I want to thank Mo from the Alternative Church (Google+) for helping bring this into focus for me:
Have you ever been troubled by these verses…?
“To him who overcomes,
…I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God!
…will not be hurt at all by the second death!
…will be dressed in white.
…I will never blot out his name from the book of life,
…I will acknowledge his name before My Father and His angels!
…I will be his God and he will be my son!”
~Revelation 2 & 3
I have been troubled by them! Wait a second! What happened to being saved by grace through faith? What happened to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”?
Once upon a time these passages confused and frightened me because I did not see myself as having the strength to overcome. Here’s what I failed to comprehend:
We are designed to overcome. It is God’s purpose that we overcome. It is our destiny as sons and daughters of God. It is who we are. It is what we do.
How? God grants His children vigorous faith. Mustard seed faith grows inside us. God prepares us for what we face. David vanquished the lion and the bear before he took on Goliath.
The just shall live by faith. Our job is to say yes to Him now, while He may be found. When the mighty waters rise, they will not reach us. That is God’s gift to His children. He will make us strong when we need His strength to go on.
Your identity: You are an overcomer. That’s who you are.
Bible trivia:
Answer from last time: Just as the Bible has 66 books, Isaiah has 66 chapters.
New question: God told this leader to remove all but 300 of his 32,000 soldiers. With those 300, he defeated a huge army. Who is this leader?
