Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. Proverbs 11:25 The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered. Jeremiah 17:7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord. Psalm 115:14 May the Lord give you increase, you and your children. Psalm 106:3 How blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times! Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Hebrews 13:16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
ALLOW THIS WORD FROM GOD TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE.
Romans 12:16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be arrogant, but be friendly to humble people. Don’t think that you are smarter than you really are. Proverbs 8:13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, evil behavior, and twisted speech. Galatians 5:26 We can’t allow ourselves to act arrogantly and to provoke or envy each other. Proverbs 11:2 – “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”
ALLOW THIS QUICK REFRESHER TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE.
When we truly believe Jesus is Lord, the way we live will change. Matthew 16:13-18 The question hung in the air like a thick morning fog. Imagine the silence from the disciples when Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). They may have been too scared or uncertain to speak. But then Peter looked at Jesus and declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). Calling Jesus “the Christ” was consequential in the first century. Such a statement led to the death of many believers, as the Jewish and Roman authorities persecuted Christians who were willing to take a stand for their faith. Even those who walked side by side with Jesus and excitedly took part in His ministry would be taking a huge risk to call Him by such a title. So they sometimes remained silent while continuing to work for the kingdom. Isn’t it interesting that today’s church often has the opposite problem? Many people are quick to exclaim, “Jesus is Lord!” but then fail to go about His work. If there’s a gap between what you profess with your mouth and what you’re doing for the kingdom, remember that Jesus calls us to be consistent in testimony and deed. If your confession is “Jesus is Lord,” then your life should reflect your bold stance. What can you do today to demonstrate your faith to others. 1 John 3:18 – “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” Matthew 5:16 – “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
ANOTHER QUICK REFRESHER FROM GOD. ARE YOU ENJOYING OUR QUICK REFRESHERS?
When Christians die, they depart to be with Christ, Phil. 1:23. Absent from the body is present with the Lord, 2 Cor. 5:8 , which is “far better,” Phil. 1:22, 23 , because in His presence there is fulness of joy, Psa. 16:11. When the church is translated, living believers and the resurrected dead in Christ rise together to meet the Lord in the air, 1 Thess. 4:13–18. They will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, Rom. 14:10 , not to be punished but to receive rewards for things done in the body, 2 Cor. 5:10. Their works will be tried by fire, but their salvation will not be affected, 1 Cor. 3:13–15. After the Lord is united with His bride, the church, Rev. 19:7, 8 , He returns to the earth, Luke 12:36 , with all His saints, 1 Thess. 3:13. He sits on the throne of His glory judging the nations, Matt. 25:31. Christians are with Him, judging the world and angels, 1 Cor. 6:2, 3. At that time their knowledge will be vastly increased, 1 Cor. 13:12. Eternal life will mean knowing the true God and Jesus Christ, John 17:3. The horizons of believers’ minds will expand forever as they grow in the knowledge of the God who creates no two snowflakes alike. They are destined to sit with the Lord on His throne, Rev. 3:21 , and to reign with Him forever, Rev. 22:5.
DID YOU ENJOY AND RECEIVE FROM THIS QUICK REFRESHER?
Mark 9:24 – “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Context: A father pleads with Jesus to heal his demon-possessed son. He believes, but admits his struggle with doubt. Jesus honors his honesty and heals the boy—showing that faith doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful. Hebrews 3:12-19 – Be careful, brothers and sisters, that none of you ever develop a wicked, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 Encourage each other every day while you have the opportunity. If you do this, none of you will be deceived by sin and become stubborn. 14 After all, we will remain Christ’s partners only if we continue to hold on to our original confidence until the end.15 Scripture says, If you hear God speak today, don’t be stubborn. Don’t be stubborn like those who rebelled.”16 Who heard God and rebelled? All those whom Moses led out of Egypt rebelled. 17 With whom was God angry for 40 years? He was angry with those who sinned and died in the desert. 18 Who did God swear would never enter his place of rest? He was talking about those who didn’t obey him. 19 So we see that they couldn’t enter his place of rest because they didn’t believe. Context: The writer warns believers not to repeat Israel’s mistake in the wilderness. Their unbelief kept them from entering the Promised Land. It’s a call to remain faithful and soft-hearted.
UNBELIEF CAN BLOCK YOUR BLESSINGS. UNBELIEF CAN CAUSE YOU NOT TO BE BLESSED BY GOD.
