1 John 5:11-12

Poo (my husband) and I (Nana) are off to Columbus for Grandparents Day!!! Grandchildren are a gift from God and one of my biggest sources of happiness. I am so thankful that I have been blessed with them!!

1 john 5:11-12

Faith in God and a relationship with His Son gives us eternal life…Christ in us the hope of glory!!

God's witness or testimony is that He has given us eternal life … in His Son. Eternal life is not a wage to be earned, but a gift to be received from God. John clearly states that our relationship with the Son determines whether we possess eternal life.

5:11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

1 John 1:1-4

The disciples of Jesus Christ, literally, touched, talked to and listened to God while on this earth. We as disciples of Jesus Christ may not literally see Him but we can talk to, listen to and are guided by God while on this earth. It is hard to fathom why perfection seeks to have a relationship with such imperfection but I know it to be true. God reaches out His hand in fellowship and it is up to us to decide if we will accept it. Joy in the Lord is our strength!

These verses emphasize the personal experience of the apostles with the incarnate Word. The memory of Jesus Christ burned in the mind of John as he reflected on the three and a half years that he and the other disciples were with the Lord. Now he wanted to be sure that the churches under his care enjoyed fellowship with the resurrected Lord and with other disciples. This life is a gift from God, a gift that cannot be earned or taken from us. God had provided truth about Himself in nature and through the prophets of old, but the revelation in His Son is God's finest and clearest presentation of Himself. A Christian can have no real joy except in a proper relationship with God and others.

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

Titus 1:1-3

The truth understands that by faith in Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection alone can we be saved. God promised us this and God does not lie! Our life should show our love for others just as God's love for us was shown in Christ Jesus.

The salvation that God has promised to each of us who know His Son will be fulfilled; God is faithful to His promises. Paul places emphasis on the message, not the messenger. Christians should always focus on Christ, for He is the center of our faith, not any one preacher. The power is in the truth of what is preached, the good news that Christ has saved us from our sins. Paul's commission was as God's "imperial secretary," carrying the royal message of salvation.

1:1Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, 3 but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior

1 Peter 1:3-9

To God be all praise and glory! He cared enough for us that He planned for our salvation, knowing we would choose sin, before the world began…imagine a love so great! Faith alone pleases the Father and even faith was His free gift so that no man could think that it was his righteousness that deserved it. We are refined in the afflictions of this life if we hang on and do not let go of our faith in God to accomplish that which He began. By the power of the Holy Spirit we are changed bit by bit into the character of Jesus. We must remember joy In the Lord is our strength!

Our salvation is grounded in God's mercy, His act of compassion toward us despite our condition of sinfulness. The Greek word translated inheritance here suggests both a present and a future reality. God has already determined what we will one day experience in its totality. As the purity of gold is brought forth by intense heat, so the reality and purity of our faith are revealed as a result of the fiery trials we face. There is a final, positive outcome for trusting God through all the difficulties of life—our salvation.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

Hebrews 2:14-18

God took on the limitations of His earthly creations so that in becoming like them He could understand their fears and help them in all their trials. Jesus lived, died and through the power of the Holy Spirit conquered death in His resurrection so that we could, in Him, live forever.

Christ shared in our humanity by humbling himself to become a man. The devil is still active today, but his power over death has been taken away from him. Christ's death fulfilled the penalty for sin. Thus by placing our trust in Christ, we can be free from Satan's evil grasp. The devil uses the fear of death to enslave us. Through His death, the Son eliminated such fear and broke the bondage of sin and death. Jesus participated in our nature and in our sufferings on earth so that He could be a sympathetic Mediator between God and humanity. He understands our weaknesses and intercedes for us in the presence of God the Father. He is a merciful (sympathetic) and faithful (trustworthy) High Priest. Christ appeased God's righteous wrath by dying on the Cross in our place. Although completely perfect and sinless, Christ voluntarily submitted to the penalty of sin, His agonizing death on the Cross. This voluntary sacrifice of Himself for our welfare satisfied the justice and holiness of God. Christ's suffering included temptation. He experienced the lure of sin, but He never surrendered Himself to it. He knows what it is like to be tempted, so He knows how to assist those who are being tempted.

14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Phillipians 3:7-11

The only key to the truth of life is Christ Jesus, all man all God, given for the salvation of our souls and the gift of faith from the Father to believe in His righteousness so that no one can boast.

Those things that Paul thought to be important became unimportant after confronting the resurrected Messiah. Paul recognizes that true righteousness is a matter of faith, not of works. It is God's righteousness that comes through Christ, not our own righteousness.

