Melinda Lancaster

God

1 Samuel 5:7-8 (MSG)
When the leaders of Ashdod saw what was going on, they decided, "The chest of the god of Israel has got to go. We can't handle this, and neither can our god Dagon." They called together all the Philistine leaders and put it to them: "How can we get rid of the chest of the god of Israel?" The leaders agreed: "Move it to Gath." So they moved the Chest of the God of Israel to Gath.

Romans 8:31-39

Romans 8:31-39 (MSG)
So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Romans 12:11-13

Romans 12:11-13 (MSG)
Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Romans 12:7-8

Romans 12:7-8 (MSG)
If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

What shapes you?

Romans 12:2 (NET)
Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Romans 5:3-5, Romans 5:18-19

Romans 5:3-5 (MSG)
There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

Romans 5:18-19 (MSG)
Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.

Romans 5:3-5

Romans 5:3-5 (MSG)
There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

Isolation

Judges 18:28 (NET)
No one came to the rescue because the city was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and occupied it.

Judges 14:18

Judges 14:18 (NET)
On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him, “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” He said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!”

Psalm 103:8-14

Psalm 103:8-14 (NET)
The Lord is compassionate and merciful; he is patient and demonstrates great loyal love.

Careless vows

Judges 11:30-35 (NET)
Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, saying, “If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me,

God's provision for Gideon's fear

Judges 7:10-11 (NET)
But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with Purah your servant

God is all that I need, the only One to trust

Psalm 62:7-8 (MSG)
My help and glory are in God —granite-strength and safe-harbor-God— So trust him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for him. God is a safe place to be.

Missing the point

Mark 10:15-17 (NET)
I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

The evils within

Mark 7:21-23 (NET)
For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder,

Dirty Inside

Mark 7:15 (NET)
There is nothing outside of a person that can defile him by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles him.”

Healing

Mark 7:32-36 (NET)
They brought to him a deaf man who had difficulty speaking, and they asked him to place his hands on him.

Psalm 37:31

Psalm 37:31 (NET)
The law of their God controls their thinking; their feet do not slip.

Favor

Psalm 37:23-24 (NET)
The Lord grants success to the one whose behavior he finds commendable.

Hostile indifference

Matthew 13:58 (MSG)
But Jesus said, "A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family." He didn't do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference.

Keys to a long

Psalm 34:12-14 (NET)
Do you want to really live? Would you love to live a long, happy life?

Matthew 7:15-16, Matthew 7:21-23

Matthew 7:15-16 (MSG)
"Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.

Matthew 7:21-23 (MSG)
"Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master, Master,' for instance— isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'

Treasures

Matthew 6:19-21 (MSG)
"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

Exodus 34:14

Exodus 34:14 (NET)
For you must not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Moses: Friend of God

Exodus 33:11 (NET)
The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, the way a person speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his servant, Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent.