God saves those who believe Jesus is his son. Through him, people will have salvation from the penalty of sin, which is death. And by no other name can anyone find salvation.
As deceitful as the human heart is (Jeremiah 17:9), God gives life to those who sincerely repent of their sins. He calls those who are willing to change their lives, those who are broken and sorrowful, and those who are remorseful for what they have done (Matthew 22:14). Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we Christians can overcome. Of ourselves, we have no power to do anything, but with God’s spirit, all things are possible (Luke 18:27).
The joy we have comes from knowing Jesus is living inside us—now, at this moment. He is living inside us, making us aware of the battle that rages deep within our hearts. As much as we want to obey him, keep his commandments, and love others as ourselves, the old self does not want to stay dead in that watery grave of baptism. Our flesh fights against the spirit and we end up doing what we do not want to do, as the apostle Paul said:
“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:19)
How awful we are that we would ignore the things we ought to do to want to sin. Yet, Jesus living inside us makes us aware of just how ugly sin is. And we pray about it; and we ask God to forgive us; and we ask him to wash away our sins with Jesus’ blood (Acts 22:16). And because we are sinners, and God hears a penitent heart (Psalms 51:17), he forgives us, not because he has to, but because he wants to. Could God have loved us any more than for him to give his only son as a sacrifice for our sins (John 3:16)?
Oh, how wonderful God is! We may sin, but his love for us is greater, taller, stronger, deeper and wider than anything we could ever imagine.
For this reason, nothing can come between God’s love and us.
Looking to God 
Wowwww!!!
God’s love is incredible!
Very encouraging and some great reminders.
Thanks!
Jack, I just wanted to say that I look forward to reading your post each week. It helps me maintain my focus on the things above as I venture out to my job.
I’m glad my posts are helpful. Thanks for the comment!
Wow!! You know so much about what God is like… you must be a realized soul…
Thanks! But I think it has more to do with having God work through me than anything else. I noticed that when I do not resist, I learn a lot more about him than any other time in my life.
Thanks for this encouraging reminder.
I am glad God was able to use me to encourage you, Hannah. 🙂
“We may sin,” not really, but, when we make a mistake, we have a High Priest to lift us with mercy.
Whether it is intentional or not, we will sin and we do sin. Thankfully, we have Jesus who gave of himself to save us from the penalty for our sins (Romans 6:23)!
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. John 15:5