Welcome to Hank’s Place for 2025 —
Who is a Christian? Are you? Paul said in Romans 10:13 it was anyone who confesses or calls upon the name of the Lord. The apostle John in 1 John 4:15 says, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” Have you?
We are not saved because we spoke some magic words of a prayer; we are saved because we called to a Savior and He heard us. How can we be sure this Savior can save? Because He is the Son of God sent by God for the purpose of saving us.
When John says “God abides in him,” he was speaking of the Holy Spirit taking up residence in our hearts. “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you FOREVER.” John 14:16. The Holy Spirit does not come and go. He will never forsake us or abandon us. Hebrews 13:5. When God moves in, it’s for eternity. Eternal life is more than just living forever. It is knowing God and living out of our union with him.
Now listen to1 John 4:16, “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
We can know something in our head without believing it in our heart. And we can believe in our heart without knowing why. But when we both know and believe, we are what the bible says is “fully persuaded.” Because the Son of God was sent to save us, we can be fully persuaded that God loves us.
Under the old law-keeping covenant, we were commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart. Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:12. It was up to us to manufacture that love. But in the new covenant, where grace abounds, we love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19.
Many people struggle because they do not know the love of God. Others struggle because they have heard that God loves them but they don’t believe it. But when you know and believe that God loves you with a love that never gives up, you find rest. To abide or dwell in God is to be settled in this matter of His love for you.
In this new covenant where grace abounds, God takes all the initiative. And as we receive from the abundance of His love, we are able to love, forgive, and accept others.
Don’t wait! Receive God’s love today — you’ll COME ALIVE!
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