After opening the book of Ephesians with his trademark greeting, Paul instructs the church to praise God. Our purpose is to love God and love others. Praising God is part of loving him, just like praising my kids is part of loving them. According to the Easy English Bible Dictionary, praise is to say that somebody or something is good or great; to tell God how great and good he is. We can praise God when we are praying to him. And we can praise him when we sing to him.
The second part of verse three explains why we praise God - because he has given us every spiritual blessing. These spiritual blessings include eternal life in heaven, forgiveness of sins, a spiritual family, relationship with God, the Holy Spirit that lives in us... Can you think of some more?
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We're going to look at some wisdom from the book of Proverbs so here's an overview by The Bible Project.
Download this free Easter Reflection below.
I like to dabble in a bit of amateur photography and I love taking photos where the background is blurred while the main subject is in sharp focus, like the photo above. The Bible tells us that this is how we should look to Jesus—that we should forget everything around us and focus on him.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV) Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Colossians 3:1-2 (NOG) Since you were brought back to life with Christ, focus on the things that are above—where Christ holds the highest position. Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things. Matthew 6:33 (ERV) What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Jesus isn't something you can schedule in on Friday night and Sundays, while you focus on your friends, studies, social media accounts, etc. the rest of the week. He wants to be first in everything you do. You should put him first and honour him in your friendships, your studies, in your social media use and in all areas of your life. The other stuff doesn't matter in the light of eternity. Do you fix your eyes on Jesus all week or just on Sundays? Fervr.net has some great tips on how to improve your Bible study. You can read the full article at https://fervr.net/bible/better-bible-reading-in-3-minutes
I have just discovered S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S Bible Study Method by Rick Warren and I love it. It helps you to be way more intentional about how you read the Bible and helps you to reflect on what you've read. I think it would be really helpful to journal what you find in each passage. You might even find different things each time you read the same passage.
Ok, technically this is five words, not one. The new heaven and new earth is the place that God is preparing for his followers. When Jesus comes again he will take us to live there for eternity. We don't know a lot about the new heaven and new earth but here is what we do know:
You can find out more about the new heavens and the new earth by reading the rest of Revelation 21 and 22. This new home is the reason we have hope in the middle of heartache, distress, depression, pain and trials because there will be no more of these things when Jesus comes again. When you get dragged down by the cares of this world, remember that they are temporary and won't be around in the next one! Scroll down and click on the down arrow at the bottom of the second image. Click on the download symbol (the down arrow).
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