He Is The Giver Of All Things Good James 1:17 Psalms 145:16 Psalms 34:8-9 Psalms 90:14 Psalms 63:3-5 Psalms 104:27-28 Romans 8:28 Jude 1:24 Psalms 103:1-5 Psalms 84:11-12 John 18:36-39 Matthew 11:28-30 05.30.18

HE IS THE GIVER OF ALL THINGS GOOD

BREAD

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)

¹⁶ You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.  Psalm 145:16 (NIV)

⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. ⁹ Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.   Psalm 34:8-9 (NIV)

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

³ Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.  ⁴ I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. ⁵ My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.  Psalm 63:3-5 (NIV)

²⁷ These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time.  ²⁸ When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.  

Psalm 104:27-28 (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.  Romans 8:28 (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-- Jude 1:24 (NIV)

¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  ² Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- ³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, ⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, ⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  Psalm 103:1-5 (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.   Psalm 84:11-12 (NIV)

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” ³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” ³⁸ “What is truth?” Pilate asked.   John 18:36-39 (NIV)

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

BUTTER

“God always gives His very best to those who leave the choice with Him.”  Hudson Taylor

“What is ‘good’?  Just as Pilate asked Jesus ‘What is Truth?’ while all the while looking straight at Truth Incarnate, we as humans often misconstrue ‘What is good?’ and end up missing out on God’s best by ‘kicking against the goads’ and not walking in His ways.  We so often buy into what the world believes as good.  Do we believe it’s all about more – More clothes in the closet?  More comforts in the den?  More money in the bank?  More health in the body?  More buildings, marquees, publications or whatever’s  bearing our names?  More children in the home?  And on and on and on.  “Good” is not merely “wants”.  “Good” can be as varied as the people who populate this dusty earth.  Simply put, ‘good’ is always God’s best for a life.  The Maker of all humankind has a plan for each life and our best is always to walk in it – be it ever so hard.  His will is revealed in a myriad of ways from His Word, from the Holy Spirit’s promptings Who indwells every true believer in Christ, from prayer and petition with thanksgiving, from fellow sojourners – why God can even use a donkey or a great big fish!  And believe me, you always want to be in the center of His will as it is good and pleasing and perfect.  Don’t fight against God’s best because it is hard.  Allow Him to conform you to the image of Christ.  We are the ultimate losers if we don’t.”  BHY   
            
“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”  Amy Carmichael

“Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, You have brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see You in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Your glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Your stars shine; Let me find Your light in my darkness, Your life in my death, Your joy in my sorrow, Your grace in my sin,  Your riches in my poverty, Your glory in my valley.”   From:  The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

“Knowing that we are fulfilling God’s purpose is the only thing that really gives rest to the restless human heart.”   Chuck Colson

“We judge things by their present appearance; but the Lord sees them in their consequences.  If we could do the same we would be perfectly of His mind; but since we can’t, it is an unspeakable mercy that He will manage for us, whether we are pleased with His management or not; and it is regarded as one of His heaviest judgments when He gives any person up to the way of their own hearts, and to walk according to their own wisdom.”  John Newton 

“‘Pray without ceasing’”…and here the word ‘pray’ does not mean to beg or to plead as if God were unwilling to give – but simply to expose by faith every situation as it arises, to the all-sufficiency of the One who indwells you by His life.”  Major W. Ian Thomas

“God hath not promised skies always blue, Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through; God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.  God hath not promised we shall not know Toil and temptation, trouble and woe; He hath not told us we shall not bear Many a burden, many a care.  God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, Swift, easy travel, needing no guide; Never a mountain, rocky and steep, Never a river, turbid and deep.  But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the laborer, light for the way, Grace for the trails, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.”   Annie Johnson Flint

“The Christian way is different:  harder and easier.  Christ says, ‘Give me All.  I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work:  I want you… No half-measures are any good.  I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down…Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked – the whole outfit.   I will give you a new self instead.  I will give you Myself:  My own will shall become yours.’”    C.S. Lewis

