Verses of Comfort

During my Bible study of Paul, I learned that he encountered some truly frustrating circumstances. His trials and his faith in the face of those trials are an inspiration to me. After all, if he can keep on with what God wants him to do even after being beaten, stoned, flogged and imprisoned, why can't I?

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. I Corinthians 10:13

For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.  II Corinthians 1:5

Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. II Corinthians 1:9

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  II Corinthians 4:7

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  II Corinthians 4:17

"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis

From the book "Mere Christianity", buy C.S. Lewis. Page 148-149, the second chapter on Faith:

"Christians have often disputed as to whether what leads the Christian home [Heaven] is good actions, or Faith in Christ...Faith in Christ is the only thing to save you from despair at that point: and out of that faith in Him good actions must inevitably come. There are two parodies of the truth which different sets of Christians have, in the past, been accused by other Christians of believing: perhaps they may make the truth clearer. One set were accused of saying, 'Good actions are all that matters. The best good action is charity. The best kind of charity is giving money. The best thing to give money to is the Church. So hand us over $10,000 and we will see you through.; The answer to that nonsense of course, would be that good actions done for that motive , done with the idea that Heaven can be bought, would not be good actions at all, but only commercial speculations. The other set were accused of saying, 'Faith is all that matters. Consequently, if you have faith, it doesn't matter what you do. Sin away, my lad, and have a good time and Christ will see that it makes no difference in the end.' The answer to that nonsense is that, if what you call your 'faith' in Christ does not involve taking the slightest notice of what He says, then it is not Faith at all - not faith or trust in Him, but only intellectual acceptance of some theory about Him. The Bible really seems to clinch the matter when it puts the two things together into one amazing sentence. The first half is, 'Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling' - which looks as if everything depended on us and our good actions: but the second half goes on, 'For it is God who worketh in you' - which looks as if God did everuthing and we did nothing."

Luke 1:3-4 (NLT)

3. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus. 4. so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.

Psalm 55:22 (NLT)

Give your burdens to the Lord,
and he will take care of you.
He will not permit the godly to
slip and fall.

Mark 14:23-24 (NLT)

23. And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24. And he said to them, this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many.

Psalm 51:10-12 (NLT)

10. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11. Do not banish me from your presence,
and don't take your Holy Spirit from me.
12. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

Mark 13:32-33 (NLT)

32. However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
33. And since you don't know when that time will come, be on guard!
Stay alert!

Numbers 6:24-26 (NLT)

24. May the Lord bless you and protect you.
25. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
26. May the Lord show you favor and give you his peace.

Mark 12:33 (NLT)

And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself.
This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.

Psalm 46:1-3 (NLT)

1. God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
2. So we will not fear when
earthquakes come and the
mountains crumble into the sea.
3. Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble
as the waters surge!

The Shack

I finished The Shack by William P. Young late last night. Wow, what a book!

I'll admit, I was both horrified and intrigued when a friend described this book to me. Their description was about a man who's daughter was murdered and how he deals with it. I immediately thought that the book was going to be a very dark and tortured look into this man's soul. Boy, was I wrong.

This book is about a man who's daughter was murdered and how he deals with it. How he deals with it alone and then through God.

I am in awe that a regular guy could write such a powerful book. I learned so much and there is still more to learn from this book. I definitely need to read it again. Mr. Young put the Father, Son and Holy Spirit into terms that I had never really imagined before. He made them totally relatable, loving and dynamic instead of distant, angry and silent as I once thought they were.

This book has inspired me to reevaluate and renew not only my relationship with God, but also with all the people who are in my life. I am now understanding more clearly specific events that are depicted in the Bible, such as the fall of man and the death of Christ, and I am more understanding of how Christ can work in my life and how I can work my life through him. I want to say more, but I can't give the plot away.

Definitely a must read...more than once!