Those who accept Christ’s sacrifice for their sins are justified before God. All of their sins, past, present and future are atoned for. They are free from condemnation. This is our assurance of salvation. We are saved by grace and kept by grace. We are made saints of God.
Christ’s return is as certain as His first appearance. Meditate on this. When expecting guests, do you not get your house in order and prepare to meet them? Are you ready for His return?
In the midst of God’s words of lament for Israel, He speaks of a new covenant. This new covenant fulfills the old. It offers salvation that cleanses sin, regenerates spiritually, and brings those far away from God, near. Salvation has a name, Jesus.
It wasn’t external enemies that kept them out of the Promised Land. It was their internal grumbling. They complained against the food and against their leaders, but really they complained against God. So He allowed the grumblers to die in the wilderness, while raising up a new generation that believed.
Jesus is able to save to the uttermost. He doesn’t just throw us a lifeline to stop our drowning in sin. He jumps in and carries us all the way to shore. We’re not only saved in the moment, but saved forever. And not only saved but adopted into His family.
Water is life. When we go through desert times in our lives, Jesus is our Rock. There are seasons of dryness that test us. They teach us to go to the Rock. Even when all looks to be desert, go to Jesus and drink. Why do you thirst? Is it not to remind you that you need Him above all else?
In the midst of Ezekiel’s vision of God’s Spirit leaving the Temple, he hears this prophecy. It points to the coming of the Christ who will die for us and put His Spirit within us, so that we become the temple of God.
We underestimate the power of the tongue. Poor communication is often the core of disunity in the home, the church and in the workplace. Ask God to tame your tongue (James 3). Ask yourself whether your words are Spirit-filled or from the flesh. Words have power.
If God stirs your heart, yet you do not obey, your heart becomes increasingly hardened. Each time you deny Him the callous thickens. Eventually, your heart will be so insulated from God’s call that you’ll think He no longer speaks. The antidote? Start saying “Yes!” when you hear His voice.
Sometimes God teaches us something we don’t want to hear, something overwhelming. He is looking for one who will obey Him even in this.