Pocket Thoughts - 10/25/24
God * hears our prayers and sees our tears * needs the instruction, enlightenment, and teaching of no one * will raise the battle cry in triumph over His enemies.
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In John 5, the man by the pool of Bethsaida had given up hope of ever being healed. But the God of all hope was about to enter the scene. He asked, “Do you want to get well?” In that moment, the man had to choose. A life of wholeness would mean a life he had never known. He received the gift of healing. Then Jesus challenged him to receive the true gift - forgiveness of sins. God’s gifts to us will change us. They will give us greater responsibility, greater understanding, and greater love and appreciation for Who He is. – TV
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Living for the applause of the world is a short-lived pleasure. If you only live to impress others and care little or not at all for God’s approval, you’re chasing after the wind. If you strive to please only Him, nothing else matters. Your heart will find the satisfaction it desires. – TV
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In our culture, we may fail to appreciate how extraordinary the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman was. First of all, she was a woman. Second, she was a woman of bad reputation. Finally, she was member of a race despised by the Jews. Any of these qualifiers would normally have prevented her and Jesus from interacting, but Jesus stepped out of the norm to reach a broken heart. This woman was rejected by her culture, her race, and her lovers. Jesus saw past those things to her thirsty soul and offered her Living Water. Pray to have eyes that find thirsty souls, and like Jesus, dare to step out of the norm to share Living Water with them. – TV
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God promised to demonstrate to Pharaoh in the most graphic way that there was a distinction between Egypt and Israel. At this point, Israel itself also needed to know the distinction He would make. The people only knew the distinctions of “slave” and “free.” But God knew that He had set these people apart to be His chosen nation. He would lead them into the wilderness to instruct them in His laws and values. They would come out on the other side as a nation known to belong to the Lord. We often limit ourselves by what and who we think we are, forgetting the identity and purpose God has bestowed on us. Ask God to help you to live according to His high calling on your life. That will change everything. – TV
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“Eternal life is not a gift from God; eternal life is the gift of God. The energy and the power which was so very evident in Jesus will be exhibited in us by an act of the absolute sovereign grace of God, once we have made that complete and effective decision about sin. We have to keep letting go, and slowly, but surely, the great full life of God will invade us, penetrating every part.” – Oswald Chambers
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“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” – Romans 1:16-17
