Bring the full tithes into the storehouse,

that there may be food in My house,

and thereby put Me to the test,

                  says the LORD of hosts,

if I will not open the windows of heaven for you

           and pour down for you

                            an overflowing blessing.

                                            Malachi 3.10

(Come into the new year 

                 following Him fully,

  and watch how incredibly God will use you)

...lay it to heart

         to give glory to My name,

says the LORD of hosts...

                     Malachi 2.2

(Not just a mindset.

but a heart set,

an intentional desire and focus

in all that we do and say)

          

His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

nor His pleasure in the legs of a man,

but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,

in those who hope in His steadfast love.

                                     Psalm 147. 10-11

(Not possessions, nor power,

nor outward appearance,

nor physical strength,

but what matters most in this life

          is our relationship with God.

Abide in His steadfast love,

        live in awe of Him.)

...for the fine linen
       is the righteous deeds of the saints.

                           Revelation 19.8

(What we do is being woven
into something far greater than ourselves,
for higher purposes than we could ever imagine.
We have only to be faithful
         in what God places before us
and follow Him into it.)

Happy is he 

      whose help is in the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the LORD his God...

                                 Psalm 146.5

(His Presence changes everything.

In God we trust.)

Teach me the way I should go,
for to You I lift up my soul...
Teach me to do Your will,
        for You are my God.

                         Psalm 143. 8, 10

(A teachable heart
       is open to God's leading.
Resistance leads only to
        rocky trails and wrong turns.)

...she will bear a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus,
for he will save his people
                   from their sins.

                       Matthew 1.21

(Emmanuel,
         which means God with us.
And that makes all the difference.)

Merry  Christmas!

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government
        will be upon his shoulder,
And his name will be called
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.

                            Isaiah 9.6

(Written 740 years before
              Christ was born.
Jesus did not just come.
He was promised.
Jesus came to redeem.)

When my spirit is weak,

You know my way.

                         Psalm 142.3

(God never promised 

that things would be easy,

but He does promise 

                  that He goes with us.

Follow Him,

                  even in this.)

Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD,
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Incline not my heart to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in the company of men who work iniquity;
and let me not eat of their dainties.

                                      Psalm 141. 3-4

(Busy myself with grace in this,
no matter what,
              my eyes on You)

...a place prepared by God,

in which to be nourished...

                          Revelation 12.6

(Look to what God is doing in your life,

                strategically right where you are)

How shall we sing the LORD'S song
                         in a foreign land?

                                       Psalm 137.4

(God places us strategically
         to do exactly that.)

Though the fig tree do not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
     and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
     and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet
    I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
He makes me tread
             upon my high places.

                     Habakkuk 3. 17-19

(No matter the circumstances,
                God is still in control.
When God is our strength,
He empowers us even to dance
   through the scary places of life.)

The LORD is good,

a stronghold in the day of trouble;

He knows those

       who take refuge in Him.

                             Nahum 1.7

(No matter what is swirling

                   all around you.)

As in the days when you came out

               of the land of Egypt,

I will show them marvelous things.

                                Micah 7.15

 (That which may not 

         even be on your radar yet.

    God will protect and provide 

          in incredible ways.)

There you shall be rescued,  

      there the LORD will redeem you

from the hand of your enemies.

                             Micah 4.10

(God works in the most unlikely ways

               and in the most unlikely places.

What am I doing here?

Something much deeper is going on,

purposes too profound for me to grasp.)

Those who pay regard to vain idols

            forsake their true loyalty.

                                Jonah 2.8

(Guard yourself against those things

which hold the place

that only God should have)

...and day and night

they

      never cease to sing,

"Holy, holy, holy,

              is the Lord God Almighty,

who was 

         and is

                   and is to come."

                          Revelation 4.8

(What am I humming

                in all I do and say?

Verbally acknowledge the reality of God

                    and live out His grace.)

Behold,
    I stand at the door and knock;
if any one hears My voice
                      and opens the door,
I will come in to him
                      and eat with him,
and he with Me.

                         Revelation 3.20

(The message of the entire Bible,
          from the first page to the last,
is all about relationship with God.)

But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.

                                               Amos 5.24

(LORD, make me an open conduit today.
Show me in all things
                what is good and right
and provide me the wisdom
                 and courage to do it.)

I will restore to you
the years which
the swarming locust has eaten.

                       Joel 2. 25

(When we follow God
      through the hardship and wilderness,
things will not just turn out ok,
               God will redeem.)

...and leave a blessing behind him...

                                 Joel 2.14

(In all places,

in all that I do,

among all with whom I meet)

Sow for yourselves righteousness,

reap the fruit of steadfast love,

break up your fallow ground,

for it is the time to seek the LORD,

that He may come

        and rain salvation upon you.

                                       Hosea 10.12

(like refreshing water on a thirsty heart)

...that we may live before Him.
Let us know,
     let us press on to know the LORD.

                       Hosea 6. 2-3

(Intentionally seeking Him each day
             in all things.)

And this is love,

that we follow His commandments;

this is the commandment,

as you have heard from the beginning,

             that you follow love.

                                       2 John 1.6

(Love God, love others.

That's what it is all about.

God's message all along.)

To You
       I lift up my eyes,
O You who are enthroned
                         in the heavens!

                         Psalm 123.1

(God is in control,
       and I am not.
That is not "a positive thought,"
       but reality.
Lifting my eyes, my cares, my heart to Him
                      empowers me to realize that.)

Little children,

let us not love in word or speech

               but in deed and truth.

                                 1 John 3. 18

(May I make love

                 the practice of my life.)

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
             who made heaven and earth.

                                Psalm 121.1-2

(It doesn't get any better than that.)

Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
         but Your commandments are my delight.

                                        Psalm 119. 143

(God's Word is the stability of my days,
       my strength and shield,
                        no matter what the foe
                                                 or fear.)