By He Reads Truth
Frances Jean “Fanny” Crosby (1820-1915), an only child from Brewster, New York, was one of the most prolific hymn writers the world has ever seen, composing over 8,000 hymns, along with several books and over 1,000 poems. Because publishers in her day were often reluctant to publish a woman’s work, Fanny used more than 200 masculine pseudonyms over the course of her career.
Blind from an early age, Crosby saw the world through her mind’s eye. She would begin to compose a hymn in her head, and once she had it written on her memory, she would then recite it to her personal stenographer who would write it down for her. She often worked on 5 or 6 hymns at a time, each floating in its own corner of her imagination until she felt ready to let it out.
In describing her hymn-writing process, Crosby once said: “It may seem a little old-fashioned, always to begin one’s work with prayer, but I never undertake a hymn without first asking the good Lord to be my inspiration.” The hymn “Blessed Assurance” reveals that she did indeed believe her Lord to be good.
“Blessed Assurance” is an exploration of the wonder of what it means to walk presently in what Peter calls a “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet 1:3). For Fanny Crosby, one thing this “living hope” means is that we have a reason, right now, to celebrate with the confidence to draw near to God, trusting that He will never cast us away. This hymn celebrates the goodness of being at ease in a confident and perfect love that casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
“Blessed Assurance” in unashamedly happy. Crosby uses words like foretaste, praising, delight, happy, goodness, and, of course, blessed to give the song its buoyancy. In a cynical world, a hymn like this is refreshing. Crosby isn’t offering Christians a false sense of optimism. She is articulating the sure and eternal benefits of the work of Christ given to the believer. “Blessed Assurance” invites us to “draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb 10:22).
For the blind hymn writer from New York, passages like 1 John 4:7-19, Hebrews 10:19-23, and 1 Peter 1:3-9 were cause for celebration, which is what this hymn sets out to do. The Christian’s hope for happiness and peace is not wishful thinking. It is based on what we have already been promised because of the finished work of Christ—a blessed assurance that Jesus is ours.
BLESSED ASSURANCE
Fanny Crosby, 1873
Blessed assurance; Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]
Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love. [Refrain]
For an added layer of worship during reading plan, we’ve created a Spotify playlist for Hymns V! You can find the complete HRT Hymns V Playlist here, or listen to the first track on the player below. Enjoy!
235 thoughts on "Blessed Assurance"
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Hunter Pope says:
It teaches me that God is an all powerful loving being. That God truly is the embodiment of love.
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That the gospel is filled with nothing but grace and love. It shouldn’t stir up fear but instead excite me with joy.
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I will go throughout the day trying to show the love of God and be completely fearless since fear cannot be in love.
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That man is fearful and that is not in love. The only way man can really love is through God’s love.
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I will pray that God’s love is poured out through me so that I may love everyone according to His will.
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Joshua Granat says:
I know that man’s merits have nothing to do with the hope we have. Although, we often hope in our endeavors. It is easy to see the tangible work we do with our hands in ministry. It is harder to see that God works in and through all things for His glory. I believe that self-reliance is opposed to healthy fear of God. Likewise, it opposes assurance.
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This teaches me that God hasn’t designed me to fear outside of Him. Although my role as an image bearer had been marred by sin, I am being restored, because He loves me. This love compels me to reject unhealthy fear outright, by default. I am struggling to remember that God’s ability to hold on to me is in fact greater than my ability to jump out of His hand. I hope to gain greater faith and understanding of this love, allowing it to temper my heart, as well as give me vision of the assurance I have in knowing Jesus Christ.
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The good news is that even in my strivings I am continually being taught what it means to be a disciple. Nothing I do in an attempt to reciprocate God’s love will ever be enough. But He has granted me wth good credit through the cross. I cannot make God’s Word void, and He who called is certainly faithful. Although I am running a race that Paul spoke of, the gospel means that I can rest from the battle. It is both paradoxical and true.
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I want to respond with faith. As foundational and simple as that is, it is profoundly counterintuitive as well as counter cultural. I would like to be able to oppose the idea that my external circumstances should gauge what is going on spiritually in my life. I want to place enough faith in God, to where safety nets aren’t scattered around in the case of God “not being faithful”.
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God, give me peace and trust in You.
