Keys to an abundant life

The Bible contains all we need to know about how the best way to live and following this guide has never left me dissatisfied.

Here’s what it says about:
p{color:brown;letter}. TIMES OF SORROW -

“Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me.There are many rooms in my Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly.
When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.And you know where I am going and how to get there.”
“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We haven’t any idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you had known who I am, then you would have known who my Father is. From now on you know him and have seen him!”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.”
Jesus replied, "Philip, don’t you even yet know who I am, even after all the time I have been with you? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking to see him?
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.
Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of what you have seen me do.
“The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father.
Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it!
“If you love me, obey my commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor, who will never leave you.
He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognise him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
No, I will not abandon you as orphans — I will come to you. In just a little while the world will not see me again, but you will. For I will live again, and you will, too.
When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them.”
Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”
Jesus replied, "All those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and live with them.
Anyone who doesn’t love me will not do what I say. And remember, my words are not my own. This message is from the Father who sent me.
I am telling you these things now while I am still with you.
But when the Father sends the Counsellor as my representative — and by the Counsellor I mean the Holy Spirit — he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you.
“I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really love me, you will be very happy for me, because now I can go to the Father, who is greater than I am.
I have told you these things before they happen so that you will believe when they do happen.
“I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the prince of this world approaches. He has no power over me, but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.”John 14"://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14&version=TLB

WHEN PEOPLE FAIL YOU -

The LORD is my light and my salvation — so why should I be afraid? The LORD protects me from danger — so why should I tremble?
When evil people come to destroy me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will know no fear. Even if they attack me, I remain confident.
The one thing I ask of the LORD — the thing I seek most — is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.
For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
Then I will hold my head high, above my enemies who surround me. At his Tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the LORD with music.
Listen to my pleading, O LORD. Be merciful and answer me!
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.”
Do not hide yourself from me. Do not reject your servant in anger. You have always been my helper. Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me, O God of my salvation!
Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close.
Teach me how to live, O LORD. Lead me along the path of honesty, for my enemies are waiting for me to fall.
Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I’ve never done and breathe out violence against me.
Yet I am confident that I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.
Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.
Psalm 27

HOW TO MAKE YOUR LIFE COUNT -

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer.
He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more.
You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.
“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing.
Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire.
But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon.
This is how my Father shows who he is – when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love.
If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done – kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.
“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature.
This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you.
This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.
You are my friends when you do the things I command you.
I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.
“You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.
“But remember the root command: Love one another.
“If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me.
If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.
“When that happens, remember this: Servants don’t get better treatment than their masters. If they beat on me, they will certainly beat on you. If they did what I told them, they will do what you tell them.
“They are going to do all these things to you because of the way they treated me, because they don’t know the One who sent me.
If I hadn’t come and told them all this in plain language, it wouldn’t be so bad. As it is, they have no excuse.
Hate me, hate my Father – it’s all the same.
If I hadn’t done what I have done among them, works no one has ever done, they wouldn’t be to blame. But they saw the God-signs and hated anyway, both me and my Father.
Interesting – they have verified the truth of their own Scriptures where it is written, ‘They hated me for no good reason.’
“When the Friend I plan to send you from the Father comes – the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father – he will confirm everything about me.
You, too, from your side must give your confirming evidence, since you are in this with me from the start.
John 15

HOW TO FIX IT WHEN YOU’VE MADE A MISTAKE -

A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
For I recognise my shameful deeds — they haunt me day and night.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.
For I was born a sinner — yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being.
Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me — now let me rejoice.
Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
Then I will teach your ways to sinners, and they will return to you.
Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
Unseal my lips, O Lord, that I may praise you.
You would not be pleased with sacrifices, or I would bring them. If I brought you a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise.
Look with favoUr on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with worthy sacrifices and with our whole burnt offerings; and bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
Psalm 51

