10 of my most inspirational Bible verses and why I chose them.
Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
These verses are not only inspirational
but the entire chapter of Romans 8 is. Right after we see how Paul
struggled with sin in Romans 7, we see that the victory is assured in
Christ Jesus in chapter 8. How inspiring to know that nothing can
separate us from God’s love.
This includes earthly or heavenly (evil spirits) powers, angels (fallen
ones) or rulers (any one in authority), nothing present today, nothing
in the future (“nor things to come”), not height (success) nor depth
(dark nights of the soul), not in this life or even our death. In case
Paul left anything out he says “nor anything else in all creation.”
That covers everything, including ourselves. God has no aborted
children!
Second Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer man is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
This may be hard for a young Christian
to identify with unless they live in nations that are persecuting and
killing believers for their faith. The older I get, the more I
appreciate these Scriptures. My body is indeed wasting away. All
believers will face affliction for their beliefs but this “is preparing
for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (and beyond
description). We should not be looking at “the things that are seen”
(all the bad around us) but “to the things that are unseen,” which is
the place that Jesus is preparing for us (John14:2-3). This earth is
“transient” or passing away but Jesus promises a room in the mansions of
heaven that we do not yet see. If we embrace these verses then we will
not “lose heart.”
Second Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”
This might seem like a strange verse
that I singled out as inspirational but let me explain. Just picture in
your mind that the eyes of God are scanning the entire earth
(“throughout the whole earth”) and His eyes are looking for those who
are “blameless toward him.” He is doing this so that He can give
“strong support” to such men and women. The second part of this verse
is a rebuke for Israel’s King Asa as he depended upon the king of Syria
instead of relying on God. He trusted in his own resources and leaned
upon his own strength instead of trusting in the God Who could have won
the victory. As a result, Asa did foolishly and God told him that “from
now on you will have wars.” Even today God is looking for those who are
fully dependent upon Him with a blameless heart (1 John 1:9, 2 Cor
5:21) so that He can give them “strong support” in their time of need.
Hebrews 13:5c-6 “I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’”
This reminds me of 2 Timothy 4:16-17
where Paul said that at his first defense, no one stood by him and
everyone had abandoned him but only the Lord stood by him. Even when
believers abandon us at our time of need, the Lord will not ever leave
us and never will He forsake us. Some Christians in other nations where
persecution is severe, even to the point of death, may forsake their
faith or they deny the Lord but the Lord will not forsake His own even
if they’re the last one standing.
For another list of 22 Inspirational Bible verses check out this article on What Christians Want To Know.
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
If we look at the context of this entire 4th
chapter we can see that Paul is not saying that we can do anything we
want or that God will grant us every request. Paul was saying that he
can persevere in the faith because it is Christ who will strengthen
him. Why did he need strengthening? It was because Paul had been
enduring tortures, beatings, hunger, cold, and all kinds of sufferings.
In all these things he learned to be content (Phil 4:11). Jesus said
that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5) but through Christ, we “can do all things” because He Himself will strengthen us if it is for His glory.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare [literally “peace”] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
God knows the plans that He has for us
but it does not say that we have to know. God declares that His plans
are for our best (welfare) and they are not for bad (evil). These plans
are for our future hope. If we believe this, we can pillow our head on
the sovereignty of God. Knowing that God is in control should give us
peace of mind. I saw a license plate that said “God is my co-pilot.” I
would rather it read that “God is my pilot” and I am the co-pilot.
Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
This seems close to Jeremiah 29:11
except for the fact that even bad things work out for our best. The
Bible has a history where God uses evil for His purpose. That means
that everything…all things…work together for our ultimate good. It
doesn’t say that all things are good but that all things, good or bad,
work to our benefit. These “all things” do not work out for the best
for those who are not called by God. The opposite is true for
non-believers; all things will work out for their worse.
Psalm 23:8 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Taken from The Lord is My Shepherd,
this last verse has David looking forward and seeing with the eyes of
faith, a future that is full of hope. David is certain that he will
dwell with the Lord “forever” or for time without end. This is clearly a
reference to eternal life. God’s goodness and mercy is going to
“follow [him] all the days of [his] life” meaning that even after his
death on this earth, God’s mercy and goodness will follow him to his
eternal dwelling place with God. This eternal dwelling place is the
coming Kingdom of Heaven.
John 10:28-29 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
This is one of the first verses that I
committed to memory. Why? It’s because so many feel that they are
unworthy to be saved. Some days they feel saved and the next they feel
lost. They are not sure if they are saved or not from day to day. How
unsettling that must be but these verses give us a mental picture that
we are secure and held firm but the mighty hands of Jesus and the
Father. When my children were young I tried to see if they could snatch
a marble out of my hand when it was clinched tight. Even a strong man
has difficulty opening a clinched hand. How impossible it is to snatch
someone out of the mighty hands of God! Jesus reassures us that “no one
is able to snatch them out” of His hand or the Father’s hand. What an
inspirational image and promise this is!
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar