Praise

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you're ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out. This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.

We're not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, "I believed it, so I said it," we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God's glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

Ephesians 1:3 2 Corinthians 9:13 2 Corinthians 9:8 2 Corinthians 4:13 Philippians 1:9

Happiness is ours when we delight in the Lord.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Venture

Hwy. 7 So. of Estes Park,CO

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God, King of Israel, your Redeemer, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, says: "I'm first, I'm last, and everything in between. I'm the only God there is. Who compares with me? Speak up. See if you measure up. From the beginning, who else has always announced what's coming? So what is coming next? Anybody want to venture a try? Don't be afraid, and don't worry: Haven't I always kept you informed, told you what was going on? You're my eyewitnesses: Have you ever come across a God, a real God, other than me? There's no Rock like me that I know of."

I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And Moses trembled and was so terrified that he did not venture to look.

And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone venture or dare to question Him.

For [of course] I will not venture (presume) to speak thus of any work except what Christ has actually done through me [as an instrument in His hands] to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed

You've been raised on the Message of the faith and have followed sound teaching. Now pass on this counsel to the followers of Jesus there, and you'll be a good servant of Jesus. Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we've thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We're banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women, especially believers.

Isaiah 44:6 Acts 7:32 Matthew 22:46 Romans 15:18 1 Timothy 4:6

When we follow Jesus, all of life changes direction.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Well Done

Steamboat Lake,CO

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Look out! God's hurricane is let loose, his hurricane blast, spinning the heads of the wicked like dust devils! God's raging anger won't let up until he's made a clean sweep completing the job he began. When the job's done you'll see it's been well done.

Well-spoken words bring satisfaction; well-done work has its own reward.

Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.

So don't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the "Well done!" of God.

“The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!

Jeremiah 30:23 Proverbs 12:14 Galatians 6:4 1 Corinthians 4:5 Matthew 25:21

To see God’s hand in everything makes life a great adventure.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Mystery

Colorado

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I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God.

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

Daniel answered before the king and said, "As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.

They all realized they were in a place of holy mystery, that God was at work among them. They were quietly worshipful—and then noisily grateful, calling out among themselves, "God is back, looking to the needs of his people!" The news of Jesus spread all through the country.

But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.

Psalm 40:1 Ecclesiastes 11:5 Daniel 2:27 Luke 7:16 Romans 1:18 Colossians 1:26

When we open our heart to the Lord, He opens our eyes to the lost.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Ready

Colorado

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May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.

God gives a hand to those down on their luck, gives a fresh start to those ready to quit.

Don't miss a word of this—I'm telling you how to live well, I'm telling you how to live at your best. My mouth chews and savors and relishes truth— I can't stand the taste of evil! You'll only hear true and right words from my mouth; not one syllable will be twisted or skewed. You'll recognize this as true—you with open minds; truth-ready minds will see it at once. Prefer my life-disciplines over chasing after money, and God-knowledge over a lucrative career. For Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealth; nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her. "So, my dear friends listen carefully; those who embrace these my ways are most blessed. Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don't squander your precious life. Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day's work. When you find me, you find life, real life, to say nothing of God's good pleasure.

That's why we live with such good cheer. You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don't get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we'll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming.

God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you're ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out. This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.

Psalm 119:173 Psalm 145:14 Proverbs 8:32 2 Corinthians 5:6 2 Corinthians 9:8

You’re not ready to live until you’re ready to die.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Talk

Maui

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Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.

And oh, my dear Timothy, guard the treasure you were given! Guard it with your life. Avoid the talk-show religion and the practiced confusion of the so-called experts. People caught up in a lot of talk can miss the whole point of faith. Overwhelming grace keep you!

For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]!

If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.

[ Faith in Action ] Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

2 Timothy 2:16 1 Timothy 6:20 Hebrews 5:13 1 Timothy 6:3-5 James 2:12 James 2:14

Only after talking to God about people are we ready to talk to people about God.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Change

Falling Leaf Lake,CA

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Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

[ God Gave His Word ] When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, "I promise that I'll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!" Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they'll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can't break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.

God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind.

[ The Day the Sky Will Collapse ] Don't overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn't late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn't want anyone lost. He's giving everyone space and time to change.

[Born anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay [imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you.

