- Access to God: Eph. 3:12
- Adoption into God’s Family: John 1:12–13; Gal. 3:26
- Christ’s Indwelling: Eph. 3:16–17
- Full of God’s Peace: John 16:33
- God’s Blessing: Ps. 40:4; Ps. 84:12; Prov. 16:20; Prov. 28:25; Isa. 57:13; Jer. 17:7–8; Luke 1:45
- God’s Empowering: Matt. 17:20; Matt. 21:21–22; John 14:12–14
- God’s Guidance: Ps. 143:8; Prov. 3:5–6; John 12:36; John 12:46
- God’s Intercession: John 17:20
- God’s Protection: Ps. 36:7; Ps. 57:1; Ps. 62:8; Ps. 91:2; Ps. 115:9–11; Prov. 29:25
- God’s Indwelling: 1 John 4:15
- God’s Love: Ps. 32:10; John 16:27
- God’s Grace: Rom. 5:1–2
- Joy: John 15:11; 17:13 Acts 16:34; Rom. 15:13; 1 Pet. 1:8–9
- Forgiveness of Sin: Acts 10:42–43; Acts 13:38–39; Rom. 3:25
- Peace: John 14:1; Rom. 15:13
- The Spirit’s Indwelling: John 7:38–39; John 14:16-17; Romans 8:9; Gal. 3:13–14; Eph. 1:13–14
- Spiritual Salvation: Isa. 28:16; John 3:14–18; John 3:36; John 6:35, 40, 47; John 11:25–26; John 20:31; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:8–11; Eph. 2:8; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Tim. 1:16; 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 4:2–3; Heb. 10:39; 1 Pet. 1:3–5, 9; 1 John 5:13
Grace and Peace
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV) Romans 1:7
1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV) (The same exact verse is found in: 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; II Timothy 1:2)
Colossians 1:2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. (NIV)
1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. (NIV)
1 Timothy 1:2 To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)
Titus 1:4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. (NIV)
Philemon 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV)
1 Peter 1:2b Grace and peace be yours in abundance. (NIV)
II John 1:3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. (NIV)
Revelation 1:4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, (NIV)
Are you filled with God’s grace and peace?
Vulnerable to Temptation
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. (NIV) Luke 4:1-2
Jesus had fasted for 40 days in the wilderness. As a result, He became hungry – anyone would! And when He’s most vulnerable, Satan says to Him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread” (Luke 4:3). Notice that Satan’s first temptation appeals to Jesus’ vulnerability. But, Jesus doesn’t give in to the temptation, or the two that follow.
When are you most vulnerable to give in to temptation? Is it when you’re tired? discouraged? preoccupied? anxious? out of sync with God? Is it when you’ve been criticized? praised? overlooked? Know when you’re most vulnerable and stand firm!
What weaknesses do you have that the enemy can appeal to? Is it lack of self-control? an addiction? an attitude? unforgiveness? lack of faith? relying upon your feelings? Know what your weaknesses are and stand firm!
Character to Imitate!
Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find? (NIV) Proverbs 20:6
A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. (NIV) Proverbs 28:20
What a man desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar. (NIV) Proverbs 19:22
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives. (NIV) Proverbs 27:21
A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control. (NIV) Proverbs 29:11
A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. (NIV) Proverbs 17:27
He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding. (NIV) Proverbs 15:32
What Not To Be!
An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins. (NIV) Proverbs 29:22
An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment. (NIV) Proverbs 18:1
A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated. (NIV) Proverbs 14:17
A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do it again. (NIV) Proverbs 19:19
Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? (NIV) Proverbs 27:4
The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!” 14 As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed. 15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. (NIV) Proverbs 26:13-15
Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin! (NIV) Proverbs 21:4
As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. (NIV) Proverbs 26:21
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. (NIV) Proverbs 26:12
A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed– without remedy. (NIV) Proverbs 29:1
If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. (NIV) Proverbs 21:13
A God of Compassion
The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. (NIV) Psalms 145:9
In the Old Testament, compassion was a response to need. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (ed. R. Laird Harris [Chicago: Moody Press, 1980]), states that the word is an “emotional response which results (or may result) in action to remove its object . . . from impending difficulty.” The word is used to describe emotion in both humans and God.
The word is also used in the Old Testament as an expression “to love deeply” or “to be compassionate,” or “to have mercy.” In this regard, the word is used to describe God’s love for human beings.
In the New Testament, the Greek words also express emotion. “Oiktirmos” conveys a sense of pity at the sight of the suffering of another person. When the Greek word “splanchnizomai” is translated “compassion” it is a deep emotion that produces a response. It provokes an action in the individual to relieve the suffering that is taking place. When Jesus felt compassion for a person (or peoples) it was often the turning point in the individual’s life.
How do I model compassion for others the way that Jesus did? Does someone in need cause me to emotionally reach out to that person? Do I care enough to get involved? Do I care enough to help by taking some action that may be a turning point in that person’s life?
If you struggle with lack of compassion for others, ask God to change your heart…and to give you opportunities to “practice” responding to others in need.
Discouraged?
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for y our souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (NIV) Matthew 11:28-30
I was all excited, plowing full stem ahead until I walked out of the meeting. It’s like my sails were pulled down and I couldn’t feel the wind. Discouragement took the direction and movement out of my boat. I walked away defeated, drained, without hope.
My mistake was that I hadn’t spent quality time with God that morning. . .I had gone through a ritual, read the Bible and half-heartedly prayed, but it wasn’t focused time with my Father. I hadn’t connected with God in a way that would have prepared me for my day. I was discouraged because I was drained. I hadn’t been refilled, refueled by God. And I had lost my focus.
Are you discouraged? Feel like your life has come to a standstill? or is lacking direction? Could it be that you’ve lost your focus? Turn your heart and your eyes to God and He will put the wind back into your sails!
Christian Unity
I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (NIV) John 17:23
“The task to which we are called is not the sacrifice of any principle in which we firmly believe. It is rather to return to Christ not a figure of the imagination, but the Christ of the Scriptures and to listen to His voice in obedience, to discover afresh what is the Truth. All unpretentious Bible study, every effort to disseminate a true scriptural theology, and every earnest prayer is part of the task of promoting that unity which is truly Christian. We must not envisage Christian Unity as consisting of far off and doubtful schemes, but as something very nigh which affects us all.”
“If we are really to seek for Christian Unity, we must be prepared to pay the cost. For it must be based upon love, and love is always costly. It will never be attained until there is ‘far more humility, far more thought, far more self-sacrifice, and far more prayer, than there is at present.’ (Streeter) If we are right in the conclusion that such disunion as has been sinful in the history of the Church has been due to pride, self assertion, and contempt for God’s Word and commandment, then it follows that the way to the unity which God wills [is] through humility, love of the brethren, and obedience to the Divine Revelation. When Christians pray to be shown where they have been wrong, proud, complaisant, or censorious, and to be put right; when they meet for common counsel and study of the Word, in the spirit of obedience and prepared to subject their individual opinions to the guidance of the Spirit; where the strong are willing to foster and strengthen the weak; and where all are seeking the common good rather than their own sectional interests: then the pathway to unity will become plain, and God will grant His blessing.” – G. T. Manley, Christian Unity [1945]
What are you doing to promote Christian unity?