Impatient - S.T.O.P. IT Galatians 5:22-25 Ephesians 4:1-3 Colossians 3:12-14 Proverbs 14:29 Proverbs 19:11 Hebrews 6:10-12 07.31.15

IMPATIENT – S.T.O.P. IT

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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)

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)

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)

29 A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.   Proverbs 14:29 (NIV)

11 A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.   Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)

10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.   Hebrews 6:10-12 (NIV)

BUTTER

“He who is hurried by worry, delays the comfort of God.  You can want someone to reach over and touch your unspoken broken, your thin bruised places and smooth out the pain you can hardly speak of:  Pain begs us to believe that only action can end our ache — when actually only God can.  Action doesn’t end pain — God does.  It takes incredible courage to wait on God in what feels like a wrong place— until He gives us the incredible gift of the right action.”   Ann Voskamp

“It takes courage to listen with our whole heart to the tick of God’s timing, rather than march to the loud beat of our fears.  All sins and brokenness — turn out to be watered by impatience.”   Ann Voskamp

“Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of spiritual life.”    Simone Weil

“The truly meek man is humble, gentle, patient, forgiving, and contented; the very opposite of the man who is proud, harsh, angry, revengeful, and ambitious. It is only the grace of God, as it works in us by the Holy Spirit, that can make us thus meek.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“The conviction of the Holy Spirit is always precise:  He identifies root causes of sin, and He moves the heart to specific acts of repentance and obedience.  All those who trust God sufficiently to desire to obey Him, and who are patient in waiting upon Him, will find unfailingly that HE gives clear guidance.  ‘In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths’, promises Proverbs 3:6.  For those who love God everything is aboveboard.  To know Him is to know what He requires and more than that, it is to have the power to carry it out.  In fact these two—enlightenment and empowering—go hand in hand, and where they do not, then the Lord is not in it.”    Mike Mason

“See God in everything, and God will calm and color all that thou doest see!  It may be that the circumstances of our sorrows will not be removed, their condition will remain unchanged; but if Christ, as Lord and Master of our life, is brought into our grief and gloom, ‘He will compass us about with songs of deliverance.’  To see HIM, and to be sure that His wisdom cannot err, His power cannot fail, His love can never change; to know that even His direst dealings with us are for our deepest spiritual gain, is to be able to say, in the midst of bereavement, sorrow, pain, and loss, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’  Nothing else but seeing God in everything will make us loving and patient with those who annoy and trouble us.  They will be to us then only instruments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes toward us, and we shall even find ourselves at last inwardly thanking them for the blessing they bring us.  Nothing else will completely put an end to all murmuring or rebelling thoughts.”  Hannah W. Smith 

HEART SAVOR

• ·       Patience IS a fruit of the Spirit whereas impatience IS a fruit of the flesh.
• ·       I am to wait patiently on the Lord – He will direct my path.  Running ahead of His perfect timing thwarts His perfect and pleasing will for my life. 
• ·       It demonstrates wisdom to be patient.

Worrisome Worry Matthew 6:25-34 Philippians 4:5-7 Isaiah 41:10 Joshua 1:5-9 07.29.15

WORRISOME WORRY

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25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”   Matthew 6:25-34 (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 4:5-7 (NIV)

10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.   Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 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 1:5-9 (NIV)

BUTTER

“The English word worry comes from a German word meaning ‘to strangle or choke.’ This is exactly what worry does.  It chokes and prevents us from living victorious lives by stifling our godly potential.  On the surface, few of us would think that a little worry, doubt, or fear is enough to harm our devotion to God.  However, they can steal our joy and create within our hearts and minds a sense of distrust for the things of God.  God is merciful. He has the power to conquer doubt, fear, and worry.  When our lives are surrendered to Him, we don’t have to be anxious about tomorrow.  He provides all that we need perfectly and on time.”  Michael Youssef

“Worry is a form of atheism, for it betrays a lack of faith and trust in God.”  Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

“Regret looks back.  Worry looks around.  Faith looks up.”   John Mason

“‘There is no fear in love’, writes the apostle John, ‘but perfect love drives out fear…’ He goes on to point to the source of that perfect love:  ‘We love because He first loved us”.  In other words, the cure to fear is not a change in circumstances, rather a deep grounding in the love of God.  I ask God to reveal His love to me directly, or through my relationships with those who also know Him—a prayer I think God takes great delight in answering.  When I get depressed about my present failures, I ask God to remind me of my true identity: one who will be made perfect and has already been forgiven. ‘You’ve got to go deeper’, said the nun to my burned out pastor.  ‘Sink the well into a water table that never runs dry’…Thomas Merton conceded that everything in modern city life conspires against such surrender.  We worry (fear) about money, about what we need to have and to know, about whom to compete with and what is slipping out of our control…(he) found the secret to true freedom:  If we live to please God alone (the One who loves us), we set ourselves free from the cares and worries that press in on us.”  Phillip Yancey

“Worry is an intrusion into God’s providence.”   John Haggai

“God promises victory to those who endure, so He gives us enough strength – usually just enough so faith is still required – to keep us going.  He wants us to succeed and not give up.  In the walk of faith, we can’t afford to doubt, worry, fear, or complain – the very symptoms that kept a generation of Israelites out of their Promised Land.  All of these attitudes severely undermine God’s work on our behalf, not because He can’t do whatever He wants but because He has chosen to relate to us on the basis of our faith.  Negative attitudes and words undermine faith.  They devalue the very currency we have to use in God’s Kingdom.  Wherever God’s voice and your faith are leading you, do not be afraid or dismayed.”   Chris Tiegreen

HEART SAVOR

• ·        God desires for His children to be worry free.  5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.   Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
• ·        I am to pray with thanksgiving about everything.
• ·        It is God Who strengthens, helps me and upholds me.

