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HAVING HIS DESIRES BRINGS SUCCESS
May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. —Psalm 20:4 May our Lord give us the desires that we desire that line up with His desires— “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). So, sit and ponder the desire that our Lord is desiring for you. What is the work He is working in you that your will is to align with His to fulfill His good purpose? We should be like the Psalmist who said, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;…
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DON’T GIVE UP!
But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” —II Chronicles 15:7 What was said of King Asa can be said of we followers of Jesus as well— “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, 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” (I Corinthians 15:58). So, don’t “become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). And “The one who plants and the one who waters…
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MY IDENTITY IN JESUS!
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 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? —Romans 8:31 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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…
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BE HOPEFUL!
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. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. —Romans 8:17-18 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we…
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God with us!
But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! —II Chronicles 6:18 The temple Solomon built for God was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet high and Solomon obviously realized that such a structure could not be big enough to contain Him. Solomon said, “The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” Can a drinking cup contain the whole ocean? How could a temple contain the eternal Lord God Almighty? And yet, and this is mind boggling, Jesus said, “Destroy…
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DON’T LET THIS LIFE ONLY BE YOUR REWARD!
By your hand save me from such people, Lord, from those of this world whose reward is in this life. —Psalm 17:14 There are people who would like to do harm to followers of Jesus. The Psalmist is asking our Lord for protection from such people and we should as well. Not only for ourselves, but also for brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. Oh, may we do so. Yes, there are people whose reward is only in this life. The life they now live is the closest they will ever get to heaven because they do not want to follow and live for Jesus. They…
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APART FROM JESUS I CANNOT BE GODLY FRUIT
Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” —Psalm16:1-2 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. —Proverbs 19:21 Surely, this is the safest place to be— to take refuge in our Lord God Almighty. We are to know this as well— that “apart from you I have no good thing.” This truth is again repeated by Jesus when He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;…
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THE AWESOME WORK OF JESUS FOR US!
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. —Romans 4:25 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ —Romans 5:1 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is…
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THE FOOL
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalms 14:1 The fool converses with himself and comes to an inward conclusion that “there is no God.” Look at the— The fool is truly a fool if he can look at all these things and not see design and understand that behind every design is a designer. A painting is painted by a painter. A building is built by a builder. Pottery is formed by a potter… How can one look all around us at creation and not believe that a Creator created it all. Yes, for sure, He is way beyond us and our understanding, but that does…
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TRUSTING AND REJOICING
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. —Psalm 13:5 I am so glad, Lord, that Your love is unfailing toward me. If it was, the I would have no hope. My heart also rejoices in Your salvation. Again, without it, I would have no hope. But I do trust in Your unfailing love and I do rejoice in Your salvation. How marvelous this is that the Creator of all things loves me and has saved me from my sin. I think of His magnitude and His awesomeness and am astounded that He would even consider me, but I am thankful that He does…