Comfort for God's People

Comfort, comfort my people,
    says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
    that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
    double for all her sins.

 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
    a highway for our God.
 Every valley shall be raised up,
    every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
    the rugged places a plain.
 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

~ Isaiah 40:1-5 (NIV)

An Ever-Present Help in Trouble

1 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

~ Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV)

Are You Suffering?

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. ~  James 5:13-16 (NRSV)

May the Lord Be With You

16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! ~ 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NASB)

Admonish Him as a Brother

14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. ~ 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 (NASB)

Note: The NIV translation uses the word fellow believer instead of the word brother.

Don't Grow Weary

But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. ~ 2 Thessalonians 3:13 (NASB)

Warning to Rich Oppressors

1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. ~ James 5:1-6 (NIV)

Eternal Comfort

16 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, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (NASB)

Worthy of Your Calling

11 To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. ~ 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (NASB)

He is Faithful

23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete,without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NASB)

Abstain from Evil

21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil. 

~ 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 (NASB)

God's Will for You

16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NASB)

Instructions

See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NASB)

Instructions on Christian Conduct

We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (NASB)

Show Your Appreciation

12 But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, 13 and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 (NASB)

Thy Word...

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
    a light on my path.

~ Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

Be Devoted to Prayer

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; ~ Colossians 4:2 (NASB)

Be Careful...

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. ~ Colossians 2:8 (NIV)

Blessed Are You...

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. ~ Matthew 5:11-12 (NASB)

Teachers...

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ~ James 3:1 (NIV)

Live to Please God

Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. 

~ 1 Thessalonians 4:1 (NASB)

Made Alive in the Spirit

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; ~ 1 Peter 3:18 (NASB)

The Foundation

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:11 (NASB)

With Prayer and Fasting

When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. ~ Acts 14:23 (NASB)

Equipping of the Saints

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; ~ Ephesians 4:11-12 (NASB)

Do NOT Love the World

15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 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. ~ 1 John 2:15-16 (NASB)

We Can't Comprehend

5            “God thunders with His voice wondrously,

Doing great things which we cannot comprehend.
6 “For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
And to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’

~ Job 37:5-6 (NASB)