Are We Christians or Are We Worldlings?

What do we say to our self-indulgence, our spiritual sloth, our love of ease, our avoidance of hardship, our luxury, our pampering of the body, our costly feasts, our silken couches, our brilliant furniture, our gay attire, our expensive jewelry, our idle mirth, our voluptuous music, our jovial tables, loaded with every variety of rich viands? Are we Christians or are we worldlings? 

Where is the self-denial of the New Testament days? Where is the separation from a self-pleasing luxurious world? Where is the cross, the true badge of discipleship, to be seen except in useless religious ornaments for the body, or worse than useless decorations for the sanctuary? "Woe to those who are at ease in Zion!" Is not this the description of multitudes who name the name of Christ? They may not be "living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry." But even where these are absent, there is 'high living' luxury of the table or the wardrobe in conformity to this present evil world. "At ease in Zion!" 

Yes! there is the shrinking from hard service; from spending and being spent; from toil, and burden-bearing and conflict; from self-sacrifice and noble service; for the Master's sake. There is conformity to the world, instead of conformity to Christ! There is a laying down of the cross, instead of a taking up of the cross. Or there is a lining of the cross with velvet, lest it should gall our shoulders as we carry it! Or there is an adorning of the cross, that it may suite the taste and the manners of our refined and intellectual age. Anything but the bare, rugged and simple cross! 

We think that we can make the strait gate wider, and the narrow way broader so as to be able to walk more comfortably to the heavenly kingdom. We try to prove that modern enlightenment has so refined 'the world and its pleasures', that we may safely drink the poisoned cup, and give ourselves up to the inebriation of the siren song. "At ease in Zion!" Even when the walls of our city are besieged, and the citadel is being stormed! Instead of grasping our weapons, we lie down upon our couches! Instead of the armor, we put on the silken robe! 

We are cowards, when we should be brave! We are faint-hearted, when we should be bold! We are lukewarm, when we should be fervent! We are cold, when we should be full of zeal! We compromise and shuffle and make excuses when we should lift up our voice like a trumpet! We pare down truth, or palliate error, or extenuate sin in order to placate the world, or suit the spirit of the age, or 'unify' the Church. Learn self-denying Christianity. Not the form or name, but the living thing. 

Let us renounce the lazy, luxurious, self-pleasing, fashionable religion of the present day! A self-indulgent religion has nothing in common with the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ; or with that cross of ours which He has commanded us to take up and carry after Him renouncing ease and denying self. Our time, our abilities, our money, our strength, are all to be laid upon the altar. 

[Horatius Bonar] 

Amos 6:1 ... Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

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Pick The Right Side

The Bible will keep you from sin. 

 OR 

 Sin will keep you from the Bible. 

 [D. L. Moody]

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Deuteronomy 30:15 ... See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

Isaiah 7:15 ... Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

Amos 5:14 ... Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

Joshua 24:15 ... And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. ❤

Absolute Sovereignty!!

One has stated, "God does not permit things to happen. He purposed all that comes to pass in time, before time began. And all that He ordained from eternity and performs in time, is good." 

Sadly, many in Christendom do not accept the teaching of God's absolute Sovereignty over His world. I offer the following Scriptures without comment, for your perusal: 

"Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" Exodus 4:11 

"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand." Deuteronomy 32:39 

"The Lord brings death and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts." 1 Samuel 2:6-7

"Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" Job 2:10 

"For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground." Job 5:6 

"For He wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, but His hands also heal." Job 5:18 "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other." Ecclesiastes 7:14 

"This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them." Jeremiah 32:42 

"Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?" Lamentations 3:38 

"When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?" Amos 3:6

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The Trials and Sufferings of The Godly

God's own people often suffer great afflictions! "This is what the wicked are like always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. For I am afflicted all day long!" (Psalm 73:12-14)  

How can this be consistent with God's justice? God's ways of judgment are sometimes secret, but never unjust! The Lord never afflicts His people without a cause; He cannot be unjust towards them. There is some good in the godly therefore the wicked afflict them. There is some evil in them therefore God afflicts them! God's own children have their blemishes. "But aren't you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God?" (2 Chronicles 28:10) 

These spiritual diamonds have they no flaws? Do we not read of the spots of God's children? Are not they guilty of much pride, passion, worldliness? Though, by their profession, they should resemble the birds of paradise, to fly above, and feed upon the dew of heaven—yet, as the serpent, they often lick the dust! The sins of God's people do more provoke God than the sins of others. "The Lord saw this and was filled with loathing. He was provoked to anger by His own sons and daughters." (Deuteronomy 32:19)

The sins of others pierce Christ's side. The sins of His people wound His heart! Therefore, is not God just in all the afflictions which befall them? "You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore, I will punish you for all your sins." (Amos 3:2) I will punish you sooner, surer, sorer than others. 

