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This is a good devotional by Andrew Murray, the old-time famous preacher, known for his many books. He explains very well in few words the difference between having only a head knowledge...and a faith that includes both head and heart. The Inner Divine Life by Andrew Murray And so the inner divine life in a man is something quite different from the intellect with which he knows about it. That intellect is indeed most needful, to offer to the heart the Word of God which the Holy Spirit can quicken. And yet it is absolutely impotent, either to impart, or quicken, the true life. It is but a servant that carries the food; it is the heart that must feed, and be nourished and live.

C.H.Spurgeon. 1 John 2:6. "So to walk, as He walked. Why should christians imitate Christ? They should do it for their own sakes. If they desire to be in a healthy state of soul, if they want to escape the sickness of sin and enjoy the vigour of of growing grace, let Jesus be their model. For the sake of their own happiness, if they would enjoy holy and happy communion with Jesus, and if they would be lifted above the cares and troubles of this world, let them walk even as He walked. There is nothing that can assist you in walking toward heaven with good speed as much as wearing the image of Jesus on your heart to rule all its motions. It is when, by the power of The Holy Spirit, you are enabled to walk with Jesus in His very footsteps that you are happiest and most known to be the sons of God. Peter's position of being" afar off" (Luke 22:54) is both unsafe and uneasy. Next, for faith's sake, strive to be like Jesus. Ah, poor faith, you have been sorely shot at by cruel foes, but you have not been wounded half so dangerously by your enemies as by your friends. Who made those in the fair hand of godliness? The one who professed faith but used the dagger of hypocrisy. The man with pretences who enters the fold, being nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing, worries the flock more than the lion outside. There is no weapon half so deadly as a Judas-kiss. Inconsistent christians injure the Gospel more than the sneering critic or the infidel. But, especially, for Christ's own sake, imitate His example. Christian, do you love your Saviour? Is His name precious to you? Is His cause dear to you? Would you see the kingdoms of the world become His? Is it you desire that He would be Glorified? Are you longing that souls should be won to Him? If so, imitate Jesus, be an "epistle of Christ" ( 2 Cor 3:3 ), "known and read of all men "(verse 2). Praying that this is helpful to someone out there, just being obedient to the Holy Spirit's guiding, God bless.

A letter of blessing and such joy! 2 Peter 1:1-11(CJB) From: Shim‘on Kefa, a slave and emissary of Yeshua the Messiah To: Those who, through the righteousness of our God and of our Deliverer Yeshua the Messiah, have been given the same kind of trust as ours: May grace and shalom be yours in full measure, as you come to a full knowledge of God and Yeshua our Lord. God’s power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowing the One who called us to his own glory and goodness. By these he has given us valuable and superlatively great promises, so that through them you might come to share in God’s nature and escape the corruption which evil desires have brought into the world. For this very reason, try your hardest to furnish your faith with goodness goodness with knowledge knowledge with self-control self-control with perseverance perseverance with godliness godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love. For if you have these qualities in abundance, they keep you from being barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Indeed, whoever lacks them is blind, so shortsighted that he forgets that his past sins have been washed away. Therefore, brothers, try even harder to make your being called and chosen a certainty. For if you keep doing this, you will never stumble. Thus you will be generously supplied with everything you need to enter the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah.

I don't often feel I love God either. My love is so inadequate and puny when compared to His sending His son to suffer and die for me. Mine is brotherly love for God-- more like affection, deep friendship and that of a daughter; I have not shed my blood on His behalf though that may be required someday. All I do know it that life is not worth living without Him--in the filth and shallowness of the world. When Jesus said to Peter, do you agape love me? Peter replied I phileo love you Lord. So Peter realized his love was brotherly as well. Eventually he did die for God.

ty, I also enjoy Andrew Murry.

