Will

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.

In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch

Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.

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

But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.

Psalm 9:10 Psalm 9:1 Psalm 5:3 Psalm 2:8 Romans 1:5 Romans 2:10

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

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Loss

"If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.

I know I distressed you greatly with my letter. Although I felt awful at the time, I don't feel at all bad now that I see how it turned out. The letter upset you, but only for a while. Now I'm glad—not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all gain, no loss.

He walked out and went to the home of Titius Justus, a God-fearing man who lived right next to the Jews' meeting place. But Paul's efforts with the Jews weren't a total loss, for Crispus, the meeting-place president, put his trust in the Master. His entire family believed with him.

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned [as it were] with salt, [so that you may never be at a loss] to know how you ought to answer anyone [who puts a question to you].

Luke 6:48 2 Corinthians 7:8 Acts 18:7 Philippians 3:8 Colossians 4:6

In every desert of trial, God has an oasis of comfort.

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Reflect

I tell the things which I have seen and learned at My Father's side, and your actions also reflect what you have heard and learned from your father.

Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!

I reflect at night on who you are, O Lord; therefore, I obey your instructions.

And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

John 8:38 Psalm 119:5 Psalm 119:55 Titus 2:7 2 Corinthians 3:18

Eyes of faith see God at work in everything.

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Directs

God's Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool? Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work;

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?

They said to Jeremiah, "Let God be our witness, a true and faithful witness against us, if we don't do everything that your God directs you to tell us. Whether we like it or not, we'll do it. We'll obey whatever our God tells us. Yes, count on us. We'll do it."

But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God].

Psalm 19:11 Psalm 37:23 Proverbs 20:24 Jeremiah 42:5 Romans 8:9

To keep your life in balance, lean on the Lord.

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Refuse

All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.

I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God's kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won't let anyone else in either.

If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.

"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.

If our Message is obscure to anyone, it's not because we're holding back in any way. No, it's because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won't have to bother believing a Truth they can't see.

Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we're not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don't maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don't twist God's Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.

John 3:20 Matthew 23:13 Matthew 10:38 Matthew 6:14 2 Corinthians 4:3 2 Corinthians 4:1

The Christian life is a sacred partnership with God.

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Advice

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

BLESSED (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.

What you say goes, God, and stays, as permanent as the heavens. Your truth never goes out of fashion; it's as up-to-date as the earth when the sun comes up. Your Word and truth are dependable as ever; that's what you ordered—you set the earth going. If your revelation hadn't delighted me so, I would have given up when the hard times came. But I'll never forget the advice you gave me; you saved my life with those wise words. Save me! I'm all yours.

Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life.

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 6:20 Psalm 1:1 Psalm 119:89 Proverbs 19:20 Romans 11:33

God’s truth uncovers Satan’s lies.

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Discover

“Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the Almighty?

I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.

And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel; They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain! God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!

Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice. Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart! Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they're bursting with health.

“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.

"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

Job 11:7 Ecclesiastes 8:17 Psalm 84:5 Proverbs 4:20 Proverbs 8:12 Matthew 5:9

It’s not what you do but who you are that’s most important.

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Hear

People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John.

People poured out of Jerusalem, Judea, and the Jordanian countryside to hear and see him (John) in action. There at the Jordan River those who came to confess their sins were baptized into a changed life.

Jesus told them, "Go back and tell John what's going on: The blind see, The lame walk, Lepers are cleansed, The deaf hear, The dead are raised, The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side. "Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves most blessed!"

What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!

The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.

Whoever is of God listens to God. [Those who belong to God hear the words of God.]

Matthew 3:5 Matthew 3:4 Matthew 11:4 Matthew 10:27 Matthew 11:5 John 8:47

The more we meditate on the Scripture, the closer we’ll walk with the Savior.

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Listen

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”

Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

"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. But an independent witness confirms me, the most reliable Witness of all.

