Since I started reading the bible, I’ve always kept a list of encouraging bible verses. I use this list, from Genesis through Revelation, to refresh my comprehension and enlightenment when ever I read a verse that inspires me to connect the proverbial dots…
Today we can always hop on-line and get a plethora of information on any subject. But being able to tell the good from bad or the right from wrong isn’t always as easy as we might think.
The subject of this post is: What Encouraging Bible Verses Are Your Favorites? This question came from a reader of the Bible-Religion.com blog last week.
In all fairness I think each one of us have different bible verses that encourage us. However, I will share some of my favorite verses with all of you here, in no particular order of preference:
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And this is what He says to all humanity:
‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;
to forsake evil is real understanding.’”
Job 28:28 NLT
“But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
1 John 4:8 NLT
The Bible says, “…those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life is begun!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
“Now turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins.”
Acts 3:19 NLT
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Philippians 4:6 NLT
May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
2 Peter 1:2 NLT
“You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”
Matthew 21:22 NLT
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God.
Romans 12:19 NLT
There is no peace for the wicked,”says my God.
Isaiah 57:21 NLT
For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.
1 John 5:4 NLT
But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT
Be stewards of the earth. “The land itself must observe a Sabbath rest”
Leviticus 25:2 NLT
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile
Romans 1:16 NLT
I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.
Psalm 119:30 NIV
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14 NIV
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 1:22 NIV
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If you are not keeping your own list of encouraging bible verses and would like to start one, perhaps you will be inspired by these favorite verses of the bible at the New Living Translation.com! This will allow you to view the collection of favorite verses by simply selecting a book from the bible to view a list of all the favorite verses from each book.
I will sometimes even take the verse and go to Biblegateway.com and look it up in multiple versions, up to five at a time, that can give me a different perspective on the verse I am interested in.
What encouraging bible verses are your favorites?
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Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Philippians 4:6 NIV/NLT/NKJV
Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. Psalm 118 is at the center of the Bible. There are 594 chapters in the Bible before Psalm 118, and 594 chapters after Psalm 118 for a total of 1188 chapters total in the Bible.
This number can be split at Psalm 118:8. Now we know that the chapter divisions in the bible are not part of original Scripture, but isn’t it interesting how this small word exercise worked out? Or was God in the center of it all? And if He was, shouldn’t the central verse of the Bible contain the central theme? It does: “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in people.”
In Psalm 118 (NLT) the psalmist recalls seven reasons why God is worthy to be trusted:
1. (verse 5) “In my distress I prayed to the LORD,
and the LORD answered me and set me free.”
2. (verse 6) “The LORD is for me, so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”
3. (verse 7) “Yes, the LORD is for me; he will help me.
I will look in triumph at those who hate me.”
4. (verse 17) “I will not die; instead, I will live
to tell what the LORD has done.”
5. (verse 18) “The LORD has punished me severely,
but he did not let me die.”
6. (verse 24) “This is the day the LORD has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
7. (verse 29) “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.”
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Praise the LORD, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. Psalm 117:1 NLT
One day a soldier, charged with fleeing from the enemy was brought before Alexander the Great. Alexander asked him, “What is your name?” Dropping his head, he replied, “Alexander.” Alexander the Great grabbed him by the shoulders and said, “Soldier, change your conduct or change your name! ” You have been called to live a life worthy of the One whose name you carry.
Regardless of whether the giant you face is addiction, resentment, fear, lust, pride, envy or anger, you must realize:
1. You are not unique. Your temptations “are no different from what others experience” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT). Goliath wasn’t always a giant; he was fed and nurtured until he became one.
Our giants are usually little sins we overlook and indulge in until they assume a life of their own and come back and haunt us.
2. You cannot do it alone. Your giant will defeat you anytime you try to tackle him in your own strength. David told Goliath, “This is the Lord’s battle, and He will give you to us” (1 Samuel 17:47 NLT). We need divine help if we are to overcome old habits and establish new habits of behavior.
So, declare with the Apostle Paul, “Christ…gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13 NLT).
3. You confront your giant head-on. The Bible says: “As Goliath moved to attack, David quickly ran…to meet him” (1 Samuel 17:48 NLT). Don’t run away, don’t try to negotiate, don’t compromise and don’t excuse.
Force your giant out into the light and don’t let him back into your life. Establish boundaries and make yourself accountable. Stay out of the wrong company. Above all, don’t look at God in the light of your giant, look at your giant in the light of God.
Can you defeat your own giant?
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“The Battle Is The Lord’s.” 1 Samuel 17:47 NKJV
If you live in the USA you know where I’m going with this post… Seriously, has everyone become so lazy that simple courtesy is out of fashion.
Frankly, fashion doesn’t matter. What DOES Matter is that the current generation of young adults, teenagers and the likes have absolutely No Moral Values or Ethics.
Respect and Lying… None
Adultery and Stealing… None
Love one another… Nope
and On and On and On
Why is this? I believe it is because of the deterioration of old fashion/traditional ways of rearing our children, like discipline, teaching and instruction, guidance, protection and the necessary preparation of our youth to carry on good Christian values. The Ten Commandments make it very clear. I wish more people new about the importance of keeping the Ten Commandments in Fashion.
