Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (ESV).

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (ESV).

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (ESV).

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples (ESV)!

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David (NSV)!

Beloved, please know today that Jesus loves you. His love for you is demonstrated at the cross. His love for you is complete; it is finished. There is nothing you have done, or can do, that will make him love you any more or any less. Bask in his love today, receiving his forgiveness for all of your confessed sin (1 John 1:9). Love and forgive others, including your enemies, as Christ loves and has forgiven you. — Gregory A. Johnson

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise (ESV)!

And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit (NRSV).

Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is [God's] good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (ESV). — Jesus 

Do you wish to honor the Body of the Savior? Do not despise it when it is naked. Do not honor it in church with silk vestments while outside it is naked and numb with cold. He who said, “This is my body,” and made it so by his word, is the same that said, “You saw me hungry and you gave me no food. As you did it not to the least of these, you did it not to me.” Honor him then by sharing your property with the poor. For what God needs is not golden chalices but golden souls. — John Chrysostom

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God (ESV).

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world (ESV).

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (ESV).

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law (NRSV).

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (ESV).

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. — Albert Schweitzer

Anyone who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and anyone who takes care of a master will be honored. Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another (NRSV).

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight (ESV).

If in my life I fail completely to heed others, solely out of a desire to be "devout" and to perform my "religious duties," then my relationship with God will also grow arid. It becomes merely "proper," but loveless. — Pope Benedict XVI

Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling (ESV).

I have three words for you today—you are loved. Jesus loves you so much that He died for you on an old, rugged cross. He desires to be your strength today and always. — Gregory A. Johnson

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net (ESV).

Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears (ESV).

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand (ESV).

Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope. ... The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose. — Rick Warren

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (NLT).

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (ESV). — Jesus

Have you thought about His (God) handling of the gospel? God needs to get a message out to the human race, without which they will perish...forever. What's the plan? First, He starts with the most unlikely group ever: a couple of prostitutes, a few fishermen with no better than a second-grade education, a tax collector. Then, he passes the ball to us. Unbelievable. — John Eldredge

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us (NRSV).

The deepest desire of our hearts is for union for God. God created us for union with himself. This is the original purpose of our lives. — Brennan Manning

No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth (NRSV).

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness (NLT).

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name (NLT).

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life (NRSV). — Jesus 

The Kingdom includes love, grace, peace, and life with race equality, gender equality, health equality, and economic equality for all. Is this list of Kingdom attributes exhaustive? No, but it is a start, and it is based on the teachings and the life of Christ. — Gregory A. Johnson

What Jesus was offering, in other words, was not a different religious system. It was a new world order, the end of Israel's long desolation, the true and final "forgiveness of sins," the inauguration of the kingdom of god. — N.T. Wright

[Jesus] stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (NRSV)

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (NRSV).

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through [God] who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (NRSV).

You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope. — Thomas Merton

Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord (Psalm 103:22 NLT).

• In the month of September, 2015, we were able to minister to people in forty-five countries.
• We are now touching over 79,000 people per day, reaching the lost and encouraging the believer.
• LovingGodFellowship.org is translated in ninety languages.

Praise the Lord! We are thankful for all who make this ministry possible.

If you can make a donation today, helping us reach more people with the Gospel this month, please visit http://lovinggodfellowship.org/donations. Recurring donations are always helpful. We need to hear from many today.

Know that you are loved, 
Greg and Becky Johnson 
Founders, Loving God Fellowship 

LovingGodFellowship.org (LGF) relies solely on charitable contributions, given online or through U.S. mail, to sustain its worldwide ministry to thousands per day. LGF is not funded or endowed by any group or denomination. Donations are tax deductible for U.S. citizens eligible for deductions. http://lovinggodfellowship.org/donations

God is in the business of restoration, and he's been doing it for a long, long time. We're merely his partners, his apprentices. We're working with a pro! Today open your heart and let God's touch bring restoration to those areas of your life that need repair. Then go and touch others with his restoring love. — Amy Nappa

For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (ESV).

