New Morning Mercies for Teens: A 10-Day Gospel Devotional预览

God calls you to persevere by faith, and then, with powerful grace, he protects and keeps you.

In Romans 15:5, Paul calls our Lord “the God of endurance.” This title gets at the center of where hope is to be found. Let me state it plainly: your hope is not to be found in your willingness and ability to endure. Your hope lies in God’s unshakable, enduring commitment to never turn from his work of grace. Your hope is that you have been welcomed into communion with one who will endure no matter what.

Why is this so important to understand? Because your endurance will be spotty at best. There will be moments when you will forget who you are and what God has done for you in his grace. There will be times when you will get discouraged and, for a while, quit doing the good things God calls you to do. There will be moments, big and small, when you will willingly rebel. You may be thinking, “Not me.” But think with me—when you, as a Christian, say something nasty to another person, you don’t do it because you’re ignorant that it is wrong. You talked that way because in that moment you don’t give a rip about what is wrong.

You see, perfect endurance demands just that, perfection. And since none of us is there yet, we must look outside ourselves for hope. Your hope of enduring is not to be found in your character or strength, but in your Lord’s. Because he will always be faithful, you can bank on the fact that he will give you what you need to be faithful, too.

When difficulty exposes the weakness of your resolve and the limits of your strength, you do not have to panic. Here’s why: Even in those moments when you don’t feel able to do so yourself, God will endure.

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Tim. 6:11–12)

Reflect: How has God shown his enduring patience with you this past week? This past year?

Want to dive deeper? Check out 'New Morning Mercies for Teens: A Daily Gospel Devotional' by Paul David Tripp. Crossway.org/newmorningmerciesforteens/