“You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You” (Neh. 9:6).

The Bible opens with the declaration that not only does God exist, but that He is the Creator (Gen. 1:1). This truth is restated many times throughout Holy Writ (cf. Gen. 2:4, 5:1-2; Ex. 20:11; Isa. 45:11-12, 18). Every single person is made in the image of God which makes us the created and He the Creator (Gen. 1:26-27). He is the very reason for our being (Acts 17:23-28). That means that we all have the duty to fear and obey Him (Ecc. 12:13-14). That means we have no right to back talk to Him (Rom. 9:19-20; Isa. 45:9). That means we have the responsibility to bring glory to Him in all that we say and do (1 Cor. 6:20, 10:31).

We serve the awesome Creator that loves us dearly. This is evidenced by Him sending His Son to die on the cross to make possible our redemption (John 3:16-17). We should esteem Him more and more as each day passes (John 14:15; 1 John 5:1-4; Rev. 4:11). God is the Creator!

Trent Thrasher

“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;” (Rom. 12:10)

One of the great benefits of the church is the love shown between members. This type of love describes the mutual love of parents and children as well as husbands and wives (kindly affectionate). Brotherly love is the type of love between siblings and in this sense our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should be showing honor (esteem; respect) more and more toward each other. There is a great elevating and growth seen in mutual respect for the brethren in this verse.

Indeed, we should all let brotherly love continue (Heb. 13:1). Brotherly love is one of a symphony of Christian graces that rings out glory to God (2 Pet. 1:7). God teaches us to love one another (1 Thes. 4:9). This love must be genuine, sincere, and without hypocrisy (1 Pet. 1:22). Like Abram said to Lot, we do not want strife (quarrels) to be between us because we are brethren (Gen. 13:8). May we all increase in our love of the brethren.

Trent Thrasher

“And they went out, and preached that men should repent” (Mark 6:12).

A frequent and needed message of the Bible is repentance. Repentance describes a changing of the mind for the better resulting in amending our ways or behavior away from sin and toward service to God (cf. Luke 3:10-14; Acts 26:20).

We find the prophets of old preached repentance (Jer. 26:13; Ezek. 14:6; Ezek. 18:30; Hos. 14:1-2). John preached repentance (Matt. 3:1-2, 8). Jesus preached repentance and commanded His apostles to do so (Matt. 4:17; Matt. 9:13; Luke 13:1-5; Luke 24:46-47; cf. Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19). God requires repentance from all accountable people (Acts 17:30-31; 2 Pet. 3:9). Members of the church who sin are required to repent (Acts 8:12-13, 18-24; Rev. 2:5, 16, 20-23; Rev. 3:3, 19).

Sin is deceitful and hardens the heart over time (Heb. 3:13). Like a tea bag to pure water, the longer a person stays steeped in sin the darker they become. Let us be those that daily examine our hearts and make any needed changes so we can be right with God (2 Cor. 13:5; James 1:21-25). Let us call others to repentance through the Word of God. We can do this!

Trent Thrasher

“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16)

Babies are born innocent and as such are in fellowship with God (cf. Psalm 106:37-38; Rom. 9:11; Ecc. 7:29). At the point one is accountable to God and sins, separation takes place spiritually for sin separates (cf. Rom. 7:9; Ezek. 18:20; Isa. 59:1-2). No longer is one in fellowship with God and thus conversion is needed.

Conversion describes the action of “turning about” or “turning towards”. This is what happened to those dwelling at Lydda and Saron after Aeneas was healed (Acts 9:32-35). John the baptizer had the mission of turning (converting) many of the children of Israel to the Lord (Luke 1:13-16).

When does conversion happen? Examining Acts 2:38 and Acts 3:19 together reveals the answer:

• “Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)
  
• “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,” (Acts 3:19)
  

From these two passages, we see that once a person obeys the Gospel, they become a new convert at the point of baptism. At the moment of conversion, their allegiance changes to God from Satan (cf. 1 John 3:8-10). Satan will not take this lightly and so we must ever be on guard (1 Pet. 5:8-9). Staying obedient to God remains the mission of the convert for the rest of their life (Matt. 7:21-27; Rev. 2:10). The Lord is looking for new converts every day (cf. Acts 2:47); will you be one of them or help someone to be converted?

Trent Thrasher