Since my return to God from December 2011, I have kept a document of Bible verses that effected me in some sort or another, along with Bible Verses in Images.
The Lord knows what we think; He knows how senseless our reasoning is. (Psalm 94:11 GNT)
So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. Col. 1:20 (MSG)
It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time:
- repetitive, loveless, cheap sex;
- a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage;
- frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness;
- trinket gods;
- magic-show religion;
- paranoid loneliness;
- cutthroat competition;
- all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants;
- a brutal temper;
- an impotence to love or be loved;
- divided homes and divided lives;
- small-minded and lopsided pursuits;
- the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival;
- uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions;
- ugly parodies of community.
I could go on.
This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.
But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Galatians 5: 19-23 ~ The Message
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. James 1: 2-4 (MSG)
You are not powerful enough to stop God's plan! "For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" (Isaiah 14:27 ESV).
Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD. (Psalm 25:4-7 NIV)
I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory. 1Peter 1: 5-7 (MSG)
So let God work His will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and He'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet. ~ James 4:7-10 (MSG)
I have told you this many times before, and now I repeat it with tears: there are many whose lives make them enemies of Christ's death on the cross. They are going to end up in hell, because their god is their bodily desires. They are proud of what they should be ashamed of, and they think only of things that belong to this world. We, however, are citizens of heaven, and we eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. Phil 3:18-20
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