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Keep
“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name: those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost.” (John 17:12).
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
These two statements of Scripture go very necessarily together. First of all, the Lord Jesus Christ has kept and will continue to keep each of His own until we leave this world and are safe home with Him in the Father’s house. Remember, His keeping power is as real and powerful as His saving power. We are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).
Now our responsibility is to keep our hearts and our affections for Him so that our lives can be lived for His honor and glory. We are encouraged by Jude, the brother of James, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 21). To keep ourselves in the warmth and sunshine of His love we must walk in daily fellowship with Himself. This will stir up our affections and keep us from the evils of the world as well as making us happy, fruitful followers of Christ.
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