Listen again:
“Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” Lk 23:42 NIV
So we get to choose whether we are going to believe God or not. If we continue to react to God’s offer, then we remain in our sinful state. We receive nothing, and nothing changes within our dead hearts. But if we choose to respond to His Love, then Salvation is ours. You see, we are saved by Grace…but we receive that Grace through Faith.
Ephesians 2:8 clearly says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”. Some might argue, but I believe every good thing is a gift from God above (see Jas 1:17). So Grace is a gift, Faith is a gift, Salvation is a gift…everything good is a gift. You and I can do nothing to make Salvation available, but then we merely use the Faith He has given us to believe and we are sealed in the Holy Spirit now and forevermore. Remember that visual I gave you the other day? Faith is us just realizing we are doomed and then fainting into God’s open and waiting arms! Nothing we do! We just collapse and God catches us. And here’s an even more amazing thing! In order for us to believe and fall into His arms, God is the One Who is initiating it all or we wouldn’t even know we need saving!
Join me in memorizing 52 verses this year:
January: 1- Jn 3:16; 2- 2Co 5:17; 3- Jas 2:26; 4- Eph 2:10
February: 5- Jn 10:10; 6- Ro 6:23; 7- Rev 21:4; 8- Php 4:13
March: 9- 1Pe 5:7; 10- Jn 8:32; 11- Dt 30:19; 12- Jn 3:30; 13- 2Chron 20:3
April: 14- 2Chron 20:12; 15- 2Chron 20:15b; 16- 2Chron 20:17
May: 17- Ro 8:28; 18- 1Co 13:13; 19- Php 2:12; 20- Mt 5:4
21- Lk 23:42
<>< Peace, Diane
