āGod appeared to Solomon that very night and said, āI accept your prayer; yes, I have chosen this place as a temple for sacrifice, a house of worship. If I ever shut off the supply of rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a plague on my people, and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, Iāll be there ready for you: Iāll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health. From now on Iām alert day and night to the prayers offered at this place. Believe me, Iāve chosen and sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it forever; my eyes are on it and my heart in it always. As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action, living the life Iāve set out for you, attentively obedient to my guidance and judgments, then Iāll back your kingly rule over Israelāmake it a sure thing on a sure foundation. The same covenant guarantee I gave to David your father Iām giving to you, namely, āYou can count on always having a descendant on Israelās throne.āā
āā2 Chroniclesā¬ ā7ā¬:ā12ā¬-ā18ā¬ āMSGā¬ā¬
https://bible.com/bible/97/2ch.7.12-18.MSG
bible.com/bible/100/2co.5.20-21.NASB1995
āGod made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.ā (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV) You are Godās righteousness. You are His goodness and rightness because of what Christ did on the cross. This was given to you, and you are called righteous by the Lord of the universe. You can live in light of the righteousness you were given. It not only allows you to approach God with confidence, but it allows you to be an ambassador to others around you. Because your righteousness is not earned but freely given through faith in Jesus, you can share this gift with others and invite them to be Godās righteousness too.
bible.com/bible/100/luk.6.35.NASB1995
Father, my heart is sinful and selfish. You have already shown me, the depths of your compassion, and yet this verse creates tension in my heart to do good to my enemies. I cannot do this without your Holy Spirit and your working together in me. Help me continue to grow, in this area. Amen.
bible.com/bible/100/luk.6.35.NASB1995
Father, my heart is sinful and selfish. You have already shown me, the depths of your compassion, and yet this verse creates tension in my heart to do good to my enemies. I cannot do this without your Holy Spirit and your working together in me. Help me continue to grow, in this area. Amen.
bible.com/bible/100/psa.77.11-12.NASB1995
Father, just as David looked back at Israel’s deliverance from oppression, and looked forward to the coming messiah, we as Christians look back at our deliverance from sin by Jesus death and resurrection, and look forward to his second coming. May the Good News of deliverance to all who believe, go out to every living soul. May their faith in Jesus, transform them into the people you want them to be.
āWhatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.ā
āāColossiansā¬ ā3ā¬:ā23ā¬-ā24ā¬ āNASB1995ā¬ā¬
https://bible.com/bible/100/col.3.23-24.NASB1995
From: John MacArthur Study Bible.
Vs 7emptied Himself. From this Gr. word comes the theological word ākenosisā; i.e., the doctrine of Christās self-emptying in His incarnation. This was a self-renunciation, not an emptying Himself of deity nor an exchange of deity for humanity (see notes on v. 6).
Jesus did, however, renounce or set aside His privileges in several areas:
1) heavenly gloryāwhile on earth He gave up the glory of a face-to-face relationship with God and the continuous outward display and personal enjoyment of that glory (cf. Jn 17:5);
2) independent authorityāduring His incarnation Christ completely submitted Himself to the will of His Father (see note on v. 8; cf. Mt 26:39; Jn 5:30; Heb 5:8);
3) divine prerogativesāHe set aside the voluntary display of His divine attributes and submitted Himself to the Spiritās direction (cf. Mt 24:36; Jn 1:45ā49);
4) eternal richesāwhile on earth Christ was poor and owned very little (cf. 2Co 8:9); and
5) a favorable relationship with GodāHe felt the Fatherās wrath for human sin while on the cross (cf. Mt 27:46; see note on 2Co 5:21). form of a bond-servant. Again, Paul uses the Gr. word āform,ā which indicates exact essence (see note on v.
6). As a true servant, Jesus submissively did the will of His Father (cf. Is 52:13, 14). the likeness of men. Christ became more than God in a human body, but He took on all the essential attributes of humanity (Lk 2:52; Gal 4:4; Col 1:22), even to the extent that He identified with basic human needs and weaknesses (cf. Heb 2:14, 17; 4:15). He became the God-Man: fully God and fully man.
bible.com/bible/100/mat.7.12.NASB1995
John MacArthur Study Bible
Versions of the āGolden Ruleā existed before Christ, in the rabbinic writings and even in Hinduism and Buddhism. All of them cast the rule as a negative command, such as Rabbi Hillelās version, āWhat is hateful to yourself do not to someone else.ā Jesus made it a positive command, enriching its meaning and underscoring that this one imperative aptly summarizes the whole gist of the ethical principles contained in the Law and the Prophets.
Living Waters 