Present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:13–14 (NKJV) There are two very important gardens in the Bible. In one, Adam and Eve sold out the human race as they pursued their own selfishness. There in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve rejected God’s words, disobeyed His commands and did what they felt was good for them. They made the decision to serve themselves. In another garden, the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus made the decision to turn away from what He wanted and turn toward God’s will. Knowing that the presence of God would …

For you have stripped off the old (unregenerate) self with its evil practices, and have clothed yourselves with the new [spiritual self], which is [ever in the process of being] renewed and remolded into [fuller and more perfect knowledge upon] knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it. Colossians 3:9–10 (AMPC) The Spirit of God is calling you. This calling is mentioned several times in the Bible, but what exactly is He calling you to? Primarily, you’re being called to be like Jesus! Some people get all worked up try- ing to figure out what they’re called to do in life. The truth is that what you do comes second. What you do for a living, who you marry, how you serve …

Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) As a believer, your relationship with God is solid. But that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want without earthly consequences. These consequences don’t come from God; they aren’t some sort of punishment. It’s just that every decision you make has a corresponding result. Proverbs 29:18 says that where there is no vision people perish, and it’s so true. Often we get ourselves into trouble because we haven’t taken the time to play out the vision of where we’re heading. If you want to know what you’ll be doing in 10 years, look at what you’re doing to- day and play out where your habits and behaviour will take you. Let’s say you’re …

Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Revelation 2:4 (NKJV) Many serve God only when they need something from Him. There’s nothing wrong with going to God for help. But will you continue to build your relationship with Him even when things are going well and it seems like you don’t need His help? That’s when you need to work the most to keep your heart right. Never allow your passion for God to wane or, as Revelation 2:4 puts it, lose your first love. This is a common problem with second generation Christians. First generation Christians often come to Jesus out of real hurt. They’ve experienced the stark contrast of life without Him as compared to the incredible …

Therefore let us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Hebrews 6:1 (AMPC) Was there ever a moment in life when you had a realization that changed everything? Maybe you were struggling with a relationship and one day a light bulb turned on. Suddenly you realized how bless- ed you were to be in relationship with that person. Or maybe you had an “Ah ha” moment and decided that you’d never let anything come between you and a great relationship with your family. Well, moments like this can happen when it comes to your relation- ship with God, too. Something goes on deep …