The Believers at Philippi

There must have been very few Jews in Philippi because the city did not have a synagogue, and in first-century Judaism it took only ten Jewish men to justify building a synagogue for worship. The Jews who did live in Philippi went outside the city gate to the banks of the Gangites River for worship and prayer. Philippi was a culturally diverse Roman city on the main highway (the Egnatian Way) from the eastern provinces to Rome, and the church at Philippi had a diverse group of believers. The NT specifically mentions an Asian, a Greek, and a Roman. One was a businesswoman who sold purple cloth to the rich; one was a slave girl who had been possessed with a spirit of divination; the third was a jailer. These people represented three different races, three different social ranks, and probably three different religious loyalties before encountering Christ.

3:7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Acts 2:14-16

We should strive to live in a manner that does not offend God or our fellow men. The Laws of government provide protection from the prejudice and hatred of men including religious differences but the Law of God protects eternal life.

Paul openly admitted that he was a follower of the Way, but he contended that he still believed the Law and the Prophets. That is, he was a follower of Judaism,
a religion protected by Rome.

14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. 15 I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. 16 This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

2 Timothy 1:8-10

In a society where independence reigns supreme it is not always easy to share the mystery of the total dependence we who are believers have in Christ Jesus. Our life is not our own but His who called us. If by sharing the Good News of the salvation given to man in the death and resurrection of Jesus we can give hope to a dying world, do we care what others think?

Grace is God's unearned favor. The Lord called us and saved us in Christ Jesus before time began. The manifestation of God's plan and grace has been revealed, or brought to light, in the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. God's life, unlike the life of humans, is immortal; He cannot die. Through their faith in Christ, believers have inherited eternal life. We have nothing to fear, not even death. Therefore we can proclaim with boldness our trust in Christ.

1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was
given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel

2 Corinthians 4:10-15

The Gospel of Jesus Christ did not come about without extraordinary human sacrifice. The Apostles spent their lives dying to their own ambitions so that the truth of the gospel of grace could be given to others. Just as they were called, we are called to die to self and abound in Christ through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Christ in us the hope of glory!

Had Paul not been willing to risk death to bring the gospel to Corinth, the Corinthians would not have received eternal life. His belief in the gospel compelled him to tell others.

In ancient times it was a common practice to bury treasures inside clay jars. Two recent discoveries of biblical manuscripts—the Chester Beatty Papyrus and some of the Dead Sea Scrolls—reveal that these manuscripts were hidden away in jars for nearly two thousand years. As these treasures were enclosed in earthen vessels, so the indwelling Christ lives within our earthly bodies.

4:10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.

13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

Romans 8:31-39

The Holy Spirit, the heart of God, lives in those of us who choose to believe in His Son, Christ Jesus. Nothing can separate us from His love. Nothing that man can do to us, nothing that the world can put in our path can keep us from the love of God in the unity of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Nothing is impossible for those who believe!

If God, the Supreme Judge, justifies, then who is going to successfully bring a charge against us? God is infinitely wise, powerful, and good. We cannot accuse Him of being unfair in His dealings with humans. It was our own sinfulness that has entrapped us and condemned us. Yet God, out of His infinite mercy, chooses to save.

God's Everlasting Love

8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:

"For Your sake we are killed all day long;

We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 17:1-5

Jesus Christ laid aside His deity and took on mortal flesh that through His death and resurrection He would give eternal life to those whom the Father chose. He opens our eyes to the truth of God's existence. His obedience brought Him glory and in return gave glory to the Father.

The time for Him to die had arrived. Jesus was asking that His mission to the world would be made known through the Cross. The reasons for this request are twofold: (1) that Your Son also may glorify You. In the Cross, Jesus reveals the Father to the world, that is, His love and justice; and (2) that through Jesus' death on the Cross, God would provide forgiveness of sins and give eternal life to all those who believe in His Son.

17:1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Psalm 56:13

God chooses whom He wills and in good times or in bad times never leaves them nor forsakes them..Praise be to God!!!

Here is the psalmist's report of deliverance. In the congregation of believing people, David rejoices in the Lord.

56:13 For You have delivered my soul from death.

Have You not kept my feet from falling,

That I may walk before God

In the light of the living?

Romans 5:17-21

Satan would like nothing more than to silence us through the sins of our past…..we must not let him! Christ died for us so that we could live. He who was sinless took on our sin and gave up His earthly life in exchange for ours so that in His death and resurrection we could have life eternal. We need to shout it to the rooftops that there is salvation in Christ Jesus and God wants that no man perish but all to have His free gift of life. Believe!!!

