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13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

We all have examples. Who lead you to faith in Jesus Christ? What worked for you? Are you doing that for others? Look to the lives of those who are living well for Jesus and do as they do. We are not on our own, we don’t have to do it in our own strength, the Holy Spirit lives in every believer! He is the “deposit” the downpayment and guarantee that one day we’ll have no struggles, no pain, no worry. The strength we can tap into today will be the norm. Guard that good deposit!

I’ve seen several people talking about how the “18-24 year old” crowd voted. Here’s a map to represent how they voted in the presidential election of 2016.

It looks like these young adults are pretty liberal…

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4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

The way Christians live matters. Not so that we will gain the favor of God, but because of who we are. The way we live our lives reveals who we are. Are we His, or are we the world’s? Do we act like everyone else, or do we act as though we really do believe the Bible identifies the good? Marriage and faithfulness is a major indicator as to whether or not our faith is genuine. Money is another tell. Is it a tool for what your Lord has for you to do, or is it your Lord? You can’t serve both God and money. God is all you need, and you can never lose Him, that is, if you are His. And if you are, it will come out of you. Take stock of your life. Do you live for Him, or do you live for yourself. There is no need to be afraid of any unknown, your Lord is with you. Fear can paralyze you, don’t let it. Fear is the mind killer.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Look around. Read the Bible. Listen to some history. We are not the first generation of believers. Look at the testimony of those who’ve gone before us. Don’t get caught-up in things that experience shows us do not matter. Sin and also everyday distractions. We have a race to run. You have a course laid out before you. Run. Run to win. Do your best. Look to Jesus’ example above all. Anticipate your future, it is great. Let that encourage you to stay the course, just like Jesus did. If you follow Jesus, you have profound joy in your future, be encouraged!

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

How can we know how and why we’re here? I don’t mean what happened, we can postulate and theorize about the “big bang” but how did that which went “bang” come into being, and why was it there? It is by faith we trust in God. Science does not even ask such questions, that is the realm of Theology and Philosophy, but it is only answered by revelation. The Bible tells us, and we have faith.