Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Psalm 34:18 ASV Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.
Romans 12:1 NIV Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Habakkuk 3:17-18 NASB Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines … 18 Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
Isaiah 64:8 KJV But now, O Lord, Thou art our father; we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand.
2 Corinthians 5:7 NASB for we walk by faith, not by sight
May you consider eternity, where your future awaits, and turn to the Lord, in Whom your cleansing lies, lest disobedience to the Spirit bring you grief and your foes become your masters. Lamentations 1
May you look with compassion upon those whose sins have been woven together into a yoke, and who understand that they have rebelled against the righteous commands of the Lord, that you may comfort them with the comfort you have received from the Lord as He turns their captivity and brings deliverance in the midst of their sorrow. Lamentations 1
May you never forget, in the midst of the discipline and correction of God, that His anger does not make Him your foe, for the wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy. Lamentations 2, Proverbs 27:6
May you be faithful to allow the Word of God to expose sin, that it may ward off judgment if repentance follows. Lamentations 2
May you arise, crying out in the night, giving yourself no relief and your eyes no rest as the watches of the night begin, as you pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord, lifting up your hands to Him for those who are dear to you. Lamentations 2
My child, a time of change can bring emotional pain, distress, anguish, grief, and questions.
When you come in repentance to Me, tears of sorrow flow as you realize how wrong you were in your beliefs and actions, but they soon change to glad tears of joy as you realize that My forgiveness is real, and it is yours, right now, immediately, not after long penance, but the very moment you turn to Me in believing faith.
The time of delivery for a child is full of distress and pain for both the mother and the infant.
When you labor in prayer for someone I have placed on your heart, entreating the Father for that person to have the same life-changing experience I have given you, you quickly face the fact that even with all the loving grace and mercy that My Spirit extends to your loved one, they may not have fully realized the truth of their standing in eternity and the reality of their spiritual condition yet.
You find that you must battle in prayer against the wiles of the enemy to silence the lies that, like hard ground and rocky soil, stunt a restlessly seeking heart from reaching for the truth. You must stand on My Word to bind the fears that, like thorns and briers, distract a willing spirit from the path to My loving freedom.
It is the work of My Spirit to grow the seed of conviction in their heart, that it may be watered by your tears and nourished by Christian relationship, in order to come to term and bring in the joyous harvest of full redemption, bearing the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
A transition in relationships can open wounds, bring tears and recriminations, and raise questions. As you grow in the Spirit of Christ, you will find that I will remove some people from your life, and bring other people into your life. You often long after the relationships you have known, and are sometimes slow to develop the relationships that are new.
You may question Me, feeling anger at your loss of the familiar and rejecting the advances of the new. But I am patient and enduring, continuing My work within you, well able to outlast your resistance, covering you with My healing love. The pain dims, the regrets lessen, and when you find you are able to accept what I am doing in your life, having no angry questions, raising no disputing issues, you will know that you have grown in faith and have become steadfast in your relationship with Me.
You will be able to patiently wait before My throne and humbly go where I send you and willingly speak what I give you, comforted by the knowledge that I always care for you and I am ever perfecting that which pertains to you.
May you be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ, for then your love will give great joy and encouragement because you have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon 1
May you sing praise to the Lord for His love and justice as you seek to walk in your house with a blameless heart, setting no vile thing before your eyes, waiting for Him to come to you. Psalm 101
May you despise the deeds of those who turn aside from God’s ways, and shake them off, having nothing to do with evil and placing distance between the places where men of perverse heart are found and where your heart dwells with Christ. Psalm 101
May your eyes favor the faithful of the land so that they may sit down with you and be your companions, that you may be blessed by them and learn of them, honoring those who walk with integrity and without blame as your heroes. Psalm 101
May you put to silence, every morning, all the wicked voices who stand in your presence speaking falsely, and may you daily cast out of your house those influences that practice deceit and entice you into evil, that you may dwell in the city of the Lord forever. Psalm 101