Many Bible passages (such as Luke 13:3 or Acts 2:38) issue a call for repentance. Repentance? The very thought stops our hearts with chilling honesty, for it insists that we come clean before we set out to execute life's important choices. Repentance demands that we choose a path of holy living. — Calvin Miller

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing (NLT). — Jesus

It is not the uniqueness of "Christianity" as a system that we defend, but the uniqueness of Christ. ... So, because in no other person but Jesus of Nazareth did God first become human (in his birth), then bear our sins (in his death), then conquer death (in his resurrection) and then enter his people (by his Spirit), he is uniquely able to save sinners. Nobody else has his qualifications. — John R. W. Stott

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last [my Redeemer] will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! (ESV)

The New Testament looks beyond retribution to a vision of justice that is finally satisfied only by the defeat of evil and the healing of its victims, by the restoration of peace and the renewal of hope — a justice that manifests God's redemptive work of making all things new. — Christopher D. Marshall

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. [God] will dwell with them as their God; they will be [God's] peoples, and God will be with them; [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away (ESV)."

You are not an accident. Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. ... Long before you were conceived by your parents, you were conceived in the mind of God. He thought of you first. It is not fate, nor chance, nor luck, nor coincidence that you are breathing this very moment. You are alive because God wanted to create you! — Rick Warren

I'm not suggesting that we have the power to heal physical conditions with our human fingers. But I do believe there's a healing of the spirit that takes place when we touch others. There's a comfort that can't be found anywhere else but in a touch or a hug. Somehow, God's love and power is shared with others through the simplicity of our physical touch. — Amy Nappa

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others (ESV).

God's redemptive revelation in Scripture is necessary to saving faith and peace with God. Faith in a risen Savior is necessary if the vague stirrings toward immortality are to bring us to restful and satisfying communion with God. — A. W. Tozer

When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul (ESV).

O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work. In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy (NRSV).

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God (ESV).

[ To the Church in Laodicea ] “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (ESV).

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (ESV).

Patience is not waiting passively until someone else does something. Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient, we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later, and somewhere else. Let’s be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand. — Henri J.M. Nouwen

It is to no purpose to boast of Christ, if we have not an evidence of His graces in our hearts and lives. But unto whom He is the hope of future glory, unto them He is the life of present grace. — John Owen

Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together (NRSV).

The blessed and inviting truth is that God is the most winsome of all beings and in our worship of Him we should find unspeakable pleasure. — A. W. Tozer

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (ESV).

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it (NLT).

[ Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith ] Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (ESV).

To take up the cross of Christ is no great action done once for all; it consists in the continual practice of small duties which are distasteful to us. — John Henry Newman

Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together (NKJV).

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for [the Lord] has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers (NKJV).  

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. — C. S. Lewis

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin (ESV).

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls (ESV).

We admit no faith to be justifying, which is not itself and in its own nature a spiritually vital principle of obedience and good works. — John Owen

Let us leave a little room for reflection in our lives, room too for silence. Let us look within ourselves and see whether there is some delightful hidden place inside where we can be free of noise and argument. Let us hear the Word of God in stillness and perhaps we will then come to understand it. — Augustine

Christianity does not consist in any partial amendment of our lives, any particular moral virtues, but in an entire change of our natural temper, a life wholly devoted to God. — William Law

[God] shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (NKJV).

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands (ESV).

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (ESV).”

A blind, anemic, weak-kneed flea on crutches would have a greater chance of defeating a herd of a thousand wild stampeding elephants, than the enemy has of defeating God. — Ray Comfort

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. — Mother Teresa

Jesus is our mouth, through which we speak to the Father; He is our eye, through which we see the Father; He is our right hand through which we offer ourselves to the Father. Unless He intercedes, there is no intercourse with God. — St. Ambrose

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord (ESV).

[God] shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (NRSV).

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him! Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation (ESV).

Christians are like the flowers in a garden, that have each of them the dew of Heaven, which, being shaken with the wind, they let fall at each other's roots, whereby they are jointly nourished, and become nourishers of each other. — John Bunyan

You don't think your way into a new kind of living. You live your way into a new kind of thinking. — Henri J.M. Nouwen

Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: [God] was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory (NRSV).

The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers. — Martin Luther King, Jr.

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (NLT)

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (ESV).

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen (ESV).

The word of God is a tree of life that offers us blessed fruit from each of its branches. It is like that rock which was struck open in the wilderness, from which all were offered spiritual drink. — Ephrem the Syrian

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (ESV)

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge (ESV).

And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children" (NRSV).

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along (NLT).

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few (ESV). — Jesus

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night (ESV).

I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people (NLT).

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all (ESV).

When you face the perils of weariness, carelessness, and confusion, don't pray for an easier life. Pray instead to be a stronger man or woman of God. — Luis Palau

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord (ESV).

Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than they love the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial. — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! (NLT).

Knowledge of God can be fully given to man only in a Person, never in a doctrine. Faith is not the holding of correct doctrine, but personal fellowship with the living God. — William Temple

But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments (ESV).

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us (ESV).

Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king (NLT).

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (ESV).

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (ESV).

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land (ESV).

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (ESV).

Not only do we not know God except through Jesus Christ; We do not even know ourselves except through Jesus Christ. — Blaise Pascal

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them (ESV).

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (ESV).

[ Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus ] And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it (ESV).

God will be the covenant God of his people world without end. There is no other God, we wish for no other, we would have no other even if other there were. Throughout life, and to our dying couch, he will lead us to the living fountains of waters. — Charles H. Spurgeon

All we want in Christ, we shall find in Christ. If we want little, we shall find little. If we want much, we shall find much; but if, in utter helplessness, we cast our all on Christ, He will be to us the whole treasury of God. — Henry Benjamin Whipple

[ The Whole Armor of God ] Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil (ESV).

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him (ESV).

We should dedicate ourselves to becoming in this life the most perfect worshippers of God we can possibly be, as we hope to be through all eternity. — Brother Lawrence

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere (NLT).

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (ESV).

It is not that we keep His commandments first, and that then He loves; but that He loves us, and then we keep His commandments. This is that grace, which is revealed to the humble, but hidden from the proud. — St. Augustine of Hippo

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace (ESV).

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward (NKJV). — Jesus

To make the improving of our own character our central aim is hardly the highest kind of goodness. True goodness forgets itself and goes out to do the right thing for no other reason than that it is right. — Lesslie Newbigin

Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much (NRSV). — Jesus

God will either give you what you ask, or something far better. — Robert Murray M'Cheyne

I shall not value his prayers at all, be he never so earnest and frequent in them, who gives not alms according to his ability. — John Owen

This is the rule of most perfect Christianity, its most exact definition, its highest point, namely, the seeking of the common good. For nothing can so make a person an imitator of Christ as caring for [their] neighbors. — John Chrysostom

At his ascension our Lord entered heaven, and he keeps the door open for humanity to enter. — Oswald Chambers

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (ESV).

The only saving faith is that which casts itself on God for life or death. — Martin Luther

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person (ESV).

There remains for us only the very narrow way, often extremely difficult to find, of living every day as though it were our last, and yet living in faith and responsibility as though there were to be a great future. — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

[ Life in the Spirit ] There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death (ESV).

God has reserved to Himself the right to determine the end of life, because He alone knows the goal to which it is His will to lead it. It is for Him alone to justify a life or to cast it away. — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (ESV).

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him (ESV).

Faith is the acknowledgment of the entire absence of all goodness in us, and the recognition of the cross as the substitute for all the want on our part. The whole work is His, not ours, from first to last. — Horatius Bonar

Spirituality without a prayer life is no spirituality at all, and it will not last beyond the first defeats. Prayer is an opening of the self so that the Word of God can break in and make us new. Prayer unmasks. Prayer converts. Prayer impels. Prayer sustains us on the way. Pray for the grace it will take to continue what you would like to quit. — Joan Chittister

If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. — St. Augustine of Hippo

Just as at sea those who are carried away from the direction of the harbor bring themselves back on course by a clear sign, so Scripture may guide those adrift on the sea of life back into the harbor of the divine will. — St. Gregory of Nyssa

Now I would remind you..., of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (ESV).

Nails were not enough to hold God-and-man nailed and fastened on the Cross, had not love held Him there. — Catherine of Siena

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved (ESV).

We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. — Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (ESV).

Praying is no easy matter. It demands a relationship in which you allow someone other than yourself to enter into the very center of your person, to see there what you would rather leave in darkness, and to touch there what you would rather leave untouched. — Henri J.M. Nouwen

In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human successes, but on how well we have loved. — John of the Cross

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised (ESV).

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (ESV)

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time — to show us his grace through Christ Jesus (NLT).

I believe that appreciation is a holy thing, that when we look for what's best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we're doing what God does; so in appreciating our neighbor, we're participating in something truly sacred. — Fred Rogers

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 (NLT).

Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (ESV).

But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me (NLT).

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake (ESV).

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise (NLT).

