I will walk with integrity of heart
          within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
           anything that is base.

                          Psalm 101. 2-3

(Live above reproach
            in all things.)

Know that the LORD is God!

It is He that made us,

      and not we ourselves;

we are His people,

and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving,

and His courts with praise!

Give thanks to Him,

               bless His name!

                     Psalm 100. 3-4

(Enter His day for you

with praise,

and God will change

how you see everything

and everyone in it.)

The heart knows its own bitterness,
and no stranger shares its joy.

                            Proverbs 14.10

(What little I know
about what others are going through.
Help me, LORD,
go into my day
with handfuls of grace.)

The LORD said to Gideon,
"The people with you
are too many for Me
to give the Midianites
           into their hand,
lest Israel vaunt themselves
     against Me, saying,
"My own hand
          has delivered me."

                    Judges 7.2

(God has reasons for "impossible"
situations, that we would
recognize and acknowledge
His hand and power in it.
What am I claiming as my own?)

And the LORD said to him,
"But I will be with you..."

                      Judges 6.16

(and that makes all the difference)

If the LORD had not been my help,
my soul would soon
   have dwelt in the land of silence.
When I thought, "My foot slips,"
   Your steadfast love, O LORD,
                      held me up.
When the cares of my heart are many,
    Your consolations cheer my soul.

                                Psalm 94. 17-19

(hold My hand in this)

It is good to give thanks to the LORD
to sing praises to Your name,
                        O Most High,
to declare Your steadfast love
          in the morning,
and Your faithfulness by night...

                          Psalm 92. 1-2

(And God will change
          how you see your day)

Heaven and earth will pass away,
but My words will not pass away.

                         Luke 21.33

(That on which you can stake your life.
God's Word never changes.)

...but as for me and my house,
we will serve the LORD.

                        Joshua 24.15

(Manifest every day
in all we do and say.)

Take good heed to yourselves,
therefore,
to love the LORD your God.

                     Joshua 23.11

(It will change all you do.
He will change your life.)

But the angel said to the women,
"Do not be afraid,
for I know you seek Jesus
        who was crucified.
He is not here,
for He has risen,
             as He said.

                 Matthew 28. 5-6

(And that changes everything.
He has risen.
He has risen  indeed.
Go and live that way.)

Joyous Easter, my friend.

Now Jesus did many other signs
in the presence of the disciples,
which are not written in this book,
but these are written
that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ,
          the Son of God,
and that believing
    you may have life
                in His name.

                 John 20. 30-31

(Good Friday shows us
        why He came.
The Resurrection shows us
         who He is.)

"If you are the Son of God,
come down from the cross."
So also the chief priests,
and the scribes and elders,
       mocked Him, saying,
"He saved others;
He cannot save Himself.
He is the King of Israel;
let Him come down now
          from the cross,
and we will believe in Him."

                 Matthew 27. 40-42

(But then He would not be Savior.
He died for us.  He took our place.)

And Jesus stopped,
and commanded him
to be brought to Him,
and when he came near,
He asked him,
"What do you want
      Me to do for you?"

                     Luke 18. 40-41

(He asks us the same question.
What do we lay before Him?
In light of Holy Week,
it is what Christ has done
for us on the cross --
His life for my sin.)

       

And He told them a parable,
to the effect that
they ought always to pray
          and not lose heart.

                      Luke 18.1

(Pray without ceasing.
God is doing something profound .)

They go from strength to strength,
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

                            Psalm 84.7

(Strength is a direct impact
                  of trusting God.
He provides strength as it is needed,
one step to the next.)

...and did not ask direction
                 from the LORD.

                        Joshua 9.14

(Always a huge mistake.)

...but hold yourselves
           in all readiness...

                        Joshua 8.4

(Seek God fully
             in times of rest,
that you will be spiritually prepared
for times of trouble.)

                     

This book of the law shall not depart
out of your mouth,
but you shall meditate on it
                  day and night,
that you may be careful to do
according to all that is written in it,
for then
      you shall make your way prosperous,
and then you shall have good success.

                               Joshua 1.8

(God's Word will change you)

...stood on dry ground
in the midst of the Jordan.

               Joshua 3.17

(What's your Jordan today?
God goes before us into
what seems to us
           impossible situations.)
       
     

And do not seek

    what you are to eat

and what you are to drink,

nor be of anxious mind.

For all the nations of the world

             seek these things,

and your Father knows 

              that you need them.

Instead,

     seek His kingdom,

and these things shall be yours as well.

                          Luke 12. 29-30

(Seek God first,

and anxiety has no grasp)

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down,
but a good word makes him glad.

                           Proverbs 12.25

(And that is always in our power to give.
Make someone's day.)

Lay it to heart all the words
which I enjoin upon you this day,
that you may command them
                to your children,
that they may be careful to do
     all the words of this law.
For it is no trifle for you,
but it is your life...

                    Deuteronomy 32. 46-47

(Following God does not just
 change the trajectory of your life,
it impacts the lives
of everyone around you
for generations to come.)

It is the LORD 

        who goes before you;

He will be with you,

He will not fail you

    or forsake you;

do not fear

             or be dismayed.

                 Deuteronomy 31.8

(Follow God fully into it,

       focused on Him.

Where God guides,

          God provides.)

Are not five sparrows
       sold for two pennies?
And not one of them
             is forgotten before God.
Why, even the hairs of your head
            are all numbered.
Fear not,
   you are of more value
   than many sparrows.

                      Luke 12.7

(You are greatly loved by God.)

Then He said,
"I am God,
       the God of your father,
do not be afraid
              to go down to Egypt;
for there I will make of you
a great nation...

                         Genesis 46.3

(God uses you
          in the most unlikely situations,
even in what may appear exile)

...to stand and minister
          in the name of the LORD...

                       Deuteronomy 18.5

(wherever God strategically places us today,
           in all things,
           in all places,
           among all.)

And he answered,
"You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your strength,
     and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself."

                     Luke 10.27

(What does that look like
                 for us, today?)

...but as for you,
go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.

                              Luke 9.60

(Wherever He places you today,
at all times,
in whatever you do and say.)

...it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God...

                                  Psalm 73. 16-17

(First call,
            not last resort.
God changes how to see it
              and how to respond.)