The Winsome Way Of Kindness 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Galatians 5:22-23 Colossians 3:12 Ephesians 4:32 1 Thessalonians 5:13-15 Proverbs 11:17 Proverbs 12:25 2 Timothy 2:24 Hosea 11:4 2 Samuel 22:50-51 Jeremiah 9:23-24 Isaiah 63:7 2 Peter 1:3-8 05.31.17

THE WINSOME WAY OF KINDNESS

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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)

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.   Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.   Colossians 3:12 (NIV)

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.   Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

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.    1 Thessalonians 5:13-15 (NIV)

17 A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.   Proverbs 11:17 (NIV)

25 An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.  Proverbs 12:25 (NIV)

24 And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.  2 Timothy 2:24 (NIV)

4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.   Hosea 11:4 (NIV)

50 “Therefore I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name. 51 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”   2 Samuel 22:50-51 (NIV)

23 This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.   Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV)

7 I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us-- yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.   Isaiah 63:7 (NIV)

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.   2 Peter 1:3-8 (NIV)

BUTTER

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

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

“Kindness is the oil that takes the friction out of life.”   Anonymous

“I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.”   Mother Teresa

“The thunders of the law and the terrors of judgment are all used to bring us to Christ; but the final victory is effected by loving-kindness.  The prodigal set out to his father’s house from a sense of need.  However, his father saw him a great way off and ran to meet him, so that the last steps he took towards his father’s house were with the kiss still warm upon his cheek and the welcome still musical in his ears…What Moses with the tablets of stone could never do, Christ does with His pierced hand.  Such is the doctrine of effectual calling.  Do I understand it experimentally?  Can I say, ‘He drew me, and I followed on, glad to confess the voice divine?’  If so, may He continue to draw me, until at last I shall sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”     St. Basil

“Conquer evil men by your gentle kindness.”   Isaac of Syria 

“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

“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.   Though 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 Crosby

“Why in the world disdain the small? It’s always the smallest strokes that add up to the greatest masterpieces. Because the thing really is: Do we ever really know which mark we make — that will matter the most? The extraordinary things happen nowhere else but in the everyday and today can always be the beginning:  That card you signed and sealed and put in the mail, the way you smiled and nodded to the white-crowned woman bent over the still-green bananas, the way you dug around in the dirt and left that seed or that gift of the knees and that prayer whispered for a stranger or that glass of water you handed to someone and winked because you just knew — You’ve got to remember: we don’t know when and how we are leaving the greatest marks on the world. It all matters.  Believe it: Every tremor of kindness might erupt in a miracle on the other side of the world.”   Ann Voskamp

“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

HEART SAVOR

·       Kindness blesses both the giver and the receiver.

• ·       Kindness makes us like Jesus.   6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.   1 John 2:6 (NIV)

·       I am to clothe myself with kindness – as a believer, it is to mark me.

The Source Of All Blessings James 1:17 Genesis 15:1 Psalms 85:12-13 James 3:17-18 Psalms 84:11-12 Psalms 34:10 Psalms 145:15-19 Psalms 90:14 Ephesians 1:3 Psalms 37:25-26 Numbers 23:19 05.29.17

THE SOURCE OF ALL BLESSINGS

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17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.   James 1:17 (NIV)

1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”   Genesis 15:1 (NIV)

12 The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. 13 Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.   Psalms 85:12-13 (NIV)

17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.   James 3:17-18 (NIV)

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. 12 O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.   Psalms 84:11-12 (NIV)

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.  Psalms 34:10 (NIV)

15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. 17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. 18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.  Psalms 145:15-19 (NIV)

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.   Psalms 90:14 (NIV)

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.   Ephesians 1:3 (NIV)

25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.  Psalms 37:25-26 (NIV)

19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?   Numbers 23:19 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”    Thomas Ken

“In shunning a trial, we are seeking to avoid a blessing.”  Charles H. Spurgeon

“When thou has truly thanked the Lord for every blessing sent, but little time will then remain for murmur or lament.”  Hannah More

“He’s making good out of even the bad days.  And God’s good plans are bigger than any of your messes, your regrets, your bad mistakes.  Lord, Thank You:  I am not the mistakes I have made.  I am not the plans I have failed.  I am not the wrongs I have done.  I am not forgotten.  I am not abandoned.  I am not alone. Because You say to the lost: Come. You say to the Unlikely: Beloved.  You say to the Battle Weary: Rest.  In a hard and beautiful world, Your grace is the only pillowed relief for my tired soul to rest in You this week — making all things new.  And all the brave heaved relief & smiled their Amen.”    Anonymous

“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

“God is more anxious to bestow His blessings on us than we are to receive them.”   Augustine

“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 

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

“God’s blessings are not limited to the human resources available.”   Tom Elliff

“O the deep, deep love of Jesus.  Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!  Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!  Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love, leading onward, leading homeward, to my glorious rest above!   O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!  How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, never more!   How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own; how for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne!  O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!  ‘Tis an ocean full of blessing, ‘tis a haven giving rest!  O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ‘tis a heav’n of heav’ns to me; and it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!”   Samuel Trevor Francis  

