Who is who

"But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." Romans 8.9

In my view, this is one of the most incisive biblical statements. It does not leave room to doubts or discussion. Those who have been possessed by the Spirit of God are so different from those who have not, just as the difference between wine and milk. The behavior of each one bears witness to who is who.

Unbearable

"Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me.The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting." Isaiah 1.13

Offerings, sacrifices and religious zeal cannot make up for a person's sins and they are not pleasing to the Lord. The children of Israel know this very well. It was not a difficult task for them to fulfil religious obligations. The hard part was to stay away from sin.
Wouldn't it be the same as a husband full of lovers saying to his wife, "I've given you comfort, good houses, expensive cars, jewellery, money, and everything else you need..."? But she says, "I don't have the most important thing: you."

Faithfulness

"...Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." Revelation 2.10

The crown of life, that is, eternal life, depends on our faithfulness to the Lord Jesus until death. Just as faith is proven to death, our faithfulness is also. If our forefathers in faith have been proven to the end of their journeys in this world, why would we be spared?
If athletes take pains and sacrifice everything for a perishable gold medal, why should we not sacrifice everything for eternal life?

Guarantee of Salvation

"...you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1.13-14

Sealed with the Holy Spirit, guarantee of inheritance, redeemed possession, and the praise of His glory. In practical terms, the seal of the Holy Spirit is the GUARANTEE OF SALVATION of His servants until Jesus comes to rescue them. Just as jewels guarantee a loan, the servants of God are the jewels of His Private Treasure. To ensure that these jewels are untouched while they are temporarily serving in this world, He sealed them with His Spirit until the day of his final redemption.

Answer

"Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." Luke 8.12

The devil can steal the Word of the heart because, despite hearing it, the person still did not care, they were not interested, they despised it and gave it no value. They did not care for it because, in their eyes, it wasn't that important. Who would neglect a precious jewel?
For each four people who hears the word, at least one of them despises it.

On the wayside

“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it." Mark 4.3-4

The seed is the word of God. Fallen by the wayside and eaten by birds is the seed that has been snatched away by the devil. The question is: Why the Word can be stolen?
This is the homework for my readers. Tomorrow, I will answer it.

There is rest in trusting

"I called on the Lord in distress; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place." Psalms 118.5

Troubles are part of everyday life for every human beings. The difference is that not everyone has the Lord Jesus as a refuge. That's when they lose.
But for those who depend on Him, they find rest from praying and beign answered.