“O love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee.  I give Thee back the life I owe, that in Thine ocean depths its flow, may richer fuller be.  O light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to Thee.  My heart restores its borrowed ray, that in thy sunshine’s blaze its day, may brighter fairer be.  O joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee.  I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain, that morn shall tearless be.  O cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from Thee.  I lay in dust life’s glory dead, and from the ground there blossoms red, life that shall endless be.”   George Matheson 

“If religion is worth anything, it is worth everything.  They who do not like Christ on these terms, may leave him at their peril.  Whatever we part with for this pearl of price, we may comfort ourselves with this belief, that it is well worth what we give for it.  The terms are, that we prefer Christ.”   Matthew Henry

“When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, Our Father’s full giving is only begun.  His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.  His pow’r has no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!”   Annie Johnson

HEART SAVOR

• ·         All things good comes from the Father’s hand.
• ·         Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
• ·         Taste and see that He is good and that those who follow Him lack no good thing.

A Delightful Inheritance Psalms 16:5-7 Psalms 73:23-26 1 Peter 1:3-4 Psalms 16:11 1 Corinthians 2:9 Romans 8:16-18 Revelation 21:3-5 Psalms 16:2 05.28.18

A DELIGHTFUL INHERITANCE

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⁵ LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. ⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. ⁷ I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.  Psalm 16:5-7 (NIV)

²³ Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. ²⁴ You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. ²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:23-26 (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.  1 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV)

¹¹ You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.   Psalm 16:11 (NIV)

⁹ However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”-- 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)

¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. ¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  Romans 8:16-18 (NIV)

³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  ⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  Revelation 21:3-5 (NIV)

² I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”  Psalm 16:2 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Take all the pleasures of all the spheres, and multiply each through endless years; one minute of heaven is worth them all.”   Thomas V. Moore

“Grant, Almighty God, that as You have made known Your law, and has also added Your gospel, in which You call us to Your service, and also have invited us with all kindness to partake of Your grace; O grant, that we may not be deaf, either to Your command or to the promises of Your mercy, but render ourselves submissive to You everywhere, and so learn to devote all our faculties to You, that we may in truth avow that the rule of a holy and religious life, has been delivered to us in Your law, and that we may firmly adhere to Your promises, lest through any of the allurements of the world, or through the flatteries and delusions of Satan, You should suffer our minds to be drawn away from that love which You have once for all manifested to us in Your only begotten Son, and in which You daily confirm us by the teaching of the gospel, until we at length shall come to the full enjoyment of this love in that celestial inheritance, which has been purchased for us by the blood of Your only Son.”     John Calvin

“An inheritance is not only kept for us, but we are kept for it.”   Richard Sibbes

“Each adopted child of the Lord is going to receive the full inheritance.  Everything that Jesus Christ received by divine right, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are going to receive by divine grace.....Whatever problem you are facing today that is making you groan,  He is turning your groaning into glory.  All the pain and all the hurt and all the suffering and all the agony, all the disappointment and all the dashed hopes and shattered dreams, all the insults and all the rejection, are all nothing when it comes to the Father’s glory that you will one day inherit.  You can’t even begin to compare them.  Test and rejoice in the Truth that the Spirit of God is giving you the ultimate victory, He is guaranteeing and sealing your adoption, and He is turning your groaning into glory.”   Michael Youssef

“The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.  To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.  Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows, but God is the substance.  These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun.  These are but streams.  But God is the ocean.”   Jonathan Edwards 

“He who is a believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now, and to content him for evermore.  The believer is not the man whose days are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long from absence of heart-cheering thought, for he finds in Christ such a spring of joy, such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy.  Put him in a dungeon and he will find good company; place him in a barren wilderness, he will eat the bread of heaven; drive him away from friendship, he will meet the ‘friend that sticketh closer than a brother.’  Blast all his gourds, and he will find shadow beneath the Rock of Ages; sap the foundation of his earthly hopes, but his heart will still be fixed, trusting in the Lord.  The heart is as insatiable as the grave till Jesus enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing.  There is such a fullness in Christ that He alone is the believer’s all.  The true saint is so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts no more – except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“No matter what happens in life, remember this: You have a Savior. As a Christian, you have been saved from death. You have been saved from eternal punishment and hell. You have the hope that when you die, you will go straight to heaven. That is the most important thing about the Christian life. There is a Heaven waiting for you. You have a Savior.”   Greg Laurie

