Strengthen

O Lord, You have heard the desire and the longing of the humble and oppressed; You will prepare and strengthen and direct their hearts

My life dissolves and weeps itself away for heaviness; raise me up and strengthen me according to [the promises of] Your word

Strengthen the man you love, the son of your choice.

With whom My hand shall be established and ever abide; My arm also shall strengthen him.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Psalm 10:17 Psalm 119:28 Psalm 80:17 Psalm 89:21 Isaiah 41:10

Today’s burdens can strengthen you for tomorrow.

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Content(ment)

The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.

When God, your God, ushers you into the land he promised through your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you, you're going to walk into large, bustling cities you didn't build, well-furnished houses you didn't buy, come upon wells you didn't dig, vineyards and olive orchards you didn't plant. When you take it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don't forget how you got there—God brought you out of slavery in Egypt.

[Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment].

If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.

Proverbs 19:23 1 Timothy 6:6 Deuteronomy 6:10 Psalm 92:14 Job 36:11

Contentment is not getting what we want but being satisfied with what we have.

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Manage

Slice their lips off their faces! Pull The braggart tongues from their mouths! I'm tired of hearing, "We can talk anyone into anything! Our lips manage the world."

"I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but manage to find loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God's love. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required.

"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life

Psalm 12:3 Luke 11:42 Matthew 6:6 1 Timothy 6:17

Don’t let Satan manage the details of your life.

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Good

God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.

For God is my witness, Whom I serve with my [whole] spirit [rendering priestly and spiritual service] in [preaching] the Gospel and [telling] the good news of His Son

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes

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.

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.

Romans 1:2 Romans 1:9 Romans 1:16 Romans 1:18 Romans 1:17 Romans 7:4

“How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” Romans 10:15

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Serving

Once more you'll see the difference it makes between being a person who does the right thing and one who doesn't, between serving God and not serving him."

'You're my servant, serving on my side. I've picked you. I haven't dropped you.' Don't panic. I'm with you. There's no need to fear for I'm your God. I'll give you strength. I'll help you. I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.

Those serving as soldiers also asked him, And we, what shall we do? And he replied to them, Never demand or enforce by terrifying people or by accusing wrongfully, and always be satisfied with your rations (supplies) and with your allowance (wages).

"I can't do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, then I decide. You can trust my decision because I'm not out to get my own way but only to carry out orders. If I were simply speaking on my own account, it would be an empty, self-serving witness.

You know that from day one of my arrival in Asia I was with you totally—laying my life on the line, serving the Master no matter what… I didn't skimp or trim in any way. Every truth and encouragement that could have made a difference to you, you got. I taught you out in public and I taught you in your homes, urging Jews and Greeks alike to a radical life-change before God and an equally radical trust in our Master Jesus.

Malachi 3:17 Isaiah 41:8 Luke 3:14 John 5:30 Acts 20:17

In God’s eyes, true greatness is serving others.

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Affirm

For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

God-affirmers find themselves loved every time they turn around.

Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!...Let your servants see what you're best at— the ways you rule and bless your children. And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do. Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!

Affirm your promises to me— promises made to all who fear you. Deflect the harsh words of my critics— but what you say is always so good. See how hungry I am for your counsel; preserve my life through your righteous ways!

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

Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.

Romans 8:16 Psalm 32:10 Psalm 90:12 Psalm 119:33 Hebrews 10:23 2 Corinthians 1:20

To face life’s changes, look to the unchanging God.

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Questions

My question: What are God-worshipers like? Your answer: Arrows aimed at God's bull's-eye.

"Instead of claiming to know what God says, ask questions of one another, such as 'How do we understand God in this?' But don't go around pretending to know it all, saying 'God told me this...God told me that....' I don't want to hear it anymore. Only the person I authorize speaks for me. Otherwise, my Message gets twisted, the Message of the living God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

I've also concluded that whatever God does, that's the way it's going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God's done it and that's it. That's so we'll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.

