Serve

a WORD from God's Book
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You say, "We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone." But what you have in mind will never happen.

For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.

And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

We have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit

Ezekiel 20:32 Isaiah 60:12 Malachi 3:18 Hebrews 9:14 Romans 7:6
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Peace

Serving others is a way of thanking God.


Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Fill

a WORD from God's Book
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Wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.

This expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.

The joy of the LORD will fill you to overflowing.

The time will come when all the earth will be filled, as the waters fill the sea, with an awareness of the glory of the LORD.

Proverbs 2:10 Romans 5:5 Colossians 3:2 Job 8:21 Isaiah 41:16 Habakkuk 2:14
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Peace

The way of obedience is the only way of blessing.

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Directs

a WORD from God's Book
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[ God Examines Our Motives ] Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God; he directs it to whatever ends he chooses.

By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me…

This is what the LORD says… "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.

How can we understand the road we travel? It is the LORD who directs our steps.

There's more: God's Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure.

Proverbs 21:1 Psalm 42:8 Isaiah 48:17 Proverbs 20:24 Psalm 19:11
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Peace

A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. (Prov. 16:9)


LIFEgroups - together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Come

a WORD from God's Book
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For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest

Matthew 9:13 Matthew 10:34 Matthew 24:14 Mark 1:15 Matthew 11:28
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Peace

Loving the lost is the first step in leading them to Christ.

LIFEgroups - together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Spider

A+ Saturday
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God and the Spider

During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be your will, please protect me.
Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen."

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one."! Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.

"Hah," he thought. "What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while. "Lord, forgive me," prayed the young man. "I had forgotten that in you a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall."

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. As the great leader, Nehemiah, reminded the people of Israel when they faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, "In God we will have success!" [Nehemiah 2:20]

Remember: Whatever is happening in your life, with God, a mere spider's web can become a brick wall of protection. Believe He is with you always. Just speak His name through Jesus His son, and you will see His great power and love for you.

Pass it on!
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Blessings!

Glenn

Why

a WORD from God's Book
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That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

But he replied, "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other places, too, because that is why I was sent."

But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

That is why we live by believing and not by seeing.

So that's why faith is the key! God's promise is given to us as a free gift. And we are certain to receive it,

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are [ Greek our inner being is.] being renewed every day

Romans 8:8 Luke 4:43 1 Timothy 1:16 2 Corinthians 5:7 Romans 4:16 2 Corinthians 4:16
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Peace

Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God.

LIFEgroups - together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 907720

Friends

a WORD from God's Book
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The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.

You are my friends if you obey me.

Friendship with the LORD is reserved for those who fear him. With them he shares the secrets of his covenant.

And I, the Son of Man, feast and drink, and you say, `He's a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of the worst sort of sinners!' But wisdom is shown to be right by what results from it."

Jesus said, "No, go home to your friends, and tell them what wonderful things the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been."

Proverbs 27:9 John 15:14 Psalm 25:14 Matthew 11:19 Mark 5:19
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Peace

You can measure your love for God by your obedience to His word.

LIFEgroups - together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Lead me

a WORD from God's Book
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Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

Lead me in the right path, O LORD ... Tell me clearly what to do, and show me which way to turn.

Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Teach me how to live to please you, because you're my God. Lead me by your blessed Spirit

Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.

You wisely and tenderly lead me, and then you bless me.

Psalm 25:5 Psalm 5:8 Psalm 139:24 Psalm 143:10 Psalm 43:3 Psalm 73:24
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Peace

If God has already told you what to do, you don't need to ask Him again.


LIFEgroups - together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Freedom

a WORD from God's Book
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God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom.

God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins.

[ Freedom in Christ ] So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.

Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom.

For you have been called to live in freedom--not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.

1 Corinthians 1:30 Colossians 1:14 Galatians 5:1 2 Corinthians 3:17 Galatians 5:13
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Peace

God's love cannot be explained - - it can only be experienced.

LIFEgroups - together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Cried out

a WORD from God's Book
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I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke.

I took my troubles to the LORD; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

I cried out to the LORD in my suffering, and he heard me. He set me free from all my fears.

O LORD my God, I cried out to you for help, and you restored my health.

Psalm 66:17 Psalm 120:1 Psalm 107:6 Psalm 34:6 Psalm 30:2
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Peace

Prayer does not require eloquence but earnestness.

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Beauty of God's creation - Maui

How refreshing it is to take 'time-out' and 'take-in' the images of God's handiwork!

Bless the Lord... in all things, bless His holy name!


Glenn

Feast

a WORD from God's Book
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Spread for me a banquet of praise, serve High God a feast of kept promises

Let the rich of the earth feast and worship. Let all mortals--those born to die--bow down in his presence.

You'll feast on my fresh-baked bread spread with butter and rock-pure honey."

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

Happy is the land whose king is a nobleman and whose leaders feast only to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.

And the angel said, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb." And he added, "These are true words that come from God."

Psalm 50:14 Psalm 22:29 Psalm 81:16 Psalm 23:5 Ecclesiastes 10:17 Revelation 19:9
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Peace

Those who lay up treasures in heaven are the richest people on earth.