The trials and sufferings of the godly, are to refine and purify them. God's furnace is in Zion. Is it any injustice in God to put His gold into the furnace to purify it? Is it any injustice in God, by afflicting His people, to make them partakers of His holiness? What more proclaims God's faithfulness than to take such a course with them as may make them more holy? 

[Thomas Watson] 

Psalm 119:75 ...  I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

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Lord, Smite This Sin!

Do we love the holiness of the Word? The Word is preached to beat down sin, and advance holiness. Do we love it for its spirituality and purity? Many love the Preached Word only for its eloquence and notion. They come to a sermon as to a performance (Ezekiel 33:31,32) or as to a garden to pick flowers but not to have their lusts subdued or their hearts purified.  These are like a foolish woman who paints her face but neglects her health! 

Do we love the convictions of the Word? Do we love the Word when it comes home to our conscience and shoots its arrows of reproof at our sins? It is the minister's duty sometimes to reprove. He who can speak smooth words in the pulpit but does not know how to reprove, is like a sword with a fine handle, but without an edge! "Rebuke them sharply!" (Titus 2:15) Dip the nail in oil reprove in love but strike the nail home! 

Now Christian, when the Word touches on your sin and says, "You are the man!" do you love the reproof? Can you bless God that "the sword of the Spirit" has divided between you and your lusts? This is indeed a sign of grace and shows that you are a lover of the Word. A corrupt heart loves the comforts of the Word but not the reproofs: "You hate the one who reproves and despise him who tells the truth!" (Amos 5:10). "Their eyes flash with fire!" Like venomous creatures that at the least touch, spit poison! "When they heard these things, they were enraged in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at him!" (Acts 7:54) 

When Stephen touched their sins, they were furious and could not endure it. How shall we know that we love the reproofs of the Word? When we desire to sit under a heart-searching ministry. Who cares for medicines that will not work? A godly man does not choose to sit under a ministry that will not work upon his conscience. When we pray that the Word may meet with our sins. If there is any traitorous lust in our heart, we would have it found out and executed! We do not want sin covered but cured! 

When we can open our heart to the sword of the Word and say, "Lord, smite this sin!" When we are thankful for a reproof. "Let a righteous man strike me it is a kindness; let him rebuke me it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it." (Psalm 141:5) David was glad for a reproof. 

Suppose a man were in the mouth of a lion, and another should shoot the lion and save the man would he not be thankful? Just so, when we are in the mouth of sin, as of a lion, and the minister by a reproof shoots this sin to death shall we not be thankful? A gracious soul rejoices, when the sharp lance of the Word has pierced his abscess of sin! He wears a reproof like a jewel on his ear: "Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man's rebuke to a listening ear." (Proverbs 25:12) 

To conclude, it is convicting preaching which must do the soul good. As a nipping frost prepares for the sweet flowers of spring so a nipping reproof prepares the soul for comfort!

[Thomas Watson]

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Psalm 119:140 ...Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. ❤

So Sudden!!

As the life of man is very short, so it is very uncertain. Now healthy, now sick! Alive this hour and dead the next! Death does not always give warning beforehand; sometimes he gives the mortal blow suddenly; he comes behind with his dart, and strikes a man at the heart, before he says, "Have I found you, O my enemy?" Eutychus fell down dead suddenly, (Acts 20:9.)  

Death suddenly arrested David's sons and Job's sons. Zeuxis died laughing at the picture of an old woman which he drew with his own hand! Sophocles choked to death on the seed of a grape! Diodorus the logician died for shame that he could not answer a witty question. Joannes Measius, preaching upon the raising of the woman of Nain's son from the dead, within three hours after died himself! 

Ah! death is sudden in his approaches. Nothing surer than death! Nothing more uncertain than life! Though there is but one way to come into this world yet there are a thousand ways to be sent out of this world! 

[Thomas Brooks] 

Amos 4:12 ... Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

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A Pious Farce!

"Go to Bethel and sin!" cried the prophet. Bethel was their place of worship but every time they came there, they sinned because their worship was sin. Instead of bowing before the true God and adoring Him, they bowed before idols and gave them the honor which belonged to God alone. The more devout they were, therefore, the more they dishonored the Lord. Their great zeal, as shown in their sacrifices and tithes and free-will offerings, only multiplied their sin and heaped up sorer judgment against them! Their religion was all a pious farce, and the more there was of it the more of an abomination it was unto God. God cannot be pleased with mere forms of worship and with ceremonials. 

The more we multiply these, the more do we grieve Him if our heart is not in them. We may say that we have no idols now in our churches; but are we sure of this? Do we truly worship God in our church services? When we sing the hymns, are our hearts fixed upon God? When we pray, are we really talking to God? When we confess sins, is the confession sincere? When we sit in God's house, are we truly in God's presence, breathing out our heart's love and worship to Him? If not, what or whom are we adoring, praising, worshiping? Empty religious forms, must have some idol at the heart of them! The prophet told them very plainly what was in their hearts.