Fruits of the Spirit are something that we cannot manufacture or produce on our own. These qualities are the result of being born again. We might have some to a lesser or greater degree...but if we have been born again, the fruits will be there. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

The Holy Spirit is IN a person who is born again. It is Christ IN us. But it takes going to the throne of grace to get the FULL measure of grace. We need to further enter into someone who isn't us....Jesus Christ Himself. It's like the 10 lepers who were healed but only one came back to Jesus. ALL were indeed healed. But there was a selfishness in the other 9 as in...I got what I came for. (Come and get YOUR miracle today). The Christian walk is about pressing on to maturity. But even maturity is at different levels. Imagine going for a long walk...say 30 miles. Some people could do that in a day. But then another person takes 2 days....because he is also carrying 80 pounds on his back. So who must be in the better shape? That's the way it is with the narrow path. Some people seem to have a harder time of it...but their calling is higher. We can be as mature as can be...but maturity in the spiritual walk of purity (holiness) is something vastly different. The walk of the righteous person is one thing...but to walk as Jesus walked for any length of time is miraculous. Can a man walk on water as if he was walking on land? So then I divide maturity in righteousness...becoming more loving, more forgiving...getting to know God better. That's good...very good. (And it is very necessary) And that's one thing....but then there's maturity IN the Spirit which is like getting used to living on another planet. What makes a person at home on earth does not automatically make a person able to survive in another world. Of course righteousness and holiness are related. Learning righteousness helps with a longevity in holiness...even though it doesn't lead to it. But the scandal of Jesus Christ is that He didn't just perfect a walk in the power of the flesh for us to grow into or to imitate. He perfected humanity by a higher walk...a spiritual walk, and then brings us into it through translation into Zion in the Spirit. The scandal is that we can never improve ourselves into holiness. Holiness is a gift. Spiritual maturity is how long we can walk in the Spirit. Like how long we can walk on water for. If I only spoke about what men can do...I would not be hated for speaking of the the cross of Christ in this way...the break with human kind which separates us from what we can do in our own capabilities...even mature capabilities. But I speak of the unspeakable gift...so I'm hated by many. The gift of God is the perfection of Christ's humanity given to us already perfected...as a gift. His perfect walk...as a gift. No improvements are required. It's the whole enchilada right away. That is what grace is. A gift of an eternal walk in an eternal life....not our life...but as partakers of HIS life. So the spiritual maturity is learning to walk IN someone else...not yourself. Hard to believe? Absolutely. Not of this world. But there it is! Having said all that...God loves us who walk after Him in the fear of Him and the hope of a future life with Him. We are saved not just by an active faith in the moment but also a living hope in the long race. God works with us...and guides us by His Spirit. We are His people who obey His commands and seek after Him. And then there's the saints...

If I could convey only one aspect of the return of Jesus to someone who knew nothing of end time prophecy, and what I told them would be the only thing they would know about those days, what could I tell them that would prove to be the most beneficial? It would have to be that when Jesus returns, everyone will see Him. If a person was armed with that knowledge they would be able to discern that the man of sin is lying when he claims to be God. They would see him as false and know to shun him. A close second and related beneficial thing would probably be to expose the deceptive nature of the man of sin and his plan to subjugate the planet through the mark and the image. Knowing ahead of time that he will be able to perform amazing signs and wonders will help to keep from being misled into thinking that he is God, and understanding the kind of war that he will wage against the saints will help a person to be better prepared for it. However, none of this knowledge will be of any benefit to someone if they haven't built their life on the teachings of Jesus. Unless a person strives to worship God through a lifestyle of obedience to His will, it's not likely that they will have the spiritual discernment and perseverance required to endure to the end. There is a reason why Jesus emphasized that everyone needs to be ready and alert. The end times will affect everyone individually and a person's decisions will have eternal consequences.

Yes I do know that one pretty well. I dealt in sales contracts in California where the contract must be in the language of the presentation. We had an English, Korean, and Spanish speaking sale force. So we had English, Korean, and Spanish, language contracts to prepare and hopeful understand ourselves. I read only English, made for a real challenge for me personally. BTW- I do so enjoy seeing your name appear on Worthy, it is to me knowledge that someone is still hanging in there winning the fight for the day. Been in that fight as a husband myself. Both you and your husband are brave heroes to me.

