1. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” 2. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” 3. “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law;…
Usually better, or not better in some views, but new absolutely. For example, John the Baptist did not come upon the scene to present himself as some great leader. While his spirit, words, and tenet of repentance led to respect, he had no intention of promoting himself to a unique position. Dressed in camel hair and eating locusts and wild honey, he was more interested in doing good than appearing great. How critical that thought and action are in modern-day…
Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt said: “It is not at all a question of being better than you were before. The new life means that forces for life can now be seen within you, that something of God and of heaven, something holy, can grow in you. It means we can actually see that it is no longer the sinful desires that have power, but Christ’s resurrection and His life, which leads you toward wholeness.”
1. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 2. “By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” 3. “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” 4. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we…
Have you not heard that, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”? The reason for the cross is for Christ to bring humanity to God so that we can have an everlasting relationship with HIM. Ordinarily, there was no way back to God without Christ intervention. The only path to eternal life is through Christ going to the Cross for us….
N. T. Wright said: “The cross is not a defeat, but a victory. It is the dramatic reassertion of the fact that God’s love is sovereign, that the rulers of the world do not have the last word, that the kingdom of God has defeated the kingdom of Satan, that the kingdoms of the world have now become, in principle, the kingdom of our God, and of his Messiah: and he shall reign forever and ever.”
1.”Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” 2. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” 3. “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” 4. “Praise is to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all…
John Newton once said: “We judge things by their present appearance; but the Lord sees them in their consequences. If we could do the same we would be perfect of His mind; but since we can’t, it is an unspeakable mercy that He will manage for us, whether we are pleased with His management or not; and it is regarded as one of His heaviest judgments when He gives any person up to the way of their own hearts, and…
Hermas said: “Tear doubt out of your heart! Never allow doubt to hinder you from praying to God by perchance thinking to yourself, “How can I ask anything from the Lord? How can I receive anything from him since I have sinned so much against him?” Never think like this! Instead, turn to the Lord with your whole heart. Pray to him without wavering, and you will come to know his great mercy. He will never desert you. He will…
1. “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 2. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” 3. “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the…