Jesus said, "If your eye is pure, there will be sunshine in your soul. But if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires, you are in deep spiritual darkness. And oh, how deep that darkness can be!"

   For if the gospel we preach is hidden, it is hidden only to those who are being lost. They do not believe because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, Who is the exact likeness of God.

   Lord, I know that a person's life doesn't really belong to him. No one can control his own life. Lord, correct me, but be fair. Don't punish me in anger. If You do, You will destroy me. Pour out Your anger on other nations. They do not know You. They do not pray to You. Those nations have destroyed Jacob's family. They have eaten him up. They destroyed his homeland.

   Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, being members of his sinful race, and wherever there is sin, death results. But all who are related to Christ will rise again. Each, however, in his own turn: Christ rose first; then when Christ comes back, all His people will become alive again. After that the end will come when He will turn the kingdom over to God the Father, having put down all enemies of every kind. For Christ will be King until He has defeated all His enemies, including the last enemy - death. This too must be defeated and ended. For the rule and authority over all things has been given to Christ by His Father; except, of course, Christ does not rule over His Father Himself, Who gave Him this power to rule. When Christ has finally won the battle against all His enemies, then He, the Son of God, will put Himself also under His Father's orders, so that God Who has given Him the victory over everything else will be utterly supreme. He canceled the unfavorable record of our debts, with its binding rules, and did away with it completely by nailing it to the cross. Jesus said, "The time of judgment for the world has come - and the time when Satan, the prince of this world, shall be cast out. And when I am lifted up [on the cross], I will draw everyone to Me."

Taken from Mt. 7, II Cor. 4, Jer. 10, I Cor. 15, Col. 2, Jn. 12, The Living Bible, The
Everyday Bible and Today's English Version. For free Lifescope book,
write to Box 1575, Carlsbad, NM 88221. Please send $1.00 for postage and handling.