This was further brought home to me when I was incapacitated for 3 months. I felt so worthless, not even being able to cook for family or do any chores. My knees were bloody from crawling. So I was consumed with self pity. That is when God spoke to my heart that He loves me simply because He created me, and now because He lives in me. I don't have to do anything at all. He simply loves me. It is a hard thing to wrap our minds around that we don't have to do anything at all, and He still loves and treasures us simply because we are. We don't even have to hold down a job or do the things needed to be done.

If you read it within its context, those passages also specifically state a condition .... IF they reside in peace among you. And that was within the context of a theocracy. The us is not, as so many continue to point out to conservatives, we are not a theocracy.

Theosis (onenes with God) is no longer taught in the Western churches....hence the falling away from the true faith. But it is biblical and although rejected in the Western churches...it is still a basic tenet in the Eastern orthodox churches. The Salvation Army is an exception ...well at least they used to be as well as a few other denominations (at least they also used to be). These taught holiness and entire sanctification. But nothing like the Eastern churches. Paul was an advocate of the high calling in Christ...Oneness with God.....which is practically unknown in the West in modern times. To understand what Paul was after...winning Christ...one must realize that Theosis IS spiritual maturity in Christ. But this race will be unknown until one learns what the spiritual walk really is. One needs to pray through to God so as to move Him for a blessing...like Jacob did when he wrestled with the angel. He left that place in the intimacy of God (shalem). They say that prayer is the key to heaven...but it is faith that is the hand that turns the key. Paul is so often speaking..."among them that are perfect." Who are the perfect but they who receive the gospel in all humility as little children. A humble faith then is a realization of the scale of God and His calling. God does give grace to the humble. And that is what we are talking about here. We need to get in line with God's will....to get in tune with His voice. Then the Spirit comes to get us. Otherwise God remains at a distance and progress is slow. Many people don't understand salvation at all. They confuse a present faith...meant to attract God into translating us into His presence and power...with a living hope...that helps to keep us faithful till the end of our days here. We need both....plus love of course. But people too often lack faith...instead calling their hope of a future salvation...faith. So then no one is saved for all eternity before the end of the race. BUT we can enter into eternal life by faith right now. So whether the mustard seed faith is all we can produce....or less than that...God watches for the right amount before acting. How did Abel know that his sacrifice was received by God?...the fire came down! How did Cain know his sacrifice was NOT received by God?...the fire didn't come down! So when someone testifies that God has taken him to walk in Zion because of a humble faith that was received by God....all the "Cains" in the church hate him for it.

Going to Church does not make a person a Christian.

It is why we gather in 'churches' so we might be encouraged, challenged and rebuked and so that we might do the same for others. We'll never know howmuch of anencouragement we've been in this life to other Christians, that assumes you are an encouragement?

Amen I agree with everything said here

\0/ TY!

It is such a blessing to know, that as long as our heart stays willing, God is set on growing us to maturity. Blessings, Much love in Christ, Not me

@In Him That is a excellent translation and post, so easy to read. Thanks so much for posting it. Such truth, such food for the hungry heart. Blessings, Much love in Christ, Not me

Actually I do know who the ruler of this world is... hung out with him back in the 70's out of ignorance until God snatched my out of his hands one night while he was offering me some really good deals to actually join him. The vast majority of the people coming here are not from war torn places lie Syria so to use those poor people as the standard of how we are to treat all of them is kind of off center in my opinion.... and even those that are from those places are a huge danger. The president preceding our present president brought about 70,000 refugees from Similia and placed them in what turned out to be a single district in Minnesota where they elected a Muslim lady that is involved with terrorist organizations and openly says she wants to overthrow our constitutional form of government and submit us all to Sharia Law.... The dangers of what is going on can actually in a few years destroy our own way of life here so there is a lot more at stake than feeding the poor.... Neighbor wants to leave politics out of the discussion but that really isn't possible for what is happening to the USA to day is politics and if we don't recognize that and deal with it we will be in deep trouble within the next ten years. They are using our good nature against us. And because of that it does put us into the predicament that Neighbor expresses so well. Do you take care of the people who are being sent here to destroy us as a people? btw diane, where do you live

We are also tested in order to produce more fruit...being purged or pruned in some unpleasant episode and then coming back with all of the above Joh 15:1-5 (1) I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. (2) Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. (3) Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. (4) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me. (5) I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.

Amen. Well said. It is to faithful saints, known for their "work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope", that Paul writes to, telling them (and us, if we are faithful and obedient), "you yourselves well know that the day of the Lord is coming in the same way as a thief in the night. 3 Whenever they say “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction will overtake them like the birth pains of a pregnant woman, and they will not possibly escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in the darkness, so that the day should catch you like a thief, 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 So then, we must not sleep like the rest, but must be on the alert and be self-controlled. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But because we are of the day, we must be sober, by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet the hope of salvation, 9 because God did not appoint us for wrath, but for the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1Thess 5:2-9 May we be among those who are "sober and alert" and "waiting for the Lord" when He returns.

I love, really love this! Thanks for posting it, Willa. God bless! Shalom, David/BeauJangles

How do you let people know you're a Christian I do not advertise. I do not try to convince. Matt 7; 16 "Ye shall know them by their fruits." They will know me by my fruits. Or lack thereof. I shouldn't have to tell them. I do not tell people I'm kind. I do sow seeds About Jesus.........

Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Rom 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. Rom 5:10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Rom 5:11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. It was so freeing to me to realize that God is pleased with me right now. I don't have to keep trying to be pleasing and forever failing. When freed from the self effort God was able to start transforming me into His likeness by His Spirit. All my self effort, which became self righteousness, just got in the way of God's work in me. The just shall live by his faith.

One idea is to find a person to be your legal guardian and handle your finances. I am in sound mind but am retired and I chose one should I be unable to handle my affairs. Better to choose one now while you can. If you turned your finances over to an accountant that you trust you would not have the pressure that family places on you because the guardian would deal with it. On the other hand you would pay them for their services.

Forget U-Tube and even google, rely solely on the Word of God, the Bible. The Antichrist, a man, will reign over only ten kingdoms that are yet to be formed inside the yet to be revived, Old Roman Empire. (Dan. 7:23-24). Only these ten kingdoms will give their power and kingdoms to him. (Rev.13:1; 17:12-17). Certain countries will escape his rule (Dan.11:40-44). Certain countries will make war on him at the very time he is supposed to be ruling the whole world (Dan. 11:40-44). Because he will reign only over ten countries inside the Roman Empire territory and because America is not inside that territory and never will be, and because certain countries will escape him we can scripturally conclude that he will never rule America or be a world-wide dictator. Therefore, multitudes of people of many nations will also never take the mark of the beast and they will never be killed by the Antichrist for not doing so. The Bible speaks of many peoples of many nations that are left after the reign of the Antichrist, people who will be alive in the Millennium and will go up yearly to worship God (Zech. 14:16-21). This further limits the kingdom of the Antichrist to only part of the world and also limits his ability to kill everyone who does not take the mark even in his own empire. According to Rev. 14:9-11 no one who has taken the mark will go into the Millennium, but will be sent to eternal Hell. That multitudes go into the Millennium proves they have not taken the mark of the beast and have not been killed, as taught by many Bible students. If the Antichrist were to kill every person who does not take his mark, and God sends to Hell everyone who does take the mark, then there would be not one person left to enter the Millennium. Also, The mark of the beast will not be 666. There are three brands men will have a choice of taking in the days of the Antichrist inside his kingdom. They are his name, his mark, and the number of his name (Rev. 13:16-18). The name and mark of this man is not given in scripture; so no one will know what they are until he comes and men get to know what his name and mark will be, and what he will chose to put on his followers. The only one of these three brands that is given is the number of his name, and that is stated as being 666 in Rev. 13:18. So 666 is not the name or the mark of the beast. It is the number of the beast.

Indeed, a True Christian IS one who walks as He walks, does as He does, obeys as He does. "If you keep My commands you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love." - John 15:10 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on Me also will live because of Me." - John 6:57 May He be our portion, our Daily Bread. Amen.

