CHAPTER 14 RULES FOR LIVING – DIRECTIONS – LOVING GOD

Loving God
The old and the new life
A good soldier of Jesus Christ
Guidance from God
Live now only as God requires
Obey God and be Holy
Love and obey God
Love God
Growing strong spiritually
Becoming better Christians
Older men and women; young men and employees
Never give up; Look forward to the Happiness of Heaven
Staying pure
Special Holidays
Listen to the Message and obey it

Loving God
(Paul)
1 TIMOTHY 6:21
(adapted)
The most important thing in life is to know God.
(Paul)
2 TIMOTHY 1:3
(adapted)
Our only purpose in life is to please God.
(Paul and Barnabas)
ACTS 13:43b
Accept the mercies God is offering.
(Paul and Silas)
ACTS 16:31
Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, and your entire household.
(Paul)
PHILIPPIANS 3:7
(adapted)
Put your trust and hope in Christ alone.
(Luke)
ACTS 9:31
(adapted)
Believers! Learn how to walk (and go) in the fear (the deep respect and wonder) of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
(Paul)
1 THESSALONIANS 3:7
(adapted)
Stand true to the Lord.
(Barnabas at Antioch)
ACTS 11:23b
Stay close to the Lord, at whatever the cost.
(Paul)
ROMANS 14:17
For, after all, the important thing for us as Christians is…stirring up goodness and peace and joy from the Holy Spirit.
(Paul)
2 CORINTHIANS 1:12
(adapted)
In all our dealings let us be pure and sincere, quietly depending upon the Lord for his help, and not on our own skills.
(Paul)
2 TIMOTHY 2:1
…be strong with the strength Christ Jesus gives you.
(Paul)
PHILIPPIANS 3:1
Whatever happens, be glad in the Lord.

(Paul)
PHILIPPIANS 4:12-13
(adapted)
I learn the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want. For I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power.
(Paul)
I THESSALONIANS 4:11
(adapted)
This should be our ambition: to live a quiet life, minding our own business and doing our own work.
(Paul)
2 TIMOTHY 1:12
…for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard safely all that I have given him until the day of his return.
(Paul and Barnabas)
ACTS 14:22
(adapted)
Help the believers to grow in love for God and each other. Encourage them to continue in the faith in spite of all the persecution (the prolonged hatred, hostility, injury and harassment). Remind them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God (God the Father’s Home, Rule and Care) through many hardships.
(Paul)
2 TIMOTHY 4:18
(adapted)
The Lord will always deliver me from all evil (the present sinful, ungodly disorder and disarrangement of things) and will bring me into his heavenly kingdom (that is; God the Father’s Home, Rule and Care). To God be the glory (and honor) for ever and ever. Amen.
(Paul)
1 CORINTHIANS 16:13-14
Keep your eyes open for spiritual danger; stand true to the Lord; act like men; be strong. And whatever you do, do it with kindness and love.
ACTS 18:9-10
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t give up! For I am with you and no one can harm you. Many people here in this city belong to me.”
(Paul)
ROMANS 12:1-21
And so, dear brothers, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice, holy – the kind he can accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a freshness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you.
As God’s messenger I give each of you God’s warning: be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each needs all the others.
God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability too prophesy, then prophesy whenever you can – as often as your faith is strong enough to receive a message from God. If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If you are a preacher, see to it that your sermons are encouraging and helpful. If God has given you money, be generous in helping others with it. If God has given you administrative ability and put you in charge of the work of others, take the responsibility seriously. Those who offer comfort to the sorrowing should do so with Christian cheer.
Don’t just pretend that you love others: really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work but serve the Lord enthusiastically.
Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always prayerful. When God’s children are in need, you should be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night.
If someone ill-treats you because you are a Christian, don’t curse him; (Note: a curse is an utterance intended to send a person or thing to destruction or punishment.) pray that God will bless him (will bring happiness to him). When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. Work happily together. Don’t try to act big. Don’t try to get into the good books (in the favor with) important people, but enjoy the company of ordinary folk (of ordinary people). And don’t think you know it all!
Never pay back evil for evil (wickedness for wickedness). Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honest through and through. Don’t quarrel with anyone. Be at peace with everyone, so far as it depends on you.
Dear friends, never avenge yourselves (never inflict harm in return for an injury or wrong). Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it. [Don’t take the law into your own hands.] Instead, feed your enemy if he is hungry. If he is thirsty give him something to drink and you will be “heaping coals of fire on his head.” In other words, he will feel ashamed of himself for what he has done to you. Don’t let evil (wickedness) get the upper hand but conquer (overcome and defeat) evil (wickedness) by doing good.