In fact the US Supreme Court ruled (June 28, 2005) on public displays of the Ten Commandments across America that may be the summation of what we are currently dealing with.
The Ten Commandments are the most important and maybe misunderstood Laws of God, but they are the road map to living life in a moral, ethical and scrupulous way. They are in the open for all to see and obey. Your choice!
Here are three versions of Gods Ten Laws from three different bibles, side-by-side.
Bottom line, if the younger generations payed more attention to life’s moral structure we would be able to have the Body of Christ in whole now, and happiness would abound worldwide. What a shame that all the morals have gone!
Unfortunately, it is these very same youths parents that are to blame. They have become lax, lazy and simply engrossed in the pursuit of what the world is offering them from the dark side like greed, materialism, pride and living life without knowing what their purpose is here on Earth.
I am (and we should be) appalled at their conduct and that they are becoming a society of misguided heathens. I try (we need) to take every opportunity that presents itself and correct the situation on the spot… (at least point it out to these folks)!
Where have all the morals gone?
Are you living by the Laws of God?
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I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. Psalm 119:30 NIV
Originally I set out for this post to be about the Ten Commandments.
During my research on that topic I discovered something that connects more with another post here at Bible-Religion.com.
In my post titled “Are You Growing in Favor with God and Humanity” I quoted a passage from the book “The Keys To Heavens Economy” and included some additional verses that I discovered in my research of the passage.
The additional verses from Isaiah 58:13-14 have spurred a more intement search in me to dig deeper into their meaning. Yes, I’m talking about the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week to observe the Sovereignty of the Lord.
“Observing a Sabbath—a period of rest—has gone out of fashion.” Which is part of the reason why the basic fundamentalism of Christianity is rebuked by non-believers and the weak who fight for their own delights in this world.
Through my curiosity and necessity for a full understanding of this topic…. I discovered the following article from the New Living Translation website search archive. In this article you will find some of the fundamental life attitudes that the Bible says flow with the Sabbath.
This practice is really very easy to follow as long as you’re not influenced by the strategies of the fundamentalist governments and their supporting talking heads.
Do You Know Why the Sabbath Really Matters?
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Be stewards of the earth. “The land itself must observe a Sabbath rest” Leviticus 25:2 NLT
“‘President Obama says he refuses to “meddle” in Iran. Why not? He is clearly “meddling” in Israel, pressuring the Jewish people not to defend themselves from a new Hitler rising in the East. He is clearly “meddling” by pressuring Israelis not to continue developing and expanding their own neighbors in Jerusalem, their capital city? He is happy to “meddle” in pressuring the Israelis to divide Jerusalem, give away the West Bank and allow Islamic Radicals to establish a sovereign state in “Palestine.” Remind me why, then, President Obama is willing to “meddle” in the affairs of a truly democratic country such as Israel, and refuses to speak out with moral courage and clarity with regards to a tyrannical dictatorship in Iran beating, arresting, and killing innocent civilians.”‘
Just finished reading an awesome book I got from a wonderful Christian friend of mine titled; Keys To Heaven’s Economy, An Angelic Visitation from the Minister of Finance by Shawn Bolz from WhiteDove Ministries. You can get it at: Amazon or Streams Ministries.com
This book contains an incredible message from the visions that Shawn had in order to write the book. The effect it had on me has inspired me to provide my visitors with a scripture passage and message from the book.
The passage is from Isaiah 58:6-12 and I don’t know what bible it is taken from. But, after I looked it up in the NLT, I discovered a verse that has had my attention for quite some time. It requires everyones attention as well. The passage I am providing here includes verses 13 and 14 from the NLT version, respectively.
6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.
9 Then when you call, the LORD will answer.
‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry,
and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
11 The LORD will guide you continually,
giving you water when you are dry
and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like an ever-flowing spring.
12 Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
and a restorer of homes.
13 “Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Don’t pursue your own interests on that day,
but enjoy the Sabbath
and speak of it with delight as the LORD’s holy day.
Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
14 Then the LORD will be your delight.
I will give you great honor
and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.
I, the LORD, have spoken!”
Shawn states the following from page 114 after the passage: “This passage provides the greatest key to spiritual acceleration and growing in favor with God and humanity.”
I also found a deeper understanding of this message after reading the following from page 119: “An awesome invitation is being sent us - the very release of revelation on how to give. Part of what will constitute deliverance for the Western world is when those who have much to lose start taking risks and leaps of faith by giving and sowing extravagantly into God’s heart. If you don’t know where to give radically to please God, you can find the two largest targets singled out all through the Bible: the poor and the Jewish people. We can accelerate our spiritual growth by giving to the poor, which partners with God’s heart. When we give to Israel, though, we not only accelerate our personal spiritual growth and blessing, but we actually accelerate the Lord’s coming.”