Love is not always a certain way of feeling. Sometimes it is just a deep, settled peace within our hearts....that we know our Savior, and the peace He gives to us.

@angels4u Hi. Good subject. Turtle's answer: I know Him personally in my heart. The heart is (pun intended, sis ) the "heart of the matter." It is in the heart that sin is harbored. "
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." (Matthew 15:19) The heart leads to salvation. It is within the heart that conviction of being a sinner takes place and salvation occurs, as is described in Romans. “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:10). Salvation begins with a believing heart. It’s in our hearts that the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and beckons us to come to the cross. When we choose to respond in faith, our hearts are changed through the power of the Holy Spirit and we are never the same. The key to salvation in the heart is through accepting Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.

The Holy Spirit in my heart cries Abba, Daddy. Gal 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Jesus Christ lives in me to love and forgive others. 2Co 13:5 ESV Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

read to here

Good thought as I certainly do not want my son as guardian. In fact thank you I will remove him from any ability to make decisions.

I understand.As far as God “ withdrawing His Grace”, He does not withdraw Grace because of disobedience.I am not advocating sin, but “ where sin abounds ,Grace abounds more.”I know that breaks the hearts of many.The only way to get out of Grace is attempting to add Law to it .Law nullifies Grace. People should know that they should not trifle with the Grace that saves them.It will nullify the Work Of the Cross If you do not rest in it.God declares it as “ unbelief”.I think we need to stop “ majoring in the minors”.These daily little sins we get obsessed with are small potatoes compared to the sin of Unbelief.

If nonbelievers can't tell I am different then them, I'm doing something wrong! Believers will know automatically. Usually, when they notice the difference, a conversation comes up. We are to live the life chosen for us by God.

A shot in the dark: None of the above? But by walking in the Spirit and yielded to do/say whatever He says to do, and not to when He says not to? The witness of His Presence? "Surely, God is with you". (Paraphrased, I can't find the scripture) Edit: 1 & 6...? they will know we are Christians by our Love

Communication is key in any relationship, one with the Lord is no exception. Therefore, I've started a prayer/scripture journal and set aside time for more regular prayer and study. A brief prayer and verse hunt in the morning and a question with an in-depth study in the evening. Then yesterday the funniest thing happened. As some of you know, I've been considering my internship. Weeks ago, one came up for the summer and the process for getting into it was confusing. This didn't help with my tendency to freeze up on especially important decisions. So, I kept it simple and prayed, "Lord, if this is the right internship, open the door wide. If not, slam it in my face." After sending in my application, I received no response and assumed rejection. Closed door, on with summer, that's fine. From yesterday morning's verse hunt: "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." Proverbs 16:3 The day proceeded as normal. Then, right before bed, I looked at my email and saw a response for the internship much later than I expected. FREAK OUT, FREAK OUT, FREAK OUT!!! At that point, it looked like the door was swinging wildly on its hinges. So, I went into the deeper study of the day, "The Lord works out everything to it's proper end--even the wicked for a day of disaster." Proverbs 16:4 "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." Proverbs 16:9 The Lord's answer: "What's changed? The door is open, just in my timing, not yours. Finish what you started and don't worry." My tears stopped flowing, and I settled. The worries shrank into irrelevancy and I felt more than a little silly. What was I afraid of, anyway? It is interesting to see just how little substance is behind fears for the future. Put the candle of faith to it, and you'll see it was nothing more than a shadow cast on the wall by your nightstand.

The first step or foundation in having a changed life is through being born again, through Christ our Savior and Lord. When we are born again, we then actually become the children of God....we then have a spiritual nature. The Holy Spirit in our hearts is the key to walking with Jesus or walking in the Spirit in daily life. Of course, we should yield or surrender to the Holy Spirit in daily life. We should always glorify the Lord Jesus above all....people that are always talking about the law sound like they are idolizing the law over Christ, this is not good or pleasing to God. ...Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Galatians 3:2-3.

