John Eldredge Quote

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You cannot be the person God meant you to be, and you cannot live the life He meant you to live, unless you live from the heart.

From Ephesians 3:19-20:  “To know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.”

John Eldredge (born 1960) is an American author, counselor, and lecturer on Christianity.  More details are available on his website:  wildatheart.org.

Greatest Love Story

From Genesis 1:1-5:  “When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.  Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.  And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

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Scripture’s Holy verses

Breathing with His sacred love

Even before Creation acts

Father’s grace looks down from above

 

Planet’s vast emptiness

Moving from darkness to light

Eternity wakens with love

Father’s mercy always in flight

 

Favored, luscious garden

Inviting twosome to walk

Sinfulness spreading life’s darkness

Yet, Father’s love becomes faith’s rock

 

Harsh wilderness called home

Searching for His promised land

Israel waiting in exile

Father’s love forges plan so grand

 

Divine patience shares gift

Choosing Bethlehem stable

Greatest love story now proclaimed

Father’s peace sets Heaven’s table

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From 1 John 4:9-12:  “God’s love was revealed among us in this way:  God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.”

His Voice

From the words of American pastor and Christian teacher, Charles Stanley:  “Many voices compete for our attention, but abundant life comes when we listen to our Good Shepherd.”

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Good Shepherd’s voice

Searching for sheep

Finding lost ones

Mercy won’t sleep

 

Recognizing

True Shepherd’s Word

His voice shares grace

Forever heard

 

Good Shepherd’s faith

Persistence heeds

Calling His sheep

Voice gently leads

 

Shepherd holding

Salvation’s keys

Closed gate opens

God’s voice agrees

 

As faithful sheep

Hearing His voice

Safely at home

Always rejoice

 

Coming to Christ

Believers walk

Trusting His voice

Hope’s solid rock

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From John 10:3-5:  “The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.  They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Origen of Alexandria Quote

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Now the true soldiers of Christ must always be prepared to do battle for the truth, and must never, so far as lies with them, allow false convictions to creep in.

From Ephesians 6:13-15:  “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on the evil day and, having prevailed against everything, to stand firm.  Stand, therefore, and belt your waist with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness and lace up your sandals in preparation for the gospel of peace.”

Origen of Alexandria (c. 185 – c. 253) was also known as Origen Adamantius.  He was a Christian scholar and theologian who spent the first half of his life in Alexandria (Egypt).

Choosing Life

From Deuteronomy 30:11, 14:  “Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.  No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.”

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Sowing faith’s seeds

Freeing from sin

Darkness recedes

New life begins

 

Guiding beyond

Walking with thee

Heavenly bond

Christ sets us free

 

Living with doubt

Leaving dark past

Grace reaches out

Divine broadcast

 

Singing with praise

Gospel’s new lease

Faith now ablaze

Bringing Christ’s peace

 

Bearing life’s woes

Moving each heart

Love always shows

Righteous jumpstart

 

Mercy abounds

Choosing life now

Seeking high ground

Christ shows us how

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From Deuteronomy 30:19-20:  “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and holding fast to Him, for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

Father Loves You

From Romans 5:8:  “But God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”

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Knowing Father loves you

Sharing His peace, believe

Molding each life’s purpose

Pouring out grace, receive

 

Breathing with hope’s mindset

Tasting glory of God

Following divine Word

Seeing through evil’s fraud

 

Promising you His love

Filling each wayward heart

Leading away from sin

Bringing life’s fresh, new start

 

Sending His Son to you

Adding up sin-filled debts

Erasing through Christ’s blood

Freeing from deepest nets

 

Remembering always

Accepting Father’s love

Receiving Spirit’s gifts

Walking with Christ above

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From 1 John 4:8-9:  “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.  God’s love was revealed among us in this way:  God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.”

Faith Through Love (Elfchen Series #108)

Lost

Pursuing

Flesh’s desires

Filled with works

Life falls short in

Darkness

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Faith

Truth

Speaks boldly

Christ’s Holy Word

Building hope through Spirit’s

Fruits

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Found

Love

Thy neighbor

Obedience to Christ

Grace meeting our needs

Freedom

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Body of Christ

From the words of American pastor and Christian teacher, Charles Stanley:  “The body of Christ–also know as the Church–is made up of all who believe in Jesus.”

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Body of Christ

Filled with believers

Worshipping Him

Humble receivers

 

Head of God’s church

Lord Jesus Christ reigns

Following Him

Grace eases our pains

 

Faith’s salvation

Active Christian life

Breathing Gospel

Peace lives without strife

 

Boldly walking

As Christ’s faithful feet

Upholding love

Divine message greets

 

Believers march

Trust guides life’s mandate

Spreading Good News

Grace equips our fate

  

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From Ephesians 4:15-16:  “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.”

New Hope

From 1 Corinthians 6:11:  “And this is what some of you used to be.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

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Witnessing renewing birth

Receiving Gospel’s new hope

Living through Christ on this earth

Grace flows down slippery slope

 

Leaving former sinful ways

Washing us clean with new hope

Walking in God’s trust each day

Resurrection’s firm tightrope

 

Raising up Christ, sin’s payoff

Blessings of faith fill new hope

Anchoring light, hell casts off

Holy Spirit, life’s tow rope

 

Sharing His goodness and grace

Sensing Christ fueling new hope

Grasping life’s new, righteous place

God justifies Glory’s scope

 

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From 1 Peter 1:3:  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  By His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Glorifying God

From 1 Peter 2:2-3:  “Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

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Believers searching

Seeking Father’s plan

Bible revealing

Spirit touches man

 

God’s blessed children

Salvation growing

Tasting His goodness

Spirit’s gifts showing

 

Breathing righteousness

Man’s actions molded

In likeness of Christ

Spirit’s tasks unfolded

 

Holy and treasured

Chosen cornerstone

Glorifying God

Spirit in Christ sown

 

Long ago searching

Heeding sovereign will

Now finding God’s plan

Spirit flows downhill

 

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From 1 Peter 2:9-10:  “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”