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU’RE WORRIED -

With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are.
Set the world right; Do what’s best – as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You’re in charge! You can do anything you want! You’re ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.
“In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others.
If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.
“When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don’t make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won’t make you a saint.
If you ‘go into training’ inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face.
God doesn’t require attention-getting devices. He won’t overlook what you are doing; he’ll reward you well. A Life of God-Worship
“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or – worse! – stolen by burglars.
Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars.
It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
“Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light.
If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!
“You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both.
“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.
Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch?
All this time and money wasted on fashion – do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers – most of which are never even seen – don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?
What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving.
People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.
Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
Matthew 6:9-34

WHEN YOU ARE IN DANGER -

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare of the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him.
For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from the fatal plague.
He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers. His faithful promises are your armour and protection.
Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor fear the dangers of the day, nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you.
But you will see it with your eyes; you will see how the wicked are punished.
If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling.
For he orders his angels to protect you wherever you go.
They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.
You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honour them.
I will satisfy them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
Psalm 91

WHEN GOD SEEMS FAR AWAY -

A psalm of David. O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away.
You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am.
You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!
I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night — but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvellous — and how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable!
I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!
O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!
They blaspheme you; your enemies take your name in vain.
O LORD, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who resist you?
Yes, I hate them with complete hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Psalm 139

WHEN YOUR FAITH IS SLIPPING -

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.
God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith.
By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. God accepted Abel’s offering to show that he was a righteous man. And although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us because of his faith.
It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying — “suddenly he disappeared because God took him.” But before he was taken up, he was approved as pleasing to God.
So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
It was by faith that Noah built an ark to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about something that had never happened before. By his faith he condemned the rest of the world and was made right in God’s sight.
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.
And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith — for he was like a foreigner, living in a tent. And so did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the same promise.
Abraham did this because he was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
It was by faith that Sarah together with Abraham was able to have a child, even though they were too old and Sarah was barren. Abraham believed that God would keep his promise.
And so a whole nation came from this one man, Abraham, who was too old to have any children — a nation with so many people that, like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
All these faithful ones died without receiving what God had promised them, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed the promises of God. They agreed that they were no more than foreigners and nomads here on earth.
And obviously people who talk like that are looking forward to a country they can call their own.
If they had meant the country they came from, they would have found a way to go back.
But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a heavenly city for them.
It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, though God had promised him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”
Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
It was by faith that Isaac blessed his two sons, Jacob and Esau. He had confidence in what God was going to do in the future.
It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.
And it was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, confidently spoke of God’s bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt. He was so sure of it that he commanded them to carry his bones with them when they left!
It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid of what the king might do.
It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be treated as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.
He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of the Messiah than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the great reward that God would give him.
It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt. He was not afraid of the king. Moses kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.
It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.
It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians followed, they were all drowned.
It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho seven days, and the walls came crashing down.
It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute did not die with all the others in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
Well, how much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets.
By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.
Women received their loved ones back again from death.But others trusted God and were tortured, preferring to die rather than turn from God and be free. They placed their hope in the resurrection to a better life.
Some were mocked, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in dungeons.
Some died by stoning, and some were sawed in half; others were killed with the sword. Some went about in skins of sheep and goats, hungry and oppressed and mistreated.
They were too good for this world. They wandered over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
All of these people we have mentioned received God’s approval because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.
For God had far better things in mind for us that would also benefit them, for they can’t receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race.
Hebrews 11

WHEN YOU ARE LONELY OR FEARFUL -

A psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalm 23

WHEN YOU GROW BITTER -

If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn’t love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn’t love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.
It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear.
Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little!
But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear.
It’s like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.
Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.
There are three things that will endure — faith, hope, and love — and the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13

THIS WAS PAUL’S SECRET TO HAPPINESS -

Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Colossians 3:12-17

UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIANITY -

He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them.
So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, as though he were merely a human being. How differently I think about him now!
What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him.
For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others.
2 Corinthians 5:15-19