Saw this on a church sign while I was on a Harley ride this afternoon.....I kinda figured it would come in handy someday—- I didn’t know it would be so soon....lol . The Sign said, “God loves you...and I am trying”

I used to work for a company that supplied some automotive components. Anybody who has worked in any manufacturing environment for a time realizes the complex chain of suppliers and manufacturers can be disrupted in many ways. To disrupt any industry to a small degree is easy and could probably be done by individuals or localized natural events. To disrupt any industry to a moderate degree usually requires government level stupidity and interference of some type. However, to completely cripple an industry takes war-time level damage across a range of infrastructure and factories. I suppose I could also include the idiocy that has masqueraded as good management methods for the past 3 to 4 decades could be considered near war-time level activity in some industries.

Just remember , In this world we will have tribulation . Many true and faithful saints will die in the days ahead . As they have in all ages , ONLY THIS will be a monster quick world wide as one attack against the true saints . MANY will be killed . Our titles by the world will not be Christian . NO the lukewarm and other relgions will just see us as hATERS of humanity . NOW the real reason IS WE are TRUE Christians , but heck I have been called spawn of satan , son of perdtion , anti Christ and mind you , It was so called christains that called me these names . We got dire problems IN DA HOUSE . Dire ones .

Yes . even now there are many anti christs . The spirit of anti Christ has long been around . And now its working fast amongst its children to bring them into unity under humanity and lead them RIGHT to this coming SON of perdtion . Even now its in the world and the world is being made ready to follow it when once it arises . As john the Baptist came preaching repentance to make the children ready for Christ This dark spirit comes preaching ACCEPTANCE to make the children ready for ANTI CHRIST . And it will come and much sooner than folks realize .

More sweeping, incorrect statements. All churches disobedient and having false salvation?! 10 Commandments the first step?! It is Jesus Christ who is our foundation, the first step, and we rest in Him, and abide in Him to walk in the Spirit. Another misstatement of what we believe. Sanctification is a life long process.... although we are also sanctified by Christ when we are born again....sealed with the Holy Spirit. Now even claiming our God is false?! Since you are continually putting down all churches, and Christians who believe we are saved by grace through faith (and have good works as a result of that)....may I ask you what you consider yourself to be? 7th Day Adventist or ??

Somehow, I doubt that you know this person, their mind, their heart, and their life, well enough to make such a sweeping conclusion about their Bible knowledge. Just because we disagree on some point, does not mean that they are wrong, and we are right. I suggest putting a little more love and humility and thought into our posts, before we start sounding too accusative, dismissive, and condescending.

Trying to save yourself doesn't work without the Cross, and it also doesn't work with the Cross. Let Jesus be the Savior. Not yourself.

But the mind still plays an important role. Once it has changed and repentance has occurred, it still has residual effects from the years of sin. This resulted from it being polluted by fleshly thoughts indulged in from 'before Christ' years. The worldview of a mostly anti-Christ culture that is all around us (especially spewed out by the media) play a big part in this. As I've heard it put: 'Garbage in, Garbage out.' So how do we tend to this damage done to our minds? They must be renewed by immersing ourselves in the holy scriptures. Romans 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is]that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things arejust, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. We must choose carefully what to feed our minds. Scripture is as good as it gets and memorization of it is very important. Psalms 119:11 - Your word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

I live in Florida and at the store I saw a tee shirt that said living in paradise. Well I know about paradise and it don't exist anywhere near here. Maybe its some lonely Island in the Pacific covered with palm trees plenty of coconuts ?.

Just accept that God's love for you is far greater than we can comprehend and rest in the assurance that being loved by such a vast love gives.

This must cover the span of humanity before creation. That is a little mind boggling. No way to grasp it.

God has loved us from before he began creation. He planned us and loved us from the moment he thought of us. How then can we do anything to make him love us or make him love us more?

I don't understand. Citizenship in Heaven/being transformed to be able to enter Heaven is the chief reason Jesus descended, died, rose. I please the Father because I'm covered in the blood of Christ, I'm adopted, beloved, translated, and am changing (a bit now, much more at the Rapture). I don't need to "do" things to "be pleasing to God". Born agains please God, others risk eternal perishing.