What Kind of Prayer Pleases God?

“This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2)

The first mark of the upright heart is that it trembles at the word of the Lord.

Isaiah 66 deals with the problem of some who worship in a way that pleases God and some who worship in a way that doesn’t. Verse 3 describes the wicked who bring their sacrifices, “He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man.” Their sacrifices are an abomination to God — on a par with murder. Why?

In verse 4 God explains, “When I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen.” Their sacrifices were abominations to God because the people were deaf to his voice. But what about those whose prayers God heard? God says in verse 2, “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

I conclude from this that the first mark of the upright, whose prayers are a delight to God, is that they tremble at God’s word. These are the people to whom the Lord will look.

So, the prayer of the upright that delights God comes from a heart that at first feels precarious in the presence of God. It trembles at the hearing of God’s word, because it feels so far from God’s ideal and so vulnerable to his judgment and so helpless and so sorry for its failings.

This is just what David said in Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” The first thing that makes a prayer acceptable to God is the brokenness and humility of the one who prays. They tremble at his word.

John Piper 

 

Broken for Something Greater

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance.” ROMANS 5:3

 

PONDER THIS

For several centuries, a village was known for its exquisite and fragile porcelain. Especially striking were its urns, which were as high as tables and as wide as chairs. They were admired around the globe for their strong form and delicate beauty. Legend has it that when each urn was finished, there was one final step. The artist broke it and then put it back together with gold filigree. An ordinary urn was then transformed into a priceless work of art. What seemed finished wasn’t complete until it was broken.

Men throw broken things away. But God never uses anything until He first breaks it: “A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). God is trying to break your life for eternal good.

How has God used the broken things in your life to build godly character?

How has your faith grown stronger through the hardship you have faced?

PRACTICE THIS

Journal today about some of the ways God has used the broken things in your life to build stronger character and faith in Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How God Uses Brokenness

“Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.” GENESIS 32:25

 

PONDER THIS

Did you know God likes broken things? People throw broken things away, but God rarely uses anything until He first breaks it. David said in the Psalms: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). Some of us are not being used by God because we’ve never been broken. If God breaks you and you become broken bread and poured out wine, He will use you. God took a little boy’s lunch and broke it and fed the multitudes. Mary took an alabaster box of ointment and broke it and lavished her love upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The prophet Jeremiah said: “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns” (Jeremiah 4:3). You’ll never have the crop you ought to until you put the plow in, until the old clods are broken. Even the Lord Jesus Christ took the bread at the last supper and said: “This is My body which is broken for you.” People throw broken things away. God uses broken things for His glory.

What are the “broken things” in your story?

How have you seen God use even what is broken in your life?

PRACTICE THIS

Share the way God has redeemed broken parts of your life with another person this week.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Moving Toward the Brokenhearted

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound . . .” ISAIAH 61:1

 

PONDER THIS

You and I now live in a new kingdom, and we have kingdom authority, but this authority must be enforced according to what our King wants. Knowing what our King wants is rooted in knowing why Jesus came and who He came for. We were slaves of Satan, in bondage to his dark kingdom, and Jesus came to set us free. And to what kind of people did He come? To those who are bankrupt. The word poor here means beggars. Without Jesus Christ, we are bankrupt, and Jesus came to preach the Gospel to the bankrupt.

He also came to the brokenhearted. Do you know anybody today who is brokenhearted? If you look around, you’ll see many people laughing on the outside, trying to mask the sorrow and the emptiness on the inside. Jesus came for the brokenhearted. Then He said, “As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you” (John 20:21). Your neighbor, the people you work with, they’re the brokenhearted ones. They’re the ones that are bound. They’re the ones who are blind. They’re the ones that are bruised. Jesus came for them, and you are also called to move toward them.

How does Jesus’ heart for the hurting impact you?

Who are the bound, brokenhearted, blind, and poor around you? How can you share the love of Christ with them?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time to share the love of Christ with someone in your community who is brokenhearted.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Seeing Yourself as You Truly Are

PRAY OVER THIS

“But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.’ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’” Luke 5:5-8

 

PONDER THIS

Brokenness follows bankruptcy. What is brokenness? It is when a person must discover and admit just who he or she is. Many people have never really seen this. For many, their greatest need is to see their need. Many sit in churches on Sunday mornings heady, haughty, and high-minded, thinking they’re doing God a wild favor by being there.

