Motivated By Love John 3:16-17 Romans 5:6-8 John 15:13 John 10:11 Zephaniah 3:17 Jeremiah 31:3 Isaiah 40:11 1 John 4:19 1 John 4:7-11 12.30.16

MOTIVATED BY LOVE

BREAD

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”   John 3:16-17 (NIV)

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.   Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”   John 15:13 (NIV)

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”   John 10:11 (NIV)

17 “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”   Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

3 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”   Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)

11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.  Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)

19 We love because he first loved us.   1 John 4:19 (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

“God’s love is always supernatural, always a miracle, always the last thing we deserve.”   Robert Horn

“Many people have difficulty believing God is a God of love….If you really want to know the reality of God’s love, look at the Cross….It was love that restrained Him when He was falsely accused of blasphemy and led to Golgotha to die with common thieves.  He raised not a hand against His enemies.  It was love that kept Him from calling legions of angels to come to His defense.  It was love that made Him, in a moment of agonizing pain, pause and give hope to a repentant sinner who cried, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom’ (Luke 23:42)….Does God love us?  Yes….and the proof is the Cross.”   Billy Graham

   

“There is something contagious about a heart of love. People who are selfless with their love can make giant waves in this world where those who cling to selfish desires cause only ripples. In fact, those who have hearts of love view the people around them as being most important. A heart that bears the marks of God's intimate love is not a selfish heart. When we look directly into God's heart of love, we are transformed forever. The selfish desires that once dominated our heart's landscapes vanish in an instant, replaced by a desire to lavish love on others. As God begins to transform our hearts through His grace and kindness, we become vessels willing to reciprocate this type of love. Something happens inside of us. We begin to realize the twofold effect of loving God and loving others - not just friends and family, but others who cross our paths every day. Hardened hearts begin to melt beneath the warmth of Christ's love overflowing from our lives. People who we never thought would let the name of Jesus roll off their lips suddenly praise Him because we have taken the time to love them the way God has commanded us to love. Once we learn how to abide in His love, our feelings of jealousy, greed, and anger die a quick death. A true champion extends grace and kindness because he knows the transformation that has taken place in his own heart, and he realizes those who receive God's love and grace have no other course of action but to give God's love away.”   Michael Youssef

“Only by fidelity in little things can a true and constant love of God be distinguished from a passing fervor of spirit.”   Francois Fenelon

“For the love of God is broader than the measures of man’s mind; and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.”   Frederick William Faber

“The love for equals is a human thing–of friend for friend, brother for brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles.  The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing–the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely. This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world.  The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing–to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich, of the black man for the white man. The world is always bewildered by its saints.  And then there is the love for the enemy–love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured’s love for the torturer. This is God’s love. It conquers the world.”  I echo that.  This is God’s love. It conquers the world.”  Frederick Buechner

“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

“God’s desire to communicate happiness to the creature entails a willingness to experience loss to the sake of the beloved.  It is exceeding congruous for God, a being of infinite goodness and love, to give to the creature the highest sort of expression of love—which is expensed for the beloved.  Therefore through the mission of the Son, God reveals a love that suffers in behalf of the beloved.  Now I can clearly and distinctly conceive how the giving of Christ is the perfect expression of love, as the greatest expense in a lover.  For the incarnation expresses the love of God in a way that is exceedingly noble and excellent and agreeable to the glorious perfections of God.”     Jonathan Edwards 

“Love of man necessarily arises out of love of God.”   John Hooper

“We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.”   Brother Lawrence

HEART SAVOR

• ·       We will never get to the depth or breadth of God’s love for us.  Paul states: 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
• ·       I am called to love as Jesus loves me – through the power of the Holy Spirit.  I cannot do this in the flesh.  Again, Paul states: 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.   Romans 12:9-13 (NIV)
• ·       God’s love is super natural – other worldly and wholly undeserved.    

