Gospel Reflections #427: We are not to endure in our own strength.

Matthew 24:9 "Then you will suffer and be killed, and you will be hated by all people for my name's sake. And ye shall be hated of all people for my name's sake."

This is one of Jesus' answers to the disciples when they asked Him about the signs of the end of the world.

When we hear these words, we may first wonder if we can endure it. Of course, that is not something we can do, and so our hearts grow anxious and fearful.

But Jesus said, "But he who endures to the end will be saved. And the gospel of his kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all peoples.

These words do not say that we are to endure in our own strength.

He is showing us that although there are many things outside of us, we have His Kingdom in our hearts, and it is protected.

There will come a time when we will drink the cup that Jesus drank, just as the disciples drank the cup that Jesus drank, but just as Jesus prepared the disciples for that time, He is encouraging us to be prepared to drink His cup.

It is in our daily lives that we are given the practice of becoming one with Jesus.

It is a so-called spiritual evacuation training for us.

Through the daily spiritual evacuation training, we receive a spiritual disaster prevention kit given to us by Jesus.

This is not something we can prepare by ourselves. It is something we can only receive in our relationship with Jesus.

We can do nothing about what happens outside of us, but we have a choice about what happens in our hearts.

We can take anxiety or we can take Jesus.

This is something we learn from God in our daily spiritual evacuation training.

Daily spiritual evacuation drills prepare us to be united with Jesus.

Through them, God makes us the salt of the earth and the light of the world, which are the greatest disaster prevention items in this world.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.