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Love God and He will enable you to love others even when they disappoint you.Francine Rivers
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Stand firm in the Lord. Stand firm and let Him fight your battle. Do not try to fight alone.Francine Rivers
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Unless we have something worth dying for, Atretes, we've nothing worth living for.Francine Rivers
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Never doubt God in the darkness what he has given us in the light.Francine Rivers
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I'm only a tool, beloved. Not your SaviorFrancine Rivers
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It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all and showing us over and over again the birth, life, death, and resurrection of his only begotten Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord. It was like a best-loved story being told day after day with each sunrise and sunset, year after year with the seasons, down through the ages since time began.Francine Rivers
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Michael had once read to her how God had cast a man and woman out of paradise. Yet, for all their human faults and failures. God had shown them the way back in.Francine Rivers
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Were you there?” She shook her head. “No. I was here in Nain having achild.”“ Then why do you weep as though you had part in hiscrucifixion? You had no part in it.”“ I’d like nothing better than to think I would haveremained faithful. But if those closest to him–hisdisciples, his own brothers–turned away, who am I tothink I’m better than they and would have donedifferently? No, Marcus. We all wanted what wewanted, and when the Lord fulfilled his purpose ratherthan ours, we struck out against him. Like you. In anger. Like you. In disappointment. Yet, it is God’s will thatprevails.” He looked away. “I don’t understand any of this.”“ I know you don’t. I see it in your face, Marcus. Youdon’t want to see. You’ve hardened your heart againsthim.” She started to walk again.“ As should all who value their lives, ” he said, thinking of Hadassah’s death.“ It is God who has driven you here.” He gave a derisive laugh. “I came here of my ownaccord and for my own purposes.”“ Did you?” Marcus’ face became stony. Deborah pressed on. “We were all created incompleteand will find no rest until we satisfy the deepest hungerand thirst within us. You’ve tried to satisfy it in your ownway. I see that in your eyes, too, as I’ve seen it in somany others. And yet, though you deny it with your lastbreath, your soul yearns for God, Marcus LucianusValerian.”Her words angered him. “Gods aside, Rome showsthe world that life is what man makes of it.”“ If that’s so, what are you making of yours?”“ I own a fleet of ships, as well as emporiums andhouses. I have wealth.” Yet, even as he told her, heknew it all meant nothing. His father had come to thatrealization just before he died. Vanity. It was all vanity. Meaningless. Empty.Old Deborah paused on the pathway. “Rome points theway to wealth and pleasure, power and knowledge. ButRome remains hungry. Just as you are hungry now. Search all you will for retribution or meaning to your life, but until you find God, you live in vain. .Francine Rivers
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Rather than remain a sealed jar, she sought only to pour herself out to others. Everything she did mirrored her faith. It was as though every waking hour of the day she was devoted to pleasing her God by serving others. This God that she worshiped consumed her. It didn't ask for a brief visit to a temple, or a small votive offering of food or coin, or a few prayers every now and then. This God wanted all of her.Francine Rivers
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God would light the way. Faith would keep them on the right path.Francine Rivers
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Mara, that's the life I want to give you. That's what I'm offering you. I want to fill you life with color and warmth. I want to fill it with light. Give me a chanceFrancine Rivers
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Have faith have faith. When you have nothing else have faith.Francine Rivers
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God's will isn't hidden away like the myths and philosophies and knowledge of the world. Jesus told us openly and daily what his will for us is. Love one another.Francine Rivers
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Leaving the group, he reclined on a couch, drank morosely, and watched people. He noticed the games they played with one another. They put on masks of civility, all while spewing their venom.Francine Rivers
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Hatred is the enemy, Hadassah. Not the people.Francine Rivers
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Only later did he remember his pride-and the shattering cost of an illusive sense of freedom.Francine Rivers
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But so often, things of great beauty are full of great corruption.Francine Rivers
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He knew that beauty faded quickly when embodied by selfishness...Francine Rivers
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As gentle a man as he was, as tender as was his heart, there was nothing weak about Michael Hosea. He was the strongest-minded man Joseph had ever met. A Man like Noah. A Man like the Shepherd-king David. A man after God's own heart.Francine Rivers
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What does the body matter if the soul is dead?Francine Rivers