James 1:17 Hebrews 6:13 Hebrews 6:17 2 Peter 3:8 1 Peter 1:4

We don/t know what this world is coming to, but we know the One who is coming to this world.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God.

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Trust

Yesterday

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Listen carefully to my wisdom; take to heart what I can teach you. You'll treasure its sweetness deep within; you'll give it bold expression in your speech. To make sure your foundation is trust in God, I'm laying it all out right now just for you.

Do your best, prepare for the worst— then trust God to bring victory.

Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.

Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.

Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful.

Proverbs 22:17 Proverbs 21:31 Proverbs 30:5 Proverbs 3:5 Proverbs 16:3 Proverbs 16:20

Trust God for today – and prepare for tomorrow.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God.

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Safety

Colorado

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Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles.

The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will never tell lies or deceive one another. They will eat and sleep in safety, and no one will make them afraid.”

Would that you had known personally, even at least in this your day, the things that make for peace (for freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin and upon which your peace--your security, safety, prosperity, and happiness--depends)!

They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.

In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord, alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust.

Zechariah 9:12 Zephaniah 3:13 Luke 19:42 Mark 16:18 Proverbs 29:25 Psalm 4:8

The Christian finds safety not in the absence of danger but in the presence of God.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Pathway

Steamboat Springs

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The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.

Was it not You who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; Who made the depths of the sea a pathway for the redeemed to cross over?

Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters—a pathway no one knew was there!

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Light is sown for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and strewn along their pathway, and joy for the upright in heart.

Life is in the way of righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation), and in its pathway there is no death but immortality (perpetual, eternal life).

Psalm 32:8 Isaiah 51:10 Psalm 77:19 Isaiah 43:19 Psalm 97:11 Proverbs 12:28

The pathway to heaven begins at the foot of the cross.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Earn

Aug.2007

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We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us.

You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."

Don't you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? "If you don't work, you don't eat." And now we're getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. This must not be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately—no excuses, no arguments—and earn their own keep. Friends, don't slack off in doing your duty.

Don't lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart. Earn a reputation for living well in God's eyes and the eyes of the people.

So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years… For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.

Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.

1 Corinthians 4:12 Haggai 1:6 2 Thessalonians 3:10 Proverbs 3:3 Galatians 4:10,20 Proverbs 3:4

We make a living by what we earn; we make a life by what we give.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Clean sweep

Bolsa Chica, CA

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"On the Big Day, I'll make a clean sweep of all the godless nations that fought against Jerusalem.

"Quit your worship charades. I can't stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings— meetings, meetings, meetings—I can't stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You've worn me out! I'm sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I'll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I'll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you've been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody. Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don't have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless.

"I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main character in this drama—compared to him I'm a mere stagehand—will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He's going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He'll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he'll put out with the trash to be burned."

So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You've had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness. Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God.

Zechariah 12:9 Isaiah 1:13 Matthew 3:11 1 Peter 2:1

God’s great power deserves our grateful praise.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God.

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Early

Sunrise - Avila Bay

It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

If God doesn't build the house, the builders only build shacks. If God doesn't guard the city, the night watchman might as well nap. It's useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don't you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?

Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”

I love those who love me, and those who seek me early and diligently shall find me.

And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her right early [at the dawn of the morning].

Psalm 127:2 Psalm 127:1 Hosea 6:3 Proverbs 8:17 Luke 21:38 Psalm 46:5,4

Trusting God’s faithfulness dispels our fearfulness.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Seek

Sedona 2005

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For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.

"Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.

Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

Romans 8:5 Hebrews 11:6 1 Corinthians 14:12 1 Peter 3:11,10 1 Thessalonians 5:15 1 Corinthians 10:24

What we practice is the best illustration of what we preach.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Fit

Garden of the Gods

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Examine me, God, from head to foot, order your battery of tests. Make sure I'm fit inside and out.

Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life; don't for a minute lose sight of them. They'll keep your soul alive and well, they'll keep you fit and attractive. You'll travel safely, you'll neither tire nor trip. You'll take afternoon naps without a worry, you'll enjoy a good night's sleep. No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday's just around the corner, Because God will be right there with you; he'll keep you safe and sound.

Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right." But it's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.

By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart, and good news makes you feel fit as a fiddle.

