“May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.” (Phil. 1:11 NLT)

The fruit of your salvation

• Good works — “And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works in order to meet the pressing needs of others, so that they will not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14)

• Peacemakers — “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.” (James 3:18)

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psalms 1:3 KJV)

“Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.” (Psalm 92:14)

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (1 Pet. 5:7 NLT)

Give God your burdens

“Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” (Psalm. 55:22 NLT)

Therefore…

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matt. 6:33 NLT)

“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” (Psalm 16:8 ESV)

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matt. 6:25 ESV)

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” (Col. 3:15 NIV)

When you let the peace of Christ rule, you don’t have to let yourself be troubled or afraid

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

When you let the peace of Christ rule, your heart and mind will be guarded

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:7)

When you let the peace of Christ rule, you will receive strength

“The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11)

When you let the peace of Christ rule, you will remain in perfect peace

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isa. 26:3 NLT)

Therefore…

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He extinguished their hostility.”(Eph. 2:14-16)

“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.” (Isa. 55:7 ESV)

God forgives and removes your transgressions as far as the east is from the west

“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12 NASB)

Therefore…

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 ESV)

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” (Eph. 1:7 ESV)

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isa. 1:18 ESV)

“What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” (Luke 12:6 NLT)

You are wonderfully made

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalms 139:13-16 ESV)

You are God’s masterpiece

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Eph. 2:10 NLT)

You are justified by grace and made joint heirs with Jesus

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7 ESV)

You are much more valuable

“Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns--and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matt. 6:26)

Therefore…

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16 ESV)

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1:3)

You can do all things through His Strength

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13 ESV)

Therefore…

“For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:8)

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” (2 Cor. 9:8)

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” (Eph. 3:20)

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:16 ESV)

God’s kind of love for you is the greatest love

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13 ESV)

God loved you sacrificially

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 ESV)

God loved you while you were still a sinner

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God’s love for you surpasses knowledge

“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:17-19 ESV)

Therefore…

“We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19 ESV)

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31 ESV)

“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” (Prov. 11:14 ESV)

Seeking guidance

Recently I had an important business decision to make. If I moved forward, it would take a huge commitment of my time and money. The decision included an element of risk so I needed to act correctly. I first took it to God in prayer asking for His wisdom and direction. Next, I sought council from several business people I respected and they gave me important insight and helped me make the right decision. I was very grateful to have gotten their wise council!

Listen to advice and accept instruction

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (Prov. 19:20-21 ESV)

You will succeed with many advisors

“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Prov. 15:22 ESV)

“For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.” (Prov. 24:6 ESV)

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” (Prov. 19:20 ESV)

“Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!” (Psalm 40:4 ESV)

Childlike trust

When I was a child I trusted everybody. That made me a target for pranks such as falling for a snipe hunt at 6 years-old, when I was taken by my older brother and his friends down by the river in the middle of the night to catch some “beautiful little snipe birds” I was left in the dark holding the bag, much to their delight and to my great disappointment. Many times my older brother talked me into things by explaining how much fun they were going to be and I ended up in some kind of trouble as a result. Eventually, I developed a distrust to everything he suggested and I stopped trusting others as well. This was sad, because Jesus said to come to Him like a little child with childlike faith. However, it’s hard to have that once you find out you’ve been lied to about Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny the Tooth Fairy and about snipes down by the river, just to name a few. By the way, when did we ever think it was acceptable to deceive our children? Think how this undermines their childlike trust and faith. Where did all this deception come from? Satan is “the deceiver”and the “father of lies.” The enemy does everything in his power to stop faith and trust, beginning with the hearts of children.

Those who know His Name put their trust Him

“And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (Psalm 9:10 ESV)

Therefore…

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones..” (Prov. 3:5-8 ESV)

And, you will be blessed!

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jer. 17:7-8 ESV)