favor

Unless the Lord builds the house,

the work of the builders is useless.


Unless the Lord protects a city,

guarding it with sentries will do no good.


Psalm 127:1




It's all about favor.

If we have God's favor, we are unstoppable.

If we don't, we will be hamstrung & hedged in, unable to be or do anything.

I speak from experience.

just read it all

Romans 8

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 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.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

thirst

John 7:37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, 

“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 

38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! 

For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (NLT)


Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsts, 

come you to the waters, 

and he that has no money; 

come you, buy, and eat; 

yea, come, 

buy wine and milk without money and without price. (KJV)

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


Ho! every one that is thirsty in spirit,
Ho! every one that is weary and sad;
Come to the fountain, there’s fullness in Jesus,
All that you’re longing for: come and be glad!

Refrain

I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While ye are seeking Me, I will be found.

Child of the world, are you tired of your bondage?
Weary of earth joys, so false, so untrue?
Thirsting for God and His fullness of blessing?
List to the promise, a message for you!

Refrain

I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While ye are seeking Me, I will be found.

Child of the kingdom, be filled with the Spirit!
Nothing but fullness thy longing can meet;
’Tis the enduement for life and for service;
Thine is the promise, so certain, so sweet.

Refrain

I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While ye are seeking Me, I will be found.

(Ho! Everyone who is Thirsty! by Lucy J Meyer, 1884)

twentyone

21 words...

21 words of Paul's to the followers of Jesus in Rome...

21 words that changed everything...

...and still does.



For the wages of sin is death,

but  the free gift of God is eternal life 

through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

friends of God?

So, Paul says here to the followers of Jesus in Rome a lot about what God has done to secure our relationship with Him.

The last sentence of this passage is the power statement...

Romans 5 

1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, 

we have peace with God 

because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

2 Because of our faith, 

Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, 

and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, 

for we know that they help us develop endurance. 

4 And endurance develops strength of character, 

and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 

5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. 

For we know how dearly God loves us, 

because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

6 When we were utterly helpless, 

Christ came at just the right time 

and died for us sinners. 

7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, 

though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 

8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 

9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, 

he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 

10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, 

we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 

11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God 

because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

one more time

I know I shared this yesterday, but it bears repeating...



Psalm 121

1 I look up to the mountains—
    does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth!

3 He will not let you stumble;
    the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
    never slumbers or sleeps.

5 The Lord himself watches over you!
    The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon at night.

7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
    and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
    both now and forever.

all 3

This morning I was slated to read Psalm 121, John 3, & Romans 3.

I couldn't decide which of the great truths I would share that are contained in these 3 chapters.

So, I decided I'd share from all three.

😎



Psalm 121

I look up to the mountains—
    does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth!

3 He will not let you stumble;
    the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
    never slumbers or sleeps.

5 The Lord himself watches over you!
    The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon at night.

7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
    and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
    both now and forever.

John 3

16 “For this is how God loved the world: 

He gave his one and only Son, 

so that everyone who believes in him 

will not perish 

but have eternal life. 

17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, 

but to save the world through him.

Romans 3

21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him 

without keeping the requirements of the law, 

as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 

22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. 

And this is true for everyone who believes, 

no matter who we are, or what we have done.

23 For everyone has sinned; 

we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 

24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. 

He did this through Christ Jesus 

when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 

25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. 

People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, 

shedding his blood. 

This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 

26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. 

God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, 

for he himself is fair and just, 

and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? 

No, 

because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. 

It is based on faith. 

28 So we are made right with God through faith 

and not by obeying the law.

29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? 

Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? 

Of course he is. 

30 There is only one God, 

and he makes people right with himself only by faith, 

whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 

31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? 

Of course not! 

In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.