   

“If we will look back upon the past, many of us will find that the very time our heavenly Father has chosen to do the kindest things for us, and given us the richest blessing, has been the time we were strained and shut in on every side.  God’s jewels are often sent us in rough packages and by dark liveried servants, but within we find the very treasures of the King’s palace and the Bridegroom’s love.”    A. B. Simpson

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

HEART SAVOR

• ·       Every good and perfect gift is from the Father Who is the source of all blessings.
• ·       Blessings can (and often) come in the disguise of circumstances that are anything but of my choosing.  I am always to look up.  What He allows is perfectly fashioned to be for my best.  I can trust Him with my life.
• ·       God desires for me to embrace what He allows with joy knowing that He has my best interest at heart. 

The Gold In The Hard Road Psalms 84:5-8 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 Philippians 1:12-14 Philippians 1:20-26 Philippians 1:29-30 James 1:2-4 1 Peter 1:6-9 Hebrews 12:1-3 05.26.17

THE GOLD IN THE HARD ROAD

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5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. 8 Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob.   Psalms 84:5-8 (NIV)

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.   2 Corinthians 1:8-10 (NIV)

12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. Philippians 1:12-14 (NIV)

20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.  Philippians 1:20-26 (NIV)

29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.  Philippians 1:29-30 (NIV)

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.   James 1:2-4 (NIV)

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 1:6-9 (NIV)

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

BUTTER

“This God is no stranger to the hard road. This God walked the hardest road for us. And whatever road we’re walking on now—then somehow, someway—that road is good. There’s not just breadcrumbs of good for you on it; the road itself is good… In this hard, He is doing something holy. He is doing something transformative. Even as our hearts rage. Even as they break….This upside down road, where His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), where troubles are an opportunity for great joy (James 1:2) because troubles usher us into His presence, and in His presence, there is fullness of joy. (Psalm 16:11).  This is Who.  A God who does not forsake. A God who is not cruel. A God who is not stingy with grace.  Not a sparrow falls outside of His care.  When we find ourselves walking through a dry and weary land where there is no water, shaking our fists at why…Fix the eyes on this God.  Remember and rest in Who.  Maybe comfort isn’t found so much when we ask ‘Why is this all unfolding here and now?’ — Maybe comfort is found more when we rest in Who is enfolding us all here and now.”  Katie Ganshert 

“God will permit what he hates in order to accomplish what he loves. God permitted what he hates (the violent marring and death of his only begotten Son) to accomplish what he loves (salvation for sinners, whom he loves).”   Joni Erickson Tada 

“Heaven will work backwards and turn even…agony into a glory.” C.S. Lewis

“The most beautiful people…are those who have known defeat, known suffering, struggle, and loss, and have found their way out of those depths.”  Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“Seriously, who wants to be known as ‘Shallow Hal’?  Yet sadly, many who claim faith in Christ fall into the mile wide and an inch deep category.  This is not of God’s choosing.  He desires for us to grow up in Christ – to be conformed to the image of his Son – and He uses our tribulations to bring this about.  That is His chosen instrument.  Sometimes this is excruciatingly painful – more often than not.  Remember as well, in this fallen and broken world, pain comes to all.  There are no exceptions.  But as believers our pain has purpose.  Pain is also relative as you most likely know.  A coffee stain on a white skirt can be as devastating to some as a bad diagnosis – go figure…If tribulation, then, is inevitable should we not prayerfully seek the purpose for it and grow up, look up, or grow nearer, if you will, in Christ?  As believers, we are never more like our Savior as when we walk the path of suffering and sacrifice.  And whether we are discerners of this or not the more like Christ we are the more satisfied we will be.  Remember, too, God’s grace is always sufficient to meet every need.  Every. Need.”  BHY

          

“So that being opposed would not come as a surprise, he (Paul) gave them a reminder. Both believing on Christ and suffering for Him had been granted to them (v. 29). Suffering for Christ was not to be considered accidental or a divine punishment. Paul referred to a kind of suffering that was really a sign of God’s favor. The Greek word echaristhē, translated ‘granted,’ is derived from a word which means ‘grace’ or ‘favor.’ Believing on Christ and suffering for Him are both associated with God’s grace.”   Bible Knowledge Commentary

“Do we follow our heart’s desires — or do we desire to follow Christ?  Courage isn’t about doing what you want in life. Courage is about laying down your life. Otherwise it’s not courage— it’s self-gratification. Don’t label it anything else. Courage is always about selflessness: Less self.  Which ultimately means more holy happiness for your soul.”   Ann Voskamp

“Indeed, we are treasures in fragile jars of clay. We do not lose heart, because in comparison to ‘the weight of glory’ that awaits us in the New Heaven and the New Earth, even our permanent afflictions are made temporary, and are heaviest burdens are lightened. For the things that we see and experience now—things like diving accidents and car crashes and wheelchairs—are temporary. And the things that we do not yet see or experience—things like renewed bodies and perfect souls and youthfulness that is renewed and will soar like the wings of an eagle—these things are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:7-18, 12:7-10; Isaiah 40:28-31).”   Scott Sauls

HEART SAVOR 

• ·       God’s grace is sufficient to meet every need.
• ·       Pain always has purpose in the believer’s life.
• ·       This earth is temporal – heaven eternal.