“The imperishable reality of heaven is what every human heart desperately longs for. We all want a home where we can live forever, experience endless joy in the Creator's presence, and be reunited with those we love.  God Himself placed those desires within us so that we would never be satisfied with anything less than eternity with Him. He wants to draw us into a relationship with Him because only by joining our lives to His can we experience the eternal life He intended for us at creation.”   Michael Youssef

“Christianity is more than going to heaven when you die; it’s about dying with Christ now — so you can live now.  Christianity is more than performing a good life —- it’s about Christ performing an entirely perfect life for you — so you can live the abundant life in its entirety.  Christianity is more than going through the motions — it’s about letting Christ touch the heart of your emotions  — and going through life with Him.”   Ann Voskamp

“We may imagine we want a thousand different things, but God is the one we really long for. His presence brings satisfaction; his absence brings thirst and longing. Our longing for Heaven is a longing for God.”    Randy Alcorn

“Indeed, we have 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

“Heaven is forever, and here is a blink, and narrow is The Way to joy for always.”   Ann Voskamp

“There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven; but more often I find myself wondering whether, in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else.”   C. S. Lewis

HEART SAVOR

• ·         Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.
• ·         No eye has seen nor ear heard nor mind conceived what God has prepared for us.
• ·         In God’s presence is fullness of joy and who doesn’t long for that?

He Is Faithful And Has Called Us To Faithfulness Deuteronomy 7:9-10 Deuteronomy 32:4 2 Samuel 22:25-28 2 Chronicles 31:20-21 Psalms 25:8-10 Psalms 145:13-14 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 1 Corinthians 4:2 1 Corinthians 10:13 2 Thessalonians 3:3 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 05.25.18

HE IS FAITHFUL AND HAS CALLED US TO FAITHFULNESS

BREAD

⁹ Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
¹⁰ But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.  Deuteronomy 7:9-10 (NIV)

⁴ He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.  Deuteronomy 32:4 (NIV)

²⁵ The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight. ²⁶ “To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, ²⁷ to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.  ²⁸ You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.”   2 Samuel 22:25-28 (NIV)

²⁰ This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. ²¹ In everything that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.  2 Chronicles 31:20-21 (NIV)

⁸ Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. ⁹ He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. ¹⁰ All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.  Psalm 25:8-10 (NIV)

¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.
¹⁴ The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.  Psalm 145:13-14 (NIV)

⁸ He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.   1 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NIV)

² Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.  1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV)

¹³ No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.  1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

³  But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.  2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NIV)

²³ May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.  1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NIV)

BUTTER

“So deeply rooted in our hearts is unbelief, so prone are we to it that while all confess with the lips that God is faithful, no man ever believes it without an arduous struggle. ... Certainly, whenever God thus recommends his word, he indirectly rebukes our unbelief, the purport of all that is said being to eradicate perverse doubt from our hearts.  For unbelief is so deeply rooted in our hearts, and we are so inclined to it, that not without hard struggle is each one able to persuade himself of what all confess with the mouth: namely, that God is faithful. ... Surely, as often as God commends his Word to us, he indirectly rebukes us for our unbelief, for he has no other intention than to uproot perverse doubts from our hearts.”     John Calvin

“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

“There are two methods which the Lord graciously adopts, in order to draw our heart away from this present world.  The first is by setting before it the attractiveness and stability of “things above:” the second is, by faithfully declaring the evanescent [temporary] and shakable nature of ‘things of earth.’… Now it is much better to be drawn by the joys of heaven than driven by the sorrows of earth. The believer should not wait to be shaken out of the present things…There is no difficulty in giving up the world when we have, by faith, laid hold of Christ: the difficulty then would be to hold it.”  CH Macintosh

“I do not pray for success.  I pray for faithfulness.”    Mother Teresa

“We're pilgrims on the journey - Of the narrow road - And those who've gone before us line the way - Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary - Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace - Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses - Let us run the race not only for the prize - But as those who've gone before us - Let us leave to those behind us - The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives - After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone - And our children sift through all we've left behind - May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover - Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find - Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful - May the fire of our devotion light their way - May the footprints that we leave - Lead them to believe - And the lives we live inspire them to obey - Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.”   Steve Green