My heart is so troubled by many things, and I feel continually burdened by my own mind. Help me to discern what is Your will and help me to stay in Your Word. -
Josh S. says:
That it is of utmost and joyous rapture for man to be caught up in the overwhelming and life changing love of God. To know Him is to fear nothing.
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God want his people to know with full faith and confidence that they are bound to Him and He to them.
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I will, like Fanny, and as suggested by the Lord and many of his people in the good book, start my endeavors with prayer.
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The Gospel is such that those who truly grasp it cannot resist its beauty and truth. And once they have grasped it, it holds on to them faithfully.
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I will pray that God blesses me with full confidence of my identity in His great family. And I will praise Hime evermore for each morsel of his goodness.
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Austin Rossborough says:
By praising God, and resting in the truth that the battle is won.
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We can rest in peace knowing God has already won against sin and death and we are free.
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We are not alone because of Gods plan and mercy, and His plan through Jesus gives us a peace that lasts.
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He is good and present in every circumstance, and He has already won the victory.
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Lord, thank you for your mercy and the assurance that I have been saved and set free. Help me to spread this to those around me in peace and love.
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Jarod Workman says:
God is everything we need, based on what he has given to is.
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We can be happy and fulfilled based on God’s gift to us.
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It not only saves us, but gives us a song to sing every day.
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Bassguy4jc says:
I will strive to check my fear and anxiety at the door – perfect love casts out all fear
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God won’t cast me away, even when I try to cast Him away.
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Man is safe in God’s love, when we accept His free gift, in spite of our sin nature and constant failure.
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God, teach me find fearlessness and rest in your perfect love
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The Gosepl, in its most basic form, is love in its most pure form.
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Alvin Garner says:
That he loves me unconditionally. That he is ever present.
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It is the Word of God.
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I will dedicate my life to Christ. I will love unconditionally.
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That he is lost without Christ.
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Daily. Seek God’s will daily.
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Jake Odening says:
To fully know God and understand God love must be in mans heart. A loveless heart is a godless heart.
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God is perfect love displayed through Christ’s redemptive work on the cross
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Love more and if I can love unconditionally
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It’s is the assurance of our future inheritance
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Ask God for help to love others when I find it hard too.
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Brian Sackett says:
How great is it to know that we can walk confidently with the assurance that He has sealed our eternity with Him! It’s not something that He takes away, once we acknowledge His everlasting gift to us, we have that “blessed assurance” that He will never leave us, nor forsake us.
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Alexander says:
1 John 4:7-9
God is love.
God is in us and we abide in Him.
We love because He first loved us.Hebrews 10:19-23
Faith & confidence (assurance)
We are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, so that we may enter into His presence.1 Peter 1:3-9
Rejoice in our Salvation!
We are born againBy Gods love we have faith and confidence (assurance) that we have been saved. Rejoice!
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Mickey Reid says:
That because of God promises we always have hope. He will not leave us, he will not abandon us. It’s not a false hope and it has been proven by his actions.
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That we need to rely on Gods promises.
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That the good news can give us all the faith that we need.
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Have better faith in God when I am faced with difficult situations.
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Pray to be able to rely on God more when I am tested and stressed.
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Kyle says:
I can walk through life without the fear of death for I know the promise of God is true! I have Jesus and through Him I am saved! Death has no sting
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God’s love is perfect and faithful! It drives out the fear of death because of the assurance of His promise! He is always faithful because the nature of God is perfection!
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The Gospel continues to echo the good news of Jesus! It assures us that we will “receiv[e] the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” in 1 Peter 3:9. Jesus is ours!
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Man can be assured in their eternal salvation! There is no need for fear because God has promised us life through Christ Jesus!
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Dear Lord,
How perfect and faithful is your love! Thank You for the blessed assurance of life! I have no fear of death because Your perfect love drives out my worries and doubts! Keep me in awe of Your love and use me for Your glory!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen -
Craig Albertson says:
Love from Him is never until the day we die. In this sense that’s why we follow Him.
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That we are violent and need His help.
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Jeff Copeland says:
We are in deep need of the Divine.
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That God is rich in grace and lavishes His love upon us and we must abandon our efforts of self rule and fully depend on the finished work of Christ.
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I need to meditate deeper on the finished work of Christ on my behalf until I pour out praise to Jesus all the day long.
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God is deeply committed to my well being. Trusting God through Christ grants me the riches of a very gracious God.
