Our Help And Shield Deuteronomy 33:26-27 Psalms 30:8-12 Psalms 118:5-7 Psalms 46:1-3 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 Philippians 4:4-7 Hebrews 4:14-16 Proverbs 18:24B Psalms 115:9-11 05.31.21

 

OUR HELP AND SHIELD

BREAD

²⁶ “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. ²⁷ The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.  He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ‘Destroy him!’”  Deuteronomy 33:26-27 (NIV)

 

⁸ To you, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: ⁹ “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit?  Will the dust praise you?  Will it proclaim your faithfulness? ¹⁰ Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help.”  ¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, ¹² that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.  Psalms 30:8-12 (NIV)

 

⁵ In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free. ⁶ The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?  ⁷ The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.  Psalms 118:5-7 (NIV)

 

¹ God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. ² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, ³ though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah  Psalms 46:1-3 (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, ¹¹ as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.   2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (NIV)

 

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)

 

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV)

 

“There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  Proverbs 18:24B (NIV)

 

⁹ O house of Israel, trust in the LORD-- he is their help and shield.  ¹⁰ O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD-- he is their help and shield.  ¹¹ You who fear him, trust in the LORD--he is their help and shield.  Psalms 115:9-11 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

 

“Consider your own life.  When the relationship goes sour, when the feelings of futility come flooding in, when it feels like life is passing us by, when it sems that our one shot at significance has slipped through our fingers, when we can’t sort out our emotions, when the longtime friend lets us down, when a family member betrays us, when we feel deeply misunderstood, when we are laughed at by the impressive – in short, when the fallenness of the world closes in on us and makes us want to throw in the towel – there, right there, we have a Friend who knows exactly what such testing feels like, and sits close to us, embraces us.  With us.  Solidarity.  Our tendency is to feel intuitively that the more difficult life gets, the more alone we are.  As we sink further into pain, we sink further into isolation.  The Bible corrects us.  Our pain never outstrips what He Himself shares in.  We are never alone.  That sorrow that feels so isolating, so unique, was endured by Him in the past and is now shouldered by Him in the present.”    Dane Ortlund

 

“Christ is inclined from His own heart and affections to give us help and relief and He is inwardly moved during our sufferings and trials with a sense and fellow-feeling of them.”  John Owen

 

“If you are in Christ, you have a Friend who, in your sorrow, will never lob down a pep talk from heaven.  He cannot bear to hold Himself at a distance.  Nothing can hold Him back.  His heart is too bound up with yours.”  Dane Ortlund

 

“We need to keep reminding ourselves that without the Lord we can do nothing. It needs to become a habit of mind with each of us to tell the Lord as we tackle each task, ‘I can’t do this without your help, please help me’, and then to expect to be helped because we have admitted our helplessness, given up self-reliance and are now looking to Him.”    J. I. Packer

 

“This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: ‘I will help thee’.  ‘It is but a small thing for Me, thy God, to help thee.  Consider what I have done already.  What!  Not help thee?  Why, I bought thee with My blood.  What!  Not help thee?  I have died for thee; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less?  Help thee!  It is the least thing I will ever do for thee; I have done more, and will do more.  Before the world began I chose thee.  I made the covenant for thee.  I laid aside My glory and became a man for thee; I gave My life for thee; and if I did all this, I will surely help thee now.  In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already.  If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee; thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give.  ‘Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow.  “Help thee?”  Fear not!  If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all sufficiency.  “I will help thee”.’  O my soul, is not this enough?  Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity?  Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit?  Bring hither thine empty pitcher!  Surely this well will fill it.  Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them there – thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs.  Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply; what canst thou desire beside?  Go forth, my soul, in this thy might.  The Eternal God is thine helper!”  C. H. Spurgeon

   

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

 

“It is impossible for that man to despair who remembers that his Helper is omnipotent.”   Jeremy Taylor

“What we feed our minds and hearts on will determine whether we live a life of faith or a life of fear. …The more time we spend with God and His Word, the more our faith develops and our fear diminishes….Faith in God conquers fear every time. The God who has redeemed us and cares for us is trustworthy. Our Creator God will never abandon us, and He has our best interests at heart. ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging’(Psalm 46:1-3).”   Michael Youssef

HEART SAVOR

·         There is no one like our God Who rides on the heavens to help us – He is our refuge and strength – an ever-present help in times of trouble.

·         He is our help and shield – on Him we can depend.

·         He is a friend Who sticks closer than a brother.

 

 

The Amazing Love Of God John 3:16-17 2 Corinthians 5:21 1 John 3:16 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 John 15:9-14 1 John 4:7-11 1 John 4:16-18 Romans 8:38-39 Romans 11:33-36 05.28.21

 

THE AMAZING LOVE OF GOD

BREAD

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

 

²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

 

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  1 John 3:16 (NIV)

 

¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV)

 

 ⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command.”   John 15:9-14 (NIV)

 

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  1 John 4:7-11 (NIV)

 

¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. ¹⁷ In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  1 John 4:16-18 (NIV)

 

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:35-39 (NIV)

 

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

 

BUTTER

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

“God is love. Love is Who He is.  Love is fundamental to His nature – always has been and always forever will be.  He commands His children to love as He loves and equips them with the power of the Holy Spirit to love rightly.  We are not even capable of it in the flesh.  He seeks to maximize Biblical love in our lives because this points others to the Author and Perfecter of love.  Jesus perfectly demonstrated this love when He walked this dusty earth and those who follow Him are called to do likewise.”  BHY   

“There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.” Corrie ten Boom

 

“God carries His children through this world through a variety of conditions.  Sometimes we lack, and at other times we abound.  This allows our graces to be tested.  We will find that God’s love is stable, certain, and constant in a variety of conditions.  God does not change, and His love is constant however our lives might change.  We must learn not to quarrel with God’s government.  Let God do as He pleases as He brings us to heaven.  It is no matter what the way is like, or how rugged it is, as long as He brings us there.  God’s grace is able to carry His children above all conditions.”  Anonymous

“Nothing is more Godlike or gives God more glory and delight than love. Nothing is more morally beautiful, profoundly meaningful, and joy-producing in the human experience than love. And nothing is more offensive, violent, or destructive to the forces of darkness than love.”  Jon Bloom

“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

“We are to love one another with aggressive grace. Such aggressively gracious love is otherworldly, a taste of heaven on earth. We all sinfully stumble in many ways (James 3:2). Which means we repeatedly offend one another. It takes persevering graciousness to keep love genuinely affectionate.”  Jon Bloom

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

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

“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

HEART SAVOR

• ·         Be a vessel willing to reciprocate God’s love to others.  Those who have received God’s grace have no other course of action but to give God’s love away.
• ·         As God loves us with aggressive grace, we too are to love others likewise.
• ·         We can know and rely on the love God has for us as He has demonstrated it – even while we were sinners Christ died for us.  

The Great Gain Of Being Content 1 Timothy 6:6-10 Philippians 4:10-13 John 14:18 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Colossians 1:9-12 Ephesians 3:14-21 05.26.21

 

THE GREAT GAIN OF BEING CONTENT

BREAD

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.  1 Timothy 6:6-10 (NIV)

 

¹⁰ I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do everything through him who gives me strength.  Philippians 4:10-13 (NIV)

 

¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.   John 14:18 (NIV)

 

⁷ To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (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.  Colossians 1:9-12 (NIV)

 

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

“If you had no devil to tempt you, no enemies to fight you, and no world to ensnare you, you would still find in yourself enough evil to be a sore trial to you, for “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.”² Expect trouble then, but do not despair on account of it, for God is with you to help and to strengthen you. He has said, “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”  C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg   

“God’s words have been a peacetime balm for countless millions. Cherish them, meditate on them, find strength in them on the brightest and warmest of days. And as our days of great peace come, may the clarity and power of God’s words not abate. But when life gets hard, opposition arises, enemies approach, and peace collapses into conflict, lean hard on the words of God. They swell in their power and thrive at new depths in assaulted souls.”  David Mathis

“The way to be truly happy is to be truly human, and the way to be truly human is to be truly Godly.”  J.I. Packer

“Whether you can take what life dishes out, and the difficult people life puts you into contact with, depends on what you take first. If you take from the grace of God the strength offered, you will find it absolutely sufficient to cover any need. You will find yourself quite amazingly able to bear the hardship of life's bitter battle as a good soldier. But the soldier has to be trained, prepared, and equipped first. Don't rush into the fray and try to ‘take it’ without first taking strength.”  Elisabeth Elliot

“The glitzy lights of this world are no match for the True Light of Jesus which shines forth through every believer.  While certainly louder and touting the promise of satisfaction, the world fails miserably in its offer of continued contentment, joy and peace.  Like the drug addict, all the world does is keep one longing for more.  With Christ there is no wanting.  He is the Living Water which totally fills the cup.  Daily be filled with Him and everything else is merely a cherry on top.”  BHY

“What were we made for? To know God.  What aim should we set ourselves in life?  To know God. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? Knowledge of God.  What is the best thing in life, bringing more joy, delight, and contentment, than anything else? Knowledge of God.  What, of all the states God ever sees man in, gives Him most pleasure? Knowledge of Himself.”   J.I. Packer 

“Choosing contentment, choice by choice, may be life’s greatest challenge, but it could also result in your most important opportunity to impact our watching world.”  Pam Tebow

“Moving and speaking to spread the gospel brought conflict. And in that conflict, the word of God did not fade. It flourished.”  David Mathis

“Our satisfaction and contentment in life does not come from riches but from righteousness.”   Robert J. Morgan

“Contentment isn’t a state of organization, a weight on the scale, a state of better: better kids, better marriage, better health, better house. Contentment is never a matter of circumstances; contentment is always a state of communion — a daily embracing of God. A thankfulness for all the gifts – and moments and life, just as He gives it. Trying harder may only bring harder trials and contentment, it won’t be found in the resolutions, but in the revolutions – in the turning round to God.”   Ann Voskamp

HEART SAVOR

·         Christ empowers us to be content whatever the circumstances as we turn to Him – it is in this turning toward God, His sufficiency and His strength, that keeps His child content.

