Bible Verses

The Final Judgment

Posted on

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46 (NLT)

Bible Verses

Jonah Runs from the Lord

Posted on

1 The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”

3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.

4 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. 5 Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.

But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. 6 So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”

7 Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. 8 “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?”

9 Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”

10 The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. 11 And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”

12 “Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”

13 Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”

15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! 16 The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

17 Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

Jonah 1 (NLT)

InspirationalJust Sharing...

How to Pray for Others

Posted on

This is another inspiring daily devotion from Dr. Charles Stanley of InTouch Ministries.

———————————————————

First, we need to have compassion for others. This sounds obvious, but the sad truth is that we are often consumed with our own problems and don’t make time to care about others, much less pray for them. As we seek to identify with the suffering of others as best as we can, God gives us the ability to pray fervently for His deliverance in their lives.

Second, we must be willing to listen. This is one of the most affirming, comforting, and healing things you can do for others. Instead of trying to fix problems by offering advice or sharing your own experience, try to express God’s love and compassion. Listen patiently to people’s stories. Then, go to the Lord together in prayer, and ask Him to speak directly into their specific situations. Just remember: unless you have permission, never share with others—even in the form of a prayer request—what hurting individuals tell you.

Third, we should have clean hearts. That means we must be born-again, committed to Jesus Christ, and living a lifestyle of obedience. We don’t have to be perfect, but the overall patterns of our lives should be that of seeking to do God’s will. We can’t harbor willful, deliberate rebellion against the Lord and expect Him to use us in the lives of others.

Fourth, we need to pray in faith. James 5:15 says, “The prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick.” While this verse is speaking specifically about the prayer of church leaders, the principle holds true for all believers. It’s true that we don’t always see complete healing this side of heaven, but we need to pray confidently, knowing that God not only can heal but that He desires to do so. If you struggle with this, use a concordance to discover what the Scripture says on this subject. As you fill your mind with biblical truth, your faith will grow. Seeing God answer prayer also builds our confidence, so keep interceding for those in need.

Fifth, we must trust the Lord with the outcome. Sometimes we don’t pray boldly because we are afraid that if God doesn’t act, it will appear to be a failure on our part. But our job as believers is to take a hurting person’s needs to the Lord. He will choose whether to answer their cries for deliverance or see them through it by His grace.

Source: http://www.intouch.org/you/article-archive/content/topic/how_to_pray_for_others_article

Bible Verses

Building on a Solid Foundation

Posted on

24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT)

Bible Verses

The Gentiles Hear the Good News

Posted on

34 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. 35 In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 36 This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. 38 And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

39 “And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, 41 not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. 43 He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

Acts 10:34-43 NLT