REDEEMED! And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” —Revelation 5:9-10 No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—so that they should live on forever and not see decay… But God will redeem me from the realm…

ONLY ONE WAY! But I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. —Hosea 13:4 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” —John 14:6 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” —Acts 4:12 Fire! Fire! There is only one way of escape and people are fleeing to that way of escape. I cannot imagine anyone with flames licking at them who would stand…

HOLD ON! Hold on to what you have until I come. —Revelation 2:25 Hold on to truth, to love, faith, to patience, to service and be growing in these areas. Don’t let anyone or any circumstance deflect you from these. There is so much in this world that would have us turn away from these things. We are in spiritual warfare and let us not forget this for an instant. Years ago in my teen years I used to do some dangerous things. Of course as a teen I was invincible. This one time I was going down a river near our home in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The river flowed…

SHINE LIKE STARS IN THE SKY Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. —Daniel 12:3 Do you want to shine like the brightness of the heavens, like the stars forever and ever? Then what actions are you taking to lead others to righteousness? Are you seeking to lead the lost to Him who is the Righteous One (I John 2:1)? How are you encouraging other believers to live out that righteousness? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-_MZFSpOUU May it be so! “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes,…

FACE TO FACE I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. —II John 1:12 The best communication is face to face. We live in a day and age when we have so many ways to communicate, but not face to face. Think about it. How many e-mails or texts have you sent so far this week? Then consider how many times you actually talked with someone face to face. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6CBb3yX9Zs Even the Apostle John knew the best way to communicate was…

WITNESS And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. —I John 4:14-15 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. —John 3:16 God our Father sent His One and only Son, Jesus, as the most precious gift that world will ever know. He is the only Savior and there is no other way to come into relationship with God except through Jesus…

OUR KING JESUS His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”—Daniel 4:34-35 Jesus is the King of kings and His dominion is forever. His kingdom will have no end and will never be shaken (Hebrews 12:28). Compared to Him all the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. “The nations are like a drop in a bucket” and “they are regarded as dust…

DOING RIGHT BECAUSE OF HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. —I John 2:29 Doing what is right flows out of His righteousness. Those who have been born of God have the righteousness of God (II Corinthians 5:21) and that righteousness of God will transform a person on the inside. That which is the core of a person will produce fruit from that core now that the Holy Spirit of God resides in them ( I Corinthians 6:19-20). There will be evidence in a person’s life that they have truly repented (Acts 26:20). Doing…

CONFESS NOW! If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. —I John 1:8-10 Do you presently have any known sin in your life? Why have you not confessed it already? Unconfessed sin keeps us out of fellowship with the Lord God Almighty and that is a dangerous place to be. Ask God to search your heart and…

LOOK WHAT IS AHEAD! But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. —II Peter 3:13 Think of all the wrong that exists in our world— all the unrighteousness. Sin has infected and affected every area of this world we live in. Prisons and hospitals exist because of the fallen state of this world. Wars and personal conflicts exist because of this fallen world. Our list of wrong and unrighteousness could be quite long. But let us not focus there. As followers of the Lord Jesus we are in this world, but we are not of it. “We…