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A MATTER OF WORDS Genesis 3:1-7 1Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ ” 2The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” (Gen 2:16-17: 16And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”) 4“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. 5“For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 7And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves. The serpent was more crafty... Do not be surprised when you face a trial or test of your faith. 1 Peter 4:12 NIV Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. God is not a liar. Numbers 23:19 God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? NIV Jesus is the living, breathing Word of God. John 1:14 NIV The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Philippians 2:5-11 Amplified Bible 5 Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus [look to Him as your example in selfless humility], 6 who, although He existed in the form and unchanging essence of God [as One with Him, possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes—the entire nature of deity], did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted [as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it]; 7 but emptied Himself [without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity] by assuming the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men [He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man]. 8 After He was found in [terms of His] outward appearance as a man [for a divinely-appointed time], He humbled Himself [still further] by becoming obedient [to the Father] to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also [because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself], God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus [b]every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father. Jesus was fully God and fully man. Colossians 2:1-10 NIV 1 I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. 6So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. 9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. Jesus Christ is the fullness of the Deity living in bodily form. Ephesians 4:14 NIV Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. People can be crafty just like the serpent (satan) and can be just as destructively deceptive. Therefore we must guard our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 NIV Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. John 2:24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. Just speak the Word. Matthew 8:5-13 NIV 5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” 7Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” 8The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13Then Jesus said to the centurion, ”Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment. Proverbs 18:21 New King James Version Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. 2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. Promises I’ve personally held to and have spoken over my life... Psalm 37:25 NIV I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. Isaiah 53:5 NIV But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 1 Peter 5:7 NIV Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him... Philippians 4:19 NIV And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Psalm 7:14-17 TPT 14 Look how the wicked conceive their evil schemes.     They go into labor with their lies and give birth to trouble. 15 They dig a pit for others to fall into,     not knowing that they will be the very ones     who will fall into it. 16 Every pit-digger who works to trap and harm others     will be trapped by his own treachery. 17 But I will give my thanks to you, Yahweh,     for you make everything right in the end.     I will sing my highest praise to the God of the Highest Place! 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. AMP He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness]. Finally, its time to choose. Joshua 24:15 NIV 15 But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”