MADE ALIVE FOR PURPOSE As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is…

TEACHING Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. —Galatians 6:1-10 And so this is how it has been from the time of Jesus gave the commands to —- “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). The normal process of spiritual growth comes because “the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses…

FAITH IS ACTIVELY SEEN If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand. —Isaiah 7:9 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. —Hebrews 11:1 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. —Hebrews 11:6 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to…

SEE, HEAR AND ANSWER THE CALL BY GOING In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!…

RIGHTEOUSNESS “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could…

GOD’S GRACE GOSPEL I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!…

TRUTH For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. —II Corinthians 13:8 Truth… Pilate said, “What is truth?” Today truth is pretty much what someone wants to believe. When people disagree with someone and hear an accusation against them, they want to believe it or do believe that it is true even before the truth is known. People also believe that various lifestyles are true even when these lifestyles go against the science they say they believe! Truth today is a relative term. What is truth to one person is not truth to another. People believe truth to be what they want to believe is…

REAL POWER THROUGH GRACE Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” —II Corinthians 12:7-8 So think about this! Whatever the “thorn in my flesh” was it was there because of Satan and it was there because God allowed Satan to bring this thorn. Was God being mean for doing this? Some people would surely question God on this one. But, God…

SERVE EVEN WHEN SUFFERING! Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in…

HEART FOCUS! Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. —Ecclesiastes 5:15 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. —Matthew 6:19-21 What do I treasure? Where is my treasure? Who is my treasure? Do I focus primary on earthly treasure that I…