"...But join with me in suffering for the gospel,
by the power of God,
who has saved us and called us to a holy life -
not because of anything we have done
but because of his own purpose and grace.
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus
before the beginning of time,
but it has now been revealed
through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus,
who has destroyed death and has brought life
and immortality to light through the gospel...
Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed
and am convinced that he is able to guard
what I have entrusted to him for that day."
2 Timothy 1:8-12
Right before this section, Paul is exhorting Timothy to "not be ashamed to testify about our Lord" because he "did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline."
The Lord calls us to live holy lives. Living a holy life will never be a result of our hard work or exceptional obedience. We can do nothing to make God love us more or less - our identity is Christ.
Christ not only wiped our slates clean, he wrote on them for us.
Now, all God sees is "Christ" and none of our failed attempts to win his favor through the law.
Holy living and obedience to the Lord's commandments are how we glorify and honor our king.
Jesus tells us again and again that if we love him, we will obey his commandments.
Our sinful, rebellious hearts do not always make it so easy, but how deeply do we desire to please the one we love? Enough to deny ourselves?
So...what if we lived like this was true every day?
Unashamed - boldly speaking the gospel to ourselves and others.
Basking in the presence of the Lord and letting his radiance shine through us
to this dark world.
Streams of living water, Christ, flowing from us!
This is my prayer for the hearts of all the MTW interns - to live gospel-saturated lives, boldly proclaiming the grace we have received, not due to anything we have done.
It's all about Christ.
Grace, mercy and peace be with you!
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