Psalms 33:18-22

18 But the LORD watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love.

19 He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.

20 We depend on the LORD alone to save us. Only he can help us, protecting us like a shield.

21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we are trusting in his holy name.

22 Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone.  (NLT)

Our hope is to be in the LORD and the LORD alone. It is He who sustains us, protects us, helps us and saves us. Place your heart into His loving hands and let Him have His way for in so doing our hearts will rejoice.

The Love of the Lord is Everlasting.

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Psalm 33:13-15

13 The LORD looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race.

14 From his throne he observes all who live on the earth.

15 He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do. (NLT)

There is nothing that the Lord does not know, He knows everything and He knows the condition of the entire human race. He looks down from His throne not with disgust, but with love. He loves His creation because He is love. He made your heart and your heart was made to love as He loves. He understands everything about you, why you do what you do and He loves everything about you. He sent Jesus to demonstrate that love to everyone. Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to show the world how much the Father loves His creation. Jesus died for this world so that those who would believe would know the love of the Father. Love was meant to be given away and as you give it away God pours more into your life to overflowing.

Share the Love of the Father with others.

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Psalm 32:6-11

6 Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.

7 For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.

8 The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.

9 Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control."

10 Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the LORD.

11 So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure! (NLT)

In obedience there is peace and joy. When we obey the Lord and give Him control of our lives He gives us so much more. Sin brings enslavement and bondage, but obedience to God brings freedom. When we obey God even the most difficult things brings joy and gladness. When we sin God does not leave us, but lets us do things our way so that we can learn to trust Him and not ourselves. God’s way is always better than our way. Our way brings pain, sorrow and trouble but God’s way brings victory over sin and death. This victory gives us hope and that hope is in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey Him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

Unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.

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Psalm 32:1-5

1 Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!

2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

3 When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long.

4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.

5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the LORD." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. (NLT)

You cannot hide your sin from the Lord, He sees everything you do and He knows your motives behind every decision you make. The Lord cannot be fooled for He created you and knows everything about you. To hide your sin only brings misery to you and to those around you. God disciplines you because He loves you and knows what is best for you. For we have all sinned and fallen short but God has made a way to Him through Jesus Christ, He has placed the Holy Spirit within us to convict us of our sins and to draw us back to Christ. Therefore confess your sins to Him, not a blanked confession but confess each sin specifically. Then turn from your sin and turn to following Christ.

When God forgives all your guilt is gone.

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Psalms 31:23-24

23 Love the LORD, all you faithful ones! For the LORD protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes all who are arrogant.

24 So be strong and take courage, all you who put your hope in the LORD! (NLT)

Sometimes we need to ask ourselves tough questions. Are you loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ? Life can be very busy and Satan wants nothing more than to see you being too busy to serve the Lord. The Apostle Paul tells you to examine yourselves and it is important to do just that. Are you doing things in your own strength or are you relying on the Lord? Do not be arrogant but humble yourself before the Lord and be loyal to Him and Him alone. Place your hope in the Lord for it is the only true place of hope.

Be Strong and take Courage.

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Psalm 27:13 - 14

13 Yet I am confident that I will see the LORD's goodness while I am here in the land of the living.

14 Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD. (NLT)

Yes we will see the Lord’s goodness in our life here in the land of the living. We will have ups and downs in life, but the Lord’s goodness is upon us because He lives within us. Therefore you can be very confident in the Lord for the work He is doing in you and through you.

Be patient and not in a hurry for the scripture says that good things come to those who wait upon the Lord. All things will be done in God’s time not ours, so patiently wait on Him. When we do things in our own strength, in our own time and our own way we can really mess things up. Then we have to turn to the Lord, say we messed up, then the Lord has to clean up our mess and it just takes longer. Wait on the Lord.

Be Brave and Courageous.

