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God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God,
whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
Believe me, friends, all I want for Israel is what's best for Israel: salvation, nothing less. I want it with all my heart and pray to God for it all the time.
Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen,… By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.
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 1:9 Romans 8:26 Romans 10:1 Romans 12:11 2 Corinthians 1:20 Romans 15:13
To influence leaders for God, intercede (pray) with God for leaders.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.
Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repent ( to change your mind and inner man to accept God's will)?
For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.]
[ Concerning Change of Status ] Nevertheless, each of you should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to you, just as God has called you.
He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
Romans 2:3 Romans 2:4 Romans 11:29 1 Corinthians 7:17 Philippians 3:21
Earth changes, politics change, but God and His Word stand sure!
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.
Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?
"When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence, and the humble person He will save.
What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You.
Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower).
Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord.
2 Chronicles 32:8 Job 4:6 Job 22:29 Psalm 56:3 Psalm 62:8 Psalm 40:4
Don’t let self-confidence replace your trust in God.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
(HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather
.
O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways
So now you can pick out what's true and fair, find all the good trails! Lady Wisdom will be your close friend, and Brother Knowledge your pleasant companion. Good Sense will scout ahead for danger, Insight will keep an eye out for you. They'll keep you from making wrong turns, or following the bad directions Of those who are lost themselves and can't tell a trail from a tumbleweed
My steps have stayed on your path; I have not wavered from following you.
I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
Psalm 1:1 Proverbs 23:26 Proverbs 2:9 Psalm 17:5 Psalm 119:14 Ephesians 5:2
Following Jesus costs more than anything - except not following Him.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
[God] is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
Teach me good judgment, wise and right discernment, and knowledge, for I have believed (trusted, relied on, and clung to) Your commandments.
Receive instruction in wise dealing and the discipline of wise thoughtfulness, righteousness, justice, and integrity
Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.
Job 9:4 Psalm 19:7 Psalm 119:66 Proverbs 1:3 Proverbs 2:11 Proverbs 11:30
God’s answers are often wiser than out prayers.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
Righteousness goes as a herald before him, preparing the way for his steps.
"From out of David's descendants God produced a Savior for Israel, Jesus, exactly as he promised—but only after John had thoroughly alerted the people to his arrival by preparing them for a total life-change.
The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!
Now He Who has fashioned us [preparing and making us fit] for this very thing is God, Who also has given us the [Holy] Spirit as a guarantee [of the fulfillment of His promise].
Sing to God a thanksgiving hymn, play music on your instruments to God, Who fills the sky with clouds, preparing rain for the earth, Then turning the mountains green with grass, feeding both cattle and crows. He's not impressed with horsepower; the size of our muscles means little to him. Those who fear God get God's attention; they can depend on his strength.
Psalm 85:13 Acts 13:23 1 Peter 1:10 2 Corinthians 5:5 Psalm 147:7
Jesus is preparing a place for us and preparing us for that place.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
And He did not do many works of power there, because of their unbelief (their lack of faith in the divine mission of Jesus).
If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.' "
He said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith [that is, your lack of firmly relying trust].
"Because you're not yet taking God seriously," said Jesus. "The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, 'Move!' and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle."
Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.”
The righteous will live by his faith
Matthew 13:58 Isaiah 7:9 Matthew 17:20 Matthew 17:20 Matthew 9:29 Habakkuk 2:4
Faith in Christ enables us to live above our circumstances, not under them!
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
Surely His salvation is near to those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, [and is ready to be appropriated] that [the manifest presence of God, His] glory may tabernacle and abide in our land.
God raised Him to life on the third day and caused Him to be manifest (to be plainly seen)
The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].
I will manifest My holiness among you in the sight of the nations [who will seek Me because of My power displayed in you].
The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]
For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
Psalm 85:9 Acts 10:40 1 John 3:8 Ezekiel 20:41 John 14:21 2 Corinthians 4:6
Commitment to Christ goes hand in hand with commitment to His mission.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out
What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
Wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it. ”
Follow the way of love
Matthew 4:19 Luke 6:22 John 8:12 Romans 8:4 Luke 7:35 1 Corinthians 14:1
Untold millions are perishing – untold.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
I will bless the Lord, Who has given me counsel; yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons
In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].
You have put more joy and rejoicing in my heart than [they know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly.
My words shall express the uprightness of my heart, and my lips shall speak what they know with utter sincerity.
When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I'm alert to God's ways; I don't take God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
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 16:7 Psalm 5:3 Psalm 4:7 Job 33:3 Psalm 18:20 Psalm 13:5
Morning prayer leads to evening praise.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees?
I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear, but now my [spiritual] eye sees You.
"God alone knows the way to Wisdom, he knows the exact place to find it. He knows where everything is on earth, he sees everything under heaven.
“For God watches how people live; he sees everything they do.
the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
He prays to God, and He is favorable to him, so that he sees His face with joy; for [God] restores to him his righteousness (his uprightness and right standing with God--with its joys).
Job 10:4 Job 42:5 Job 28:23 Job 34:21 John 14:17 Job 33:26
Faith sees what the eyes cannot.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.
The humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops.
May there be abundant grain throughout the land, flourishing even on the hilltops. May the fruit trees flourish like the trees of Lebanon, and may the people thrive like grass in a field.