LIFEgroups - together experiencing God

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Wonders

a WORD from God's Book
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The LORD brought us out of Egypt with amazing power, overwhelming terror, and miraculous signs and wonders.

Has any other god taken one nation for himself by rescuing it from another by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, awesome power, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, right before your very eyes.

Jesus asked, "Must I do miraculous signs and wonders before you people will believe in me?"

Who can forget the wonders he performs? How gracious and merciful is our LORD!

God verified the message by signs and wonders and various miracles and by giving gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose to do so.

Deuteronomy 26:8 Deuteronomy 4:34 John 4:48 Psalm 111:4 Hebrews 2:4
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Peace

Nothing speaks more clearly of God's love than the cross of Jesus.


LIFEgroups: together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Surprised

a WORD from God's Book
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The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?"

The Jewish leaders were surprised when they heard him. "How does he know so much when he hasn't studied everything we've studied?" they asked.

If you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and justice being miscarried throughout the land, don't be surprised! For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice only get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.

But I am not surprised! Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light.

Of course, your former friends are very surprised when you no longer join them in the wicked things they do, and they say evil things about you.

So don't be surprised at my statement that you must be born again.

John 4:9 John 7:15 Ecclesiastes 5:8 2 Corinthians 11:14 1 Peter 4:4 John 3:7
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Peace

Only if we are ready to die are we ready to live.


Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Favor

a WORD from God's Book
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I keep right on praying to you, LORD, hoping this is the time you will show me favor. In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation.

His anger lasts for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes with the morning.

Your favor, O LORD, made me as secure as a mountain.

You are their glorious strength. Our power is based on your favor.

Each time he said, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me.

Psalm 69:13 Psalm 30:5 Psalm 30:7 Psalm 89:17 2 Corinthians 12:9
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Peace

There is no greater joy than to know that GOd loves us.


LIFEgroups: together experiencing God

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Find

a WORD from God's Book
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"I love all who love me. Those who search for me will surely find me.

May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word.

Submit to God's royal son, or he will become angry… what joy for all who find protection in him!

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the strength of my salvation, and my stronghold.

The godly will rejoice in the LORD and find shelter in him. And those who do what is right will praise him.

Proverbs 8:17 Psalm 119:74 Psalm 2:12 Psalm 18:2 Psalm 64:10
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Peace

Because God is with us, we need not fear what lies ahead.

LIFEgroups: together encountering God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Listening

a WORD from God's Book
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Haven't you been listening? GOD doesn't come and go. God lasts. He's Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out.

God is there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it.

Now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way!

How bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he's listening.

And if we're confident that he's listening, we know that what we've asked for is as good as ours.

Isaiah 40:28 Psalm 145:18 Romans 6:22 1 John 5:14 1 John 5:15
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Peace

The purpose of prayer is not to get what we want, but to become what God wants.

LIFEgroups: together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Today

a WORD from God's Book
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That is why the Holy Spirit says, "Today you must listen to his voice…Don't harden your hearts against him as Israel did when they rebelled."

I am teaching you today--yes, you--so you will trust in the LORD.

For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation.

for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the sheep under his care. Oh, that you would listen to his voice today!

Only the living can praise you as I do today. Each generation can make known your faithfulness to the next.

Hebrews 3:7,15 Proverbs 22:19 2 Corinthians 6:2 Psalm 95:7 Isaiah 38:19
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Peace

Religion can reform but only Christ can transform - come to Him today.


LIFEgroups: together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Rest

a WORD from God's Book
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You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am.

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

For this Good News--that God has prepared a place of rest--has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn't believe what God told them.

For only we who believe can enter his place of rest. As for those who didn't believe, God said, "In my anger I made a vow: `They will never enter my place of rest,'

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Psalm 139:3 Psalm 91:1 Hebrews 4:2 Hebrews 4:3 Matt 11:28
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Peace
Spending quiet time with God will bring quiet rest from God.

LIFEgroups: together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Now

a WORD from God's Book
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But Jesus told him, "Follow me now!”

Even now the ax of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever your roots. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

"Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me.

God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation.

You know these things--now do them! That is the path of blessing.

What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ears, shout from the housetops for all to hear!

Matthew 8:22 Matthew 3:10 Matthew 10:27 2 Corinthians 6:2 John 13:34 John 13:17
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Peace
Don't put off until tomorrow the loving words you can say today.


LIFEgroups: together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720

Believe

a WORD from God's Book
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"You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!

Jesus told them, "This is what God wants you to do: Believe in the one he has sent."

"I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

And all who believe in God's Son have eternal life. Those who don't obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them."

"At last the time has come!" he announced. "The Kingdom of God is near! Turn from your sins and believe this Good News!"

John 5:39 John 6:29 John 5:24 John 3:36 Mark 1:15
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Peace

When you spend time with God (prayer), you invest in a forever friendship.


LIFEgroups: together experiencing God!

Glenn
PO Box 473 Los Alamitos CA 90720