After this Jesus went out and saw a tax collector sitting at his place for collecting taxes. His name was Levi. Jesus said to him, "Follow me!" Levi got up, left everything, and followed Jesus. Then Levi gave a big dinner for Jesus. The dinner was at Levi's house. At the table there were many tax collectors and some other people too. But the Pharisees and those men that taught the law for the Pharisees began to complain to the followers of Jesus, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and other bad people?" Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor. It is the sick people that need a doctor. I have not come to ask good people to change. I have come to ask bad people to change their hearts and lives!" (ERV).

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (ESV).

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true — even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life (NIV).

Some Christians haven't even attempted to think about whether or not they would die for Jesus because they haven't really been living for Him. — DC Talk

Jesus left the synagogue. He went to Simon's house. Simon's mother-in-law was very sick. She had a high fever. They asked Jesus to do something to help her. Jesus stood very close to her and commanded the sickness to leave her. The sickness left her. Then she got up and began serving them (ERV).

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit (NRSV).

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him [the Holy One] remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit — just as it has taught you, remain in him (TNIV).

[Peter said,] "Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him" (MSG).

Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit (NLT).

The devil said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, tell this rock to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written {in the Scriptures }: 'It is not just food that keeps people alive.'" (ERV)

Then the devil took Jesus and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to Jesus, "I will make you king over all these places. You will have power over them and will get all the glory. It has all been given to me. I can give it to any person I want. I will give it all to you, if you will only worship me." Jesus answered, "It is written {in the Scriptures }: 'You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him!'" (ERV)

"The question we must ask our heart is, 'Am I comfortable under the eye of God? Or is God getting too close?' We are strange and lovely creatures. We can ache for God tremendously yet find ourselves getting nervous if God gets too close. After all, the closer God gets, the more we hear the call to be divinized. It is both exciting and frightening to hear that call." — MacRina Wiederkehr

The people asked John, "What should we do?" John answered, "If you have two shirts, share with the person that does not have one. If you have food, share that too." Even the tax collectors came to John. They wanted to be baptized. They said to John, "Teacher, what should we do?" John said to them, "Don't take more taxes from people than you have been ordered to take." The soldiers asked John, "What about us? What should we do?" John said to them, "Don't use force or lies to make people give you money. Be happy with the pay you get" (ERV).

Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. But we don't need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another (NLT).

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Romans 12:9 NIV

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT

An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. Proverbs 24:26 NIV

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. Romans 5:5 NLT

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. John 3:16 NLT

The really important thing in life is not the avoidance of mistakes, but the obedience of faith. By obedience, the man is led step by step to correct his errors, whereas nothing will ever happen to him if he doesn't get going. — Paul Tournier

[Jesus said,] "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (TNIV).

People must not only hear about the kingdom of God, but must see it in actual operation, on a small scale perhaps and in imperfect form, but a real demonstration nevertheless. — Pandita Ramabai

Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chain of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. — Corrie Ten Boom

Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive (NRSV).

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (NIV).

The way to Christ is first through humility, second through humility, and third through humility. If humility does not precede and accompany and follow every good work we do, if it is not before us to focus on, it it is not beside us to lean upon, if it is not behind us to fence us in, pride will wrench from our hand any good deed we do at the very moment we do it. — Augustine

Christians were never meant to be normal. We’ve always been holy troublemakers, we’ve always been creators of uncertainty, agents of dimension that’s incompatible with the status quo; we do not accept the world as it is, but we insist on the world becoming the way that God wants it to be. And the Kingdom of God is different from the patterns of this world. — Jacques Ellul

You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot (NRSV). — Jesus 

"Wherever there is any element of pride or of conceit, Jesus cannot expound a thing. He will take us through the disappointment of a wounded pride of intellect, through disappointment of heart. He will reveal inordinate affections-things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone." — Oswald Chambers

When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life (NLT).

The Lord will work out his plans for my life -- for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me (NLT).

Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life" (NLT).

"What is my new desert? The name of it is compassion. There is no wilderness so terrible, so beautiful, so arid and so fruitful as the wilderness of compassion. It is the only desert that shall truly flourish like the lily. It shall become a pool, it shall bud forth and blossom and rejoice with joy. It is in the desert of compassion that the thirsty land turns into springs of water, that the poor possess all things." — Thomas Merton, from The Sign of Jonas

Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps (NRSV).

"We have very little, so we have nothing to be preoccupied with. The more you have, the more you are occupied, the less you give. But the less you have, the more free you are." — Mother Teresa