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Mediate upon all that God has done to give me the blessings of peace, assurance and hope.
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Matthew Parkolap says:
He will never reject us once we have accepted him and repented of our sins. We have the confidence to draw near to him
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It is the true way to lasting peace, joy, love and comfort. Submission to God and being washed by Christs blood is the heart of the gospel
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We have a hope in God that does not disappoint. It is less a hope and more an assurance.
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I loved Crosbys practice of praying before her work and asking the Lord to be her inspiration. I want to practice that.
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Lord, be my inspiration today. Whether in work, play, or any other activity may my joy peace and love flow from you
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Ryan Schwaar says:
We have such an unreal blessing. We have a God who loves us UNCONDITIONALLY and ETERNALLY. He is never going to turn us away or give us more than we can handle, and we should freely rejoice in that good news.
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Live joyfully and thankfully! I don’t want to take this life for granted, and I really want to be known BY MY LOVE as a Christian who has received a gift that is FREE for everyone. I want that kind of influence, not for me, but for the kingdom and the church.
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God is so much more than a leader and commander and creator. He is a loving and redeeming and joyous father who, in addition to demanding respect and obedience, wants us to be happy and to delight in the fact that he will never ever stop loving us or turn us away.
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It is the truth that details the Father’s incredible love for His children.
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I will pray that my heart will overflow for Christ and ceaselessly love on other people, regardless of my mood.
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Kraymer Lorig says:
We are loved. Perfectly and relentlessly.
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It teaches me that God wants us to find joy. It teaches me to find happiness in the life that I have right now because I am living eternally already with Christ Jesus. God has changed my life, Jesus has died for my sins, and I can live blamelessly in Him who gives me my strength. Not only do I live each day to glorify God, but I live each day in expectation that God will do something great through me. I am trying to do the will of the Lord every day. Do I fall short sometimes? Of course I do, but that doesn’t change the fact that God has offered me perfect love since before I was born! God’s love is so amazing. “Perfect submission all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blessed, watching and waiting looking above, filled with His goodness lost in His love.”
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Find blessings and be overflowing with joy at every blessing God offers! Do not be picky about how God blesses you, but be at peace knowing the Lord of the universe is madly in love with you and wants you to be madly in love with him too.
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The gospel is a beautiful example and representation of what love means. There are so many different ways of telling the story of God, yet only one Bible! The Bible is the story of God and the story of His love for us!
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I pray that the Lord’s will be done in my life each and every day. I pray that I can find peace in troubled times as well as joyful times. I pray for guidance and strength to get through the week. And I pray that my relationships would grow stronger through Christ who is my strength.
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Andrew says:
This teaches to me about the Gospel that without Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we’d have no reason to celebrate and be joyous. But because of what He’s done for us and is doing in our hearts, we have a reason and a mission of celebration! Jesus has won and He can not be defeated. In Him, we begin to truly live. That is the Gospel.
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This teaches to me about man that we are afraid to let go and let God take control sometimes. We are scared He may reject us or that if we give up all that we have He won’t give us something even better, though He will.
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It teaches me how even though we don’t deserve it, we can be happy and celebrate because He has paid our ransom and He has won. Living in Christ we should not be afraid to be happy and enjoy life and we should not be afraid to commit to Him in fear of rejection because He will never reject us when we go to Him.
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I will choose to be joyful through out my days. I have no reason not to celebrate and let others see the love that God has given everyone if they choose to believe it and accept it. I will try my best to be a light and let God shine through me so that all people see is His love.
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Joel Selby says:
I will fix my eyes on Jesus and hope in him. I will grow in peace and joy because every day I will strive to make sure my calling and election in Christ. I will hold fast to the good news that sin and death no long have a hold over me.
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It is the nature of God to want reconciliation with His creation. He wants us, while on this earth, to stand firm in the hope we have in His promises of salvation.
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Man was not made to trust in the things of this world; he was made to hope in God alone.
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The good news is that we have a risen savior to hope in; Jesus put sin to death on the cross, so that we who are in Him have nothing more to fear and nothing more to master us. So we have hope while we’re on this earth.
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I will pray for God’s strength, that He will discipline me for good works as He sees fit. I will pray for the courage to face and drop kick everything in my life that keeps me from experiencing and living out that blessed assurance.
