SCRIPTURES OF
HOPE, CONSOLATION, PEACE & INSPIRATION
We live in a world filled with troubles. Perhaps there is a
personal
problem that plagues you; or maybe it is concern over something
'beyond'
your control...war, economics, crime, violence, addiction,
bigotry,
hunger, environment or homelessness. Maybe someone or even a
group
of people has hurt you, it may even be someone in the Church.
Studies
declare that most Americans use the following as stress
relievers:
TV, radio, drinking, smoking and drugs. But when its over, what's
improved? Consider turning to the Bible, which can: comfort and
inspire us, give us peace, offers solutions, healing and
energizes
us with His Power. His Word can help us to understand and
forgive,
while teaching us to humbly take up our cross and follow Jesus.
The following verses are random selections from thousands of
Scriptures
that can light our path, and guide our steps. Remember all the
world's
ills are ultimately the result of sin, and the solution is to
turn
hardened hearts toward an all-loving God. Clear your mind, bring
your
troubles and concerns to Jesus. Take time to ponder each verse.
Pray
and seek the mind of the Lord. Occasional thoughts are provided.
Imagine you're listening to Him.
"You, Lord, are near to all who call...to all who call upon You in
truth...You, Lord, watch over all who love You, but the wicked You
destroy." (Psalm 145:18, 20).
"Happy the man who finds wisdom, the person who gains understanding!" (Prv. 3:13).
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
Principalities and Powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness,
the evil spirits in the heavens." (Eph. 6:12).
Here's a meditation for times of trouble; picture the storm in your
life and Jesus..."He got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there
was great calm. The men were amazed and said, 'Who is this that even
the winds and the sea obey Him?'" (Matthew 26-27).
"Come you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money,
come! Receive grain and eat; come without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk! Why spend your money on what is not bread, your
wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen to Me, and you shall eat well,
and you shall delight in rich fare. Pay attention, heed Me; listen
and your soul will live. I will renew with you My everlasting covenant..." (Is. 55:1-3)
"I know well the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your
welfare, not woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. When you
call to Me, when you pray to Me, I will listen to you. When you seek
Me, you shall find Me." (Jer. 29:11-13). (There are times that we
think we know what we want, and think that it is truly in our best
interest. But there are times God has something better for us in mind;
and the Lord asks us to trust in Him.)
"For people, it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible!"
(Mt. 19:26) (All of creation is a miracle! We considered earlier
in this book that God sustains all of the universe in existence!
So there is no problem or challenge beyond His Wisdom and loving
care, no hurt to great for healing, if we but turn to Him in faith.)
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don't depend on your own
understanding." (Proverbs 3:5).
"Indeed it is not easy to die even for a good man, yet for someone
really worthy, a man might be prepared to die. But God proves His
love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us." (Romans 5:6-8).
Our Creator tells us, "I will instruct you and show you the way you
should walk, give you counsel and watch over you." (Ps. 32:8). Let's
listen to God, and follow His sure paths!
"Ours were the sufferings He bore, ours the sorrows that
He carried.
He was pierced for our faults, crushed for our sins. On Him lies
a punishment that brings us peace, and by His wounds we are
healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way, and
the
Lord burdened Him with the sins of us all." (Is. 53:4-6)
"In the days to come the temple of the Lord shall be higher than the
mountains...and peoples shall flow to it; nations without number
will come: and say, 'Come, let us climb the mount of the Lord...that
He may teach us His Ways and we may walk in His paths...' He will
judge over many peoples and arbitrate for mighty nations; they will
hammer their swords into plowshares, their spears into sickles. Nation
will not lift sword against nation, nor shall they train for war again.
Every man shall sit under his own vine or under his own fig tree,
undisturbed; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (Mic.4:1,2,3-4).
(Such prophecies deserve our prayers.)
"Jesus told her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. If anyone believes
in Me, even if he dies, he will live, and whoever lives and believes
in Me will never die. Do you believe this?'" (John 11:25-26).
"The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love.
The Lord is good to all and compassionate to every creature." (Psalm 145:8-9).
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23).
"For I will restore you to health; of your wounds I will heal you,
says the Lord." (Jeremiah 31:17). (Some 'wounds' are physical, others
are emotional or spiritual. He can heal them all!)
"Thus says the Lord God:...'I shall pour clean water over you and
cleanse you of your impurities...I shall give you a new heart, and
place a new spirit in you; removing the heart of stone from your
bodies and give you a natural heart instead. You shall be My people
and I will be your God." (Ez. 36:22, 25, 26, 28).
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Have faith in God and faith
in Me." (John 14:1).
