Reflecting His Love

We love Him because He first loved us.

1 John 4:19 KJV


Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

John 14:21 NIV


Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

2 Thessalonians 2:16,17 NASB

Redeemed by A Savior!

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

Matthew 1:21 NIV


Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Acts 13:38,39 KJV


And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Hebrews 9:27,28 NASB

Christ is Coming Again!

The nations will fear the name of the LORD,
all the kings of the earth
will revere your glory.
For the LORD will rebuild Zion and
appear in his glory.

Psalm 102:15,16 NIV


All the ends of the world shall remember
and turn unto the LORD:
and all the kindreds of the nations
shall worship before thee.
For the kingdom is the LORD's:
and he is the governor among the nations.

Psalm 22:27,28 KJV


A voice is calling,
"Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Isaiah 40:3-4 NASB

Pleasing the Lord

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

1 John 3:21-23 NIV


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.

2 Corinthians 5:9,10 NASB


For one is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

1 Peter 2:19-21 RSV

The Lord - Our Deliverer!

For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.

He will take pity on the weak and
the needy and save the needy from death.

Psalm 72:12,13 NIV


Sing unto the LORD,
praise ye the LORD:
for he hath delivered the soul
of the poor
from the hand of evildoers.

Jeremiah 20:13 KJV


For the LORD has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His habitation.

This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell,
for I have desired it.

I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her needy with bread.

Psalm 132:13-15 NASB

His Return Is Soon!

Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."

For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:3-8 NKJV


Be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 KJV

Let Us Humble Ourselves

Woe to those who call
evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
Woe to those who are wise
in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.

Isaiah 5:20,21 NIV


Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

Galatians 6:1-3 KJV


For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

2 Corinthians 10:18 NASB

Obedience - Key to Blessing

If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment

Job 36:11 NIV


For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Romans 2:13 KJV


O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Hear, O Israel!
The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart and
with all your soul and
with all your might.

These words, which I am commanding you
today, shall be on your heart.

Deuteronomy 6:3-6 NASB


And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Matthew 12:49,50 RSV

On His Side!

The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

Deuteronomy 28:7 NIV


That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

Luke 1:74,75 KJV


"No weapon that is formed
against you will prosper;
And every tongue that accuses you
in judgment you will condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me,"
declares the LORD.

Isaiah 54:17 NASB

Seek Him!

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him.

For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.

Deuteronomy 4:29-31 NIV


Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till He come and rain righteousness upon you.

Hosea 10:12 KJV

 
The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion;
Declare among the peoples His deeds.

Psalm 9:9-11 NASB

Pleasing the Lord

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

1 John 3:21-23 NIV


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.

2 Corinthians 5:9,10 NASB


For one is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

1 Peter 2:19-21 RSV

Flee youthful lusts.

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Titus 3:3-6 KJV


They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Jude 18-21 NIV


But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

Galatians 5:16,17 NASB

Trusting in riches?

Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

James 2:5 NIV

Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker:
and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

Proverbs 17:5 KJV


He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

Proverbs 11:28 NASB

Work Hard!

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

1 Thessalonians 4:11,12 NIV


The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the lazy man will be put to forced labor

Proverbs 12:24 NKJV


I passed by the field of the sluggard
And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense,
And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles;
Its surface was covered with nettles,
And its stone wall was broken down.

When I saw, I reflected upon it;
I looked, and received instruction.
"A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,"
Then your poverty will come as a robber
And your want like an armed man.

Proverbs 24:30-34 NASB

Jealousy? Coveting?

Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men
succeed in their ways,
when they carry out
their wicked schemes.

Psalm 37:7 NIV


Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife;
and you shall not desire your neighbor's house,
his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant,
his ox, or his ass, or anything that is
your neighbor's.

Deuteronomy 5:21 RSV


Do not envy a man of violence
And do not choose any of his ways.

For the devious are an abomination to the LORD;
But He is intimate with the upright.

