And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. —Ephesians 1:13-14 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…

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. —Galatians 5:2 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. —Galatians 1:11 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. —Galatians 1:18             Works practiced FOR salvation, “Mark my words!”, Paul says, means “Christ will be of no value to you at all.”  In other words, if a person thinks that WHAT THEY DO saves them, then they devalue what Jesus has done…

So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” — Galatians 3:5-6 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. —Galatians 3:14 At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. —Galatians 3:29 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message…

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! —Galatians 1:8-9 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the…

For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. —II Corinthians 11:13-15  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.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly…

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. —II Corinthians 9:6-7             When you want a very productive garden you need to sow much seed.  That way the possibility of a good harvest is probable.  So too when we sow in the kingdom of God.  “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”  This is surely true of material wealth, but not just with our treasure, but with our…

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. —II Corinthians 9:7             Jesus owns it all.  He created it all and it all belongs to Him.  Yet, He left the glories of heaven to come to this teeny, tiny planet in abject poverty.  Why did Jesus willingly become poor?  It was for our sake that we “through his poverty might become rich.”  He Who is eternal entered the temporal so that He could give all who call on His Name the riches of eternal life and an…

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. —II Corinthians 5:10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it.   But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it…

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. —II Corinthians 3:5 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. —II Corinthians 3:17 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. —II Corinthians 4:5 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. —II Corinthians 4:7 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not…

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings,…