Run With Perseverance Hebrews 12:1-3 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Psalms 119:9-11 Proverbs 4:6-12 Romans 8:5-14 Philippians 3:3 Philippians 2:12-13 Colossians 1:9-14 Hebrews 10:35-36 1 Corinthians 15:58 07.30.18

RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE

BREAD

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)

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)

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. ¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. ¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.  Psalm 119:9-11 (NIV)

⁶ Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.  ⁷ Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. ⁸ Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.
⁹ She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor."
¹⁰ Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. ¹¹ I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. ¹² When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.  Proverbs 4:6-12 (NIV)

⁵ Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; ⁷ the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. ⁹ You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. ¹² Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, ¹⁴ because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  Romans 8:5-14 (NIV)

³ For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh--   Philippians 3:3 (NIV)

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.   Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰ And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV)

³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. ³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.  Hebrews 10:35-36 (NIV)

⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)

BUTTER

“As children of God, we are called to live holy lives, but not in our own strength (see Peter 1:16; Romans 8:1-17).  The fruit of the Spirit is not something we can mass-produce; it is something that can only grow as we surrender daily to God.”    Michael Youssef

“The true secret to all ministry is spiritual power. It is not man’s genius, or man’s intellect, or man’s energy; but simply the power of the Spirit of the God of the Gospel. ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts (Zech.iv.6)   It is well for all ministers (and believers) to bear this ever in mind. It will sustain the heart and give constant freshness to their ministry (and lives).  A ministry which flows from abiding dependence upon the Holy Spirit can never become barren. If a man is drawing on his own resources, he will soon run dry. It matters not what his powers may be, or how extensive his reading, or how vast his stores of information; if the Holy Spirit be not the spring and power of his ministry, it must, sooner or later, lose its freshness and its effectiveness. How important then, that all who minister (and live) in the gospel…should lean continually and exclusively on the power of the Holy Spirit. He knows what souls need, and He can supply it. But he must be trusted and used. It will not do to lean partly on self and partly on the Spirit.”  C H Macintosh

“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”  Will Rogers

“The truth is that we can’t make ourselves better.  Out attempts at self-improvement will always fail.  To walk in righteousness, we must instead rest in the grace of Christ.”  Michael Youssef

“When I get depressed about my present failures, I ask God to remind me of my true identity: one who will be made perfect and has already been forgiven. ‘You’ve got to go deeper’, said the nun to my burned-out pastor.  ‘Sink the well into a water table that never runs dry’…Thomas Merton conceded that everything in modern city life conspires against such surrender.  We worry (fear) about money, about what we need to have and to know, about whom to compete with and what is slipping out of our control…(he) found the secret to true freedom:  If we live to please God alone (the One who loves us), we set ourselves free from the cares and worries that press in on us.”  Phillip Yancey

“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

“Cut out that which seems good to invest in the best.  It is the law of life: Early sacrifice for later bounty.  It can be hard to prune good things that are blooming. It can be hard to remember why you are pruning.  Because there’s a counter-intuitiveness to it, this plucking off certain life activities that will yield good fruit. Some might even think it foolish to pare back, when the bloom and gifting apparent; a good harvest inevitable.  Yet it’s the pruning of seemingly good leaves that can grow a better life. To allow later seasons to yield the longed-for abundant crop.  It takes courage to crop a life back — but it’s exactly the way to have the best crop of all.  What seems like hard work that’s taking an eternity today — is exactly what may make the most difference in eternity.”    Ann Voskamp

“Jesus has told us that we can do nothing of eternal value apart from His power.  Oh we can do plenty of what the world lauds and which brings us worldly pomp and status but absolutely nothing of kingdom work can occur without the Holy Spirit.  And works done apart from the Spirit are mere chaff that the winds blow away and will never make it through the fire which will one day test the quality of each man’s work.  Jesus tells us in  John 15:4-8 (NIV):  ⁴ “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸ This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  He is the One Who gives the power and the One Who gives the power, gets the glory.”  BHY

“When we strive and perform in the attempt to earn God’s acceptance, we miss out on the sweetness of the Gospel.”  Michael Youssef

HEART SAVOR

• ·         We are to run the race that is marked out for us – fixing our eyes on Jesus.
• ·         Our confidence in kingdom work lies not in the flesh rather in the indwelling Holy Spirit.
• ·         When we are strengthened with all power according to His glorious might we can turn the world upside down – just as the original disciples did in their time.  

