encouraging texts

encouraging texts from brothers and sisters:

"Anna! God helped my friend put these verses together-thought I would share:
"Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit" (3 John 1:2).
"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).
"Remember those days in the past when you first learned the truth. You had a hard struggle with many sufferings, but you continued strong...You must hold on, so you can do what God wants and receive what He has promised" (Hebrews 10:32,36).
"Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses" (1 Timothy 6:12).
"For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ" (Hebrews 3:14).
"You know these things, and you are very strong in the truth, but I will always help you remember them. I think it is right for me to help you remember as long as I am in this body" (2 Peter 1:12-13)
"May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you" (1 Thessalonians 5:28).
"-Stephanie, 1/18/13 at 6:30am


"Don't get so caught up in dreams of the future, that you miss the now. There's so much that God has for you in this season--whatever that might be; whether you're single, engaged, married, whatever, don't let your longing for the future steal the now. Don't envy that other girl with (what looks like) the perfect life, you're not her, and that's a good thing. God made you and He knew that there would be something unique that you would bring to this world that no one else can. Don't get so busy with life that you have no time for God--don't ever let the devil tell you that there isn't enough time in the day to sit down with your Father and just sit at His feet and let Him pour His goodness over you. Don't live for the praise and approval of other people--press on toward the high calling of Christ, live your life to put a smile on your Abba's face. Don't allow your sense of worth to be dependent on anything other than God--He said you were fearfully and wonderfully made, He said He has plans to give you a hope and a future, that you can do all things through Him who strengthens you. Don't forget that your wholeness comes from Him--no one else can complete you, that job is reserved for God." -Marvin, 1/16/13

"He who cannot calmly leave his affairs in God's hand, but will carry his own burden, is very likely to be tempted to use wrong means to help himself. This sin leads to a forsaking of God as our counselor, and resorting instead to human wisdom. This is going to the "broken cistern" instead of to the "fountain", a sin which was laid against Israel of old. Anxiety makes us doubt God's loving kindness, and thus our love to Him grows cold. We feel mistrust and thus grieve the Spirit of God, so that our prayers become hindered, our consistent example marred, and our life one of self-seeking. Thus want of confidence in God leads us to wander far from him; but if through simple faith in His promise, we case each burden as it comes upon Him and are "careful for nothing" because He undertakes to care for us, it will keep us close to Him and strengthen us against much temptation. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee." -C.H. Spurgeon (from Marvin)


2Chronicles 32:31, "And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart."
C.H. Spurgeon: Hezekiah was growing so inwardly great and priding himself so much upon the favor of God, that self-righteousness crept in, and through his carnal security, the grace of God was, for a time, in its more active operations, withdrawn. Here is quite enough to account with the Babylonians; for if the grace of God should leave the best Christian, there is enough of sin in his heart to make him the worst of transgressors. If left to yourselves, you who are warmest for Christ would cool down like Laodicea into sickening lukewarmness; you who are sound in the faith would be white with the leprosy of false doctrine; you who now walk before the Lord in excellency and integrity would reel to and fro and stagger with a drunkenness of evil passion. Like the moon, we borrow our light; bright as we are when grace shines on us, we are darkness itself when the Sun of Righteousness withdraws himself. Therefore let us cry to God never to leave us. "Lord, take not thy Holy Spirit from us! Withdraw not from us thine indwelling grace! Hast thou not said, 'I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day'? Lord, keep us everywhere. Keep us when in the valley, that we murmur not against thy humbling hand; keep us when on the mountain, that we wax not giddy through being lifted up; keep us in youth, when our passions are strong; keep us in old age, when becoming conceited of our wisdom, we may therefore prove greater fools than the young and giddy; keep us when we come to die, lest, at the very last, we should deny thee! Keep us living, keep us dying, keep us laboring, keep us suffering, keep us fighting, keep us resting, keep us everywhere, for everywhere we need thee, O our God!"


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"Long Text Alert! :P God's restoring to me the joy of salvation, the wonder that it's FINISHED. Every command i fail to keep tomorrow Christ has fulfilled through His life and every sin I commit tomorrow He's forgiven me through His death! Through His resurrection I have the power to overcome temptations and the strength to repent. So i'm not only saved initially but also sanctified every day through the gospel. I'm fighting against sin and FOR continual trust in the truths of the gospel; i fight to believe He's my Lord by submitting to His will and when i fail to submit to his will, i fight to believe his sacrifice on the cross is sufficient to forgive me and help me repent. But somewhere along the journey, i bought into the lie that God would be more pleased with me if i struggled less and kept more spiritual disciplines like bible study, prayer, evangelism, and dship...as if my faith was based on performance-what i did and failed to do. My happiness was heavily dependent on victories over temptations (esp big ones) far more than on the finished work of the cross. The truth is when i strive to mature in faith with anything BUT Christ at the center (even bible study/prayer), i'm striving apart from his finished work on the cross, and it may lead to more trust in myself even if i "rely on Him". B/c my <3 is deceitful! I can do the right thing with the right motive but not centered on Jesus. So both being saved and maturing in faith are about trusting in what He's done for me already rather than what i can/must do."--Ines, 11/7/13

"It does bring rest in knowing that it's all Him but the restlessness is more out of a desire for more >< in yearning for just a deeper desire and bigger heart/burden. I dunno, i just dont want to be content with where i am in Him. Days go on and all i can think of and desire is more of Him and i dunno how or what to do. I just do what i know what to do and thats just seek Him the best i can and pray that im being led. Nothing do i have to give but this life and time He's given to me. Sigh :c its a joyful feeling in having that hope, but also one in which my soul just cries out daily in wishing it could just be with Him. Sorry wow lol ranted big time. This belongs in my journal and not in txt haha" --Steve, 11/11/13