#0002691

"Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them(Luke22:24). Jesus told them,'In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called friends of the people(v25).' But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant(v26). Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves(v27). You have stayed with Me in My time of trial(v28). And just as My Father has granted Me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right(v29), to eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom(Luk22:30a)."

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#0002692

"What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us(Romans8:31)? Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won't He also give us everything else(v32)? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one--for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself(v33). Who then will condemn us? No one--for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us(Rom8:34)."

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#0002693

Write the sad times on sand, write the happy times on stones...- George Bernard Shaw.......1Pet5:10,11 "The God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever."

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#0002694

No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God...- Charles H. Spurgeon.....Isaiah26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee."

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#0002695

I simply want you to consider that God may have a reason why your early life was the way it was, and I want to give you the hope of discovering a redemptive purpose. The hand of God may not have been clear while you were in the midst of your childhood, but in hindsight you may be able to detect His presence at times you felt alone. You may find His wisdom behind decisions made seemingly in confusion. Finding God's hand at work in our earlier life can help us put to rest some of the issues of our past and may even bring some healing to old wounds...- Neil Cole, Journeys To Significance.......Acts22:16 "What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord."

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#0002696

"I am the Lord; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don't even know Me(Isaiah45:5), so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God. I am the Lord, and there is no other(v6). I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things(v7). Open up, O heavens, and pour out your righteousness. Let the earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together. I, the Lord, created them(Isa45:8)."

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#0002697

"What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, 'Stop, you're doing it wrong!' Does the pot exclaim, 'How clumsy can you be(Isaiah45:9)?' How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father, 'Why was I born?' or if it said to its mother, 'Why did you make me this way(v10)?' This is what the Lord says--the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: 'Do you question what I do for My children? Do you give Me orders about the work of My hands(v11). I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With My hand I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at My command(v12). I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill My righteous purpose, and I will guide his actions. He will restore My city and free My captive people--without seeking a reward! I, the Lord of Heaven's Armies, have spoken'(Isa45:13)!"

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#0002698

The real trick is to be a successful leader in a context of difficult challenges. It is rare to lead throughout one's lifetime and to increase in significance all along so that one finishes strong and leaves a legacy of strong leaders to carry on the work...- Neil Cole, Journey To Significance.....Romans1:5-7 "Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey Him, bringing glory to His Name. And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be His own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace."

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#0002699

Does Merely Believing Something Make It True? Is something true because you believe it, because you have faith and can accept it as such? What makes something true? Believing it, having faith in it, thinking that it is so doesn't make it to be that way. A liter or quart is the same regardless of what you think or believe. Our problem today is that we are drowning in a sea of existential half-truths and a hodgepodge of relativism. You have to know what a straight line is before you know what a crooked one is. God's Word is that straight line. Measure your goals, your relationships, and your hopes against this absolute standard blueprint for life...- Sala, Refuge And Strength.............John17:17 "Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth."

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#0002700

You can easily find people who are ten times as rich at sixty as they were at twenty; but not one of them will tell you that they are ten times as happy...- George Bernard Shaw......Proverbs23:15,16 "My child, if your heart is wise, My own heart will rejoice! Everything in Me will celebrate when you speak what is right."

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#0002701

'What is truth?' Pontius Pilate asked Jesus Christ this question as the latter was being tried on charges of sedition. One can readily understand his quest for truth. Had truth been in his grasp, he would have possessed that which men have been seeking since the dawn of humanity. These words, 'What is truth?' found neither their beginning nor ending with Pilate. Several hundred years before Pilate, there were the Greek philosophers who spent their lives seeking truth, and today, centuries later, many still seek truth. We have made tremendous strides down the corridors of knowledge, but the search for truth continues. The answer finds its expression in Christ. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me(Jn14:6)." As you begin to fathom the mind of Christ, you will begin to understand what Jesus meant...- Sala, Refuge And Strength.....John8:32 "You shall know the truth, that is Christ, and the truth will set you free."

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#0002702

One dictionary attempts to define truth by saying that it corresponds to reality. In other words, it is what actually exists. Is it not logical that to find truth we should turn to the One who is the First Cause of all that exists? Plato talked about the 'Demiurge'. Aristotle spoke of an 'Unmoved Mover'--a force so great that nothing could be greater. Lloyd Morgan, the English zoologist, spoke of God as the 'divine activity.' The French philosopher Henri Bergson attempted to explain Him as he referred to the 'elan vital,' falling far short of who God is. We simply call Him God, as did Moses in the creation account. The story of God's revelation to humankind is contained in the Bible. Man can know God through Jesus Christ who said, 'he who knows Me, knows the Father'...- Sala, Refuge And Strength..............John8:32 "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

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#0002703

Whatever men call Him, if truth is that which corresponds to reality, surely the most important thing in life is to know the reality of the God of the Bible, the Almighty and the Creator of all things. The greatness of God in creation--the reality of His power in bringing to pass the reality of existence--this has been self-evident to all men from the dawn of humanity. The philosophers and the scientists, along with the heathen and the superstitious, have realized that God manifests His power in creation. However, to some, God was only a creative power, a force that created--and nothing more. But the true God is not merely a force. He is not merely a philosophical concept. Neither is God a 'What'--an impersonal 'It.' He is both spirit and person, and He has revealed Himself to men through the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. His revelation to men came through the loving act of sending Jesus Christ to earth, God in human flesh...- Sala, Refuge And Strength.....Jn3:17 "God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him."

