h, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. 98Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For Your words are always with me. 99I have better understanding and deeper insight than all my teachers [because of Your word], For Your testimonies are my meditation. 100I understand more than the aged [who have not observed Your precepts], Because I have observed and kept Your precepts. 101I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. 102I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. 103How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.” Psalms 119:97-104 AMP

“If it is unacceptable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”– Joshua 24:15 AMP

“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.”– Romans 12:1 AMP

“[For my hope is] that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in [unselfish] love, so that they may have all the riches that come from the full assurance of understanding [the joy of salvation], resulting in a true [and more intimate] knowledge of the mystery of God, that is, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [regarding the word and purposes of God]. 4I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive [but thoroughly deceptive] arguments. 5For even though I am absent [from you] in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, delighted to see your good discipline [as you stand shoulder to shoulder and form a solid front] and to see the stability of your faith in Christ [your steadfast reliance on Him and your unwavering confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness]. 6Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in [union with] Him [reflecting His character in the things you do and say—living lives that lead others away from sin], 7having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established in your faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing in it with gratitude. 8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ. 9For in Him all the fullness of Deity (the Godhead) dwells in bodily form [completely expressing the divine essence of God]. 10And in Him you have been made complete [achieving spiritual stature through Christ], and He is the head over all rule and authority [of every angelic and earthly power].”– Colossians 2:2-10 AMP

“Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own. 13Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”– Philippians 3:12-14 AMP

“For though we walk in the flesh [as mortal men], we are not carrying on our [spiritual] warfare according to the flesh and using the weapons of man. 4The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ, 6being ready to punish every act of disobedience, when your own obedience [as a church] is complete.”– 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 AMP

“And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].”– Romans 12:2 AMP