“But How Do I Know I’m Part of God’s Family?” Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Gal. 4:6) In Galatians 3:23–4:7, Paul wrestles with the question “Who inherits the promises given to Abraham of an eternal life with God?” Or, in our modern vernacular, who is saved? The answer is everyone who trusts God to justify them through Christ’s death and resurrection. All who believe—who take God at his word—regardless of their gender, social standing, or ethnicity, are now “sons” of God. This means that all who believe inherit equally. There are no second-class family members seated around God’s dining room table. But how do you know if you have a seat? The acid test of sonship comes from something inside you that insists—demands—that you think of God as your Father. It’s the Spirit of his Son that he has sent into your heart that says, “You are related to him.” Even in your worst moments, you know that you can turn to him and he will hear you, because you’re family. And so you don’t even think about it. You just expect him to take your call, because that’s what family does. This is an experiential argument, not a conceptual one. It asks you whether you find yourself naturally, if unexpectedly, turning to God in random moments of your life. • Do you ever feel grateful and silently whisper, “Thank you”? • Do you ever get upset and tell God how frustrated you are? • Have you ever been sick or in pain and asked him to heal you? • Have you ever urged him to make the future turn out a certain way? • Have you ever felt cut to the heart and asked him to comfort you? • Do you ever find yourself struck by the beauty of a sunset, the delicacy of a spiderweb, the power of a thunderstorm, the quietness of a snowfall, the softness of a baby’s cheek, or the loyalty of a pet, and then find yourself marveling at the One who made it? Responses like these—reaching out to God or associating him with the things you experience in life—make sense only if there is something real between the two of you. Something that transcends your fears and uncertainty. Something that’s there whether you consciously think about it or not. When you instinctively turn to God—not to make all your wishes come true, but in order to invite him into your world or to share yourself with him—you are demonstrating that his Spirit really is inside of you crying out, “Father!” It’s the evidence that you are family. Being family wasn’t your idea first. God put the Spirit of his Son in you. And since he has done that, you are not just family for the moment—you are family forever. CHECK YOUESELF: Think back over the past few days. Were there times when you casually, instinctively reached out to God? Be honest with yourself: do you have a sense inside that you can talk to God as your Father? If so, thank him for his Spirit. If not, ask him to adopt you and give you his Spirit.
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:44) It hurts our pride and disturbs our notion of “free will,” but Jesus is very clear: if you have any interest in him, it is only because the Father has first drawn you to him. If the Father hadn’t stirred your heart, you would not be attracted to his Son. You do have to respond by moving toward Christ—by listening to him, talking with him, obeying him, enjoying him—but your actions are secondary to the Father’s. This order is so foundational to your confidence in your relationship with God that Jesus repeats himself, leaving no room for misunderstanding (see John 6:37, 44, 65). If the Father has drawn you, then you can be sure Christ has saved you. The question, then, is not “How can I know that I’m saved?” but “How can I know that the Father has drawn me?” The answer is found in how you react to Jesus: do you move toward him or away from him? Jesus told these things to a large crowd that had invested serious time and energy in pursuing him (see John 6:22–24). But it turned out that they didn’t want him as much as they wanted him to make their lives easier. They wanted a free lunch (see v. 26). Jesus started dialoguing with them, challenging why they were following him so that they could want him for the right reasons. But the people wouldn’t let go of what they wanted, which meant that they became more confused the longer he talked. Jesus told them that they needed a different kind of food than the kind they were thinking about. They needed bread from heaven. Then he told them that he was that bread and that they would need to eat his flesh and drink his blood if they wanted to have real life (see vv. 32–33, 48–51, 53–58). This didn’t make any sense to them. A number of them walked away—including some who had considered themselves his disciples (see v. 66). But the twelve apostles didn’t walk. When Jesus asked them if they wanted to, they told Jesus that they had nowhere else to go, because he alone had the words of life (see vv. 68–69). It’s pretty obvious that they didn’t fully grasp what he was saying until after his resurrection, but they didn’t let their confusion get in the way of pursuing him. Just the opposite—when they were confused about something that he said or did, they asked him about it (see Matt. 13:10; 15:12; Mark 7:17; 9:28; 13:1–4; Luke 8:9; John 11:7–15; 13:24–25, 36–37). They moved closer to him. They came to him and kept on coming to him and stayed with him, because they knew he was the Holy One of God (see John 6:69). That’s the key to understanding whether or not the Father has drawn you: do you critique and dismiss Jesus, or do you trust and want more of him? Neither the crowd nor the apostles fully understood what he was saying that day, but those whom the Father drew wanted more of him and wouldn’t leave. CHECK YOURSELF: Have there been times when you were tempted to walk away from Christ but didn’t? What kept you from leaving? Has the Father drawn you to his Son? Do you still want Jesus? Are you still pursuing him? If the Father is continuing to draw you, take a moment and thank him for doing so.
Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Mark 11:24: Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Psalm 34:6-8: This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Joshua 1:9: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS QUICK REMINDER TO BE HELPFUL.
God speaks often and clearly about believing in Him throughout Scripture. Belief isn’t just intellectual agreement—it’s trust, surrender, and relationship. Here’s a structured look at what God says about believing in Him: Core Truths About Believing in God 1. Belief is the Foundation of Salvation John 3:16 (GW):“God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.” ➤ Believing in Jesus is the gateway to eternal life. Romans 10:9 (GW):“If you declare that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God brought him back to life, you will be saved.” ➤ Faith in the resurrection is essential for salvation. 2. Belief Connects Us to God’s Power Mark 9:23 (GW):“Jesus said to him, ‘As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes.’” ➤ Faith unlocks divine possibilities. Hebrews 11:6 (GW): “No one can please God without faith. Whoever goes to God must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” ➤ Belief is required to approach and please God. 3. Belief Is a Daily Walk, Not Just a Moment Galatians 2:20 (GW):“I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live I live by believing in God’s Son, who loved me and took the punishment for my sins.” ➤ Faith shapes how we live every day.
In the New Testament, Jesus emphasizes love as the foundation of all commandments: Matthew 22:37–39 STATES “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… Love your neighbor as yourself.” This teaches that love for God and others is not optional—it’s the core of a faithful life. Romans 5:8 STATES “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This shows that divine love isn’t based on merit—it’s freely given, even when we fall short. WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT LOVE IS ACTION, NOT JUST EMOTION. 1 John 3:18 “Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” God teaches that real love involves compassion, justice, and service to others.
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND RECEIVED FROM THIS QUICK REFRESHER.
