And you're receiving this message because you
opted in to be encouraged. I'm thinking today
of 1 Thessalonians 5, 9. Just singling out this
one verse. 1 Thessalonians 5, 9. It says, For
God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. So,
wrath is not anger. It's not God being ticked
off at us or He's mad at us. Rather, wrath is
opposition. Wrath is when someone is violently
opposing your current course of action, or maybe
even your existence in some case. And that's
not what God made us for. If you're hearing this
message today, it's because the gospel was ordained
to take root in your life. That Jesus Christ,
as the Son of God, was ordained to be your Savior,
to save you from your sins. to empower you to
walk a life and a life more abundant. That's
what he came for. We were not destined for wrath,
not for the opposition of God. When we do things
against ourselves, God loves us, and then wrath
comes in, and it stops and works against our
present course of action. When we do things ungodly,
then God, by his very nature, must resist. And
God's whole creation is designed to resist ungodly
behavior. There are a lot of people that figure
out how to manipulate creation and get away because
of its fallen nature with doing the foolish things
that they want to do. But they only get away
for a while because they're destined for wrath.
And we are not destined for wrath, but rather
for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Enjoy that salvation that has been made
available to you and know that God is for you,
not against you.