The Justice of a Righteous God 1 Then another message came to me from the LORD:2 “Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’?3 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, you will not quote this proverb anymore in Israel.4 For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die. 5 “Suppose a certain man is righteous and does what is just and right.6 He does not feast in the mountains before Israel’s idols* or worship them. He does not commit adultery or have intercourse with a woman during her menstrual period.7 He is a merciful creditor, not keeping the items given as security by poor debtors. He does not rob the poor but instead gives food to the hungry and provides clothes for the needy.8 He grants loans without interest, stays away from injustice, is honest and fair when judging others,9 and faithfully obeys my decrees and regulations. Anyone who does these things is just and will surely live, says the Sovereign LORD. 10 “But suppose that man has a son who grows up to be a robber or murderer and refuses to do what is right.11 And that son does all the evil things his father would never do—he worships idols on the mountains, commits adultery,12 oppresses the poor and helpless, steals from debtors by refusing to let them redeem their security, worships idols, commits detestable sins,13 and lends money at excessive interest. Should such a sinful person live? No! He must die and must take full blame. 14 “But suppose that sinful son, in turn, has a son who sees his father’s wickedness and decides against that kind of life.15 This son refuses to worship idols on the mountains and does not commit adultery.16 He does not exploit the poor, but instead is fair to debtors and does not rob them. He gives food to the hungry and provides clothes for the needy.17 He helps the poor,* does not lend money at interest, and obeys all my regulations and decrees. Such a person will not die because of his father’s sins; he will surely live.18 But the father will die for his many sins—for being cruel, robbing people, and doing what was clearly wrong among his people. 19 “‘What?’ you ask. ‘Doesn’t the child pay for the parent’s sins?’ No! For if the child does what is just and right and keeps my decrees, that child will surely live.20 The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness.21 But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die.22 All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done. 23 “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.24 However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins. 25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ Listen to me, O people of Israel. Am I the one not doing what’s right, or is it you?26 When righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things, they will die for it. Yes, they will die because of their sinful deeds.27 And if wicked people turn from their wickedness, obey the law, and do what is just and right, they will save their lives.28 They will live because they thought it over and decided to turn from their sins. Such people will not die.29 And yet the people of Israel keep saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ O people of Israel, it is you who are not doing what’s right, not I. 30 “Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign LORD. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you!31 Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel?32 I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign LORD. Turn back and live!
Anyone else think it is relative to our current world situation?
Wow… just saw this video and you can hear the fear in these folks voices! The American Politicians just don’t get it, which is unfortunate for us here in the USA.
Theologian William Barclay comments in the Daily Study Bible that “antichrist is not so much a person as a principle, the principle which is actively opposed to God and which may well be thought of as incarnating itself in those in every generation who have seemed to be blatant opponents of God.”
I’ve been researching this topic for some time and have not been able to complete my understanding of what the Anti-Christ is yet. However, in 2 John 1:6-8 we are reminded of what the meaning of the bible’s message is once again!
Are you familiar with anymore Bible verses that depict the Antichrist beside those listed below, please let us know here.
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I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came* in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist.
2 John 1:7(NLT)
Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come.
1 John 2:18(NLT)
And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ.* Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.*
1 John 2:22(NLT)
But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
1 John 4:3(NLT)
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Do you think the Anti-Christ has arrived?
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UPDATE:(August 2, 2009) The following information comes from Joel Rosenberg’s “Epicenter: blog“. Are you tuned in?
‘”As I describe in my non-fiction book, Epicenter, Bible prophecies in the Old and New Testaments indicate that in the End Times, a Third Temple will be built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the site where the First and Second Temples once stood. Skeptics and cynics have long dismissed such prophecies. Military officials, moreover, have long argued that a Jewish effort to build a new temple could unleash the fury of 1.3 billion Muslims and trigger an apocalyptic war in the epicenter.
But a new poll in Israel finds a stunning 64% percent of Israelis — including 47% of secular Israelis — want to see the Third Temple built.
The Hebrew Prophet Isaiah writes, “It will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of mountains” and that “the nations will stream to it.” (Isaiah 2:2)
In Daniel 9:26-27, we read: “The Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come [the Anti-Christ] will destroy the city [Jerusalem] and the sanctuary [the Second Temple]….Even to the end [of days] there will be war; desolation’s are determined. And he [the Anti-Christ] will make a firm covenant with the many for seven years, but in the middle of that week, he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering [in a rebuilt End of Days Temple] and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate.”
The Book of Revelation also confirms that a fully functional and operational Temple will be in place when the Tribulation begins (see Revelation 11).
Jewish groups in Israel are already producing architectural plans to build the Third Temple, and making other preparations as well. “‘
Based on this information, I am astonished that the American Politicians are continuing to follow the path that will eventually help to destroy us and the rest of the entire planet. Why are they not listening to the Word of God? What are they listening to?…
The Ten Commandments
Just finished reading an awesome book I got from a wonderful Christian friend of mine titled; Keys To Heaven’s Economy, An Angelic Visitation from the Minister of Finance by Shawn Bolz from WhiteDove Ministries. You can get it at: 
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