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And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Nobody is perfect… yet. Paul is telling the church who supported his ministry that he is grateful for their willingness to help pay his way. He describes it as a “partnership” in his mission, the mission of the gospel. This work was started among them and it will not finish until Jesus comes back, and He is coming back! Praise the Lord! Don’t ever quit, don’t stop, the gospel still needs to go out to all the nations. This will always be our mission until the end, which is really only the beginning of forever!

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. …Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

Prayer is central to the Christian life, and when we ask, the Lord will protect us. It’s a good practice to think through and ask for God’s protection every day when you wake up.

The truth holds everything together, you can trust the Lord

Living rightly and trusting on Jesus’ perfection gives us life

The gospel is what gives us traction to offer hope to the world

Our trust, not in ourselves, but in God is what preserves our lives

Salvation is our everything

And we are meant to spend time in training with God’s Word to actually use it

All of this begins and ends with prayer. Ask for God’s protection, He will give it. As for purpose, you have it, it’s the great commission. Let’s go!

…sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

“Who are you to judge!?” The tired old refrain can be heard every time someone tries to talk about something Christians shouldn’t (really, cannot) do. It’s as though people think you can sleep-around with people you’re not married to, try to tear down “the rich,” use foul language, and tell disrespectful jokes at others’ expense, and somehow you can still call yourself a “Christian.” The Apostle Paul disagrees with you. If you are living with someone or having an otherwise intimate relationship with one who is not your spouse, you cannot call yourself a Christian unless you repent. Jesus is not your Lord, your passions and desires are your Lord. This is not to say that Christians are perfect, far from it, but genuine believers do repent. If our sin is not marked by repentance, then quite simply we are not saved. Are you so envious of others that you want to see them taken down? Does “income inequality” make you so jealous you vote to take things from the people who have “too much” while not realizing you too have more than about 99% of the world? That’s called covetousness. That too is not an unrepentant state of a genuine follower of Jesus Christ. The Bible has some hard truth for Americans to hear. There will be millions, perhaps billions, of people who prayed a prayer and attended a church service every now and again who are going to stand before Jesus on the Last Day and he is going to say “nope, I never knew you.” Please, don’t let that be you. Make Jesus your Lord, don’t just say He is… Wouldn’t we act differently if this were all true? Wouldn’t we act differently towards others if it were? Why don’t we?

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift… 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ… 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up… when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk. You’re a Christian, you should act like one. Humility, gentleness, patience, love. We should be on the edge of our seats actively trying to keep the church together. There is one Lord, there is one faith, there is one baptism. All roads do not lead to God. Regardless of the sincerity of the individual, only the God of the Bible, only Jesus Christ, can reconcile people to God. The church has been given the church a great gift, the people in it. The apostles and prophets have told us the truth. Evangelists keep the gospel front and center. Pastor-teachers keep the church rooted in the truth of the Bible, and all of these give us everything we need for every Christian to participate in ministry, to build up and expand the church (that’s ministry). We are told we need to grow-up in our theological thinking. We need to know the heart of God so well that when a strange teaching comes along we are not lead astray. We need to be telling each other the truth, Christians should never say of fellow Believers “that’s not my problem… that’s none of my business…” shame on us if we don’t grow up together. It takes EVERY PART WORKING for a church to grow, and we have everything we need to do just that, to the glory of God.

Read along in the New Testament with us. Here is our schedule

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul prays for his people, and so should we. That they (we) will be given strength and power by the Holy Spirit, inner strength. Allow Christ to reside in your heart. Love is the most important thing, real love, not pretend love. It takes a strong person to realize how much God loves us, sometimes He loves us so much He doesn’t save us from the pain that will make draw closer to Himself. Be filled with God, love big, trust the Lord, may Jesus live in your heart.

Do you want to follow along and read the New Testament with us? Here is our schedule