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Rome tolerated every abominable practice, embraced every foul idea in the name of freedom and the rights of the common man. Citizens no longer carried on deviant behavior in private, but pridefully displayed it in public. It was those with moral values who could no longer freely walk in a public park without having to witness a revolting display. What happened to the public censors who protected the majority of citizenry from moral decadence? Did freedom have to mean abolishing common decency? Did freedom mean anyone could do anything they wanted anytime they wanted, without consequences?.Francine Rivers
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We must seize every opportunity we can to speak the truth and proclaim peace. Especially now. There's so little time for many.Francine Rivers
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I'd rather see your honest pain than a brave front.Francine Rivers
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It was as though her tongue were a heavy weight in her mouth, and now her heart was even heavier for having kept silent.Francine Rivers
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I gave up what I can't keep for something I can never lose.Francine Rivers
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The Lord will provide.Francine Rivers
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If God wills that I die, then I die. No power on earth can change that.Francine Rivers
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These conquerors of the world are slaves to their passions, and someday their passions will bring them down.Francine Rivers
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Bithia seemed wise in the ways of the world, but she was completely ignorant of what she brought upon herself. Commerce with the powers of darkness might gain her what she desired for the moment, but at what cost in the end?Francine Rivers
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The only way he could have her was to shatter this stubborn faith of hers. In doing so, would he shatter her? "What has this god of yours ever really done for you?" She stood very still for a long moment, her back to him. "Everything.Francine Rivers
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If I provide for this life and turn away from the Lord, I am wise for a moment, but lost forever.Francine Rivers
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How can intemperate minds be free when they're slaves to their own passions?Francine Rivers
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This generation seems to see children as a financial burden and responsibility to be avoided.Francine Rivers
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Have you ever been to the beach and wanted to feed the seagulls? The problem is you tear off a little crust from your sandwich and toss it to one, and ten more show up. Toss a little more and a flock descends. You start to wonder: if I run out of bread, will I become the meal? Turkeys are different. They startle easily and run for the barn. In the wild, they run for the hills. Of course, they’re very tasty. Benjamin Franklin thought them majestic enough to be an emblem for our country. I’m sorry, but Thanksgiving would be downright depressing. There’s our national symbol lying stuffed and roasted and ready to carve up for hungry guests. And then we have the eagles. Our forefathers were trained in the Bible. […]They would have known Isaiah 40:31. “Those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” They were making war on the greatest power in the world of the time; the world was watching them. What could this band of commoners do? What troubles me about our country today is how many seagulls there are, scrambling for more. Remember the movie “Finding Nemo”? “Mine, mine, mine! ” And we sure have a lot of gutless turkeys running for the barn whenever hard decisions have to be made; like how to keep our country solvent so our children won’t be in soup lines… Where are the eagles? That’s what I want to know. Please, God, we need us some eagles!.Francine Rivers
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Past and future were out of her hands. One was finished and couldn't be undone. The other was beyond imagining.Francine Rivers
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Dwelling on the past only defeated her chances for changing the future.Francine Rivers
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Lord, you are God! You made us. Who better to know how to fix us when we've gone wrong? who better to set us to rights again? Who better to love us through the fire and refine us into something beautiful and useful despite our wrongs?Francine Rivers
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Never doubt in the darkness what God has given us in the light.Francine Rivers
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How could a woman who had an abortion not feel guilt or some sense of remorse? How could she justify what she'd done? Whom else could she blame when everyone was telling her it's her choice? Without facing the truth and confessing it, how could she be forgiven Who could she be restored? How could she be free?Francine Rivers
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And if it (life) were easier, would i have given my heart so fully to God? Put your hope in Him, and you won't be disappointed by what life offersFrancine Rivers
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But I know Jesus arose. I feel his presence now, here, with me. I see the evidence of his Word everyday. From creation forth, the whole world is witness to God's plan revealed through his Son. From the beginning, he prepared us. In the passing of the seasons; in the way flowers spring forth, die, and drop seeds for life to begin again; in the sunset and sunrise. Jesus' sacrifice is reenacted every day of our lives if we but have the eyes to see. .Francine Rivers