This is what the Lord says—the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: “Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?

Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing… Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.

Psalm 25:12 Isaiah 45:11 Ecclesiastes 3:14 Jeremiah 23:35 Matthew 4:18

It’s the things on the inside - your heart, your thoughts, your attitudes – that really matters to Jesus.

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Supply

My God will liberally supply ( fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."

Don't worry about what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there; the Spirit of your Father will supply the words.

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

Philippians 4:19 2 Corinthians 8:14 Matthew 10:17 2 Corinthians 9:10 2 Peter 1:5

We always have enough when God is our supply

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Priority

(Make Insight Your Priority ] Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom; set your heart on a life of Understanding. That's right—if you make Insight your priority, and won't take no for an answer, Searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt, Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours; you'll have come upon the Knowledge of God.

"When you say, 'The altar of God is not important anymore; worship of God is no longer a priority,' that's defiling. And when you offer worthless animals for sacrifices in worship, animals that you're trying to get rid of—blind and sick and crippled animals—isn't that defiling? Try a trick like that with your banker or your senator—how far do you think it will get you?" God-of-the-Angel-Armies asks you.

Don't, by the way, read too much into the differences here between men and women. Neither man nor woman can go it alone or claim priority. Man was created first, as a beautiful shining reflection of God—that is true. But the head on a woman's body clearly outshines in beauty the head of her "head," her husband. The first woman came from man, true—but ever since then, every man comes from a woman! And since virtually everything comes from God anyway, let's quit going through these "who's first" routines.

John testified about Him and cried out, This was He of Whom I said, He Who comes after me has priority over me, for He was before me. [He takes rank above me, for He existed before I did. He has advanced before me, because He is my Chief.]

Proverbs 2:1 Malachi 1:7 1 Corinthians 11:10 John 1:15

We must adjust our lives to the bible – never the bible to our lives.

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Yield

"They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.

The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.

May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us.

The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.
My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.

Hosea 8:7 Isaiah 48:11 Ezekiel 34:27 Psalm 67:6 Psalm 85:12 Proverbs 8:19

With God on our side we are never outnumbered

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Under

"Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine.

Now when it was evening, after the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those under the power of demons, until the whole town was gathered together about the door.

And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

Matthew 23:4 Matthew 23:37 Mark 4:21 Mark 1:32 John 3:36

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. John 13:3

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Excuse

But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth…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.

They're trapped, those godless countries, in the very snares they set, Their feet all tangled in the net they spread. They have no excuse; the way God works is well-known. The cunning machinery made by the wicked has maimed their own hands.

Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.”For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.

‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’

No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.

Romans 1:18 Psalm 9:15 Proverbs 24:12 Numbers 14:18 Psalm 25:3

Jesus’ blood can cleanse any sin, but is powerless to forgive an excuse.

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Measured

"Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

"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. After he commanded the winds to blow and measured out the waters, Arranged for the rain and set off explosions of thunder and lightning, He focused on Wisdom, made sure it was all set and tested and ready. Then he addressed the human race: 'Here it is! Fear-of-the-Lord—that's Wisdom, and Insight means shunning evil.'"

Mark 4:24 Matthew 7:2 Luke 6:38 Luke 12:15 Job 28:23

The infinite God cannot be measured by finite man.

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Quick

God has set his throne in heaven; he rules over us all. He's the King! So bless God, you angels, ready and able to fly at his bidding, quick to hear and do what he says. Bless God, all you armies of angels, alert to respond to whatever he wills. Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are— everything and everyone made by God. And you, O my soul, bless God!

God, your name is eternal, God, you'll never be out-of-date. God stands up for his people, God holds the hands of his people. The gods of the godless nations are mere trinkets, made for quick sale in the markets: Chiseled mouths that can't talk, painted eyes that can't see, Carved ears that can't hear— dead wood! cold metal! Those who make and trust them become like them.

