Together

That famous promise God gave Abraham—that he and his children would possess the earth—was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed.

But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way!

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

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.

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.

Romans 4:13 Romans 6:22 Romans 8:28 Romans 14:17 Romans 5:1

To do the work of God, we must trust God to work through us.

LIFEgroups – together experiencing God

Zeal

"Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven…

It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.

My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore your words.

Though Your hand is lifted high to strike, Lord, they do not see it. Let them see Your zeal for Your people and be ashamed;

And His disciples remembered that it is written, Zeal (the fervor of love) for Your house will eat Me up.

Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.

Ezra 7:23 Proverbs 19:2 Psalm 119:139 Isaiah 26:11 John 2:17 Romans 12:11

Godly zeal is love on fire.

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God is

"The land we walked through and scouted out is a very good land—very good indeed. If God is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land that flows, as they say, with milk and honey. And he'll give it to us. Just don't rebel against God! And don't be afraid of those people. Why, we'll have them for lunch! They have no protection and God is on our side. Don't be afraid of them!"

The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, "God is in this place—truly. And I didn't even know it!" He was terrified. He whispered in awe, "Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God's House. This is the Gate of Heaven."

Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, God is with you in everything you do.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to God, giving voice together, I'm singing my heart out to God—what a victory! He pitched horse and rider into the sea. God is my strength, God is my song, and, yes! God is my salvation. This is the kind of God I have and I'm telling the world! This is the God of my father— I'm spreading the news far and wide! God is a fighter, pure God, through and through.

Numbers 14:6 Deuteronomy 1:30 Numbers 23:19 Genesis 28:16 Genesis 21:22 Exodus 15:1

The Bible tells us all we need to know so we can do all God wants us to do.

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Almost

This time the dove returned to him in the evening with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. Then Noah knew that the floodwaters were almost gone.

When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, "You're almost there, right on the border of God's kingdom."

NOW IN the first year of Cyrus king of Persia [almost seventy years after the first Jewish captives were taken to Babylon], that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might begin to be accomplished,

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.

Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers and manned by experienced crews of sailors. These ships sailed to Ophir with Solomon’s men and brought back to Solomon almost seventeen tons of gold.

The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord.

Genesis 8:11 Mark 12:34 Ezra 1:1 Philippians 4:12 2 Chronicles 8:18 Acts 13:44

Correction does much, but encouragement does more.

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Cloud

The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words:“He is good! His faithful love endures forever!”At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord.

By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take.

You in your amazing compassion didn't walk off and leave them in the desert. The Pillar of Cloud didn't leave them; daily it continued to show them their route; The Pillar of Fire did the same by night, showed them the right way to go.

Up with God! Down with his enemies! Adversaries, run for the hills! Gone like a puff of smoke, like a blob of wax in the fire— one look at God and the wicked vanish. When the righteous see God in action they'll laugh, they'll sing, they'll laugh and sing for joy. Sing hymns to God; all heaven, sing out; clear the way for the coming of Cloud-Rider. Enjoy God, cheer when you see him!

I'm thanking you, God, out loud in the streets, singing your praises in town and country. The deeper your love, the higher it goes; every cloud is a flag to your faithfulness.

2 Chronicles 5:13 Nehemiah 9:12 Nehemiah 9:16 Psalm 68:1 Psalm 57:9

Because God gives us everything, we own Him all our praise.

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Vision

He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God prospered him.

What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision..?

"In a dream, for instance, a vision at night, when men and women are deep in sleep, fast asleep in their beds— God opens their ears and impresses them with warnings To turn them back from something bad they're planning, from some reckless choice, And keep them from an early grave, from the river of no return.

I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent.

Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]--blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he.

2 Chronicles 26:5 Job 15:12 Job 33:15 Acts 22:18 Acts 18:9 Proverbs 29:18

Through prayer, finite man draws upon the power of the infinite God.

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Secure

O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.

Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure.

But the salvation of the [consistently] righteous is of the Lord; He is their Refuge and secure Stronghold in the time of trouble

For David says in regard to Him, I saw the Lord constantly before me, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken or overthrown or cast down [from my secure and happy state].

Those who fear the Lord are secure;

Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever.

Psalm 7:9 Psalm 23:4 Psalm 37:39 Acts 2:25 Proverbs 14:26 Psalm 125:1

Those who wait upon the Lord will never be disappointed.

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Power

May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.

But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) 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. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me

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.

Ephesians 3:16 Ephesians 1:19 2 Corinthians 12:9 Ephesians 3:20 Ephesians 6:10

The power of Christ within you is greater than the power of evil around you.

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Points

[ No One Knows the Day or Hour ] "If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, 'Here's the Messiah!' or points, 'There he is!' don't fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. So watch out. I've given you fair warning.

14 I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters,[a] that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them. 15 Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace, 16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.

[ The Death-Dealing Sin, the Life-Giving Gift ] You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we're in— first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn't sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.

The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It's written, I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head… Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.

Mark 13:21 Romans 15:15 Romans 5:12 1 Corinthians 1:18

We who know the joy of salvation should not keep it to ourselves.

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Tell

Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.

Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”

But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way!

Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ's Word is preached, there's nothing to listen to. And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

Romans 2:15 Romans 1:5 Romans 4:3 Romans 10:11 Romans 6:22 Romans 10:15

Don’t be shy; tell the stories of God’s greatness.

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Pure

God's words are pure words, Pure silver words refined seven times In the fires of his word-kiln, Pure on earth as well as in heaven. God, keep us safe from their lies, From the wicked who stalk us with lies, From the wicked who collect honors for their wonderful lies.

People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure and bright, enlightening the eyes.

Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.