Faithful Intentional Teachable Servants 1 Peter 4:10 Galatians 5:22-23 James 1:25 James 1:12 Ezra 7:10 Acts 17:11-12 2 Timothy 2:15 James 1:19-22 Matthew 6:24 Luke 1:34-38 05.24.17

FAITHFUL INTENTIONAL TEACHABLE SERVANTS

BREAD

10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.   1 Peter 4:10 (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.    Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

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 1:25 (NIV)

12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.  James 1:12 (NIV)

10 For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.   Ezra 7:10 (NIV)

11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.   Acts 17:11-12 (NIV)

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.   2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.   James 1:19-22 (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 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.” 38 “I am the Lord's servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.   Luke 1:34-38 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Every time we resist the slightest temptation, we honor God.  Every time we overcome even the smallest problem by trusting and obeying our Lord Jesus, God is glorified in our lives.  Whenever we choose character over convenience, faithfulness over ease, or honesty over deceit, we bring honor to the Lord Himself.”  Robert J. Morgan

“Every miracle always begins with the first ordinary step of faithfulness.”   Ann Voskamp

“Faithfulness rarely feels heroic; it feels much more like showing up and hanging in. It is a matter of going to our cell, whatever form that might take, and letting it teach us what it will. Availing himself (Brother Lawrence) to consistent faithfulness yielded the blessing of both proficiency and presence—the presence of God—right there in midst of the monotony of dirty pots and pans.”   Margaret Guenther

“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

“To understand and embrace God's vision, we must first ask Him for it. The Bible tells us we have not because we ask not--and sometimes when we do ask, we ask with selfish rather than God-honoring motives. But God promises us, 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know' (Jeremiah 33:3). God wishes to reveal Himself to us, but we must first ask with pure motives and persistence.  The word for ‘call’ in this verse means to do so continuously. We are commanded to ask continuously until God reveals His vision to us. Persistence teaches us to rely on God while He is shaping our hearts to delight in Him.  God does a wonderful work in us when we seek His will. As we seek Him for His will, we learn who He is and begin to delight in Him and His will rather than our own. As He becomes the desire of our hearts, we are aligned and ready to receive His will and vision for our lives.” Michael Youssef

“The Bible teacher who becomes a substitute for diligent study on the part of those who hear him is a hindrance and not a help.”   A. W. Pink

“Thou hast made me, be pleased to new-make me. I am thy work, complete me; I am thy harp, tune me; I am thy child, teach me.”    Charles H. Spurgeon

“I’m seeing how robust and cogent, how versatile, sweeping and effective is the message and life of our Jesus. He fits. He is not ‘foreign’ to any person no matter their origins. His teachings work in ANY culture. His Being and Life resonates to all who hear of Him, to all who hear Him.  He infuses and changes us forever.”   Paula Kirby

“Jesus is the great teacher of lowliness of heart. Witness the Master taking a towel and washing His disciples' feet! Isn't it true to say that on earth He was always stripping off first one robe of honor and then another until, naked, He was fastened to the cross and emptied Himself, pouring out His lifeblood, giving it up for all of us, until they laid Him penniless in a borrowed grave?” C. H. Spurgeon

“He alone has exhibited a life in which absolutely no fault could be found; and promulgated a teaching to which absolutely no exception can be taken.  Admittedly He is the One perfect Man – the ideal of humanity, His doctrine the one absolute teaching.  The world has known none other, none equal.”     Alfred Edersheim

“While in the Old Testament the mediating roles of prophet, priest and king were fulfilled by separate individuals, all three offices now coalesce in the One Person of Jesus.  It is His glory given Him by the Father, to be in this way the all sufficient Savior.  We who believe are called to understand this and to show ourselves His people by obeying Him as our King, trusting Him as our Priest and learning from Him as our Prophet and Teacher.  To center on Jesus Christ in this way is the hallmark of authentic Christianity.”   J.I. Packer

“What ultimately keeps our motives biblically prioritized and holy before God is the profound conviction that obeying God will merit us nothing.  This is why Jesus tells us that, when we have done all that we should do, we are still unprofitable servants.  Jesus does not nullify the value of duty in order to dissuade us from serving God, but to keep is from depending on duty to gain God’s acceptance.  When we understand that our works in themselves earn us no merit with God, then the only reason to do those works is love for Him.  Thus we learn to serve God not for personal gain but for His glory-not for love of self but for love of the Savior.”  Bryan Chapell

“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 

HEART SAVOR

• ·       God desires for His children to be faithful, intentional, teachable servants both for their good and His glory never one surpassing the other.  The servant never out gives the Master.
• ·       I do not want this one life I have to be wasted therefore I must be intentional in the way I live.
• ·       I am wired to serve one master and if it is not God it is the wrong master.