Commit Your Way To The Lord Psalms 37:5-6 Psalms 37:23-26 Psalms 37:28-29 Proverbs 3:5-6 Proverbs 16:3 1 Kings 18:21 Joshua 24:15 1 Samuel 7:3-4 Romans 12:1-2 Psalms 4:5-8 07.27.18

COMMIT YOUR WAY TO THE LORD

BREAD

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: ⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.  Psalm 37:5-6 (NIV)

²³ If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; ²⁴ though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. 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.   Psalm 37:23-26 (NIV)

²⁸ For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; ²⁹ the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.  Psalm 37:28-29 (NIV)  

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.   Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

³ Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.   Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)

²¹ Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”  But the people said nothing.  1 Kings 18:21 (NIV)

¹⁵ “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”  Joshua 24:15 (NIV)

³ And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”  ⁴ So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.  1 Samuel 7:3-4 (NIV)

¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. ² Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.   Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

⁵ Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD. ⁶ Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. ⁷ You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. ⁸ I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.  Psalm 4:5-8 (NIV)  

BUTTER

“If a man commit himself to God….that man ought not to be afraid of anything.”  George MacDonald

“The word translated ‘commit’ in Psalm 37:5 quite literally means “to roll (in blood); be dyed red; figuratively meaning to take your ways to the foot of the cross.  The blood of Jesus cleanses all our plans and our sins, purifying them.  Enabling us through His power to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in all things.  The heart is deceitful beyond all cure.  It is God alone Who can cleanse and direct us in the path which we should go – redeeming our time for His glory, for our good.”  BHY

“The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs.  The chicken is involved, the pig is committed.”   Anonymous

“Some people are more committed to traditions than to their relationship with God.”  Aaron Rabin 

“The uncommitted life isn't worth living.”  Marshall Fishwick

“Christian patience is based upon the absolute, unshakeable belief that God is sovereign and that He is at work in the lives of His children. Christian patience stems from the knowledge that you will not be forgotten nor forsaken by the God to whom you have committed your soul regardless of what is happening around you.”   Michael Youssef

“Our failure to readily follow His leading reflects a lack of deep confidence in His goodness.  We wonder whether He is merely using us or wants to bless us.  The problem with unsteady commitment is not centrally a problem of the will; it is rather a deficient belief.  We simply do not believe that the God who tells us to remain committed…is good.  It follows that the basic cure for weak commitment is renewed faith, not rededicated effort.  Urgings to ‘love your wife and submit to your husband whether you feel like it or not’ fail to lay the axe to the root of the problem.  Unless God’s goodness is clearly established as the context for obedience, such exhortations will at best keep the weeds of anger and dissension from spreading.  They will not expose and rip out the hidden, flourishing root system whose flower is the ugly growth of broken promises…Obedience to God’s orders deepens our awareness of His goodness, and our awareness of His goodness provides motivation for further obedience.”  Larry Crabb

“On several occasions the New Testament makes clear that cheap grace, the attempt to be justified through faith in Christ without commitment to sanctification, is illegitimate and impossible.  The thrust of these passages is not really that we should add works to our faith, as if it were possible to advance one step forward into faith but to hesitate before adding a second step into holiness.  Faith and repentance are not separable quantities.  To have faith is to receive God’s Word as truth and rest upon it in dependent trust; to repent is to have a new mind toward God, oneself, Christ and the world, committing one's heart to new obedience to God.  Obviously these two factors are so interwoven that they are experienced as one, so that the condition of justification is not faith plus repentance, but repentant faith.”  Richard Lovelace

