OUTLINE:

Living In Christ
If we will abide in the sphere of His love, His peace can overtake us, allowing us to focus on encouraging others as the day draws near. (Col 3:15, 1Th 5:11, Heb 10:25)

What’s more important than protecting your peace?

Trust in God.
(Ps 28, 56; Jer 17:7)

Gratitude Protects Us
The minute we lose thankfulness in our hearts, we fall into the curse of familiarity, and we wrongly start taking people, or even God, for granted!

Relationships Require Effort
Selfish lovers are terrible in relationships because, if they even give at all to another person, it is always tainted with a desire for personal gain.

“I have called you friends”
Friends are those we share confidential things with (our hopes, our dreams, our innermost intents, etc.). Jesus intimates such things with His sheep, but only those who come to truly know Him will ever benefit.

1Ti 2:4
[God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

What Does It Mean To Dishonor God?
To be dismissive of His will in any way. For example, if you exchange heart issues with religious practice (e.g. read your Bible to “check off a box”).

Reading Your Bible
You’re better off reading one chapter in the Word and meditating on it through prayer and fellowship with the Holy Spirit than reading a whole book and then immediately heading back to your worship-less lifestyle.

Are You Listening?
Do you just hear the words of the Spirit or do you listen to them? Do you listen to the world’s advice instead? These are the questions that lead us to the truth about our faith.

Knowing God
We don’t have the right to imagine anything about the Holy God of the Universe, the One who plainly states, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD” (Is 55:8). Human imagination is disastrous.

Synthesize
1Co 2:16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL
INSTRUCT HIM [ref: Is 40:13]? But we have the mind of Christ.
Mark 9:23b “All things are possible to him who believes.”
Lk 24:45a “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”

Keep reading your Bible! This is THE most important form of obedience of all.