Consent To Be Loved

"He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends."

Luke 15

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Men and women with doubtful reputation 

were hanging around Jesus, listening intently to Him 

- forgetting to eat, because their real meal 

was being in His joyful and accepting Presence, 

hearing the heart-warming and liberating words He was sharing with them.

This displeased the Pharisees greatly, though. 

Their grumbling triggered Jesus to share three amazing stories:

The lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost (prodigal) son. 

Or we could call them: 

The found sheep, the found coin and the found son.

Jesus is revealing to them His heart for people - you and me.

He is overwhelmed with joy when we CONSENT to 

being loved, found and celebrated by Him, 

receiving from Him continuously. 

Living In The Shadow Of Your Wings

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 

the one who kills the prophets 

and stones those who are sent to her! 

How often I wanted to gather your children together, 

as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, 

but you were not willing!”

Luke 13:34 NKJV

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What love!
I let You love me.

Living in the shadow of Your wings. 

In the Secret Place.

In Christ. 

We Are His Treasure

“For where your treasure is, 

there your heart will be also.”

Luke 12:34 NKJV

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We are His treasure. 

That's where His heart is. 

He treasured us first.

It All Belongs To You

O LORD our God, 

even this material we have gathered 

to build a Temple to honor your holy name 

comes from you! 

It all belongs to you! 

1 Chronicles 29:16 NLT

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Even my life is not my own. 

I am blessed to belong.

I am blessed to be His. 

What is your dream for my life, Lord? 

Flourish and Grow

These words describe the believer!

---

“The righteous will FLOURISH like the date palm 

[long-lived, upright and useful]; 

They will GROW like a cedar in Lebanon 

[majestic and stable]. 

PLANTED in the house of the LORD, 

They will FLOURISH in the courts of our God. 

[GROWING IN GRACE] they will still 

thrive and bear fruit 

and prosper in old age; 

They will FLOURISH and be vital and fresh 

[rich in trust and love and contentment]; 

[They are living memorials] to declare 

that the LORD is upright and faithful [to His promises]; 

He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

PSALM 92:12-15 AMP

Light Up Your Life

Look to the Light of the world, 

and your whole life is lit up. 

---

“Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. 

When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 

But when it is bad, your body is filled with darkness.

If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, 

then your whole life will be radiant, 

as though a floodlight were filling you with light.” 

Luke 11:34, 36 NLT

Say it

“I will say of the LORD, 

“He is my refuge and my fortress; 

My God, in Him I will trust.””

Psalms 91:2 NKJV

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Say it! 

In the midst of confusion and worry, 

call the Lord: 

MY Refuge

MY Fortress

MY God

Who Is My Neighbor?

“Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

... and love your neighbor as yourself. 

The man wanted to justify his actions, 

so he asked Jesus, “And WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR? 

... Then a despised Samaritan came along, 

and when he SAW the man, he felt COMPASSION for him. 

GOING OVER to him, the Samaritan SOOTHED HIS WOUNDS 

with OLIVE OIL and WINE and BANDAGED them. 

Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, 

where he TOOK CARE OF HIM. 

The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, 

‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, 

I’LL PAY you the next time I’m here.

Now which of these three would you say was a NEIGHBOR 

to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

The man replied, “THE ONE WHO SHOWED HIM MERCY.” 

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” 

Luke 10:27-29, 33-37 NLT

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Jesus is my Neighbor. 

He saw me, felt compassion for me,

came to me and healed me. 

He was crushed (like olives and grapes)

for my healing and forgiveness.

He placed me in Himself, and in the church, 

so that I'd be taken care of. 

Yes, He is the One Who showed me mercy. 

---

What to do to inherit eternal life? 

Love Him by letting Him love and save you. 

Conscious Of His Presence

“Seek the LORD and His strength; 

Seek His face evermore!”

I Chronicles 16:11 NKJV

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When you are conscious of His presence every day, 

you will experience a peace that gives you 

rest, joy inexpressible in your spirit 

and a power that nothing in this world can offer. 

In fact, you will begin to be peaceful and powerful like Jesus. 

You will speak and behave like Him. 

This is because you cannot be in God’s presence 

without His beauty, love, peace, power 

and glory rubbing off on you. 