“Some of Jesus’ strongest words were reserved for hypocrites – for people who claimed to believe in God and follow His laws, but in reality lived only for themselves.  He compared them to ‘whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean’ (Matthew 23:27).  None of us is perfect; even the most dedicated Christian falls short.  When we do, we need to confess it and seek God’s help to live more consistently.  But hypocrisy – living a deliberate lie – is another matter.  Be on guard; don’t let hypocrisy take root in your soul.  Instead, make sure of your commitment to Christ, and walk close to Him every day.”   Billy Graham

“Clearly, this word (faith) immediately and fundamentally demands lordship, because it has the underlying foundation of obedience, commitment, and submission….When someone believes something, regardless of what it is, that belief changes them and results in some action or behavior that is characteristic of the belief.  Every one of the characters in Hebrews 11 had faith, but that faith always, without exception, resulted in an outward action….Truly believing something, being fully persuaded of it, and trusting in it automatically demands behavior that conforms to the belief….To obey Him (Jesus) means we acknowledge His lordship and submit to His authority.”     J. D. Watson

“Chosen one of God, may you find it easy to follow your King. May you find your life when you are willing to lose it for the sake of the Kingdom. May our Lord lift you up to a place higher than you could ever dream. May your choice to follow Christ echo throughout all generations that follow you, and may you receive rewards on earth and in heaven for your commitment to live for our mighty Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.”   Sheri Rose Shepherd

“Our identity as Jesus’ followers should define and dictate our lives.”  Joseph Stowell, III

“Most of us get up in the morning saying, ‘I am going to make something of my life, and I’ll follow Jesus too.’  But I just want you to know that we can’t have it both ways.  We have to have the formula right.  ‘Follow Me,’ Jesus said, ‘and as you follow Me, I will make something of your life.’”  Joseph Stowell, III

“To be rebuffed by a loved one causes pain not to be compared with the cruelties inflicted by an enemy.  So your indifference and unresponsiveness to My call brings anguish to My soul, indeed, deeper grief than the crimes of the reprobate sinner.  I have laid My rod upon the sinner, but I have laid My hand upon you.  And I have put My arm around you to draw you closer, but you have been impatient and irritable as though I sought to interfere with your liberty.  I am able to give you greater liberty than you will ever find by seeking to be independent of Me.  I seek not to interfere with your happiness, but I do require that you relinquish your will; for I cannot bless you as I desire until your will is yielded up and you accept Mine in exchange.  As you love Me, you accept My will as your own, and the caliber and extent of your love for Me may be accurately measured to the degree that you accept My will with a peaceful heart.  You can best sing ‘My Jesus, I Love You’ when you can truly sing ‘Where He Leads Me, I Will Follow.’  For whoever does not take up his cross daily to follow Me cannot be My disciple.”   Frances J. Roberts 

HEART SAVOR

·         As we commit our way to the Lord, He will make our righteousness shine like the dawn – the justice of our cause like the noon day sun.

·         He will make out paths straight as we acknowledge Him in all our ways.

·         Where He leads me, I will follow.   

“So I come to tell you He’s alive, to tell you that He wipes every tear that falls.  So I come to tell you that He saves, to shout and to proclaim that He’s coming back for you.”  

Patient In Affliction Romans 12:12 James 1:2-4 Romans 5:1-5 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 James 5:10-11 Hebrews 12:4-11 Proverbs 19:11 Habakkuk 3:17-19 Psalms 27:13-14 07.25.18

PATIENT IN AFFLICTION

BREAD

¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Romans 12:12 (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)

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)

³ We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.
⁴ Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; ⁵ in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; ⁶ in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; ⁷ in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; ⁸ through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; ⁹ known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; ¹⁰ sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.  2 Corinthians 6:3-10 (NIV)

¹⁰ Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.  James 5:10-11 (NIV)

⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
⁵ And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶ because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! ¹⁰ Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  Hebrews 12:4-11 (NIV)

¹¹ A man's wisdom gives him patience.  Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, ¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. ¹⁹ The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.  Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NIV)

