1 Corinthians 15:45 "And so it is written, 
The first man Adam was made a living soul; 
the last Adam was made a quickening spirit."

Adam's rebellion was deliberate.
He lost his heavenly clothes.
He lost his communion with God.
He died spiritually.

Man was created by God and he was created to have dominion. 
Genesis 1:26, 28   He didn't evolve.

God in His eternal wisdom conceived the desire to create 
an intelligent creature with a soul who is of moral responsibility 
and integrity. Man is the most complex creature of all the original creation and maze of mystery.

Genesis 1:26-28  And God said, 
Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: 
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, 
and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, 
and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing 
that creepeth upon the earth.....

God created Man in total perfection. 
He made man a three dimensional nature.

12252014

Divine deliverance from demons,
vital living faith that strengthens a person
and prophetic truth is pertinent truth.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit arms the Church 
with the weapons of warfare which can defeat 
any and every enemy is pertinent truth.

Salvation only through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross 
and water baptism for the burying of the old man to walk 
in newness of life is pertinent truth.

Pertinent truth is the truth which God has designed 
for this time in human history. 
It is truth that delivers from troubles 
and gives strength in times of toil and tears.

Jonah was disobedient to the Lord's instructions 
to preach repentance to the city of Ninevah. 
He was swallowed by a great fish and vomited up onto shore. 
He preached to the city and saw them saved. 
This is historic truth.

The walls of Jericho fell down miraculously. 
The ruins can be seen near the town of modern Jericho. 
An archaeological guid can describe the ancient gates, 
towers and walls. 
It is historic truth.

Noah was warned by God of impending judgment, 
instructed to build an ark 
and was obedient to the saving of his family 
and many of the animals. 
It is historic truth.

Historic truth is full truth, 
but it doesn't cast out fear in a mind that is tormented.
It doesn't show how to set prisoners of dope, sex and
frustrations free from the devil's power.
It's just plain historic truth.

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; 
and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless 
unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, 
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit 
and of the joint and marrow 
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? 
and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, 

and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

2 Corinthians 5:17 

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. 

Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities, 

his eternal power and divine nature. 

So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. 
This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. 
As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. 

It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes.

And you are included among those Gentiles 

who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.

And if everything you have is from God, 
why boast as though it were not a gift?

God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

Don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time, before the Lord returns. 
For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives.

A person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.

My blogs have had technical difficulties since Nov 20th. The company I am with put up a create a new blog page and it kept me from getting to my blog dashboard. So I had figured I am out of the blogging business.

There has been a lot of communication between myself and google, blogger.com and webcolleagues in order to get this back online.  I do thank every body for their patience and all those who helped to solve the problem. I am sure I wasn't the only one who was having this problem because there are 100's of thousand of people blogging on these cites.  Thanks again everyone!

Everything belongs to you, 

and you belong to Christ, 

and Christ belongs to God.

If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, 
you need to become a fool to be truly wise. 
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.
As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”

God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. 
For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Don’t you realize that all of you  are the temple of God 
and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 

For, “Who can know the lord’s thoughts?

Who knows enough to teach him?

But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, 
but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 

But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. 
It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, 
for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 

When we tell you these things, 

we do not use words that come from human wisdom. 

Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, 

using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.

And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), 

so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, 
and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.

But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. 
For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined

what God has prepared for those who love him.

I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, 
made holy by the Holy Spirit. 

I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, 
that you are full of goodness. 
You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them.

I pray that God, the source of hope, 
will fill you completely with joy and peace 
because you trust in him. 
Then you will overflow with confident hope 
through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And yet again, “Praise the lord, all you Gentiles. 

Praise him, all you people of the earth.”

And in another place it is written, “Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles.”

He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God 

for his mercies to them. 

That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:

“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles;

I will sing praises to your name.”

Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews 
to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.

 Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you 
 so that God will be given glory.

Then all of you can join together with one voice, 

giving praise and glory to God, 

the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, 
help you live in complete harmony with each other, 
as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.

And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement 

as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. 
For even Christ didn’t live to please himself.

We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. 
We must not just please ourselves. 

But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something,

you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. 

For you are not following your convictions.

If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing,
 but keep it between yourself and God.

Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat. 
Remember, all foods are acceptable, 
but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. 
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble.

[Some manuscripts read to stumble or be offended or be weakened]

If you will please God and others will approve of you, too. 
So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, 
but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, 
you are not acting in love if you eat it. 
Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died.