Molded By The Maker Isaiah 64:8 Jeremiah 18:1-6 Isaiah 45:9 Romans 9:19-21 2 Timothy 2:20-21 Romans 8:28-29 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 2 Corinthians 3:18 12.28.16

MOLDED BY THE MAKER

BREAD

8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.   Isaiah 64:8 (NIV)

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”   Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NIV)

9 “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?   Isaiah 45:9 (NIV)

19 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?  Romans 9:19-21 (NIV)

20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21 If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.   2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NIV)

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. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28-29 (NIV)

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (NIV)

18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.   2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

BUTTER

“The Potter’s plan is to display His artistry, but if a piece of clay isn’t allowing His craftsmanship, He’ll contrive some pretty drastic measures.  He’ll press it into a ball and start over.  He’ll take the same clay and use a different approach.  His goal is beauty, and He will stop at nothings to achieve it…Consider the heart of the Potter – His ultimate goal, His tender care, His exquisite artistry.  Then apply His heart to your present circumstances.”   Chris Tiegreen  

“When a man is wrapped up in himself, he makes a pretty small package.”   John Ruskin

“Man finds it hard to get what he wants because he does not want the best.”   George MacDonald

“One of the first things for which we have to pray is a true insight into our condition.”   Olive Wyon

“God’s fingers can touch nothing but to mold it into loveliness.”   George MacDonald

“By continually abiding in Christ, the one who has been pruned to bring forth much fruit will bring forth much fruit.”   Elmer Towns

“Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.”  A. W. Tozer

“We are reluctant to relax in the hands of the Potter for one main reason:  We forget why we exist.  We assume that clay exists for the sake of its own feelings or dreams.  We focus on ‘clay esteem,’ ‘clay actualization,’ or ‘clay fulfillment,’ oblivious to the infinitely larger purpose of our formation.  Clay really exists for the Potter alone.  When the Artist is allowed to do His work, the clay displays the creativity of His heart and mind.”   Chris Tiegreen

“No one can dissuade God from His purposes; nothing can turn Him aside from His plans.”   A.W. Tozer

“The Potter is focused on outcomes.  While He is spinning the wheel, softening the clay, cutting the design, and firing the kiln, He is preoccupied with one thing:  what it will look like in the end…The beauty of the art is in His mind the whole time.”   Chris Tiegreen

“When God doesn’t prevent suffering, He gives us perspective on suffering. Sometimes you just have to get a ‘God’s-eye’ view to see that the Master Potter is scooping up all the rubble and ruin from your low place to mold and create good in your life. His love reaches down into the dirt – what you may think is utter defeat or hopeless – and lifts you to see that He can turn what you may view as worthless into something worthwhile.  God can take what we think is worthless and turn it into something worthwhile. Often, when we’re down, all we can see is the valley, the wasteland – we feel like our lives are a mess. But our loving God does not see us and our low places that way. The stuff you think may be just too messy, too ugly, too far gone is the stuff God is infusing with purpose.  The sorrow that hurts you? God fashions it into faith that sustains you.  The sin you’re ashamed of?  God uses it to create beautiful humility. The failures you regret? God turns them into wisdom.  The grief that shattered your heart? God crafts that into unshakeable faith.  The missed opportunities? God uses those to make you reflect His grace.  The loss you never expected? God molds that into strength you can’t explain.  God can make your low place a stepping stone to climb higher with Him.  He can take even the worst things in your life – the injustice, defeat, abandonment or failure – to create the best for you, His beloved child.”   Jennifer Rothschild

HEART SAVOR

• ·       The Master Potter has the very best intentions for the clay - always.
• ·       The clay is to relinquish its will in the Potter’s Hands.
• ·       God uses the ashes in our past to make beauty in our futures.

