www.StevertS.com

Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, . . .
(Proverbs 1:5 -- ESV)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
(Hosea 4:6a -- ESV)

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the gatekeeper opens.  The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

(John 10:1-3 -- ESV)

Another seven-second sermon . . .

(see also www.StevertS.com)

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

(Psalm 42:1 -- NIV)

For my eyes are on all their ways.  They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.
(Jeremiah 16:17 -- ESV)

Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord.  Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.
(Jeremiah 23:24 -- ESV)

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
(1 John 1:7 -- ESV)

Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds!

(Luke 12:24 -- ESV)

And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

(Luke 10:2 -- ESV)

Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

(Ecclesiastes 9:4 -- NIV)

1. Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me;
see, on the portals he's waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.
Refrain:
Come home, come home;
ye who are weary come home;
earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling,
O sinner, come home!

2. Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,
mercies for you and for me?
(Refrain)

3. Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
passing from you and from me;
shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
coming for you and for me.
(Refrain)

4. O for the wonderful love he has promised,
promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me.
(Refrain) 

[by Will L. Thompson]

www.StevertS.com

My 98-year old aunt died recently.  She had a heart attack a few days before her death.  In the emergency room that day, she told her great-nephew, "I'm almost home." 

 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night.  And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.”  And it was so.

(Genesis 1:14-15 -- ESV)

. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, . . .

(Romans 3:23 -- ESV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

(Hebrews 12:1-2 -- ESV)
------------------------------

Run with endurance, but stay in your "lane" (the race that is set before you). 

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. ² And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. ³ Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
.......
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸ And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

(Luke 10:1-3 & 17-20 -- ESV)

Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!  ² Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!  ³ From the rising of the sun to its setting,  the name of the Lord is to be praised!

 

(Psalm 113:1-3 -- ESV)

 

 

. . . then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

(Genesis 2:7 -- ESV)

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

(Psalm 23:1 -- NIV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

(Proverbs 3:5 -- ESV)

Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

(Matthew 7:6 -- ESV)

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 6:23 -- ESV)

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!

(Psalm 113:3 -- ESV)

He came to be a citizen of earth so that we can have
citizenship
in heaven. 

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

(Matthew 10:29-31 -- ESV)

For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. ⁸ But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

(Hebrews 6:7-8 -- ESV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

(John 3:16 -- ESV)

But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

(Amos 5:24 -- NIV)

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

(James 2:10 -- ESV)

I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh.  And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

(Genesis 9:15 -- ESV)