Whoever is of God listens to God. [Those who belong to God hear the words of God.] This is the reason that you do not listen [to those words, to Me]: because you do not belong to God and are not of God or in harmony with Him.

I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd

Matthew 17:5 Matthew 11:15 John 5:24 John 5:30 John 8:47 John 10:16

Our highest privilege is to talk to God; our highest duty is to listen to Him.

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Anticipate

My eyes anticipate the night watches and I am awake before the cry of the watchman, that I may meditate on Your word.

For we, [not relying on the Law but] through the [Holy] Spirit's [help], by faith anticipate and wait for the blessing and good for which our righteousness and right standing with God [our conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action, causes us] to hope.

You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour and a moment when you do not anticipate it.

I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.

"Pay close attention now: I'm creating new heavens and a new earth. All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain are things of the past, to be forgotten. Look ahead with joy. Anticipate what I'm creating: I'll create Jerusalem as sheer joy, create my people as pure delight. I'll take joy in Jerusalem, take delight in my people: No more sounds of weeping in the city, no cries of anguish; No more babies dying in the cradle, or old people who don't enjoy a full lifetime; One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal— anything less will seem like a cheat… Before they call out, I'll answer. Before they've finished speaking, I'll have heard. Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow, lion and ox eat straw from the same trough, but snakes—they'll get a diet of dirt! Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill anywhere on my Holy Mountain," says God.

Psalm 119:148 Galatians 5:5 Luke 12:40 Romans 7:14 Isaiah 65:17

No one is hopeless whose hope is in God.

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Are blessed

So those now who live by faith are blessed along with Abraham, who lived by faith—this is no new doctrine! And that means that anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure.

"If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.

You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”

Galatians 3:9 John 13:17 Matthew 25:34 Luke 1:45 Revelation 14:13

Godly exercise is the key to godly character.

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Security

The Lord is your security.

Riches provide no security in any day of wrath and judgment, but righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) delivers from death.

Fear of the Lord leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm.

But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord.

And [Jerusalem] shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth that hear of all the good I do for it, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace, prosperity, security, and stability I provide for it.

[He has also appropriated and acknowledged us as His by] putting His seal upon us and giving us His [Holy] Spirit in our hearts as the security deposit and guarantee [of the fulfillment of His promise].

Proverbs 3:26 Proverbs 11:4 Proverbs 19:23 Isaiah 54:17 Jeremiah 33:9 2 Corinthians 1:22

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

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Plan

And me? I plan on looking you full in the face. When I get up, I'll see your full stature and live heaven on earth.

God takes the wind out of Babel pretense, he shoots down the world's power-schemes. God's plan for the world stands up, all his designs are made to last. Blessed is the country with God for God; blessed are the people he's put in his will.

My theme song is God's love and justice, and I'm singing it right to you, God. I'm finding my way down the road of right living,…I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil. I put a gag on the gossip who bad-mouths his neighbor; I can't stand arrogance. But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people— they're the ones I want working with me; Men and women on the straight and narrow— these are the ones I want at my side.

Because you have satisfied me, God, I promise to do everything you say…The wicked hemmed me in—there was no way out— but not for a minute did I forget your plan for me. I get up in the middle of the night to thank you; your decisions are so right, so true—I can't wait till morning! I'm a friend and companion of all who fear you, of those committed to living by your rules. Your love, God, fills the earth! Train me to live by your counsel.

It's news I'm most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God's powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God's way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: "The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives."

Psalm 17:15 Psalm 33:10 Psalm 101:1 Psalm 119:57 Romans 1:16

Plan as though you’ll be living for a century; live as though you’ll be leaving today.

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More

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! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.

For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.

Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn't pleased at being ignored.

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.

That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

Romans 6:22 Romans 1:17 Romans 8:5 Romans 5:3 Romans 8:18

Make the right choice: Obey the Spirit’s voice.

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How God...(NT)

Jesus said, "You're way off base, and here's why: One, you don't know your Bibles; two, you don't know how God works… How God at the bush said to Moses, 'I am—not was—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? The living God is God of the living, not the dead.