WHEN OTHERS TREAT YOU BADLY -

If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
Romans 8:31

FOR PEACE & REST -

Then Jesus prayed this prayer: "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike.
Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!
“My Father has given me authority over everything. No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.
Matthew 11:25-30

WHEN THE WORLD SEEMS BIGGER THAN GOD -

A prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!
Before the mountains were created, before you made the earth and the world, you are God, without beginning or end.
You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust!”
For you, a thousand years are as yesterday! They are like a few hours!
You sweep people away like dreams that disappear or like grass that springs up in the morning.
In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered.
We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury.
You spread out our sins before you — our secret sins — and you see them all.
We live our lives beneath your wrath. We end our lives with a groan.
Seventy years are given to us! Some may even reach eighty. But even the best of these years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we are gone.
Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.
Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.
O LORD, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good.
Let us see your miracles again; let our children see your glory at work.
And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!
Psalm 90

ACCEPTED BY GOD -

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death.
The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace.
For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.
That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.)
Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God.
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you.
So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.
For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God’s very own children, adopted into his family — calling him “Father, dear Father.”
For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children.
And since we are his children, we will share his treasures — for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later.
For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.
Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God’s curse.
All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don’t need to hope for it.
But if we look forward to something we don’t have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently.
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters.
And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And he gave them right standing with himself, and he promised them his glory.
Romans 8:1-30

HE’S ALWAYS NEAR -

I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
He won’t let you stumble, your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s Guardian will never doze or sleep.
God’s your Guardian, right at your side to protect you -
Shielding you from sunstroke, sheltering you from moon stroke.
God guards you from every evil, he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return, he guards you now, he guards you always.
Psalm 121

May God be merciful and bless us. May his face shine with favour upon us.
May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere.
May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you.
How glad the nations will be, singing for joy, because you govern them with justice and direct the actions of the whole world. Interlude
May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God, will richly bless us.
Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear him.
Psalm 67

WHEN YOU NEED COURAGE -

Be strong and very courageous. Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do.
Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed.
I command you — be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Joshua 1:7-9

FORMULA FOR GETTING ALONG WITH OTHERS -

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognise what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around.
The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvellously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else;
if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
Love from the centre of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good.
Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fuelled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder.
Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath.
Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down.
Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.
Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone.
If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody.
Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”
Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness.
Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.
Romans 12

COMMITTING TO GOD YOU CAN’T LOOSE -

Looking at his disciples, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all’ to enter God’s kingdom?” The disciples couldn’t believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on: “You can’t imagine how difficult. I’d say it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for the rich to get into God’s kingdom.” That set the disciples back on their heels. “Then who has any chance at all?” they asked.

Jesus was blunt: “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it.”

Peter tried another angle: “We left everything and followed you.”

Jesus said, "Mark my words, no one who sacrifices house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, land – whatever – because of me and the Message will lose out. They’ll get it all back, but multiplied many times in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land – but also in troubles. And then the bonus of eternal life!

This is once again the Great Reversal: Many who are first will end up last, and the last first."

Mark 10

WHEN YOU FEEL DEPRESSED -

Light, space, zest – that’s God! So, with him on my side I’m fearless, afraid of no one and nothing.
When vandal hordes ride down ready to eat me alive, Those bullies and toughs fall flat on their faces.
When besieged, I’m calm as a baby. When all hell breaks loose, I’m collected and cool.
I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet.
That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world, The perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic.
God holds me head and shoulders above all who try to pull me down. I’m headed for his place to offer anthems that will raise the roof! Already I’m singing God-songs; I’m making music to God.
Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs: “Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,” my whole being replied, “I’m seeking him!”
Don’t hide from me now! You’ve always been right there for me; don’t turn your back on me now. Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me; you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me, but God took me in.
Point me down your highway, God; direct me along a well-lighted street; show my enemies whose side you’re on.
Don’t throw me to the dogs, those liars who are out to get me, filling the air with their threats.
I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God! Take heart. Don’t quit. I’ll say it again: Stay with God.

