Matthew 13:37-43
37He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
39The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
40Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
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ABIDE WITH ME
Words: Henry F. Lyte, 1847.
Music: “Eventide,” William H. Monk, 1861
Lyte was inspired to write this hymn as he was dying of tuberculosis; he finished it the Sunday he gave his farewell sermon in the parish he served so many years. The next day, he left for Italy to regain his health. He didn’t make it, though—he died in Nice, France, three weeks after writing these words. Here is an excerpt from his farewell sermon:
O brethren, I stand here among you today, as alive from the dead, if I may hope to impress it upon you, and induce you to prepare for that solemn hour which must come to all, by a timely acquaintance with the death of Christ.
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.
Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/b/abidewme.htm
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But God, Who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh ... were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For He Himself is our peace, Who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in Whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in Whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians Chapter 2
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Ezekiel 18:27-32, Rev. 2:7, Hosea 6:3.
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Now unto Him Who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand in His presence, blameless and with great joy, to the only God our Father, through Jesus Christ His Son, be the glory and the majesty, dominion, and authority, now and ever, Amen. Jude 1:24-25
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http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/k/i/kinglove.htm
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Do you need encouragement? If you have a Bible, read through it. Don't own one? Go to
http://www.gospelcom.net/
You might want to look up these verses for starters, Psalm 91, Matthew chapter 13, Colossians chapters Two and Three, and Hebrews chapter Three.
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Need more? Go to
http://www.cbn.com/spiritualLife/
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BE OF GOOD CHEER, JESUS HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD!
http://www.cyberhymnal.org
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