9:23-26   People are willing to pay a high price for something they value.  Is it any surprise that Jesus would demand this much commitment from his followers?  There are at least three conditions that must be met by people who want to follow Jesus.  We must be willing to deny self, to take up our crosses, and to follow him.  Anything less is superficial lip service.

150:6   In a way, the book of Psalms parallels our spiritual journey through life.  It begins by presenting us with two roads -- the way to life and the way to death.  If we choose God's way to life, we still face both blessings and troubles, joy and grief, successes and obstacles.  Throughout it all, God is at our side, guiding, encouraging, comforting, and caring.  As the wise and faithful person's life draws to an end, he or she realizes clearly that God's road is the right road.  Knowing this will cause us to praise God for leading us in the right direction and for assuring our place in the perfect world God has in store for those who have faithfully followed him.

6:40  Those who put their faith in Christ will be resurrected from physical death to eternal life with God when Christ comes again (see 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

11:6  Sometimes we wonder about the fate of those who haven't heard of Christ and have not even had a Bible to read.  God assures us that all who honestly seek him -- who act in faith on the knowledge of God that they possess -- will be rewarded.  When you tell others the gospel, encourage them to be honest and diligent in their search for truth.  Those who hear the gospel are responsible for what they have heard (see Corinthians 6:1, 2).

3:16, 17  The whole Bible is God's inspired Word.  Because it is inspired and trustworthy, we should read it and apply it to our lives.  The Bible is our standard for testing everything else that claims to be true.  It is our safeguard against false teaching and our source of guidance for how we should live.  It is our only source of knowledge about how we can be saved.  God wants to show you what is true and equip you to live for him.  How much time do you spend in God's Word?  Read it regularly to discover God's truth and to become confident in your life and faith.  Develop a plan for reading the whole Bible, not just the familiar passages.

3:17  In our zeal for the truth of Scripture, we must never forget its purpose -- to equip us to do good.  We should not study God's Word simply to increase our knowledge or to prepare us to win arguments.  We should study the Bible so that we will know how to do Christ's work in the world.  Our knowledge of God's Word is not useful unless it strengthens our faith and leads us to do good..

1:18-20  In these verses, Paul answers a common objection:  How could a loving God send anyone to hell, especially someone who has never heard about Christ?  In fact, says Paul, God has revealed himself plainly in the creation to all people.  And yet people reject even this basic knowledge of God.  Also, everyone has an inner sense of what God requires, but they choose not to live up to it.  Put another way, people's moral standards are always better than their behavior.  If people suppress God's truth in order to live their own way, they have no excuse.  They know the truth, and they will have to endure the consequences of ignoring it.

1:20  What kind of God does nature reveal?  Nature shows us a God of might, intelligence, and intricate detail; a God of order and beauty; a God who controls powerful forces.  That is general revelation.  Through special revelation (the Bible and the coming of Jesus), we learn about God's love and forgiveness, and the promise of eternal life.  God has graciously given us both sources that we might fully believe in him.

1:20  God reveals his divine nature and personal qualities through creation, even though creation's testimony has been distorted by the fall.  Adam's sin resulted in a divine curse upon the whole natural order (Genesis 3:17-19); thorns and thistles were an immediate result, and natural disasters have been common from Adam's day to ours.  In Romans 8:19-21, Paul says that nature itself is eagerly awaiting its own redemption from the effects of sin (see Revelation 22:3).

4:1-3  Some people believe everything they read or hear.  Unfortunately, many ideas printed and taught are not true.  Christians should have faith, but they should not be gullible.  Verify every message you hear, even if the person who brings it says it's from God.  If the message is truly from God, it will be consistent with Christ's teachings.

1:9  If God has forgiven us for our sins because of Christ's death, why must we confess our sins?  in admitting our sins and receiving Christ's cleansing, we are: (1) agreeing with God that our sin truly is sin and that we are willing to turn from it, (2) ensuring that we don't conceal our sins from him and consequently from ourselves, and (3) recognizing our tendency to sin and relying on his power to overcome it.

19:26  Job said: "in my flesh I will see God."  In Job's situation, it seemed unlikely to him that he would, in his flesh, see God.  And that's just the point of Job's faith!  he was confident that God's justice would triumph, even if it would take a miracle like resurrection to accomplish this.

2:14  The written code that was canceled was the legal demands of the Old Testament law.  The law opposed us by its demands for payment for our sin.  Though no one can be saved by merely keeping that code, the moral truths and principles in the Old Testament still teach and guide today.

2:14  We can enjoy our new life in Christ because we have joined him in his death and resurrection.  our evil desires, our bondage to sin, and our love of sin died with him.  Now, joining him in his resurrection life, we may have unbroken fellowship with God and freedom from sin.  our debt for sin has been paid in full; our sins are swept away and forgotten by God; and we can be clean and new.  For more on the difference between our new life in Christ and our old sinful nature, read Ephesians 4:23, 24 and Colossians 3:3-15.

2:8 - 10  We become Christians through God's unmerited grace, not as the result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on our part.  However, out of gratitude for this free gift, we will seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness, and not merely to please ourselves.  While no action or work we do can help us obtain salvation, God's intention is that our salvation will result in acts of service.  We are not saved merely for our own benefit but to serve Christ and build up the church (4:12).

23:2, 3  When we allow God our shepherd to guide us, we have contentment.  When we choose to sin, however, we go our own way and cannot blame God for the environment we create for ourselves.  Our shepherd knows the "green pastures" and "quiet waters" that will restore us.  We will reach theses places only by following him obediently.  Rebelling against the shepherd's leading is actually rebelling against our own best interests.  We must remember this the next time we are tempted to go our own way rther than the shepherd's way. 

23:4  Death casts a frightening shadow over us because we are entirely helpless in its presence.  We can struggle with other enemies -- pain, suffering, disease, injury -- but strength and courage cannot overcome death.  It has the final word.  Only one person can walk with us through death's dark valley and bring us safely to the other side -- the God of life, our shepherd.  Because life is uncertain, we should follow this shepherd who offers us eternal comfort.

23:5, 6  In ancient Near Eastern culture, at a banquet it was customary to anoint a person with fragrant oil as a lotion.  Hosts were also expected to protect their guests at all costs.  God offers the protection of a host even when enemies surround us.  In the final scene of this psalm, we see that believers will dwell with God.  God, the perfect shepherd and host, promises to guide and protect us through life to bring us into his house forever.

4:4, 5  Ultimate joy comes from Christ dwelling within us.  Christ is near, and at his second coming we will fully realize this ultimate joy.  He who lives within us will fulfill his final purposes for us.

This is the Golden Rule!

22:37-40  Jesus says that if we truly love God and our neighbor, we will naturally keep the commandments.  This is looking at God's law positively.  Rather than worrying about all we should not do, we should concentrate on all we can do to show our love for God and others.

Some scientists say that the number of stars in creation is equal to all the grains of all the sands on all the beaches of the world.  Yet this complex sea of spinning stars functions with remarkable order and efficiency.  To say that the universe "just happened" or "evolved" requires more faith than to believe that God is behind these amazing statistics.  God truly did create a wonderful universe.

God did not need to create the universe; he chose to create it.  Why?  God is love, and love is best expressed toward something or someone else -- so God created the world and people as an expression of love.  We should avoid reducing God's creation to merely scientific terms.  Remember that God created the universe because he loves each of us.

1:1ff The creation story teaches us much about God and ourselves.  First, we learn about God: (1) he is creative; (2) as the Creator he is distinct from his creation; (3) he is eternal and in control of the world.  We also learn about ourselves:  (1) since God chose to create us, we are valuable in his eyes; (2) we are more important than the animals.  (See 1:28 for more on our role in the created order.)

1:1ff Just how did God create the earth?  This is still a subject of great debate.  some say that there was a sudden explosion, and the universe appeared.  Others say God started the process, and the universe evolved over billions of years.  Almost every ancient religion has its own story to explain how the earth came to be.  And almost every scientist has an opinion on the origin of the universe.  But only the Bible shows one supreme God creating the earth out of his great love and giving all people a special place in it.  We will never know all the answers to how God created the earth, but the Bible tells us that God did create it.  That fact alone gives worth and dignity to all people.