The death and burial of Sarah. Abraham's purchase of her burial site gives us four important insights to learn from. We are to remain faithful even when we don't see the fulfillment of God's promises here on earth, because our true reward is in heaven.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. We are as close to God as we allow ourselves to be. We need Jesus everyday. The battle against our flesh is won through prayer and worship.

Abraham is tested by God - the sacrifice of Isaac. Abraham proves his faith in God by obeying Him completely, surrendering his best to God (holding nothing back), and waiting on the Lord to provide for all of his needs.

John wrote his gospel so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, we may have life in His name. He aims to answer the questions of our soul - Who & Why are we? The key word to the entire gospel is "believe". What we do, is what we believe... The key to following is leaving!

God's miracle...the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham in the birth of Isaac. However, although Isaac brought joy and worship, there was still the consequence of the flesh. Just as Ishmael & Isaac were in conflict, so the flesh and the Spirit do not harmonize. We must choose to "drive out" the flesh.

The application ("how-to") of the book of Ephesians. Paul's purpose and motive was the challenge which Christianity faced in confronting the other religions and philosophies of the day. He wanted his readers to know Christ better and have the power that only Jesus can give. Christians should live with intention and determination because we have a God-given purpose.

We need to be intentional in our evangelism. We are not to be "cookie-cutter" evangelists, but we are to be heart-searchers and listeners. Like Paul did with the Greeks in Athens, we are to meet others where they are, in order to bring them to where God wants them to be.

Spiritual warfare is spiritual! It's the battle against "stinkin' thinkin'". We need to put on the full armor of God, be strong in the Lord and stand firm against the devil.