Surrender Luke 14:25-33 Matthew 10:37-39 John 12:23-26 Luke 9:23-25 Philippians 3:4-9 12.26.16

SURRENDER

BREAD

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”  Luke 14:25-33 (NIV)

37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”   Matthew 10:37-39 (NIV)

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”   John 12:23-26 (NIV)

23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”  Luke 9:23-25 (NIV)

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. 7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.   Philippians 3:4-9 (NIV)

BUTTER

“The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.”  William Booth

“The risk of grace is that we turn our lives over to God. Abandoned. Surrendered. We no longer have to defend ourselves because we are convinced that he loves us so much, but we no longer try to run our own lives. He is our Lord, our master, and the one we follow. We don't know where he will lead, but we are willing to go there because we are convinced that life in him is truly the Grand Adventure. We don’t know what he will ask us to do, but we’re willing to do it because we’re sure he knows best. We respond to him like a loved child responds to his mother [or his Grammy I would add].  We may not understand everything, and we may ask a million questions, but when we don’t get answers, we still trust our Heavenly Father because he has proven himself to us. . . The deeper we press into the price Christ paid to rescue us, the more we’ll be amazed by his love, and we’ll delight in honoring him all day, every day.” Tim Clinton & Josh Straub

“The condition for gaining God’s full blessing is absolute surrender to Him.”   Andrew Murray

“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

“Jesus is the One who shows us the paradoxical route to meaning in a chaotic and hostile world.  It’s the paradox of the gospel: Strength is found in weakness. Control is found in dependency. Power is found in surrender….God uses the frustrations of this life and the hurt of relationships to compel us to look beyond what we can control to the God who controls all things in order to woo us to himself. As we move from control to surrender, we move from chasing the wind under the sun to embracing God above it.”  Dan Allender

“Faith, as Paul saw it, was a living, flaming thing leading to surrender and obedience to the commandments of Christ.”   A.W. Tozer

“You don’t truly know God unless you surrender, believe, and truly obey the Word of God.”  Ann Voskamp

“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

“Conversion is the lifelong transformational process of being remade into the image of God. It is so much more than simply trying to avoid sin. The focus of repentance and conversion is Jesus, not my sin nor my self. My attachment to sinful ways of being is much too strong to ever be undone by mere willpower. There is no substitute for surrender to divine love as the fuel to propel such undoing. Divine love (accepting of the Gospel- my note) transforms both my heart and my will. Divine love enables me to choose God’s will over mine. Without this, repentance will be nothing more than a self-help scheme based on effort and resolve.” David Benner

“It costs much to obtain the power of the Spirit:  It costs self-surrender and humiliation and a yielding up of our most precious things to God; it costs the perseverance of long waiting, and the faith of strong trust.  But when we are really in that power, we shall find this difference, that whereas before, it was hard for us to do the easiest things, now it is easy for us to do the hard things.”    A. J. Gordon

“Contrary to the world's beliefs, the spiritual fruit of self-control does not come about through the discipline of self-mastery, but rather through surrendering ourselves to God's control. None of us fully have the power, capability, or wisdom to master our own lives. You cannot resist all the temptations that are hurled at you, control the behavior of those closest to you, or limit the ideas that pop into your mind. What you can do is surrender your life to the Holy Spirit. You can control how you respond, yield, and submit to Him.”    Michael Youssef

HEART SAVOR

·       God calls us to proper priorities.  He is to be first in our lives.  He will never share His rightful throne with another in our hearts.  The creature is ever beholden to the Creator.

·       God’s ways are far superior to my ways and exceedingly far better for me than I can ask or imagine.  He loves me and always has my best interest at heart even when I may not understand the circumstances.  He moves in the most extraordinary ways.

·       In Christ is all that I need and more.  He is my loving Savior, my constant Companion, the Supplier of all my voids.  In Him flow rivers of Living Water which quenches every fleshly thirst.     

Blessed Psalms 1:1-6 Psalms 29:11 Psalms 112:1-2 Ezekiel 34:26 Proverbs 3:13-15 Isaiah 30:18 Romans 10:10-13 Revelation 22:7 12.23.16

BLESSED

BREAD

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.   Psalms 1:1-6 (NIV)

11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.  Psalms 29:11 (NIV)

1 Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. 2 His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.   Psalms 112:1-2 (NIV)

26 I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.   Ezekiel 34:26 (NIV)

13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, 14 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.   Proverbs 3:13-15 (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)

10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”   Romans 10:10-13 (NIV)

