Even more than to Israel, God is saying to us, “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Leviticus 26:12). Throughout this week, let’s enjoy and give thanks for the closeness to God we can have in Jesus Christ.
Just as God created us to be vessels through whom He could show forth His goodness, He had a similar motive in saving us from our sins. In both our creation and our redemption, we are to be vessels used by God to manifest His divine goodness.
To have any hope of a quality relationship with God (and hence, a quality life) we’re going to have to answer the question “Who am I?” in a way that is true to reality. In the long run, nothing good comes out of thinking that is based on falsehood.
Let’s consider five different words used to describe the Lord’s people in the Scriptures. These words look at our responsibilities from different viewpoints — and by studying each of them, we can have a more balanced understanding of life in Christ.
Few of us will ever have the opportunity to give our lives for God in a public martyrdom. But what God wants is the willingness to do all that we do — both the “big” things and the “little” ones — as if we were doing them for Him personally.
The things that produce most of our spiritual growth are those that happen on ordinary days — not the great choices we make on momentous occasions, but the day-to-day decisions to do the good things we know we ought to do. So let’s “seize the day.”
“Stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter,” wrote Paul. The church in the apostolic age is a pattern for us. If a congregation is to be “of Christ,” it must follow His instructions.
Let’s take the time to review some of the most basic concepts relating to the Bible, God, salvation, and the church. We’ll handle specific issues in these areas better if we’ve first grounded ourselves in sound general principles on these topics.
Nothing the devil offers us comes close to being as wonderful and joyous as the ability to pillow our head at night with a good conscience. So let’s be brave in the realm of spiritual things. At all costs, let’s do what we know is right.
As we study the Scriptures, let’s be thankful for the help of God that comes to us through His word. God has revealed His wonderful mind to us so that we might grow in strength and freedom. In God’s truth there is help for living in a hard world.
Until we “put on our heavenly dwelling,” however, we press toward the goal (Philippians 3:14). God helped Israel through the wilderness, and He will help us also. If the journey ...
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There is no better example of faith than Abraham. “Under utterly hopeless circumstances he hopefully believed . . . being absolutely certain that whatever promise [God] is bound by He ...
The apostles, when threatened, never backed down: the gospel is true and “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Others may ...
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Having demanded to do as we please, we’ve sold ourselves into slavery. And as painful as it is, there is no better day than when we cry out, with Paul, ...
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If Jesus truly was the Son of God, we would not expect that truth to be obvious to us if our “eyes” can only see things that this world considers ...
In the biblical account, we are dual creatures who straddle the physical and spiritual worlds. We have a brain, but we also have a mind — a reasoning faculty that ...