Love does not say, 'Give me', but 'Let me give you'. ---- Jill Briscoe
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (I John 4:7-11).
Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: O God of Mercy, God of Might (Godfrey Thring, 1877).
If the service of God is worth anything, it is worth everything. -- Charles Spurgeon
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. ...anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple(Luke 14:26-27, 33).
Consecration is resolution that is not afraid of sacrifice. -- Anonymous
When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, [Jesus] set His face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). (Cf. Isaiah 50:7)
[Jesus said] "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised" (Luke 9:21-22).
Father, the hour is come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You, since you have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him" (John 17:1-2).
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said..."It is finished," and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit (John 19:28, 30).
How wonderfully doth the new-born soul differ from his former self. He liveth a new life, he walketh in a new way, he steereth his course by a new compass and towards a new coast. His principle is new, his pattern is new, his practices are new, his projects are new, all is new. He ravels out all he had wove before, and employeth himself wholly about another work. ---- George Swinnocke, 1660.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come (I Corinthians 5:14-15, 17).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Be Thou My Vision (ancient Irish poem, ca. 8th. century).
A colloquialism: "There's a first time for everything." -- pgs
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light (Genesis 1:3).
And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the water from the waters." And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven (Genesis 1:6-8).
And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters...He called seas (Genesis 1:9-10b).
And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind..." And it was so (Genesis 1:11).
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so (Genesis 1:14-15).
And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth. So God created...every living thing that moves (Genesis 1:20-21).
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds..." And it was so(Genesis 1:24,25).
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.... And it was so. (Genesis 1:26-28, 30b).
And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day (Genesis 1:31).
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy... (Genesis 2:2-4).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: I sing the Almighty Power of God (Isaac Watts, 1715).
God's love for sinners is very wonderful, but God's patience with ill-natured saints is a deeper mystery [Henry Drummond].
There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab...he acted very abominably in going after idols. And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite saying, "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son's days I will bring the disaster upon his house." (I Kings 21:17-29).
The servant girl at the door said to Peter, "You also are not one of the this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." (John 18:17).
Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, "You also are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the servants of the high priest....asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed (John 18:25-27).
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to Him,"Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-17).
And after saying this He said to him, "Follow me." (John 21:19b).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: Not Worthy Lord! (Edward Bickersteth, 1872).
Trials and Tribulations. The grace of God exempts no one from trouble [J. C. Ryle].
I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Day by Day and with Each Passing Moment (Carolina Berg, 1865).
The love of God. That Christ and a forgiven sinner should be made one, and share heaven between them, is the wonder of salvation; what more could love do? [Samuel Rutherford]
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (I John 4:9-10).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Within a Crib My Savior Lay. Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1968
We have much more to receive, but God has not more to give than He has given in Jesus Christ [John R. W. Stott].
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).
God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption (I Corinthians 1:1:28-30).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: How Vast the Benefits Divine. Augustus Toplady, 1774.
(Jesus, our great High Priest) Jesus was never guarding Himself, but always invading the lives of others with His holiness [Phillips Brooks].
For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. Hebrews 7:26-27.
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Arise, My Soul, Arise (Charles Wesley, 1742).
Love to God is armour of proof against error. For want of hearts full of love, men have heads full of error; unholy opinions are for want of holy affections. ---- (Thomas Watson).
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. (I John 4:18-19).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Fountain of Never-Ceasing Grace(Augustus M. Toplady, --1778).
When you are pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen, brush the honey off your nose and spruce yourself up as best you can, so as to look Ready for Anything. (Pooh)
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come (Matthew 24:42).
Stand firm with the belt of truth...the breastplate of righteousness...your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace...the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God... (Ephesians6:10-23, 14).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending(Charles Wesley, 1758)
The law by which God rules us, is as dear to Him as the Gospel by which He saves us. ---- William Secker.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. YOU shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Blest Are the Undefiled (Isaac Watts, 1719).
Take a saint, and put him into any condition, and he knows how to rejoice in the Lord. ---- Walter Craddock
For the sake of Christ, then, "I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (II Corinthians 12:10)
...for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers... (I Thessalonians 1:6).
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds; for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness (James 1:6).
But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed (I Peter 4:13).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Be Still My Soul, (Katherina von Schlegel, 1752).
There are many circumstances in life when to be strong is to sit still (---pgs).
"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"(Psalm 46:10)
"Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you today. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent" (Exodus 14:13,14).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee(Georg Neumark, 1641).
God's sovereign love. The whole world is ordered and arranged to match and meet the needs of the people of God. --- J. Alec Motyer
And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way (Ephesians 1:22-23).
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:28 - 31a).
A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Though Troubles Assail Us (John Newton, 1779).
God sometimes leads us through darkness to remind us that He alone is Light. -- pgs
Again, Jesus spoke unto them saying,"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet , and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105).