Psalm 26:2 Proverbs 3:21 Romans 4:19 Romans 5:1 Romans 12:1 Proverbs 15:30

To keep spiritually fit, feed on God’s Word and exercise your faith.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Faithful

Fish Creek Falls, CO

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God! Let the cosmos praise your wonderful ways, the choir of holy angels sing anthems to your faithful ways! Search high and low, scan skies and land, you'll find nothing and no one quite like God. The holy angels are in awe before him; he looms immense and august over everyone around him. God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who is like you, powerful and faithful from every angle?


To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.

For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people.

As surely as God is trustworthy and faithful and means what He says, our speech and message to you have not been Yes [that might mean] No.

So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He's the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do.

Psalm 89:5 Psalm 18:25 Psalm 33:4 Psalm 85:8 2 Corinthians 1:18 Hebrews 3:1

Be faithful – and leave the results with God.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

More

Oct.5th sky

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Why is everyone hungry for more? "More, more," they say. "More, more." I have God's more-than-enough, more joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees. At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep, for you, God, have put my life back together.

Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.

We're depending on God; he's everything we need. What's more, our hearts brim with joy since we've taken for our own his holy name. Love us, God, with all you've got— that's what we're depending on.

Less is more and more is less. One righteous will outclass fifty wicked, For the wicked are moral weaklings but the righteous are God-strong.

I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God.

Psalm 4:6-8 Psalm 19:10 Psalm 33:20 Psalm 37:16 Psalm 40:1

The more you think about God’s goodness, the less you’ll think about your worries.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Attitude

Oct. 7, 2007

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But You know me, O LORD; you see me; and You examine my heart's attitude toward You.

Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

Jeremiah 12:3 Philippians 2:5 Romans 14:18,19 Romans 12:2 Romans 14:18,17

Often is not the fact of the situation, rather our attitude toward it that is read by others!

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Count

How many peppers?

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The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

It wasn't so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God's gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there's more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.

Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be— you get a fresh start, your slates wiped clean.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You If I would declare and speak of them , They would be too numerous to count.

2 Peter 3:9 Psalm 32:2 Titus 3:3 Psalm 32:1 Philippians 3:9 ,8 Psalm 40:5

Gratitude should be a continuous attitude.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Patience

Alaska

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But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy

We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 1:16 Romans 5:3 Colossians 1:11 2 Corinthians 6:6 Colossians 3:12 Romans 15:5

Patience enable us to inherit God’s promises.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Guard

October, Denver

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. [ God’s Children through Faith ] Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.

"Now it's up to you. Be on your toes—both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people—God's people they are—to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for.

And oh, my dear Timothy, guard the treasure you were given! Guard it with your life. Avoid the talk-show religion and the practiced confusion of the so-called experts. People caught up in a lot of talk can miss the whole point of faith. Overwhelming grace keep you!

Be eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of [and produced by] the Spirit in the binding power of peace

Be alert and on your guard; stand firm in your faith ( your conviction respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, keeping the trust and holy fervor born of faith and a part of it). Act like men and be courageous; grow in strength!

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:23 Acts 20:28 1 Timothy 6:20 Ephesians 4:3 1 Corinthians 16:13 Philippians 4:7

Faith in Christ is not just a single step --- it’s a livelong walk with Him.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Melody

California (photographer unknown)

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Take a harp and walk the streets….Make sweet melody and sing your songs so you will be remembered again.

Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places and her wilderness He will make like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and sound of a melody.

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is steadfast and confident! I will sing and make melody.

Speak out to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise with voices [ and instruments] and making melody with all your heart to the Lord

Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.

Isaiah 23:16 Isaiah 51:3 Psalm 57:7 Ephesians 5:19 Colossians 3:16

Hope can be ignited by a spark of encouragement.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Never

Carmel, CA

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Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.

God's a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary during bad times. The moment you arrive, you relax; you're never sorry you knocked.

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Look at Him; give him your warmest smile. Never hide your feelings from him.

So I never lose sight of your love, But keep in step with you, never missing a beat.

You thrill to God's Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom.

Psalm 24:4 (3-5) Psalm 9:9 Psalm 9:10 Psalm 34:5 Psalm 26:3 Psalm 1:2

God is the only King who can never be defeated.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921