God * opposes the self-reliant * will wipe away every tear from every eye * is the Rock eternal.

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Putting the Word into practice involves denying self and humbly caring for the most vulnerable. Learn to serve others and to give of your resources with no expectation of anything in return. Avoid placing value on people based on their money, power or position. Commit to follow the morals and ethics of Christ, and your heart will be pure. It’s reward enough to know that not only do you walk in His footsteps, but that He walks beside you. – TV

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God used a staff in a shepherd’s hands to convince a king to release the Israelites from slavery. Allow yourself to imagine what God can do with what you consider to be ordinary talents and qualities in yourself. Whatever you submit to God can be powerful and effective in His hands. – TV

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Father, thank You for tuning my heart to heed Your call from darkness into marvelous light! You invited my clumsy feet into an eternal dance, and I moved toward you with joyful but faltering, irregular steps. My exhilaration was wild, but my dance was untrained. Good Father, Your delight in me was matched only by Your patience. You instructed me in increments, teaching me a dance created specifically for my talents – a dance that felt so effortless because it matched my God-given skills so perfectly. You fulfilled a longing in me that I never knew I had by training me to use a gift I never knew I possessed – all to please my Father. To serve You in my own unique way with hand-picked abilities You personally wove into my being – this is my gift humbly laid before You, my grateful response to the gentle beckoning of Your Holy Spirit. May my devotion and prayers be always in the beautiful Name of Jesus, amen.

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God’s provision of rich blessings for the righteous stands in stark contrast to His dealings with those who reject Him and “pursue their own imaginations.” He lovingly calls us His servants and promises to provide for us, give us reason to rejoice and sing, and give us a new identity. All of these things happen when we trust in Christ for our salvation. Eternity with God starts the moment we turn to Him. And one Day, we’ll experience the fullness of all that He has planned for His children. – TV

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“God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” – C.S. Lewis

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“(Jesus) was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:10-14