What Shall I Render

God raised Jesus to immortality, He cannot die again. What does that do for us? Hope, assurance, freedom, and eternal life must come from somewhere. The resurrection of Jesus proves the faithful source of these things!

An anthem to God's king for the joy and gladness found in His kingdom (Psalm 45).

The kingdom brings us freedom from the worries life on earth can bring us! (Heb 9; Ps 37; Matt 5)

The blessing of the kingdom is found by those who humbly seek and value it! Self-righteousness and arrogance will miss it and forfeit what the blessing that could be theirs (Matt 5:3; Lk 18:9-14; Rev 3:14-22).

Jesus explaining the kingdom to the Jews of His day, even those who praised Him as the Son of David, and even His apostles could not understand the nature of His reign and rule as King. No one understood it, until the Holy Spirit brought the truth of it to the apostles on Pentecost, just as Jesus had promised them.

The reign of Christ is within us, the reign of grace in righteousness (Lk 17:21; Rom 5:21; Matt 21:1-45).

Worship the Son, God's King, and find refuge in Him (Psalm 2).

For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13-14).

The call of the kingdom, is a call to live in Christ's reign over sin and its effects. It is a His call for us to live under His reign and rule. We must answer the call of the gospel to live in His kingdom.

The King is calling. It is our choice to answer the call of His kingdom.

Blessed is the man, who does not fall away on account of Me - Jesus (Matt 11:6). Some people miss out on the kingdom, because Jesus does not satisfy their fleshly expectations and desires. He reigns as King for God's purposes, not man's!

God made Jesus to be both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). We are to pursue His Lordship over our lives, trusting in Him, not our own achievements (Matt 7:21-23).

Jesus claims to be the Gate. He is the only Way to salvation (Matt 7; Jn 10; Acts 4:12).

Jesus warns His disciples against calling Him Lord, but refusing heartfelt submission and obedience (Matt 7:21-23).

What do we hear from God's commands? Do they lead us to perform and trust in our performance, or are they supposed to lead us to know Him and remember Him? (Rom 2:4; Eph 6:24; Rev 2:4)

David takes us through feeling forgotten, defeated, and cut off or ignored by God, and declares his solution - Psalm 13.

Apart from law, sin is dead, and we are free (Rom 7:8; 6:14; 8:1-2).

We need to be careful of the context of truths we hear about anything, especially sin (Jn 8; Rom 3:9-20; 1 Jn 1:8). As long as Jesus is the Son of God, there is good news, and it is always about Him!

God never gives commands to sinners, as if them having moral laws could redeem them. Christ sent His Son as our redemption (Eph 1:7). His redemption goes beyond our souls and reaches our relationships. His commands come to us to express and reflect our redemption in our relationships (Eph 4-6).

God's command to put on the armor He offers is not a collection of our human effort. It is a call to understand, focus on, and depend upon what He has done for us in Christ, our Lord (Eph 6:10; Isa 59:17).

Delight yourself in the Lord. He is faithful. He will be your stronghold in time of trouble (Ps 37; Eph 6:10).

It takes faith to live in this world; everyone has faith in something or someone! The question is: Where do you choose to put your faith?

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power (Eph 6:10).

In these last days, God has spoken to us in His Son. Ephesians is filled with God's message in His Son (Heb 1:2; Eph 1-3, 4-6).

God's purpose is to save and transform us by His love.