7 “Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.”   Revelation 22:7 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Though salvation is not by the works of the law, yet the blessings which are promised to obedience are not denied to the faithful servants of God.  The curses our Lord took away when He was made a curse for us, but no clause of blessing has been abrogated.  We are to note and listen to the revealed will of the Lord, giving our attention not to portions of it but to ‘all these words.’  There must be no picking and choosing but an impartial respect to all that God has commanded.  This is the road of blessedness for the Father and for His children.  The Lord’s blessing is upon His chosen to the third and fourth generation.  If they walk uprightly before Him, He will make all men know that they are a seed which the Lord has blessed.”   Charles H. Spurgeon 

“We must remember that God will never drag us along the path of true-hearted discipleship. This would greatly lack the moral excellency which characterizes all the ways of God. He does not drag, but draws us along the path which leads to ineffable blessedness in Himself; and if we do see that it is for our real advantage to break through all the barriers of nature, in order to respond to Gods’ call, we forsake our own mercies. But alas! Our hearts little enter into this. We begin to calculate about the sacrifices, the hindrances, and the difficulties, instead of bounding along the path, in eagerness of soul, as knowing and loving the One whose call has sounded in our ears”.   C H Macintosh

“We came into this world wretched, miserable, and undone creatures, in cruel bondage to sin and Satan, under guilt and under wrath, hostile toward God—the fountain of blessedness—and in a state of condemnation leading to everlasting destruction. But when a man is converted, he is brought out of that state of woe and misery into a sure title to glory, honor, and peace forever. When once a man is converted, all this blessedness that we have heard of is his; he has an absolute right to it. God’s work is accomplished for it; His faithful promise is given.”  Jonathan Edwards

“The Beatitudes are conditional promises of blessing. Letting Jesus work His character in us is the condition; blessedness is the promise. Pray for yourself, that you will enjoy the blessing of being the person God wants you to be, as God molds you in the character of His beloved and well-pleasing Son.”  Sylvia Gunter

“Blessed are the single-hearted; for they shall enjoy much peace.”    Thomas a Kempis

“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

“Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed, finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest.”   Frances Havergal

“No matter how athletic, slim, handsome or pretty, intelligent, well-read, respected, connected, funny, wealthy, or religious we are, if we anchor our worth in these things instead of in the smile of God over us, these things will eventually wreck us. The only esteem that won’t abandon us is the esteem given to us by Jesus. Because only in Jesus are we fully known and always loved, thoroughly exposed yet never rejected. Only Jesus will repeatedly forgive us when we fail Him. Only Jesus will declare His affection for us when we are at our very worst as well as at our very best. Only in Jesus can we return to that blessed Edenic state of being naked and without shame.  The quest for self-esteem is, deep down, an attempt to silence negative verdicts that assault us from the outside and from within.  In Jesus, the Second Adam, the negative verdicts from the outside and from within are made powerless. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Him.  In Jesus, we no longer have anything to fear, prove, or hide.  There’s no need to self-medicate. There’s no need to self-promote or to drop names at parties. There’s no need to compare or compete. There’s no need to wear ourselves down by chasing career or applause or respect or being able to fit into a size four. We are not called to be perfectly awesome. We are called to be imperfectly faithful, because we have been perfectly loved, liberated, and highly esteemed by the Most High.  It is said that Buddha’s dying words were, ‘Strive without ceasing.’  Jesus’ dying words were, ‘It is finished.’  Give me Jesus. Our souls are glory-vacuums, fearfully and wonderfully made for an Esteem greater than self.  And He esteems us much.  The One who made the galaxies with His breath has said so.”   Scott Sauls

HEART SAVOR

·       God is the fountain of blessedness.

·       There are blessings in obedience.

·       “Biblically, one is pronounces blessed when God is present and involved in his life.  The hand of God is at work directing all his affairs for a divine purpose, and thus, in a sense, such a person lives coram Deo, before the face of God.  Blessedness is sharing in the life of God, being favorably affected and influenced by God.”   New Testament Lexical Aids – Hebrew Greek Key Word Study Bible