Scripture Snippets

  Read Revelation 5 John’s revelation of heaven’s throne room is a picture of true praise. He describes the place exploding with worship and adoration of Jesus. Those present—the elders and “myriads of myriads” of angels (Rev. 5:11)—are motivated to sing their love of Christ because they know who He is. He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). He is the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5), the only one worthy to judge the earth and bring forth its renewal.  What motivates believers to lift hands and voice in worship—shouldn’t the reason be to praise the Savior for who He is? To do that, we must take the time to know as much as we can about Him. That happens through regular Bible study and prayer that is less self-focused.  Once we glimpse a side of Christ’s character that’s bigger and more amazing than we realized, there will be a yearning to know more. We hunger and thirst for God because only He can truly satisfy (Matthew 5:6).  Praise is part of a cycle: Learn mo

  Lamentations 3:24-26 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. 26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord. Many Christians struggle with waiting. There are a lot of things we want right now—and we usually have the ability to follow through on our desires. In fact, that’s what the entire credit card industry is all about: Have it now; pay later. But possessions aren’t the only thing we’re in a rush for. Some people are so eager to be married that they make an unwise choice regarding a mate. Others are in such a hurry to become successful and well-respected in their career that they look for shortcuts to get ahead.  So why might the Lord have us delay? One reason is to protect us. Those who can’t say no to their own desires end up enslaved to them. God wants us to be mature believers who have the character and self-restraint to wait for Him to pro

  Psalm 119:33-40 33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, And I shall keep it to the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. 36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. 37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way. 38 Establish Your word to Your servant, Who is devoted to fearing You. 39 Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your judgments are good. 40 Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me in Your righteousness. Once we trust Jesus and become a child of God, we have a responsibility to mature spiritually. This includes: • Getting to know our heavenly Father. The Bible gives us detailed descriptions of God’s attributes, values, and thoughts, and it also includes accounts of His Son’s life on earth. As we meditate on Scripture and what it reveals about the Lord, our sense of conne

  John 1:12-13 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Our Creator never intended to be distant from mankind. Instead, He has always wanted an intimate, loving relationship with us. We know this because … • He sent His Son. Christ came to earth so we could know God the Father. Jesus is His exact representation; His words and works were the same as God’s (John 5:19; John 12:50). Therefore, when we look at the Son, we are seeing the character of our Father in heaven. • He adopted us as His children. Through salvation, God invites us to join His family (John 1:12). This close relationship with our heavenly Father lasts for eternity, providing us with support, encouragement, and love.  • He is our friend forever. By calling His disciples “friends” (John 15:15), Jesus revealed a special aspect of His relationship wit

  Matthew 18:21-25 21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his

  Ephesians 4:25-32 25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Did you know it’s possible to extend forgiveness to another person and yet still cling to resentment? We might say everything is okay, but our unpardoning spirit

  1 John 1:5-10 5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. Many Christians find it troubling that they repeatedly deal with certain sins. And they rightly turn to 1 John 1:9 for assurance: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” They’re relieved to know God forgives our sins, and t

  John 5:24-30 24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. Procrastination has serious consequences in many areas of life—especially when

  1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When we’re recovering from hurts or mistakes, some people will tell us to forget the past. “There’s no way of changing it,” they say, “so why worry about it?” Other well-intended people will tell us to focus on the future. But the truth is that we need to consider our past, present, and future if we want to build our life in a healthy and balanced way. Let’s consider the present. It’s true that we can’t change the past, but we can be forgiven for it (1 John 1:9). And we don’t know what the future holds. That’s why it is essential for us to be aware of sin in our life, which can hamper our communion with God and cause our new foundations to be shaky rather than strong. It’s also important to have realistic expectations for ourselves—if we accept only perfection, we’re bound to be disappointed, and discouragement will set in. Rather than give up, we must take

  Romans 5:6-11 6 For when we were still without strength, [ a ] in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Many people, even in the church, suffer from self-rejection. This type of thought pattern can persist for years, sabotaging the truth about who we are in Christ and how valuable we are to our heavenly Father. When such a lie reigns in our mind, feelings of worthlessness follow.   If you’ve rec

  Psalm 6:1-5 1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure. 2 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O Lord—how long? 4 Return, O Lord, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake! 5 For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks? Throughout the world, people are mistreated and traumatized, and many carry deep scars throughout life. Not everyone’s experiences are extreme, but even mild hurts can fester, affecting relationships and self-image. Something as common as betrayal or rejection by friends or family can lead to distorted thinking and negative behaviors. Unhealed hurts can lead to various symptoms, such as feelings of inferiority, fear of failure or criticism, and oversensitivity. Some people cope by criticizing others in an attempt to make themselves feel better. Others misinterpret innocent comments as personal at

  1 Samuel 13:1-14 1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent. 3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal. 5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. 6 When the men of Isr

  Colossians 4:2-6 2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Prayer should be a priority in the life of every Christian. If Jesus, who was the Son of God, often slipped away to talk to His Father, then we surely need it even more! Without prayer and Bible reading, believers are prone to feel discouraged and distant from God.  When troubles loom, do you seek man-made options in place of taking your concerns to the Lord? Chasing counterfeit solutions only leads you away from God and His will. What’s more, they are short-lived at best and utter failures at worst. Under such conditions, discou

  Isaiah 40:28-31 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Our heavenly Father invites us to come to Him with all our concerns. Even so, there are believers who do not bother communicating with the Lord, except in emergencies. Unfortunately, neglecting prayer is costly because it often results in weariness and discouragement.  Certain situations take an emotional, physical, and spiritual toll on us—we refer to them as “burdens.” These low points can wear us out if we attempt to endure them alone. For one thing, we aren’t