“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jer. 17:10 ESV

He tests your thoughts and intentions

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12 ESV)

Let this mind be in you

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:5-11 KJV)

Therefore, be single minded

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8 ESV)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 15:15 ESV)

His commands are not burdensome

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (2 John 5:3 ESV)

Obey God rather than men

“But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29 ESV)

Choose the way of faithfulness

“I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me.” (Psalm 119:30 ESV)

You shall abide in Him and He in you

“Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” (1 John 3:24 ESV)

You shall eat the good of the land

“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” (Isa. 1:19 ESV)

You shall be blessed

“Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!” (Psalm 112:1 ESV)

You shall prosper

“And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.” (2 Chron. 31:21 ESV)

 “People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” (Mark 10:13-16 NIV)

Whoever welcomes a child in Jesus’s Name welcomes the one who sent Him

“He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:36-37 NIV)

Little ones have angels in heaven

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 18:10 NASB)

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:21 NLT)

The above passage is the gospel (good news) stated very simply and clearly in only one verse. Let’s look at and define the verse a few words at a time:

• FOR GOD - The Father, creator, maker, ruler of the universe, and the source of all moral authority
• MADE – caused, compelled, assigned, appointed
  
• CHRIST – Jesus the Messiah, the chosen one, the anointed  one, the King of Kings, the Lord of lords.
  
• WHO NEVER SINNED – a man of pure and perfect nature, untouched by sin.
  
• TO BE THE OFFERING – to be the acceptable gift sufficient to pay the total cost
  
• FOR OUR SIN – for our transgression against God’s moral laws which have separated us from Him.
  
• SO THAT WE COULD BE MADE RIGHT – so that we could be made righteous, blameless, and irreproachable in God’s sight
• WITH GOD THROUGH CHRIST – and have peace with God through what Jesus has done.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:14 NIV)

You we’re born a winner!

On the day you were conceived, over a million of your “brothers and sisters” raced to reach your mother’s egg. And you got there first! You won! That’s right, you were truly the winner that day! And you are still a winner today! (Psalm 139:15 NKJV)

You were skillfully made in secret

“My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” (Psalm 139:16 NKJV)

God’s thoughts are still with you today, and they are precious!

“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.” (Psalms 139:17-18 NKJV)

“Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” (Prov. 29:30 ESV)

Today, someone said something on my Facebook feed about the President of the United States, and immediately, people began to react emotionally to it. Soon the conversation turned ugly. I finally hid the entire conversation string because it was nothing but hate speech.

Words matter!

When I was a little boy, if someone would say something mean to me, I would say out loud to them, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” But, the truth is, their words DID hurt me! A lot! And, words DO matter!

Does God care about your words?

Yes he does! The following are verses in the Bible about the importance of words. Read through them, and the next time you are tempted to use your words to comment negatively on social media, think about them.

Let your speech always be gracious

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Col. 4:6 ESV)

By your words you will be justified or condemned

“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt. 12:37 ESV)

Put away all obscene talk from your mouth

“But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.” (Col. 3:8 ESV)

Guard your mouth!

“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” (Prov. 13:3 ESV)

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Heb. 13:20-21 NIV)

The Lord blesses you with PEACE

“The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11 NIV)

Live in PEACE

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Cor. 13:11 NIV)

Those who promote PEACE will have joy

“Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.” (Prov. 12:20 NIV)

Jesus said, “PEACE be with you!”

“Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21 NIV)

“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8 NIV)

When you trust in the Lord…

“You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.” (Prov. 3:24 NLT)

On the other hand, if you trust in your riches…

“People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night's sleep.” (Eccles. 5:12 NLT)

“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” (Psalm 237:2-3 ESV)

 “After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him.” (Luke 5:27 NIV)

In the gospels we read about how Jesus spoke to certain ones and told them to “follow me.” And, they did! You can see Levi’s immediate response, below.

“and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.” (Luke 5:28 NIV)

What was an invitation to Levi is also an invitation to “whosoever”.

Today, because Jesus has died on the cross for the sins of the world, His invitation “to follow me” is now available to “whosoever”. And, yes, it includes you along with everyone else!

The most famous “whosoever” verse is this one

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV)

“Whosoever” calls on Jesus Name!

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom. 10:13 KJV). That’s the gospel, and it's good news!