10-15-23//The Goodness of God

Psalm 27:13

13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living

Isa 40:28-31

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.

29 He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.

30 Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly,

31 Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Isa 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me

To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;

2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes,

The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.

So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

10-8-23// Worship Team

10-8-23// DO NOT

Psalm 27:12

12 Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.

BECAUSE OF MY FOES

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy

Giving in to our fleshly desires

Eph 6:10-12  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

What does God say about DO NOT

 Do not sin

Rom 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Eph 4:26-27 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.

Fear/ Afraid

Luke 8:50 But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, "Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well."

Mark 6:49-50 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, "Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid."

Deut 31:8 The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

Isa 41:10 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'  

John 14:1 Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.

 Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

10-1-23// Worship Team

10-1-23//LEAD ME IN A LEVEL PATH

Psalm 27:11

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes

Prov 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Prov 3:5-6 Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

6 In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.   AMP

God Makes a Way

Isa 43:16 Thus says the Lord, Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters,

Ps 23:3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

Ps 25:10 All the paths of the Lord are  lovingkindness and truth

To those who keep His covenant and His  testimonies.

BECAUSE OF MY FOES

Eph 6:10-12  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

9-24-23// Worship Team

9-24-23// TEACH ME YOUR WAY, O LORD

Psalm 27:11

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes.

Isa 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord.

9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Grace

grace is defined as courteous goodwill. Meaning, it's not asked for nor deserved, but is freely given.

Eph 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Mercy

Mercy, on the other hand, is the compassion and kindness shown to someone whom it is in one's power to punish or harm. It is an act meant to relieve someone of their suffering.

Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Truth

John 14:1-6 Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.  4 "And you know the way where I am going."  5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Salvation

 He has saved us. We have eternal life in Him. This should be enough

We seek Jesus, but more importantly, Jesus seeks us

Luke 19:1-10 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. 3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."  6 And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. 7 When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." 8 Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.  10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Duty/obedience

1 Sam 15:22 Samuel said, "Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

As in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

And to heed than the fat of rams.

Worship

Phil 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

John 4:20-24 Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.  22 "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.  24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

AGAPE LOVE

1 Cor 13:4-8a Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,  6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails;

9-17-23// THE LORD WILL TAKE ME UP

Psalm 27:10

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.  NKJV

1 Peter 5:5-8 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.  NASU

Eph 4:11-16 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

9-10-23// Worship Team

9-10-23//GOD OF MY SALVATION

Psalm 27:9

9 Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!

We seek Jesus, but more importantly, Jesus seeks us

Luke 19:1-10 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. 3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."  6 And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. 7 When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." 8 Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.  10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Ps 146 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish. 5 How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hopeis in the Lord his God, 6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea and all that is in them; Who keeps faith forever; 7 Who executes justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises up those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous; 9 The Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked. 10 The Lord will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!