Rescue The Perishing Jude 1:22-23 Matthew 28:18-20 Romans 10:13-15 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 07.27.15

RESCUE THE PERISHING

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22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.   Jude 1:22-23 (NIV)

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”   Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 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 10:13-15 (NIV)

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.   2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Every Christian life ought to be a force among men, a witness for Jesus and an influence for blessing and good. I know that there are few people like Billy Graham, whom God calls to do great things for Him. For men like  me, and perhaps you, the best thing that we can do in the small time allotted to us in this world is to live out a genuine, simple, beautiful, strong Christian life. In our little measure we can repeat the life of the Lord Himself, doing in our imperfect way a few of the wonderful things He would do if He were Himself in our place.”  Wales Goebel

“Rescue the perishing, Care for the dying, Snatch them in pity From sin and the grave; Weep o’er the erring one, Lift up the fallen, Tell them of Jesus, The mighty to save.  Tho’ they are slighting Him, Still He is waiting, Waiting the penitent Child to receive; Plead with them earnestly, Plead with them gently, He will forgive, If they only believe.  Down in the human heart, Crushed by the tempter, Feelings lie buried That grace can restore; Touched by a loving heart, Wakened by kindness, Chords that are broken Will vibrate once more.  Rescue the perishing, Duty demands it, Strength for thy labor The Lord will provide; Back to the narrow way Patiently win them, Tell the poor wand’rer A Savior has died.  Rescue the perishing, Care for the dying; Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.”   Fanny J. Crosby

“While visiting her friend, Howard Doane, in Cincinnati, Fanny Crosby, the blind hymnist, was asked to speak to a group of blue collar workers.  Near the end of her address, she had an overwhelming sense that ‘some mother’s boy’ before her ‘must be rescued that night or not at all.’  She mentioned this to the crowd, pleading, ‘If there is a dear boy here tonight who has perchance wandered away from his mother’s home and his mother’s teaching, would he please come to me at the close of the service?’  Afterward a young man of about eighteen approached her, ‘Did you mean me?’ he asked.  ‘I promised my mother to meet her in heaven, but the way I have been living, I don’t think that will be possible now.’  Fanny had the joy of leading him to Christ.  Returning to her room that night, all she could think about was the theme ‘rescue the perishing,’ and when she retired that night she had written the complete hymn.  The next day, Howard Doane wrote the music, and it was published the following year in his Songs of Devotion.  Many years later, Fanny was speaking at the YMCA in Lynn, Massachusetts, and she recounted the story behind ‘Rescue the Perishing.’  After the service, a man approached her, his voice quivering.  ‘Miss Crosby,’ he said, ‘I was that boy who told you more than thirty-five years ago that I had wandered from my mother’s God.  That evening you spoke, I sought and found peace, and I have tried to live a consistent Christian life ever since.   If we never meet again on earth, we will meet up yonder.’  He turned and left, unable to say another word.  But Fanny later described it as one of the most gratifying experiences of her life.”  Robert J. Morgan   

“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

“Never, for fear of feeble man, restrain your witness.”   C.H. Spurgeon

“A witness in a court of law has to give evidence; a Christian witness has to be evidence.”   Geoffrey R. King

“Let us in the same way show to the people of the world who think our religion to be slavery, that it is a delight and a joy; that it is no more a burden to us to pray than it is for the fish to swim; that it is no more bondage for us to serve God than for a bird to fly. True godliness is our natural element now that we have a new nature given us by the Spirit of God. On that matter be witnesses for God.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

HEART SAVOR

• ·       I am to be both merciful and faithful in my witness for Christ remembering that He was both merciful and faithful to me.
• ·       Jesus tells me to go and make disciples.
• ·       Believers have been given the precious gift of the ministry of reconciliation and we are to be faithful to use it.   