The old life and the new life
(Paul)
COLOSSIANS 3:5-17
Away then with sinful, earthly things; deaden evil desires lurking (being or remaining hidden so as to wait in ambush) within you: have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust and shameful desires; don’t worship the good things of this life, for that is idolatry (the worship of idols). God’s terrible anger is upon those who do such things. You used to do them when your life was still part of this world; but now is the time to cast off and throw away all these rotten garments of anger, hatred, cursing (swearing) and dirty language.
Don’t tell lies to each other; it was your old life with all its wickedness that did that sort of thing; now it is dead and gone. You are living a brand new kind of life that is continually learning more and more of what is right, and trying constantly to be more and more like Christ who created this new life within you.
In this new life one’s nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant; such things mean nothing. Whether a person has Christ is what matters, and he is equally available to all.
Since you have been chosen by God who has given you this new kind of life, and because of his deep love and concern for you, you should practise tenderhearted mercy and kindness to others. Don’t worry about making a good impression on them but be ready to suffer quietly and patiently. Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges (feelings of resentment or ill-will). Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Most of all, let love guide your life, for then the whole church will stay together in perfect harmony. Let the peace of heart which comes from Christ be always present in your hearts and lives, for this is your responsibility and privilege as members of his body. And always be thankful.
Remember what Christ taught and let his words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, and come with him into the presence of God the Father to give him your thanks.

A good soldier of Jesus Christ
(Paul)
2 TIMOTHY 2:2b-7
Teach these great truths to trustworthy men who will, in turn, pass them on to others.
Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, just as I do. And as Christ’s soldier do not let yourself become tied up in worldly affairs, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army. Follow the Lord’s rules for doing his work, just as an athlete either follows the rules or is disqualified and wins no prize. Work hard like a farmer who gets paid well if he raises a large crop. Think over these three illustrations, and may the Lord help you to understand how they apply to you.
HEBREWS 13:1-17
Continue to love each other with true brotherly love. Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Don’t forget about those in jail. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being ill-treated, for you know what they are going through.
Honor your marriage and its vows, and be pure; for God will surely punish all those who are immoral (fornicators) or commit adultery.
Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never, never fail you or forsake you,” (“I will not ever fail, desert or let you down or forsake, abandon and leave you permanently.”) That is why we can say without any doubt or fear, “The Lord is my helper and I am not afraid of anything that mere man can do to me.”
Remember your leaders who have taught you the Word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and try to trust the Lord as they do.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your spiritual strength comes as a gift from God, not from ceremonial rules about eating certain foods – a method which, by the way, hasn’t helped those who have tried it.
We have an altar – the cross where Christ was sacrificed – where those who continue to seek salvation by obeying Jewish laws can never be helped. Under the system of Jewish laws the high priest brought the blood of the slain animals into the sanctuary as a sacrifice for sin, and then the bodies of the animals were burned outside the city. That is why Jesus suffered and died outside the city, where his blood washed our sins away.
So let us go out to him beyond the city walls [that is, outside the interests of this world, being willing to be despised (hated and scorned)] to suffer with him there, bearing his shame. For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.
With Jesus’ help we will continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory (and honor) of his name. Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to him.
Obey your spiritual leaders and be willing to do what they say. For their work is to watch over your souls, and God will judge them on how well they do this. Give them reason to report joyfully about you to the Lord and not with sorrow, for then you will suffer for it too.
HEBREWS 12:12-29
So take a new grip with your tired hands, stand firm on your shaky (unsteady) legs, and mark out a straight, smooth path for your feet so that those who follow you, though weak and lame, will not fall and hurt themselves, but become strong.
Try to stay out of all quarrels and seek to live a clean and holy life, for one who is not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that not one of you will fail to find God’s best blessings. Watch out that no bitterness takes root among you, for as it springs up it causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives. Watch out that no one becomes involved in sexual sin or becomes careless about God as Esau did; he traded (bartered away) his rights as the oldest son for a single meal. And afterwards, when he wanted those rights back again, it was too late, even though he wept bitter tears of regret. So remember, and be careful. (Note: see Genesis 25 –Esau was the son of Isaac and Rebekah, the twin brother of Jacob, who bartered away his blessing and was cheated out of his birthright.)
You have not had to stand face to face with terror, flaming fire, gloom, darkness, and a terrible storm, as the Israelis did at Mount Sinai when God gave them his laws. For there was an awesome trumpet blast, and a voice with a message so terrible that the people begged God to stop speaking. They staggered back under God’s command that if even an animal touched the mountain it must die. Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he shook with terrible fear.
But you have come right up to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; and to the gathering of countless happy angels; and to the church, composed of all those registered in heaven; and to God who is Judge of all; and to the spirits of the redeemed in heaven, already made perfect; and to Jesus himself, who has brought us his wonderful new agreement; and to the sprinkled blood which graciously forgives instead of crying out for vengeance as the blood of Abel did. ( Note: see Genesis 4 -Abel was the second son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain. Cain was the eldest son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother Abel.)
So see to it that you obey him who is speaking to you. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, how terrible our danger if we refuse to listen to God who speaks to us from heaven. When he spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but, “Next time,” he says, “I will not only shake the earth, but the heavens too.” By this he means that he will sift out everything without solid foundations, so that only unshakable things will be left.
Since we have a kingdom nothing can destroy, let us please God by serving him with thankful hearts, and with holy fear and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.

