Romans 1:

"1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."

Let me ask you something I want you to sit with honestly.

Do you know why you are alive?

Not the biological answer. Not — because my parents had me. I mean the specific answer. The personal answer. The one that is true about you specifically, and not about the person sitting next to you.

Most people have never seriously asked this question. And it is the most important question of your life. Because when you genuinely answer it — when you discover what God specifically designed you for — everything else begins to organise around that answer.

The Bible calls it a mandate. A specific, God-issued, God-designed, God-empowered assignment — placed in you before you were born.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart.” — Jeremiah 1:5

The mandate came before you did.

There are three things you must do with your divine mandate:

DISCOVER IT—It is already in you. Pay attention to what breaks your heart. Notice what you do naturally that others find difficult. Pray specifically: Lord, what did You design me for?

DEVELOP IT — Joseph had the dream at seventeen. But it took thirteen years of pit and prison before the throne. God gave the gift. The difficulty developed the character the gift would need. Daniel studied for three years and came out ten times better than everyone else. Divine gift + human diligence = excellence that neither produces alone.

DEPLOY IT — David “served the purpose of God in his own generation” (Acts 13:36) and then rested. Find your mandate. Develop it. Deploy it in service to your generation. Not waiting for a bigger platform. Start where you are, with what you have.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” — Ephesians 2:10

You are a masterpiece with a mandate. Discover it. Develop it. Deploy it. 🏾

#DivineMandate #Purpose #BornForAReason #YoungPeople #ChristianFaith

August 21, 2026 (day 233/365)
FRIDAY

GOD'S WORD FOR THE DAY

“God Sees the Heart”

2 Samuel 12:9

“Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight?”

This is the Word of God. Nathan’s words to David remind us of a sobering truth: God sees what others cannot see. David had hidden his sin from the people, but he could not hide it from God. The Lord saw his actions, his motives, and the condition of his heart.

We may sometimes think that if no one knows about our wrong choices, everything is fine. But God is concerned not only with our outward appearance but also with the hidden places of our hearts. His desire is that we live honestly before Him.

Knowing that God sees everything should not only make us afraid of sin; it should encourage us to live sincerely before Him. We do not need to pretend to be righteous. We need to be humble, honest, and willing to repent when we fail.

May God search our hearts, expose anything that displeases Him, and help us live every day with integrity before His eyes. Amen.

Have a blessed day with the Lord.

-- Pastor Emmanuel Serto

David Gibbs ...

Before David wore the crown, he learned faithfulness.
Before Samuel became a prophet, he learned to hear God’s voice.

What is God preparing you for today?

Discover timeless biblical principles in FIRST SAMUEL: Lessons in Leadership, Obedience, and Divine Destiny.
https://www.electfamily.org/first-samuel-lessons-in-leadership-obedience-and-divine-destiny/

Friday nights just got deeper. Join us this week at 7 PM for Bible Study at Zion City of David Church

Visit Our Website: zioncityofdavidchurch.org

#ZionCityofDavidChurch #FridayBibleStudy #FaithOnFridays #DigIntoTheWord #DallasChurchFamily #WordAndWisdom #HolySpiritLed #BibleStudyVibes #GrowInGrace #ScriptureStrong

The Advent Truth.
CONSCIOUSNESS DOES NOT DETERMINE HUMAN VALUE.

One increasingly common argument says that ending the life of a developing child isn't really taking a human life because the child isn't yet conscious.

But think carefully about that standard.

Since when does consciousness determine whether a human being has the right to live?

A person who is asleep isn't consciously aware of the world around them. A patient under general anesthesia isn't consciously experiencing their surroundings. Someone knocked unconscious in an accident may temporarily have no awareness whatsoever.
Would that make intentionally ending their life acceptable?

Of course not.

That's because our value as human beings isn't created by our current level of consciousness.

And there's another problem: newborn babies don't possess anything close to the developed self-awareness, reasoning ability, memory, or cognitive capacity of adults. If consciousness determines human worth, exactly HOW MUCH consciousness is enough?

Where is the line?

And who gets to draw it?
The Bible gives us a radically different foundation for human value:

"So God created man in his own image..." — Genesis 1:27

Our value comes from WHO created us—not how much we can currently think, understand, communicate, remember, or accomplish.

David said:

"Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb... Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect." — Psalm 139:13,16

Jeremiah was told:

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee." — Jeremiah 1:5

And Luke describes John before birth using the Greek word brephos—"baby"—the SAME word used for Jesus after His birth (Luke 1:41,44; 2:12,16).

Before birth and after birth: a developing human life.
Human worth cannot safely be based on intelligence, independence, size, location, development, or consciousness. Once we make human dignity dependent upon possessing certain abilities, human rights stop being inherent and become something the powerful decide who qualifies for.

Human life has value because human beings bear the image of God.

August 21st, 2026
Read; Galations 5:13

Freedom is a great gift, but we must know how to use it well. In Christ, we are freed from sin's dominion and from the law's condemnation, not released into moral indifference. This liberty is a blessing from God, never an excuse for selfish desire. Paul directs our freedom toward loving service: instead of using others, we willingly serve them. Christian liberty therefore does not turn us inward. It frees us to love our neighbors with kindness, patience, and practical care, reflecting the character of Christ in our relationships.

Prayer

Thank You, O Great God of Deliverance, for saving Daniel from the lion's den, David from the sword of Goliath, and Israel from Pharaoh's clutches. But most of all, I thank You, O Great Deliverer, for Jesus' triumph over sin at Calvary and His triumph over death at the empty tomb. I want to thank You in person for giving me my freedom. Help me use this gift of freedom to serve Your children and live for You until that time. In Jesus' precious name, I pray. Amen.

Amazing Facts
Daily Devotionals

If the righteous dead do not go directly to heaven, then how was it that Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration?
August 21, 2026
Read Time: 2 min

It’s interesting that the very last thing the Old Testament says is, “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,” and, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet” (Malachi 4:4, 5). Then in Matthew 17:3, we find these two Bible heroes appearing with Jesus and three of His disciples on a mountaintop. This is an important story!

First, the Bible teaches that Elijah never died and was taken in a fiery chariot to heaven (2 Kings 2:11). There are a few instances in the Bible when God takes people directly to Himself (see Genesis 5:24). But that is obviously not the case for the majority of Earth’s inhabitants. The Scriptures teach that even David did not ascend to heaven at death but is in the grave (Acts 2:34).

So, if Moses died, as is stated in Deuteronomy 34:5, then how could he appear on the Mount of Transfiguration with Elijah and Jesus? There is a reference in Jude 9 that gives us a window into what happened to Moses after his death. “Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’ ” (Jude 9).

Michael, which is one of the names for Christ (see Daniel 10:31; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; and Revelation 12:7), was a ruler over the angels and resurrected Moses. (See page 109.) Even Jewish tradition states that three days after Moses died, the Lord came and raised him up.

There is another example of a “special” resurrection; it occurred after Jesus died on the cross. “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many” (Matthew 27:52, 53). This was an unusual occurrence, obviously. Most of us will be raised when the Lord comes the second time.

Key Bible Texts
And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. (Mark 9:4 KJV)