Practice Praising Psalms 113:1-4 Romans 11:33-36 Job 5:9 Ephesians 3:20-21 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Jude 1:24-25 07.24.15

PRACTICE PRAISING

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1 Praise the Lord. Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. 2 Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. 3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. 4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens.   Psalms 113:1-4 (NIV)

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" 35 "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.   Romans 11:33-36 (NIV)

9 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.   Job 5:9 (NIV)

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.   Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

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)

24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.    Jude 1:24-25 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Victory over apostasy is found in Jesus Christ! He is the One who will ‘keep’ believers. Christ will present believers to His Father without fault and with great joy—joy both for Himself and for them. Here is the greatest theme of victory to be sounded, the highest note of praise and adoration possible, and the greatest assurance for the redeemed.”   Bible Knowledge Commentary

“God can never receive too much praise.”   Anonymous

“Be not afraid of saying too much in the praises of God; all the danger is of saying too little.”   Matthew Henry

“The pulse of prayer is praise.”   William Arthur Ward

“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

“Men in general praise God in such a manner that He scarcely obtains the tenth part of His due.”   John Calvin

“You don’t learn to praise in a day.  But you can begin today, and practice tomorrow….until it becomes part of you.”   Erwin Lutzer

“Whenever you react with praise and thanksgiving for an opportunity to grow more like Jesus in your way of reacting to things, instead of grumbling or feeling self-pity, you will find that that whole situation will be changed into a great blessing.”    Hannah Hurnard

“Praise is the beauty of a Christian. What wings are to a bird, what fruit is to the tree, what the rose is to the thorn, that is praise to a child of God.”    Charles H. Spurgeon

“O for a heart to praise my God, a heart from sin set free; a heart that always feels Thy blood so freely shed for me.”   Charles Wesley

“All disquiet of mind ariseth from our own lusts and unmortified tempers, which make the bosom like a troubled sea.  And no settled calm shall we find till we have a single eye to God’s glory, and can count ourselves worthy of no good.  Then we may draw comfort out of trouble, and learn to praise the Lord, both for what he giveth, and for what he taketh away;  being sure that all things are working for our good, and tending to God’s glory, which he knows best how to promote; and that nothing but sin can make us unhappy and miserable.”    K. H. Von Bogatzky

“If anyone would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness – he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you.  For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing.  Could you therefore work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it heals with a word speaking, and turns all that it touches into happiness.  It be the noblest sacrifice that the greatest saint can offer unto God.”  William Law

“Praise is powerful because it removes our focus from the circumstances and turns us toward God. Instead of seeing a desperate situation, we see an opportunity for God to reveal His glory to everyone involved.”   Michael Youssef

HEART SAVOR

• I am to be "joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 4:16) for this is God's pleasing and perfect will for my life.
• I am to praise God from Whom all blessings flow.
• Praise takes my eyes off my circumstances and on to the One Who lovingly controls them. My times are in His all-powerful hands. 

Good Grief Romans 8:28 Genesis 50:19-20 Esther 4:12-14 1 Peter 1:3-9 Lamentations 3:19-26, 31-33 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 07.22.15

GOOD GRIEF

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28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.   Romans 8:28 (NIV)

19 But Joseph said to them, “Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”   Genesis 50:19-20 (NIV)

12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”    Esther 4:12-14 (NIV)

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.   1 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV)

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 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." 25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord…….31 For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. 32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. 33 For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.   Lamentations 3:19-26, 31-33 (NIV)

13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 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 4:13-18 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Somehow in the wonder-working providence of God, our worst problems become our best pulpits. God turns our tragedies into testimonies and our emergencies into evangelism. Our testimonies are forged and crafted in the trials of life, our pain has an evangelistic purpose, our problems become His pulpits, and the things that happen to us turn out for the furtherance of the gospel.”   Robert J. Morgan

“To learn strong faith is to endure great trials.  I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings.”  George Mueller

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

“On Him then reckon, to Him look, on Him depend:  and be assured that if you walk with Him, look to Him and expect help from Him, He will never fail you.  An older brother, who has known the Lord for forty-four years, who writes this, says for your encouragement that He has never failed him.  In the greatest difficulties, in the heaviest trials, in the deepest poverty and necessities, He has never failed me; but because I was enabled by His grace to trust in Him, He has always appeared for my help.  I delight in speaking well of His Name.”   George Mueller  

“We pray for blessings, we pray for peace - Comfort for family, protection while we sleep -
We pray for healing, for prosperity - We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering -
All the while You hear each spoken need Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things -
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops - What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights - Are what it takes to know You're near?  What if trials of this life - Are Your mercies in disguise?”   Laura Story

“All trials are nothing when compared with the glory which shall hereafter be revealed in, and for, us.”   David Livingstone

“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

“Praising God lifts us above our trials and reminds us of how He overcomes them….Our praise reminds us of Who God is.  As we worship Him, the threats and burdens that weigh us down grow smaller and He grows bigger.  The thought of an exalted God Who is entirely on our side is an awesome inspiration….Praise is based on Who He is.  And He is Who He is all the time.”   Chris Tiegreen

HEART SAVOR

·       The promise of Scripture for every believer in and lover of Jesus is that all things will work for our good.  The “things” may or may not be necessarily “good” yet they are His chosen tools to work for our good.  I am not to kick against His best because I dislike the tools He chooses.  He is God and I am not.  I am to cut the grumbling and complaining.  He knows what is best for me and He loves me.  I can fully trust Him with my life.  

·       For a Christian all pain has purpose and it is for our good.

·       The Lord’s compassion never fails, they are new every morning.  It is good for those whose hope is in Him, for those who seek Him with all their hearts.  His love is unfailing.