2024 YEAR OF THE RESTORATION OF THINGS HOPED FOR 12-31- 23

Prov 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. NLT

Rom 5:5 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. NLT

Romans 8:24 For what we already experience confirms our hope and continues to fuel our expectation for what we still cannot see. In the final visible completeness of the harvest, hope has fulfilled its function.

25 In the meantime our expectation takes us beyond visual confirmation into a place of patient contentment.

26 The Spirit also sighs within us with words too deep for articulation, assisting us in our prayers when we struggle to know how to pray properly. When we feel restricted in our flesh, he supersedes our clumsy efforts and hits bulls-eye every time.  Mirror

Ps 37:12 Bad guys have it in for the good guys, obsessed with doing them in.

13 But God isn’t losing any sleep; to him they’re a joke with no punch line. MSG

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Psalms 37:12 Let the wicked keep plotting against the godly with all their sneers and arrogant jeers.

¹³God laughs at the wicked and their plans, for he knows their day is coming!  TPT

1 Cor 15:19  If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. MSG

1 COR 15:19 If our hope in Christ was restricted to only benefit us in this life then imagine the severity of our disappointment if it all had to come to an abrupt end when we died.   MIRROR

JOHN 3:16 The entire cosmos is the object of God’s affection! And he is not about to abandon his creation – the gift of his Son is for mankind to realize their origin in him who mirrors their authentic birth – begotten not of flesh but of the Father!   

17 God has no intention to condemn anyone – he sent his Son, not to be the Judge but the Savior of the world.  MIRROR

Jer 29:7 And seek (inquire for, require, and request) the peace and welfare of the city to which I have caused you to be carried away captive; and pray to the Lord for it, for in the welfare of [the city in which you live] you will have welfare.  AMP

Ps 133:1 How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!

2 It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, Flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes.

3 It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.  MSG

Matt 10:7  Tell them that the kingdom is here.

8 Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.

9 “Don’t think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. 10 You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.  MSG

Matt 5:14  “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.

15 If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. 16 Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand — shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. MSG

Eph 2:14 It is in him that we are one and at peace with everyone; he dissolved every definition of division.  Mirror

Psalms 104:4 You make your messengers into winds of the Spirit, and all your ministers become flames of fire.  TPT

GOD’S FAVOR 12-29-23 VIDEO UNDESERVED FAVOR 2

God‘s favor is His personal act of kindness towards us. It is not because of what we have done. It is God‘s willingness to cause us to walk in our identity. Supernatural favor came to Ruth into Esther. They were favored so that their destiny would be completed.

Moses talk to God because he was favored and he like us had a destiny. In spite of the world circumstances that came against them, they all achieve their destiny and were marked by God‘s favor. Grace is Gods unlimited favor. Jesus is what God’s favor looks like.

Ex 3:21 And I will give this people favor and respect in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed.  AMP

Ex 12:36 God saw to it that the Egyptians liked the people and so readily gave them what they asked for. Oh yes! They picked those Egyptians clean. MSG

Ex 33:12-16 Moses said to God, “Look, you tell me, ‘Lead this people,’ but you don’t let me know whom you’re going to send with me. You tell me, ‘I know you well and you are special to me.’

13 If I am so special to you, let me in on your plans. That way, I will continue being special to you. Don’t forget, this is your people, your responsibility.”

14 God said, “My presence will go with you. I’ll see the journey to the end.”

15 Moses said, “If your presence doesn’t take the lead here, call this trip off right now.

16 How else will it be known that you’re with me in this, with me and your people? Are you traveling with us or not? How else will we know that we’re special, I and your people, among all other people on this planet Earth?”  MSG

Ruth 2:10 She dropped to her knees, then bowed her face to the ground. “How does this happen that you should pick me out and treat me so kindly — me, a foreigner?”   MSG

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Ruth 2:13  She said, “Oh sir, such grace, such kindness — I don’t deserve it. You’ve touched my heart, treated me like one of your own. And I don’t even belong here!”  MSG

Est 7:3 Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your eyes, O King, and if it please the king, give me my life, and give my people their lives. 

4 “We’ve been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed — sold to be massacred, eliminated. If we had just been sold off into slavery, I wouldn’t even have brought it up; our troubles wouldn’t have been worth bothering the king over.”

5 King Xerxes exploded, “Who? Where is he? This is monstrous!” 

6 “An enemy. An adversary. This evil Haman,” said Esther. Haman was terror-stricken before the king and queen. 

7 The king, raging, left his wine and stalked out into the palace garden.

Ps 89:17 You are their strength. What glory! Our power is based on your favor! TLB

Job 10:12 You have granted me life and favor, and Your providence has preserved my spirit.  AMP

Psalms 30:5 I’ve learned that his anger lasts for a moment, but his loving favor lasts a lifetime! We may weep through the night, but at daybreak it will turn into shouts of ecstatic joy.  TPT

Ps 41:11 By this I know that You favor and delight in me, because my enemy does not triumph over me.  AMP

Ps 84:11 For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.  AMP

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Psalms 84:11 For the Lord God is brighter than the brilliance of a sunrise! Wrapping himself around me like a shield, he is so generous with his gifts of grace and glory.

