God's gift: love poured into our hearts

                                            God's love has been poured into our hearts

Romans 5:1-5  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
² Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
³ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 
⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Now is the favorable time

 2 Corinthians 6:1,2 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ² For he says,

                                     “In a favorable time I listened to you,
                                and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

SSSSSHHHHH when you pray and fast -----

Mathew 6:1-6, 16-21
 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
² “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
⁵ “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you
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¹⁶ “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 

¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust^[a] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Be strong, fear not!

 

 Luke 12:4,5  “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell Yes, I tell you, fear him!
Luke 12:32   “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
1 John 4:18  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love
2 Timothy 1:7   for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control

Mark 5:36   But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”

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Isaiah 35:3-5  3.Strengthen the weak hands,. and make firm the feeble knees.
 4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,. “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God. will come with vengeance,. with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” 
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,. and the ears of the deaf unstopped; ...

From what we sow - that we shall reap

                                                    The Parable of the Sower

Luke 8:4-15  ⁴ And.............., he said in a parable, ⁵“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

                                       The Purpose of the Parables

⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰ he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ ¹¹ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. ¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. ¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.