Quotes and Bible Verses

Don't use your freedom in Christ to offend others. Freedom must be used in love. Love finds meaning in sacrifice We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers (1 John 3:16 GWT). We are prepared for burial, ready to be crucified with Christ, so that I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Matthew 26:12; Galatians 2:20 NIV) Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income. Proverbs 3:9 (TLB) The things youve learned from me in the presence of many witnesses you are to entrust to other faithful people who will also be qualified to pass it on to others. (2 Timothy 2:2) If you want the special blessing of God on your life, you need to learn from other believers who are more mature than you, and you need to mentor believers who are younger than you. In 2 Timothy, Paul says this to Timothy: The things youve learned from me in the presence of many witnesses you are to entrust to other faithful people who will also be qualified to pass it on to others (2 Timothy 2:2). There are four generations in that verse. Paul says to Timothy that he helped mentor him, and now Timothy must find somebody to mentor, and then that person can find somebody else to mentor. Dont be intimidated by the word mentoring. Mentoring is as easy as taking someone to breakfast once a month and asking them, Hows it going? You just need to be a friend. Listen to, encourage, and pray for that person. You dont have to be the perfect Christian to do this. You just have to be willing. When you do that, you will receive the blessing of God in your life that you cannot imagine.
You may be facing some very real, discouraging challenges in your life. But what you are really going through is a test of your faith. Its easy to trust God when everything is going your way. Its tough to trust him when youve been out of work for a year or longer. Its tough to trust him when you dont know where you will get the money to make ends meet. Its tough to trust God when somebody you depended on has walked out of your life. But these are tests. Whatever it is, you need to finish. Trust God to help you through so you can pass the test. "The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty." ~ Oswald Chambers He says we can be certain of God, even if we are uncertain of the next step he wants us to take. We can be certain of God's plan for us, even if we are uncertain of the specific details. Even though we're uncertain, we can be confident God will not disappoint us (Romans 5:5). Faith is more than something you just feel. The Bible says we show our faith by what we do.

Jesus showed us that faith is practical. When we see a need, we do something about it.
I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for you to rescue me. For salvation comes from you alone (Psalm 62:1 LB). There is no way we can work our way, buy our way, or earn our way into heaven. When it comes to salvation, we are unable to save ourselves. The government cant save us. Our popularity cant save us. Our level of success cant save us. There is no such thing as self-rescue, pulling yourself up by your boot straps. The cost of rescue is beyond our means (Psalm 49:7-8 MSG). If you didnt need a savior, God wouldnt have sent one. But he knew that your spiritual condition was much worse than any physical condition you will ever face. Thats why he sent Jesus to rescue you.

There is no way you can get into a perfect heaven on your own. There is no way you can pay for your salvation. The cost is beyond your means. So Jesus paid for it by coming and dying for you on the cross. He made that ultimate payment with his life.

"We set aside our judgments in order to 'see what eyes have not seen and ears cannot hear' so we can help those in need."
Gods life is a life for others. He always is and does what is best for others. No matter how sinful you think you are, Jesus will never turn his back on you when you come to him looking for transformation. He knows our failures, our sins, and our heartaches. He hears our confessions. He knows we are trying to reach out to God and he will not turn us away. The Pharisee saw the woman in Luke 7 as a sinner worthy of judgment, but Jesus saw her as a woman in need of forgiveness. When we understand the depth of Gods love and forgiveness, it deepens our love for him. It also means that we no longer look down on other sinners or think that we are better than anyone else.