"Taste and see the goodness of the Lord! Happy are those who take
shelter in Him!" (Psalm 34:9).
"Jesus said to him, 'If you can! Everything is possible to one who
has faith!' Then the boy's father said: 'I do believe, help my unbelief!'"
(Mark 9:23-24).
"Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give to you. I do not give it
to you as the world gives peace. Do not let your hearts be troubled
or afraid." (John 14:27).
"He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from trouble."
(Proverbs 21:23). (We should recall that God gave us two ears and
one mouth, a reminder that we should listen more, talk less, and choose
our words carefully to uplift and edify, not tear up or put down.)
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and upset over many things; one thing
only is required." (Lk. 10:41-42).
"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be
as shrewd as serpents, and as innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16)
. (We are told not to judge, but we are to 'discern.')
"He nourishes the nations, and gives them food in abundance." (Job 36:31).
"Take courage and be stouthearted, all you who hope in the Lord." (Psalm 31:25)
"All good things...come from above..." (James 1:17). (Many times when
we feel that things are hopeless, or that God has abandoned us, stop
and consider that we have countless blessings, and these always outweigh
our troubles! Think about the small blessings: for example, one couldn't
even tie shoelaces if God didn't give man thumbs. Stop, think and
count your blessings.)
"According to his good sense a man is praised" (Proverbs 12:8).
"Whatever you do for one of the least of My brethren, that you do
unto Me." (Mt. 25:40).
"This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality." (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
"Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord: Though your sins
be like scarlet, they may become white as snow." (Isaiah 1:18).
"Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is
willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mt. 26:41).
"...By Your way, give me life." (Psalm 119:37).
"How long, O Lord, shall the wicked, how long shall the
wicked glory?"
(Psalm 94:3).
"As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are My ways above
your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9).
"I myself will pasture My sheep, I will show them where to rest, says
the Lord. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage
the wounded and make the weak strong. I shall watch over the healthy
and the strong, I shall be a true shepherd to them." (Ez. 34:14-16).
"I have called you friends..." (John 15:15). (Jesus called us FRIENDS!
Whenever you feel the need for a friend, consider Jesus as the best
friend anyone could ever have! He listens, loves and cares!)
"Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you
rest." (Mt. 11:28).
"Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice!...If
You, O Lord, mark my iniquities, Lord, who can stand?" (Psalm 130:1, 3).
"My people perish for lack of knowledge!" (Hosea 4:6). (Why does
man 'perish' in so many projects? Often, it is because we think as
people do, and fail to apply Godly wisdom.)
"...zeal for Your house consumes me..." (Psalm 69:10). (Jesus was
zealous for love of 'His Father's house,' the Temple in Jerusalem.
Shouldn't we be zealous for Jesus' Church?)
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you your hearts' desires."
(Psalm 37:4).
"Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you." (Mt. 5:44). (Part of God's 'peace plan'; it helped convert the sinful Roman Empire.)
"...Without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5). (We
are weak, He
is infinitely strong!)
"I have learned in whatever situation I am in, therein to be content."
(Phil. 4:11) (A good verse for serenity. We are sinners, what do
we really deserve? Yet in His love and mercy, Jesus desires to saves
us! Unite your sufferings to the Lord, as the Apostle Paul counseled.)
"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all
your soul and with all your mind....You shall love your neighbor as
yourself." (Mt. 22:37, 39).
"I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting,
sackcloth and ashes...We have sinned, been wicked and done evil."
(Daniel 9:3, 5).
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians
4:13) . (When Paul tried worldly wisdom, it led to failures; but
using the power and 'mind' of Christ converted thousands by the preaching
and example of this one man!)
"The one who doubts is like a wave of a sea that is driven and tossed
about by the wind." (James 1:6).
"One thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long. To dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life." (Ps. 27:4).
"He cured many of their diseases, sufferings and evil spirits...granted
sight to many who were blind." (Lk.7:21).
"I sought the Lord, who answered me, delivering me from all my fears."
(Psalm 34:5).
"For in Him we live, and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28).
(Re-read these later, ponder them, and let them soak in. Search
the Scriptures, let them enlighten and inspire you!)
"We must obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29).
"Lord, You have probed me, You know me: You know when I sit
and when
I stand; You understand my thoughts from afar. My travels and my
rest You mark, with all my ways You are familiar. Even before a
word
is on my tongue, Lord, You know it all." (Psalm 139:1-4).
"In my mother's womb, You knit my inmost being. I praise You, so
wonderfully You made me, wonderful are Your works!" (Psalm 139:13-14).
"If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
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