Fw: past and future

Colossians 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God...

Ephesians 2:4-6 But God...made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus

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We all have a past and we all have a future...but we can't escape living in the present!  We would like some certainty...some assurance that our future is secured but we tend to fret because every day is a new adventure and full of mystery and the unknown.

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So, recently, I was struck by the past tense that is used in scripture to describe our salvation.  We who have trusted in Christ are already with Him in a very real sense.  From the verses in Colossians above we see that we actually have already died, been buried with Christ in baptism, raised through faith and now have our lives securely hidden with Christ.  And Ephesians tells us that our salvation has been secured and, in fact, the reality of being raised and seated with Christ in heaven is described as a past action.

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So, as we move through a continual progression of 'present' living experiences, we can be sure that our life with the Lord is established.

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Consider the words of the apostle John:

John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

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I hope you see that the Lord is extending the certainty of eternal life to you, if you will admit your need and welcome Him in.

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love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."