¹³ I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.  Psalm 27:13-14 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Even as muscle gets stronger through use as it’s broken down and built up, the same is true of faith. James 1 says, “When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance” (verses 2–3 NLT).  God will test our faith for our own good. I know we would like to have trouble-free lives. I know we would like to have temptation free-lives. It’s been said that one Christian who has been tempted is worth a thousand who haven’t. It’s also said that Christians are a lot like teabags; you don’t know what they are like until after you put them into hot water. Faith grows stronger through testing. Take Abraham for example. The Lord started by telling him to leave his country. Later on God told him to take his son Isaac and lay him on the altar. He started with a simple test and went on to a more difficult one. We’ll go through series of tests in our Christian lives of faith, and each one will make us stronger. Yes, the tests will get harder. But we’ll get even stronger, because God is whipping us into shape for greater challenges and greater opportunities. Everything is preparation for something else.”  Greg Laurie

“Christian patience is based upon the absolute, unshakeable belief that God is sovereign and that He is at work in the lives of His children. Christian patience stems from the knowledge that you will not be forgotten nor forsaken by the God to whom you have committed your soul regardless of what is happening around you.”   Michael Youssef

“Patience in the moment only comes from gratefulness for the moment. …. ”   Ann Voskamp

“Patience is the companion of wisdom.”   Augustine

“Patience is our martyrdom.”   Gregory the Great

“We have great demands, but Christ has great supplies. Between here and heaven, we may have greater wants than we have yet known. But all along the journey, every resting place is ready; provisions are laid up, good cheer is stored, and nothing has been overlooked. The commissary of the eternal is absolutely perfect.”  Charles H. Spurgeon 

“But when the psalmist said, ‘All my springs are in you,’ he meant that all his innermost resources were found in His ever-flowing and overflowing Lord – all his courage, all his joy, all his resilience, all his optimism, all his hope, all his love, all his wisdom, all his patience.  The Lord Jesus is the source of that which refreshes our personalities and of all that makes our personalities refreshing.”   Robert J. Morgan 

“Would you follow Christ?  Then follow Him in self-denial, in humility, in patience, and in readiness for every good work.  Follow Him with a daily cross upon your back, and look to His cross to make your burden light.  Follow Him as your Guide and Guard, and learn to see with His eyes, and to trust in His arm for defense.  Follow Him as the Friend of sinners, who healeth the broken in heart, and giveth rest to the weary souls, and casteth out none that come unto Him.   Follow Him with faith, resting your whole acceptance with God, and your title to heaven, on His meritorious blood and righteousness.  Lastly, follow Him with much prayer.  For, though He is full of compassion, He loves to be much entreated; and when He is determined to give a blessing, you must yet wrestle with Him for it.  Thus follow Jesus, and He will lead you to glory.”   K. H. Von Bogatzky

“How do we wait for God? We wait with patience. But patience does not mean passivity. Waiting patiently is not like waiting for the bus to come, the rain to stop, or the sun to rise. It is an active waiting in which we live the present moment to the full in order to find there the signs of the One we are waiting for.  The word patience comes from the Latin verb ‘patior’ which means "to suffer." Waiting patiently is suffering through the present moment, tasting it to the full, and letting the seeds that are sown in the ground on which we stand grow into strong plants. Waiting patiently always means paying attention to what is happening right before our eyes and seeing there the first rays of God's glorious coming.”   Henri Nouwen

“A strong confidence in God’s loving intentions and enveloping care fortifies us to face whatever life throws at us.”   Ray Ortlund

“Waiting is just a gift of time in disguise — a time to pray wrapped up in a ribbon of patience — because is the Lord ever late?”    Ann Voskamp

“Patience is the fair handmaid and daughter of faith; we cheerfully wait when we are certain that we shall not wait in vain.  It is our duty and our privilege to wait upon the Lord in service, in worship, in expectancy, in trust all the days of our life.  Our faith will be tried faith, and if it be of the true kind, it will bear continued trial without yielding.  We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He once waited for us.”    Charles H. Spurgeon

