One of God’s purposes for our lives is to form us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.  To do that, He will use the teaching of His Word, as well as, people and environments.  However, another way that God shapes us into the image of His Son is through adversity, pain, and suffering.  Paul said that our troubles are achieving something for us.  2 Corinthians 4:17  The Good news is that nothing happens in our life without the Father’s permission.  Everything is ‘Father-Filtered’.  He is able to take any and everything that comes into our lives and use it to accomplish His purpose and bring about good in our lives if we will just be patient and cooperate with Him.  Romans 8:28-29.  In the meantime, believe God is working in your life even if you don’t see or feel anything, be patient with God and yourself ( James 1:4)...

God created & designed us to be a part of His family.  He didn’t need a family, but He desired a family.  As a member of His family, we are entitled to everything He has. Galatians 4:7  The two key conditions to becoming a part of His family is confessing our sins and accepting Christ as our master, and water baptism. Matthew 28:19  If we’re a part of God’s family, we must learn how to love each other.  1 Corinthians 13:3; 14:1.  The best expression of our love is time. 1 John 3:18  The importance of things in our lives is measured by the amount of time...