(Pastor Joseph Prince)

Expand My Territory

“There was a man named Jabez 

who was more honorable than any of his brothers. 

His mother named him Jabez 

because his birth had been so painful. 

He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, 

“Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! 

Please be with me in all that I do, 

and keep me from all trouble and pain!” 

And God granted him his request.”

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NLT

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This is Jabez' prayer. 

We have our 'Yes and Amen' to this in Christ. 

Unshakable

“Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, 

I will show you whom he is like:”

HE IS LIKE A MAN BUILDING A HOUSE,

WHO DUG DEEP AND LAID THE FOUNDATION ON THE ROCK.

And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, 

and COULD NOT SHAKE IT, for it was FOUNDED ON THE ROCK."

Luke 6:47-48 NKJV

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We all face storms in life.

But for 'whoever' leans in to Him and receive His Word, 

the storms cannot shake them. 

Such people are unshakable, unstoppable and irresistible.

Hearing The Word Makes A Difference

"And He sat down and TAUGHT the multitudes from the boat. 

When He had stopped speaking, HE SAID to Simon, 

“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 

But Simon answered and said to Him, 

“Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; 

nevertheless AT YOUR WORD I will let down the net.” 

And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, 

and their net was breaking." 

Luke 5:3-6 NKJV

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What a difference hearing and receiving the Word makes. 

What was a "struggle for nothing" last night, 

becomes effortlessly fruitful "at His Word".

We are being prepared for a greater adventure; 

launching out into the deep. 

At Your Word.

Because

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, BECAUSE

- He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor

- He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted

- To proclaim liberty to the captives

- And recovery of sight to the blind

- To set at liberty those who are oppressed

- To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” 

Luke 4:18-19 NKJV

In You I Am Well-Pleased And Delighted

“You are My Son, My Beloved, 

in You I am well-pleased 

and delighted!”

LUKE 3:22 AMP

Living Life Loved. 

These same words that were spoken over Jesus

are spoken over you and me today. 

Let's continually and freely receive abundance of Grace 

and the gift of Righteousness 

and reign in life through Jesus Christ.

It's A New Day Of Grace

A prophesy about the coming Savior, a few months before He was born:

---

“Through the tender mercy of our God, 

With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 

To give light to those who sit in darkness 

and the shadow of death, 

To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Luke 1:78-79 NKJV

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Are you SITTING in any kind of darkness and hopelessness? 

I declare to you, ARISE and shine, because your Light 

- the Light of the world - has come. 

It's a new Day of Grace. 

We are called out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Pet 2:9) 

Because of His TENDER MERCY towards you and me.

Let It Be To Me According To Your Word

“Then Mary said, 

“Behold the maidservant of the Lord! 

Let it be to me according to your word.” 

And the angel departed from her.”

Luke 1:38 NKJV

May this be our response, too. 

Let's be available, 

and bold to receive and accept

what the Word says about us.

He shall make it come to pass. 

Words Of Hope And Healing

This girl 

- young, 

- taken as captive, 

- forced to live and serve as a maid in a foreign country 

- (she was not in the best of circumstances...) 

had the audacity to speak in love and compassion, 

and her words brought hope and healing! 

Her words were even brought to kings!

---

"One day the girl said to her mistress, 

“I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. 

He would heal him of his leprosy.” 

So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said."

2 Kings 5:2-4 NLT

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You may not be in the best of circumstances either,

but you are not UNDER your circumstances, you're OVER.

Know that you're loved - even when it doesn't look like it - 

and speak hope and healing - Jesus - to yourself and others. 

Enter This Wide-Open, Spacious Life

Dear, dear Corinthians, 

I can’t tell you how much I long for you 

to enter this wide-open, spacious life. 

We didn’t fence you in. 

The smallness you feel comes from within you. 

Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. 

I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. 

Open up your lives. 

Live openly and expansively! 

2 Corinthians 6:11-13 MSG

He Is Already A Friend With You

We’re speaking for Christ himself now: 

Become friends with God; He’s already a friend with you.”

2 Corinthians 5:20 MSG

He's ALREADY a Friend with you.

Far Beyond What I Was Told

Totally love the account of queen of Sheba 

meeting with king Solomon - 1 Kings 10:7-8 NLT. 

