OUR PURPOSE FOR LIFE

Jesus in the desert God occasionally causes hardships to come into our lives and paths to test us! We learn and grow in our Christian walks in part because of these testing! The end goal is for us to develop our relationship with Him and our DEPENDENCE on Him. What did God the Father do with Jesus when He said, "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased?" about Jesus? He led Him into the desert! After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. (Matthew 3:16-17 NLT) Immediately after His baptism, Jesus is led into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing for forty days and forty nights. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. (Matthew 4:1-2 NLT) What did Jes

Love God and Love People The greatest commandments summarize God's will for his children: love God and love people. “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:36-40 We cannot keep these commandments without inner transformation by God's Holy Spirit, because loving God requires us to be sanctified, set free by the truth of His word, and pure of heart. And loving others necessitates self-denial and supreme satisfaction in Christ alone. The will of God in every day decisions It is essential that we have a renewed mind, one that is shaped and governed by the Holy Spirit, that we see and assess all relevant factors with Christ's mindset, and

The Pure Heart The heart is a perplexing organ. It is the wellspring of our thinking and, ultimately, our actions, yet it is hidden from the rest of the world. We have a tendency to govern and monitor our outward behavior, since what we do is apparent to the rest of the world. However, we often overlook the heart. Yet nothing is more essential than our inner lives. Our genuine self is our inner self. Every day, we put on masks and appear to be better than we are. God sees through the disguise and assesses us based on our motives hidden deep in our hearts. 'How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. ' Psalms 19:12-13   A true follower of Christ doesn’t behave differently in church and another way at home. No, we do not wear masks and play games. We do not manipulate behind the scenes. We also do not twist God’s Word

Do not forget the goodness of the Lord Do we recall the good things that God has done for us in the past? Do we reflect on his faithfulness to us, or do we attribute our blessings to our hard work? In this passage, God reminds us that He is the one who gave us the ability to work. Remember and worship him for the times he has helped you. Deuteronomy 8 "Be careful to do all that I am telling you today. Then you will live and have many children, and go in to own the land the Lord promised to give to your fathers.   You will remember all the way the Lord your God led you in the desert these forty years, so you would not have pride, and how He tested you to know what was in your heart to see if you would obey His Laws or not.   He let you be hungry which helped you to not have pride. Then He fed you with bread from heaven which you and your fathers had not known. He did this to make you understand that man does not live by bread alone. But man lives by everything that comes out of the

Be Thankful for God's kindness "On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised." "Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!” I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked." "Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine." "I bathed you with water and washed

Homosexuality When you search the question 'Is Homosexuality a Sin?' on Google, the first page contains answers that say homosexuality is not a sin. So, what does the Bible say about homosexuality? In the book of Romans, Paul wrote about God's Anger at Sin. In the first chapter and the eighteenth verse, he writes: " But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness." Romans 1:18 He was referring to people who knew the truth about God but chose to worship man-made idols rather than the true living God. These people made the decision to make themselves a law unto themselves. As a result, God left them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they committed heinous and degrading acts on each other's bodies. In the following verses, Paul goes on to describe the heinous things they did with each other's bodies: Romans 1:26–27 "That is why God abandoned them to their sha

ADDICTION As long as we live on earth, there will always be an attraction to the things of this word. Due to the fact that we live in a corrupt world that despises godliness, we must remain vigilant and persistent in our prayers for all believers everywhere. As believers we are called to pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion so as not to fall into temptation as a result of our sinful nature. "Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere." Ephesians 6:18 Believers may battle with a variety of addictions, including those to food, social media, drugs, alcohol, pornography, and sex, to name a few. Through the power of his spirit, Christ has freed us from the yoke of our materialistic cravings. Here are a few scriptures that can help us fight addiction. 1 Corinthians 6:12 "You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed t

  Inner Strength in every situation We will all experience some form of suffering in this life. The hope for Christians is that we will be helped and strengthened to survive by the Holy Spirit. For those who are in Christ, heartache, suffering, and even death are all temporary. "In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation." ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:10 God promises to restore us, support us and strengthen us. "I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Philippians 4:12-13  The verses above were written by Paul in reference to his time in prison for preaching the word of God. God provided him the resilience an

Why we should always trust God There will be times of difficulty in life that will put our trust and faith in God to the test. The book of Exodus looks at the children of Israel's failure to trust God when He led them into the wilderness. The children of Israel had witnessed God's amazing deliverance from Egypt.  They'd seen God's tremendous plagues and the Red Sea dividing.  They had seen the entire Egyptian army drown in the Red Sea while pursuing the Israelites.  They were eyewitnesses to God's mighty hand.  God had freed them from Egypt and was now leading them into a desert without water.  You'd think they'd trust Him after witnessing His power and unwavering loyalty in releasing them from captivity. But no!  Instead of trusting their mighty father, the Israelites grumbled and sighed.  The following is a description of what happened while they were in the wilderness at a place called Rephidim, where there was no water. Water from the Rock At the Lord’s

The Peace of God Jesus is known as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). By His mere presence in our lives, He bestows peace on His people. His will for us is that we live in His peace, free from the worries and cares of this world. God has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us. So that when we face adversity, we can lean on Him and receive His peace, which will keep us strong and secure through hardships. "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." John 14:27 Everyone will face difficulties at some point in their lives. But as God's children, we have a mighty warrior on our side who walks alongside us, fights our battles, and comforts us. We are held together not by our own strength, but by His. As a result, difficulties should not deter us from our goal of living in His will. Hardships should strengthen our faith, causing us to become firmly rooted as we trust in H