Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG Originally posted 2015-10-16 08:42:22.
WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? “…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) Can you describe the Gospel in one sentence? Sometimes we complicate it. We talk about who God is. We include what Jesus did and what is required of us. We may even throw in a bit about what the Gospel is not. The essence of the good news can get lost in lengthy explanations. It may be diluted by denominational dogma, and cluttered by complex theology. According to the apostle Paul, the Gospel is gloriously simple: Jesus Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose from the dead, as said by the prophecies made long before His birth. That’s it. That’s the Gospel! Of course, we can offer profound explanations about how Jesus died for our sins because He is God and had no sin of His own; that His resurrection proved His victory over sin, death, and the devil. The entire Bible is the unveiling of this magnificent rescue plan. But when we share the good news of Jesus with children, keep it simple. That’s what God did for us. He took the profound and made it as simple as a baby born in a stable, lying in a manger. Source: Anchor Devotional – What is the Gospel? Originally posted 2015-10-13 12:14:14.
It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: “The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives.” Romans 1:17 MSG Originally posted 2015-10-13 05:52:30.
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. 1 John 4:18 MSG Originally posted 2015-10-09 05:00:29.
You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by GOD. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, GOD, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I’m going to do what you tell me to do; don’t ever walk off and leave me. Psalm 119:7 MSG Originally posted 2015-10-07 04:19:36.
“Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me. John 14:23 MSG Originally posted 2015-10-06 04:06:56.
