“I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.” (Philippians 3:9 NLT). Paul told the Philippians that before he trusted Christ, he had worked to earn righteousness through obeying the law. But
“We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT). This is the problem with the idea that we can live a good enough life to please God and earn entrance into heaven–– our righteous acts are like “filthy rags.” We make
“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is
“And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News” (Philippians 1:12 NLT). The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church at Philippi from his jail cell in Rome. He wrote to encourage his gospel partners, so that
“Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18 NLT). Two commands are given here, with the first being illustrative to help understand and emphasize the second. They are: First, Don’t allow your mind and senses to be dulled and dissipated under the influence
“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29 NLT). In a generation of course communication, we are to sound a different tone. The apostle Paul wrote that believers are to speak the “truth in
“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church” (Ephesians 4:15 NLT). In this verse, Paul described both the goal and the means of our speech to one another. The goal is maturity in Christ. And the means
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21 NLT). The apostle Paul closed his prayer at the end
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). We cannot earn salvation, but having received it by God’s grace through faith, we become God’s “masterpiece” (Greek: “poiema”). In Christ, we become God’s poem, His
“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 NLT). There is a kind of fatigue that afflicts both young and old. Days off and vacations seem to have no