What Shall I Render

The Apostle Paul prays for the church in Ephesus, .. the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened, in order that they know the hope to which God has called them, in Christ. (Eph 1:18; Rom 15:13).

God has shown His compassion on rebellious sinners by sending His Son. Christ's compassion shows up when people need it.

Those free from condemnation are also free from the frustration of, and obligation to, the flesh. They live in the peace and freedom given by God's Holy Spirit (Rom 8).

Unto Thee O Lord do I lift up my soul, let me not be ashamed, and let not my enemies triumph over me . . . Ps 25

The hope God offers us in His Son does not disappoint us! It is far greater than any suffering we may face in this world. Our hope is based on nothing less than the bedrock person of Christ Jesus, Himself!

Once slaves to sin, who bore fruit for death,but we have been made new and free by dying to what once bound us (old man/law) We have God's Spirit, in order that we might bear fruit to God and live a life of freedom from sin (Rom 6, 7).

It is imperative that we choose or be willing to be the good soil. We can choose and even train ourselves to have ears that hear.

Careless words spoken against God's King(dom), as a basis for life, will bring judgment on the Day of Judgment. (Matt 12:36-37)

If we listen to the Father and learn from Him, we will find life, in the Son!

The patience and humility of our King should inspire us to depend upon and trust our King! (Matt 11, 12; Isa 42)

We can fall into playing spiritual Whack-A-Mole with sin in our lives. This will rob us of the joy we have in the peace Christ brings us, the peace that guards our hearts and minds in Christ. Without that guard, we can lose our joy!

Just as the apostles were sent to preach the good news to the towns and villages of Israel, we also go out in vulnerability, as sheep among wolves. It is very important for us to know and remember the value of the gospel.

David's psalms bear witness to much of what we have in Christ Jesus as a reality: God's Holy Spirit, God's presence, God's forgiveness, and God's credited righteousness.

God has the power to give life to the dead, to make streams of water flow in the desert, to keep us strong to the end, to guide our lives for His glory!

God's call to us is to come to the Son. In Him we find the Way, the Truth, and the Life; In Him, only, will we find rest for our souls. (Matt 11:28-30)

Jesus is God's solution for people's sin and faithlessness, and that is good news!

The Spirit of God has from the beginning in Genesis been doing what brings life according to God's purpose. He, now, works for God's purpose in God's covenant related children, by God's own promise (Acts 2:38, 39; Eph 3:16; Jn 6:63; 7:37-39 et al.).

Trying to fit the redemption of the kingdom into a system of human performance is a waste of time and a rejection of Christ's redeeming blood (Matt 9:14-18).

Arrogance, self-righteousness, seeks to diminish salvation to a checklist of rules accomplished by human effort. This mentality will keep us from hearing and receiving the message of salvation. The rich young man in Matt 19:16-30 stands as an illustration of a checklist mentality.

What tax collector expects a rabbi, much less the Messiah, to call him to "follow Me"? Which of the disciples wants to be seen with a known tax collector as a part of their group? If a tax collector gets a personal invitation to follow Jesus, and receives a purposed designation as a apostle of the Christ, what hope will that afford tax collectors and sinners, even today?!

As Fathers, we face the God-given responsibility to protect and provide for our families. This pressure serves well to point us to the Faithful Father, who will provide for us as we seek to imitate Him.

The LORD, YHWH, had proven His authority and His enduring love to save, deliver, and rescue. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's power to keep His promises (Psalms 107; Matt 8).

The Holy Spirit brings the message, the truth about salvation in Him, and as a result of God's promise in His Son, we have God's love within us, by His promised Holy Spirit (Jn 14, 15, 16, 1 Cor 2:9-10; Acts 2:38, 39; Rom 5:5; 1 Cor 13).

Jesus shows Himself to be the fulfillment of God's salvation to those who cry out for His help (Psalm 107:23-32; Matt 8:23-27).

Jews of Jesus' day were icons of privilege turning to entitlement! As a result, most of them missed the opportunity of participating in the spiritual feast of the kingdom (Matt 8:1-22)

Christ, the Messiah, was a fulfillment of God's promises both to David and Abraham, as the Son of David and the Son of Abraham. The coming of the Christ is a main part of God's purpose in ancient Israel. This was their privilege, as God's covenant people.

The Apostles were eyewitnesses of the death, burial, and resurrected Christ, but their testimony does not merely rely on their understanding or interpretation of these events. The Holy Spirit promised to them by Christ brought them the testimony, all truth regarding the Son and God's work in Him. (Jn 14-16, 17; Acts 1, 2).

A place of fellowship, life, and freedom, has been prepared by the Son, in the Son.

God's purpose in Christ is to restore fellowship with sinful man. The Apostles were eye witnesses of the fellowship the Father had with His Son as He lived among them. The message given these apostles by the Holy Spirit now brings us into fellowship with them, with the Son, and so, with the Father (1Jn 1:1-10).

The thing we believe is sure and certain, Jesus Christ is the Son of God. God's purpose in Christ was a mystery, it was a hidden secret, until the Holy Spirit revealed it to the Apostles (Jn 17:20; Eph 3:1-5; 1 Cor 1:18; 2:9-16).

The Holy Spirit's work in bringing the message to the apostles (1 Cor 1:18-2:16; Eph 3:1-5).

Always living by the power of an indestructible life, Christ, our High Priest is able to save completely those who come to God through Him!

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). He is the immutable foundation we are to dig deeply, find, and build upon (Matt 7:24-27).

There are plenty of actions commanded in the kingdom, but it always calls us to value the spiritual reality of Christ's reign within and for us.

God's Spirit within us grows our expectation and desire, our hope. The hope He brings us gives us victory over our sufferings and the love He brings us binds us together (Rom 5:1-5; 12:3-8).

Living Hope holds power in our present trials to fill us with an inexpressible and glorious joy regarding our future (1Pet 1:3-9).

Hypocrites cling to condemning others, while claiming to enjoy the forgiveness of the King. The kingdom transforms only those willing to be directed by the King's treatment of them.

The Spirit helps us in our weakness (Rom 8:26; Eph 3:16).

God has done the humanly impossible with sending His Son and placing Him on the throne at the Father's right hand. No part of that kingdom is according to human desires or purposes.

The desires of our flesh and the ways of the world bring sin, which results in death. They do not bring the kingdom to us, nor grow it within us.

God has always been after the heart, and His covenants and commands have never been merely outward and physical.

An intro into life by the Spirit (Rom 8).

The kingdom is a result of Jesus' being on His throne for the purpose of the Father. An important result of His reign is forgiveness. We receive it and we practice it! It is part of our transformation into the likeness of our King (Matt 6:12).

God created mothers so that we could see someone love us first and teach us wisdom to bless our lives.

The disciples of Jesus were longing for His throne and kingdom to be established. He taught them to pray as much. We have been redeemed by His blood and transferred into His kingdom, yet we are still to be seeking the increase of His reign and the Father's will in our lives. (Matt 6:33; 7:7-8)

Born of the water and the Spirit, we enter the kingdom of God. The Spirit leads us, as children of God. The Spirit brings life, freedom, peace, and confidence, not fear!

The kingdom brings a relationship that the law of Moses could not. Children born by the suffering of the Son at the cross and born by the authority of the Son as King (Matt 6:5-9; Heb 2:5-13; Isa 8:11-18).

The relationship between a good shepherd and his sheep is comparable to the relationship between a good king and the people of his kingdom. Good shepherds and kings provide, protect, and lead their sheep or people.

Sometimes in Scripture the kingdom names the realm or the territory of a king one/some might enter or from which one/some may be cast out (Matt 5:20; 7:21; 18:3; 23:13).

Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. . . . The ever increasing glory of our transformation into the likeness of His Son comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.