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She had to strive to make every thought obedient to the love of Christ whatever violent feelings churned within her. She had to take her every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and leave no room for anger and jealousy and thoughts of revenge.Francine Rivers
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A pretty face and a beautiful body blind a man more quickly than any poker through the eyes.Francine Rivers
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He had the tool to break down the walls that imprisoned his people. He had the tool to rip away the veil to the Holy of Holies so that his flock could come before the Lord and be cleansed, made whole, transformed, and have a personal, loving relationship with their creator. That very tool san on Hannah's bookshelf right now, gathering dust until Sunday morning. Her Savior was there, waiting to speak to her and show her the way home again, the way back to love. YOUR WORD IS LIFE! Why didn't more people understand that? .Francine Rivers
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Emotions are powerful, but they also change as quick as the wind. That's why the Lord says to renew your mind. Don't base decisions on what you feel.Francine Rivers
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The appeal was so often the same: Make me comfortable so I can go on doing whatever I want to do. They wanted sin without consequences.Francine Rivers
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The sin we need to be concerned about is the sin in our own lives. It's the root of all human woe, the source of anguish.Francine Rivers
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We're Christians. We have to care what people think. The appearance of wrongdoing, remember? I'm not going to move in with you had have people think we're living in sin. What sort of witness would that be?Francine Rivers
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The great greatest gift you can give him is the freedom to spread his wings.Francine Rivers
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Tell me everything about this woman you once knew. Tell me everything she ever told you about Jesus of Nazareth." Marcus saw the fever in his eyes. "Why?" he said, frowning. "Why does it matter?"" Just tell me, Marcus Lucianus Valerian. Tell me everything. From the beginning. Let me decide for myself what matters." And so Marcus did as he was asked. He gave in to his deep need to speak of Hadassah. And all the while he talked of her, he failed to see the irony in what he was doing. For as he told the story of a simple Judean slave girl, Marcus Lucianus Valerian, a Roman who didn't believe in anything, proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ. .Francine Rivers
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Regret drives us to repentance, and repentance leads us to God.Francine Rivers
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Perhaps it was the approach of death that had opened his eyes wide and made him see so clearly.Francine Rivers
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I don't want to fall in love with you, ' she said, pushing away. 'why not?''because you'll just end up using it against me.Francine Rivers
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When she felt the tears coming up, building like a great hard pressure inside her, hot, so hot she thought they would burn, she swallowed them down deeper and deeper until they became a hard little stone in her chest.Francine Rivers
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Death began to look like a friend.Francine Rivers
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He needed the warmth of the sun to take away the chill of foreboding that grew in him.Francine Rivers
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It doesn't take two minutes on an examining table for a girl to know that abortion is painful and destructive and it'll have far-reaching effects on her life. Besides the emotional trauma of going through something so violent, there are the physical aspects, the aftereffects. Unfortunately, by the time she's gone that far, it's too late to change her mind.Francine Rivers
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.. those selling abortion don't want them to have [the facts], " Virginia said heatedly. "Besides the Supreme Court doesn't agree with you. They judges seem to think we poor women would fall apart if we knew the facts, so they decided women don't have the right to know the full truth." She shook her head. "They've made it legal to withhold vital information, even when a woman requests it, for heaven's sake! .Francine Rivers
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The only way he could have her was to shatter this stubborn faith of hers. In doing so, would he shatter her? 'What has this god of yours ever really done for you?' She stood very still for a long moment, her back to him. 'Everything.Francine Rivers
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He needed to get away from the rush of the city, from the unceasing noise and annoying obligations.Francine Rivers
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Hormonal changes permanently alter the breast's structure. And when a pregnancy is terminated through abortion, the process is interrupted, which leaves cells in a sate of transition. And they say cells in this state have a very high risk of becoming cancerous. So the woman's chances of developing breast cancer later in life my be greatly increased.Francine Rivers
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I start work by spending time in personal Bible study. Because my projects center on a question in my own faith walk, I find Bible study essential. And God gives me scriptures daily that speak to the question with which I'm struggling.Francine Rivers