Power

Monterey,CA

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For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

Now may the God Who gives the power of patient endurance (steadfastness) and Who supplies encouragement, grant you to live in such mutual harmony and such full sympathy with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,

[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.

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,

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 11:36 Ephesians 1:19 Romans 15:5 Philippians 2:13 Colossians 1:11 Romans 15:13

Think less of the power of things over you and more of the power of Christ in you.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Trust

Alaska

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[ Faith in What We Don't See ] The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere.


In order that you may not grow disinterested and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do those who through faith (by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness ) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises.

I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.

So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!

Hebrews 11:1 1 Timothy 6:17 Titus 3:8 Hebrews 6:12 2 Timothy 1:12 Hebrews 10:35

For the Christian, testing cannot be separated from trusting.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Future

Seal Beach,CA

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My future is in your hands.

Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.

For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

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 our Lord.

I don't want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.

Psalm 31:15 Psalm 37:37 Psalm 84:11 Romans 8:23 Romans 8:38 1 Corinthians 3:21

Our unknown future is secure in the hands of our all-knowing God.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Recognize

Seal Beach, CA

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This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God

O nations of the world, recognize the Lord; recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.

I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.

Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

[ Lady Wisdom Calls Out ] 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.

In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

And we [have seen and] know [positively] that the Son of God has [actually] come to this world and has given us understanding and insight [progressively] to perceive (recognize) and come to know better and more clearly Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true--in His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah). This [Man] is the true God and Life eternal.

1 John 4:2 Psalm 96:7 Jeremiah 24:7 Psalm 100:3 Proverbs 8:1 Proverbs 3:6 1 John 5:20

The wise will recognize their limitations and God’s unlimited power.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Wonder

Jeanette & Xavior

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Blessed God, Israel's God, the one and only wonder-working God! Blessed always his blazing glory! All earth brims with his glory. Yes and Yes and Yes.

They all shook their heads in wonder, astonished at God's greatness, God's majestic greatness.

Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”

The Father dearly loves the Son and discloses to (shows) Him everything that He Himself does. And He will disclose to Him (let Him see) greater things yet than these, so that you may marvel and be full of wonder and astonishment.

If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don't get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room."

Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to,

No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises!

Psalm 72:18 Luke 9:42 Luke 5:26 John 5:20 Luke 11:33 1 Timothy 6:11 Acts 2:26

A wonder-filled life is yours when you know (experience) the Christ of Christmas.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Announce

Naples, CA

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What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks, to sing an anthem to you, the High God! To announce your love each daybreak, sing your faithful presence all through the night, Accompanied by dulcimer and harp, the full-bodied music of strings.

The heavens announce that he'll set everything right, and everyone will see it happen—glorious!

See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."

Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

[ An Event for Everyone ] There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."

The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],

And He sent them (us) out to announce and preach the kingdom of God and to bring healing.

Psalm 92:1 Psalm 97:6 Isaiah 42:9 Matthew 10:7 Luke 2:8 Luke 4:18 Luke 9:2

Christ was born here below that we might be born from above.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Joy

Seal Beach Santa

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Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what's given and delighting in the work. It's God's gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now.

I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don't complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple —in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things—your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.
A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart, and good news makes you feel fit as a fiddle.

God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.

"This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I've revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he'll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!

So reach out and welcome one another to God's glory. Jesus did it; now you do it! … Just think of all the Scriptures that will come true in what we do! For instance: Then I'll join outsiders in a hymn-sing; I'll sing to your name! And this one: Outsiders and insiders, rejoice together! And again: People of all nations, celebrate God! All colors and races, give hearty praise! And Isaiah's word: There's the root of our ancestor Jesse, breaking through the earth and growing tree tall, Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope! Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!

Ecclesiastes 5:18 1 Corinthians 7:29 Proverbs 15:30 Romans 14:17 John 16:23 Romans 15:7

Joy thrives in the soil of praise.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Welcome

Naples,CA

… in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls.

Do you suppose that the Scripture is speaking to no purpose that says, The Spirit Whom He has caused to dwell in us yearns over us and He yearns for the Spirit [to be welcome] with a jealous love?