But there must be a discovery when we see who God is, and then we understand who we are. For example, Simon Peter was naturally an aggressive man. Simon Peter was a take-charge type of fellow. He was putting his foot in his mouth all the time. But Simon Peter one day had a glimpse of the majesty and the glory of Jesus Christ, and then do you know what he said? He said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.” He finally saw his bankruptcy. When you open your eyes to see God for who He is—holy and perfect—you very quickly realize you are broken before Him. You start to see your need for a Savior.

When have you recognized your brokenness before God? How did you respond?

How can you regularly remember your greatest need is to be made right with God?

PRACTICE THIS

Pray for the non-believers you know and ask God to show them their spiritual need of Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Able to See Brokenness?

PRAY OVER THIS

“I cry out to the LORD with my voice; with my voice to the LORD I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble.” Psalm 142:1-2

 

PONDER THIS

Someone once said you can’t purify water by painting the pump. And yet that’s what we try to do. We think that somehow if we can change the exterior, if we can make conditions such that we never have any hurts or pains, then we’ll be just right. But Jesus focused on what you are, not on what you have.

He didn’t say blessed are those who have popularity, those who have position, those who have personality, those who have possessions, or those who have power. I can show you people who have all of these things and are perfectly, exquisitely, miserable. Jesus didn’t say blessed are those who have certain things, but blessed are those who are certain things, including those who mourn.

Many church services are filled with cheerleader enthusiasm. I’m not speaking against joy. The Bible says there’s a time to laugh and a time to weep (see Ecclesiastes 3:4). There is a time to be on our faces before God. When we recognize our brokenness, when we see the brokenness in the world, we can and should fall before Him and mourn. Mourners have the sensitivity to feel; their hearts are touched. They rightly see the brokenness in the world and in themselves.

When have you mourned before God?

How do you typically respond to a moment of hurt or mourning?

PRACTICE THIS

Talk to a friend about areas of struggle. Seek to walk with one another as you lift your troubles to God.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

We Are Blessed Through Pain

PRAY OVER THIS

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

 

PONDER THIS

The world would never say those who mourn are blessed. The world would say the opposite. Blessed are those who never have to cry. Blessed are those who never mourn. We have an idea that if we could go through life without ever crying, without any sorrow, without any pain, without any heartache, and without any moan and groan, it would be wonderful. But that’s not so.

Jesus says those who mourn are blessed. Many believe if we could just arrange conditions where we never have any sorrow, never have any pain, never have any hurts, then we could just change men. If we can change conditions, we can change character. But that isn’t what the Bible teaches. I want to remind you that Man fell in a perfect environment, in the Garden of Eden. You couldn’t have a better environment than that, and it still wasn’t enough. The world emphasizes condition; God emphasizes character.

Where are you searching for the perfect conditions in your life? How are you tempted to believe this will lead to happiness?

What are some conditions in your life right now that feel broken? How can God work even in those circumstances?

PRACTICE THIS

Share with a fellow Christian some conditions you are struggling with and pray together for God to show you how He is at work in those situations.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

You are Purposefully Broken

PRAY OVER THIS

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance.” Romans 5:3

 

PONDER THIS

For several centuries, a village was known for its exquisite and fragile porcelain. Especially striking were its urns, which were as high as tables and as wide as chairs. They were admired around the globe for their strong form and delicate beauty. Legend has it that when each urn was finished, there was one final step. The artist broke it and then put it back together with gold filigree. An ordinary urn was then transformed into a priceless work of art. What seemed finished wasn’t complete until it was broken.

Men throw broken things away. But God never uses anything until He first breaks it: “A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). God is trying to break your life for eternal good.

How has God used the broken things in your life to build godly character?

How has your faith grown stronger through the hardship you have faced?

PRACTICE THIS

Journal today about some of the ways God has used the broken things in your life to build stronger character and faith in Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God Uses Broken Things

PRAY OVER THIS

“Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.” Genesis 32:25

 

PONDER THIS

Did you know God likes broken things? People throw broken things away, but God rarely uses anything until He first breaks it. David said in the Psalms: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). Some of us are not being used by God because we’ve never been broken. If God breaks you and you become broken bread and poured out wine, He will use you. God took a little boy’s lunch and broke it and fed the multitudes. Mary took an alabaster box of ointment and broke it and lavished her love upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The prophet Jeremiah said: “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns” (Jeremiah 4:3). You’ll never have the crop you ought to until you put the plow in, until the old clods are broken. Even the Lord Jesus Christ took the bread at the last supper and said: “This is My body which is broken for you.” People throw broken things away. God uses broken things for His glory.

What are the “broken things” in your story?

How have you seen God use even what is broken in your life?

