Jude 1:21
Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Is this a contradiction? No. It is merely two sides of the same coin. The Bible is teaching that God will keep us, but at the same time, we must keep ourselves in His love. We don't keep ourselves saved, but we keep ourselves safe.
There are things we must do on a daily basis to keep ourselves in a place where God can actively bless us, and to keep ourselves away from all that is unlike Him, and those things that would drag us down spiritually. As I witness this emotional ER of a fellow commander and even as I chart my own feelings these past few weeks, I can indeed testify of how our moods goes up and down more often than a roller-coaster ride's journey.
Attacks will come our way. Were it not for the preserving grace of God, none of us would make it. Clearly, we are preserved, protected, and kept by the power of God. But the battle ground of our mind is one place that we need to actively guard.
M.
