13 The three most important things to have are faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” And then Jesus adds, “And, the second is like unto it ”You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This one thing Jesus says is the most important: loving God and loving your neighbor.
10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ —for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
Nine chapters, from Genesis 3–11, where everything goes wrong. At this point God steps onto the stage, and we get one of the most important passages in all of scripture — arguably the most important: Genesis 12:1–3. It provides the absolute platform and foundation for everything else that happens in scripture.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths". "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit".
For surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off” (vv. 12,18). The best things in life are the eternal riches that come from God's goodness and grace in Jesus Christ. We do not hold them in our hands, but in our hearts.
Golden Rule, precept in the Gospel of Matthew (7:12): “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. . . .” This rule of conduct is a summary of the Christian's duty to his neighbour and states a fundamental ethical principle.
1. [1] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
“Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8 NLT).
Therefore, everything in your life matters to God. He wants us to be obedient in all things. Second, God cares about the needs of others and how we live our lives. In James 1:19-27, James shows God's desire that we live Godly lives and treat others with deep love and respect.
Ephesians 4:22-24
"To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."
To Do Justice
The first thing God desires of His people, is that they do justice. Not merely appreciate justice, not simply assent that justice is good, but we are to do justice. Our actions reflect our beliefs.
He wants us to love and follow Him. Give Jesus your heart. Last of all, give God your hands (and your feet). God wants our love and devotion, and he wants us to think rightly.
It's a design pattern. Jon: For the attentive Bible reader, the idea of resting, and the number seven are intimately connected. God stopped on the seventh day. In Hebrew, the number "seven" has the same consonants as the word for completeness or wholeness.
In some Christian numerology, the number 888 represents Jesus, or sometimes more specifically Christ the Redeemer. This representation may be justified either through gematria, by counting the letter values of the Greek transliteration of Jesus' name, or as an opposing value to 666, the number of the beast.
The promises that are fulfilled in the rest of the Bible are first given in Genesis. In fact, just the first 11 chapters of Genesis are quoted from over 100 times in the New Testament! Reading Genesis will lay in your mind the foundation for a biblical worldview, and thus help orient you to life in general.
Another way that Jesus summed up our duty as Christians is in Mark 12:30-31 where He says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. ' There is no commandment greater than these.”
He is always kind and compassionate toward us, even in our sin. His sacrifice on the cross sealed the forgiveness of our sin. Jesus modeled kindness, compassion, and forgiveness for all mankind to follow.
Followers of the Christian religion base their beliefs on the life, teachings and death of Jesus Christ. Christians believe in one God that created heaven, earth and the universe. The belief in one God originated with the Jewish religion. Christians believe Jesus is the “Messiah” or savior of the world.
The prayer of protection. The prayer of transformation. The prayer of restoration.
“For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.” The Good News: Devoting yourself to God in life is the way to live an honest and happy life. All the choices you make in your life should be made for His honor.
Yes, God Wants Us to Enjoy Life!
Now you know, based on Scripture, that God wants us, as Christians, to enjoy life. God wants us to enjoy people, the fruit of our labor, peace, favor, food and drink, safety, and even wealth and honor.