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Fernando says:
I should delight in Gods goodness and not only that, be happy that there is a reward for coming close and being one with Christ. Rejoice and taste the love and joy that comes with being in the Lord not ignoring the pain of this wrong but putting my focus one the Love of God, who is Love.
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In my worship I need to be renewed with the spirit and the love of God. Rejoicing in His goodness and Love. As I worship I need to remember the promises that The Lord has for me.
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The gospel is the spread of the good news and what better news is there that Jesus died for me and that He now wants to know me. He loves me and that love lives inside me. We see the trinity at work as we look to Jesus and see the father through Him and filled with the love that the Holy Spirit provides.
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Man is his nature is in need of Love and we need to present that to each other and non believers. For no one has seen the father but His love lives in us and as we truly and genuinely love one another we can see a glimpse of the father who we can not see I. Our sinful nature and broken flesh.
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pray with a mind and heart and spirit completely surrendered to God. Being joyful in His love. Not necessarily always praying this prayer but making sure that I remember to delight in His love, mercy and kindness.
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Peter MacDiarmid says:
It was initiated by God, it was his plan, he will see it through.
It is a wonderful truth, to be celebrated!
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We have a certain hope in God, and it is a glorious, wonderful hope. Something to be celebrated!
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We need encouraging and to be uplifted.
God rescued us and we need to accept his offer of salvation and to be willing to dedicate our lives to following him.
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Noah LaBelle says:
It teaches me that man is meant to find joy in God. That God is more than enough of a source of our joy. God + nothing = joy.
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This shows me the joy that God gives us in the wonder of who He is and the work He has done in our lives.
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It teaches me that the gospel is one long joyful love story.
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I will continually search for my joy in God and nothing else.
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I will pray for God to be my focus throughout the day and to think on things as He does, to find the good in them.
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Jonathan Chambers says:
We have cause to be confident, fully assured and to be without wavering.
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God is good.
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Draw near to His throne of grace with boldness.
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It is indeed good news!
It has saved me, set me free. -
Earnestly for faith to believe in His faithfulness
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Braden Mcalister says:
This shows that gospel tells me to love therefore I must because to be with God is to love
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This shows that man needs to be loved
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This teaches me that God is and will be there for me so therefore I need to to live in the hope he gives me and love everyone since God is love
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I will love all people to Christ with my actions
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I will pray for joy and strength as I take on this new challenge
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Jesse Malina says:
Part of loving God is to accept that we are loved and to use that to love others. We are to use this love that flows from the cross and not only accept it but to let if overflow into our daily lives. And so when we know true love we know God. Because when we abide in love we abide in Him.
Let the love flow
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Isaac Jones says:
I will look to God for my understanding of love, not the dark rumblings of this world and media.
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Trying to find love apart from God is like trusting to walk around in the dark; the only thing you’re not likely to hit is the goal. If we want to understand love we have to understand God and how He interacts with us and vice versa. This shows me that the gospel and all of redemptive history teaches us about the love of God: true love.
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Love comes from God.
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Man can only love by the grace of God. As we know God more we understand love more.
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Dear God,
Teach me more about love and leadership as a man. May I submit and learn from you. I want to know you more and understand you. You show me what grace and mercy mean. When you forgive me and show patience as I sin against you then I see how to show patience then people hurt me. When you forgave me I learned how to forgive others. As you teach me you teach me how to teach others. As you have loved me by dying and coming along side me despite my unrighteousness, so I have learned to love others. You are wonderful and glorious Lord! Thank you for the cross; thank you for your love. May I and all the nations worship you; may I be a light glorifying you by my deeds with others. You are great and mighty, thank you; amen.
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Nathan Rutman says:
I will try to more regularly focus on the greatness of grace—that I a sinner have assurance of seeing God face-to-face.
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I am quick to forget the greatness of salvation that God has bought for me. So many times I fall short of “praising my savior all the day long.”
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God’s goodness through salvation is meant to follow me everywhere. It isn’t meant to be a component of life, but the lens which I interpret my life through.
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For God to help me resist finding happiness in anything other than the gospel: not comfort, nor food, nor productivity, nor rest.
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That nothing ever needs to be added to it to secure my everlasting joy—in this world and the next. If grace gives me happy assurance then grace is all I need.