"This is what you love to do!" You love this! You love to make a great display in your religion. This display of piety, is just to your taste. You like to cover up your sins with forms of worship, appearing as saints before the world, though in secret cherishing and practicing all manner of wickedness! This is God's own picture of these ancient 'worshipers'. We need to look honestly at it, to see if it is OUR picture. God looks at the heart! No external appearances are of any value, unless they are genuine expressions of what is in the heart! Pirate ships carry reputable flags, to cover their dishonorable character. Religious hypocrisy often puts at its masthead, the colors of devout saintliness. But God cannot be deceived. 

 [J. R. Miller]

Amos 4:4-6 ... Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:  And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.  And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.

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Are We Christians or Worldlings?

What do we say to our self-indulgence, our spiritual sloth, our love of ease, our avoidance of hardship, our luxury, our pampering of the body, our costly feasts,

our silken couches, our brilliant furniture, our gay attire, our expensive jewelry,

our idle mirth, our voluptuous music, our jovial tables, loaded with every variety of rich viands?  Are we Christians or are we worldlings?

Where is the self-denial of the New Testament days? Where is the separation from a self-pleasing luxurious world? Where is the cross, the true badge of discipleship, to be seen except in useless religious ornaments for the body, or worse than useless decorations for the sanctuary?

"Woe to those who are at ease in Zion!" Is not this the description of multitudes who name the name of Christ? They may not be "living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry." But even where these are absent, there is 'high living' luxury of the table or the wardrobe in conformity to this present evil world.

"At ease in Zion!" Yes! there is the shrinking from hard service; from spending and being spent; from toil and burden-bearing and conflict; from self-sacrifice and noble service; for the Master's sake.

There is conformity to the world, instead of conformity to Christ! There is a laying down of the cross, instead of a taking up of the cross.  Or there is a lining of the cross with velvet, lest it should gall our shoulders as we carry it! Or there is an adorning of the cross, that it may suite the taste and the manners of our refined and intellectual age.  Anything but the bare, rugged and simple cross!

We think that we can make the strait gate wider, and the narrow way broader so as to be able to walk more comfortably to the heavenly kingdom. We try to prove that modern enlightenment has so refined 'the world and its pleasures', that we may safely drink the poisoned cup, and give ourselves up to the inebriation of the siren song.  "At ease in Zion!" Even when the walls of our city are besieged, and the citadel is being stormed!

Instead of grasping our weapons, we lie down upon our couches! Instead of the armor, we put on the silken robe!  We are cowards, when we should be brave! We are faint-hearted, when we should be bold!  We are lukewarm, when we should be fervent!  We are cold, when we should be full of zeal!  We compromise and shuffle and make excuses when we should lift up our voice like a trumpet! We pare down truth, or palliate error, or extenuate sin in order to placate the world, or suit the spirit of the age, or 'unify' the Church.  Learn self-denying Christianity. Not the form or name, but the living thing.

Let us renounce the lazy, luxurious, self-pleasing, fashionable religion of the present day!  A self-indulgent religion has nothing in common with the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ; or with that cross of ours which He has commanded us to take up and carry after Him renouncing ease and denying self.  Our time,  our abilities,  our money,  our strength are all to be laid upon the altar.

[Horatius Bonar]

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Amos 6:1 … Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

1 John 2:15 … Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Romans 12:2 … And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.❤

Life or Death

When she was a teenager, she got pregnant.   She went to Planned Parenthood seeking help.  This young woman needed pre-natal care and someone to deliver her baby.   She did not know where else to go.  Everyone she spoke to at this organization said that she needed to have an abortion.  They said that she was too young, could not take care of a baby, and that she could always have another child later.  The pressure from Planned Parenthood to have an abortion was undeniable.   It was either have an abortion or they would not help her.   It seemed evident that they wanted her child to be destroyed.   But, she walked out.   This teenaged mother made the decision against causing the death of her child.  She chose life.  Ironically, due to medical issues, this would be the only baby that she would ever have.   

Today, her only child is a public figure, Christopher Silas Neal of The Studio of Chris Silas Neal.    He is a successful artist, an award winning Illustrator and Author of children's books including his solo debut, winner of Parent's Choice Awards, titled Everyone.  He is also the father of two boys.   He dedicated his book to his first born.  Had she listened to Planned Parenthood and aborted him, not only would he, his art work, and his books not be here, but neither would his own two children, they simply would not exist.

Abortion is the most horrific human rights violation of our time.   It is the killing of innocent human life in the womb.    Planned Parenthood is providing approximately 333,964 abortions per year.  These human beings are being destroyed and do not have a voice.   For anyone with any sense of decency, this issue should not be open for debate.  Our tax dollars should never be given to organizations that kill unborn babies. 

Please help.  Sign the petition to DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD. RL.

Sign Our Petition Here

Amos 1:13 ... Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

Proverbs 6:16-17 ... These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

Matthew 25:40 ... And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.❤

Holy Shuddering!

My soul, do you feel this holy shuddering at the sins of others? If not, you lack inward holiness. David's cheeks were wet with rivers of waters, because of prevailing unholiness. Jeremiah desired eyes like fountains, that he might lament the iniquities of Israel. Lot, a righteous man, was distressed because of all the immorality and wickedness around him. Those upon whom the mark was set in Ezekiel's vision, were those who sighed and cried because of the abominations of Jerusalem.

It cannot but grieve gracious souls to see what pains men take to go to Hell. They know the evil of sin experimentally, and they are alarmed to see others flying like moths into its blaze!

Sin makes the righteous shudder, because it violates God's holy law, which is to every man's highest interest to keep. Sin pulls down the pillars of the society!

Sin in others horrifies a believer, because it puts him in mind of the vileness of his own heart. When he sees a heinous sinner, he cries, "He fell today and, but for God's grace I may fall tomorrow!"

Sin is horrible to a believer, because it crucified his Savior! He sees in every iniquity the nails and the spear! How can a saved soul behold that cursed Christ-killing sin without abhorrence?

Say, my heart do you sensibly join in all this? It is an awful thing to insult God to His face. The good God deserves better treatment; the great God claims it; the just God will have it or repay His adversary to his face!

An awakened heart trembles at the audacity of sin—and stands alarmed at the contemplation of its punishment. How monstrous a thing is sin! How direful a doom is prepared for the ungodly!

My soul, never laugh at sin's fooleries lest you come to smile at sin itself! Sin is your Lord's enemy, and your enemy, view it with detestation, for only so, can you evidence the possession of holiness, without which no man can see the Lord.

 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

 

 

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Psalm 119:53 ... Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.

 

 

Psalm 97:10 ...  Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

 

 

Proverbs 8:13 ... The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

 

 

Amos 5:15 ... Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

 

 

Romans 12:9 ... Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

 

 

Jude 1:23 ... And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. ❤

Darkness Over the Land

Prophecy:

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:  Amos 8:9 ✞

Fulfilled:

And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.  And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.  Luke 23:44-45 ✞

Signs in the Heavens

Isaiah 13:10 … For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Amos 8:9 … And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

Joel 2:10 … The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

Joel 2:30-31 … And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.

Matthew 24:29-30 … Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Luke 21:11 … And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Luke 21:25 … And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Revelation 6:12 … And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; ❤

Looking

I didn't find any gold today. Haven't found any all week. In fact, I've never found gold. Nor diamonds. Nor silver. Not once.

I'd be more than happy to stumble across any of those things. But it hasn't happened.

I'm guessing that you're not surprised. Neither am I, especially since I've never gone out looking for gold, or diamonds, or silver. I haven't gone to the places where they tend to be found. I haven't done the things people do to try and find them.

So it's not all that surprising that I've never found any of these treasures.

Have you found God? If not, it's possible that you're not really looking for Him. It's one thing to say, "I'd like to find God." It's quite another to actually look for Him.

There are some basic things you need to do:

1. Decide that you really want to find God. This has to be more than curiosity. Set out to know Him, not just know about Him. Your goal is to have a relationship with the Creator of the universe.

2. Spend time in prayer. Express your desire to know God. Be honest with Him, but humble. Pour out your thoughts and feelings. Be willing to patiently wait. Relationships take time.

3. Read the Bible. Spend time studying God's revelation of Himself. Try to learn about Him. Look at His people and how they react to Him, both good and bad. Read through the poetry known as the psalms, looking at the range of emotions expressed in that book. Study the life of Jesus to see how God lived as a human being.

4. Be with others who are seeking God. While it's true that God can be found anywhere, it's easier to find Him in the presence of others who have already found Him. Find a church, a community of believers, and get them to help you in your search.

I probably won't ever find gold or diamonds or silver. But I found God, a treasure worth far more than any of those things. And you can find Him too.

[Tim Archer]

Amos 5:8 … Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

Jeremiah 29:13 … And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

1 Chronicles 15:16 … Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

Acts 2:21 ... And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. ♥

Set Your Sails

We cannot organize revival, but we can set our sails to catch the wind from Heaven when God chooses to blow upon His people once again.

[G. Campbell Morgan]

Amos 5:14 … Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

Isaiah 55:3 … Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Deuteronomy 11:13-14 … And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

Isaiah 57:15 … For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Ephesians 5:14 … Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. ♥