“‘On whom dost thou trust?’ We can answer boldly, ‘We trust in him whose power will never be exhausted, whose love will never cease, whose kindness will never change, whose faithfulness will never be sullied, whose wisdom will never be nonplussed, and whose perfect goodness never can know a diminution.’”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“Life is a furnace and the faithful live by the Shadrach-prayer of only 4 words:  ‘Even if He doesn’t.’ This world doesn’t have anything that can burn down the faith of a heart on fire for God.”   Ann Voskamp    

“Faithfulness stands at the heart of who God is and what He wants to do in and through us. It is rooted in commitment and trust. Trust is produced when we make a promise and then keep it, when we make a commitment and then honor it, and when we say something and mean it. Consistency, reliability, and proven track records are all aspects of faithfulness. Faithfulness means giving your best to any effort you undertake, whether it is a task or a relationship.”   Michael Youssef

“God tries our faith so that we may try His faithfulness.”   Anonymous

“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

“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

“We don’t normally like being on the bottom.  It’s just not the position we generally pick.  It goes against our flesh.  Yet, in the Bible’s economy you stoop to rise, you lower and God elevates.  Therefore, rock bottom appears the perfect place to simply look up and the perfect time to begin building upon the solid foundation of the Rock of Christ.  Often stripped of our dearest Delilah’s we are not too dissimilar to the returning prodigal.  We have nothing but our will to bring – do we really ever have anything else?  And Jesus says tenderly, ‘Come’.  On Him you can depend.  On Him you can count.  On Him you can trust.  He turns away no one.  He will never let the righteous fall or blow away for that matter.  His grip is firm and secure.  Much akin to a young mother grabbing her two-year-old in busy traffic and yet so infinitely more.  He dearly loves His children and He always causes them to stand because He is faithful and able to cause us to stand – no matter what wind blows.”   BHY

“Jesus, the Blessed One, is gentle. Even though he speaks with great fervor and biting criticism against all forms of hypocrisy and is not afraid to attack deception, vanity, manipulation and oppression, his heart is a gentle heart. He won't break the crushed reed or snuff the faltering wick (see Matthew 12:20). He responds to people's suffering, heals their wounds, and offers courage to the fainthearted. Jesus came to bring good news to the poor, sight to the blind, and freedom to prisoners (see Luke 4:18-19) in all he says, and thus he reveals God's immense compassion. As his followers, we are called to that same gentleness.”   Henri Nouwen

“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 

“God is always looking for boys and girls and men and women who are available to Him. Look at Judges 6:34: "Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon." The literal meaning of this verse is this: The Spirit of the Lord was worn around him like a suit. It covered him all over. The Spirit of the Lord came all over him.  God was not looking for the most courageous person. He was not looking for the most powerful warrior. He was not looking for the best strategist or the best thinker. He was looking for a man who, conscious of his own weakness, was nevertheless willing. He was looking for a man who would be dependent on God's power, not his own. He was looking for a person who was willing to grow in his faith in God, who was willing to take God at His word, though he might ask for confirmation three times. God was looking for someone through whom He could demonstrate His unparalleled faithfulness.”   Michael Youssef 

“A life well lived is simply a life filled with continual ordinary obedience in doing the next right thing particularly when no one sees, when no one is watching.  No fireworks go off, no horns blow, no grand applause from an adoring audience.  It is living the one life we have been given for an audience of the One Who gave it to us, for His pleasure for our good.  Being a follower of sweet Jesus will always boil down to a matter of our faithful ordinary obedience. And will always lead to a life well lived.”  BHY

HEART SAVOR

• ·         God desires for us to live out our lives in ordinary faithfulness which, BTW, is outstandingly exceptional.
• ·         God is faithful to His Word and loving toward all He has made.  We can trust Him with our lives.
• ·         God’s works are perfect, He does no wrong even when we cannot understand His ways, they are always loving.   

