Luke 18: 7-8 ” And will not God bring justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly.”

We may think God is delaying and procrastinating, and not hearing us clearly.  But His timing is always perfect.  And when the time is right, all fairness, truth, and honesty will be revealed.”

Proverbs 3: 1-2 ” My son, do not forget My teaching, but keep My commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.”

Sure, there’s eternal benefits to obeying the Word of God and His commands.  But there are many practical benefits and blessings we may not always think of…things like health, peace, and security, which eludes the world, but for Believers… are just a wonderful part of living our life for the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 2:13 ” I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.”

Groping around in pitch blackness can be dangerous.  The consequences  can be just as hazardous when spiritual darkness blinds us to the risks and pitfalls of this fallen world.  When light invades the darkness, the darkness must flee.  When life, salvation, and wisdom come into us…the spiritual darkness must also take  flight.

Jeremiah 29: 14 ” ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.’ “

Sometimes we manage to banish ourselves from God’s presence by bad decisions we’ve made…sometimes the Lord disciplines us by starkly exposing our disobedience and lets us think about it in the desert for a while.  Either way, God promises His forgiveness and reconciliation to all who seek Him.

Jeremiah 29:12 ” ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.’ “

When we seek the Lord…He will be found, and He will listen.  When we summon His aid…He’s right there to help.  When we plead for mercy…He hears and moves on our behalf.  You have God’s undivided attention anytime you call to Him…for He wants to  shoulder the burdens you’re carrying.

Jeremiah 29:11 ” ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ “

The plan and purpose for your life was written before the beginning of time.  Every goal, aspiration, and ambition has been planned for you beforehand…every aim, consideration, and course of life has been especially designed for you only by the Lord Himself.  He desires only the best for you.

Romans 15:14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.”

Multi-generational  Discipleship is a wonderful way of handing down Godly wisdom…from generation to generation.  When old and young are paired together in  cross-generational activities, wisdom and sage advice are shared…enthusiasm and energy are appreciated.   The personal knowledge gleaned from a long-lived Christian life  teaches  far beyond what any class could do.

Joshua 22:5 “But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

This verse brings together the very essence of what every Christian strives to do on a daily basis.  We are to love God and in doing so, love others.  We are to imitate His ways… obey His word…and resist the pull of the world, cleaving only to God…for in that is eternal life and unspeakable joy.

Isaiah 1:18 ” ‘Come now, let us reason together’, says the Lord, ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’ “

The Children of Israel had veered far off course…they had rebelled against God and were “off doing their own thing.”  Now God was calling them back…repent or face judgment…turn back to Me and  be forgiven.

Isaiah 58:7 ” Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

In this entire chapter,  Isaiah is contrasting how the Children of Israel fasted, to what  true fasting was meant to be.  Fasting can become very self-centered…I’m denying myself, I’m going without, I’m abstaining from…I, I, I….you get the picture.   But Isaiah wanted them to know that true fasting wasn’t about them and what they were doing at all, but rather,  of reaching out to others around them.  And interestingly enough,  another meaning for fast – firm and secure – is exactly what the message of the Good News is.  And what better people to help the poor than Christians who can fill the need both physically and spiritually?