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Matt Rouse says:
We must remind ourselves of the truth of the gospel. The truth that we have assurance in Christ not because of the good things we’ve done but because of who Jesus is! That is the only thing that will give us assurance. We tend to think that our works will bring about assurance when all they bring about is weariness and doubt! Resting in the FINISHED work of Christ is the only true source of deep soul peace.
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He wants us to delight in His salvation. Christianity is not a solemn list of rules for us to begrudgingly follow. It is a celebration of what Jesus did for us and the live that God has for us. Those are things that are final and eternal!
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The gospel is the only thing that brings about that deep soul peace! Jesus’ eternal finished work is the only thing we can find our identity in that will never change!
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Dallas t says:
Jesus Loves us 100% of the time
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Will Givens says:
He is my hope, my rock, and my assurance. He is unshakeable and unmoving. He is unwavering and unchanging, steadfast and solid.
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I will respond in singing. I will respond with joy. This IS my story and this IS my song, indeed I will praise the name of my Savior. He has not given up on me and He has not put me out on the streets. Rather, like Hosea for his bride, He has bought me back from the streets time and time again. He refuses to let me go.
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I am none of these things. I am faithless and shifting, wandering and wavering, blown about like a leaf fallen from a tree, dry and dull. On my own, I am powerless to survive the storms of this life, much less remain joyful in them.
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Yet in Christ. I have hope. He is faithful on my behalf. He will not let go of me. He is the hound of heaven, unrelenting no matter the distance to which I run.
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I will pray with a joy and thankfulness that responds to the present promise rather than the present conditions. I will pray for more and more of a love that casts out fear. I will pray for those who are living in fear, blind to a love like this. I will pray boldly and with confidence knowing that I am loved.
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McClain C says:
God is my steadfast love my foretaste and refuge. He is something I can be assured in when all else fails! That’s such a special gift. I fear a lot of things and struggle with anxiety. This helps me feel his love and comfort
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Aaron Simmons says:
We are not worthy of his love a grace but yet he gives it to us freely, all we have to do is believe in what he did on the cross. GOD is so worthy of my praise, GOD is amazing and so so good…
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Man can not love like God can and in fact man can’t love at all without knowing God, it is said “those who do not know me so not know love” and wow that’s crazy to me. Gods love will pore out of you if your focus is on him.
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The Gospel is a love letter from God, it shows me over and over just how much he cares about me, the good and the bad and how much he loves me no matter what I do…
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I will focus on him and try to spread his love onto others. I want to share what is TRUTH with others so they can REST in knowing no matter what you do there is some one who wants to help you through life and loves you more then you can even comprehend!
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I will pray that I can love like God does and treat others on this earth like Jesus did. I will pray for the people on this earth that don’t know the truth that they will come to know YOU for who you really are, a loving, caring, grace giving God. Not the stereotypical got up there with a lightning bolt waiting to SMITE you down the minute you sin… GOD cares about YOU! And he wants what’s best for you 😊
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Zach Lyons says:
Man was created to be loved by God. God didn’t need us to love him, but our love comes as a response to what he did (and is doing) for us. Our response is obedience, praise and loving others. Through doing this, his love is made perfect in us.
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Pray for those who don’t know Him. Pray that they will find him, and that those who have found him will realize the blessing they have. It’s no small thing, and its something worth sharing. It is life eternal, a gift greater than you could ever give to someone.
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Salvation is assured; life is able to be full of joy, happiness and beauty because he is in the process of redeeming me and the world.
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Jordan Serio says:
Man is loved by God.
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God loves to celebrate us! He loves loves loves His people and finds delight in them.
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andrew says:
He is faithful and loving, and He has been since the beginning of Himself. He does not change.
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We fail to reach any type of rank higher than that of being redeemed by God. even in redemption we are sinful and we do not understand His love like we should, but He is faithful to forgive us our sins. and He is love and good and perfect.
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‘Lord, please teach me to love my neighbor. teach me to be a good steward of all you have given me. i pray i will stay in your word, learning about you and your grace further and further each day. and i thank you for my salvation. i thank you for your grace.
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Gabe Whittaker says:
I think that the most simple phrase in this delightful hymn is also the most meaningful. “Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.” To have a love so deep, so strong, so all- encompassing that we can’t even fully understand it is simply beautiful. We are so far from deserving this love, yet it is graciously and gladly given to us. Our God lavishes us with affection in a way that can only be described as scandalous. He wants HER in His kingdom? The girl who sells herself to strangers? He desires HIM to be in His family? The one who persecutes everyone he sees? It’s incredible to know that a God who knows every thought before we think it and every word before we speak it sees us in all of our imperfections and says “I WANT THAT MAN TO BE MY SON! I WANT THAT LADY TO BE MY DAUGHTER! I WANT THAT PERSON IN MY FAMILY!”
That is love.
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Darrick says:
He doesn’t expect me to love him first. He loves me first and wants me to abide in it that I may know blessed assurance. This puts all else at rest. I’m home. I’m blessed. Jesus paid it all.
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Jordan Koschei says:
The Gospel truly is Good News!
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God’s love is a constant – no matter how I feel, He isn’t going anywhere. I can approach Him with total confidence and boldness, for He will not cast me away.
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I will focus my eyes on the Truth today, and remember that I can approach God boldly with assurance no matter how I’m feeling.
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I am a very great sinner, but in Christ I have reason for optimism.
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I will pray for God’s help in maintaining a focus on Him and not on my own shortcomings today.
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Benjamin McKnight says:
We do not need to fear God as much as I thought before, but we should stay optimistic never living in fear that in the end there is no grey zone, just Sheeps and goats!
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Evan Tinklenberg says:
The Gospel becomes sweeter and sweeter the more we realize the assurance of God. Our salvation is not up in the air; it’s not wishful thinking, but rather it is a sure promise that finds its fulfillment in Christ. This is truly Good News!
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The first thing that happens when I shift my perspective from God to man is that I see how unsure and unsteady and empty are the “assurances” of the world. Nothing but God Himself can satisfy our soul’s deepest longings, and these passages demonstrate that man, apart from God in Christ, can do nothing to ensure his salvation. Man, apart from God, is terrible at loving himself and others, and is utterly despondent without the hope of God.
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I can walk with confidence in Christ, regardless of circumstance. In this life I may face temptation, persecution, distress, danger, mistreatment, and a myriad of other things for the sake of Jesus, but I will not suffer one thing: despair. There will be no point when my hope is empty, because my hope is assured in Christ.
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God’s love is sure and steadfast, and the hope we have in Christ is truly an anchor for the soul (Heb. 6). God’s goodness is on display in all of creation, but most clearly in the revelation of His Son, who purchased with his own blood an eternal weight of glory, an inheritance for the saints, to which in this life we look forward and to this end we love with the love with which Christ first loved us.
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Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…
I give you thanks that in Christ all your promises are a “yes”. That in you my hope is a sure and steady anchor, because it does not rest ultimately on my own ability but on your faithfulness. I pray, O Lord, that you would work in me by your Holy Spirit to bring glory to you in the way I live the life you’ve given me in faith and full assurance of love in Christ. Thank you, Father, for your sovereign will which you work for my joy and your glory, and for your grace, which supersedes my understanding and goes beyond my expectations. Help me to trust you, to hope in you fully in all circumstances.
In Jesus Christ’s name, amen.
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Pete Larson says:
God is loyal, consistent, steadfast. Its what I need as person who’s lost and looking for his identity in the world. I vacillate between worldly and timid seeker. My assurance of salvation, however, does not change. That is not based on me or my wanderings but on the faithfulness of my loving and gracious God.
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The feeling of “assurance” is very weak in me right now. I’m questioning everything. Since my dad passed away there’s the haunting question: “do I really believe he’s in heaven”?
My response is to accept the fact that God will keep his side of the pact no matter how my mind questions or wrestles. I need to ponder and dwell on that. I need to rest on the freedom to walk through this time without fear of condemnation.
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Man is weighed down by guilt and fear. It causes us to make decisions that are destructive. I, like many other men, try to find joy in my life through through other means. This hymn speaks of pure joy rising up out of the absolute assurance that “Jesus is mine”. Joy springs from the blessed assurance that we will spend eternity with God and we can claim that as absolute fact that will not change.
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I don’t really know at what point the state of “belief” sets in for a person. For some, it’s when they pray a prayer. For others, it comes on gradually and they just pass into a state of having thrown their lot behind Jesus’ saving work. Others reach that point through baptism. Whatever the means, God pursues us and makes his pact with us: “I will never leave you, not forsake you” and we, in turn, say we will do the same “with God’s help”. We will fail time and time again but God keeps his promise and his side of the pact holds true.
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God, you have given me assurance that I will spend eternity with you. You have given me assurance that you are with me now. Give me the grace to become more aware of that fact. Give me the joy that comes from knowing that you will continue to hold fast to your promise. Allow me to begin to become more aware of your presence. Help me to see you as I walk the streets and interact with others.
Thank you. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for making me your child. Thank you for accepting my weakness and ignorance.
Be my God and I recommit to following you.
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Geoffrey Belk says:
This teaches us that man is here on earth the praise God. HE made us do that we could praise Him , to love Him and also to share His love with others.
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The gospel is the loving word of God. It is the the story and direction of the fore taste of what is to come as well as the direction of how to get there. Loving Him and Hime loving us.
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I will try to see His love in all that He does for me and gives me. I will try to show His gracious love to others, family and friends,
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This teaches us that GOD us and will always be faithful and loving to us. His love is mine and my love is His.
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Austin Helsel says:
I will keep on loving God
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That man is loving because God is loving and if a man isn’t loving then they don’t know God
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This passage teaches me to love God and to keep on living in sought full times
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I will pray to keep on loving God because God has loved me
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This teaches my that God is loving, and we love God even though we can’t see him
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Brennen Stindt says:
This teaches me that God is love and without God you can’t love.
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Dalton Beaty says:
His love in us is our assurance. If we have no love, we have not God in our hearts. For God is love, and as a direct result of that, we have love in our lives that reflect the overflow of God’s boundless love in our hearts. As 1 John says, “anyone who does not love, does not know God. For he is love.”. The scripture also says that anyone who claims to Know God test does not love his brother does not know God. God is love, and all love stems from God.
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We are assured in his love. When lost people question our assurance in where we will go when we die, we have a sure answer. God has given us that assurance in His word and that is His love in us.
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I must allow God’s love in my heart to more overflow in my life. I cannot be selfish with the Love that God has given me. It is not for me, but for the ones who do not yet have Christ.
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I have to pray and seek more of God’s love and more action through that love in my life. Praise God for the assurance that he has given us as his followers.
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The Gospel seeks to give assurance to God’s people. The Gospel is Love. God is love, and all that is result of the Gospel in one’s life directly stems from the love of God through His Gospel.
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Erik says:
Jesus is mine. This also shows me that the bond is unbreakable, a twofold covenant.
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Man is easily distracted but you may look upon Jesus and know that the future is one full of hope.
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It holds the promises to new life and a life everlasting.
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Trust on God’s promises more and spend more time dwelling in his presence.
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God, help me to stay focused on You. May You be my inspiration in my daily work and may Jesus my everyday example of how to live my life.
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Ryan says:
With worship…. and finding ways to write or sing out about his wonderful name!
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Only because of God’s love, grace, mercy, etc… may I see that God is all of those and more.
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That He is totally and completely good.
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He should respond to that goodness with worship.
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Asking the Lord to give my mouth words to sing that would clearly articulate who He is.
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Jordan Gaut says:
God is faithful to me, and is everything that I need in life. His love and his grace have given me assurance of salvation and assurance of peace in him, and in him there is no cause for fear or anxiety.
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Man’s heart is so prone to wander and to desire things that aren’t of God in order to satisfy a personal emptiness that is only filled with the presence of God. Man naturally wants to worry and fear and lean on his own understanding instead of coming to Christ and fully being perfected in his love.
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Jesus is So. Flipping. Amazing. The fact that we have an advocate in heaven who already paid the blood debt of our sin and who has interceded on our behalf is already good enough news. However, the fact that he wants us to find perfect peace and have full assurance of everything in him. That is a gospel of grace and love, and shows that the character of Christ is so quick to forgive and so merciful to sinners.
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I think I’m reminded that my own peace and my own assurance is not based on anything that I can do, but it is based entirely on what Jesus has already done at the cross. My response needs to look like me humbling myself in front of Christ, and allowing his peace to wash over me in my submission to him. I need to meditate on his love and grace, and stop trying to blaze my own path of assurance when he is the only way to truly experience heart changing peace and love.
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I’m gonna pray for the faithfulness in God to be changed into his image. I pray that I repent fully of these sins of pride and slander against God’s character, and that I will be able to rest assured of my life being held in the hands of my perfect and loving father
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Dean says:
forgiveness
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his blessed assurance
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his sin
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live
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earnestly
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Preston says:
He teaches us that He will always love us. And that we love Him because He loved first.
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God can use anyone to do anything.
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It teaches me that the Gospel needs to be shared with everyone.
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I will change the ways I love
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Deeper
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Andy says:
The hope of Jesus; His atoning sacrifice by death on a cross and His eternal action through his resurrection is secured for us to enjoy peace and prosperity here and now. We do not need to be concerned about what is next because our hope is in Jesus the king of all kings.
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I need to walk in the truth of my hope and salvation in Jesus. I must stay firm in my convictions and believe in God to refine me with His supernatural ability being made more and more like Jesus daily.
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In spite of my view on the relationship between God and I, He sees me as always as His son. A son who need not be concerned about his right standing with His father, as is the blessed assurance of mine; a GIFT from God. The assurance of salvation is I have claimed through confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour of my life is the only requirement for salvation. However, this is also true that God is doing a great work in me, through the sanctification. The process of being made Holy. To create in me a passion for His name and a Holy discipline to live as a disciple and a disciple maker.
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In our wrestling and in our doubts of faith, man, can be certain of their hope by reminding ourselves of the truth of the word of God. That as we seek for consistent and constant feedback on our belief in Jesus in our hearts, in those sceptic moments we can feed ourselves with truth in song through the reminder that we have a blessed assurance that Jesus is mine.
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– confidence of salvation
– reliance for living -
Andy says:
We are doubtful, but we must also always reflect on God’s grace.
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God is always there, blessing me more than a kid on Christmas
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It bridges the gap between man and God so that he can do such goodness to us.
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Clark Eggen says:
Man cannot love without God? I am not sure. Did man only learn love from God? How it is that a non-Christian without the Holy Spirit can still love and have compassion?
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Travis Heck says:
It’s the good news of Jesus that tells of what he did to redeem us and bring us back to him.
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I will pray that the goodness of God will overcome my darkness and sin.
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God is, and always will be, good.
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We are always in need of God
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LOGAN LONG says:
That he is so amazing and he loves all of us so much and he died for us he saves lives he forgives us for our sins which is amazing to me, and to trust him that he wont keep you struggling
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Liz says:
God happily give me good things. He is the source of joy.
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I will allow joy into my heart and respond with praise, poetry, art of all kinds.
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Lord, I ask for joy. I desire a deep and steadfast joy that never fades but always persists, even in the storms and hard times.
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The gospel is really good news. Also, it is true for me no matter how I am feeling. It’s Joy is always there.
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We are the receivers of God’s grace. We can have assurance in Christ’s love and acceptance of us.
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Brandon Dunham says:
This brings that blessed assurance that we are not hopeful in something that could fail. We find refuge and hope in the one who is Lord of all we see and through His sovereignty we can trust in His promises.
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That we struggle. We walk through life each day facing the trials of this world looking for truth and genuine love and those that find it only find it in the name of Jesus Christ.
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Continue to pray through my ventures, seeking guidance that comes from the one who loves me.
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That the work of the cross was finished and absolute. This is a cause for celebration!
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With and joyful and thankful heart to the one who blessed me with the heart to do so!
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Nick says:
God is love, and to know God is to love God. Beyond that, we show love to others because it is fruit and evidence of loving a God who is love. It seems like circular thinking but it really is illustrating how intertwined love is with God. It is everything.
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I will respond by acknowledging Jesus’ sacrifice and loving others because of God’s love for me. I want to abide in Jesus so He will abide in. I will seek Him in Scripture and prayer to guide my life.
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I will pray for God to give me the eyes of Jesus towards others and put aside the differences or disagreements of the day and realize we are all loved by our God.
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Ryan Orndorff says:
We are not worthy, but God still loves
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It is forever
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Remember God’s love and mercy more
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He loves me! Forever and always.
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Openly and honestly.
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Kevin Cox says:
God is faithful and even in the darkest or hardest times we still have a blessed assurance.
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I need to hold fast to the faithful One. I need to believe the one who has promised. We are urged to not grow weary, but to believe all the Lords promises and all that is eternally secure for us.
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The gospel has purchased, secured, made sure,
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Lord help me to cast out all fear and insecurity that I might know your assurance, your love, your hope that is secure.
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Marilyn Davis says:
May this be our life story and our song and let Him teach us more about himself.
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