He loves me

"God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and He gave Him this authority for the benefit of the church." Ephesians 1:22

eyes on Jesus

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." Hebrews 12:2

daily

"Then He said to them all: 'If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.'" Luke 9:23

turn your eyes

"Looking unto Jesus." Hebrews 12:2

"It is ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan's work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, 'Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.' All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that 'Christ is all in all.' Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee—it is Christ" -Spurgeon

"My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesu's blood and righteousness:

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesu's name."

grace

"Let circumstances take you where they will, but keep drawing on the grace of God in whatever condition you may find yourself." -Oswald Chambers

dependency

"Traditionally Christianity has been the religion of the common people. Whenever the upper classes have adopted it in numbers, it has died. Respectability has almost always proved fatal to it. The reasons back of this are two, one human and the other divine. Schleiermacher has pointed out that at the bottom of all religion there lies a feeling of dependence, a sense of creature helplessness. The simple man who lives close to the earth lives also close to death and knows that he must look for help beyond himself; he knows that there is but a step between him and catastrophe. As he rises in the social and economic scale, he surrounds himself with more and more protective devices and pushes danger (so he thinks) farther and farther from him. Self-confidence displaces the feeling of dependence he once knew and God becomes less necessary to him. Should he stop to think this through he would know better than to place his confidence in things and people; but so badly are we injured by our moral fall that we are capable of deceiving ourselves completely and, if conditions favor it, to keep up the deception for a lifetime. Along with the feeling of security that wealth and position bring comes an arrogant pride that shuts tightly the door of the heart to the waiting Savior. Our Very Important Man may indeed honor a church by joining it, but there is no life in his act. His religion is external and his faith nominal. Conscious respectability has destroyed him. Prayer O God, what do I control? You are in full control and I may depend fully upon You."

-Tozer

cake

"Ephraim is a cake not turned."—Hosea 7:8.

"cake not turned is uncooked on one side; and so Ephraim was, in many respects, untouched by divine grace: though there was some partial obedience, there was very much rebellion left. My soul, I charge thee, see whether this be thy case. Art thou thorough in the things of God? Has grace gone through the very centre of thy being so as to be felt in its divine operations in all thy powers, thy actions, thy words, and thy thoughts? To be sanctified, spirit, soul, and body, should be thine aim and prayer; and although sanctification may not be perfect in thee anywhere in degree, yet it must be universal in its action; there must not be the appearance of holiness in one place and reigning sin in another, else thou, too, wilt be a cake not turned. A cake not turned is soon burnt on the side nearest the fire, and although no man can have too much religion, there are some who seem burnt black with bigoted zeal for that part of truth which they have received, or are charred to a cinder with a vainglorious Pharisaic ostentation of those religious performances which suit their humour. The assumed appearance of superior sanctity frequently accompanies a total absence of all vital godliness. The saint in public is a devil in private. He deals in flour by day and in soot by night. The cake which is burned on one side, is dough on the other. If it be so with me, O Lord, turn me! Turn my unsanctified nature to the fire of Thy love and let it feel the sacred glow, and let my burnt side cool a little while I learn my own weakness and want of heat when I am removed from Thy heavenly flame. Let me not be found a double-minded man, but one entirely under the powerful influence of reigning grace; for well I know if I am left like a cake unturned, and am not on both sides the subject of Thy grace, I must be consumed for ever amid everlasting burnings."

Spurgeon

how deep

"How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure

That He should give His only Son, to make a wretch His treasure"

not an accident

"If we are not an accident, then we could also say that accidents don’t happen to us — only changes in plans that we are not informed about. God is always working on His purposes in and through us. Plans are okay to a point, just as long as our plans don’t get in the way of His purposes. And when He changes them, instead of getting upset, we need to ask what He has in mind now." -John Fischer

only in Christ

"Are we prepared to purposely disregard ourselves and to launch out into the priestly work of prayer? The continual inner-searching we do in an effort to see if we are what we ought to be generates a self-centered, sickly type of Christianity, not the vigorous and simple life of a child of God. Until we get into this right and proper relationship with God, it is simply a case of our "hanging on by the skin of our teeth," although we say, "What a wonderful victory I have!" Yet there is nothing at all in that which indicates the miracle of redemption. Launch out in reckless, unrestrained belief that the redemption is complete. Then don’t worry anymore about yourself, but begin to do as Jesus Christ has said, in essence, "Pray for the friend who comes to you at midnight, pray for the saints of God, and pray for all men." Pray with the realization that you are perfect only in Christ Jesus, not on the basis of this argument: "Oh, Lord, I have done my best; please hear me now." How long is it going to take God to free us from the unhealthy habit of thinking only about ourselves? We must get to the point of being sick to death of ourselves, until there is no longer any surprise at anything God might tell us about ourselves. We cannot reach and understand the depths of our own meagerness. There is only one place where we are right with God, and that is in Christ Jesus."

Oswald Chambers

Amos 9:8-15

what Satan should mean for my destruction, the Lord has loosed to purify me.

prayer

"prayer of the Christian reaches beyond its set time and extends into the heart of his work. It includes the whole day, and in doing so, it does not hinder the work; it promotes it, affirms it, and lends it meaning and joy. Thus every word, every work, every labor of the Christian becomes a prayer; not in the unreal sense of a constant turning away from the task that must be done, but in a real breaking through the hard 'it' to the gracious Thou. 'Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus ' (Col. 3:17)."