It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense of urgency [stand by, be at hand and ready], whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.

[ What Are You Afraid of—or Who? ] "I, I'm the One comforting you. What are you afraid of—or who? Some man or woman who'll soon be dead? Some poor wretch destined for dust? You've forgotten me, God, who made you, who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth. And here you are, quaking like an aspen before the tantrums of a tyrant who thinks he can kick down the world. But what will come of the tantrums? The victims will be released before you know it. They're not going to die. They're not even going to go hungry. For I am God, your very own God, who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves, named God-of-the-Angel-Armies. I teach you how to talk, word by word, and personally watch over you, Even while I'm unfurling the skies, setting earth on solid foundations, and greeting Zion: 'Welcome, my people!'"

James 1:21 James 4:5 Hebrews 11:31 2 Timothy 4:2 Isaiah 51:12

We can trust our all-knowing God for the unknown future.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Presence

Naples,CA

.

A hostile world! I call to God, I cry to God to help me. From his palace he hears my call; my cry brings me right into his presence— a private audience!

You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God’s presence. Let them be filled with joy.

You're all I want in heaven! You're all I want on earth! When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, God is rock-firm and faithful. Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they'll never be heard from again. But I'm in the very presence of God— oh, how refreshing it is! I've made Lord God my home. God, I'm telling the world what you do!

Psalm 18:6 Psalm 27:8 Psalm 16:11 Psalm 23:5 Psalm 68:3 Psalm 73:25

Where there’s hope, there’s happiness.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Motive

Naples,CA

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For our appeal [in preaching] does not [originate] from delusion or error or impure purpose or motive, nor in fraud or deceit. But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the glad tidings (the Gospel), so we speak not to please men but to please God, Who tests our hearts [expecting them to be approved].

The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.

A bad motive can't achieve a good end; double-talk brings you double trouble.

Show your own self in all respects to be a pattern and a model of good deeds and works, teaching what is unadulterated, showing gravity [having the strictest regard for truth and purity of motive], with dignity and seriousness.

For we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [his pay] according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved, been busy with, and given himself and his attention to accomplishing].

We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!

1 Thessalonians 2:3 Proverbs 20:27 Proverbs 17:20 Titus 2:7 2 Corinthians 5:10 1 John 1:3

Our desire to please God is our highest motive for obeying God.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Sand

Boca Chica, CA

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He rained down meat as thick as dust—birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore!

Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it.


How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! God, I'll never comprehend them! I couldn't even begin to count them— any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!

No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.

And now, the Master, God, sends me and his Spirit with this Message from God, your Redeemer, The Holy of Israel: "I am God, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well. I show you what to do, where to go. If you had listened all along to what I told you, your life would have flowed full like a river, blessings rolling in like waves from the sea. Children and grandchildren are like sand, your progeny like grains of sand. There would be no end of them, no danger of losing touch with me."

Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? … Hosea put it well: I'll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I'll call the unloved and make them beloved. In the place where they yelled out, "You're nobody!" they're calling you "God's living children." Isaiah maintained this same emphasis: If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered and the sum labeled "chosen of God," They'd be numbers still, not names; salvation comes by personal selection. God doesn't count us; he calls us by name.

Psalm 78:27 Jeremiah 5:22 Psalm 139:17 Isaiah 40:15 Isaiah 48:16 Romans 9:20

The wise will recognize their limitations and God’s unlimited power.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Performs

Light breaks forth...

.

Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people!

I will cry to God Most High, Who performs on my behalf and rewards me [Who brings to pass His purposes for me and surely completes them]!

King Darius published this proclamation to every race, color, and creed on earth: Peace to you! Abundant peace! I decree that Daniel's God shall be worshiped and feared in all parts of my kingdom. He is the living God, world without end. His kingdom never falls. His rule continues eternally. He is a savior and rescuer. He performs astonishing miracles in heaven and on earth. He saved Daniel from the power of the lions.

Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man (Jesus) certainly performs many miraculous signs.

“Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me.

For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.

