Morning by Morning, March 16 - Never Neglecting So Great a Salvation
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of all I am and all I do this day. ...
"This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might, when He comes to be glorified by His saints and to be marveled at on that day among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of His call and will fulfill by His power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 1:5-12).
We must behold both the kindness and the severity of God. "So do not become proud, but stand in awe.... Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness toward you, provided you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off" (Romans 11:20-22). It's Your heart to be merciful and kind, full of mercy and love; yet it's our responsibility to respond and embrace the kindness of Your mercy and grace.
There are consequences--eternal consequences--for our choices. You are "not willing that any should perish, but all to come to repentance," yet we must be willing to humble ourselves to receive and embrace Your salvation through the means You've provided though Your sacrifice of love (2 Peter 3:9). "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved though Him. Those who believe in Him are not condemned; but hose who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God" (John 3:16-18).
Let me never take my salvation for granted. I've received it at great cost. "For in (Jesus Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and though Him God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:19-20). May I live each day in gratitude of Your grace, "looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endure such hostility against Himself from sinners, so that (we) many not grow weary or lose heart" (Hebrews 12:2-3).
So many of my mornings in the intimacy of the communion of prayer with You, You give me a deep sense of Your presence and love. This morning, it seems You're also reminding me that that this intimacy with You came at great cost. It's honoring of Your sacrifice to see Your kindness in light of Your severity, Your mercy in light of Your judgment, and Your salvation of eternal life for all who believe in light the Your "punishment of eternal destruction" for all who do not. By the grace of God, may I honor You and Your sacrifice for me to never "neglect so great a salvation" (Hebrews 2:3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My friend, I pray you embrace with great joy the fullness of your salvation through God's sacrifice of love for you in Jesus Christ, never taking for granted and never neglecting so great a salvation, in Jesus' name! May you share that good news in every opportunity the Lord provides. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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