My Defender Still Deuteronomy 20:4 Isaiah 43:13 Isaiah 45:2-3 Isaiah 54:17 Psalms 119:153-154 Deuteronomy 32:39 Psalms 91:1-4 01.30.15

MY DEFENDER STILL

BREAD

4 “For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

Deuteronomy 20:4 (NIV)

13 “Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”

Isaiah 43:13 (NIV)

2 I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

17 “no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord.

Isaiah 54:17 (NIV)

153 Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law. 154 Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise.

Psalms 119:153-154 (NIV)

39 “See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.”

Deuteronomy 32:39 (NIV)

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. 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 91:1-4 (NIV)

BUTTER

“We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing; He chastens and hastens His will to make known; The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing; Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.  Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining, Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine; So from the beginning the fight we were winning; Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!  We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant, And pray that Thou still our Defender will be; Let Thy congregation escape tribulation; Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!”  Anonymous Dutch Hymn

“Simply wait upon Him.  So doing, we shall be directed, supplied, protected, corrected, and rewarded.”  Vance Havner

“Knowing Him as loving Father is the foundation for intimate relationship with Him. First Corinthians 13:4-7 is a picture of the Father's love. Personalize it, and receive it for yourself. My Father who loves me is patient with me, kind to me.... My Father's love is not rude, nor self-seeking, not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs. My Father's love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. My Father's love always protects me, always trusts me, always hopes [believes the best about me], always perseveres and never gives up on me. My Father's love for me never fails.”  Sylvia Gunter

“It is rare that Christians earnestly seek the Lord’s face when things are going swimmingly, when material blessings abound and we seem to be protected from the vicissitudes faced by others.  But in the blackness of discouragement, when we are harassed and downcast, we may indeed turn to the Lord and acknowledge our helplessness apart from his grace; we may do so knowing that God is a compassionate God and that Jesus’ compassion was particularly directed toward the harassed and the helpless.”  D A Carson

“It is a precious doctrine that the saints are safe, but it is a damnable inference from it, that therefore they may live as they please. It is a glorious truth that God will keep his people, but it is an abominable falsehood that sin will do them no harm. Remember that God gives us liberty, not licence, and while he gives us protection, he will not allow us presumption.”   C. H. Spurgeon

HEART SAVOR

• ·       The Lord Himself fights my battles.  I need only to stand firm in His power and wait upon Him.
• ·       No one can deliver out of His hand or say to Him what have you done?
• ·       I am not to be fretful or anxious – He is my defender at.all.times.

           

God's Word Psalms 18:30 Psalms 119:89, 105, 160, 165 Deuteronomy 32:47 Matthew 5:17-18 01.28.15

GOD’S WORD

BREAD

30 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

Psalms 18:30 (NIV)

89 Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

Psalms 119:89 (NIV)

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Psalms 119:105 (NIV)

160 All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.

Psalms 119:160 (NIV)

165 Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.

Psalms 119:165 (NIV)

47 They are not just idle words for you--they are your life.

Deuteronomy 32:47 (NIV)

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

Matthew 5:17-18 (NIV)

BUTTER

“We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives.”  Charles Spurgeon

“If you wish to know God, you must know his Word.  If you wish to perceive His power,
you must see how He works by his Word. If you wish to know His purpose before it comes to pass, you can only discover it by His Word.”  C.H. Spurgeon

“Beware of reasoning about God's Word - obey It.”  Oswald Chambers

“To read His message in moments, I’ll need to read His passion on the page; wear the lens of the Word, to read His writing in the world.”   Ann Voskamp

“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 claimed that the Word of God is inspired, accurate, authoritative, infallible, unerring, and trustworthy down to its smallest elements.  Every single Word of the Bible is precious.”   Robert J. Morgan

“Meditation is holding the Word of God in the mind until it has affected every area of one’s life and character.”   Andrew Murray

“The bottom line is that when the church has moved away from the Bible as the complete and clear Word of God, it has moved away from Christ.”   David Robertson

“We Christians too often substitute prayer for playing the game. Prayer is good; but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is nothing but a blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Pharisaism...To your knees, man! And to your Bible! Decide at once! Don't hedge! Time flies! Cease your insults to God, quit consulting flesh and blood. Stop your lame, lying, and cowardly excuses. Enlist!”   C. T. Studd

HEART SAVOR

• ·       God’s Word is perfect and eternal standing firm in the heavens.
• ·       God’s Word is a light for my path.  It is living and active and sharper than any double edged sword.  It reveals what is in my heart ever directing me to higher ways.
• ·       Great peace comes from loving God’s Word.   

Destroy Earthly Fear Deuteronomy 31:6 Deuteronomy 31:8 Joshua 1:9 Psalms 118:6-7 1 Chronicles 28:20 Jeremiah 20:11 Philippians 4:6-7 1.26.15

DESTROY EARTHLY FEAR

BREAD

6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 7 The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.

Psalms 118:6-7 (NIV)

20 David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished."

1 Chronicles 28:20 (NIV)

11 But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.

Jeremiah 20:11 (NIV)

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

BUTTER

“God invites us to let him rid us for our fears and heal us by his love.”  David Benner

“God incarnate is the end of fear.  The heart that realizes that He is in the midst…..will be quiet in the midst of alarm.”   F.B. Meyer

 

“This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: ‘I will help thee’.  ‘It is but a small thing for Me, thy God, to help thee.  Consider what I have done already.  What!  Not help thee?  Why, I bought thee with My blood.  What!  Not help thee?  I have died for thee; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less?  Help thee!  It is the least thing I will ever do for thee; I have done more, and will do more.  Before the world began I chose thee.  I made the covenant for thee.  I laid aside My glory and became a man for thee; I gave My life for thee; and if I did all this, I will surely help thee now.  In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already.  If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee; thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give.  ‘Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow.  “Help thee?”  Fear not!  If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all sufficiency.  “I will help thee”.’  O my soul, is not this enough?  Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity?  Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit?  Bring hither thine empty pitcher!  Surely this well will fill it.  Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them there – thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs.  Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply; what canst thou desire beside?  Go forth, my soul, in this thy might.  The Eternal God is thine helper!”  C. H. Spurgeon    

“Abandon the worries....and Abide in the Word.  Abandon the fears...and Abide in the Father.  Abandon the hurts...and Abide in His heart.  Abandon the cares...because Christ will never abandon you.  It's what I self-preach again and again to the fearful sinner who is me: Abandon and Abide.”    Ann Voskamp

“Never dread any consequence resulting from absolute obedience to His command.  Never fear the rough waters ahead, which through their proud contempt impede your progress.  God is greater than the roar of raging water and the mighty waves of the sea.  ‘The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever’ (Psalm 29:10).  A storm is simply the hem of His robe, the sign of His coming, and the evidence of His presence.  Dare to trust Him!  Dare to follow Him!  Then discover that the forces that blocked your progress and threatened your life become at His command the very materials He uses to build your street of freedom.”  F. B. Meyer

“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

HEART SAVOR

• ·       I am not to be afraid or terrified because the Lord is always with me.
• ·       I am not to be anxious about anything.
• ·       I am to abandon my worries and abide in the Word.

Get.Over.Yourself 1 Corinthians 4:7 Ezekiel 15:1-2 Proverbs 18:12 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 Proverbs 8:13 Daniel 4:36-37 01.23.15

GET.OVER.YOURSELF

BREAD

7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

1 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV)

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest?”

Ezekiel 15:1-2 (NIV)

12 Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 18:12 (NIV)

11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

1 Corinthians 10:11-13 (NIV)

13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

Proverbs 8:13 (NIV)

36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Daniel 4:36-37 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Pride is as safely the sign of destruction as the change of mercury in the weather-glass is the sign of rain; and far more infallibly so than that.  When men have ridden the high horse, destruction has always overtaken them…God hates high looks, and never fails to bring them down.  All the arrows of God are aimed at proud hearts.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“Don’t slack off seeking, striving, and praying for the very same things that we exhort unconverted people to strive for, and a degree of which you have had in conversion. Thus pray that your eyes may be opened, that you may receive sight, that you may know your self and be brought to God’s feet, and that you may see the glory of God and Christ, may be raised from the dead, and have the love of Christ shed abroad in your heart. Those that have most of these things still need to pray for them; for there so much blindness and hardness and pride and death remaining that they still need to have that work of God upon them, further to enlighten and enliven them. This will be a further bringing out of darkness into God’s marvelous light, and a kind of new conversion…”  Jonathan Edwards, Advice to Young Converts.

“We make our choices and then our choices make us. Our everyday choices reveal what we really desire. The essence of sin is pride. The heart of sin is independence and the core of sin is demanding my own way instead of God's.”  Pat Singleterry  

“Here is the divine antidote against the pride and restless ambition of the men of this world.  Nothing is more sad than to witness a pushing, bustling, forward, self-confident spirit and style in those who profess to be followers of Him who was meek and lowly in heart.  It is such a flagrant contradiction of the spirit and precepts of Christianity, and is a sure accompaniment of an unbroken condition of the soul.  It is utterly impossible for any one to indulge in a boastful, pretentious, self-confident spirit, if ever he has really measured himself in the presence of God.  To be much alone with God is the sovereign remedy for pride and self-complacency.  May we know the reality of this in the secret of our own souls.  May the good Lord keep us truly humble, in all our ways, simply leaning on Himself and his grace…”  C H Macintosh

“O believer, learn to reject pride, seeing that you have no ground for it.  Whatever you are, you have nothing to make you proud.  The more you have, the more you are in debt to God; and you should not be proud of that which renders you a debtor.  Consider your origin; look back to what you were.  Consider what you would have been but for divine grace.  Look upon yourself as you are now.  Does not your conscience reproach you?  Do not your thousand wanderings stand before you, and tell you that you are unworthy to be called His son or daughter?  And if He has made you anything, aren’t you taught thereby that it is grace which has made you to differ?  Great believer, you would have been a great sinner if God had not made you to differ.  O you who are valiant for truth, you would have been as valiant for error if grace had not laid hold upon you.  Therefore do not be proud, though you have a large estate – a wide domain of grace, once you did not have a single things to call your own except your sin and misery.”    Charles H. Spurgeon

HEART SAVOR

·       Everything I have has been given to me.  That leaves no room for pride in my life.

·       God detests pride.

·       God is fully able to humble the arrogant of heart and mouth.

The Hope Of The Hopeless Romans 15:13 Hebrews 16:17-19 Romans 8:22-25 Hebrews 11:1 Psalms 147:10-11 01.21.15

THE HOPE OF THE HOPELESS

BREAD

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 (NIV)

17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

Hebrews 6:17-19 (NIV)

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Romans 8:22-25 (NIV)

1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; 11 the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Psalms 147:10-11 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will for us.”  Billy Graham

“It is well to be poor, when the knowledge of our poverty serves but to unfold to us the exhaustless riches of divine grace. That grace can never suffer any one to go away empty. It can never tell anyone that he is too poor. It can meet the very deepest human need; and not only so, but it is glorified in meeting it. This holds good in every case. It is true of every individual sinner…Grace is the grand and only resource for us all.  It is the basis of our salvation; the basis of a life of practical godliness; and the basis of those imperishable hopes which animate us amid the trials and conflicts of this sin-stricken world. May we cherish a deeper sense of grace, and more ardent desire for glory!”   C H MacIntosh

“Hope can see heaven through the thickest clouds.”  Thomas Brooks

“The future of civilization depends on our overcoming the meaninglessness and hopelessness that characterizes the thoughts of men today.”  Albert Schweitzer

“Give me the love that leads the way, The faith that nothing can dismay, The hope no disappointments tire, The passion that will burn like fire, Let me not sink to be a clod: Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.”  Amy Carmichael

“Our Christian testimony, as Peter reminded his readers, is that, ‘we have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of the dead’.  Who else has the answer to the frailty of life, the reality of death and the certainty of judgment than Jesus, who by His death destroyed him who holds the power of death and frees those whose lives are enslaved by the fear of death?”  Alistair Begg 

“Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances which we know to be desperate.”   G. K. Chesterton

“Other men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope.”   Gilbert Brenken

HEART SAVOR

• ·       “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
• ·       It delights the Lord when my hope is placed in His unfailing love.
• ·       Hope that is seen is no hope at all – who hopes for what he already has?  

Home.Sweet.Home Matthew 7:24-29 Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Proverbs 3:33 John 14:23-24 Psalms 127:1 Proverbs 14:1 01.19.15

HOME.SWEET.HOME

BREAD

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Matthew 7:24-29 (NIV)

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV)

33 The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous.

Proverbs 3:33 (NIV)

23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

John 14:23-24 (NIV)

1 Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.

Psalms 127:1 (NIV)

1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

Proverbs 14:1 (NIV)

BUTTER

“When a home is ruled according to the Word of God, angels might be asked to stay a night with us, and they would not find themselves out of their element.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“No matter how elaborate, comfortable, or accommodating a house might be, if God is not in the labor, the whole structure is empty and meaningless.  This has an even deeper application when we recognize it is one thing to build the structure of a house, but quite another to build the spirit of a home.  Of what value is a palace without peace?  A home is a place of rest, security, warmth, and joy.  Many people today lack such a place because the Lord is not there.”   Dr. J. D. Watson 

“This is our first duty, we are to begin at the family hearth:   he is a bad preacher who does not commence his ministry at home.  The heathen are to be sought by all means, and the highways and hedges are to be searched, but home has a prior claim, and woe unto those who reverse the order of the Lord’s arrangements.  To teach our children is a personal duty; we cannot delegate it to Sunday School Teachers, or other friendly aids, these can assist us, but cannot deliver us from the sacred obligation…mothers and fathers must, like Abraham, command their households in the fear of God, and talk with their offspring concerning the wondrous works of the Most High.”   Charles H. Spurgeon 
  
“Memorization of Scripture isn’t for the saints who have made it. It’s for the sinners who want to make it.  Memorization is like learning to say your name, like learning where north is, like knowing your phone number home — it’s knowing who you are, where you are, Who He is. What the heart knows by heart is what the heart knows — how else can we know who we are? Memorization is 24/7 soul orientation.”   Ann Voskamp

HEART SAVOR

·       The home without Christ lacks peace.

·       I am responsible to teach my children the ways of the Lord.  I am to play a role in teaching my grandchildren as well!

·       If God is not in the home its structure is empty and meaningless.