Those who walk along his paths with integrity will never lack one thing they need, for he provides it all!  TPT

Proverbs 11:11 The blessing of favor resting upon the righteous influences a city to lift it higher, but wicked leaders tear it apart by their words.  TPT

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Prov 11:11 By the blessing of the influence of the upright and God’s favor [because of them] the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.  AMP

Isa 30:18 “For this reason the Lord is still waiting to show his favor to you so he can show you his marvelous love. He waits to be gracious to you. He sits on his throne ready to show mercy to you.” For Yahweh is the Lord of justice, faithful to keep his promises. Overwhelmed with bliss are all who will entwine their hearts in him, waiting for him to help them. TPT

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Isa 30:18  And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!  AMP

Hos 10:12 Sow for yourselves according to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God); reap according to mercy and loving-kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, to inquire for and of Him, and to require His favor, till He comes and teaches you righteousness and rains His righteous gift of salvation upon you.  AMP

Matt 5:5 Blessed (happy, blithesome, joyous, spiritually prosperous — with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the meek (the mild, patient, long-suffering), for they shall inherit the earth! 

6 Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied! 

7 Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous — with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!

8 Blessed (happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous — possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!   AMP

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Matthew 5:5 “What blessing comes to you when gentleness lives in you! For you will inherit the earth.

⁶“How enriched you are when you crave righteousness! For you will be satisfied.

⁷“How blessed you are when you demonstrate tender mercy! For tender mercy will be demonstrated to you.

⁸“What bliss you experience when your heart is pure! For then your eyes will open to see more and more of God. TPT

LUKE 1:30 The Messenger spoke to her and immediately re-assured her to have no fear – “God is head over heels in love with you! This is your moment to discover how favored you have always been!  MIRROR

LUKE 2:40 The child grew up to be a healthy, vigorous little boy, with an uncluttered mind full of wisdom – living aware of the constant influence of God’s favor upon him.  MIRROR

JOHN 1:14 Suddenly the invisible, eternal Word takes on visible form – the Incarnation, on display in a flesh and blood Person, as in a mirror! In him, and now confirmed in us! The most accurate tangible exhibit of God’s eternal thought finds expression in human life! The Word became a human being; we are his address; he resides in us! He captivates our gaze! The glory we see there is not a religious replica; he is the authentic begotten Son.  MIRROR

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John 1:14 And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.  AMP

John 1:16 For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.

17 For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ.  AMP

John 1:18 No one ever before gazed upon the full splendor of God except his uniquely beloved Son, who is cherished by the Father and held close to his heart. Now that he has come to us, he has unfolded the full explanation of who God truly is!  TPT

Rom 5:2 Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.  AMP

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Rom 5:2 And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand — out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.  MSG

Rom 15:15  So, my dear friends, don’t take my rather bold and blunt language as criticism. It’s not criticism. I’m simply underlining how very much I need your help in carrying out this highly focused assignment God gave me,

16 this priestly and gospel work of serving the spiritual needs of the non-Jewish outsiders so they can be presented as an acceptable offering to God, made whole and holy by God’s Holy Spirit.  MSG

2 Cor 5:18 All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.

19 God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing.

20 We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.  MSG

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,  AMP

 2 COR 6:2  For he says, I listened to you at the time of my favor. And the day when you needed salvation, I came to your aid. So can’t you see? Now is the time to respond to his favor! Now is the day of salvation!  TPT

MERRY CHRISTMAS 12-24-23  VIDEO THE SKIT GUYS OTHER SHEPHARD

We come together this morning, to celebrate the birth of Jesus. To give our hearts to Him and proclaim that He is king and Lord. It happened in Bethlehem, not far from where the shepherds are watching over their sheep: Jesus is born. The great Shepherd. In Bethlehem, a small city famous for David would now be the birth place to Jesus Christ. The Jews knew for Christ was to be born. The shepherds were watching over their sheep, knew the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. They knew only that the Messiah could free them from bondage. That he would be the perfect lamb. These shepherds saw the prophecy fulfilled. They witnessed what they had been waiting to  come to pass. The great shepherd was born. The Magi brought gifts. The shepherds. and the wiseman, after many years of waiting, saw the prophecy of the Messiah‘s birth. come to pass. Joy and happiness must’ve filled them as they saw the sky bright with light. But for us today, we remember that unto us the child, the baby has been given. He changed everything in a very real way.  So the angels saying, “glory to God, in the highest peace to all men and women on earth”. That still rings true. His birthday is our birthday too.

Psalms 72:9 Desert nomads are bowing at his feet; every enemy is falling facedown, biting the dust!

¹⁰Distant kings will surrender and come with their gifts from every continent and coastland; they will offer their tribute to you.

¹¹O King of kings, they will all bow before you. O King of kings, every nation will one day serve you. 

12-13 He will care for the needy and neglected when they cry to him for help.

