Romans 2:4 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (5/1/2014)...

God has a holy temper, but He has a very long fuse! Even those who deny and blaspheme His name are recipients of His patience and long-suffering. He permits His enemies to live, to spew forth their horrid blasphemies, all the while blessing them with food and air and earthly pleasures.

- Sam Storms (Pleasures Evermore)

Romans 2:4 (NLT) Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? 

2 Peter 3:8-10 (NLT) But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. 

Psalm 40:1-4 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (4/30/2014)...

The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.

- Arnold Glasow

Psalm 40:1-4 (NLT) I waited patiently for the lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the lord. Oh, the joys of those who trust the lord, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols. 

Psalm 6:1-6 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (4/29/2014)...

The optimist says, the cup is half full. The pessimist says, the cup is half empty. The child of God says; My cup runneth over.

Psalm 1:1-6 (NLT) Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. For the lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction. 

Mark 8:35 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (4/25/2014)...

"When Jesus calls us, he does not guarantee the future or even tell us what it will be like. He does promise that he will take us to be with him - which is the ultimate land! He does promise forgiveness and inner peace. He does promise that he will be with us through thick and thin. He does promise our ultimate good. But Jesus does not say that it will be smooth here on earth. He does not say that [all] problems will be solved. Nor does he promise a life of peace and ease. If you are looking for these kinds of promises before turning to Christ, you will never get them. And if you persist in your requirements, you will never come to Christ. He calls you to trust his word alone."

- R. Kent Hughes (Genesis, Beginning and Ending)

Matthew 10:37 (NLT)  “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. 

Mark 8:35 (NLT)  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 

 

Ephesians 6:10-12

FROM TODAY'S READING (4/24/2014)...

"The unseen world is a real world, and modern men and women are particularly vulnerable to that spirit world because of their ignorance of it and their inquisitiveness about it. The average person today is like a person living in the Middle Ages, trying to fight disease while ignorant of bacteria. During the plague that decimated London and part of Britain in 1665, people know next to nothing about the simplest principles of sanitation. An open city sewer ran down the middle of each street. Rats multiplied. What caused the plague? The Royal College of Surgeons said it was carried by the air. People shut themselves in their houses; stopped up windows, and chimneys. They burned noxious an evil-smelling compounds to battle the enemy, fresh air. Suppose someone had told them that the plague was carried by a bacillus, that the invisible microbes were carried by fleas, and that rats were the chief hosts of the deadly fleas. That person would have been regarded as insane. The notion was nonsense."

- John Phillips/Jerry Vines (Exploring the Book of Daniel)

Ephesians 6:10-12 (NLT) A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Galatians 6:-4, 16-18 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (4/23/2014)..,

Never be ashamed of your scars. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.

- 2014 Boston Marathon runner survivor (CBS News 4/21/14)

Galatians 6:14, 16-18 (NLT) As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God. From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus. Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. 

Isaiah 40:8 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (4/22/2014)..,

“The Bible has been banned, burned, scoffed, and ridiculed. Scholars have mocked it as foolish. Kings have branded it as illegal. A thousand times over, the grave has been dug and the dirge has begun, but somehow the Bible never stays in the grave. Not only has it survived, it has thrived. It’s the single most popular book in all of history. It has been the best-selling book in the world for years.”

- Max Lucado

Isaiah 40:8 (NLT) The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.” 

1 Peter 1:23 (NLT) For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.