The Humble And The Unentitled Psalms 149:4 Psalms 18:27 Psalms 25:8-9 Proverbs 3:33-34 Isaiah 66:2 Luke 7:36-50 Mark 9:33-35 Luke 14:7-11 2 Chronicles 7:14 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 05.23.18

THE HUMBLE AND THE UNENTITLED

BREAD

⁴ For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.  Psalm 149:4 (NIV)

²⁷ You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.  Psalm 18:27 (NIV)  

⁸ Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. ⁹ He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.  Psalm 25:8-9 (NIV)

³³ The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. ³⁴ He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.   Proverbs 3:33-34 (NIV)

² “Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”   Isaiah 66:2 (NIV)

³⁶ Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, ³⁸ and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. ³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner.”  ⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. ⁴¹ “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”  ⁴³ Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. ⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”  ⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  Luke 7:36-50 (NIV)

³³ They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”  ³⁴ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. ³⁵ Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”   Mark 9:33-35 (NIV)

⁷ When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. ⁹ If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Luke 14:7-11 (NIV)

¹⁴ If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.   2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ²⁷ No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.   1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Stoop if you want to climb to heaven. Is it not said of Jesus, ‘He who descended is the one who also ascended’?  So must you. You must grow downwards, that you may grow upwards; for the sweetest fellowship with heaven will be enjoyed by humble souls and by them alone. God will deny no blessing to a thoroughly humbled spirit. ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,’ with all its riches and treasures. All of God’s resources will be made available to the soul that is humble enough to be able to receive them without growing proud because of it.  When a man is sincerely humble and never tries to take the credit or the praise, there is scarcely any limit to what God will do for him. Humility makes us ready to be blessed by the God of all grace and equips us to deal efficiently with our fellows. True humility is a flower that will adorn any garden. This is a sauce that will season every dish of life and improve it in every case. Whether in prayer or praise, whether in work or suffering, the genuine salt of humility cannot be used in excess.”  C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“Just about the time you think you’re spiritually mature, the Lord will show you a little more of your heart, and you will realize how far you have to go. The more you know of the Lord, the more you will see in yourself, and the more you will realize that a lot still needs to be changed.”  Greg Laurie

“There are narrow limits to our knowledge.  There is a great breadth to our conceit.”  C. H. Spurgeon

“Beauty is deformed when it’s formed like invulnerability, like superiority.”  Ann Voskamp

“God is looking for courageous believers who will rely on His power to work in and through them to accomplish all He has planned for them to do. He is scouting for followers who will obey Him regardless of their present fears or past failures. He is looking for men and women who know they are good enough because of His power working in them and through them. God chooses to do extraordinary work through ordinary people who will bring glory to His name.  Men and women who know they are not good enough in their own strength but are incredibly powerful in God’s strength, slay the giants of this world.”  Sharon Jaynes

“Spend your time in nothing which you know must be repented of. Spend it in nothing on which you might not pray for the blessing of God. Spend it in nothing which you could not review with a quiet conscience on your dying bed. Spend it in nothing in which you might not safely and properly be found doing if death should surprise you in the act.”   Richard Baxter

“God often will use the unqualified to do the unexpected. The Lord can change the world with an ordinary person who will say, ‘Lord, I am willing to be that person.’ Will you step forward? God can do a lot with a little. God can do a lot with you.”    Greg Laurie

“God doesn’t call you to a convenient life — He calls you to an important life.  A life of importance isn’t found in a life of convenience.  A life of importance sees the importance of giving your life away — to the hidden and the unpopular and the children and the forgotten and knowing this will be remembered by God.  You weren’t meant for self-gratification. You were meant for soul greatness.”   Ann Voskamp

“Experienced Christian, do not boast in your experience; you will trip if you look away from Him who is able to keep you from falling. You whose love is fervent, whose faith is constant, whose hopes are bright, do not say, ‘We shall never sin,’ but rather cry, ‘Lead us not into temptation.’ There is enough kindling in the heart of the best of men to light a fire that shall burn to the lowest hell, unless God shall quench the sparks as they fall.”  Charles H. Spurgeon

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”  C. S. Lewis

HEART SAVOR

• ·         God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
• ·         Humble yourself before Him and He will lift you up in due time.
• ·         The only thing unredeemed flesh is entitled to is hell.