Scripture Snippets

  Philippians 4:6,7 6  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.   This verse, besides John 3:16, is probably the most memorized verse of Scripture that today’s Christian knows. Why is it so hard to follow though?   Let’s be honest, when it says, “Be anxious for nothing”, how many of us say, “Come on!”   I mean we have bills to pay, kids, homes, cars, jobs, relationships, and so many more things that can bring anxiety into our lives. We are anxious because to some of us, some things are simply out of our control.   Some of us are anxious because we feel like we can control some things, but they are spiraling out of control.   So then, how do we do this?   Do we just dismiss this verse and go on?   No, absolutely n...

  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 c...

  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, w...

  Read Psalm 51 There are many urgent and practical needs in the world, such as those related to marginalized communities, natural disasters, and struggling families. As a result, prioritizing time with the Lord in His Word and prayer may seem less pressing, but it’s not. Let’s consider reasons for making meditation a daily practice in our life. The primary reward of meditating on Scripture is personal intimacy with God. Think of a good friend or family member. Your closeness did not simply appear out of nowhere. Rather, it is the result of a long-standing, close-knit relationship of love, trust, and regular interaction. We cannot grow close to God unless we make it a point to spend time with Him.  Meditation also enables us to develop a pure heart. We see this clearly in the repentance of King David in Psalm 51. Because of his close relationship with God, David could not hide from his own sin. In verse 3, he cries, “For I know my wrongdoings, and my sin is constantly before m...

  Matthew 6:11-15     11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. The first half of the Lord’s prayer focuses on God, but in the second part, Jesus addresses our need for daily provision, forgiveness, and protection. Notice His words remain centered on the Father, who provides all three.  Give us this day our daily bread.  The Lord is the source of everything we need—physical, material, emotional, and spiritual (Philippians 4:19).  By asking Him to provide our basic necessities, we’re acknowledging our complete dependence upon Him and trusting in His sufficient provision for each...

  Matthew 6:5-10 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. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Are your conversations with God primarily a checklist of needs? Petitions are certainly appropriate, but prayer is also a time to focus on the Lord in love and worship. When praying to...

  1 Kings 12:1-19 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. 2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt), 3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” 5 So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed. 6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he ...

  Matthew 7:7 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Prayer is God’s way of causing us to be dependent upon Him. If God just gave us what we needed without our asking, we would cease to be dependent on Him. Prayer is a way of binding us to Him. Asking God for what we need ought to be just as natural as breathing. Don’t get the idea you can only ask God for spiritual things, and you take care of the secular things. Can you imagine Jesus dividing His life into the secular and the sacred? Everything is important to God. You may say, “Well, this is beyond God,” or “This is too small for God to deal with.” No! Can you think of anything too big or too small for God to notice? Ask Him for any desire of your heart. You may say, “What if I want something that I shouldn’t?” You can still pray about it. You can say, “God, I want something You don’t want. Fix my attitude of what I want.” Pray about everything. How easy or difficult do...

  John 3:1-4 1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made? Many people may not recognize their greatest error until after death, when their expectation of life in heaven is replaced by the horrible reality that they are denied entrance for rejecting Christ. Nicodemus was a man who had built his life on knowing and doing the right things. As a Sanhedrin member—one of the highest ranks for a Pharisee—he appeared incredibly righteous from man’s perspective. Surely he was destined for heaven. What...

  Psalm 139:23-24 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. When we think about prayer, we frequently focus on what we want the Lord to do for us or others, but communing with Him also impacts us in spiritual ways that we may not realize. Scripture tells us to devote ourselves to prayer and to pray without ceasing (Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17). Continuous conversations with our heavenly Father are one of the means He uses to impact us personally. Prayer changes us. As we seek the Lord and regularly spend time in His Word, we’ll be transformed. Our desires will be replaced by His, and our thinking will align more closely with His thoughts. As our understanding of His character grows, we’ll have a better idea of how to pray in accordance with His will. Through prayer, we invite God to accomplish His work in us. While we can’t alter a single divine plan or make the Lord change Hi...

  John 15:7-16 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[ a ] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should g...