losing everything to be saved
"Then who can be saved?" —Mark 10:26
We should rejoice when we "suffer the distress of many trials" (1 Pt 1:6), if these trials will help us achieve "faith's goal, [our] salvation" (1 Pt 1:9). We should be quite willing to sell everything we have and give the proceeds to the poor (Mk 10:21), if this is the way the Lord wants us to work out our salvation (Phil 2:12). We should even be willing to die at a young age "lest wickedness pervert" our minds "or deceit beguile" our souls (Wis 4:11). We have only one goal in life: to be saved. We will lose everything to gain our salvation (Lk 9:24).
I invite and challenge you to pray to the Lord: "I accept salvation — no matter what it takes." By praying this prayer, you are:
- saying that you will sacrifice everything to be saved,
- trusting in the Lord,
- increasing the likelihood of more sufferings in your life,
- increasing the likelihood of more joy in your life (see Col 1:24),
- making your life more simple,
- making your life more counter-cultural, and you therefore are more likely to be persecuted, and
- expressing the ultimate freedom.
Jesus is our Savior. Only through His name can we be saved (Acts 4:12). This is the only meaning of life. Accept Jesus as your Savior.
Prayer: Father, I put my life in Your hands.
Promise: "Praised be the God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He Who in His great mercy gave us new birth." —1 Pt 1:3
Praise: George was an addict to whom a "fix" was everything, but gave it up for He Who is All in All.
Reference: (For a related teaching on Jesus, the Redeemer, order, listen to, or download our CD 50-3 or DVD 50-CH. 4 at presentationministries.com or order our tape on audio AV 50-3 or video V-50.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, November 6, 2015
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