Who can climb Mount God? Who can scale the holy north-face? Only the clean-handed, only the pure-hearted; Men who won't cheat, women who won't seduce.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 12:6 Proverbs 16:2 Psalm 19:8 Psalm 19:9 Psalm 24:3 Psalm 51:10

Focusing on Christ puts everything in perspective.

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Stand

He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you.

You will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you.

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.

He makes my feet like hinds' feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places.

In his unfailing love, my God will stand with me. He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.

Shout Bravo! to God, families of the peoples, in awe of the Glory, in awe of the Strength: Bravo! Shout Bravo! to his famous Name, lift high an offering and enter his presence! Stand resplendent in his robes of holiness.

2 Chronicles 20:6 2 Chronicles 20:17 1 Corinthians 15:58 Psalm 18:33 Psalm 59:10 1 Chronicles 16:28

Christians stand strong when they stand together.

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Integrity (NT)

As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

That's when the Pharisees plotted a way to trap him into saying something damaging. They sent their disciples, with a few of Herod's followers mixed in, to ask, "Teacher, we know you have integrity, teach the way of God accurately, are indifferent to popular opinion, and don't pander to your students. So tell us honestly: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our…endurance (fortitude) (that) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God.

Get the word out. Teach all these things. And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity.

You have loved righteousness [You have delighted in integrity, virtue, and uprightness in purpose, thought, and action] and You have hated lawlessness (injustice and iniquity). Therefore God, [even] Your God ( Godhead), has anointed You with the oil of exultant joy and gladness.

John 1:47 Matthew 22:15 Romans 5:4 Ephesians 6:14 1 Timothy 4:11 Hebrews 1:9

One good reason for doing the right thing today is tomorrow.

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Integrity

Fear the Lord and judge with integrity, for the Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking of bribes.”

I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there.

Love and truth form a good leader; sound leadership is founded on loving integrity.

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

God can't stand deceivers, but oh how he relishes integrity.

So—join the company of good men and women, keep your feet on the tried-and-true paths. It's the men who walk straight who will settle this land, the women with integrity who will last here.

2 Chronicles 19:7 1 Chronicles 29:17 Proverbs 20:28 Proverbs 11:3 Proverbs 11:20 Proverbs 2:20

There is no legacy as rich as integrity.

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Advice

Dear friend, take my advice; it will add years to your life. I'm writing out clear directions to Wisdom Way, I'm drawing a map to Righteous Road. I don't want you ending up in blind alleys, or wasting time making wrong turns. Hold tight to good advice; don't relax your grip. Guard it well—your life is at stake!

Sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, moral discipline is a life path.

"Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes."

Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?

If you disregard this advice, you're not offending your neighbors; you're rejecting God, who is making you a gift of his Holy Spirit.

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

Proverbs 4:10 Proverbs 6:20 Mark 4:24 Isaiah 40:13 1 Thessalonians 4:8 Romans 11:33

We can do whatever God wants us to do if we depend on His power to do it.

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Watching

God is in charge of human life, watching and examining us inside and out.

God, break out laughing; you treat the godless nations like jokes. Strong God, I'm watching you do it, I can always count on you. God in dependable love shows up on time, shows me my enemies in ruin.

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.

Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it."

How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.

Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home!

Proverbs 20:27 Psalm 59:8 Psalm 18:20 Jeremiah 1:12 Psalm 31:19 Proverbs 8:34

Becase the Lord is watching over us, we don’t have to fear the dangers around us.

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Inquire

He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek (inquire of, yearn for) the Lord with all his desire.

Now set your mind and heart to seek (inquire of and require as your vital necessity) the Lord your God.

Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please inquire first for the word of the LORD."

And commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers [to inquire of and for Him and crave Him as a vital necessity], and to obey the law and the commandment.

And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God's Word and the right of their necessity].

May all those who seek, inquire of and for You, and require You [as their vital need] rejoice and be glad in You; and may those who love Your salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

2 Chronicles 12:14 1 Chronicles 22:19 2 Chronicles 18:4 2 Chronicles 14:4 Psalm 9:10 Psalm 70:4

The goodness of God reveals His glory.

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Intervention

For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him.

And God purposed that through ( by the service, the intervention of) Him [the Son] all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross.

So [as the result of the Messiah's intervention] they shall [reverently] fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him and put him to flight [for He will come like a rushing stream which the breath of the Lord drives].

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.

Colossians 1:16 Colossians 1:20 Isaiah 59:19 2 Peter 1:1

Our intercession may be the key to God’s intervention.

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No longer

Become one with him (Christ). I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith

That's plain enough, isn't it? You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone.

So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.

You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.

So that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living by [his] human appetites and desires, but [he lives] for what God wills.

Philippians 3:9 Ephesians 2:19 Galatians 4:7 Ephesians 4:17 Ephesians 5:8 1 Peter 4:2

Godly zeal is love on fire.

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Until

As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

"He said, 'No, if you weed the thistles, you'll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I'll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.

" 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet."

" A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF,AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT,UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY.

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.

People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

Matthew 17:9 Matthew 13:29 Matthew 22:44 Matthew 12:20 Matthew 5:18 Matthew 24:39

Because God is with us, we need not fear what lies ahead.

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worship

David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the Lord—to invoke his blessings, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.

Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God.

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life.

Here in this great gathering for worship I have discovered this praise-life. And I'll do what I promised right here in front of the God-worshipers. Down-and-outers sit at God's table and eat their fill. Everyone on the hunt for God is here, praising him. "Live it up, from head to toe. Don't ever quit!"

1 Chronicles 16:4 1 Chronicles 16:29 Hebrews 10:1 Hebrews 9:14 1 Peter 3:15 Psalm 22:25

The heart of worship is worship from the heart.

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