It's so extravagant, 

and it points me to the One Who is Greater than Solomon:

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I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here 

and SAW IT with my own eyes. 

In fact, I had not heard the half of it! 

YOUR WISDOM AND PROSPERITY 

ARE FAR BEYOND WHAT I WAS TOLD. 

How HAPPY your people must be! 

What a PRIVILEGE for your officials 

to stand here day after day, 

LISTENING TO YOUR WISDOM!

---

Hearing about Jesus, 

and experiencing Jesus for yourself

are two very different things. 

I pray we don't just know of Jesus, 

but really know Him personally. 

And yes, how blessed are we, 

that we get to serve Him,

and listen to His wisdom day after day. 

Do Everything With Love

“Be on guard. 

Stand firm in the faith. 

Be courageous. 

Be strong. 

And do everything with love.”

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT

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This is Paul's declaration over the Corinthian believers. 

Powerful! 

This is purposeful living. 

Whatever the circumstance,

Whatever the emotion,

Whatever mind games...

“Be on guard. 

Stand firm in the faith. 

Be courageous. 

Be strong. 

And do everything with love.”

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT

A God Of Generations

How did you hear about Jesus? 

Isn't it amazing how, 

generation after generation, 

the good news of Jesus has spread

... all the way to you and me...

And we will spread it to the next generation, too;

One person at the time;

One encounter at the time.

Truly, our God is a God of generations, 

and we get to be a part of it: 

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"... so the next generation might know them

— even the children not yet born— 

and they in turn will teach their own children. 

So each generation should set its hope anew on God, 

not forgetting his glorious miracles 

and obeying his commands."

Psalms 78:4, 6-7 NLT

Lead With A God-Listening Heart

Solomon was only 19-20 years old 

and newly appointed king of God's chosen people 

when God appeared to him in a dream and said, 

“What can I give you? Ask.” 

His response is beautiful:

“And now here I am: GOD, my God, 

you have made me, your servant, 

ruler of the kingdom in place of David my father. 

I’m too young for this, a mere child! 

I don’t know the ropes, 

hardly know the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of this job. 

And here I am, 

set down in the middle of the people you’ve chosen, 

a great people—far too many to ever count.

“Here’s what I want: 

Give me a God-listening heart 

so I can lead your people well, 

discerning the difference between good and evil. 

For who on their own is capable 

of leading your glorious people?”

1 Kings 3:7-9 MSG

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To lead His glorious people... 

indeed, who is capable? 

How beautiful it is that we can lead well

when we have a God-listening heart. 

A life of dependence. 

Generous and Refreshing

“The generous will prosper; 

those who refresh others 

will themselves be refreshed.”

Proverbs 11:25 NLT

A generous person is refreshed and is a refreshing. 

When Jesus ministered to the woman at the well, 

He was not drained, but refreshed. 

He is refreshed when we receive from Him. 

Our Lord Jesus is so generous towards us. 

He gave Himself, 

and every blessing and promise has its

'yes and amen' in Him. 

We get to be generous and refreshing to others, 

because He was generous towards us first. 

Love Is...

“Love is patient and kind. 

Love is not jealous 

or boastful or proud or rude. 

It does not demand its own way. 

It is not irritable, 

and it keeps no record of being wronged. 

It does not rejoice about injustice 

but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 

Love never gives up, never loses faith, 

is always hopeful, 

and endures through every circumstance.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT

God is Love. 

Love is a Person. 

This is a description of Him, 

and how He loves us.

With this love,

we love

- because He first loved us. 

So We Can Help Each Other

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us 

so we can help each other.”

1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT

Each person is given something to do 

that shows who God is: 

Everyone gets in on it, 

everyone benefits. 

(MSG)

My Strike, Your Healing

What you must solemnly realize is that 

every time you eat this bread 

and every time you drink this cup, 

you reenact in your words and actions 

the death of the Master. 

You will be drawn back to this meal 

again and again until the Master returns. 

You must never let familiarity breed contempt.”

1 Corinthians 11:26 MSG

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The Law says: 

An eye for an eye, 

a strike for a strike, 

a wound for a wound.

But Jesus says: 

My strike, your healing.

My wound, your wholeness. 

(from yesterday's sermon 

by pastor Prince)