Lasting Redemption

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 ESV 

Jesus knows what you’re looking for even when you don’t.

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”, and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 1 Timothy 1:15 NLT

Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future. Oscar Wilde (1893)

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. Matthew 9:9 NLT

Impossible is one of Jesus’s favorite places to do redemptive work!   

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3 NLT

The Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 1 Timothy 4:1 NLT

Persist!

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again: I will obey your righteous regulations. Psalm 119:105-106 NLT

Repentance is a rejection that is also an acceptance, a leaving that develops into an arriving, a no to the world that is a yes to God. Eugene Peterson

Persistence is a powerful choice when we persistence in following God. 

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 2 Timothy 4:7 NLT

Pursue

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:17 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22 ESV

Stop depending on your ability to play good defense and go on the offensive with God

Press in for Passion

To try and live a redeemed life without a passion for God and His will is liking taking a cross country trip in a car that has not gas.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:37-38 ESV

Godly Friends

Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. Proverbs 13:20 NLT

Be the Godly friend you wish you had.