Author: cackywalker@yahoo.com

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“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with the great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

So be truly glad. There is a wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold – though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will being you to much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust in Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.””

(1 Peter 1: 3-9, NLT)

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“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will seek in the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

(Ephesians 4: vv. 11-16, NLT)

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“”One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”

Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is ready among you.”

Then He said to His disciples,” The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. People will tell you, ‘Look there is the Son of Man’ or ‘Here He is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. For as the lighting flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of May comes. But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.”

“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat ant the flood came and destroyed them all.”

“And the world will be as it was in the days of of Lot. People went about their daily business – eating, drinking, buying and selling, farming and building-until the morning when Lot left Sodom. The fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Yes it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

“On that day, a person will be out on the deck of a roof but not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! It you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. “

“When this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked.

Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of the vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”” (Luke 17: vv 20-37, NLT)

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“”Jesus told this story to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. So the employer called him in and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Get you report in order, because you are going to be fired.’

The manager thought to himself, ‘Now at? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’

So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situatiion. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’

‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man “I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. “here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’

“The rich man had do admire the dishonest rascal for be ing so shrewd. And this is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when you earthly possession are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.”

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?”

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16, vv. 1-13, NLT)

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“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.” (Romans 12: vv. 9-12, NLT)

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“”Listen ,O heavens, and I will speak! Hear, O earth, the words that I say!

Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew.
Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants.

I will proclaim the name of the Lord; how glorious is our God!
He is the Rock; His deeds are perfect. Everything He does is just and fair. He is a faithful God, who does no wrong; how just and upright He is!””

(Deuteronomy 32: v. 1-4, NLT

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“The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.

Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.

I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my inheritance, therefore, I will hope in Him!’

The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for HIm. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of His discipline.”
(Lamentations 3: vv. 19-27,NLT)

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“For you are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for great honor.

And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What’s more you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. ” (2 Peter 2, vv 4-5, NLT)

“”As a result you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.

“Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”(quoted from the prophet, Hosea in the Old Testament)

Dear friends, I warn you as ‘temporary residents and foreigners’ to keep away from worldly desire that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if thy accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world.”” (2 Peter 2, vv. 9-12, NLT)

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“”One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking Him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus replied,”What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

The man answered, “You must love the Lord y0ur God with all your hearts all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Right!” Jesus told him, “Do this and you will live.”” (Luke 10: vv. 25-29)

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“”But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies!” Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to any one who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! An if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get any credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for He is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as our Father is compassionate. “”

(Luke 6: vv. 27-36, NLT)