·         What the world offers is a mere paste gem compared to the diamond of contentment that only comes from Jesus.  

·         Christ is more than sufficient to meet our every need.  Be filled with Him and not be found wanting.

 

 

 

 

 

Walk In His Purposes Psalms 37:23-24 Ephesians 2:10 Isaiah 58:11 Isaiah 30:20-21 Exodus 15:13 Psalms 32:8-9 Proverbs 3:5-8 Jeremiah 29:11 Psalms 84:5-7 Isaiah 41:10 Psalms 48:14 05.24.21

WALK IN HIS PURPOSES

BREAD

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.  Psalms 37:23-24 (NIV)

 

¹⁰ For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

 

¹¹ The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.  Isaiah 58:11 (NIV)

 

²⁰ Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”  Isaiah 30:20-21 (NIV)

 

¹³ “In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.”  Exodus 15:13 (NIV)

      

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.  ⁹ Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.  Psalms 32:8-9 (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. ⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.  ⁸ This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.  Proverbs 3:5-8 (NIV)

¹¹ “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

 

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.  Psalms 84:5-7 (NIV)

 

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

 

¹⁴ For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. Psalms 48:14 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

“God uses us when we are out and about doing normal things and taking steps of faith. That is how the Christian life works. We read the Word of God. We take the principles of the Word of God and put them into practice. We pray that the Lord will guide our steps. And then we go.”  Greg Laurie  

“He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.”   Blaise Pascal

“In our walk with God we are told explicitly by Christ Himself that it would be His Spirit who would be sent to guide us and to lead us into all truth (John 16:13).  This same gracious Spirit takes the truth of God, the Word of God, and makes it plain to our hearts and minds and spiritual understanding.  It is He who gently, tenderly, but persistently says to us, ‘This is the way – walk in it.’  And as we comply and cooperate with His gentle promptings a sense of safety, comfort and well-being envelops us.”   Phillip Keller

“The Bible must be considered the great source of truth by which men are to be guided in government as well as social transactions.”   Noah Webster

“I arise today Through God’s strength to pilot me:  God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak to me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me, God’s host to save me, From snares of devils, From temptations of vices, From every one who shall wish me ill, Afar and anear, Alone and in a multitude.”  St. Patrick

 

“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

 

“I seek not a long life but a full one like Yours, Lord Jesus.”  Jim Elliot

“Let’s be careful to remember that God has not chiefly called us to be awesome or to be ‘winners.’ Rather, he has called us to live humble, faithful, forgiven, and free. For that, in truth, is where all the true power is.”   Scott Sauls

 

“A Christian ought to be the kind of person who makes it easy for others to believe in God.”  (Paraphrased)  Robert Murray M'Cheyne 

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

“It’s an ethos and conviction underscored by so many I’ve met since being here -- men and women placed by God in the portals of power. In education, government, the military or entertainment, they’re there, holding sway and affecting for good. I keep meeting them -- nuclear physicists, university presidents, business moguls; social entrepreneurs.  Others are advisors, entertainers, journalists, and yes, even politicians. From across the globe, they are power-holders and influencers; living for God, risking all, spicing our world with His precepts, His standards, and with His grace, Amazing Grace.  These invigorating experiences have so broadened my perspective of God and the canny, brilliant ways He works. His people are everywhere -- His “sent ones” who wear not the vestments of religion nor hoist the banner of traditional “missionary”.  Yet they are equally dedicated to the purposes of Jesus -- to the death if need be.  Paula Kirby

“Peace isn’t the absence of the dark.  Peace is the assurance of God’s presence in the midst of the dark.  And when we want peace – we only need to say yes to God’s purposes.”   Ann Voskamp

“Never settle for the requirement only, but strive to exceed the expected everywhere, in relationships, at work, in school, and in your daily routine.  You represent the Savior of the world shouldn’t you be going the second mile to show the unsaved His love for them?”  Melissa Levi

HEART SAVOR

·         God’s ways are good and pleasing and perfect for every heir of mercy.  We are the losers when we do not walk in them.

·         “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”  1 John 2:6

·         We are children of the King and we are to walk like it.  Our purposes are to be His purposes.