The humble and helpless will know his kindness, for with a father’s compassion he will save their souls.

¹⁴They will be rescued from tyranny and torture, for their lifeblood is precious in his eyes.

¹⁵Long live this King! May the wealth of the world be laid before him. May there be ceaseless praise and prayer to him. May all the blessing be brought to him.  TPT

Mic 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, you are little to be among the clans of Judah; [yet] out of you shall One come forth for Me Who is to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, from ancient days (eternity).  AMP

Mic 5:2 But you, Bethlehem, David’s country, the runt of the litter — From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule Israel. He’ll be no upstart, no pretender. His family tree is ancient and distinguished. MSG

Mic 5:4 He will stand tall in his shepherd-rule by God’s strength, centered in the majesty of God-Revealed. And the people will have a good and safe home, for the whole world will hold him in respect — Peacemaker of the world!   MSG

Matt 2:3 When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified — and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well.

4 Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

5 They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:

6 It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land, no longer bringing up the rear. From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.”  MSG

Isa 9:6 For a child has been born — for us! the gift of a son — for us! He’ll take over the running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness.

7 His ruling authority will grow, and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings. He’ll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom. He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going With fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always. The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies will do all this. MSG Author of eternity, and by whom the Church and every member thereof shall be preserved forever, and have immortal life.

1 Cor 15:47  The first man [was] from out of earth, made of dust (earthly-minded); the second Man [is] the Lord from out of heaven.   AMP

Luke 2:8 That night, in a fieldnear Bethlehem, there were shepherds watching over their flocks.

⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared in radiant splendor before them, lighting up the field with the blazing glory of God, and the shepherds were terrified!

¹⁰ But the angel reassured them, saying, “Don’t be afraid. For I have come to bring you good news, the most joyous news the world has ever heard! And it is for everyone everywhere!

¹¹ For today in Bethlehem a rescuer was born for you. He is the Lord Yahweh, the Messiah.

12 You will recognize him by this miracle sign: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough!”

¹³ Then all at once, a vast number of glorious angels appeared, the very armies of heaven! And they all praised God, singing:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven!  For there is peaceand a good hopegiven to the sons of men.”

¹⁵ When the choir of angels disappeared back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go! Let’s hurry and find this Wordthat is born in Bethlehem and see for ourselves what the Lord has revealed to us.”  

¹⁶So they hurried off and found their way to Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in a feeding trough.

17-18Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was astonished by what they were told.

TPT

 VIDEO CHRISTMAS CAROLS MICHAEL JR

LET’S GROW UP IN CHRIST. LET’S MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER  12-17-23  VIDEO growth pill

Holy Spirit is with us to show us that there is more to come in our walk with God. More to press into. Our hearts are yearning for more. Let’s move into maturity in Christ. It is vital. We in Christ were created to have the authority to open and close doors just like Jesus did. Maturity for us means to be like Christ.

Heb 6:1 So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God;

2 baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment.

3 God helping us, we’ll stay true to all that. But there’s so much more. Let’s get on with it!  MSG

1 Cor 14:20 Brethren, do not be children [immature] in your thinking; continue to be babes in [matters of] evil, but in your minds be mature [men]. AMP

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1 Cor 14:20 To be perfectly frank, I’m getting exasperated with your infantile thinking. How long before you grow up and use your head — your adult head? It’s all right to have a childlike unfamiliarity with evil; a simple no is all that’s needed there. But there’s far more to saying yes to something. Only mature and well-exercised intelligence can save you from falling into gullibility.  MSG

1 Corinthians 3:1 Brothers and sisters, when I was with you I found it impossible to speak to you as those who are spiritually mature people, for you are still dominated by the mind-set of the flesh. And because you are immature infants in Christ,

²I had to nurse you and feed you with “milk,” not with the solid food of more advanced teachings, because you weren’t ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready to be fed solid food,

³for you are living your lives dominated by the mind-set of the flesh. Ask yourselves: Is there jealousy among you? Do you compare yourselves with others? Do you quarrel like children and end up taking sides? If so, this proves that you are living your lives centered on yourselves, dominated by the mind-set of the flesh, and behaving like unbelievers.  TPT

Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of heaven’s kingdom realm to forbid on earth that which is forbidden in heaven, and to release on earth that which is released in heaven.”  TPT

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Matt 18:18 “Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this.

19 When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action.  MSG

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Matthew 18:18 “Receive this truth: Whatever you forbid on earth will be considered to be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be considered to be released in heaven.

¹⁹Again, I give you an eternal truth: If two of you agree to ask God for something in a symphony of prayer, my heavenly Father will do it for you. TPT

Isa 22:22 And the key of the house of David I will lay upon his shoulder; he shall open and no one shall shut, he shall shut and no one shall open. AMP

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Isa 22:22 I’ll give him the key of the Davidic heritage. He’ll have the run of the place — open any door and keep it open, lock any door and keep it locked.  MSG

Matt 19:18 He said to Him, What sort of commandments? [Or, which ones?] And Jesus answered, You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,  

19 Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.  

