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!

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"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!

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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)

Cultivate God-confidence

“These are all warning markers

— DANGER!—

in our history books, 

written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. 

Our positions in the story are parallel

—they at the beginning, we at the end—

and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. 

Don’t be so naive and self-confident. 

You’re not exempt. 

You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. 

Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. 

Cultivate God-confidence.”

1 Corinthians 10:11-12 MSG