Key Thought

Today's Prayer

Holy God, purify my heart. Remove from it all bitterness and rivalry. Get rid of self-interest and evil. Fill my heart with your love by the power of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

"A good tree does not give bad fruit. Also, a bad tree does not give good fruit. Each tree is known by the fruit it gives. People don't gather figs from thorny weeds. And they don't get grapes from bushes! A good person has good things saved in his heart. And so he brings good things out of his heart. But an evil person has evil things saved in his heart. So he brings out bad things. A person speaks the things that are in his heart. "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' but you are not doing what I say? Every person that comes to me and listens to my teachings and obeys—I will show you what he is like: He is like a man building a house. He digs deep and builds his house on rock. The floods come, and the water tries to wash the house away. But the flood cannot move the house, because the house was built well (strong). But the person that hears my words and does not obey is like a man that does not build his house on rock. When the floods come, the house falls down easily. And the house is completely destroyed."

Related Scripture Readings

{That is the way we should live,} because God's grace (kindness) has come. That grace can save every person. And that grace has been given to us. That grace teaches us not to live against God and not to do the bad things the world wants to do. That grace teaches us to live on earth now in a wise and right way—a way that shows that we serve God. We should live like that while we are waiting for the coming of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. He is our great hope, and he will come with glory. He gave himself for us. He died to free us from all evil. He died to make us pure people that belong only to him—people that are always wanting to do good things. Tell the people these things. You have full authority (power). So use that authority to help the people and to correct them when they are wrong. And don't let any person treat you like you are not important.

So surely the blood of Christ can do much, much more. Christ offered himself through the eternal Spirit as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make us fully clean from the evil things we have done. His blood will make us pure even in our hearts. We are made pure so that we can worship (serve) the living God.

Come near to God and God will come near to you. You are sinners. So clean sin out of your lives. You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure.