Faith Comes by Hearing...

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. ~ Romans 10:17 (NIV)

Great Service...

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ~ James 1:22 (NIV)

HE Will Give You Rest...

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ~ Matthew 11:28 (NLT)

The Greatest of These

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 

~ 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)

Forgive...

13Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

~ Colossians 3:13-14 (NLT)

Love...

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 

~ Jesus (John 15:12 NIV)

Guard Your Heart

Above all else, guard your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it.

~ Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

Praise Him...

 “The Lord is my strength and my defense;
    He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt Him 

~ Exodus 15:2 (NIV)

My Strength

You are my strength, I sing praise to You; You, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely. 

~ Psalm 59:17

Trust and Obey

 I will hasten and not delay to obey Your commands.

~ Psalm 119:60 NIV

Always Hope

As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. ~ Psalm 71:14 (NIV)

Children of God

26For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. ~ Galatians 3:26-29 (NLT)

By Grace...

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ~ Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)

Possible with God

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ~ Matthew 19:26 (NIV)

Faith Is...

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ~ Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

Nothing Is Too Hard for HIM

““Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” ~ Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV 1984)

Love Deeply

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 

~ 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV 1984)

HIS Love

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. ~ Psalm 36:5 (NIV 1984)

Our Father Loves Us

See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him. ~ 1 John 3:3 (NLT)

Watches of the Night...

On my bed I remember You;
    I think of You through the watches of the night. 

~ Psalm 63:6 (NIV)

Be Still...

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” ~ Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

This Is the Way...

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” ~ Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

He Holds Me...

Even if my father and mother abandon me,
    the Lord will hold me close.

~ Psalm 27:10 (NLT)

The Brokenhearted...

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
    He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

~ Psalm 34:18 (NLT)

Unjust Treatment...

For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. ~ 1 Peter 2:19 (NIV)

For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. (NLT)

For one is regarded favorably (is approved, acceptable, and thankworthy) if, as in the sight of God, he endures the pain of unjust suffering. (AMPC)

Don't be Deceived...

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ~ Ephesians 4:14 (NIV)

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. (NLT)

So then, we may no longer be children, tossed [like ships] to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, [the prey of] the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, [gamblers engaged] in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead. (AMPC)

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; (NASB)

This is the Way...

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” ~ Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

This is My Prayer

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 for the day of Christ, ~ Philippians 1:9-10 (NIV)

My prayer for you is that you will overflow more and more with love for others, and at the same time keep on growing in spiritual knowledge and insight, for I want you always to see clearly the difference between right and wrong, and to be inwardly clean, no one being able to criticize you from now until our Lord returns. (Living Bible)

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. (NLT)

And this I pray: that your love may abound yet more and more and extend to its fullest development in knowledge and all keen insight [that your love may display itself in greater depth of acquaintance and more comprehensive discernment], So that you may surely learn to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value [recognizing the highest and the best, and distinguishing the moral differences], and that you may be untainted and pure and unerring and blameless [so that with hearts sincere and certain and unsullied, you may approach] the day of Christ [not stumbling nor causing others to stumble]. (AMPC)

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; (NASB)

Nothing In...Nothing Out...

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ~ 1 Timothy 6:7 (NIV)

After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. (NLT)

Beginning of Wisdom

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

~ Proverbs 9:10 (NIV)

Elders...

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. ~ 1 Timothy 5:17 (NIV)

Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. (NLT)

Let the elders who perform the duties of their office well be considered doubly worthy of honor [and of adequate financial support], especially those who labor faithfully in preaching and teaching. (AMPC)

Physical Training...

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. ~ 1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” (NLT)

For physical training is of some value (useful for a little), but godliness (spiritual training) is useful and of value in everything and in every way, for it holds promise for the present life and also for the life which is to come. (AMPC)

Grace to the Humble

In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for

“God opposes the proud
    but gives grace to the humble.”

~ 1 Peter 5:5 (NLT)