The Bible is the Word of Christ. In it He reveals Himself, draws us into the glory of God, and by His Spirit, transforms us into His own image. We need to read the Bible, faithfully and well, so that we can be daily renewed and grow to increasing maturity in the mind of Christ.

Only Jesus Christ can open our minds, so that we begin to grow to maturity in His mind, filled with His Word and Spirit, growing and serving faithfully in the calling to which He has appointed us.

It’s one thing to have the mind of Christ, as Paul says is true of every believer in Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 2.16). It’s quite another thing to use the mind of Christ in a mature and responsible manner.

The objective of a renewed mind is that we might see the world with the eyes of Jesus, think about it as He does, plan our approach to it using His priorities and vision, delight in the wonder and scope of His thoughts, and reflect on our experience in the world as He does, for the praise of the glory of God’s grace.

In this concluding study, we are reminded that what God promises us ultimately and above all is Himself. Knowing Him, enjoying Him, and partaking of Him – this is the greatest promise anyone could ever realize.

Voices Together is available in a weekly format suitable for distribution as a church bulletin insert or for distribution to small groups or in prisons. It includes theScrriptures and meditations for the coming week, Monday through the Lord's Day. It is formatted to print double sided on 8 1/2" x 11" paper with a mid-page horizontal fold. Please feel free to utilize this in your own ministries.

By looking at several examples from Scripture, we get a better idea of what we need to do as we prepare and plan for living toward God’s promises, and as we purify our souls and practice obedient faith. Claiming God’s promises is a calling for every area of our lives. The more we learn about what this entails, the better prepared we will be to realize His precious and very great promises every day.

It helps to have a plan, and a plan is what David suggests for us in Psalm 68.

The Christian life is lived amid various tensions – time/eternity; temporal/spiritual; darkness/light; seen/unseen. All these tensions are bridged and resolved by the Word of God, the Creator of all things and Light of every person. John will tell a story which, as we shall see, demands a whole-life response from all who read it. He wants us to understand, from the outset, that the Word, Who is the subject of his story, is worthy of our committing ourselves entirely to Him.

God offers us exceedingly great and precious promises, promises of blessing and bounty, promises that can make us a blessing to all the people around us. We need to understand these promises and learn to desire them as the guiding hope of our lives.

How do we balance being a community in exile with our calling to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness?

In the two studies in this series, we will take a closer look at what the Bible teaches about reason and how it fits into the life of faith.