The king held out … the golden scepter …
Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter.
And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious. We have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. § For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. § We have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. § Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Est. 5:2; Ex. 22:27; 1 John 4:16–19;
Heb. 10:22; Eph. 2:18; 3:12; Heb. 4:16
“What is it?” Moses said to them, “This is
the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.”
Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh. § The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. § If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. § My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.
The children of Israel … gathered, some more, some less … He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack … They gathered it every morning, every man according to his need.
Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” … Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Ex. 16:15; 1 Tim. 3:16; John 6:33; 6:49; 6:51;
6:55; Ex. 16:17–18, 21; Matt. 6:31–33
The Holy Spirit is so identified with the Bible, one of His names is Truth! In fact, Peter reveals that the Holy Spirit is the inspirational Author of the Old Testament Scriptures. (2 Pet. 1:20-21) And Paul wrote to Timothy, encouraging him to stay in the Scriptures because, “all Scripture is God-breathed,” referring once again to the Spirit-inspired Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16, NIV).
Have you been trying to work up some kind of emotional feeling? If you lack “it,” have you felt you didn’t have the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, which means He always works according to and through the Word of God whether you feel Him or not. Have you been seeking some ecstatic experience, thinking that would be the Holy Spirit? Remember that He never acts independently; He always works through the Truth – the living Word of God, Who is Jesus, and the written Word of God, which is your Bible. He is never spooky or silly or superficial or self-promoting. He is the Spirit of Truth.
Whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.
Abraham] did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. § The children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. § It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. § The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.
Prov. 16:20; Rom. 4:20–21; 2 Chron. 13:18;
Ps. 46:1–2; 118:8–9; 37:23–24; 34:8–9
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night. § He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge. § As a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. § He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. § The darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? § You are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. § I will trust and not be afraid.
Ps. 4:8; 91:5; 91:4; Matt. 23:37; Ps. 121:3–5; 61:4;
139:12; Rom. 8:32; 1 Cor. 3:23; Isa. 12:2
Having commanded the stone to be rolled away from the place where Lazarus was buried, Jesus challenged Martha not only to obedience but to expectant faith: “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). In essence, He was saying, “It’s time to place all of your small, mustard seed-sized faith in Me and My promise to you.”
Martha had said she had faith. She intellectually believed what Jesus had said. But Martha needed to make the transition from faith to trust. Because while belief is the consent of the mind and faith is a choice of the will, trust is a commitment of the heart.
The time had come for Martha to put her faith into action by surrendering all of her hopeful expectations and heartfelt longings and practical common sense and simply trust Him. And the time has come for you to simply trust Him. Trust HIM!
The accuser of our brethren, who accused them
before our God day and night, has been cast down.
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. § Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them. § That through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. § In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. § Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. And take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. § Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rev. 12:10; 12:11; Rom. 8:33–34; Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14–15;
Rom. 8:37; Eph. 6:11, 17; 1 Cor. 15:57
The tree of life.
God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. § He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. § As the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will … For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.
To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. § In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Happy is the man who finds wisdom … Length of days is in her right hand … She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her. § Christ Jesus … became for us wisdom.
Gen. 2:9; 1 John 5:11; John 3:16; 5:21, 26;
Rev. 2:7; 22:2; Prov. 3:13, 16, 18; 1 Cor. 1:30