Psalm 66:5 Psalm 57:2 Daniel 6:25 John 11:47 Mark 9:39 1 Thessalonians 2:13

God always performs what He promises.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Open

Front range, Pike's Peak

.

God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word. We can't get away from it—no matter what.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

When God, who is the best shepherd of all, comes out in the open with his rule, he'll see that you've done it right and commend you lavishly. And you who are younger must follow your leaders. But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other, for— God has had it with the proud, But takes delight in just plain people.

So, friends, confirm God's invitation to you, his choice of you. Don't put it off; do it now. Do this, and you'll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God's love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life

[ Live Deeply in Christ ] And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we'll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.

Hebrews 4:12 James 1:2 1 Peter 5:4 2 Peter 1:10 Jude 1:20 1 John 2:28

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

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Trusted

Thelma's rose

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We know You were there for our parents: they cried for Your help and you gave it; they trusted and lived a good life.

For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him).

This message is most trustworthy, and concerning these things I want you to insist steadfastly, so that those who have believed in (trusted in, relied on) God may be careful to apply themselves to honorable occupations and to doing good, for such things are [not only] excellent and right [in themselves], but [they are] good and profitable for the people.

I am not ashamed, for I know Him Whom I have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on), and I am [positively] persuaded that He is able to guard and keep that which has been entrusted to me and which I have committed [to Him] until that day.

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

I have trusted, leaned on, and been confident in Your mercy and loving-kindness; my heart shall rejoice and be in high spirits in Your salvation.

Psalm 22:3 1 Corinthians 1:21 Titus 3:8 2 Timothy 1:12 Hebrews 10:23 Psalm 13:5

Our greatest security is found in the eternal love of our eternal God.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Activity

Naples,CA'07

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Too much activity gives you restless dreams;

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.

Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.

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.

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a branch or shoot of an almond tree [the emblem of alertness and activity, blossoming in late winter].

Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand

Ecclesiastes 5:3 Ecclesiastes 3:1 Ecclesiastes 11:6 Ecclesiastes 11:5 Jeremiah 1:11 2 Corinthians 10:15

To get the most out of life, make every moment count for Christ.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Unknown

You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them? "From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.


By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God's call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God.


For this is required by the decrees of Israel; it is a regulation of the God of Jacob. He made it a law for Israelwhen he attacked Egypt to set us free. I heard an unknown voice say, “Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.

[ The Day and Hour Unknown ] "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ's body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him).

Isaiah 48:6 Hebrews 11:8 Psalm 81:5 Mark 13:32 1 Peter 4:9

The best way to know, to experience, God’s will is to say “I will” to God.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Complete

Naples,CA '07

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There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection].

He went once for all into the [Holy of] Holies [of heaven], not by virtue of the blood of goats and calves [by which to make reconciliation between God and man], but His own blood, having found and secured a complete redemption (an everlasting release for us).

And, beloved, if our consciences (our hearts) do not accuse us [if they do not make us feel guilty and condemn us], we have confidence (complete assurance and boldness) before God.

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything

Him we preach and proclaim, warning and admonishing everyone and instructing everyone in all wisdom ( comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God), that we may present every person mature (full-grown, fully initiated, complete, and perfect) in Christ

But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.

Now may the God of peace ..Strengthen (complete, perfect) and make you what you ought to be and equip you with everything good that you may carry out His will; [while He Himself] works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to Whom be the glory forever and ever.

1 John 4:18 Hebrews 9:12 1 John 3:21 James 1:4 Colossians 1:28 1 John 2:5 ,6 Hebrews 13:21

No one is more secure than those who are in God’s hands.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921

Fit

Naples,CA'07

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

Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

For God's Word is solid to the core; everything he makes is sound inside and out. He loves it when everything fits, when his world is in plumb-line true. Earth is drenched in God's affectionate satisfaction.

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.

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.

Proverbs 15:30 Psalm 33:1 Psalm 33:4 Romans 4:19 Romans 5:1 Proverbs 3:21

The human spirit soars with hope when lifted by an encouraging word.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Glenn – 368 Mission Hill Way, Colorado Springs CO 80921