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Philippians 2:8-9

8 And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross.
9 Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name (NLT)

We are to be like Jesus, so we as Christ followers need to humble ourselves and be obedient to our Savior. Jesus not only died a horrible death for us in our place but He died a criminal’s death. He was not a criminal nor did He commit any crimes. We were the criminals, we were the ones who had committed acts of sin against our creator and it was because of this that He had to die on the cross a criminal’s death. For us.
Because Jesus was obedient unto death God raised Him up and seated Him in the heights of heaven and gave Him the name that is above every other name. We serve a risen and living Savior that knows our pain and who is worth of our obedience. Take the time right now and thank Him for everything He has done and is doing in your life.

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Philippians 4:2-3

2 And now I want to plead with those two women, Euodia and Syntyche.
Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement.
3 And I ask you, my true teammate, to help these women,
for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News.
And they worked with Clement and the rest of my co-workers,
whose names are written in the Book of Life.
(NLT)

Because we belong to the Lord and that God tells us to forgive each other because He forgave us, therefore we are to settle our disagreements with each other. We are not to hold grudges but to humble ourselves before God and to work things out. Disagreements will arise from time to time but God instructs us to work through the issues and come to a conclusion or agreement. And while we are working through the issues we need to also be praying and seeking God on the matters at hand. Do not make the mistake of leaving God out of the picture.

We are teammates with one another and we are to help those in disagreements work together with the Lord to work through the issues. A family works things out. We are all to be working together in sharing the Good News of the gospel therefore we need to be united together in Christ for Satan wants nothing short of us fighting and squabbling with each other. We are to band together with Christ to fight against the enemy because our names are written in the Book of Life and we are marked by the Holy Spirit as His children. So be on the alert, for the enemy is watching for an opportunity to try to separate us from one another.
Bond with Christ and each other.

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Our Mission is to Lead Men into a Growing Relationship with Jesus Christ

Self-Control

1 Peter 1:13-16

13 So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. 14 Obey God because you are his children. Don't slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn't know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God — who chose you to be his children — is holy. 16 For he himself has said, "You must be holy because I am holy." (NLT)

We need to exercise self-control similarly to how we exercise our bodies. It takes effort and discipline. As you look forward to your body being in good shape when you exercise you can also look forward to the blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ as you exercise self-control.

Remember that you have been called to be a child of the living God. And as a child of God we must not go back to what we were before Christ. Before we did not know any better or really what we were doing. God tells us to be Holy as He is Holy. We have been called to a higher standard. We cannot reach it on our own but as we put our trust into the working of the Holy Spirit He will mold and shape us into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ.

Therefore be obedient children of God, letting the Holy Spirit work in your life, exercising self-control, looking to Christ's leading and bring glory to God through your walk with Christ.

Our Mission is to Lead People into a Growing Relationship with Jesus Christ

Psalm 27:1

The LORD is my light and my salvation — so why should I be afraid?

The LORD protects me from danger — so why should I tremble? (NLT)

The Lords light shines on you and around you. There is nothing for you to fear because He is with you and He surrounds you always. You can always trust the Lord to protect you from danger because He is always with you. So why are you afraid and why do you tremble? Because you doubt, you don’t trust or you only see with your eyes and not with your faith. Look around you, what do you see? The power of God in control of everything around you, in everything and holding everything together. Your God is all powerful, for even the demons tremble at the name of Jesus.

Your God is an awesome God and all power is in His hands and only His hands.

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Psalms 25:12-15

12 Who are those who fear the LORD? He will show them the path they should choose.

13 They will live in prosperity, and their children will inherit the Promised Land.

14 Friendship with the LORD is reserved for those who fear him. With them he shares the secrets of his covenant.

15 My eyes are always looking to the LORD for help, for he alone can rescue me from the traps of my enemies. (NLT)

Fear the Lord for He is all powerful and all knowing. It is by His power that all things were created. He spoke and it became what he wanted it to be. God has no beginning and He has no end. We have a beginning and this life will have an end. We are bound by time but God is not bound by anything for He is eternal. Yes we should fear the Lord for it is He who created us. Fearing the Lord is not a bad thing but a good thing. As we love, respect and worship the Lord there is blessings and promises from Him.

Fear the Lord for you were wonderfully made by Him.

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