Psalm 27

WHEN YOU HAVE NO MONEY -

The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.
Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly forsaken, nor seen their children begging for bread.
The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing.
Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever.
For the LORD loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will perish.
The godly will inherit the land and will live there forever.
The godly offer good counsel; they know what is right from wrong.
They fill their hearts with God’s law, so they will never slip from his path.
Those who are evil spy on the godly, waiting for an excuse to kill them.
But the LORD will not let the wicked succeed or let the godly be condemned when they are brought before the judge.
Don’t be impatient for the LORD to act! Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you, giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.
I myself have seen it happen — proud and evil people thriving like mighty trees.
But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them!
Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future lies before those who love peace.
But the wicked will be destroyed; they have no future.
The LORD saves the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble.
The LORD helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him.
“Psalm 37”https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+37&version=TLB

WHEN PEOPLE ARE UNKIND -

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer.
He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more.
You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.
“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing.
Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire.
But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon.
This is how my Father shows who he is – when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love.
If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done – kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.
“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature.
This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you.
This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.
You are my friends when you do the things I command you.
I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.
“You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.
“But remember the root command: Love one another.
If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me.
If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.
“When that happens, remember this: Servants don’t get better treatment than their masters. If they beat on me, they will certainly beat on you. If they did what I told them, they will do what you tell them.
“They are going to do all these things to you because of the way they treated me, because they don’t know the One who sent me.
If I hadn’t come and told them all this in plain language, it wouldn’t be so bad. As it is, they have no excuse.
Hate me, hate my Father – it’s all the same.
If I hadn’t done what I have done among them, works no one has ever done, they wouldn’t be to blame. But they saw the God-signs and hated anyway, both me and my Father.
Interesting – they have verified the truth of their own Scriptures where it is written, ‘They hated me for no good reason.’
“When the Friend I plan to send you from the Father comes – the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father – he will confirm everything about me.
You, too, from your side must give your confirming evidence, since you are in this with me from the start.
John 15

WHEN YOU’RE DISCOURAGED ABOUT YOUR WORK -

God was wonderful to us; we are one happy people.
And now, God, do it again – bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.
Psalm 126

WHEN YOUR EGO GETS TOO BIG -

The skies display his marvellous craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world. The sun lives in the heavens where God placed it.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat.
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight to life.
Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the LORD are true; each one is fair.
They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.
They are a warning to those who hear them; there is great reward for those who obey them.
How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
Keep me from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.
May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19

FOR DEALING WITH FEAR -

God’s angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we pray.
Psalm 34:7

FOR SECURITY -

He will not let you stumble and fall; the one who watches over you will not sleep.
Psalm 121:3

FOR ASSURANCE -

If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life.
Mark 8:35

FOR REASSURANCE -

God’s there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it.
Psalm 145:18

Some religions seem based on pride – if it feels good do it, with no accountability because all roads lead to God – or because God is already within.

Other religions seems based on retaliation and revenge when people don’t measure up to their standards.

My experience has taught me that christianity is based on the fact that we are all sinners and although we can try, we can’t live a sinless life on our own. That’s why it was necessary for Jesus to die, to save us from ourselves and give us life better than we dreamed of.

My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening.
1 John 5:13-14

My life is testimony to the fact that in my mid 60’s I’m surer than ever that I’m a child of God with a certain future and a mansion in heaven waiting just for me.
Please share this message and do your part to help advance the Kingdom of Heaven!

© Copyright 2014 Elaine Costin All Rights Reserved
While everything The Holy Spirit inspires me to write is under full copyright protection, the only purpose is to make sure people copy it right. As long as you always clearly reference it as my work including my copyright statement at the bottom, keep it in its entirety without editing of any kind and link it to https://www.capturingsunrise.com/blog as the source, you have my permission to copy, print, and distribute my writings freely, as long as it is not for profit. If you wish to use my writings in a profit making capacity then permission must be granted by the author.