PERSISTENCE DILIGENCE AND OBEDIENCE

Salvation is not just about believing  in Jesus  Christ, it is a journey. Jesus

invites everybody to follow Him and have eternal life,  but
very few stay with  Jesus and endure with Him until the
end. It requires PERSISTENCE and DILIGENCE to stay with
Jesus until the end. You will have to
use all your strength and you will have to hang on to Jesus
for dear life, because without Him you will not be able to make
it. Your journey with Jesus starts when you accept Him as you Lord and Master,

and from then onwards you have to submit to Him and obey
Him, every step of the way, until the end. Nobody can snatch you
out of His  hand, but if you decide to leave Him or
disobeying Him, He will not stop you. Jesus
will not accommodate your opinion, your preferences or
feelings. You either obey and follow  Him or you part ways with
Him, in which case, you are heading for destruction. You
cannot follow Jesus if you do not absolutely trust and obey
Him. 

First
you have to REPENT  and BE BAPTIZED. To repent  means to
TURN from SIN and from your previous way of living, going after your
selfish desires, ambitions and the pleasures of sin. You cannot
follow Jesus if you are still going after those things. You have to
give up your rights and privileges of self-determination. You have to
totally submit to Jesus and DIE to SELF so that you can LIVE FOR
Jesus and follow Him. Once you have REPENTED you have to be baptized
in water for the remission, the cancellation of debt, of
your past sins. You cannot follow Jesus, if you have not been
baptized for the remission of your sins. Then you have to
live holy and sin no more.

You have to live in obedience to the teachings and commandments of
Jesus, HIS WORDS, as they were also recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John. 

Jesus promised the baptism in the Holy Spirit to those who wish to
follow Him and have therefor obeyed Him, repented and been baptized.
The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, will come and dwell IN THEM
and GUIDE them so that they can FOLLOW Jesus and DO what He requires
of them, the WORKS that He has prepared for them to do. You cannot
follow Jesus, if you have not received the Holy Spirit. “Those who
are being led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
Romans 8:14. 

If we wish to follow Jesus and have eternal life, WE have to
continuously SEEK Him in PRAYER. We have to seek the baptism in the
Holy Spirit so that we can experience the indwelling presence and
guidance of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit in us. We have to live
holy and reserve ourselves to Jesus. If we should sin and disobey
Him, we will GRIEVE the Holy Spirit and He might stop speaking to us.
We have to seek His guidance and obey Him. “Without faith it is
impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe
that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6. 

Our faith will be tested. Our loyalty to Jesus will be tested. Our
obedience and perseverance will be tested. We have to be persistent
in all circumstances and never give up, no matter what our
circumstances are. We must be faithful in our devotion to Jesus,
praying, seeking Him, keep our mind on Him, expecting Him. Listening
to Him and staying tuned in to Him. He will fill us with His thoughts
as we desire and yearn for Him. He will not force Himself on us. We
have to diligently seek Him, trust in Him, expect Him, even though
things around us do not look favorable or do not work out as we hoped
or expected.. 

Jesus will always be with us. He will not leave us, even in sickness,
pain, misfortune, disappointment, heartbreak, sadness, Jesus is
there. If we stay focused on Him, we will recognize His hand and hear
His voice. He will teach and guide us in many ways. Often things will
not work out the way that we hoped or expected. Keep trusting Him. He
knows what He is doing, and He makes all things work together for
good, for those who love Him and seek Him, because they are called
for His purpose. He will give us understanding and wisdom, if we stay
with Him. He will give us the power to endure and pass every test so
that we can win the prize of eternal life in the end. 

We need to be persistent, diligent and obedient, never give up.
Endure until the end. There is a prize for over-comers. We have to
stay with Jesus until the end, because without Him, we cannot make
it.  Without Jesus, we can do nothing. 

Have you started the journey, following Jesus? Are you following and
obeying every day? Are you persistent and diligent, seeking and doing
His will? Do you still have the hope of eternal life? 

May Jesus bless you.