20 The young man said, I have observed all these from my youth; what still do I lack?

21 Jesus answered him, If you would be perfect [that is, have that spiritual maturity which accompanies self-sacrificing character], go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; and come, be My disciple [side with My party and follow Me].

22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad (grieved and in much distress), for he had great possessions.  AMP

Rom 5:4 And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

5 Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.  AMP

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Rom 5:4 and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.

5 In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary — we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!  MSG

Eph 1:10 a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

11 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living,

12 part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

13 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free — signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit.

14 This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.  MSG

Ps 1:3 And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].  AMP

1 John 2:5 But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [who bears in mind His precepts, who observes His message in its entirety], truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed, reached maturity). By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we are in Him:

6 Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.  AMP

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1 John 2:5 But the one who keeps God’s word is the person in whom we see God’s mature love. This is the only way to be sure we’re in God.

6 Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.  MSG

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].  AMP

Rom 12:2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. MSG

Rom 15:5 May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all.  MSG

Heb 7:19 the law brought nothing to maturity. Another way — Jesus! — a way that does work, that brings us right into the presence of God, is put in its place. MSG

1 Cor 2:6 Yet when we are among the full-grown (spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding), we do impart a [higher] wisdom (the knowledge of the divine plan previously hidden); but it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age or of this world nor of the leaders and rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away.

7 But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God — [that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence].

8 None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.

9 But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].  AMP

Eph 4:10 And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts,

11 filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher

12 to train Christians in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church,

13 until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

14 No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors.

15 God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love — like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do.

16 He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love. MSG

Phil 3:15 So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also.

16 Only let us hold true to what we have already attained and walk and order our lives by that.  AMP

Col 1:28 Him we preach and proclaim, warning and admonishing everyone and instructing everyone in all wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God), that we may present every person mature (full-grown, fully initiated, complete, and perfect) in Christ (the Anointed One).

29 For this I labor [unto weariness], striving with all the superhuman energy which He so mightily enkindles and works within me.  AMP

Luke 8:10 He said to them, To you it has been given to [come progressively to] know (to recognize and understand more strongly and clearly) the mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that, [though] looking, they may not see; and hearing, they may not comprehend.  AMP

CHOOSING JOY 12-15-23 VIDEO MICHAEL JR LISTEN TO GOD 2

As we are getting closer to Christmas, we feel a joy in the atmosphere. People wish each other a “merry Christmas“. Strangers take time to talk. Joy and expectation are in the atmosphere. Joy is a fruit of the spirit. A good feeling in our soul produced by the Holy Spirit. Joy is a settled assurance that God is a control of all the details of our lives. A cure for depression and fear, for the whole world is singing out for joy. Christmas is the birth of Jesus. A time of great joy let’s put aside all sorrows and rejoice.

Rom 8:28  We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.  AMP

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Rom 8:28 That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.  MSG

Neh 8:10 He continued, “Go home and prepare a feast, holiday food and drink; and share it with those who don’t have anything: This day is holy to God. Don’t feel bad. The joy of God is your strength!”   MSG

Neh 12:43  That day they offered great sacrifices, an exuberant celebration because God had filled them with great joy. The women and children raised their happy voices with all the rest. Jerusalem’s jubilation was heard far and wide.  MSG

Est 8:16 For Jews it was all sunshine and laughter: they celebrated, they were honored.

17 It was that way all over the country, in every province, every city when the king’s bulletin was posted: the Jews took to the streets in celebration, cheering, and feasting. Not only that, but many non-Jews became Jews — now it was dangerous not to be a Jew!  MSG

Job 33:26 “Or, you may fall on your knees and pray — to God’s delight! You’ll see God’s smile and celebrate, finding yourself set right with God.

27 You’ll sing God’s praises to everyone you meet, testifying, ‘I messed up my life —

and let me tell you, it wasn’t worth it.

28 But God stepped in and saved me from certain death. I’m alive again! Once more I see the light!’   MSG

LUKE 15:10 I tell you, the faces of the celestial messengers light up with joy over a single person who re-discovers their authentic value and identity. MIRROR

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Luke 15:10 Count on it — that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”  MSG

Ps 4:7  More joy in one ordinary day Than they get in all their shopping sprees.

8 At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep, For you, God, have put my life back together.  MSG

Psalms 30:5 I’ve learned that his anger lasts for a moment, but his loving favor lasts a lifetime! We may weep through the night, but at daybreak it will turn into shouts of ecstatic joy.  TPT

Psalms 47:1 Go ahead and celebrate! Come on and clap your hands, everyone!

Shout to God with the raucous sounds of joy!

²The Lord God Most High is astonishing, awesome beyond words! He’s the formidable and powerful King over all the earth.

³He’s the one who conquered the nations before us and placed them all under our feet.

