Final

The Lord says, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name.

And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.

But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There's no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you're no good for anything else. The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you.

Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah).

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

Make your motions and cast your votes, but God has the final say.

Isaiah 65:1 Ecclesiastes 3:14 Ecclesiastes 12:12 Romans 13:11 Jeremiah 29:11 Proverbs 16:33

Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11

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Honored

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”

One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship, beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches. I'd rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin. All sunshine and sovereign is God, generous in gifts and glory. He doesn't scrimp with his traveling companions. It's smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Hallelujah! Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God, Who cherish and relish his commandments, Their children robust on the earth, And the homes of the upright—how blessed! Their houses brim with wealth And a generosity that never runs dry. Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people— God's grace and mercy and justice! The good person is generous and lends lavishly; No shuffling or stumbling around for this one, But a sterling and solid and lasting reputation. Unfazed by rumor and gossip, Heart ready, trusting in God, Spirit firm, unperturbed, Ever blessed, relaxed among enemies, They lavish gifts on the poor— A generosity that goes on, and on, and on. An honored life! A beautiful life! Someone wicked takes one look and rages, Blusters away but ends up speechless. There's nothing to the dreams of the wicked. Nothing.

God is higher than anything and anyone, outshining everything you can see in the skies. Who can compare with God, our God, so majestically enthroned, Surveying his magnificent heavens and earth? He picks up the poor from out of the dirt, rescues the wretched who've been thrown out with the trash, Seats them among the honored guests, a place of honor among the brightest and best. He gives childless couples a family, gives them joy as the parents of children. Hallelujah!

Psalm 46:10 Psalm 84:10 Psalm 112:1 Psalm 115:4

If you care for your orchard, you'll enjoy its fruit; if you honor your boss, you'll be honored. Proverbs 27:18

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Close

Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives!

Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

Come, my people, enter into your rooms and close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while until indignation runs its course.

Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction.

Genesis 5:22 Genesis 6:9 Genesis 13:8 1 Timothy 4:16 Isaiah 26:20 Ezekiel 1:20

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

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Happen

O God! Your way is holy! No god is great like God! You're the God who makes things happen; you showed everyone what you can do— You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble, rescued the children of Jacob and Joseph.

The heavens announce that he'll set everything right, And everyone will see it happen—glorious!

God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: "Exactly as I planned, it will happen. Following my blueprints, it will take shape…This is the plan, planned for the whole earth, And this is the hand that will do it, reaching into every nation. God-of-the-Angel-Armies has planned it. Who could ever cancel such plans? His is the hand that's reached out. Who could brush it aside?

"Who did this? Who made it happen? Who always gets things started? I did. God. I'm first on the scene. I'm also the last to leave.

Consult together, argue your case. Get together and decide what to say. Who made these things known so long ago? What idol ever told you they would happen? Was it not I, the Lord? For there is no other God but me, a righteous God and Savior. There is none but me.

"And this is what will happen: You will increase and prosper in the land. The time will come"—God's Decree!—"when no one will say any longer, 'Oh, for the good old days! Remember the Ark of the Covenant?' It won't even occur to anyone to say it—'the good old days.' The so-called good old days of the Ark are gone for good.

Psalm 77:13 Psalm 97:6 Isaiah 14:24 Isaiah 41:4 Isaiah 45:21 Jeremiah 3:16

Contentment comes when we want God’s will more than our own way.

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Gain

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life [ in the eternal kingdom of God]?

"No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.

Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.

For me to live is Christ [His life in me], and to die is gain [the gain of the glory of eternity].

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

Mark 8:36 John 3:13 Romans 8:37 1 Corinthians 13:3 Philippians 1:21 1 Timothy 6:6

Make the most of life on earth as it is now – but know the best is yet to come.

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Lead

Lead me in the right path, O Lord...Make your way plain for me to follow.

Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me.

Only, let each one [seek to conduct himself and regulate his affairs so as to] lead the life which the Lord has allotted and imparted to him and to which God has invited and summoned him.

O let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You will judge the peoples fairly and guide, lead, or drive the nations upon earth.

But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.

Psalm 5:8 Psalm 25:5 Psalm 31:3 1 Corinthians 7:17 Psalm 67:4 2 Corinthians 2:14

God does not ask us to go where He does not lead.

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Protection

I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!

Let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy.

God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection.

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.

Psalm 11:1 Psalm 5:11 Psalm 18:30 Psalm 91:4 Psalm 71:7 Psalm 31:19

Blessed is tahe nation whose God is the Lord. Ps. 33:12

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Search

Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.

The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.

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

The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

Again the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a dealer in search of fine and precious pearls

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

1 Chronicles 16:11 Lamentations 3:25 Proverbs 8:17 2 Chronicles 16:9 Matthew 13:45 Psalm 70:4

To the wise, God’s Word is sufficient.

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Pleasure

The Lord takes pleasure in those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy and loving-kindness.

For You, Lord, will bless the [uncompromisingly] righteous [him who is upright and in right standing with You]; as with a shield You will surround him with goodwill (pleasure and favor).

Jesus returned to Galilee powerful in the Spirit. News that he was back spread through the countryside. He taught in their meeting places to everyone's acclaim and pleasure.

The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!

Let those who favor my righteous cause and have pleasure in my uprightness shout for joy and be glad and say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.

Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom!

Psalm 147:11 Psalm 5:12 Luke 4:14 Psalm 16:3 Psalm 35:27 Luke 12:32

The pleasures of earth cannot compare to the joys of heaven.

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Pressure

Then I let it all out; I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God." Suddenly the pressure was gone— my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared.

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”

Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.

I, James, am a slave of God and the Master Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered to Kingdom Come: Hello! Faith Under Pressure ]

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.

Psalm 32:5 Matthew 9:17 Romans 5:3 James 1:1 James 1:2 Psalm 119:143

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

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