“Strengthen me Lord according to Your glorious might.  Give me great endurance and patience and joy so that I may walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel.  May I please You in all that I say and do.  You alone are faithful to keep me from falling and to equip me for this so great an endeavor.  May I, through Your great power, leave the aroma of sweet Jesus in my every encounter that I may change my sphere by bringing Your Presence to every circumstance You present me with today.  Always for your glory alone and my good.”  BHY 

HEART SAVOR

• ·         There is always purpose in the believer’s pain.  We are to patiently endure the trial in great expectation of what God is doing in our lives – conforming us into the image of His Son.  All other endeavors we may seek pale in comparison to this great goal.
• ·         Pain is pain.  Affliction is affliction.  Troubles are troubles.  The hurt and disappointment and pain are very real yet God is greater still.  He allows us the grace sufficient to meet each tribulation we face through His power for His glory.  Flesh will falter the Spirit always stands.
• ·         God is good and gracious and loving and kind.  He does not treat us as our sins deserve.  He loves us with an everlasting love and allows only what will be for our ultimate good even though we perhaps cannot understand it.       

Joyful In Hope Romans !2:12 Psalms 25:3 Psalms 130:5 Lamentations 3:21-26 Romans 5:1-5 Romans 8:18 Romans 8:22-25 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Colossians 1:25-27 Hebrews 13:6 Proverbs 13:12 07.23.18

JOYFUL IN HOPE

BREAD

¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Romans 12:12 (NIV)

³ No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.  Psalm 25:3 (NIV)

⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.  Psalm 130:5 (NIV)
 

²¹ Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: ²² Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. ²³ They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” ²⁵ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; ²⁶ it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.  Lamentations 3:21-26 (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)

¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  Romans 8:18 (NIV)

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:22-25 (NIV)

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

²⁵ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- ²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Colossians 1:25-27 (NIV)

⁶ So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”  Hebrews 13:6 (NIV)

¹² Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.  Proverbs 13:12 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Can you answer this, believer? Can you find any reason why you are so often mourning instead of rejoicing? Why yield to gloomy anticipations? Who told you that the night would never end in day? Who told you that the sea of circumstances would ebb out till there should be nothing left but long stretches of the mud of horrible poverty? Who told you that the winter of your discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow and ice and hail to deeper snow and yet more heavy tempest of despair? Don't you know that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer succeed winter?  Be full of hope! Hope forever! For God does not fail you. Do you not know that God loves you in the midst of all this? Mountains, when in darkness hidden, are as real as in day, and God's love is as true to you now as it was in your brightest moments.”   C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg 

“The Bible promotes optimism, but it is a certain kind of optimism. It is not the secular optimism of positive thinking, or the natural optimism of a laid-back personality, but the godly optimism of Christian hope. True hope endures in the darkness. It is through tears of faith-led lament that we see the beauty of our hope most clearly. Godly optimism is marked by realism and mixed with grief. We know that in this world we will have trouble, but we take heart trusting the one who has overcome the world (John 16:33). Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).”   Jared Mellinger

“We have great demands, but Christ has great supplies. Between here and heaven, we may have greater wants than we have yet known. But all along the journey, every resting place is ready; provisions are laid up, good cheer is stored, and nothing has been overlooked. The commissary of the eternal is absolutely perfect.”  Charles H. Spurgeon 

“Those who belong to Christ have every reason to be optimistic about the future. Hope dominates our outlook. We look at everything that could possibly come our way in life and consider ourselves more than conquerors.”  Jared Mellinger

“I realize that I am not used to the image of God throwing a party. It seems to contradict the solemnity and seriousness I have always attached to God. But when I think about the ways in which Jesus describes God’s Kingdom, a joyful banquet is often at its center…This invitation to a meal is an invitation to intimacy with God…Celebration belongs to God’s Kingdom. God not only offers forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing, but wants to lift up these gifts as a source of joy for all who witness them.”  Henri Nouwen