Bonhoeffer

abandon

Matthew 14:29-30

The wind really was boisterous and the waves really were high, but Peter didn’t see them at first. He didn’t consider them at all; he simply recognized his Lord, stepped out in recognition of Him, and "walked on the water." Then he began to take those things around him into account, and instantly, down he went. Why couldn’t our Lord have enabled him to walk at the bottom of the waves, as well as on top of them? He could have, yet neither could be done without Peter’s continuing recognition of the Lord Jesus. We step right out with recognition of God in some things, then self-consideration enters our lives and down we go. If you are truly recognizing your Lord, you have no business being concerned about how and where He engineers your circumstances. The things surrounding you are real, but when you look at them you are immediately overwhelmed, and even unable to recognize Jesus. Then comes His rebuke, ". . . why did you doubt?" ( Matthew 14:31 ). Let your actual circumstances be what they may, but keep recognizing Jesus, maintaining complete reliance upon Him. If you debate for even one second when God has spoken, it is all over for you. Never start to say, "Well, I wonder if He really did speak to me?" Be reckless immediately— totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything— by casting your all upon Him. You do not know when His voice will come to you, but whenever the realization of God comes, even in the faintest way imaginable, be determined to recklessly abandon yourself, surrendering everything to Him. It is only through abandonment of yourself and your circumstances that you will recognize Him. You will only recognize His voice more clearly through recklessness— being willing to risk your all.

Oswald Chambers

"Help, Lord." Psalm 12:1

life is difficult

"If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him. It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is. Salvation is easy for us, because it cost God so much. But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult." -Oswald Chambers

redemption

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." Ephesians 1:7–8

Friendship

So let the many go their way, and let the throng pass by; The crowd is but a fickle thing which hears not when you sigh. The multitude is quick to run in search of favorites news, And all that man can hold for grief is just a friend or two.

When winds of failure start to blow, you'll find the throng has gone- The splendor of a brighter flame will always lure them on; But with the ashes of your dreams, and all you hoped to do, You'll find that all you really need is just a friend or two.

You cannot know the multitude, however hard you try: It cannot sit about your hearth; it cannot hear your sigh; It cannot read the heart of you, or know the hurts you bear; Its cheers are all for happy men and not for those in care.

So let the throng go on its way and let the crowd depart; But one or two will keep the faith when you are sick at heart; And rich you'll be, and comforted, when gray skies hide the blue, If you can turn and share your grief with just a friend or two.

Edgar A. Guest

quietly hope

"It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from GOD. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times. When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer."

Lamentations 3:27-29

take hold

"Salvation—including forgiveness, new birth, the Spirit's enabling—is all ours through Christ. It remains for us to by faith grasp it. Some of us continue to admire it from afar and deeply desire it, but we have not yet reached out in faith and taken hold of it." -A.W. Tozer

the good fight

"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12

I am ready

"I am of the opinion that much in our Christian ritual and liturgy does not come to grips with its basic meaning. I have listened to the great musical renditions of Bach, Beethoven, Handel and others. The music written for use in services such as the mass is sublime and the language beautiful. But I cannot escape the feeling that something is missing. The prayers and the appeals are there— 'Lord, have mercy!' 'Christ, have mercy!' They are voiced again and again.

Could it be that this prayer, this appeal to God for mercy, is but the shadow of the truth? Do these prayers never approach to the reality of saving faith and confident assurance in God's promise and provision? There must come a time when petition becomes reality and we shout, 'It is done! The great transaction is done! I am my Lord's, and He is mine!'

There has to be a time and a place when we rejoice in faith that we are forgiven, that we have been born again, that God has accomplished His plan. Right there we drive a stake and say, 'Thank you, Lord! I am forgiven. I am cleansed. I am pardoned. I am a new person, born from above. Now put me to work. I am ready to witness.'"

-A.W.Tozer

afloat upon God

"If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment.

When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.

The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2 . It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. 'Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice . . .' ( 1 Samuel 15:22 ). Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been. 'If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know . . .' ( John 7:17 ). "

Oswald Chambers

eternity

"He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11b

seasons

"There is a time for everything...

a time to be born and a time to die...

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away...

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate....

He has made everything beautiful in its time."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

honor

"When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers-

the moon and the stars you have set in place-

what are mortals that you should think of us,

mere humans that you should care for us?

For you made us only a little lower than God,

and you crowned us with glory and honor." Psalm 8:3-5

focusing

"I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to Heaven." Philippians 3:12-14

faith & deeds

Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

Romans 3:28 “So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.”

James 2:18 “Now someone may argue, ‘Some people have faith; others have good deeds.’ I say, ‘I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds’.”

God cares

Don’t worry about life. (I)

Don’t worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food or clothing?(II)

Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. (III)

Not even a sparrow... can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it... So don’t be afraid! Aren’t you more valuable to Him than a whole flock of sparrows?! (IV)

God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t He more surely care for you? You have so little faith! (V)

Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. (VI)

But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (VII)

He will give you the desires of your heart. (VIII)

The Key

(I) New Living Translation, Matthew 6:25a

(II) Contemporary English Version, Matt. 6:25b

(III) The Message, Matt. 6:26

(IV) NLT, Matt. 10:29-30

(V) NLT, Matt. 6:30

(VI) NLT, Matt. 6:32

(VII) King James Version, Matt. 6:33

(VIII) New International Version, Psalm 37:4

blessed

“God blesses those who realize their

need for Him,

who depend only on Him.

They belong to the Kingdom

of Heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, patient, meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst

for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called the children of God.

God blesses those who are persecuted

because they live for God,

for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”

Matthew 5:3-10

(the above is a compilation of the New International Version, Contemporary English Version,

New Living Translation)

focus occurs in the midst of trials (distractions) not in their absence