⁴He’s marked out our inheritance ahead of time, putting us in the front of the line, honoring Jacob, the one he loves. Pause in his presence TPT

Psalms 51:12 Let my passion for life be restored, tasting joy in every breakthrough you bring to me. Hold me close to you with a willing spirit that obeys whatever you say.  TPT

Psalms 98:4 So go ahead, everyone, and shout out your praises with joy! Break out of the box and let loose with the most joyous sound of praise!

⁵Sing your melody of praise to the Lord and make music like never before! TPT

Ps 105:43 Remember this! He led his people out singing for joy; his chosen people marched, singing their hearts out!  MSG

Psalms 126:5 Those who sow their tears as seeds will reap a harvest with joyful shouts of glee.

⁶They may weep as they go out carrying their seed to sow, but they will return with joyful laughter and shouting with gladness as they bring back armloads of blessing and a harvest overflowing!  TPT

Isa 12:3 Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation.

4 And as you do it, you’ll say, “Give thanks to God. Call out his name. Ask him anything! Shout to the nations, tell them what he’s done, spread the news of his great reputation!   MSG

Luke 2:10 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide:

11 A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master.

12 This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”

13 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:

14 Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.  MSG

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LUKE 2:10  The celestial messenger immediately calmed them and said, “You have no reason to fear! Listen! I have the most wonderful announcement to make – this will lead to the great encounter of the most joyful bliss for every single person on the planet!

11 For your Savior was born this day in the city of David, the Messiah, the Master.

12 This is how you will know it’s him, you’ll find a little baby, wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding-trough!

13 The next moment, a heavenly host of multitudes of celestial messengers joined and erupted in accolades of praise telling the God-story!  

14 God’s highest and grandest 1intention in the heavens is dove-tailed upon earth in unbroken, incarnate oneness; in being human, he exibits his delight in mankind! MIRROR

John 15:11 I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing. AMP  ▼▼▼

JOHN 15:11 I have spoken these things unto you so that my joy will continuously infuse you – you don’t have to invent your own if you can tap into mine! This is the ultimate bliss! MIRROR

Acts 13:52 And the disciples were continually filled [throughout their souls] with joy and the Holy Spirit.  AMP

Rom 14:17 God’s kingdom isn’t a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness’ sake. It’s what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy.  MSG

Rom 15:13  May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.  AMP

HEB 12:2 Look away from the shadow dispensation of the law and the Prophets and fix your eyes upon Jesus. He is the fountainhead and conclusion of faith. He saw the joy [of mankind’s salvation] when he braved the cross and despised the shame of it. As the executive authority of God [the right hand of the throne of God] he now occupies the highest seat of dominion to endorse mankind’s innocence!  MIRROR

Acts 26:2 “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews,  NKJV

“Hearing God’s Voice’’  12-10-23  VIDEO DEEP THOUGHTS LISTENING TO GOD

What does God’s Voice sound like? It can be a still small voice or the sound of thunder and waves of the sea. God’s voice as He spoke created the earth.  His voice is creative can make something from nothing. Every single believer has heard the voice of God, but sometimes they don’t attribute it to Him. They think it is just my conscience or my imagination. Sometimes His voice is inward, other times audible, He speaks through scripture, through prophecy, impressions, dreams, angels, Every child of God has been given the right to hear His voice

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. Mirror

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John 10:27 My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. MSG

Ps 40:6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you — that’s not what you’re after. Being religious, acting pious — that’s not what you’re asking for. You’ve opened my ears so I can listen. MSG

Deut 4:12 And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the voice of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.  AMP

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Deut 4:30 When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, in future days you will come back to God, your God, and listen obediently to what he says.

31 God, your God, is above all a compassionate God. In the end he will not abandon you, he won’t bring you to ruin, he won’t forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them.

32 Ask questions. Find out what has been going on all these years before you were born. From the day God created man and woman on this Earth, and from the horizon in the east to the horizon in the west — as far back as you can imagine and as far away as you can imagine — has as great a thing as this ever happened? Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

33 Has a people ever heard, as you did, a god speaking out of the middle of the fire and lived to tell the story?  MSG

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Deut 5:24 and said, “Our God has revealed to us his glory and greatness. We’ve heard him speak from the fire today! We’ve seen that God can speak to humans and they can still live.  MSG

Num 7:89 When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with God, he heard the Voice speaking to him from between the two angel-cherubim above the Atonement-Cover on the Chest of The Testimony. He spoke with him. MSG

1 Kings 19:11 Then he was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.” A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake;

12 and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.

13 When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there. A quiet voice asked, “So Elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?”  MSG

Job 26:14 And this is only the beginning, a mere whisper of his rule. Whatever would we do if he really raised his voice!” MSG 

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Job 26:14 Yet these are but [a small part of His doings] the outskirts of His ways or the mere fringes of His force, the faintest whisper of His voice! Who dares contemplate or who can understand the thunders of His full, magnificent power?  AMP

Acts 9:3 He set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light.

4 As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?”

5 He said, “Who are you, Master?” “I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down.

6 I want you to get up and enter the city. In the city you’ll be told what to do next.”

 MSG

Gen 8:15 God spoke to Noah:

16 “Leave the ship, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives.

17 And take all the animals with you, the whole menagerie of birds and mammals and crawling creatures, all that brimming prodigality of life, so they can reproduce and flourish on the Earth.”  MSG

Job 37:5 God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. AMP

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Job 37:5 His word thundering so wondrously, his mighty acts staggering our understanding.  MSG

Psalms 29:4 The voice of the Lord echoes through the skies and seas. The Glory-God reigns as he thunders in the clouds. So powerful is his voice, so brilliant and bright—how majestic as he thunders over the great waters!

⁵His tympanic thunder topples the strongest of trees. His symphonic sound splinters the mighty forests.

⁶Now he moves Zion’s mountains by the might of his voice, shaking the snowy peaks with his earsplitting sound!

⁷The lightning-fire flashes, striking as he speaks.

⁸God reveals himself when he makes the fault lines quake, shaking deserts, speaking his voice.

⁹God’s mighty voice makes the deer to give birth. His thunderbolt-voice lays the forest bare. In his temple all fall before him with each one shouting,“Glory, glory, the God of glory!”  TPT

Psalms 68:33 Make music for the one who strides the ancient skies. Listen to his thunderous voice of might split open the heavens.

³⁴Give it up for God, for he alone has all the strength and power! Proclaim his majesty! For his glory shines down on Israel. His mighty strength soars in the clouds of glory. TPT

HEB 4:7 So, now again many years later, he points specifically to an extended opportunity when he announces in David’s prophecy, “Today when hearing my voice, do not do so with a calloused heart. Be faith sensitive.”   MIRROR

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Hebrews 4:7For God still has ordained a day for us to enter into called “Today.” For it was long afterwards that God repeated it in David’s words,   “If only today you would listen to his voice and do not harden your hearts!”  TPT

Hebrews 3:7 the Holy Spirit said, “Discern the voice of the shepherd. Grasp the urgency of what God is saying to you today!  

8 Therefore, do not be calloused in heart as the people of Israel were: every time they faced any contradiction or temptation in the wilderness, their response immediately revealed their irritation, rather than their persuasion in God’s belief.

9 Your fathers continued to scrutinize me suspiciously, examining me as though my intentions with them could not be trusted, even though they were eye-witnesses of my miraculous works for forty years.

10 They were a generation of people who grieved me deeply; instead of learning my ways, they habitually went astray in their hearts, intoxicated by their unbelief.

11 Hear the echo of God’s cry though the ages, “Oh! If only they would enter into my rest.”  Mirror

Hebrews 4:12 The message God spoke to us in Christ, is the most life giving and dynamic influence in us, cutting like a surgeon’s scalpel, sharper than a soldier’s sword, piercing to the deepest core of human conscience, to the dividing of soul and spirit; ending the dominance of the sense realm and its neutralizing effect upon the human spirit. In this way a person’s spirit is freed to become the ruling influence again in the thoughts and intentions of their heart. The scrutiny of this living Sword-Logos detects every possible disease, discerning the body’s deepest secrets where joint and bone-marrow meet.  Mirror

Hebrews 1:1 Throughout ancient times God spoke in many fragments and glimpses of prophetic thought to our fathers. Now, this entire conversation has finally dawned in sonship. Suddenly, what seemed to be an ancient language falls fresh and new like the dew on the tender grass! He is the sum total of every utterance of God. He is whom the Prophets pointed to and we are his immediate audience!  Mirror

John 12:27 “Even though I am torn within, and my soul is in turmoil, I will not ask the Father to rescue me from this hour of trial. For I have come to fulfill my purpose—to offer myself to God.

²⁸So, Father, bring glory to your name!” Then suddenly a booming voice was heard from the sky,

“I have glorified my name! And I will glorify it through you again!”

²⁹The audible voice of God startled the crowd standing nearby. Some thought it was only thunder, yet others said, “An angel just spoke to him!”

³⁰Then Jesus told them, “The voice you heard was not for my benefit, but for yours—to help you believe.

³¹From this moment on, everything in this world is about to change, for the ruler of this dark world will be overthrown.

³²And I will do this when I am lifted up off the ground and when I draw the hearts of people to gather them to me.”  TPT

2 PET 1:17 He was spectacularly endorsed by God the Father in the highest honor and glory. Then, a voice from within the cloud spoke, this is the Son of my delight; he completely pleases me.

18  For John, James, and I the prophetic word is fulfilled beyond doubt; we heard this voice loud and clear from the heavenly realm while we were with Jesus in that sacred moment on the mountain.

19 For us the appearing of the Messiah is no longer a future promise but a fulfilled reality. Now it is your turn to have more than a second-hand, hearsay testimony. Take my word as one would take a lamp at night; the day is about to dawn within you, in your own understanding. When the Morning Star appears, you no longer need the lamp; this will happen shortly on the horizon of your own hearts.  MIRROR

Matt 3:16 The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit — it looked like a dove — descending and landing on him.