“Ecstasy and delight are essential to the believer’s soul and they promote sanctification. We were not meant to live without spiritual exhilaration, and the Christian who goes for a long time without the experience of heart-warming will soon find himself tempted to have his emotions satisfied from earthly things and not, as he ought, from the Spirit of God. The soul is so constituted that it craves fulfillment from things outside itself and will embrace earthly joys for satisfaction when it cannot reach spiritual ones… The believer is in spiritual danger if he allows himself to go for any length of time without tasting the love of Christ and savoring the felt comforts of a Savior’s presence. When Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction, our souls will go in silent search of other lovers… By the enjoyment of the love of Christ in the heart of a believer, we mean an experience of the “love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us” (Rom. 5:5)… because the Lord has made himself accessible to us in the means of grace, it is our duty and privilege to seek this experience from Him in these means till we are made the joyful partakers of it.”  John Flavel

“We can find optimism in this life when Christ lives within us. We can find joyful hope when we put our relationship with Christ first and spend regular time fellowshipping with Him in prayer. A close relationship with God will give us joy in the midst of trouble, victory in times of temptation, fruitfulness and blessings in times of uncertainty. A solid prayer life will give us confidence when everything else is crumbling around us.”   Michael Youssef

“The perspective he gives me in my low place has helped me see His love more clearly.  Habakkuk had that view too. He said, ‘Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren… yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!’ (Habakkuk 3:17-18)  We can rejoice when our perspective changes even if our problems don’t.  Habakkuk didn’t rejoice because his problems changed; he rejoiced because his perspective changed. God lifted His lowly prophet to ‘tread on the heights’ with Him. (Habakkuk 3:19)  And God will do that for you too. He will love you through your low place. If you find yourself in a low place, don’t assume it’s a waste of time, or a waste of your life or a waste of an opportunity. Instead, do what Habakkuk did – climb the watchtower of your faith, one wobbly step at a time and seek an answer from the God who loves you. If He doesn’t give you an answer – or an answer you want – it’s because He wants to give you something far better – a greater sense of purpose, time in His presence, and a new perspective.  When you climb toward God, you see your life from God’s view.  And, from that place, you may still see rubble, but, you may just rejoice at the sight knowing that God’s loving purpose is right there! ‘For He works all things together for our good.’”(Romans 8:28)  Jennifer Rothschild

“The Christian life is a joyful life.  Christianity was never meant to be something to make people miserable.  The ministry of Jesus Christ was one of joy.  The Bible teaches that a life of inward peace and outward victory is a Christian’s birthright.  ‘What a witness to the world Christians would be,’ wrote Amy Carmichael, ‘if only they were more evidently very happy people.’  Joy is one of the marks of a true believer.  Will others see the joy of Christ in your life today?”   Billy Graham

“He who lives in hope dances without music.”    George Herbert

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

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

“It’s a promise that whatever you might be experiencing today is just one chapter in a story that He is writing, and that story isn’t over yet....extract the precious from the worthless (Jeremiah 15)..Life has far more sticky situations than miraculous moments. As you encounter challenges, difficulties, and setbacks, train your eyes to ‘extract the precious.’ Train your ears to hear the promise. And train your heart to pursue relentless hope.”    Beth Guckenberger

“My hope is not in a cure today. My hope is not the absence of suffering and comfort returned. My hope is in the presence of the One who promises never to leave or forsake, the One who declares nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God.” (Romans 8:39). Nothing. Your story is a good story. In the grief, pain and hard, the Author has a plan. It may feel like a desperate breaking of your very heart, but suffering is not the absence of God or good.”  Kara Tippetts

“Those who are ‘beloved of the Lord’ must be the most happy and joyful people to be found anywhere upon the face of the earth.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

HEART SAVOR

·         Believers are to be joyful in hope.  We are to fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal.

·         Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people – set your minds and hearts on things above.

·         God has our best interest at heart in all that He allows in our lives and in the lives that are closest to us – whether we understand this or not this side of heaven.  For the Believer, pain has purpose – it is God’s choice tool in conforming us to the image of His Son.  We are not to kick against His best for our lives rather trust and obey:  “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.  I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.  On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”  Edward Mote