Proverbs 3:31,32 NASB

Salvation

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 4:9,10 NIV


Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

John 3:3-7 KJV


But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:4-7 NASB

Seek the Lord!

God did this so that men would seek him
and perhaps reach out for him and find him,
though he is not far from each one of us.

'For in him we live and move and have our being.'

Acts 17:27,28 NIV


But without faith it is impossible to please him:
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 KJV


For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel,

"Seek Me, that you may live."

Amos 5:4 NASB

Gladness and Joy!

The ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Isaiah 51:11 NIV


Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound:
they shall walk, O LORD,
in the light of thy countenance.

In thy name shall they rejoice all the day:
and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

Psalm 89:15,16 KJV


I will rejoice greatly in the LORD,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
And as a garden causes
the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness
and praise to spring up before all the nations.

Isaiah 61:10,11 NASB

Money - Money - Money!

Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
have the wisdom to show restraint.

Cast but a glance at riches,
and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

Proverbs 23:4,5 NIV


The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

Ecclesiastes 5:12-14 KJV


"They will fling their silver into the streets and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetite nor can they fill their stomachs, for their iniquity has become an occasion of stumbling."

Ezekiel 7:19 NASB

Eternal Life!

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Romans 8:10,11 NIV


Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

Isaiah 26:19-21 KJV


But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:22,23 NASB

Honesty

The LORD abhors dishonest scales,
but accurate weights are his delight.

Proverbs 11:1 NIV


Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?

Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

Micah 6:10-12 KJV


He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity,
He who rejects unjust gain
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;
He will dwell on the heights,
His refuge will be the impregnable rock;
His bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.

Isaiah 33:15,16 NASB

He Is Our Helper!

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn
of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.

Psalm 18:2,3 NIV


Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
thou wilt revive me:
thou shalt stretch forth thine hand
against the wrath of mine enemies,
and thy right hand shall save me.

The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me:
thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever:
forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Psalm 138:7,8 KJV


O love the LORD, all you His godly ones!
The LORD preserves the faithful
And fully recompenses the proud doer.

Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who hope in the LORD.

Psalm 31:23,24 NASB

Grow in Grace

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteous- ness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:9-11 NIV


And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5-8 KJV


But the path of the righteous
is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter
until the full day.

Proverbs 4:18 NASB

Grow in Grace

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteous- ness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:9-11 NIV


And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5-8 KJV

But the path of the righteous
is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter
until the full day.

Proverbs 4:18 NASB

Led by the Spirit

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Romans 8:12-14 NIV


But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Matthew 5:39-42 KJV


And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life."

Luke 18:29,30 NASB

Fear NOT! Be bold.

But now, this is what the LORD says - he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

Isaiah 43:1-3a NIV


"Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see."

And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

2 Kings 6:16,17 NASB


Fret not thyself because of evildoers,
neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the LORD, and do good;
so shalt thou dwell in the land,
and verily thou shalt be fed.

Delight thyself also in the LORD:
and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Psalm 37:1-4 KJV

He Leads - We Follow.

I will instruct you and teach you
in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.

Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding but
must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.

Psalm 32:8,9 NIV


The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD:
and he delighteth in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down:
for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

Psalm 37:23,24 KJV


The mind of man plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps.

Proverbs 16:9 NASB

Worldly Friendship?

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

James 4:1-4 KJV


As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

1 Peter 1:14-16 NIV


For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 2:16,17 NASB 

Freedom from Fear

Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.

Proverbs 29:25 NIV


For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7 KJV


Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen
gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and
give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not
wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief
comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.

Luke 12:32-34 NASB 

Forgiveness for Sin

I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.'

Jeremiah 33:8,9 NIV


I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

1 John 2:12 KJV


Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:17,18 NASB 

Blessed Correction from God

Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Hebrews 12:9-11 KJV


Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O LORD,
And whom You teach out of Your law;
That You may grant him relief
from the days of adversity,
Until a pit is dug for the wicked.

For the LORD will not abandon His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
For judgment will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.

Psalm 94:12-15 NASB


Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV