Jer 29:11 (NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” You are an eternal being because God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness.... (Gen 1:26)” You have a God-given free will that can move you in the direction of God’s great plans. Or you can move away from God’s great plan for you. The main issue with God is to make sure you know which direction you are heading.

Rev 21:1-3 (NIV) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. This is God’s great plan for you!

John 3:16 (NIV) For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. As you just studied, Jesus paid the price for your sins so you could become a child of God, be a member of His family, and be a citizen in His eternal Kingdom. He died for all your sins so you could have a perfect record with God. And through that perfect record with God, Jesus provided you with direct access to God. Now, if you take advantage of these next things, you are heading toward God’s wonderful plan for you.

Psa 119:11 (NIV) I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You. God’s Word, the Bible, is available to you so you can know how to head in the direction of God’s plan for you. It is helping you deal with the issue of sin so you can enter into God’s eternal Kingdom. Since no sin will be allowed in it, Jesus helped you deal with sin through salvation and the perfect record it supplied you. Then the Bible is building a foundation in you that is helping you stop making mistakes or sinning on purpose.

John 16:8 (NIV) When He comes, He will convict the world of GUILT in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit has been your first contact with God. From the moment God decided you were mature enough to be responsible for the issues of right and wrong, the Holy Spirit has been speaking to your conscience. He has been talking to you about right and wrong for most of your life. You and He are much more acquainted with each other than you may have realized.

Eph 4:11-14 (NIV) It was He (Jesus) Who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 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 men in their deceitful scheming.