Rick Renner - Sparkling Gems From the Greek Volume 2: 365 New Gems To Equip And Empower You For Victory Every Day Of The Year

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Sparkling Gems From the Greek 2

ISBN 978-0-9903247-4-4

Copyright 2016 by Rick Renner

8316 E. 73rd St., Suite 207

Tulsa, OK 74133

Published by Institute Books

(A Division of Renner Institute, Inc.)

8316 E. 73rd St., Suite 207

Tulsa, OK 74133

Editorial Consultant: Cynthia D. Hansen

Text Design: Lisa Simpson, www.SimpsonProductions.net

Cover and Graphic Design: Debbie Pullman, Zoe Life Creative Media

Printed in the United States of America.

All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.

Contents and/or cover may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without the express written consent of the Publisher.

Dedication

I dedicate this second volume of Sparkling Gems From the Greek to my dear mother, Erlita Renner.

To Mother

From the time I was a child, you have influenced me in the things that matter most. You taught me the importance of loving Jesus more than anything else in the world. You taught me to love the Bible and to let it be the guiding light of my life. You demonstrated a life of service to others, and thereby showed me how to serve. You encouraged me to use the gifts that God placed in my life. Mother, I am eternally thankful for you for your love, for your prayers, and for serving alongside Denise and me all these many years. You are an example to me in every way, and I thank God for you. For all these reasons and many more, it is my joy to dedicate Sparkling Gems 2 to you.

Acknowledgments

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge those people whose time, talent, and effort helped to produce Sparkling Gems From the Greek , Volume 2 . As you read and learn from this book, you will be receiving not only from the teaching God has entrusted to me, but also from the labors of others who worked with me to produce these life-changing pages.

First, I would like to thank Denise, our three sons, Paul, Philip, and Joel, and their wives, for their encouragement to me to keep writing on this enormous project. I am also thankful to my A-Team who regularly exhorted me to stay on track with my writing. Those who read and reap the benefits of this second volume will be eternally grateful to you.

Second, I wish to thank the staff of Rick Renner Ministries, Renner Institute, and the Moscow Good News Church pastoral team for your prayers and for your excellent attitude as I was writing for thousands of hours to produce this book. You will reap a reward in Heaven for what you are doing for the Kingdom of God and for the excellent attitude with which you are doing it. I am so thankful for you and that we serve together in the Kingdom of God.

Third, I wish to thank my editor, Cindy Hansen. As Ive said before, I believe you are without a doubt the finest editor Ive ever worked with, and you are tremendously loved and appreciated by Denise and me. Your touch is throughout this book, and for this I am very thankful. Not only are your editorial suggestions appreciated, but your spiritual insights are also a blessing to me. Together, as writer and editor, we are growing in the grace of God.

In addition, I wish to thank Dougal Hansen and Becky Gilbert for their help in editing and in proofreading this huge project. Im grateful for their diligence in helping to make the many pages of this devotional easy to read and error-free. My thanks to Beth Parker and Ingrid Williams as well for adding their skill and attention to detail to the proofreading process assistance that proved to be a great help in getting the book ready for the printer on time. I also want to acknowledge my gratitude to Andrell Corbin for her editorial contributions to this book. I am thankful for her creative and skilled assistance in bringing this volume to the level of excellence it should be.

Fourth, I want to thank Lisa Simpson for her diligence and excellence in producing the text design of Sparkling Gems 2 . Her willingness to work long hours to help produce a book of such quality speaks volumes, and Im grateful.

Fifth, I want to thank Cullen Swanson, Joel Renner, and Lori Stout for handling all the negotiations and logistics regarding the publishing of this book in order to get it into the readers hands. This part of the project is huge by any definition. Im also thankful for our Renner Institute assistant, Pam Grosse, for her help in facilitating the multifaceted process of producing this book. All of your dedication to produce this book on time and with excellence means so much to me and to our faithful family of readers. Multiplied thousands of readers will be affected because of the time and effort you have placed into this project.

Sixth, I want to express my profound gratitude to Debbie Pullman for the cover design and for being patient to work with me until we found a cover that we deemed appropriate for this second volume. You are a blessing to me in so many ways. I am thankful for you.

Last and foremost, I want to thank the Holy Spirit for empowering me to write consistently day after day, month after month, until we reached the final day of this completed devotional. Psalm 119:18 says, Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I thank You for opening my eyes to behold wondrous truths and for showing me how to write them in a way that will be a benefit to our family of readers. I am so thankful to You, Holy Spirit, for Your work in my life!

Rick Renner

Moscow, Russia

Preface

As I write this Preface, I am sitting in the living room of my Moscow home. I am seated in the chair that has become my meeting place with God every morning. I sensed that it was most appropriate to write these words here in this room and in this chair, where I experience Gods presence every morning and where so much of Volume 2 has been written.

I started writing Volume 2 not long after I completed the first Sparkling Gems From the Greek . However, as time passed, the ministry grew, my responsibilities increased, building programs commenced, and there were other books I also needed to write. As a result, it took me nearly a decade to complete this volume that you now hold in your hands.

Yet I am certain that the time that has lapsed between Sparkling Gems and will turn out to be to your advantage. During these years, I have grown both in my walk with the Lord and in my knowledge of Gods Word. I believe this deeper walk is reflected in Sparkling Gems From the Greek 2 and I pray that you will profit from the work God has wrought in my own life over these years that have passed since the first volume was published.

Often in studying a particular verse in the New Testament, I come to a place where I think I have unearthed every gem that can possibly be found in that verse. But then the next time I study that same verse, the Holy Spirit wonderfully opens my eyes and illuminates my mind to show me wondrous things that I previously had not seen ( see Psalm 119:18).