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Apocalypse Now

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Acts 26:12-18 [12] “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, [13] at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. [14] And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘ Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ [15] And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. [16] But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; [17] rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, [18] to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forg...

For Us

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  Ephesians 1:3-14 [3] All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has b lessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.  [4] Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes .  [5] God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.  [6] So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. [7] He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins .  [8] He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding .  [9] God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ — which is to fulfill his own good plan . [10] And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything togeth...

Life By Death ~ Romans 6

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  Romans 6 [1] What should we say then?  Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply?  [2] Absolutely not!  How can we who died to sin  still live in it? [3] Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized  into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?   [4] Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death,  in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead  by the glory of the Father,  so we too may walk in newness  of life.  [5] For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death,  we will certainly also be  in the likeness of his resurrection.  [6] For we know that our old self  , was crucified with him  so that the body ruled by sin  might be rendered powerless  so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, [7] since a person who has died  is freed  from sin. [8] Now if we died with Christ,  we believe that we will also live with h...

Sin

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[3] When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; [4] What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? [5] Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! [6] You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, ( Psalms 8:3-6 ) "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," ( Romans 3:23 ) "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"   ( Romans 6:23 )

That Deep Selfish Impulse

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The word SIN is one of the most common " bad words " in the Bible, but what does it really mean? We’ll explore the concept of moral failure that underlies this important biblical word. It reveals a profound and realistic portrait of the human condition . Introduction   Most people assume the Bible has a lot to say about how messed up humans are, and that’s true. It’s also true that the Bible’s vocabulary about this topic sounds odd to modern people, using words like sin, iniquity, or transgression. And so the Bible’s perspective on the human condition is often ignored or treated as ancient and backwards.  This is really unfortunate because through these words, the biblical authors are offering us a deeply profound diagnosis of human nature . Iniquity describes behavior that’s crooked, while transgression refers to breaking trust, and sin? This is actually the most common of these “bad words” in the Bible. So let’s focus on it for a few minutes.  The Hebrew Word Khata...

What a Catch!

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[1] Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; [2] and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. [3] And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.  [4] When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” [5] Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”  [6] When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; [7] so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.  [8] But when Simon Peter saw th...

Are You Sure?

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[1] Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. [2] Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. [3] Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.  [5] One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. [6] When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?”   [7] “ Sir ,” the invalid replied, “ I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me. ” [8] Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”   [9] At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.  The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, [10] and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; th...