“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.” (Psalm 103:13 NIV)

He carries you!

“And in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.” (Deut. 1:31 NIV)

He is the father of those without a father

“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.” (Psalm 68:5 NIV)

He gives you that which is good!

“Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 7:9-11 NIV)

All good and perfect gifts are from Him! 

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17 ESV)

He corrects you because He loves you!

“My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” (Prov. 3:11-12 NIV)

You are the work of His hand

“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isa. 64:8 ESV)

“Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you.” (Exo. 23:25 NIV)

Praise be to God and Father

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Cor. 1:3-4 NIV)

Sing in praise of His Name

“Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him — his name is the Lord. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” (Psalms 68:4-5 NIV)

Praise Him for He is great!

“How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.” ( 2 Sam. 7:22 NIV)

Everything is His! Exalt Him over all!

“Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” (1 Chron. 29:11 NIV)

To Him be the glory forever!

“For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Rom. 11:36 NIV)

Proclaim His Name among the nations!

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” (Psalm 105:1 NIV)

 “Doth not all nature around me praise God? If I were silent, I should be an exception to the universe. Doth not the thunder praise Him as it rolls like drums in the march of the God of armies? Do not the mountains praise Him when the woods upon their summits wave in adoration? Doth not the lightning write His name in letters of fire? Hath not the whole earth a voice? And shall I, can I, silent be?” – Charles Spurgeon

“But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” (James 4:6 NIV)

The Bible warns about the consequences of pride

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” (Prov. 11:2 NIV)

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Prov. 16:18 NIV)

“Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.” (Prov. 26:12 NIV)

“Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” (Prov. 13:10 NIV)

“Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.” (Prov. 18:12 NIV)

Don't boast about yourself!

“This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches.” (Jer. 9:23 NIV)

Put others above yourself!

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” (Phil. 2:3 NIV)

"For pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.” C.S. Lewis

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” (1 Peter 4:10 NLT)

Use your Gifts as though God Himself is working through you!

“Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking g through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring Glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11 NLT)

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants!” (Deut. 30:19 NASB)

And behind door number three …

When I was growing up, my family and I would often watch TV game shows. One of our favorites, Let’s Make a Deal, with host, Monty Hall, would end with a contestant being given the choice to choose among three doors. Behind one door would be a huge prize, perhaps a Hawaiian vacation or a brand-new luxury car, and behind the other doors would be a gag gift such as a goat or a baloney sandwich. We would watch anxiously and gasp if they chose wrong.

God also gives us choices, but with a huge difference!

In today’s verse, God says, “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse.” But, unlike Monty Hall, God wants you to make the right choice! He tells you which one to choose so you won't make a mistake! He says, “So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants!”

How to choose life

Jesus Himself is the correct answer for choosing life. He is God's gift of love to you and when you choose Him, you choose life!

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NASB)

He is the only way to life!

“Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6 NASB)

When you have Jesus, you have life!

“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God's Son does not have life.” (2 John 5:12 NLT)

“‘For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, 'You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.'” (Deut. 15:11 NASB)

The poor family

In the 1950’s, I lived in the small community of Alton, California, next to the railroad tracks. From my front door I watched trains rumble by many times a day. I would often count freight train cars as well as the number of hobos riding along on them. It was not unusual to count as many as fifty or more hobos per train. Many times, the trains would stop to switch cars, taking some off and putting some on and hobos would also get off and get on there. One day an entire family got off and set up camp at the end of a dead-end street near where I lived. Soon, I got to know the children. They were different than most of my friends; they were poorly dressed and looked dirty most of the time. They kept mainly to themselves and didn't smile, play, or laugh much. When school started in the Fall, they got on the school bus with the rest of us. One day, one of them, a little girl of about 10, suddenly fainted at school. She was taken to the office and when asked what was wrong, she said, “it isn't my turn to eat today”. The school immediately arranged for the children in that family to have free lunches at school every day and when they got their trays of food, they sat quietly and ate every bite. Before meeting these children, I had never seen such poverty.

We must help the poor

"If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.” (Deut. 15:7-8 NASB)

Give some of what you produce to the needy

“When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the LORD your God.'" (Lev. 23:22 NASB)

When you help the poor, you're helping Jesus!

“Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'” (Matt. 25:37 NASB)

When you give to the poor, you’re “lending to God”

“If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD--and he will repay you!” (Prov. 19:17 NLT)

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Rom. 12:11-12 NIV)

Facts about fire

The principle to keep a fire burning is simple. You only need to make sure your fire has three essential things: 1) fuel, 2) heat and 3) oxygen. Removing any one of these things and your fire will go out!

Keep your spiritual fire going

There are three things mentioned in Romans 12:11-12, needed to keep your spiritual fire going:

1.  Be joyful in hope. Things don't always LOOK good; therefore, you must remember to look BEYOND any negative present circumstances with JOYFUL HOPE towards the future, with the correct understanding that God is working it all out for a wonderful future for you. (Rom. 8:28)

2.  Be patient in affliction. Problems, or “afflictions” happen to everyone from time to time. That's just the way it is. But, the key to handling them when they appear, is to remain PATIENT with the understanding that God is working things out for you and you must wait patiently, and EXPECTANTLY for Him to do it in His perfect timing. (1 Peter 4:12)

3. Be faithful in prayer. Prayer, of course, is simply talking things over with God. Remember to do that always! In good times and in bad times talk to God about everything.  (Col. 4:2)

Hearts on fire from God’s Word!

“They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32 NIV)

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29:13 NIV)

I read a report recently that Muslims are the largest group of people coming to Christ. Many have reported having dreams and visions of a man appearing to them in a white robe. That man, is Jesus! Most of these stories come from those who have been earnestly seeking God with all their heart. The promise verse at top confirms it. It says, “you will find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

He wants everyone to be saved!

“Who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4 NLT)

He searches for the lost!

“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” (Luke 19:10 NLT)

“"If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4 NIV)

He invites those who have left to return!

“Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty.” (Zech. 1:3 NIV)

“When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’” (Judges. 6:12 NIV)

Mighty warrior!

At the time the Lord spoke to Him, Gideon wasn't known as anything other than ordinary. But, even so, he was proclaimed by the Lord to be a “mighty warrior” and was told that he was being sent by God on an important assignment.

“The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?’” (Judges 6:14 NIV)

Gideon saw himself as weak, not strong

“‘Pardon me, my lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family’”. (Judges 6:15 NIV)

He was strong because God was with him!

“The Lord answered, ‘I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.’” (Judges 6:16 NIV)

So, Gideon followed God’s plan and had complete victory, just as God had promised him!

God is present and powerful in your life today!

When God is present in any life, there is strength and victory without question! And, because of Jesus, we have a closer relationship with God than Gideon had. We are adopted into His family!

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you! 

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. (Rom. 8:11a NLT)

Greater things you will do because of Jesus!

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13 NIV)

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” (John 14:12 NLT)