Hebrews 11:2. The only way to be justified with God (to be in good standing with Him) is through faith. Faith is how the prophets and elders in the Bible obtained a good report with God (Hebrews 11:2, “For by it the elders obtained a good report”). “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice...” (Hebrews 11;4). “By faith Enoch ... should not see death” (Hebrews 1:5). “By faith Noah ... prepared an ark...” (Hebrews 11:7). “By faith Abraham ...sojourned in the land of promise..." (Hebrews 11:8-9).

2 Peter 1:10. Faith is easy thing to say we have, but faith is not fulfilled until we exercise it. This is done only through Christian diligence. It is faith and our day-to-day diligence that assures our calling and election (II Peter 1:10, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:”). God desires for us to diligently live Christian lives who chooses goodness, love, and truth over evil and disobedience. It is acting on our faith that pleases God, not just talking about it.

Matthew 25:21. Jesus’ story of the five golden talents illustrates how we should be industrious with the talents that God provides us. In the parable, the lord provided each of his servants a certain number of golden talents. It was not said, but it was known by all of his servants that the lord expected them to increase his golden talents while he was gone.

Romans 6:9. Jesus' resurrection is many times thought of in abstract terms or just treated as a form of a holiday with the celebration of Easter each year. In reality it is the most important historical event that has ever occurred in the world. This unique historical event consisted of Jesus, in human form, dying on the cross and then three days later Him being resurrected from the dead to live forever. As Jesus was in human form, His resurrection proved that man can have complete victory over death and live forever in their glorified body.

The actual resurrection of a dead person is hard for us to believe because everything we see in this world is corruptible. It is decaying, growing old, and dying. We see death and decay everywhere. We see people grow old, we see the leaves turn brown, we see things rust, and we see that every living thing has a physical death in this world. This is why Jesus' resurrection is so important for us to understand and believe. His resurrection demonstrated that He was not of this world. His death was swallowed up in victory. He showed us a life without sin and death, an eternal life. The Bible tells us that only through Him can we can have victory over death (1 Corinthians 15:54-55, "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? .").   Jesus is the door. All we need to have is resurrection faith.

James 1:12. Keeping a relationship with God is more than addressing the past sins in our lives. Fixing a broken relationship with God also means avoiding sin every day. Temptation is with us everyday, but God desires for us to avoid sin. We prove our love of God when we endure temptation. God rewards us who truly love Him (James 1:12, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.")