The [same] message…How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength and ability and power;

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.”

On arrival, they got the church together and reported on their trip, telling in detail how God had used them to throw the door of faith wide open so people of all nations could come streaming in.

Be assured …we haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work.

Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course, of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.

Mark 12:24 Acts 10:38 Romans 1:17 Acts 14:27 Colossians 1:9 James 5:10

A Christian’s life is a window through which others can see Jesus.

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How God...

God said, "If you listen, listen obediently to how God tells you to live in his presence, obeying his commandments and keeping all his laws, then I won't strike you with all the diseases that I inflicted on the Egyptians; I am God your healer."

When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how God had stopped the Jordan River before the People of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts sank; the courage drained out of them just thinking about the People of Israel.

But Jesus didn't swerve. "Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works."

This is how God answered me: "Take back those words, and I'll take you back. Then you'll stand tall before me. Use words truly and well. Don't stoop to cheap whining. Then, but only then, you'll speak for me. Let your words change them. Don't change your words to suit them. I'll turn you into a steel wall, a thick steel wall, impregnable. They'll attack you but won't put a dent in you because I'm at your side, defending and delivering." God's Decree. "I'll deliver you from the grip of the wicked. I'll get you out of the clutch of the ruthless."

Come—let's build the wall of Jerusalem and not live with this disgrace any longer." I told them how God was supporting me and how the king was backing me up. They said, "We're with you. Let's get started." They rolled up their sleeves, ready for the good work.

God, your God, refused to listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing—how God, your God, loves you!

Exodus 15:26 Joshua 5:1 Matthew 16:23 Jeremiah 15:19 Nehemiah 2:17 Deuteronomy 23:3

Christ’s victory in the past gives courage for the present and hope for the future.

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Ready

Let Your hand be ready to help me, For I have chosen Your precepts.

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in loving kindness to all who call upon You.

"For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.

Psalm 119:173 Psalm 86:5 Matthew 24:44 1 Timothy 6:18 2 Timothy 4:2 1 Peter 3:15

Jesus removes our sin and rewards our service.

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Sure

These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.

Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.

Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.

So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

Colossians 2:23 Hebrews 13:18 1 John 3:7 Hebrews 6:19 Galatians 3:7 2 Peter 1:19

The flowers or weeds that spring up tomorrow are in the seeds we sow today.

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Anxious

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.

God met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil--for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep.

All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of circumstances].

For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Psalm 94:19 Psalm 34:4 Psalm 127:2 Proverbs 15:15 Jeremiah 17:8 Philippians 4:6

Fervent prayer dispels anxious care.

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Key

Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life.

It's better to be wise than strong; intelligence outranks muscle any day. Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel

I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them.

"'Go on about your business, Daniel,' he said. 'The message is confidential and under lock and key until the end, until things are about to be wrapped up. The populace will be washed clean and made like new. But the wicked will just keep on being wicked, without a clue about what is happening. Those who live wisely and well will understand what's going on.

“What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.”

"Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors has handpicked you to be briefed on his plan of action. You've actually seen the Righteous Innocent and heard him speak. You are to be a key witness to everyone you meet of what you've seen and heard. So what are you waiting for? Get up and get yourself baptized, scrubbed clean of those sins and personally acquainted with God.

Proverbs 4:13 Proverbs 24:5 Isaiah 22:22 Daniel 12:9 Luke 11:52 Acts 22:14

The closer we walk with God, the clearer we see His guidance.

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Search

Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.

“I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me.

But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, “The Lord is great!”

I will search for faithful people to be my companions. Only those who are above reproach will be allowed to serve me.

Search the book of the Lord, and see what he will do... His Spirit will make it all come true.

Psalm 34:14 Psalm 119:2 Proverbs 8:17 Psalm 40:16 Psalm 101:6 Isaiah 34:16

Faith in Christ is not a leap into the dark; it’s a step into the light.

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