God is all mercy and grace— not quick to anger, is rich in love.

Cut to the quick, those who were there listening asked Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers! Brothers! So now what do we do?"

If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

Psalm 103:19 Psalm 135:13 Psalm 145:8 Acts 2:37 Romans 12:6

If you are discouraged, don’t give up your place, for God will sustain you by His matchless grace. - Hess

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Hold

But Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Yes—and if you embrace this kingdom life and don't doubt God, you'll not only do minor feats like I did to the fig tree, but also triumph over huge obstacles. This mountain, for instance, you'll tell, 'Go jump in the lake,' and it will jump. Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God."

There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can't imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books.

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

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!

With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.

Matthew 21:21 John 21:25 John 8:31 Romans 5:3 1 Corinthians 15:58

Hold tightly to what is eternal and loosely to what is temporal.

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Witness

The Lord has made bare His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations and all the ends of the earth shall witness the salvation of our God.

But I (Jesus) have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me.

He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.

[ Full of Self, but Soul-Empty ] And then God answered: "Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what's coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn't lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It's on its way. It will come right on time.

"When they bring you, betrayed, into court, don't worry about what you'll say. When the time comes, say what's on your heart—the Holy Spirit will make his witness in and through you.

"Staying with it—that's what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry, and you'll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.

Isaiah 52:10 John 5:36 John 1:7 Habakkuk 2:2 Mark 13:11 Matthew 24:13

The power of God’s Spirit gives power to our witness.

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Expect

Wasn’t he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest

"Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal?

Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?

I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ

Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don't expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn't shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I'm Christ's messenger; dead, I'm his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can't lose.

1 Corinthians 9:10 Luke 6:31 2 Corinthians 3:8 Philippians 1:20 Philippians 1:18

God’s love does not keep us from trials but sees us through them.

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Preserve

While we were in conference we were infiltrated by spies pretending to be Christians, who slipped in to find out just how free true Christians are. Their ulterior motive was to reduce us to their brand of servitude. We didn't give them the time of day. We were determined to preserve the truth of the Message for you.

Jesus said, "I did one miraculous thing a few months ago, and you're still standing around getting all upset, wondering what I'm up to. Moses prescribed circumcision—originally it came not from Moses but from his ancestors—and so you circumcise a man, dealing with one part of his body, even if it's the Sabbath. You do this in order to preserve one item in the Law of Moses. So why are you upset with me because I made a man's whole body well on the Sabbath? Don't be nitpickers; use your head—and heart!—to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right."

Therefore I implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

"Everyone's going through a refining fire sooner or later, but you'll be well-preserved, protected from the eternal flames. Be preservatives yourselves. Preserve the peace."

Galatians 2:1 John 7:21 Ephesians 4:3 (1-3) Mark 9:49

The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. (Ps 121:8)

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Rivers

Don't get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.

"I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want.

Jesus took his stand. He cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says." (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.)

He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.

James 1:16 Amos 5:21 John 7:37 John 7:38

Jesus removes our sin and rewards our service.

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Control

"'What you're secretly thinking is never going to happen. You're thinking, "We're going to be like everybody else, just like the other nations. We're going to worship gods we can make and control."

"When he comes, he'll expose the error of the godless world's view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He'll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted.

"The day is coming" —God's Decree— "When there will be no more war. None. …No more taking control of the world, worshiping what you do or make. I'll root out your sacred sex-and-power centers and destroy the God-defiant. In raging anger, I'll make a clean sweep of godless nations who haven't listened."

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, was there giving eyewitness accounts. It was because they had spread the word of this latest God-sign that the crowd swelled to a welcoming parade. The Pharisees took one look and threw up their hands: "It's out of control. The world's in a stampede after him."

Ezekiel 20:32 John 16:8 Micah 5:10 Romans 8:3 John 12:17

God is in control, so we have nothing to fear.

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