So Great A Mercy 10.30.19

SO GREAT A MERCY

BREAD

⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.   Luke 1:50 (NIV) 

¹⁸ Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.  Micah 7:18 (NIV) 

⁹ In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.  Isaiah 63:9 (NIV) 

¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”   Daniel 9:17-19 (NIV) 

⁴ Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; ⁵ guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. ⁶ Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.   Psalms 25:4-6 (NIV) 

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.   Ephesians 2:1-9 (NIV) 

⁸ He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.   Micah 6:8 (NIV) 

¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. ² Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.   Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

BUTTER

“To added affliction He addeth His mercy, to multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.”  Annie Johnson Flint 

“God’s mercy is vast and beyond our comprehension. He will never reject anyone who turns to Him for mercy. Nor will He force Himself on anyone who chooses to live without Him.”   Michael Youssef

“God’s willingness to show mercy appears by His joyfulness when sinners take hold on His mercy.  God’s goodness is that He rejoices at the salvation of sinners and is glad when His mercy is accepted.  God rejoices when a poor sinner comes in and takes hold of His mercy.  What an encouragement to believe in God!  He is a God of pardons.  Mercy pleases Him.  Nothing prejudices us but unbelief.  Unbelief stops the current of God’s mercy from running, shut God’s bowels, closes the cavity of Christ’s wounds, so no healing virtue will come out.  As far as the heavens are above the earth, so far is God’s mercy above our sins.  What will tempt us to believe, if not the mercy of God?”  Glorifying God, Thomas Watson 

“God is love and only love. In God there is no hatred, desire for revenge, or pleasure in seeing us punished. God wants to forgive, heal, restore, show us endless mercy, and see us come home. But just as the father of the prodigal son let his son make his own decision God gives us the freedom to move away from God’s love even at the risk of destroying ourselves. Hell is not God’s choice. It is ours.”   Henri Nouwen

“Among the attributes of God, although they are all equal, mercy shines with even more brilliance than justice.”   Miguel de Cervantes

“Mercy imitates God and disappoints Satan.”   John Chrysostom

“We should follow Christ in simplicity and faith, because the paths in which He leads us all end in glory and immortality.  It is true they may not be smooth paths – they may be covered with sharp flinty trials, but they lead to the ‘city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.’  ‘All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of His covenant.’  Let’s put full trust in our Leader, since we know that, come prosperity or adversity, sickness or health, popularity or contempt, His purpose shall be worked out, and that purpose shall be pure, unmingled good to every heir of mercy…..His dear love will make us far more blessed than those who sit at home and warm their hands at the world’s fire.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“The God who needs nothing, came needy. The God who came to give us mercy, was at our mercy. And He who entered into our world, He lets us say it in a thousand ways– that there is no room at the inn.  God steps directly before us in the needs we can indirectly neglect.”   Ann Voskamp

“Prayer is the forerunner of mercy….Prayer is always the preface to blessing.  It goes before the blessing as the blessing’s shadow.   When the sunlight of God’s mercies rises upon our necessities, it casts the shadow of prayer far down upon the plain….If we are much in prayer, our pleadings are the shadows of mercy.”     C. H. Spurgeon

“I love Him because He first loved me.  His goodness and mercy and compassion to me are new every day.  And my assurance is lodged in these aspects of His character.  My trust is in His love for me as His own.  My serenity has as its basis an implicit, unshakable reliance on His ability to do the right thing, the best thing in any given situation.  This to me is the supreme portrait of my Shepherd.  Continually there flows out to me His goodness and His mercy, which even though I do not deserve them, come unremittingly from their source of supply – His own great heart of love.”   Phillip Keller 

“All God’s ways are loving even if we cannot readily discern that with our eyes of flesh.  None of us can see the entire picture yet God makes known from the beginning from ancient times what is yet to come.  His purposes will stand, and He will do all that He pleases.  He is a good and loving and faithful God Who only allows what is best for every heir of mercy.  We can trust Him with our lives.”   BHY 

HEART SAVOR 

• God is rich in mercy and desires for His children to be rich in mercy as well – mercy triumphs over judgment.
• God’s mercy is vast and beyond our comprehension.
• God requires us to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him.

 

 

 

 

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Trustworthy Sayings 10.28.19

TRUSTWORTHY SAYINGS

BREAD

¹⁵ Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶ But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. ¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.  1 Timothy 1:15-17 (NIV)

⁸ For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. ⁹ This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance ¹⁰ (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.  1 Timothy 4:8-10 (NIV) 

¹¹ Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; ¹² if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; ¹³ if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.   2 Timothy 2:11-13 (NIV)

 ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.  Titus 3:8 (NIV) 

²¹ So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. ¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Romans 7:21- 8:4 (NIV)

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.   1 John 4:7-10 (NIV) 

BUTTER

“God is far more willing to save sinners than sinners are to be saved.”    J. C. Ryle

“Beware when the cross and the empty tomb cannot compete with March Madness and The Masters.  See the cross. See who was hanging there, why he had to die, and why he couldn’t stay dead. Sin is worse than we think. The good news is better than you imagine. Jesus lived. Jesus died. Jesus lives again. Christ arose. Christ reigns. Christ will return. We have sinned. We will die. We can live again. Let us not tire of singing the same old songs. Let us not be bored in preaching the same good news. And let us never grow weary of the old rugged cross.”  Kevin DeYoung

“Taking a stand for Christ is increasingly unpopular in our pagan and pluralistic society.  If you believe that God created the world, that He is a God of both love and holiness, that Jesus died and rose again for our sins and is the only way to heaven, and that we have a responsibility to take that message to a needy world – those beliefs will vilify you in many segments of our society.  Our world is determined to intimidate, marginalize, and silence Christians.  But our goal isn’t popularity; it’s to know Him and make Him known.  We shouldn’t be needlessly offensive, but we shouldn’t be afraid of the ‘offense of the cross’.  These are exciting days in which to bear a witness for our Savior!”  Robert J. Morgan

“‘We are the same as the world’ is not the Christian motto.  We do not champion a powerless grace.  To do so excuses the idle in the church to ignore holiness.  It belittles the power of the gospel to save sinners from their sin.  And it dismisses the work and power of the Holy Spirit to make us holy.  It tempts us to take our lamps down from atop the hill, normalizes the loss of our saltiness, and removes shining stars from a morally vacuous sky.  We do not need more wicked-as-the-world trophies of His pardon.  We need men, women, and children who were wicked as the world but are now trophies of His power.”   Greg Morse

 “Christ comes with a blessing in each hand; forgiveness in one, holiness in the other.”   A. W. Pink

“One great hindrance to holiness in the ministry of the word is that we are prone to preach and write without pressing into the things we say and making them real to our own souls. Over the years words begin to come easy, and we find we can speak of mysteries without standing in awe; we can speak of purity without feeling pure; we can speak of zeal without spiritual passion; we can speak of God’s holiness without trembling; we can speak of sin without sorrow; we can speak of heaven without eagerness. And the result is an increasing hardening of the spiritual life.”  John Piper

“When a person sees the excellence of the gospel, he senses the beauty and loveliness of the divine scheme of salvation.  His mind is convinced that it is of God, and he believes it with all his heart.  The light of the gospel is the glory of Christ, his holiness and beauty.  Clearly, it is this divine light, shining into our hearts, that enables us to see the beauty of the gospel and have a saving belief in Christ.  This supernatural light shows us the superlative beauty and loveliness of Jesus, and convinces us of His sufficiency as our Saviour.  Only such a glorious, majestic Saviour can be our Mediator, standing between guilty, hell-deserving sinners such as ourselves, and an infinitely holy God.  This supernatural light gives us a sense of Christ that convinces us in a way nothing else ever could.”  Jonathan Edwards

“Total surrender to ‘the love of Christ’ is the only thing that will bear fruit in your life.  And it will always leave the mark of God’s holiness and His power, never drawing attention to your personal holiness.”  Oswald Chambers

“What we feed our minds and hearts on will determine whether we live a life of faith or a life of fear. …The more time we spend with God and His Word, the more our faith develops and our fear diminishes….Faith in God conquers fear every time. The God who has redeemed us and cares for us is trustworthy. Our Creator God will never abandon us, and He has our best interests at heart. ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging’(Psalm 46:1-3).”   Michael Youssef

“The nature of Christ’s salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day evangelist.  He announces a Saviour from Hell rather than a Saviour from sin.  And that is why so many are fatally deceived…there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of Fire who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness.”   A. W. Pink

HEART SAVOR

• Jesus came into the world both to save sinners (which is everyone) and to demonstrate to the saved how to live.
• Godliness has great value for all things.
• In Christ we are changed – the old has gone the new has come. All this is from God.

 

 

 

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Abounding In Love 10.25.19

ABOUNDING IN LOVE

BREAD

⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. ⁹ He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; ¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. ¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; ¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. ¹³ As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.  Psalms 103:8-13 (NIV) 

⁵ Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. ⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”  Exodus 34:4-7 (NIV) 

¹⁸ “‘The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”  Numbers 14:18-19 (NIV) 

¹⁶ “But they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and did not obey your commands. ¹⁷ They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, ¹⁸ even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies. ¹⁹ Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. ²⁰ You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. ²¹ For forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.”  Nehemiah 9:16-21 (NIV) 

⁵ You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. Psalms 86:5 (NIV) 

¹³ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. ¹⁴ Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing–grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.   Joel 2:13-14 (NIV) 

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  1 John 4:7-11 (NIV) 

BUTTER

“The whole of Scripture bears witness to this: that only in God is ‘fullness of joy’ and ‘pleasures forevermore’ (Psalms 16:11); that besides him, apart from him, there is nothing worth desiring, nothing that will bring satisfaction, on earth (Psalms 73:25); that only in God will our restless, happiness-seeking souls find rest (Psalms 62:5-7; Matthew 11:28-30). Only the infinite God can fill our infinite abyss.”  Jon Bloom

“God has given you a marvelous promise: If you will seek Him, you will find He is right beside you. No matter how deep your valley may seem, God’s love for you is deeper.”   Michael Youssef

“We must declare the love of God in Christ Jesus. Always keep His abounding mercy connected to His unerring justice. Never exalt one attribute at the expense of another. Let boundless mercy be seen in calm consistency with stern justice and unlimited sovereignty.”   C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“Why does God want us to remember? God’s desire for us to recall His past mercies has nothing to do with His own personal insecurities, but everything to do with us worshiping Him rightly. Every time you recall the depth of God’s love for you, He is inviting you to love Him back more deeply and more fully. Every time you remember His matchless love, it brings healing and wholeness, challenging you to respond with praise and surrender. Every time you recall His immense sacrifice, it brings hope and trust that He will do it again. Remembering Him is for His glory and for our good.”   Michael Youssef

“There is a difference between brokenness over one’s sin and living in shame for the rest of our days.  A broken and contrite heart the Lord will never despise.  This means one agrees with the Lord that the sin was wrong and desires not to continue on in it.  It is a turning from it into the ways of the Lord through His power, for His glory, for our good.  This leads to peace with God which passes all understanding not continued shame over the transgression.  Guilt is Satan’s trademark and often keeps the forgiven believer paralyzed in their walk with the Lord believing themselves to be unworthy to be used in kingdom work or even approach the throne of grace through prayer.  If Satan can’t keep us from being saved, he desires to keep us from being used and from feeling the comfort of God’s love and forgiveness.  Believers are accepted in the Beloved.”   BHY

“Because of Christ, there is no place God will not go and no one He will not bless.  You are never beyond God’s love, and you are never alone. God is present even in the midst of your greatest need, your greatest weakness, and your greatest failures. Grace would have it no other way.”   ThornCrown’s Welcome

“Can you answer this, believer? Can you find any reason why you are so often mourning instead of rejoicing? Why yield to gloomy anticipations? Who told you that the night would never end in day? Who told you that the sea of circumstances would ebb out till there should be nothing left but long stretches of the mud of horrible poverty? Who told you that the winter of your discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow and ice and hail to deeper snow and yet more heavy tempest of despair? Don’t you know that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer succeed winter?  Be full of hope! Hope forever! For God does not fail you. Do you not know that God loves you in the midst of all this? Mountains, when in darkness hidden, are as real as in day, and God’s love is as true to you now as it was in your brightest moments.”   C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“If the Sovereign, Omnipotent, Omniscient God is on our side, as His child, seriously, what do we have to fear?  He, Who loves us with an everlasting love, Who ever has His eye upon us, Who never leaves us nor forsakes us, Who not only died to save us but has also given us the Grand Deposit of the precious Holy Spirit to empower us to walk in a manner worthy of our high calling all the way Home – this God, this very God is for us and not against us.  No matter what the circumstances of your life may be bellowing out.  The world shouts fear while God whispers peace.  He will never let the righteous fall and we can trust Him with our lives and with the lives of all we love and hold dear.”  BHY     

“Love Him totally who gave Himself totally for your love.”  Claire of Assisi 

“Amazing love!  How can it be, that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”   Charles Wesley

“Immortal, invisible, God only wise, In light inaccessible hid from our eyes, Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.  Unresting, unhasting and silent as light, Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might; Thy justice like mountains high soaring above Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.”   Walter C. Smith 

HEART SAVOR 

• God loves us with an everlasting love.
• His love for us comes not from what we do – a child of the King can rest secure in Him for He shields him all day long. And the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.
• Indeed, God loves His children to the moon and back!

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Let The Word Soak In 10.23.19

LET THE WORD SOAK IN

BREAD

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.   James 1:22-25 (NIV) 

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. ⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. ⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. ¹⁰ They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. ¹¹ By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.  Psalms 19:7-11 (NIV) 

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:31-32 (NIV) 

¹ Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. ² Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.  Psalms 119:1-2 (NIV) 

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. ¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. ¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. ¹² Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. ¹³ With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. ¹⁴ I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. ¹⁵ I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. ¹⁶ I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.  Psalms 119:9-16 (NIV) 

¹⁹ When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. ²⁰ He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: ²¹ “Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD’s anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”  2 Chronicles 34:19-21 (NIV) 

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) 

¹² For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  Hebrews 4:12-13 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Let God’s promises shine on your problems.”  Corrie ten Boom

“God is calling us to hear his final, decisive, inexhaustible Word — to meditate on it and study it and memorize it and linger over it and soak in it until it saturates us to the center of our being.”  John Piper

“To believe God’s Word is the most reasonable thing we can do.”  Charles H. Spurgeon

“The church should always be under the Word — and should be always reforming herself according to it…A particular verse must never be interpreted in such a way that it does not fit in to the whole body of truth.”  Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“It is no part of the business of Christ’s minsters to modify the truth which He has entrusted to them.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“What is more elevating and transporting than the generosity of heart which risks everything on God’s Word?”    John Henry Newman

“The happiest of all Christians are those who never dare to doubt God, but to take His Word simply as it stands.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“Our claim is that God has revealed Himself by speaking; that this divine (or God-breathed) speech has been written down and preserved in Scripture; and that Scripture is, in fact, God’s Word written, which therefore is true and reliable and has divine authority over men.”   John Stott 

“Jesus is the Word made flesh and in Him is perfect peace – a state of untroubled, undisturbed well-being.   Therefore, as His followers we are to encourage one another, in the midst of life’s chaos and storms, with the living and powerful Word of God.  As our Lord did, He spoke the Word and calmed the sea.  Just as it was true then, it is still true today – His Word calms and He can speak it even through a donkey.  His Word is alive and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.  It is able to divide soul and spirit, joint and marrow.  It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  It is not to be merely idle words for us as Moses told the Israelites, it is to be our life.  God’s Word is a balm for every needy soul – and truly, what soul isn’t needy?”   BHY 

“The transformation process is not easy — it demands daily study of God’s Word and time spent in prayer. We must hide His Word in our hearts and constantly draw on the power of the Holy Spirit.”   Michael Youssef

“Immerse yourself in God’s Word, apply what you learn, and He will fan into flames the fire of your passion which keeps you yearning for further still and creates within you a pure and clean heart and a steadfast spirit.  Nothing this life offers equal this.”  BHY 

HEART SAVOR 

• Let the Word permeate your being so that you bleed Scripture.
• God’s Word is an inexhaustible treasure, the more you “mine” it the more it has left to mine.
• True wisdom is found in the pages of Scripture. Never, never, never neglect it.  

 

 

 

 

 

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God’s Gracious Kindness 10.21.19

GOD’S GRACIOUS KINDNESS

BREAD

³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.  Titus 3:3-8 (NIV) 

⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.  Ephesians 2:4-9 (NIV) 

⁴ Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?   Romans 2:4 (NIV)

²² Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Romans 11:22 (NIV) 

¹⁸ Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!  Isaiah 30:18 (NIV) 

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  Psalms 91:4 (NIV) 

⁴⁶ The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! ⁴⁷ He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, ⁴⁸ who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me. ⁴⁹ Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name. ⁵⁰ He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.  Psalms 18:46-50 (NIV) 

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.   Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV) 

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV) 

BUTTER 

“When arrogant people who know they deserve eternal misery tremble before a holy God of passionate wrath, they discover grace.  They encounter the depths of God’s kindness and love, a kindness and love they find nowhere else.  They fall to their knees and worship Christ as their Lord and Savior and as their truest friend, really their only true friend.  They know they don’t deserve a hug, no matter how badly they’re hurting; but they get an eternal one anyway.  That’s the grace that takes their breath away.”   Larry Crabb

“Grace and love must come before ethics.  No-condemnation must come before the morality discussion.  Because it is God’s kindness that leads to repentance, not our repentance that leads God to be kind.  Love – the broad embrace of the narrow path – will trigger some of the most life-giving experiences you’ll ever be part of.  In the end, the more conservative we are in our beliefs about the Bible – the more we truly believe every single word of it – the more liberal our loving will be. Because the narrow path of Jesus? It always leads to a broad embrace.”   Scott Sauls

“You know to what extent You have already changed me, You who first healed me of the lust of vindicating myself, so that You might forgive all my remaining iniquities, and heal my diseases, and redeem my life from corruption, and crown me with loving-kindness and tender mercies, and satisfy my desire with good things.”  St. Augustine

“O dear soul, pray, and tell Him everything that is wanting, be it ever so great or ever so small.  His loving-kindness will hear even the least petition; nay, He will seem to be ignorant of what thou dost not tell Him.  But whatever is poured out before Him is actually addressed and lodged in its proper place, and does not lie upon thy heart any longer, but upon His heart, which cannot rest till you are relieved.  And if you have experienced His help aforetime in great or small things, you may depend on His readiness to help you out of troubles hereafter; only be earnest in prayer for His help.  We often imagine we were willing and drawing near to Him, but He was unwilling, and refused our request; but it is not so:  He rather draws us, and desires our relief more than we do; for it is He that works even this willing mind.”     K.H. Von Bogatzky

“The Isle of Man has for its coat of arms three legs, and turn them which way you will, you know they always stand; and such is the believer—throw him which way you will, he finds something to stand on; throw him into death, or into life, into the lion’s den, or into the whale’s belly, cast him into fire, or into water, the Christian still trusts in his God, and finds him a very present help in time of trouble. ‘On whom dost thou trust?’ We can answer boldly, ‘We trust in him whose power will never be exhausted, whose love will never cease, whose kindness will never change, whose faithfulness will never be sullied, whose wisdom will never be nonplussed, and whose perfect goodness never can know a diminution.’”  Charles H. Spurgeon

“Every act of kindness and compassion done by any man for his fellow Christian is done by Christ working within him.”   Julian of Norwich

“As a general principle, if we would exercise our memories more wisely, we might, in our very darkest distress, strike a match that would instantaneously kindle the lamp of comfort.  There is no need for God to create a new thing upon the earth in order to restore believers’ joy; if they would prayerfully rake the ashes of the past, they would find light for the present; and if they would turn to the book of truth and the throne of grace, their candle would soon shine as before.  Let us then remember the loving-kindness of the Lord and rehearse His deeds of grace.  Let us open the volume of recollection, which so richly illuminated with memories of His mercy, and we will soon be happy.  When the Divine Comforter bends memory to His service, it is then the greatest earthly comfort we can know.”   C. H. Spurgeon 

“Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, and learning.”  Frederick Faber

“Allow the grace of kindness to pervade your whole nature, mellowing all that would be harsh or austere.  It cost nothing to be kind, yet its benefits are priceless.  And as a child of the King we are bearers of this pleasant fruit.”  BHY

HEART SAVOR

• God is mercifully kind to His creation. He saved us by His own blood, empowers His children with His own Spirit, directs us with His eye upon us, and safely leads us to our heavenly home.  He cause us to stand because He is faithful and able to cause us to stand.
• His kindness and mercy leads us to repentance.
• Kindness is rooted in His character.

 

 

 

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Take The High Way To Holiness 10.18.19

TAKE THE HIGH WAY TO HOLINESS

BREAD

²⁰ Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”  Isaiah 30:20-21 (NIV) 

⁸ And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. ⁹ No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there.   Isaiah 35:8-9 (NIV)

⁶ Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. ⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. ⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. ⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”   Isaiah 55:6-9 (NIV) 

²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ²¹ What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  Romans 6:20-22 (NIV) 

¹ Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 7:1 (NIV) 

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV) 

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV) 

¹⁴ Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.  Hebrews 12:14-15 (NIV) 

¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  1 Peter 1:13-16 (NIV) 

BUTTER

“Here’s the truth: Happiness isn’t apart from our holiness; it’s a part of it. Happiness isn’t the opposite of joy; it’s hemmed in.  Happiness is a gift from a happy God. It’s permissible by God, and achievable through Him.”   Jennifer Dukes Lee

“If you are really the chosen of God, and beloved by Him, do not allow all this lavish treasure of grace to be wasted on you. Pursue holiness; it is the Christian’s crown and glory. An unholy church is useless to the world and of no esteem among men. It is an abomination, hell’s laughter, heaven’s abhorrence.”   C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“All we ever want for you is to be: radical about grace and relentless about truth and resolute about holiness and vows and the real hills worth dying on.” Ann Voskamp

“‘We are the same as the world’ is not the Christian motto.  We do not champion a powerless grace.  To do so excuses the idle in the church to ignore holiness.  It belittles the power of the gospel to save sinners from their sin.  And it dismisses the work and power of the Holy Spirit to make us holy.  It tempts us to take our lamps down from atop the hill, normalizes the loss of our saltiness, and removes shining stars from a morally vacuous sky.  We do not need more wicked-as-the-world trophies of His pardon.  We need men, women, and children who were wicked as the world but are now trophies of His power.”   Greg Morse

“We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. We will cast down the powers of darkness that are in the world by our faith and zeal and holiness; we will win sinners to Jesus; we will overturn false systems; we will convert nations. For God is with us, and none shall stand against us.”  C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“True Christianity is a struggle, a fight, and a warfare. . . . Where there is grace there will be conflict. The believer is a soldier. There is no holiness without a warfare. Saved souls will always be found to have fought a fight”.      J.C. Ryle

“We need to give ourselves to what Horatius Bonar calls ‘daily littles.’ He writes, ‘The Christian life is a great thing, one of the greatest things on earth. Made up of daily littles, it is yet in itself not a little thing, but in so far as it is truly lived . . . is noble throughout’ (God’s Way of Holiness, 127). If we want to persevere to the end, we need to maintain this dual perspective: (1) the Christian life is ‘a great thing,’ and (2) the Christian life is made up of ‘daily littles.’ Holiness happens one step at a time.”  Scott Hubbard

“My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.”   Robert Murray M’Cheyne

Regarding the pursuit of holiness, Scottish Pastor Robert Murray M’Cheyne writes:

“I know you will apply hard to German, but do not forget the culture of the inner man – I mean of the heart.  How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his saber clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with greatest care.  Remember you are God’s sword, His instrument – I trust, a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name.  In great measure, according to the purity and perfection of the instrument, will be the success.  It is not great talents God blesses so much as likeness to Jesus.  A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.”

“Believers who know Christ understand that delight and faith are so wonderfully united that the gates of hell cannot manage to separate them. Those who love God with all their hearts find that His ways are ways of pleasantness, and all His paths are peace. The saints discover in Christ such joy, such overflowing delight, such blessedness that far from serving Him from custom, they would follow Him even though the whole world rejected Him. We do not fear God because of any compulsion; our faith is no shackle, our profession is no bondage, we are not dragged to holiness, nor driven to duty. No, our piety is our pleasure, our hope is our happiness, our duty is our delight.”  Charles H. Spurgeon

“The essence of true holiness consists in conformity to the nature and will of God.”   Samuel Lucas

HEART SAVOR

• God calls His children to pursue holiness.
• It is God’s desire for every believer to be conformed into the image of His Son through the power of the Holy Spirit – He was the firstborn among many brethren.
• Those who claim to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Pure Oxygen Of Encouragement 10.16.19

THE PURE OXYGEN OF ENCOURAGEMENT

BREAD

²⁷ Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. ²⁸ But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.”  Deuteronomy 3:27-28 (NIV) 

¹⁷ You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, ¹⁸ defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.   Psalms 10:17-18 (NIV) 

¹⁷ Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.  Isaiah 1:17 (NIV) 

³⁰ The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. ³¹ The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. ³² Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. ³³ After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. ³⁵ But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.  Acts 15:30-35 (NIV)

²¹ Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. ²² I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. ²³ Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. Ephesians 6:21-24 (NIV)

⁷ Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. ⁸ I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. Colossians 4:7-8 (NIV)

¹ So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. ² We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, ³ so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them.  1 Thessalonians 3:1-3 (NIV)

¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage each other with these words.  1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NIV) 

¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.  ¹² Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. ¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. ¹⁶ Be joyful always; ¹⁷ pray continually; ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:11-18 (NIV)

¹² See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:12-13 (NIV)

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”  Romans 10:14-15 (NIV)

 ² Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:2-3 (NIV) 

BUTTER

“God employs His people to encourage one another.  We should delight that God usually works for human beings with other human beings.  It forms a bond of friendship, and being mutually dependent on one another, we are fused more completely into one family.  Work to help others, and especially strive to encourage them.  Talk cheerily to the young and anxious inquirer, lovingly try to remove obstacles out of his way.  When you find a spark of grace in the heart, kneel down and blow it into a flame.  Leave the young believer to discover the roughness of the road by degrees, but tell him of the strength which dwells in God, of the sureness of the promise, and of the charms of communion with Christ.  Aim to comfort the sorrowful, and to animate the hopeless.  Speak a word in season to him who is weary, and encourage those who are fearful to go on their way with gladness.  God encourages you by His promises; Christ encourages you as He points to the heaven He has won for you, and the Spirit encourages you as He works in you to will and to do of His own will and pleasure.  Imitate divine wisdom, and encourage others according to the Word.”   Charles H. Spurgeon 

“One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement…It is easy to laugh at men’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others.  The world is full of discouragers.  We have a Christian duty to encourage one another.  Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet.  Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.”   William Barclay

“A heart drop is when a person, either directly or in a cryptic way, gives you a tiny glimpse into their heart…Hearing a heart drop is a way of listening between the lines, gaining a glimpse into another soul’s longings…Hearing a heart drop is an art we can intentionally cultivate. It can lead to the most wonderful times of encouragement as we make it our habit to listen and to love…But Jesus is calling us to stop and notice. To live alert. To give a special touch that may heal a heart or cheer a weary soul…I once heard it said that Jesus’ real ministry was the person He found standing in front of Him…Who is that for you today?”   Karen Ehman

“Don’t underestimate the power of words. While shaming words can take courage out of a soul, encouraging and affirming words can put courage back in.  When you offer critique to another soul, do it gently. When you offer encouragement to another soul, do it fiercely.”  Scott Sauls

“Three things helped me as we went through, and continue to go through, crisis: prayer, the Word of God, and the encouragement of fellow believers.”  Greg Laurie

“Encouragers have Christ-like sight and a Christ-like heart. They are not blind to the sins and weaknesses of fellow Christians, but they recognize that “love builds up. . . . Encouragers are often our great High Priest’s means of ministering his divine sympathy to our bruised and lacerated souls.” Ian Hamilton

“God encourages us and we are to encourage others.  We do this through the Scriptures as they are the ultimate “Paraklesis” – encouragement, aid, help, comfort, exhortation, consolation and comfort.  Are we familiar enough with God’s Word to share its life-giving, strengthening, comforting Truths?   When we know the Word we have something of infinite benefit to share with and encourage others.”  BHY 

“Oxygenate your friendships with affirmation and encouragement.”   Drew Hunter

“Prepare a way for the Lord. Cheer the faithful, encourage the weary.”  Paula Kirby  

“Not one life spent in the cause of world evangelization is spent in vain. Not one prayer or one dollar or one sermon or one letter of encouragement or one little light shining in some dark place — nothing in the cause of this advancing kingdom is in vain.  The triumph is sure.”  John Piper

“More people fail for lack of encouragement than for any other reason.”   Anonymous 

“If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back – ‘Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track; And if, perchance, Faith’s light is dim, because the oil is low, Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go.  Call back, and tell me that he went with you into the storm; Call back, and say He kept you when the forest’s roots were torn; That, when the heavens thunder and the earthquake shook the hill, He bore you up and held you where the very air was still.  Oh, friend, call back, and tell me for I cannot see your face, They say it glows with triumph, and your feet bound in the race; But there are mists between us and my spirit eyes are dim, And I cannot see the glory, though I long for word of Him.  But if you’ll say He heard you when your prayer was but a cry, And if you’ll say He saw you through the night’s sin-darkened sky If you have gone a little way ahead, of friend, call back – ‘Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.”   Mrs. Charles Cowman

HEART SAVOR

• Scripture is the ultimate encourager. It is therefore imperative for believers in Jesus to know it and be able to share it with others in our spheres.
• Encouragement costs us nothing yet brings life to the hearer. It breathes peace into lifeless souls.
• It is far too easy to be a discourager, a nay-sayer, a critical comment giver and the world seems uber crowded with the likes of these. So few seek to take a different tack and bring life to those around them by speaking words of affirmation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Comforted In Mourning 10.14.19

COMFORTED IN MOURNING

BREAD

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.   Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV) 

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Matthew 5:4 (NIV)

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Romans 12:15 (NIV)

 ¹¹ When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. ¹² When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. ¹³ Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.   Job 2:11-13 (NIV)

 ¹³ Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well.  I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. Jeremiah 31:13 (NIV)

⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.   Psalms 30:5 (NIV)

²¹ Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: ²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. ²³ They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:21-24 (NIV)

³ 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. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  ⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”   Revelation 21:3-5 (NIV)

 BUTTER

“Grace softens the edges of past pains, helping to highlight the eternal. What you are left with is peace that’s profound, joy that’s unshakable, faith that’s ironclad.”   Joni Eareckson Tada  

“Fewer doctrines of the Christian faith are more comforting than the sovereignty of God. It humbles you in good seasons, provides hope in hard seasons, and gives joy in all seasons. The doctrine of God’s sovereignty is a constant nourishment for the soul. The sovereignty of God is a sweet pillow that you can lay your head on at night. It is a beautiful truth not only that God is in control over all, but is also working everything out- the good and the bad–for your good and for His glory. This sweet doctrine is medicine for the soul that you can take in any season of life.”  David Qaoud 

“Do not think when we are suffering in the fiery furnace He does not care.  Do not think that He sits lofty in the heavenlies paying us no mind.  Our Master knows the intensity of the heat and the exact longevity of all our trials and tribulations designed to bring about His divine purposes of unmingled good and blessedness for every heir of mercy.  Our Savior suffered with a magnitude we know nothing of so that heaven’s doors would be open to us.  If on our way to our true home we undergo the arrows of Satan’s quiver, take heart my friend and do not lose your hope or joy.  Many have traversed this same path and received the warmest of welcomes home.   Weeping may endure for the night but joy, yes joy, comes in the morning.”  BHY    

“Canst thou answer this, believer?  Canst thou find any reason why thou art so often mourning instead of rejoicing?  Why yield to gloomy anticipations?  Who told thee that the night would never end in day?  Who told thee that the winter of thy discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow and ice, and hail, to deeper snow, and yet more heavy tempest of despair?  Knowest thou not that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer succeed winter?  Hope thou then!  Hope thou ever!  For God fails thee not!”    Charles H. Spurgeon

“Sadness is a gift to avoid the nothingness of numbness, and all hard places need water. Grief is a gift, and after a rain of tears, there is always more of you than before. Rain always brings growth.”   Ann Voskamp

“What is your personal version of: this shouldn’t have happened.  Frankly, dear reader, I’m sure something that ‘shouldn’t have’ has happened to you. Because we live in a broken world.  Therefore, since life as we know it is inherently flawed and culture is a poor conduit of true, soul-satisfying happiness, where does that leave us?  Is it possible for happiness, sadness, and even ‘badness’ to coexist?  And if so, how do we orient our lives to be authentically joyful while not ignoring or becoming immune to the calamity and chaos around us and sometimes in us?  The key to hanging on to our happy—our deep sense of fulfillment, contentment, and delight—when horrible things happen is to recognize this:  Real, God-imbued happiness is not the absence of sadness or badness. Rather, it is hanging on to the truth of His sovereign goodness regardless of what’s going on within or around us.  The Bible makes it abundantly clear that happy and sad are not mutually exclusive.  Delight and despair absolutely coexist. They ebb and flow like the tides.  Grief may surge while happy hangs back a bit, and vice versa.  However, in Christ, each wholly exists in the heart of mankind.  Circumstances may prompt one to rise to the occasion and eclipse the other for a while.And our personality bent may compel us to manifest one more readily than the other.  But the proverbial bucket that dips into the well of our souls has the potential to scoop up both genuine joy and profound sorrow.” Lisa Harper

“Even when we feel like we’ve lost everything — we always still have something to give — and this always gives us back joy.”   Ann Voskamp

“A short stay on earth will make heaven more heavenly. Nothing makes rest so enjoyable as work; nothing renders security so pleasant as exposure to danger. The bitter cups of earth will give a relish to the new wine that sparkles in the golden bowls of heaven. Our battered armor and scarred countenances will render more glorious our victory above, when we are welcomed to the seats of those who have overcome the world.”  C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“When I die I shall then have my greatest grief and my greatest joy – my greatest grief that I have done so little for Jesus, and my greatest joy that Jesus has done so much for me.”   William Grimshaw

HEART SAVOR

• For the believer in Jesus, weeping is temporary, joy is eternal.
• God is not unconcerned by our trials, tribulations and sufferings – indeed, He uses all these difficulties of this fallen world to bring forth beauty out of our ashes, the oil of gladness out of our mourning, and garments of praise out of our spirits of despair.
• Often in ministering to those in acute suffering, the person needs to be present the mouth mute.   

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Unity Among Believers 10.11.19

UNITY AMONG BELIEVERS

BREAD

¹⁴ Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.   Hebrews 12:14-15 (NIV) 

¹⁹ Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.  Romans 14:19 (NIV) 

¹² Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD.   2 Chronicles 30:12 (NIV) 

¹ How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!  ² It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. ³ It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.   Psalms 133:1-3 (NIV) 

²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: ²³ I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.   John 17:20-23 (NIV) 

¹¹ It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹² to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ 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.   Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV) 

⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.   Romans 15:5-7 (NIV) 

¹ As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.   Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV)

BUTTER

“If we focus on our differences, our focus is on each other.  If we focus on unity, our focus is on God.”   Anonymous

“Let us note how far from satisfactory is the state of those who are content with sound doctrinal opinions, and orthodox correct views of the Gospel, while in their daily life they give way to ill-temper, ill-nature, malice, envy, quarrelling, squabbling, bickering, surliness, passion, snappish language, and crossness of word and manner.  Such persons, whether they know it or not, are daily proclaiming that they are not Christ’s disciples.  It is nonsense to talk about justification, and regeneration, and election, and conversion, and the uselessness of works, unless people can see in us practical Christian love.”    John Charles Ryle

“Authentic Christian love is exhibited through labor.   What kind of labor?  The labor of sacrificing.  The labor of forgiving.  The labor of persevering.  The labor of stretching oneself out to the very limits of endurance in service to God and others.  Any so-called ‘love’ that does not labor is mere sentimentality.”   Michael Youssef 

“Whether the offenses against us are titanic or trifling, God’s judgment frees us to exchange bitterness for patience, retribution for mercy. The very word judgment brings to mind our own offenses against God, offenses that cried out for our blood until Jesus shed his own. It reminds us that our offender, if outside of Christ, deserves our pity and, if inside Christ, needs our brotherly love. It removes all self-righteousness from our mouths and replaces it with the Christlike plea of ‘Lord, forgive them.’ It beckons us to release our ‘right’ to get even, and to hand over our cause to him who judges justly.”  Scott Hubbard

Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s gravestone reads: “Died in the 30^th year of his age and the 7^th year of his ministry, walking closely with God, an example for the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity, he ceased not day and night to labor and watch for souls.” 

“Love one another that it may at last be said of Christians as it was at first: ‘Behold how they love one another.’”   Ralph Venning

“Have you ever thought about what a net is?  It is a bunch of holes tied together.  Do you know what a hole is?  It’s ‘a nothing.’  And that is exactly what we are – ‘a bunch of nothings.’  But, if you take ‘a bunch of nothings’ and tie them together, they become powerful.  Just as a net is woven and interlaced, people are netted and tied together with other people resulting in tremendous power.  Woven together in the unity of the Spirit, we accomplish far more than any single individual could do by himself.  There is power in cooperation.  You do much better fishing by net than with a hook and line.  Together we join hands and work the works God would have us to do.”  Wales Goebel 

“Let us love one another deeply. May the Love of Christ overflow from our hearts. May people who are around us and see us know that we are Christians by our love. May our countenance, our faces display Christian Love.”   Roger Killian 

“Among believers in the Lord Jesus, there is to me unity in the essentials, charity in the nonessentials.”  Anonymous 

“Jesus’ whole life was a witness to his Father’s love, and Jesus calls his followers to carry on that witness in his Name. We, as followers of Jesus, are sent into this world to be visible signs of God’s unconditional love. Thus we are not first of all judged by what we say but by what we live. When people say of us: ‘See how they love one another,’ they catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of God that Jesus announced and are drawn to it as by a magnet.  In a world so torn apart by rivalry, anger, and hatred, we have the privileged vocation to be living signs of a love that can bridge all divisions and heal all wounds.”   Henri Nouwen

“Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will.”  C. S. Lewis 

HEART SAVOR 

• Christians are called to love one another just as Jesus loved us and gave His life for us.
• We are to love one another because love comes from God. God is love.
• We are to be known by our love for one another.

 

 

 

 

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Worthless Idolatry 10.9.19

WORTHLESS IDOLATRY

BREAD

⁸ “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”   Jonah 2:8 (NIV)

¹⁶ They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. ¹⁷ They sacrificed to demons, which are not God– gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear. ¹⁸ You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. ¹⁹ The LORD saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. ²⁰ “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. ²¹ They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding. ²² For a fire has been kindled by my wrath, one that burns to the realm of death below. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains. Deuteronomy 32:16-22 (NIV) 

²⁰ “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. ²¹ Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. ²² For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. ²³ As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. ²⁴ But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. ²⁵ Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”  1 Samuel 12:20-25 (NIV)

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew 6:24 (NIV) 

³⁴ Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:34-40 (NIV) 

¹ And God spoke all these words: ² “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ³ You shall have no other gods before me. ⁴ You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.”  Exodus 20:1-6 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Idolatry is not wanting happiness supremely. Idolatry is finding supreme happiness in anything other than God.”  John Piper

“We easily fall into idolatry, for we are inclined to it by nature; and coming to us by inheritance, it seems pleasant.”  Martin Luther

“Whatever a man seeks, honors, or exalts more than God, this is the god of idolatry.”   William Ullathorne

“Forgetfulness is the fuel for idolatry (Deuteronomy 4:23). Spiritual amnesia often leads to faithlessness. This is the most important lesson for us in Deuteronomy 4. God’s concern is that his people might ‘forget the things’ that they had seen and that the memory of their gracious deliverance might ‘depart’ from their hearts (Deuteronomy 4:9). Thus we read here of the critical importance of remembrance, of calling to mind again and again the history of God’s dealing with us and His faithfulness at every turn.”   Sam Storms

“Daniel was a spiritual man in spite of the environment he was in. Carried away captive to Babylon, he could have easily fallen into compromise. There in the palace, he literally lived in the lap of luxury. It was a place of rampant idolatry, incredible cruelty, and sexual immorality. Yet in the midst of it all, Daniel remained a righteous man and flourished spiritually.  Sometimes when we are in an environment around Christians all the time, we can put our lives on spiritual cruise control. On the other hand, when we are in a secular environment, it forces us to do one of two things: either blend into the woodwork or stand up and be counted.”   Greg Laurie

“‘Do not be deceived: God is not mocked,’ the apostle Paul writes, ‘for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life’ (Galatians 6:7-8). The trouble is that we fool ourselves into thinking there’s some safe middle ground — that we can make excuses and put off sowing to the Spirit, while still denying the flesh. But we always sow to something, very often to ourselves. And what we sow slowly reveals, and shapes, what we love most in life.”  Marshall Segal

“Don’t love anything more than you love God Who, BTW, is the One Who bestows every good and perfect gift.  Trust Him, He will be no man’s debtor – you simply cannot out give Him.  Our measly will is nothing compared to His great storehouses of love and blessings.  But He will never share the throne of our hearts with another.  He is to be first, and everything else a pale second.”  BHY      

“There is nothing so abominable in the eyes of God and of men as idolatry.”  Blaise Pascal

“The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.”  John Piper

“What is the greatest threat to your soul? Whatever keeps you from God. And not every threat will be sin. In fact, for many of us, perhaps most of the greatest threats to our souls are not sin, but some good God himself has given to us.”  Marshall Segal

“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”  John Newton

HEART SAVOR

• God is to be first, all else a pale second.
• No one can have a divided heart. Whatever we love most we serve.  Test you own self in this.
• Idolatry is a threat to my soul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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