Guidance from God
JAMES 1:2-8
Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.
If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a generous supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind; and every decision you then make will be uncertain, as you turn first this way, and that. If you don’t ask with faith (that is complete trust and confidence), don’t expect the Lord to give you any solid answer.

Live now only as God requires
JAMES 4:13-17
Look here, you people who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to such and such a town, stay there a year, and open up a profitable business.” How do you know what is going to happen tomorrow? For the length of your lives is as uncertain as the morning mist – now you see it; soon it is gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we shall live and do this or that.” Otherwise you will be bragging about your own plans, and such self-confidence never pleases God.
Remember, too, that knowing what is right to do and then not doing it is sin (that is, acting against the laws of God in thoughts, speech and actions).

Obey God and be Holy
1 PETER 1:14-17
Obey God (do as directed by God) because you are his children; don’t slip back into your old ways – doing evil (those things forbidden by God) because you knew no better. But be holy (dedicated to God with righteousness and moral purity and behavior that is right and acceptable to God) now in everything you do, just as the Lord is holy, who invited you to be his child. He himself has said, “You must be holy, for I am holy.”
And remember that your heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge you with perfect justice for everything you do; so act in reverent fear (with deep respect and wonder) of him from now on until you get to heaven.

Love and obey God
1 JOHN 5:1-5
If you believe that Jesus is the Christ – that he is God’s Son and your Savior – then you are a child of God. And all who love the Father love his children too. So you can find out how much you love God’s children – your brothers and sisters in the Lord – by how much you love and obey God. Loving God means doing what he tells us to do, and really that isn’t hard at all; for every child of God can obey him, defeating sin (all thoughts, speech and actions against God’s laws) and evil pleasure by trusting Christ to help him.
But who could possibly fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is truly the Son of God?

Love God
(Paul)
1 CORINTHIANS 8:3
The person who truly loves God is the one who is open to God’s knowledge.
(Paul)
EPHESIANS 4:1-3 and 17-32 and 5:1-20
I beg you – I, a prisoner here in jail for serving the Lord – to live and act in a way worthy of those who have been chosen for such wonderful blessings as these. Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Try always to be led along together by the Holy Spirit, and so be at peace with one another.
EPHESIANS 4:17-32
Let me say this, then, speaking for the Lord: live no longer as the unsaved do, for they are blinded and confused. Their closed hearts are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds against him, and they cannot understand his ways. They don’t care any more about right and wrong and have given themselves over to impure ways (that are polluted and morally wrong, especially in sexual matters). They stop at nothing, being driven by their evil (wicked) minds and reckless lusts (that is strong sexual desires).
But that isn’t the way Christ taught you! If you have really heard his voice and learned from him the truths concerning himself, then throw off your old evil nature – the old you that was a partner in your evil ways – rotten through and through, full of lust (strong sexual desires) and sham (pretence).
Now your attitudes and thoughts must all be constantly changing for the better. Yes, you must be a new and different person, holy (dedicated to God with righteousness and moral purity and behavior that is right and acceptable to God) and good. Clothe yourself with this new nature.
Stop lying to each other; tell the truth, for we are parts of each other and when we lie to each other we are hurting ourselves. If you are angry, don’t sin (and disobey God) by nursing your grudge (your feeling of resentment, ill-will or hostility). Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry – get over it quickly; for when you are angry you give a mighty foothold to the devil (Satan, the evil one).
If anyone is stealing he must stop it and begin using those hands of his for honest work so he can give to others in need. Don’t use bad language. Say only what is good and helpful to those you are talking to, and what will give them a blessing.
Don’t cause the Holy Spirit sorrow by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who puts a mark on you to keep you for that day when salvation from sin will be complete.
Stop being mean, bad-tempered and angry. Quarrelling, harsh words, and dislike of others should have no place in your lives. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ.

EPHESIANS 5:1-20
Follow God’s example in everything you do just as a much loved child imitates his father. Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ who loved you and gave himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, for Christ’s love for you was like sweet perfume to him.
Let there be no sexual sin, impurity or greed among you. Let no one be able to accuse you of any such things. Dirty stories, foul talk and coarse jokes – these are not for you. Instead, remind each other of God’s goodness and be thankful.
You can be sure of this: the kingdom of Christ and of God will never belong to anyone who is impure or greedy, for a greedy person is really an idol worshipper – he loves and worships the good things of this life more than God. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the terrible wrath of God is upon all those who do them. Don’t even associate with such people. For though once your heart was full of darkness, now it is full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it! Because of this light within you, you should do only what is good and right and true.
Learn as you go along what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless pleasures of evil and darkness, but instead rebuke (criticize, reprimand sharply) and expose them- (reveal their true, objectionable nature). It would be shameful even to mention here those pleasures of darkness which the ungodly do. But when you expose them, the light shines in upon their sin and shows it up, and when they see how wrong they really are, some of them may even become children of light. That is why God says in the Scriptures, “Awake, O sleeper, and rise up from the dead; and Christ shall give you light.”
So be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: (have and show experience, knowledge and good judgment) make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to find out and do whatever the Lord wants you to. Don’t drink too much wine, for many evils lie along that path; be filled instead with the Holy Spirit, and controlled by him.
Talk with each other much about the Lord, quoting psalms and hymns and singing sacred songs, making music in your hearts to the Lord. Always give thanks for everything to our God and Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Growing strong spiritually
2 PETER 1:1-11
From: Simon Peter, a servant and missionary of Jesus Christ.
To: All of you who have our kind of faith. The faith I speak of is the kind that Jesus Christ our God and Savior gives to us. How precious it is, and how just and good he is to give this same faith to each of us.
Do you want more and more of God’s kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life. He even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us. And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised: for instance, the promise to save us from the lust (the strong evil sexual desires) and rottenness (the corruption, the willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain) all around us, and to give us his own character.
But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful (producing good results, productive) and useful (helpful, very able or competent) to our Lord Jesus Christ. But anyone who fails to go after these additions to faith is blind indeed, or at least very shortsighted, and has forgotten that God delivered him from the old life of sin (in disobeying God’s laws) so that now he can live a strong, good life for the Lord.
So, dear brothers, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen, and then you will never stumble or fall away. And God will open wide the gates of heaven for you to enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Becoming better Christians
HEBREWS 5:11-14 and 6:1-12
There is much more I would like to say along these lines, but you don’t seem to listen, so it’s hard to make you understand.
You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others, but instead you have dropped back to the place where you need someone to teach you all over again the very first principles in God’s Word. You are like babies who can drink only milk, not old enough for solid food. And when a person is still living on milk it shows he isn’t very far along in the Christian life, and doesn’t know much about the difference between right and wrong. He is still a baby Christian! You will never be able to eat solid spiritual food and understand the deeper things of God’s Word until you become better Christians and learn right from wrong by practising doing right.
HEBREWS 6:1-12
Let us stop going over the same old ground again and again, always teaching those first lessons about Christ. Let us go on instead to other things and become mature in our understanding, as strong Christians ought to be. Surely we don’t need to speak further about the foolishness of trying to be saved by being good, or about the necessity of faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptism and the laying on of hands and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
The Lord willing, we will go on now to other things.
There is no use trying to bring you back to the Lord again if you have once understood the Good News and tasted for yourself the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, and know how good the Word of God is, and felt the mighty powers of the world to come, and then have turned against God. You cannot bring yourself to repent again if you have nailed the Son of God to the cross again by rejecting him, holding him up to mocking (ridicule) and to public shame (and dishonor).
When a farmer’s land has had many showers upon it and good crops come up, that land has experienced God’s blessing upon it. But if it keeps on bearing crops of thistles and thorns, the land is considered no good and is ready for condemnation and burning off.
Dear friends, even though I am talking like this I really don’t believe that what I am saying applies to you. I am confident you are producing the good fruit that comes with your salvation. For God is not unfair. How can he forget your hard work for him, or forget the way you used to show your love for him – and still do – by helping his children? And we are anxious that you keep on loving others as long as life lasts, so that you will get your full reward.
Then, knowing what lies ahead for you, you won’t become bored with being a Christian, nor become spiritually dull and indifferent, but you will be anxious to follow the example of those who receive all that God has promised them because of their strong faith and patience.

Older men and women; young men and employees
(Paul)
TITUS 2:1-10
But as for you, speak up for the right living that goes along with true Christianity. Teach the older men to be serious and unruffled (not agitated and calm); they must be sensible, knowing and believing the truth and doing everything with love and patience.
Teach the older women to be quiet and respectful in everything they do. They must not go around speaking evil of others and must not be heavy drinkers, but they should be teachers of goodness. These older women must train the younger women to live quietly, to love their husbands and their children, and to be sensible and clean-minded, spending their time in their own homes, being kind and obedient to their husbands, so that the Christian faith can’t be spoken against by those who know them.
In the same way, urge the young men to behave carefully, taking life seriously. And here you yourself must be an example to them of good deeds of every kind. Let everything you do reflect your love of the truth and the fact that you are in dead earnest (and sincere) about it. Your conversation should be so sensible and logical that anyone who wants to argue will be ashamed of himself because there won’t be anything to criticize in anything you say! Urge slaves (employees) to obey their masters (employers) and try their best to satisfy them. They must not talk back, nor steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy. In this way they will make people want to believe in our Savior and God.

Never give up; Look forward to the Happiness of Heaven
(Paul)
2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-18
But this precious treasure – this light and power that now shine within us – is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own.
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken.
We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. These bodies of ours are constantly facing death just as Jesus did; so it is clear to all that it is only the living Christ within [who keeps us safe].
Yes, we live in constant danger to our lives because we serve the Lord, but this gives us constant opportunities to show forth the power of Jesus Christ within our dying bodies. Because of our preaching we face death, but it has resulted in eternal life for you.
We boldly say what we believe [trusting God to care for us], just as the Psalm writer did when he said, “I believe and therefore I speak.” We know that the same God who brought the Lord Jesus back from death will also bring us back to life again with Jesus, and present us to him along with you. These sufferings of ours are for your benefit. And the more of you who are won to Christ, the more there are to thank him for his great kindness, and the more the Lord is glorified.
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our inner strength in the Lord is growing every day. These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us for ever and ever. So we do not look at what we can see at this moment, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last for ever.
(Paul)
PHILIPPIANS 1:10-11
For I want you always to see clearly the difference between right and wrong, and to be inwardly clean, no one being able to criticize you from now until our Lord returns. May you always be doing those good, kind things which show that you are a child of God, for this will bring much praise and glory to the Lord.

Staying pure
(Paul)
1 CORINTHIANS 5:6-8
What a terrible thing it is that you are boasting about your purity, and yet you let this sort of thing go on. Don’t you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, (that is disobeying God’s Laws) soon all will be affected? Remove this evil cancer – this wicked person – from among you, so that you can stay pure. Christ, God’s Lamb has been slain for us. So let us feast upon him and grow strong in the Christian life, leaving entirely behind us the cancerous old life with all its hatreds and wickedness. Let us feast instead upon the pure bread of honor and sincerity and truth.

Special Holidays
(Paul)
ROMANS 14:5-9
Some think that Christians should observe the Jewish holidays as special days to worship God, but others say that it is wrong and foolish to go to all that trouble, for every day alike belongs to God. On questions of this kind everyone must decide for himself. If you have special days for worshipping the Lord, you are trying to honor him; you are doing a good thing. So is the person who eats meat that has been offered to idols; he is thankful to the Lord for it; he is doing right. And the person who won’t touch such meat, he, too, is anxious to please the Lord, and is thankful. We are not our own bosses to live or die as we ourselves might choose. Living or dying we follow the Lord. Either way we are his. Christ died and rose again for this very purpose, so that he can be our Lord both while we live and when we die.

Listen to the Message and obey it
JAMES 1:19-25
Dear brothers, don’t ever forget that it is best to listen much, speak little, and not become angry; for anger doesn’t make us good, as God demands that we must be.
So get rid of all that is wrong in your life, both inside and outside, and humbly be glad for the wonderful message we have received, for it is able to save our souls as it takes hold of our hearts.
And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. So don’t fool yourselves. For if a person just listens and doesn’t obey, he is like a man looking at his face in a mirror. As soon as he walks away, he can’t see himself any more or remember what he looks like. But if anyone keeps looking steadily into God’s law for free men, he will not only remember it but he will do what it says, and God will greatly bless him in everything he does.
(Paul)
PHILIPPIANS 4:4-8
Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do. Remember that the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus…
Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.