“My grace is sufficient for you..."

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  -2 Corinthians 12:9

Workers, here is your first lesson: learn to be nothing, learn to be helpless. The man who has got something is not absolutely dependent; but the man who has got nothing is absolutely dependent. Absolute dependence upon God is the secret of all power in work. The branch has nothing but what it gets from the vine, and you and I can have nothing but what we get from Jesus.  -Andrew Murray

If we are going to be used by God...

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,

    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

“I dwell in the high and holy place,

    and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly,

    and to revive the heart of the contrite.

  -Isaiah 57:15

A great many think because they have been filled once, they are going to be full for all time after; but O, my friends, we are leaky vessels, and have to be kept right under the fountain all the time in order to keep full. If we are going to be used by God we have to be very humble. A man that lives close to God will be the humblest of men. I heard a man say that God always chooses the vessel that is close at hand. Let us keep near Him.   -Dwight Lyman Moody

Cast your burden on the Lord...

Cast your burden on the Lord,

    and he will sustain you;

He will never permit

    the righteous to be moved.

-Psalm 55:22

Give me a stout heart to bear my own burdens. Give me a willing heart to bear the burdens of others. Give me a believing heart to cast all burdens upon Thee, O Lord. -John Baillie

God Leads Us Along...

 

God Leads Us Along

Verse 1 

In shady, green pastures, 

so rich and so sweet,

  God leads His dear children along;

  where the water’s cool flow 

bathes the weary one’s feet,

  God leads His dear children along.

Refrain:

Some through the waters, 

Some through the flood,

Some through the fire, 

but all through the blood;

Some through great sorrow, 

but God gives a song,

in the night season 

and all the day long.

Verse 2 

Sometimes on the mount 

where the sun shines so bright,

  God leads His dear children along;

  sometimes in the valley, 

in darkest of night,

  God leads His dear children along.

Verse 3 

Though sorrows befall us

 and evils oppose,

  God leads His dear children along;

  through grace we can conquer, 

defeat all our foes,

  God leads His dear children along.

"That they may all be one..."

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."  

-John 17:20-23

The Lord your God is in your midst...

The Lord your God is in your midst,

    a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

    he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

  -Zephaniah 3:17

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Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob...

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

    whose hope is in the Lord his God,

who made heaven and earth,

    the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

    who executes justice for the oppressed,

    who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

    the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

    the Lord loves the righteous.

        -Psalm 145:5-8

Christ will be master of the heart...

Christ will be master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. If your life is unholy, then your heart is unchanged, and you are an unsaved person. The Savior will sanctify His people, renew them, give them a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.  —Charles Spurgeon

I am the Good Shepherd...

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.  

-John 10:14-16

My Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd, who have shown Your very gentle mercy to us unworthy sinners in various physical pains and sufferings, give grace and strength to me, Your little lamb, that in no tribulation or anguish or pain may I turn away from You!  -Francis of Assisi

But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake...

But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.  -1 Peter 3:14-17

The more vigor you need, the more gentleness and kindness you must combine with it... All stiff, harsh goodness is contrary to Jesus.  -François Fénelon

Christ Our Hope in Life and Death

 

Christ Our Hope in Life and Death 

Keith and Kristyn Getty, Matt Papa

What is our hope in life and death?

Christ alone, Christ alone.

What is our only confidence?

That our souls to him belong.

Who holds our days within his hand?

What comes, apart from his command?

And what will keep us to the end?

The love of Christ, in which we stand.

O sing hallelujah!

Our hope springs eternal;

O sing hallelujah!

Now and ever we confess

Christ our hope in life and death.

What truth can calm the troubled soul?

God is good, God is good.

Where is his grace and goodness known?

In our great Redeemer’s blood.

Who holds our faith when fears arise?

Who stands above the stormy trial?

Who sends the waves that bring us nigh

Unto the shore, the rock of Christ?

Unto the grave, what shall we sing?

“Christ, he lives; Christ, he lives!”

And what reward will heaven bring?

Everlasting life with him.

There we will rise to meet the Lord,

Then sin and death will be destroyed,

And we will feast in endless joy,

When Christ is ours forevermore.

The hour has come for you to wake from sleep...

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. -Romans 13:11-12

We have the means to evangelize our country; but they are slumbering in the pews of our churches.  -John Stott

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit...

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.   -Luke 10:21

It is almost always a mistake to recruit exceptional people for leadership; look for ordinary Christians—that is mostly what you have anyway. But prize them, value them. And appoint them as leaders.  -Eugene H. Peterson