Scripture Snippets

  Jonah 1 1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” 7 And they said to one another, “Come,

  Matthew 6:1-7 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. 5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

  Mark 8:38 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Ask the average Christian, "Are you ashamed of Jesus?" and he will more than likely adamantly answer, "Of course not. He's my Lord and Savior." This unashamed boldness to proclaim Christ is seen in the abundance of "Real men love Jesus" and other T-shirts that clearly identify the wearer as belonging to Jesus.  Every Sunday millions faithfully attend churches that exalt the name of Jesus. There are more "fish" on cars than in the Atlantic Ocean. Gospel music resonates with love for Jesus, and even has the accolades of the secular music industry. Christ-exalting television and radio daily fill the airwaves. Add the fact that millions unabashedly jammed theaters to see a movie about Jesus of Nazareth, and you have to conclude that we as a nat

  Ephesians 3:14-21 14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. The world bombards us with messages that can trigger feelings of inferiority. Happiness and satisfaction are promised if we will only drive the latest car, wear the newest styles, or bu

  Ephesians 2:10 Early in my life, I experienced some feelings of inferiority. Because we struggled financially, because of that, I didn’t get to participate in the “cool” activities, and I didn’t wear the “right” clothes. Even in school, I felt that I did not measure up to the other kids.  I remember repeatedly through my elementary school years about being picked on because I had shoes and clothes from Wal-Mart and not the newest set of Jordan’s or Reebok Pumps like the other kids did.  I know, I just dated myself. It wasn’t until I was older and began purchasing those things that it began to die down, but it was only replaced with other issues, like weight, etc. The sense of failure and embarrassment at not being good enough was devastating to me. The misery of inferiority is never what God intends for His children. Its seed usually takes root in the impressionable hearts of the young and thrives in an atmosphere of comparison. This kind of emotional baggage can have debilitating an

  Jude 1:24-25 24  Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen. Unfortunately, there are times when, no matter how hard we try or how talented we may be, we fail. How are we to succeed when the odds are against us? For believers in Christ Jesus, the answer is to live with the knowledge that God works despite our weaknesses. In Genesis, Sarah doubted when the Lord prophesied the birth of her son. “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” He replied (Gen. 18:14). Within a year, Sarah gave birth to baby Isaac. She saw that God was able. Moses was scared when God sent him to Pharaoh to demand that the Hebrew slaves be released. “Who am I,” he asked, “that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11). God replied that He Himself would release Isr