends upon us, then we are not saved by Grace but by performance.
These terrifying out of context verses I just are not frightful as you remember Jesus has overcome, Jesus has endured, Jesus has held fast. Jesus has won it, and we are in Him. In UNION with Him. We overcome because He has overcome. 1 Jn 4:4. Just depend on the OVERCOMER who lives in us. 1 Jn 5:4-5.
My friend, take encouragement from Eph 2, 1st 9 verses. First Paul says we were sinners; it was what we did, it was who we were. And picking up in the Message Bible, Paul goes on to say, “(But God) in mercy and with an incredible love, …embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, AND ALL HIS WORK. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! …we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.”
TODAY, you ARE an Overcomer. Jesus IS your salvation, even if you don’t feel it. Get on board with this GOOD NEWS—and COME ALIVE!
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