Dan O'Bryan

Colossians 3:5

Colossians 3:5 (MSG)
And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

Obedience is required but impossible without Christ

Deuteronomy 28:1 (MSG)
If you listen obediently to the Voice of god, your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, god, your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of god, your God: god's blessing inside the city, god's blessing in the country; god's blessing on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. god's blessing on your basket and bread bowl; god's blessing in your coming in, god's blessing in your going out.

2 Corinthians 4:17

2 Corinthians 4:17 (MSG)
These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us.

2 Corinthians 4:16

2 Corinthians 4:16 (MSG)
So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.