I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus 
that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. 
But if someone believes it is wrong, 
then for that person it is wrong.

Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. 
So let’s stop condemning each other. 
Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not 
cause another believer to stumble and fall.

 For the Scriptures say,

“As surely as I live, says the Lord,
every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.”

So why do you condemn another believer? 
Why do you look down on another believer? 
Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 
If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. 
And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. 
So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 
Christ died and rose again for this very purpose
to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.

Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. 
Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, 
since they give thanks to God before eating. 
And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please 
the Lord and give thanks to God.

Some think one day is more holy than another day, 
while others think every day is alike. 
You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable.

One person believes it’s all right to eat anything. 
But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 
Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. 
And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, 
for God has accepted them.

Accept other believers who are weak in faith, 
and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.

Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. 
Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, 
or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.

The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. 
So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, 
and put on the shining armor of right living.

This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; 
time is running out. 
Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

Love does no wrong to others, 
so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. 
You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” 
These and other such commandments are summed up in one commandment: 
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. 
If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.

So you must submit to them, 
not only to avoid punishment, 
but also to keep a clear conscience.

The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. 
But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, 
for they have the power to punish you. 
They are God’s servants, 
sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong.

For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, 
but in those who are doing wrong. 
Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? 
Do what is right, and they will honor you.

So anyone who rebels against authority 
is rebelling against what God has instituted, 
and they will be punished.

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. 
For all authority comes from God, 
and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

If your enemies are hungry, feed them.

If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.

Never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. 
For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.

Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Never pay back evil with more evil. 
Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.

Live in harmony with each other. 
Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. 
And don’t think you know it all!

Be happy with those who are happy, 
and weep with those who weep.

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; 
pray that God will bless them.

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. 
Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Rejoice in our confident hope. 
Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

 Love each other with genuine affection, 
and take delight in honoring each other.

Don’t just pretend to love others. 
Really love them. Hate what is wrong. 
Hold tightly to what is good.

If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. 
If it is giving, give generously. 
If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. 
And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

If your gift is serving others, serve them well. 
If you are a teacher, teach well.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. 
So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, 
speak out with as much faith as God has given you.

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 
so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, 
I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. 
Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, 
but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. 
Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. 
Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind he will find acceptable.

For everything comes from him and exists by his power 
and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever!

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! 
How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

Those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, 
and you are there because you do believe.

And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, 
have been grafted in. 
So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, 
sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.

God offered salvation to the rest of the world, 
their acceptance will be even more wonderful. 
It will be life for those who were dead!

Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.

Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! 
They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles.

And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. 
For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is free and undeserved.

So faith comes from hearing, that is, 
hearing the Good News about Christ.

Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. 
They have the same Lord, 
who gives generously to all who call on him. 
For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord 
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, 
you will be saved. 
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, 
and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

For Christ has already accomplished the purpose 
for which the law was given. 
As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.

With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. 
My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it.

I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.
neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, 
neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow
not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

Who then will condemn us? 
No one—for Christ Jesus died for us 
and was raised to life for us, 
and he is sitting in the place of honor 
at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? 

No one for God himself has given us right standing with himself.

Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, 
won’t he also give us everything else?

If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

And we know that God causes everything 
to work together for the good 
of those who love God and are called 
according to his purpose for them.

And the Father who knows all hearts 
knows what the Spirit is saying, 
for the Spirit pleads for us believers 
in harmony with God’s own will.

 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing 
compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. 
In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. 
But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”  
For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. 
Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.

 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. 
And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, 
he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit 
living within you.

And Christ lives within you, 
so even though your body will die because of sin, 
the Spirit gives you life 
because you have been made right with God.

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. 
You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.

So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. 
But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

Or have you forgotten that when we were joined 
with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?

And because you belong to him, 
the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you 
from the power of sin that leads to death.

So now there is no condemnation 
for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

Now you are free from the power of sin 
and have become slaves of God. 
Now you do those things that lead to holiness 
and result in eternal life.

You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, 
things that end in eternal doom.

Because of the weakness of your human nature, 
I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. 
Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, 
which led ever deeper into sin. 
Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, 
but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 
 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, 
and you have become slaves to righteous living.

Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, 
does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 
Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? 
You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, 
which leads to righteous living.

Sin is no longer your master, 
for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. 
Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. 
Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, 
but now you have new life. 
So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

Do not let sin control the way you live; 
do not give in to sinful desires.