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in loving kindness to all who call upon You.
The Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.
Psalm 4:7 Psalm 37:11 Psalm 65:10 Psalm 72:16 Psalm 86:5 Lamentations 3:23
Because God cares for us, we can care for others
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name
Let it be known and understood by all of you, and by the whole house of Israel, that in the name and through the power and authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, [but] Whom God raised from the dead, in Him and by means of Him this man is standing here before you well and sound in body.
God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority
You gave them (God’s children v.14) authority over all things.” Now when it says “all things,” it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all things put under their authority.
Matthew 9:6 John 1:12 Acts 4:10 Ephesians 1:22 Colossians 2:10 Hebrews 2:8
Satan is powerless against the power of Christ’s authority.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
THE EARTH is the Lord's, and the fullness of it, the world and they who dwell in it.
O God, awe-inspiring, profoundly impressive, and terrible are You out of Your holy places; the God of Israel Himself gives strength and fullness of might to His people. Blessed be God!
For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.
His body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
With both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
Psalm 16:11 Psalm 24:1 Psalm 68:35 John 1:16 Ephesians 1:23 Ephesians 3:14
The Creator hides secrets from sages, yet He can be known by children.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger].
For even the Son of Man came not to have service rendered to Him, but to serve
[ The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service ] Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
"Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning
After the usual readings from the books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.”
When the service was over, Paul and Barnabas were invited back to preach again the next Sabbath. As the meeting broke up, a good many Jews and converts to Judaism went along with Paul and Barnabas, who urged them in long conversations to stick with what they'd started, this living in and by God's grace.
John 6:29 Mark 10:45 Matthew 10:1 Luke 12:35 Acts 13:15 Acts 13:42
Once you’ve tasted the Bread of Life, you’ll want to share it.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God.
Blessed be your glorious name, exalted above all blessing and praise! You're the one, God, you alone; You made the heavens, the heavens of heavens, and all angels; The earth and everything on it, the seas and everything in them; You keep them all alive; heaven's angels worship you!
He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.
The Lord protects them and keeps them alive. He gives them prosperity in the land and rescues them from their enemies.
I'm striding in the presence of God, alive in the land of the living! I stayed faithful, though bedeviled, and despite a ton of bad luck, Despite giving up on the human race, saying, "They're all liars and cheats."
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… Because God will be right there with you; he'll keep you safe and sound.
I know that God lives—the One who gives me back my life— and eventually he'll take his stand on earth. And I'll see him … see God myself, with my very own eyes. Oh, how I long for that day!
Nehemiah 9:5 Psalm 33:19 Psalm 41:2 Psalm 116:9 Proverbs 3:21 Job 19:23
When you know Christ, you want others to know Him too.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!
Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon.
Salt is good (beneficial), but if salt has lost its saltiness, how will you restore [the saltiness to] it? Have salt within yourselves, and be at peace and live in harmony with one another.
All the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met.
Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks.
And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
Psalm 133:1 Psalm 133:3 Mark 9:50 Acts 2:43 Romans 12:16 Romans 8:27
Our greatest privilege is to enjoy Christ’s presence.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
Ezra had prepared and set his heart to seek the Law of the Lord [to inquire for it and of it, to require and yearn for it
Then I proclaimed a fast …that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a straight and right way for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.
" The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him."
If you will seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your prosperous state.
Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
Ezra 7:10 Ezra 8:21 Ezra 8:22 Job 8:5 Psalm 9:10 Psalm 22:26
For the right spiritual focus, fix your eyes on the Lord.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
The Alhambra, Spain.
Don't let them hide behind this smooth-talking Tertullus. The only thing they have on me is that one sentence I shouted out in the council: 'It's because I believe in the resurrection that I've been hauled into this court!' Does that sound to you like grounds for a criminal case?"
I'll be completely frank with you—we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole.
The God who made the world and everything in it…He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him!
"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing—you're at least decent to your own children. And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?"
You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!
Acts 24:20 Acts 4:8 Acts 17:24 Luke 11:10 Matthew 5:14
Christ’s empty tomb fills us with hope.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name
O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on, and am confident in You.
Then shall I have an answer for those who taunt and reproach me, for I lean on, rely on, and trust in Your word.
Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.
Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.
Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding
Psalm 86:11 Psalm 25:2 Psalm 119:42 Psalm 37:5 Psalm 37:3 Proverbs 3:5
Our greatest weakness may be our failure to rely on God’s strength.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
God was furious with Solomon for abandoning the God of Israel, the God who had twice appeared to him and had so clearly commanded him not to fool around with other gods. Solomon faithlessly disobeyed God's orders.
Asa's son Jehoshaphat was the next king…God was on Jehoshaphat's side because he stuck to the ways of his father Asa's early years. He didn't fool around with the popular Baal religion—he was a seeker and follower of the God of his father and was obedient to him;
He told her, "You're talking like an empty-headed fool. We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?" Not once through all this did Job sin. He said nothing against God.
Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.
The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.”
1 Kings 11:9 2 Chronicles 17:1 Job 2:10 Job 5:2 Psalm 14:1 2 Chronicles 16:9
God’s truth is the best protection against Satan’s lies.
LIFEgroups – together experiencing God
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