Celebrate

Rise up, O Lord, in all your power. With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts.

Let those on the hunt for you sing and celebrate. Let all who love your saving way say over and over, "God is mighty!"

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; celebrate his lovely name with music.

Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right.

God, you are my God. I celebrate you. I praise you. You've done your share of miracle-wonders, well-thought-out plans, solid and sure.

Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord and joyfully celebrate His mighty acts, for great is the glory of the Lord.

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!

Psalm 21:13 Psalm 70:4 Psalm 135:3 Proverbs 23:16 Isaiah 25:1 Psalm 138:5 Romans 15:7

A healthy heart beats with love for Jesus.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Seeing (and hearing)

'You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' / 10 This people's heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes

No doubt about it! God is good— good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people At the top, envying the wicked who have it made, Who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world.

The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The LORD has made both of them

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.

And blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is he who takes no offense at Me and finds no cause for stumbling in or through Me and is not hindered from seeing the Truth.

"But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing,

Isaiah 6:10 Psalm 73:1 Proverbs 20:12 Psalm 40:1 Matthew 11:6 Matthew 13:16

True faith needs no feelings to rest upon.

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Has done

Carmel,CA

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And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It's way over our heads. We'll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes.

Philippians 3:7 Philippians 3:3 Philippians 4:6 Ephesians 2:7 Romans 11:33

Once we’ve feasted on the goodness of God, nothing else will satisfy.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Mighty

Monterey, CA

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Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.

I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.

The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.

That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.


Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Romans 4:21 Philippians 3:10 Hebrews 1:3 Colossians 1:29 Ephesians 3:20 Ephesians 6:10

The power of Satan is no match for the power of Jesus!

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Greatness

Colorado

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Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship, praise him under the open skies; Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness;

Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; and His greatness is [so vast and deep as to be] unsearchable.

Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever and ever, praising your greatness from generation to generation.

Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.

However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.

Psalm 150:1 Psalm 145:3 Psalm 79:13 Psalm 34:3 Psalm 105:1 2 Corinthians 4:7

Our troubles seem smaller when we ponder the greatness of God.

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Follow

Steamboat Springs

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.

Hold fast and follow the pattern of wholesome and sound teaching which you have heard from me, in [all] the faith and love which are [for us] in Christ Jesus.

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.

So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.

Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.

[ Act on What You Hear ] Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God's righteousness doesn't grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.

Colossians 2:6 2 Timothy 1:13 2 Timothy 4:3 Hebrews 13:9 Hebrews 13:7 James 1:19

God’s truth is the best protection against Satan’s lies.

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Enjoyment

Seal Beach,CA

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David said to Michal… I will make merry [in pure enjoyment] before the Lord.

For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

I say these things while I am still in the world, so that My joy may be made full and complete and perfect in them [that they may experience My delight fulfilled in them, that My enjoyment may be perfected in their own souls, that they may have My gladness within them, filling their hearts].

Hallelujah! I give thanks to God with everything I've got— Wherever good people gather, and in the congregation. God's works are so great, worth A lifetime of study—endless enjoyment! Splendor and beauty mark his craft; His generosity never gives out. His miracles are his memorial— This God of Grace, this God of Love.

2 Samuel 6:21 Ecclesiastes 2:25 1 Timothy 6:17 John 17:13 Psalm 111:1

Love enables us to walk fearlessly, to run confidently, and to live victoriously.

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Wait

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.

Use all your skill to put me together; I wait to see your finished product.

Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Those who wait and hope and look for the Lord [in the end] shall inherit the earth.

Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land;

Psalm 5:3 Psalm 25:5 Psalm 25:21 Psalm 25:3 Psalm 27:14 Psalm 37:9 Psalm 37:34

“Seed, TIME and harvest” – It is the ‘TIME factor” that challenges our trust!

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Everything

Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

You gave them charge of everything you made ,putting all things under their authority—

Don't suppress the Spirit, and don't stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don't be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what's good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it!

And whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in [dependence upon] His Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him.

Colossians 2:8 Psalm 8:6 1 Thessalonians 5:19 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Colossians 3:17

Wisdom is seeing God’s hand in all circumstances.

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Keep on

Silverton to Durango

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If you find life difficult because you're doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he's doing, and he'll keep on doing it.

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do.

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

What I'm getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you've done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I'm separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

I can't impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder. Christ himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open with his rule, so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don't ever quit. Just keep it simple.

1 Peter 4:17 Romans 12:12 John 15:14 Philippians 1:9 Philippians 2:12 2 Timothy 4:1

To the wise, God’s Word is sufficient.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Image

Cadre Mtn

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With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him?

