Category: What do you think?

Every believer in Christ carries a richness that calls for gratitude and prayer

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

When Paul writes to the Christians in Ephesus and mentions that he has not stopped giving thanks for them, his gratitude is connected directly to what he understands to be true about every person who belongs to Christ. Ephesians 1:15-16 shows us a Paul who has heard about the faith of the Ephesian believers and their love for one another, and who responds not with a simple word of encouragement but with ongoing, thankful prayer on their behalf.

The reason behind his thankfulness is significant. Paul is not simply glad that they are doing well or behaving kindly toward each other. He is moved because he understands that every believer in Jesus has been given every spiritual blessing in him. These are not small or ordinary people in his eyes. Every person who trusts in Christ has access to a deep and vast spiritual richness that they may not fully see yet. That truth is worth praying about, and it is worth being genuinely thankful for.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Ephesians 1:3

The Gospel is more than one truth: Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection all matter

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

When we share the good news of Jesus Christ, we speak it, sing it, and live it out, but reducing the gospel to a single point leaves out something important. Many people summarise the Gospel simply as “Jesus died for our sins,” and while that is true, Paul was clear in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 that the full gospel includes three connected truths: Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again on the third day, all in keeping with what the scriptures had promised.

The empty tomb is not a detail we can set aside. Our rescue from sin does not stop at the cross. We are also saved by his resurrection. Without the risen Lord, the story is unfinished. The good news of Jesus Christ is whole only when all three parts are held together, and that is the message we are called to carry into the world.

For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,

Romans 6:5

Becoming the righteousness of God through the one who knew no sin

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

One of the most moving truths in all of scripture is that Jesus, who was completely without sin, took on the weight of our guilt so that we could be made right with God, and this act of love should be enough to bring any of us to make peace with our Creator. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, God made Christ, who had no wrongdoing in him at all, to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that those who believe in him could receive the righteousness of God.

When every other argument or reason falls short of convincing us to turn to God, this one truth stands firm. The Father willingly gave his only Son to suffer and die on the cross so that we could be brought back into a right relationship with him. The great purpose behind this act was not simply forgiveness, but transformation. Believers are not just pardoned; they are clothed in the righteousness of God himself, and that is a gift beyond anything we could ever earn.

and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.

1 Peter 2:24

The resurrection of Jesus is a promise and a preview of what is coming for all who believe

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

After spending time in 1 Corinthians 15 explaining what would be lost if Jesus had not been raised, Paul shifts to the joy of what is actually true, and he describes the resurrection of Christ using the image of first fruits. In the Old Testament, a worshipper would bring a portion of their crop to God as an offering, and that portion represented the whole harvest still to come. In the same way, the resurrection of Jesus is not just a win for him alone. It is a promise of more.

For everyone who has put their faith in Christ, the resurrection of Jesus is a pledge that they too will be raised. This is not simply a vague hope of some kind of existence after death. It is the promise of a physical, conscious, and glorious resurrection, one that brings us into the likeness of Jesus himself. That is not wishful thinking; it is the sure and certain word of God to every believer who has ever wondered what comes next.

 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Philippians 3:20-21

God means exactly what he says, and his word should be taken seriously in every area of life

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

One of the real problems in the lives of many people today is the tendency to read what God says in scripture and quietly assume that it might not fully apply to them. That is a form of pride and rebellion, even when it does not feel that way, and it leads people to treat God’s word as a set of suggestions rather than the words of the Creator of the universe.

God is full of love, joy, peace, and blessing, and he genuinely wants those things for every person. At the same time, when he says not to do something, he means it completely and without exception. He does not make idle statements, he does not play games, and he will not overlook what he has clearly forbidden. Taking God at his word in every part of life is not a burden; it is actually the path to everything he has promised.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Matthew 24:35