“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, your workers are Lawlessness. Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus taught the carrying out God’s purposes and desire was a condition for entering the kingdom of heaven. This does not mean that we can earn spiritual…
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First Love
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand form its place, unless you repent. Revelation 2:4-5 Fervent, personal, uninhibited, openly displayed first love is the devotion to Christ. This characterizes the new believer and is manifested in relationships with fellow Christians and the lost. Do you need to return to your first love? Do you need to return wholeheartedly? How do we recover our first love? In Ephesians, the apostle Paul concludes with a benediction: …
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The Good Fight
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7 The end is coming for Paul. He knows death is right around the corner, therefore, he is reviewing his life. Paul describes his life in a few phrases. Paul saw his Christian life as a good fight, the only fight worth fighting for. What was he fighting? Paul was fighting Satan, all behaviors that went against God, religious hypocrisy, immoral behavior, Abuse a spiritual freedom in the church, false teachers, distortion of Christ message, worldliness, and every kind of sin. When we look at this list, does it make you…