a call to go

 Romans 10

9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord 

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, 

you will be saved. 

10 For it is by believing in your heart 

that you are made right with God, 

and it is by openly declaring your faith 

that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, 

“Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 

12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. 

They have the same Lord, 

who gives generously to all who call on him. 

13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? 

And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? 

And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 

15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? 

That is why the Scriptures say, 

“How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

read it again - it won't kill ya

  Romans 8 

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 

2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 

3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. 

So God did what the law could not do. 

He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. 

And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 

4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, 

who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

5 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. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9 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 do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 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. 28 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. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

the most remarkable chapter in the Bible?

 Romans 8 

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 

2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 

3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. 

So God did what the law could not do. 

He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. 

And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 

4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, 

who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

5 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. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9 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 do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 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. 28 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. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

the way to live

 Romans 6

12 Do not let sin control the way you live; 

do not give in to sinful desires. 

13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin.

 Instead, give yourselves completely to God, 

for you were dead, 

but now you have new life. 

So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 

14 Sin is no longer your master, 

for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. 

Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

vines & branches

 John 15 

1 “I am the true grapevine, 

and my Father is the gardener. 

2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, 

and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit 

so they will produce even more. 

3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 

4 Remain in me, 

and I will remain in you. 

For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, 

and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. 

Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. 

For apart from me you can do nothing. 

6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. 

Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 

7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, 

you may ask for anything you want, 

and it will be granted! 

8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. 

This brings great glory to my Father.

9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. 

Remain in my love. 

10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, 

just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 

11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. 

Yes, your joy will overflow! 

12 This is my commandment: 

Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 

13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 

15 I no longer call you slaves, 

because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. 

Now you are my friends, 

since I have told you everything the Father told me. 

16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. 

I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, 

so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 

17 This is my command: Love each other.

the way

 John 14  1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. 

Trust in God, 

and trust also in me. 

2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. 

If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 

3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, 

so that you will always be with me where I am. 

4 And you know the way to where I am going.”

5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

12 “I tell you the truth, 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. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

new commandment

 So now I m giving you a new commandment:

Love each other.

Just as I have loved you,

you should love each other.

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

Jesus in John 13:34-35

We Christians are known for a lot of things these days.

I don't think loving others is one of the things the world would credit us with having or being.

We've missed the mark, folks.

this says it all

 Romans 3

21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him 

without keeping the requirements of the law, 

as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 

22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. 

And this is true for everyone who believes, 

no matter who we are or what we have done.

23 For everyone has sinned; 

we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 

24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. 

He did this through Christ Jesus 

when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 

25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. 

People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. 

This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 

26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. 

God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, 

for he himself is fair and just, 

and he makes sinners right in his sight 

when they believe in Jesus.

27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? 

No, 

because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. 

It is based on faith. 

28 So we are made right with God through faith 

and not by obeying the law.

29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? 

Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? 

Of course he is. 

30 There is only one God, 

and he makes people right with himself only by faith, 

whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 

31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, 

does this mean that we can forget about the law? 

Of course not! 

In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

twoseven

 Psalm 27 (The Message) 

Light, space, zest—
    that’s God!
So, with him on my side I’m fearless,
    afraid of no one and nothing.

2 When vandal hordes ride down
    ready to eat me alive,
Those bullies and toughs
    fall flat on their faces.

3 When besieged,
    I’m calm as a baby.
When all hell breaks loose,
    I’m collected and cool.

4 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.

5 That’s the only quiet, secure place
    in a noisy world,
The perfect getaway,
    far from the buzz of traffic.

6 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.

7-9 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!

9-10 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.

11-12 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.

13-14 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.

good shepherd

 John 10

11 “I am the good shepherd. 

The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 

12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. 

He will abandon the sheep 

because they don’t belong to him 

and he isn’t their shepherd. 

And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 

13 The hired hand runs away 

because he’s working only for the money 

and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; 

I know my own sheep, 

and they know me, 

15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. 

So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 

16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. 

I must bring them also. 

They will listen to my voice, 

and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

17 “The Father loves me 

because I sacrifice my life 

so I may take it back again. 

18 No one can take my life from me. 

I sacrifice it voluntarily. 

For I have the authority to lay it down 

when I want to 

and also to take it up again. 

For this is what my Father has commanded.”

121 2.0

 Psalm 121 (The Message)

1-2 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.

3-4 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.

5-6 God’s your Guardian,
    right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
    sheltering you from moonstroke.

7-8 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.