"Jesus exalts what the world despises and rejects what it admires."

-Alistair Begg 9/2026  

Admitting We are Poor

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Luke 6:17-36

17-18  ..."Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. 

19  And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.

20  And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 

21  Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 

22  Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 

23  Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. 

24  But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. 

25  Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 

26  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

27-28  But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 

29  Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. 

30  Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 

31  Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 

32  If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 

33  If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 

34  If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 

35  But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 

36  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful..."

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Admitting We Are Poor

-Alistair Begg

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Just saying...

 

"O, LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me."

-CH-54B Tarhe (Skycrane), by G. Chatfield

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Psalm 5:8

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Romans 8:28

..."And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."...

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Psalm 42:5

..."Why are you in despair, O my soul?

And why have you become disturbed within me?

Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him

For the help of His presence."...

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Praise You in this Storm

I was sure by now

That You would have reached down

And wiped away our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say "Amen",

and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear You whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am 

Every tear I've cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side 

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I remember when

I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry

You raised me up again

My strength is almost gone

How can I carry on

If I can't find You

I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The Maker of Heaven and Earth

--Mark Hill

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2 Corinthians 4:16-18

..."Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

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Psalm 121:1-2

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From where shall my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

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Psalm 3:3-5

..."But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,

My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

I was crying to the Lord with my voice,

And He answered me from His holy mountain. 

I lay down and slept;

I awoke, for the Lord sustains me."...

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Christian, you are not alone!

"When God places a burden upon you, 

He places His arms underneath you." 

-unknown

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"We live by faith, not be sight."

-Beautiful Garden in N. IA.

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When darkness veils His lovely face

I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every strong and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.

*-Edward Mote: My Hope is Built on Nothing Else

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

"For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.

For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."...

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Irresistible and Free!

God of grace, amazing wonder,

 

Irresistible and free;

 

Oh the miracle of mercy,

 

Jesus reaches down to me.

 

God of grace, I stand in wonder,

 

As my God restores my soul.

 

His own blood has paid my ransom;

 

Awesome cost to make me whole.

 

 

God of grace, who loved and knew me

 

Long before the world began;

 

Sent my savior down from heaven:

 

Perfect God and perfect man.

 

God of grace, I trust in Jesus;

 

I'm accepted as His own.

 

Every day new grace sustains me

 

As I lean on Him alone.

 

 

God of grace, I stand astounded,

 

Cleansed forgiven and secure.

 

All my fears are now confounded,

 

And my hope is ever sure.

 

God of grace, now crowned in glory,

 

Where one day I'll see Your face;

 

And forever I'll adore You

 

In Your everlasting grace. 

-Getty

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Ephesians 2:1-10

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in 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 as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."...

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