1 Thessalonians 5:8-10

"But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him."
1 Thessalonians 5:8-10


We are of the day.  I like that.  We don't have anything to do with darkness.  And because we are of the day, we should protect ourselves from dark things, like doubt and hate and despair.  Our armor of faith and love and hope will help to remind us that we come from light, and are made of it. And Christ's work and sacrifice ensures that we will return to the light, and never be left out in the darkness. :)  In college I had a roommate once who was worried about foreordination.  She thought that maybe she had been a fence sitter in the war in Heaven, and so she didn't really have a chance at making it in this life.  But here, God tells us to have hope, and love, and faith... for none of us are foreordained to fail.  We are all heirs of salvation, and Christ suffered for each one of us, so that we could come back and rejoice with him.  God has laid a path before each of us that will lead us to salvation... each of us.  None of the paths that God has laid leads to destruction and failure.  There is hope for every single one of us, no matter what.  We have to learn some love, and some faith along the path... and a lot of other things as well... but we all have to learn them, no one is exempt.  Things that I know quite well, you will learn, and things that you have learned I will as well, eventually. :)  We're all out here to learn love, and faith, and hope... and these subjects are endless.  We learn a little, and we graduate to the next harder class. :)  But no matter where we are, or how much we have learned, the path continues... straight and narrow, leading us to salvation and light. :)  Today, let's make sure we stick to the path... and wear our armor.  None of us are here to fail.