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#0002704

We are admonished to seek out the will of the Lord. In Ephesians5:17 we read, "Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Some people, however, misunderstand the will of God. They think it must be a harsh, joyless thing, intended to make us miserable. But listen: God's will comes from God's love. If you love someone, will you want to make him miserable? Will you go out of your way to punish him if he doesn't do exactly what you tell him to? No, of course not--not if you really love him. The same is true with God. Because He loves you, He cares what happens to you. He loves you too much to let you wander aimlessly through life, without meaning or purpose. The Bible says, "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy(Psa16:11)." Covet God's will for your life more than anything else. To know God's will--and to do it--is life's greatest joy...- Sala, Refuge And Strength.....Eph6:6 "Doing the will of God from the heart."

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#0002705

"Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large(John14:22b)? Jesus replied, 'All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them(v23). Anyone who doesn't love Me will not obey Me. And remember, My words are not My own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent Me(v24). I am telling you these things now while I am still with you(v25). But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative--that is, the Holy Spirit--He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you(v26). I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid(v27).- I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe(Jn14:29)."

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#0002706

As memory may be a paradise from which we cannot be driven, it may also be a hell from which we cannot escape...- John Spalding.......Matthew28:20 "Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

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#0002707

There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity...- Tom Peters......2Peter3:13,14 "But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight."

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#0002708

I awoke with devout thanksgiving for my friends...- Ralph Waldo Emerson........Matthew18:19,20 "I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in Heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them."

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#0002709

In the midst of a thousand different voices, all claiming their own authority and clamoring for our allegiance, only one Voice will tell us the truth. That Voice? The written Word of God, given to us by God to tell us what we are to believe and how we are to live. As the Psalmist said, "The entrance of Your words gives light(Psalm119:130)." In a letter to a friend, Abraham Lincoln said, 'I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this book upon reason that you can and the balance upon faith, and you will live and die a better man.' John Bunyan wrote, 'If you want encouragement, entertain the promises.' We have only one authority, one compass: the Word of God. The Bible is our one sure guide in an unsure world. Is it your guide?...- Billy Graham, Hope For Each Day....Psalm119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

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#0002710

"Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear(Jeremiah5:21). Have you no respect for Me? Why don't you tremble in My presence? I, the Lord, define the ocean's sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set(v22). But My people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned away and abandoned Me(v23). They do not say from the heart, 'Let us live in awe of the Lord our God, for He gives us rain each spring and fall, assuring us of a harvest when the time is right'(v24)."

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#0002711

I awoke with devout thanksgiving for my friends...- Ralph Waldo Emerson........Matthew18:19,20 "I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in Heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them."

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#0002712

"Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another(Psa75:6,7).- He changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding(Dan2:21).- And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don't panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won't follow immediately(Mat24:6).- If God be for us, who can be against us(Rom8:31)?"

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#0002713

Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win, By fearing to attempt...- William Shakespeare.....Rev22:14 "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

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#0002714

Kindness is the golden key that unlocks the hearts of others...- Henry Drummond.....Mat5:9 "God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God."

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#0002715

The true recipe for a miserable existence is to quarrel with Providence...- James Waddell Alexander II.....Luke11:28 "Jesus replied, 'But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice."

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#0002716

The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators...- Edward Gibbon.....Proverbs3: 3,4 "Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation."

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#0002717

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us...-

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#0002718

Helen Keller.......Isaiah45:22 "Let all the world look to Me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other."

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#0002719

"There is no God else beside Me: a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside Me. Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else(Isaiah45:21,22).- There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved(Acts4:12)."

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#002720

Avoid becoming disliked. There is no right occasion to seek dislike--it comes without seeking soon enough. There are many who hate of their own accord without knowing the why or the how. Their ill will outruns our readiness to please. Their ill nature is more prone to do harm to others than their greed is eager to gain advantage for themselves. Some manage to be on bad terms with everyone because they always either produce or experience vexation of spirit. Once hate has taken root it is, like bad reputation, difficult to eradicate. Wise people are feared, the malevolent are abhorred, the arrogant are regarded with disdain, buffoons with contempt, eccentrics with neglect. Therefore pay respect that you may be respected, and know that to be esteemed you must show esteem...- Baltasar Gracian, Aphorism119, Art Of Worldly Wisdom.....1Cor12:7 "A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other."

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#0002721

"As He was speaking, a woman in the crowd called out, 'God bless your mother--the womb from which you came, and the breasts that nursed you!' Jesus replied, 'But even more blessed are all who hear the Word of God and put it into practice'(Luke11:17)."

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#0002722

"He knew their thoughts, so He said, 'Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart(Luke11:17).- Anyone who isn't with Me opposes Me, and anyone who isn't working with Me is actually working against Me(Lk11:23).- But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice(Luke11:28b)."