17 And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”  MSG

John 18:37 Then Pilate said, “So, are you a king or not?” Jesus answered, “You tell me. Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice.”  MSG

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John 18:37 Pilate said to Him, Then You are a King? Jesus answered, You say it! [You speak correctly!] For I am a King. [Certainly I am a King!] This is why I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth [who is a friend of the Truth, who belongs to the Truth] hears and listens to My voice.  AMP

Job 33:14 God always answers, one way or another, even when people don’t recognize his presence.  MSG

RENEWED STRENGTH  12-8-23  VIDEO SUPERMAN 2

Have you ever felt like you can just not take any more? Call out to God, for He will renew your strength. I renewed energy. God will not replenish the strength you had, but give you a new strength you have never had before.

ISA 40:28-31 Don’t you know? Haven’t you been listening? Yahweh is the one and only everlasting God, the Creator of all you can see and imagine! He never gets weary or worn out. His intelligence is unlimited; he is never puzzled over what to do! He empowers the feeble and infuses the powerless with increasing strength. Even young people faint and get exhausted; athletic ones may stumble and fall. But those who wait for Yahweh’s grace will experience divine strength. They will rise up on soaring wings and fly like eagles, run their race without growing weary, and walk through life without giving up.” TPT

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Isa 40:28 Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out.

29 He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts.

30 For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall.

31 But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.  MSG

Ps 18:32 Is not this the God who armed me, then aimed me in the right direction?

33 Now I run like a deer; I’m king of the mountain. MSG

Phil 4:12 I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want.

13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].  AMP

Isa 41:10 Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you. MSG

Ps 46:1 GOD IS our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas,

3 Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling and tumult. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!  AMP

Deut 31:6 Be strong, courageous, and firm; fear not nor be in terror before them, for it is the Lord your God Who goes with you; He will not fail you or forsake you. AMP

1 Sam 2:4 The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces, while the weak are infused with fresh strength. MSG

Neh 6:9 They were trying to intimidate us into quitting. They thought, “They’ll give up; they’ll never finish it.” I prayed, “Give me strength.”  MSG

Neh 8:10 He continued, “Go home and prepare a feast, holiday food and drink; and share it with those who don’t have anything: This day is holy to God. Don’t feel bad. The joy of God is your strength!”  MSG

Ps 62:11 God said this once and for all; how many times Have I heard it repeated? “Strength comes Straight from God.”  MSG

Ps 121:2 No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

3 He won’t let you stumble, your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.

4 Not on your life! Israel’s Guardian will never doze or sleep. MSG

Hab 3:19 Counting on God’s Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer. I feel like I’m king of the mountain! (For congregational use, with a full orchestra.)  MSG

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Hab 3:19 The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]! For the Chief Musician; with my stringed instruments.  AMP

Luke 21:36 So, whatever you do, don’t go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man.”  MSG

ROM  15:1  We who are strong in faith are obliged to lift up those who are weak, to seek their advantage and not our own.

2 We are to please others and consider their good and benefit. MIRROR

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Rom 15:1 Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status.

2 Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”  MSG

2 COR 12:9 Finally it dawned on me that grace is God’s language; he doesn’t speak “thorn-langauge”! He said to me, “My grace elevates you, to be fully content.” And now, instead of being overwhelmed with a sense of my own weakness, he overwhelms me with an awareness of his strength! Oh what bliss to rejoice in the fact that in the midst of my frailties I encounter the dynamic of the grace of God to be my habitation!  

10 I now enjoy a delightfully different frame of mind when I encounter things that would normally make me feel frail, whether it be from insults or when I am in situations where I’m forced to do things with my arms twisted behind my back; whether I am persecuted or feel squeezed into claustrophobic spaces. Because of Christ, every time that I encounter weakness I escape into the strength of my I am-ness!  MIRROR

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2 Cor 12:9 and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.

10 Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size — abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.   MSG

Eph 1:19 oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him — endless energy, boundless strength!

20 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven,   MSG

Col 1:11 [We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy,  AMP

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Col 1:11 We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul — not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy,  MSG

Eph 3:16 I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit — not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength —  MSG

John 16:33 I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”  MSG

1 Chron 16:11 Seek the Lord and His strength; yearn for and seek His face and to be in His presence continually!  AMP

1 Cor 16:13 Be alert and on your guard; stand firm in your faith (your conviction respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, keeping the trust and holy fervor born of faith and a part of it). Act like men and be courageous; grow in strength!

YOUR CALLING IS YOUR GIFT 12-3-23  VIDEO WHO YOU ARE 2

What will you do with your calling? You are called by my name call into being that which does not exist yet, but truly will. Calling is to be under a divine influence towards a special course or action. To speak this out loud for all to hear. You’re called to herold the word to be ready always. One definition of the word “call” is to name.

ROM 4:17  When God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, he made a public statement that he would be the father of all nations. Here we see Abraham faced with God’s faith; the kind of faith that resurrects the dead and calls things which are not [visible yet] as though they were.  MIRROR

Gen 22:14 So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide. And it is said to this day, On the mount of the Lord it will be provided. AMP

Gen 35:15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God had talked with him Bethel [house of God].  AMP

2 TIM 4:2 Broadcast this word on every occasion, even when it doesn’t seem to be convenient or appropriate; give evidence to this message; value every individual in your audience highly; esteem people’s authentic identity passionately; teach tirelessly!