As the result of Adam's sin, people became sinners. By Christ's death many will be made righteous. That is, believers are actually being constituted or made righteous. Through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, the believer who has been declared righteous by God is continually becoming more righteous. Not only can sin never exceed the grace provided by God, sin loses its threat when compared to the super abounding grace of God.

17 For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by zone Man's obedience many will be made righteous.

20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 10:27-30

We are safe and protected from evil in Christ. God controls all and all things He placed in the hands of Christ and those who believe in Him will have eternal life.

They shall never perish; their eternal life can never be taken away. The Father's hand is more powerful than that of any enemy.

10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 30 I and My Father are one."

Romans 5:6-11

God loved us so very much that He sacrificed His only begotten Son to give us the promise of eternal life with Him if we choose to accept His free gift. Christ in us the hope of glory. No greater love has nor ever will exist.

God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. By His blood … through the death of His Son we have been justified, that is "declared righteous," and reconciled, meaning our state of alienation from God has been changed. Believers are no longer enemies of God; they are at peace with God.

The Law was not given to justify sinners but to expose their sin. To remedy this deplorable situation, God sent His Son to die for our sins, in our place. When we believe in Jesus, God imputes His righteousness to us, and we are declared righteous before God. In this way, God demonstrates that He is both a righteous Judge and the One who declares us righteous, our Justifier.

5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

John 5:21-30

Without Jesus Christ we are dead, with Him we live! In the unity of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit man is saved. Man was created by God for good works through the salvation given in the cross of Jesus and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Believe!

As God raises people from the dead and gives them life, so Christ gives people spiritual life. Jesus claimed the same power as God, thus claiming that He is equal with God. All who believe in the One who sent Christ will believe in Christ. Christ can give life because He Himself possesses life. He not only has a part in giving it, He is the source of it. The only "good" anyone can do is to believe on Christ, the One God sent. All other good actions flow from that.

21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.

22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth— those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

John 3:35-36

It is all about Jesus! He gave His sinless life in exchange for ours. No greater love exists.

God the Father not only gave Jesus, in His humanity, the Holy Spirit, He also gave Him all things, including the authority to give life and judge. The one who believes has eternal life as a present possession. Likewise, the one who refuses to believe on Christ has the wrath of God abiding on him or her as a present reality.

3:35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

Romans 6:5-11

Christ died for the original sin and curse of Adam and Eve on mankind. He who was sinless took on sin and in giving up His life He put an end to sins dominion over man….Praise God! Man does not fully realize the power he has in Christ over sin in his life. Our mind may bind us but the truth sets us free. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to transforms us precept upon precept into the image of His Son. There is power in the word of God.

Some say old man refers to part of us, namely our old nature, our sinful disposition. However, the word man does not refer to part of a person; instead, the word describes the entire inner person before conversion, the person connected to the sin nature of Adam. Simply put, a believer is not the same person he or she was before conversion; a believer is a new creation in Christ. Believers are new people who are no longer enslaved to the old sinful nature. Believe introduces a new idea. Christians must not only know that they have died to sin and have been made alive with Christ, they must also believe it. Although before conversion they were still enslaved to the power of sin, now they are free to resist it.

6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Mark 10:13-16

God loves the little children, all the children of the world, yellow, black or white they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world!

Woe to anyone who harms them or causes them to sin.

Children exhibit sincerity, eagerness, a trusting attitude, and total dependence on their parents. Thus childlikeness is a fitting comparison for the qualities a disciple should have.

10:13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

Mark 9:33-37

Wake up and listen….whatever we do for others that they cannot do for themselves; we do for Jesus Christ, God incarnate. The only job in the world with eternal benefits is helping others. Think…what would Jesus do? Most people did not believe who He was when He walked this earth but it did not matter to Him. He went about doing His Father's business. He fed the poor, healed the sick, became their family, mended broken hearts and cast out the demons that threatened them. May we all be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit into the character of Jesus. Life is not about ME the people but about WE the people!

The disciples kept silent, refusing to tell Jesus about their discussion. But Jesus once again challenged their assumptions. He presented them with another paradox—that to be great in God's kingdom, one must be a servant. The example was modeled by Christ Himself.

33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them,  "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.

Matthew 19:13-16

God loves children and His kingdom will be filled with the trusting innocence of their character.

19:13 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 15 And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.