She worshiped honestly. Many biblical scholars believe the sinful woman must have been a prostitute because she brought an expensive jar of perfume with her. This jar of perfume had significance it represented her life; it represented her background; it was one of the tools of the trade. When she came to Jesus with that jar and poured it on his feet, it was her confession. She was honestly telling Jesus who she was. She worshiped extravagantly. She showed Jesus extravagant worship by using a jar of perfume that probably cost her an entire years wages. And she didnt just dab on a couple of drops. Luke 7:38 says she poured the perfume on his feet. Why? This was her opportunity to come clean, to meet God, worship him and be transformed. It was her chance to start over. You dont have to clean up your act before you can worship God. Worship him and hell clean up your act. You dont repent and confess in order to earn forgiveness. You change your ways because youve been forgiven. Romans 12 says that we offer ourselves to the Lord in worship so that he can transform us. Its the worship that comes first. Thats what we see in this womans life. Noah's life brought pleasure to God because he lived with a heart of praise and thanksgiving. Noah's first act after surviving the flood was to express his thanks to God by offering a sacrifice (Genesis 8:20). We praise God for who he is and we thank God for what he has done (Hebrews 13:15; Psalm 116:17). David said, "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord" (Psalm 69:30-31 NIV). We enjoy what God has done for us, and when we express that enjoyment to God, it brings him joybut it also increases our joy. The book of Psalms says, "The righteous are glad and rejoice in his presence; they are happy and shout for joy" (Psalm 68:3 TEV). God made you to love you, and he longs for you to love him back. He says, "I don't want your sacrifices - I want your love; I don't want your offerings - I want you to know me" (Hosea 6:6 LB). God deeply loves you and desires your love in return. He longs for you to know him and spend time with him. Nothing else comes close in importance. Jesus called it the greatest commandment. He said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment" (Matthew 22:37-38 NIV). So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Romans 12:1-2 (TEV)

Our total surrender to God is blocked by several things, including: Our ignorance of God - not knowing what he's really like; Our sinful nature - the desire to be God ourselves; and Our misunderstanding of surrender and the trust that it requires. Can We Trust God? Trust is an essential ingredient to surrender. We won't surrender to God unless we trust him, but we can't trust him until we know him better. Fear keeps us from surrendering, but love casts out all fear. The more you realize how much God loves you, the easier surrender becomes. How do I know God loves me? He gives us many evidences: God says he loves you (Psalm 145:9); You're never out of his sight (Psalm 139:3); He cares about every detail of your life (Matthew 10:30); He gave you the capacity to enjoy all kinds of pleasure (1 Timothy 6:17b); He has good plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11); He forgives you (Psalm 86:5); He's patient with you (Psalm 145:8); He sacrificed his Son for you (Romans 5:8). God loves you infinitely more than you can imagine. "Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1 HCSB). If you want to know how much you matter to God, look at Christ with his arms outstretched on the cross saying, "I love you this much! I'd rather die than live without you." Jesus said, "My purpose is to give [you] a rich and satisfying life." (John 10:10 NLT) The apostle Paul says, "Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around lifeand place it before God as an offering." (Romans 12:1 MSG) "Lord our God, may your blessings be with us. Give us success in all we do!" (Psalm 90:17 TEV).

"If you enter your place of worship and are about to make an offering, but you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God" (Matthew 5:23-24 Msg). When fellowship is strained or broken, plan a peace conference immediately. Don't procrastinate, make excuses, or promise, "I'll get around to it someday." Schedule a face-to-face meeting as soon as possible. Delay only deepens resentment and makes matters worse. In conflict, time heals nothing; it causes hurts to fester. Acting quickly also reduces the spiritual damage to you. The Bible says sin, including unresolved conflict, blocks our fellowship with God and keeps our prayers from being answered, besides making us miserable. Job's friends reminded him, "To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do," (Job 5:2, TEV) and "You're only hurting yourself with your anger" (Job 18:4, TEV). The success of a peace conference often depends on choosing the right time and place to meet. Don't meet when of you are tired, rushed or could be interrupted. The best time is when you both are at your best. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (Colossians 3:23 NIV). Worship is far more than church services with singing, praying, and listening to a sermon. Worship is anything you do that brings pleasure to God. The Bible says, "The Lord is pleased with those who worship him and trust his love" (Psalm 147:11 CEV). In the Bible, people praised God at work, at home, in battle, in jail, and even in bed! Anything you do can be an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory, and pleasure of God.

How is that possible? By doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus and by carrying on a continual conversation with him while you do it! The Bible says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV). And then: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (Colossians 3:23 NIV). The Message paraphrase says, "Take your everyday, ordinary lifeyour sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around lifeand place it before God as an offering" (Romans 12:1). Worship is not a part of your life, it is your life.