I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Rom. 12:1) For many years, I thought God’s acceptance hinged on my righteousness. I read passages like Romans 12:1, as a threat. This is what my…

We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians…

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Rom. 6:13-14) Many…

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Cor. 1:3-4)…

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, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. (Heb. 12:1-2) In every generation, God sustains…

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. (1 John 5:1-2) Motivation is as important as obedience to…

Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (Eph. 5:33) The women the Bible presents as the most desirable are those respected by their husbands. And the wives the Bible presents as most faithful are those who respect their husbands. Still, our corrupted…

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)  In my senior year of college, I thought that I had to make a decision whether to pursue broadcast journalism or to attend law school. The more I prayed, the more I recognized I…

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Rom. 8:35-37) Guilt and fear can cause us to question our usefulness to God….

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:103-105) A nature trail that my family enjoys meanders through woods, parallels a stream,…