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation

He (Jesus) is the sole expression of the glory of God and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God's] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power

Put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.

You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Isaiah 40:18 Colossians 1:15 Hebrews 1:3 Ephesians 4:24 Colossians 3:10 2 Corinthians 3:18

The Spirit develops in us the clear image of Christ.

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Understanding

Regina

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Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

My mouth shall speak wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

I have better understanding and deeper insight than all my teachers, because Your testimonies are my meditation.

The entrance and unfolding of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple

I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding.

Psalm 119:34 Psalm 111:10 Psalm 49:3 Psalm 119:99 Psalm 119:130 Psalm 119:32

Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life. (Prov.19:20)

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God.

Agree

Granada

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[Cultivating Good Relationships] Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.

Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be what is already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted in heaven. Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize together, make a symphony together) about whatever [anything and everything] they may ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven.

Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact.

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends.

Romans 14:1 Matthew 18:19 John 8:17 1 Corinthians 1:10 Philippians 2:1

All we’ve seen of God’s provision teaches us to trust Him for what is unseen.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Support

Fish Creek Falls

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"For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.

Do not be afraid. I will provide for and support you and your little ones. And he comforted them [imparting cheer, hope, strength] and spoke to their hearts [kindly].

They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.

Do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.

Your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

So that your trust (belief, reliance, support, and confidence) may be in the Lord, I have made known these things to you today.

2 Chronicles 16:9 Genesis 50:21 2 Samuel 22:19 Romans 11:18 Psalm 139:10 Proverbs 22:19

A true friend is like support to a leaning wall.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

limit

Bless our God, O peoples! Give him a thunderous welcome! Didn't he set us on the road to life? Didn't he keep us out of the ditch? He trained us first, passed us like silver through refining fires, Brought us into hardscrabble country, pushed us to our very limit, Road-tested us inside and out, took us to hell and back; Finally he brought us to this well-watered place.

To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

Were you present to hear the secret counsel of God? And do you limit [the possession of] wisdom to yourself?

All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

"Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may the LORD be with you."

Psalm 66:8 Psalm 119:96 Psalm 147:5 Job 15:8 1 Corinthians 10:13 1 Chronicles 22:16

The trials that imprison you need not limit God’s work in and through you.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Sunset

Colorado Springs

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That's how God's Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset, Melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith

They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.

That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door,

God makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet…. God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he's rich in love. He doesn't endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins. As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear him. He knows us inside and out.

Psalm 19:6 Psalm 65:8 Mark 1:32 Psalm 103:6

Sunset in one part of the world is sunrise on another.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Whatever

(B)uild me up again by your Word. Barricade the road that goes Nowhere; grace me with your clear revelation. I choose the true road to Somewhere, I post your road signs at every curve and corner. I grasp and cling to whatever you tell me; God, don't let me down! I'll run the course you lay out for me if you'll just show me how.

Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good.

He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

Open up before God, keep nothing back; he'll do whatever needs to be done: He'll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon.

They are like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.

Psalm 119:25 Proverbs 16:2 Psalm 33:5 Proverbs 16:3 Psalm 37:5 Psalm 1:3

Whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, praiseworthy: meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:1-9)

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Enables

The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.

It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

But He said to me, My grace is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness.

You know the Father from personal experience… God's word is so steady in you. Your fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Habakkuk 3:19 2 Corinthians 1:21 2 Corinthians 12:9 1 John 2:13 Philippians 3:21

The Spirit of God enables us to obey the Word of God

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Changing

Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude].

"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."

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

I write this to you whose experience with God is as life-changing as ours, all due to our God's straight dealing and the intervention of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master.

This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

Revelation 3:19 Matthew 3:11 Romans 12:2 2 Peter 1:1 Colossians 1:6

If you want life-changing mail, open your Bible and read a letter from God.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Majesty

Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the skies.

The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.

In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.

Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary

The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails.

Psalm 68:34 Psalm 93:1 Psalm 45:4 Psalm 96:6 Psalm 29:4 Psalm 111:3

In the wonders of creation we see God at work.

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Worthy

Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.

The saying is sure and true and worthy of full and universal acceptance, that Christ Jesus (the Messiah) came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.

We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.

Revelation 5:12 Revelation 4:11 Hebrews 3:3 1 Timothy 1:15 1 Thessalonians 2:12 2 Thessalonians 1:11

God owes us nothing but gives us everything.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God.