Excerpts from Genesis Chapter 2

“A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. The first branch, called the Pishon flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. The gold of that land that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush. The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates.” (Genesis 2: vv. 10-14, NLT)

Please refer to a more more detailed description of these verses in a separate page on this website entitled, “The Garden of Eden and the Four Rivers.”

A Call to Remain Faithful

“But you , my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said. They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.

But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.

And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.” (Jude vv. 17-23, NLT)

Live in Truth

“How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded.

I’m writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.

I say this because many deceivers have gone to Ito the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.

If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.” (2 John: vv. 4-11, NLT)

Faith in the Son of God

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves His children, too. We know we love God’s children if we obey His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through or faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by His baptism in water and by shedding His blood on the cross – not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with His testimony. So we have these three witnesses – the Spirit, the water, and the blood – all three agree. Since we believe in human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about His Son. All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about His Son.

And this is what God has testified: He has give us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.” (1 John 5, vv 1-12, NLT)

Loving One Another

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought too full. expression in us.” (1 John 4: vv. 7-10)

Discerning False Prophets

“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and is indeed already here.

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit that lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we long to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.” (1 John 4: vv. 1-6, NLT)

Love Our Another

“This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So, don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.” (1 John 3: vv. 11-13, NLT)

“Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by or actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything.” (1 John 3: vv. 18-20, NLT)

“And this is His commandment: We must believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with Him, and He with them. And we know He lives in us because the Spirit He gave us lives in us.” (1 John 3: vv. 23-24, NLT)

Hope in the Messiah

“For a child is born to us, a Son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders.

And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and it’s peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of David for all eternity.

The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9: vv. 6-7, NLT)

Living as Children of God

And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when He returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from Him in shame.

Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.

See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure just a s He is pure. (1 John 2, vv. 28-29, 1 John 3: vv. 1-3, NLT)

Warning about Antichrists

“Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.

But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you His Spirit, and all of you know the truth. So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. And anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life He promised us.” (1 John 2: vv. 18-25, NLT)