No reservations
“Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more..” 1 Thessalonians 4:1 NASBS
God’s divine hand, Who holds all the mysteries of creation in His mind, has redeemed every Christian with an everlasting love that was known to Him before He established the foundations of the world. The mysterious hand of this divine being placed the living seed of faith into the hearts of all who He has called to Himself, granting them salvation. Not only that, but He Himself prepared the heart for its reception and is cultivating its growth even as I prepare this small devotion. Thus saying, every true heir of heaven is indebted to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for their entire life.
Oh, what love, what extravagant love! That every Christian was drawn, from as if it were like Moses, out of the Egyptian Nile of death, and adopted into the family of God. So, let there be no reservations in your obedience, but rather a heart that is solely devoted to Him.
Come now beloved of God, search the immensity of His love, and it will lead you to the cross to see a crucified savior bearing your own sin. For, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”
Now in our pursuit of such a love, let us not withhold anything from Christ, for we are His purchased inheritance, bought with the cost of His precious blood.
So may the words of Paul reflect our response to this great calling by which we’ve been called, “that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.”
That is, to endure the humiliation of the world, the alienation of friends, the coldness of relatives, the ridicule of unbelievers, the public scorn of other religions, and to give our lives for the sake of the Gospel. And, so to speak, walking by faith will give us divine assurance in our souls, as the Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirit, confirming our identity as children of God.
You who are in unbelief and despise the offering of the bleeding Savior, will you not come to gaze upon the thorn-pierced brow of God Himself? Will you not accept His life freely given to you and come hide beneath the shadow of the cross?
What a truth this is! If you will only come to Jesus in faith and repentance, the clouds of bitter darkness will be scattered, the darkness of your sins will be removed, and your conscience, which convicts you of breaking the law, will be hushed. In Christ, death has lost its sting, the terror of the law removed, and sin’s power over you has been vanquished.
Reader, the arms of God are open to you. The heart of Jesus bleeds for your salvation. The Holy Spirit draws you to understand. The gospel invites you to believe for the forgiveness of your sins. This is where weary and heavy-laden hearts are reconciled to God in Jesus Christ.
May the grace of God grant you repentance today!