“You were not created to be the king of your own life. You were not created to bear the burden of doing life apart from the lordship of Jesus Christ. And you will never know true peace, joy, purpose, and love until you submit all you are to all God is.  God will not bless that which is not his will.  He longs for the day when we will stop submitting to our own pride, yield ourselves to him, and discover the wealth of life available to us in him alone.”

Craig Denison    

“On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” Revelation 19:16

God endows us with gifts so we can make him known. Period! God endues the Olympian with speed, the salesman with savvy, the surgeon with skill. Why? The big answer is to make a big to-do out of God. To brandish him. Herald him.

God has given gifts to each of us from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well. . .then God will be given glory” (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT). Make it your life’s encore to the end of time that “he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything (1 Peter 4:11 MSG).

And when you magnify your Maker with your strengths, your days will grow suddenly sweet. And to really sweeten your world, use your uniqueness to make a big deal about God—every day of your life! ~ Max Lucado

A short story this morning… I have been praying about a certain situation in my life – actually I have several situations going on – but in this one area I was kind of, “praying as I went” through the day, just mentioning it to God here and there. It’s hard to admit, but many times that’s the level of prayer that many of us think is sufficient, or all we think we can give. But one night I really poured out my heart to God and I sensed His hug just a little tighter than I sometimes do. Well, the situation presented itself and I thought for the past several days that it might be getting worse. But yesterday, it turned into exactly what I had cried out to Him that I felt I needed! As the day unfolded He absolutely broke into my work day with the awareness of His hand of providence and His answering YES to my prayer! I’m only sharing this to say 1) although God always hears your prayers, yes – He does embrace you with an answer in a deeper way on occasion, and 2) if you are praying for something – PRESS ON! He is not playing hide and seek with you – He wants you to learn something or know Him more deeply, and He WILL answer you according to what He wants for you! So keep going – and keep going deeper with Him!

“Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your persistence he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Luke 11:5-10

“With all the breath I’ve got, I WILL declare the praises of Him who called me out of darkness into His glorious light. That will reframe your circumstances with the character of God. The enemy wants to reframe the character of God by your circumstances.” ~ Louie Giglio

Dave Busby said “the most important thing you think about, is what you think about, when you think about God. Your image of Him defines everything else in your life!”

“That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10

“As we prepared to board our jet to leave Ghana, I told an African airport employee about the hurting yet joyful people we met in the slums. She replied, “We have to trust God. Our people have no other hope.”

Hardships press us up against God. It’s a universal truth we all learned in the old Sunday School song, “We are weak but He is strong…”

This is what I saw that night in Africa. A pastor friend spread wide his arms and beamed, “Welcome to our country, where our God is bigger than your God.” It is a fact: God is bigger to those who need him most. And suffering is the tool He uses to help us need him more.”

~ Joni Eareckson Tada

The ocean is magnificent. Wave after wave since time began.

What if you saw a group of people who went out every day to help the waves. They would wade out and push and shove those waves toward the shore, actually thinking it was their “works” that kept the waves coming in. You would have to assume that they had no idea how vast the ocean really is.

God’s love is zillions times larger than the ocean. I know some well meaning Christians who wade out and work so hard to keep His love coming, actually believing that it’s their “works”. It’s great to work IN His love, but never FOR His love.

I’m sure there are those who would disagree. I would have to sadly assume they are lacking in understanding how magnificent, how glorious His love is for His church, His children, His bride.

My prayer is that we might all wade out a little deeper and that we might see the depth of His love for us.

~ Joe Shelton

“… And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Ephesians 3:17-19

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may find grace for a well-timed help.” Hebrews 4:16

Prayer is the way to find future grace for a well-timed help. This grace of God always arrives from the “throne of grace” on time. The phrase “throne of grace” means that future grace comes from the King of the universe who sets the times by his own authority! (Acts 1:7)

~ John Piper

When Christ rose from the dead, he never reminded the disciples of their betrayal and desertion.  They outran the guards, but they couldn’t outrun the love of Christ.

Desert God—he’ll still love you.  Deny God—he’ll still love you.  Doubt God—he’ll still love you.  You have never lived a loveless day.  Not one!  You never leave God’s mind, escape his sight, or flee his thoughts.  He knows you better than you know you, and he loves you still.

The greatest discovery in the universe is the greatest love in the universe—and that is God’s love.  Remember Paul’s words in Romans 8:38,  “Nothing can separate us from his love.”  Step to the well of God’s love and drink up.  Once filled by his love, you’ll never be the same.

~ Max Lucado

“It’s crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe – the creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor – loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss.”

“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”

~Francis Chan

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31

“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’”

Matthew 22:37

“Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you. Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him.”

Deuteronomy 11:22

“I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.”

Psalms 9:1-2

“After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace . . . will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”  1 Peter 5:10

“May your whole life be so settled and established that all the blasts of hell and all the storms of earth will never be able to remove you.  It is of no use to hope that we shall be well rooted if no rough winds pass over us.” Alistair Begg