The Cheerful Giver -2 Corinthians 9:6-9

"But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace about toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.""

To Be a Doorkeeper -Psalms 84:10-12

"For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!"

Weep No More -Isaiah 30:19

Oops! I missed my first day of posting yesterday!! Oh well, I'll make it up by doing two tomorrow...

"For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you."

Wait for Him -Isaiah 30:18

"Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him."

Under Grace -Romans 6:12-14

This post is a continuation of yesterday's post...since we are dead to sin and alive in Christ, we are given this command regarding sin...and it ends with a promise.

"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."

In Him -Ephesians 1:7-10

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in Him."

Hope Does Not Disappoint -Romans 5:1-5

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

Falling Short -Romans 3:21-26

"But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

Favorable To Your Land -Psalms 85:1-3

"LORD, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob. You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger."

Full of Compassion -Psalms 145:8

"The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy."

Not Tempted Beyond What We Are Able -1 Corinthians 10:13

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

A Broken Spirit -Psalms 51:16

This is such a powerful chapter. To me, this chapter is the perfect example of being broken before God as we see David pour out His heart to God after his sin with Bathsheba.

This verse that I'm sharing gives us the promise that God won't reject us as we come in brokenness to Him.

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-These, O God, You will not despise."

According to His Mercy -Titus 3:3-7

This is such a powerful passage...

"For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

He is Risen! -2 Corinthians 4:14-15

Happy Easter Everybody!

Today I thought I would post a couple verses that speak of the Resurrection, and also shows the promise that it gives to us...we will also rise!

"knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God."

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ -Ephesians 1:3-6

"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, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved."

This great passage is full of promises:

• He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
• He chose us in Him...before the world was even created
• He chose us as His sons
• He made us accepted in the Beloved

And as the passage says, He did this according to His will, to bring praise to Him.

Light in the Darkness -Psalms 112:4

This is part 3 of our trip through Psalms 112.

"Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous."

I really like the mental image I picture from reading this verse...visualizing light "rising up" in darkness, and knowing that God is our light in this world of darkness.

Then this verse lists some of God's attributes...we serve a gracious, compassionate, and righteous God.


That sounds like the perfection we as human beings have never attained, and never will, apart from Christ.

Pure in Heart? -Matthew 5:8

"Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God."

Ouch. If it ended with this, then I would definitely not be seeing God. I like how the verse says the pure "in heart", taking it deeper than just our outward actions, but the motive behind our actions...where does our heart truly lie?

I'm thankful that my purity isn't from me, but that it's only through Christ that I'm considered pure... His purity was given to me when He died on the cross...He payed the penalty for my sin and His righteousness was imputed to me!

We serve a great God!

Repent! (Part 1) -Joel 2:12-13

""Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning " So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm."

One thing that stood out to me in this passage is how it says to "rend your heart, and not your garments...." It's easy to show outward repentance, but to repent truly with our whole heart is what is often lacking in our lives...

Deliver the Godly -2 Peter 2:9

"then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment."

I need to give a little introduction to this verse...we've been going through 2 Peter in church, and we had been looking at this verse today (verses 4-10).

Right before this, we get a history lesson that recounts some of the things God has done:

• He punished the angels who sinned (v.s. 4)
• Destroyed the earth, but saved Noah (v.s.5)
• Destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (v.s. 6)
• Delivered Lot (v.s. 7-8)

Then, after being remind of God's Power, we get the verse I posted today. If God did all those things, than God can deliver those who are His, and He can punish those who are not.

I think it's cool when God reminds us of what He's done in the past...we can use it as encouragement to remind us that God really is in control.

He Has Not Given us What We Deserve -Psalms 103:10

As we continue going through Psalms 103, we come to an amazing promise...and I find it very encouraging.

"He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities."

We sin so much. God offers us forgiveness and eternal life, and it's like we slap God in the face every time we sin.

And yet God hasn't given us what we deserved, He hasn't punished us like our crimes called for. Thanks to Jesus' death on the cross, He can now offer us mercy and grace...wow. We serve an amazing God.


Praise God!