3 There will be times when people will not relate to their inner resonance, when it comes to discerning sound instruction! Instead they would prefer the familiar language of the fallen mindset and desperately chase after titles and teachers who entertain rather than educate; they would accumulate for themselves libraries of information without any revelation!

4 In their pursuit they would exchange the truth for man-made fictions and fables as their source of reference!

5 But you be vigilant in all things, don’t allow the devastating things that you suffer to get to you! Continue in the full persuasion of your ministry as herald of the Good News; you cannot have a more poetic job description! MIRROR

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2 Tim 4:2 Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense of urgency [stand by, be at hand and ready], whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.

3 For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold,

4 And will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions. 

5 As for you, be calm and cool and steady, accept and suffer unflinchingly every hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fully perform all the duties of your ministry.   AMP

Rom 11:29 For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.]  AMP

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Rom 11:29 God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty — never canceled, never rescinded.  MSG

1 Cor 1:26 For [simply] consider your own call, brethren; not many [of you were considered to be] wise according to human estimates and standards, not many influential and powerful, not many of high and noble birth.

27 [No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame.

28 And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are,  AMP

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1 COR 1:26 You might as well admit it, my friends; it was not your academic qualifications or your good looks or social connections that influenced God to represent you in Christ.

27 It is almost as if God deliberately handpicked the wacky of this world to embarrass the wise, the rejects to put to shame the noble.

28 The ones with no pedigree of any prominence, the “nobodies” in society, attracted God’s initiative to unveil his blueprint opinion in order to redefine mankind. Thus he rendered any other social standard entirely irrelevant, redundant and inappropriate.  MIRROR

Eph 1:18 By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),

19 And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,  AMP

Eph 4:1 In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk — better yet, run! — on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. MSG

Eph 4:4 [There is] one body and one Spirit — just as there is also one hope [that belongs] to the calling you received —  AMP

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Eph 4:4 You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly.  MSG

1 Cor 2:9 That’s why we have this Scripture text: No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it —  What God has arranged for those who love him.

10 But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you. The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along.  MSG

2 Thess 1:11  Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time — pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something.

12 If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely.   MSG

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2 Thess 1:11 With this in view we constantly pray for you, that our God may deem and count you worthy of [your] calling and [His] every gracious purpose of goodness, and with power may complete in [your] every particular work of faith (faith which is that leaning of the whole human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness).

12 Thus may the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified and become more glorious through and in you, and may you [also be glorified] in Him according to the grace (favor and blessing) of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). AMP

PHIL 3:14 I have the prize of mankind’s redeemed innocence in full view; just like a champion athlete in the public games I refuse to be distracted by anything else. God has invited us in Christ, to lift up our eyes and realize our identity in him.   MIRROR

2 Tim 1:8 Do not blush or be ashamed then, to testify to and for our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for His sake, but [with me] take your share of the suffering [to which the preaching] of the Gospel [may expose you, and do it] in the power of God.

9 [For it is He] Who delivered and saved us and called us with a calling in itself holy and leading to holiness [to a life of consecration, a vocation of holiness]; [He did it] not because of anything of merit that we have done, but because of and to further His own purpose and grace (unmerited favor) which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began [eternal ages ago].  AMP

Heb 3:1  SO THEN, brethren, consecrated and set apart for God, who share in the heavenly calling, [thoughtfully and attentively] consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest Whom we confessed [as ours when we embraced the Christian faith].  AMP

Heavenly– Set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively his; persons whose services God employs. Heaven itself, the abode of God and angel.  A heavenly origin and nature: Call-a call, invitation: to a feast

2 Thess 2:14 [It was] to this end that He called you through our Gospel, so that you may obtain and share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah). AMP

2 Peter 1:10 Because of this, brethren, be all the more solicitous and eager to make sure (to ratify, to strengthen, to make steadfast) your calling and election; for if you do this, you will never stumble or fall. AMP

Isa  43 1 BUT NOW [in spite of past judgments for Israel’s sins], thus says the Lord, He Who created you, O Jacob, and He Who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you [ransomed you by paying a price instead of leaving you captives]; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched, nor will the flame kindle upon you.

3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt [to the Babylonians] for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba [a province of Ethiopia] in exchange [for your release].  AMP

Rom 1:7 To [you then] all God’s beloved ones in Rome, called to be saints and designated for a consecrated life: Grace and spiritual blessing and peace be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  AMP

Rom 8:28 We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.

29 For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.

30 And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being].  AMP

1 Cor 1:2 To the church (assembly) of God which is in Corinth, to those consecrated and purified and made holy in Christ Jesus, [who are] selected and called to be saints (God’s people), together with all those who in any place call upon and give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:  AMP

1 Cor 1:9 God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. AMP