Colossians 1:13

Colossians 1:13 (NASB)

"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son."

When people (specially teenagers) ask, "What is wrong with doing this or that or going here or there?!" There IS something wrong with it! Doing "that" or going "there" identifies us with something from which we have already been rescued. It masks, hides, or even denies our identification with the kingdom of God's beloved Son into which He has already transferred us.

The manners that we display identify us with heaven or hell. It is white and black with no "shades of gray." We're not "a little saved" or "a little lost." We are not "a little in the domain of darkness" or "a little transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son." We either believe Christ died for our sins, or we don't. We are going to heaven, or we are going to hell. The truth of the matter is just this simple: We either ARE or we ARE NOT. Period.

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Every permanent thing in this life is temporary.

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The same loving God and Father who watches over me, cares for me, protects and provides for me is the exact same loving God and Father who performs in every single person that which advances His purposes and brings Him glory designed in eternity past for eternity future.

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Sometimes I wonder if we "prolong" God's work by our prayers. For example, we pray, "O God, please break down their stony heart with the hammer of Your Word!" What if God only needs to soften their heart. The "hammer" is not "the right tool for this job." And we "prolong" God's work in our heart until we surrender to HIM to use "the tool(s)" He chooses!!

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jfn - 10/5/2011