When he (Jesus) died, he died once to break the power of sin. 
But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 
So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin 
and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 
And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 
We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, 
and he will never die again. 
Death no longer has any power over him.

We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ 
so that sin might lose its power in our lives. 
We are no longer slaves to sin.

Since we have been united with him in his death, 
we will also be raised to life as he was.

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. 
And just as Christ was raised from the dead 
by the glorious power of the Father, 
now we also may live new lives.

So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, 
now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, 
giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

But even greater is God’s wonderful grace 
and his gift of righteousness, 
for all who receive it will live in triumph 
over sin and death through, Jesus Christ.

But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness 
to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.

We can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God 
because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

For since our friendship with God was restored 
by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, 
we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.

And since we have been made right in God’s sight 
by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us 
from God’s condemnation.

God showed his great love for us by sending Christ 
to die for us while we were still sinners.

When we were utterly helpless, 
Christ came at just the right time 
and died for us sinners.

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. 
For we know how dearly God loves us, 
because he has given us the Holy Spirit 
to fill our hearts with his love.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, 
for we know that they help us develop endurance.  
And endurance develops strength of character, 
and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

Because of our faith, 
Christ has brought us into this place 
of undeserved privilege where we now stand, 
and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, 
we have peace with God 
because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

He was handed over to die because of OUR sins, 
and he was raised to life to make US right with God.

Assuring us that God will also count us as righteous 
if we believe in him, 
the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

The promise is received by faith. 
It is given as a free gift. 
And we are all certain to receive it.

Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, 
or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles?  
Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted 
as righteous by God because of his faith.

“Oh, what joy for those
    whose disobedience is forgiven,
    whose sins are put out of sight.
Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”^[

When people work, their wages are not a gift, 
but something they have earned. 
But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, 
but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.

There is only one God, 
and he makes people right with himself 
only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.

After all, is God the God of the Jews only? 
Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? 
Of course he is.

Matthew 11:28

We are made right with God 
through faith and not by obeying the law.

For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. 
People are made right with God 
when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, 
shedding his blood.

For everyone has sinned; 
we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 
Yet God, with undeserved kindness, 
declares that we are righteous. 
He did this through Christ Jesus 
when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. 
And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. 
This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. 
As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. 
It is the power of God at work, 
saving everyone who believes, 
the Jew first and also the Gentile.

 And you are included among those Gentiles 
who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.

Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, 
and you will be honored along with him.

And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted 
and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. 
He will come with his mighty angels,

And God will use this persecution to show his justice 
and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering.  
In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, 
and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless
until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 
God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.

Hold on to what is good.  
Stay away from every kind of evil.

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.   
Do not scoff at prophecies,
but test everything that is said.

Always be joyful.    Never stop praying.   Be thankful in all circumstances, 
for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

See that no one pays back evil for evil, 
but always try to do good to each other and to all people.

Encourage those who are timid. 
Take tender care of those who are weak. 
Be patient with everyone.

Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. 
And live peacefully with each other.

Dear brothers and sisters, 
honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. 
They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.

So encourage each other and build each other up, 
just as you are already doing.

Christ died for us so that, 
whether we are dead or alive when he returns, 
we can live with him forever.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
not to pour out his anger on us.

Make it your goal to live a quiet life, 
minding your own business and working with your hands, 
just as we instructed you before.  
Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, 
and you will not need to depend on others.

God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 
Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules 
is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, 
who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.   
Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness 
and honor  not in lustful passion like the pagans 
who do not know God and his ways.

Let your conversation be gracious and attractive 
so that you will have the right response for everyone.

Live wisely among those who are not believers, 
and make the most of every opportunity.

And whatever you do or say, 
do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, 
giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs 
to God with thankful hearts.

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. 
Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. 
For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. 
And always be thankful.

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, 
which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Make allowance for each other’s faults, 
and forgive anyone who offends you. 
Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, 
you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, 
kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,  
circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,  slave, or free. 
Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Put on your new nature, and be renewed 
as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

Now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.   Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. 
Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, 
and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, 
worshiping the things of this world.

And when Christ, who is your life, 
is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 
For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, 
set your sights on the realities of heaven, 
where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. 
So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 
“Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 
Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 
These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, 
and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

Don’t let anyone condemn you 
by insisting on pious self-denial 
or the worship of angels, 
saying they have had visions about these things. 
Their sinful minds have made them proud, 
and they are not connected to Christ, 
the head of the body. 
For he holds the whole body together 
with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.