Rick Costa

My dear friends, you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you but even more now that I’m absent. In the same way continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.  It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.
– Philippians 2:12-13 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

Your Mama can’t stand in your place before God to plead for you.  Neither can your Dad, your friends, not even your Pastor.  What you do with your life is totally YOUR responsibility.  If you get to heaven and have nothing to show for your life on earth there is no one to blame but yourself.  It’s time to get busy!

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By mercy and faithfulness, peace is made with the LORD. By the fear of the LORD, evil is avoided.
– Proverbs 16:6 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

Often times the reason why men can so easily sin with such audacity is that they lack the fear of the Lord.  Yes God is Love but he is also the Righteous Judge who will absolutely NOT tolerate sin in His presence.  It says in Hebrews 12:29,  “For our God is a consuming fire.”  You don’t play with fire!

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Why are you crushed down, O my soul? and why are you troubled in me? Put your hope in God, for I will again give Him praise who is my help and my God.
– Psalm 43:5 (Bible in Basic English)

We all get sad and depressed from time to time but this verse encourages us to believe that God will give us the help we need as we praise Him.

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In every way we’re troubled, but we aren’t crushed by our troubles. We’re frustrated, but we don’t give up.  We’re persecuted, but we’re not abandoned. We’re captured, but we’re not killed.  We always carry around the death of Jesus in our bodies so that the life of Jesus is also shown in our bodies.  While we are alive, we are constantly handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus is also shown in our mortal nature. – 2 Corinthians 4:8-11 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

The ways of the Kingdom of God are often the opposite from the ways of the world.  From death comes life (that garden tomb is still empty!) and from circumstances that are bad will often come good.

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How precious are your thoughts concerning me, O God! How vast in number they are!  If I try to count them, there would be more of them than there are grains of sand. When I wake up, I am still with you.
– Psalm 138:17-18 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

God loves us so much that He can’t get us out of His mind.  He is constantly thinking about you and me.  Imagine that…the God that created everything in the entire universe Who really doesn’t need anything or anybody always has you in His thoughts!  What an awesome God we serve!

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At the same time the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we don’t know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit intercedes along with our groans that cannot be expressed in words. -Romans 8:26 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

Even in prayer we need to lean on the Holy Spirit’s help to lead us in talking to God.  Jesus Himself always walked around in the “power of the Spirit” and He is our greatest example.  And also think of this…the enemy has no defense against a Spirit led prayer!

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For the LORD will not forsake his people for His great name’s sake: because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.
– 1 Samuel 12 :22 (American King James Version)

All of us who are saved were all selected by God to be His.  It’s possible (God forbid) that we can reject Him but He will never reject us because that’s just the kind of God He is.  No matter how bad we mess up, He will not change His mind about us.  We will always belong to Him.

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For the LORD will not forsake his people for His great name’s sake: because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.
– 1 Samuel 12 :22 (American King James Version)

All of us who are saved were all selected by God to be His.  It’s possible (God forbid) that we can reject Him but He will never reject us because that’s just the kind of God He is.  No matter how bad we mess up, He will not change His mind about us.  We will always belong to Him.

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We love him, because he first loved us.
– 1 John 4:19 (King James Version)

Before you were even born…
Before you were even foreseen to come by your parents…
Before the foundations of the earth was established…
God loved you.
Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world!  (Revelation 13:8)

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Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God’s will in Christ Jesus that you do this. Don’t put out the Spirit’s fire. Don’t despise what God has revealed. Instead, test everything. Hold on to what is good. Keep away from every kind of evil.
– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

What does a Christian look like?  This Scripture pretty much says it all.

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