PRACTICE THIS

Share the way God has redeemed broken parts of your life with another person this week.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

When God Gives You a Fever

PRAY OVER THIS

“For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” Romans 8:19

 

PONDER THIS

When Adam sinned, God could not allow a sinful creature to live in paradise. So, God took Adam out of paradise and put him in a world that had the curse of sin upon it. God told him that He would have to survive by the sweat of his face. Why? Because God wanted Adam to know there’s something deadly wrong in this world, and all of the pain and all of the sorrow that we see in creation is the fever of the infection, which is sin.

Aren’t you glad that God gives you fever when you have an infection? If you didn’t have a fever, you wouldn’t know you had an infection. The fever’s the symptom of the deeper problem. The groaning of creation is in essence the fever of a broken world. God didn’t make the world this way; God made the world perfect. But we see a world that is marred and scarred and all of creation is groaning. Listen even to the wind as it goes through the trees; it’s in a minor key. Everything is groaning and sighing and dying. But God has promised that it will not stay this way forever.

Where does the brokenness of the world stand out to you most?

How have you experienced but also contributed to the brokenness of the world?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time today to make a list of ways the world is broken. Make a second list of the promises God has made to fix the broken things of the world.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Hope in Affliction and Brokenness

This is the power of Christ.

This is Who we bow before as Lord.

He is all powerful, all worthy, all seeing, all full of grace.

He has conquered death.

He is risen!

He is coming again to claim His church!

Hallelujah and Amen!

9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great.

10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great."

11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,

15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,

16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,

19 saying, "Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."

20 But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!

21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. - Acts 8:9-22

1 "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 

2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 

3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. 

4 Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 

5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. 

6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 

7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

10 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 

11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.  - Isaiah 55:1-11

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him.

17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.

27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. - Colossians 1:15-29

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.

9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

The Broken Soul with a Broken Heart

What is the soul? 

We know all about the body!

We live in it everyday.

This is what we know, the body will not survive.

God made it to decay, rot away to dust.

The soul is a whole other story.

God made it to last eternally.

Grasp that, what makes you you, the essence of who you are, was made to be eternal. 

So we know, God has no beginning and He will have no ending.

He is Supreme, knowing all things, Creator, life giving, life taking, tester, all that is good! 

He created man to be good!

He gave them one command, do not eat from the tree of knowledge!

Then temptation and sin entered in.

God saw the man was bent on evil.

He was grieved by His creation.

Man was to live forever.

Before the foundation of the world, God saw, he was prepared for battle and He would win!

As man multiplied, he became increasingly wicked.

So God set a time for man at 120 years.

This changed after God destroyed the earth with a flood. 

Only Noah, his family and the animals were saved. 

That generation lived into the hundreds of years to replenish the earth.

Sin was still rampant.

God made a way for sin to be defeated.

It's through Christ alone!

So your broken soul and heart can be renewed.

Bring your broken soul to the One Who Is Able!

Sin was nailed to the cross!!

Praise The Lord!

Hallelujah and Amen!!!

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.

2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. - Genesis 5:1-2

Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years." - Genesis 6:3

5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

7 So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." - Genesis 6:5-7

and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. - Ecclesiastes 12:7

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 

2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 

3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 

4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 

5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.  - Isaiah 11:1-5

Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." - John 8:58

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him.

17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. - Colossians 1:15-20

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ

10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. - Ephesians 1:9-14

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-

6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:4-10

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,

16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. - Ephesians 2:13-16

9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. - Colossians 2:9-14

Bad choices in your past?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose. Psalm 25:12

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

You are free to choose. You are not free, however, not to choose. After you make a choice, your choice chooses for you.

There are always consequences for your choices. Always. If you choose to step off the roof of a ten-story building, you are not then free to choose the consequence of your choice. Your choice has chosen for you.

God's will is for your welfare as well as for His glory.  God's will is what you would choose for yourself if you had enough sense to choose it.  Don't be afraid of the will of God.  The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.

What if you make a bad choice? What is God’s reaction? First, He is in control. Your choices will not take Him by surprise. Thanks to God, He can prevail over our bad choices to restore us into fellowship with Himself!

ACTION POINT:

Have you made a choice in your past that has brought you consequences reverberating even today? Share this insight with someone who is younger in the faith than you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Our Brokenness Made Beautiful

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-

12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,

16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. - Ephesians 2:11-22

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,

7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. - Colossians 2:6-15

18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,

21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

22 Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.

23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.'

24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days.

25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'

26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness." - Acts 3:18-26

24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. - Romans 7:24-25