Andy's Inspiration Box

Jeremiah 29:13-14 New Living Translation (NLT) 13  If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.   14  I will be found by you,” says the  Lord . “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”

“All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors.” - John Calvin

Here, O my Father, is Thy making stuff! Set thy wheel going; let it whir and play. The chips in me, the stones, the straws, the sand, Cast them out with fine separating hand, And make a vessel of Thy yielding clay.                                                  - Springs in the Valley (February 27)

"Life is a quarry, out of which we are to mold and chisel and complete a character." - Goethe

John 2:1-11 Good News Translation (GNT) The Wedding in Cana 2  Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there,  2  and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.  3  When the wine had given out, Jesus' mother said to him, “They are out of wine.” 4  “You must not tell me what to do,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” 5  Jesus' mother then told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6  The Jews have rules about ritual washing, and for this purpose six stone water jars were there, each one large enough to hold between twenty and thirty gallons.  7  Jesus said to the servants, “Fill these jars with water.” They filled them to the brim,  8  and then he told them, “Now draw some water out and take it to the man in charge of the feast.” They took him the water,  9  which now had turned into wine, and he tasted it. He did not know where th...

Matthew 17:1-8 New International Version (NIV) The Transfiguration After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

God gives days of special illumination that we may be able to call to memory in the days of shadow, and say: "Therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar." - Springs in the Valley (February 25)

“God tolerates even our stammering, and pardons our ignorance whenever something inadvertently escapes us – as, indeed, without this mercy there would be no freedom to pray.” - John Calvin

2 Corinthians 9:11-15 GNT He will always make you rich enough to be generous at all times, so that many will thank God for your gifts which they receive from us.  For this service you perform not only meets the needs of God's people, but also produces an outpouring of gratitude to God.  And because of the proof which this service of yours brings, many will give glory to God for your loyalty to the gospel of Christ, which you profess, and for your generosity in sharing with them and everyone else.  And so with deep affection they will pray for you because of the extraordinary grace God has shown you.  Let us thank God for his priceless gift!

“I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?” ― C.S. Lewis

"Faith comes alive when the Word read from the page becomes the Word heard in your heart." - Rex Rouis

Galatians 5:1-6 New King James Version (NKJV) 5  Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, [ a ]  and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.  2  Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.  3  And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.  4  You have become estranged from Christ, you who  attempt to  be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.  5  For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.  6  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

God laid upon my back a grievous load, A heavy cross to bear along the road. I staggered on, and lo! one weary day, An angry lion sprang across my way. I prayed to God, and swift at His command The cross became a weapon in my hand. It slew my raging enemy, and then Became a cross upon my back again. I reached a desert. O'er the burning track I persevered, the cross upon my back. No shade was there, and in the cruel sun I sank at last, and thought my days were done But lo! the Lord works many a blest surprise - The cross became a tree before my eyes! I slept; I woke to feel the strength of ten. I found the cross upon my back again. And thus through all of my days from then to this, The cross, my burden, has become my bliss. Nor ever shall I lay the burden down, For God someday will make the cross a crown!                                             ...

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 King James Version (KJV) 16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

He Giveth More Grace He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase; To added affliction He addeth His mercy; To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, Our Father's full giving is only begun. Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision, Our God ever yearns His resources to share; Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing; The Father both thee and thy load will upbear. His love has no limit; His grace has no measure. His pow'r has no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again! Annie Johnson Flint

Isaiah 50:2 New Living Translation (NLT) 2  Why was no one there when I came?      Why didn’t anyone answer when I called? Is it because I have no power to rescue?      No, that is not the reason! For I can speak to the sea and make it dry up!      I can turn rivers into deserts covered with dying fish.

Psalm 33:18-22 New King James Version (NKJV) 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, 19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. 22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

“There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.”   - Albert Einstein

Psalm 147:3-4 New King James Version (NKJV) 3  He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. 4  He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.

L ast night I had a dream.  I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.  Across the sky flashed scenes from my life.  For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonged to me, the other to the Lord. A fter the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand.  I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints. T his really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.  “Lord, you said  once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way.  But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints.  I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.” T he Lord replied, “My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you.  During your times of suffering, when you could see only ...

Isaiah 45:2-8 New King James Version (NKJV) 2 ‘I will go before you And make the crooked places[a] straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; 7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’ 8 “Rain down, you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, An...

Romans 10 New King James Version (NKJV) 10  Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel [ a ]  is that they may be saved.  2  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  3  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.  4  For Christ  is  the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5  For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law,  “The man who does those things shall live by them.” [ b ] 6  But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way,  “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” [ c ]  (that is, to bring Christ down  from above )  7  or,  “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” [ d ]  (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  8  But what does it say?  “...

"Knowing that we are fulfilling God's purpose is the only thing that really gives rest to the restless human heart." - Charles Colson

Warp and Woof and Tangle,-- Weavers of Webs are we. Living and dying--and mightier dead, For the shuttle, once sped, is sped--is sped;-- Weavers of Webs are we. White, and Black, and Hodden-gray,-- Weavers of Webs are we. To every weaver one golden strand Is given in trust by the Master-Hand;-- Weavers of Webs are we. And that we weave, we know not,-- Weavers of Webs are we. The threads we see, but the pattern is known To the Master-Weaver alone, alone;-- Weavers of Webs are we. - John Oxenham

Romans 6:15-23 Good News Translation (GNT) Slaves of Righteousness 15  What, then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law but under God's grace? By no means!  16  Surely you know that when you surrender yourselves as slaves to obey someone, you are in fact the slaves of the master you obey—either of sin, which results in death, or of obedience, which results in being put right with God.  17  But thanks be to God! For though at one time you were slaves to sin, you have obeyed with all your heart the truths found in the teaching you received.  18  You were set free from sin and became the slaves of righteousness.  19  (I use everyday language because of the weakness of your natural selves.) At one time you surrendered yourselves entirely as slaves to impurity and wickedness for wicked purposes. In the same way you must now surrender yourselves entirely as slaves of righteousness for holy purposes. 20  When you were the slave...

John 13:34-35 The Message (MSG) 34-35  “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”

"The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world." - Marianne Williamson

Psalm 144 The Message (MSG) A David Psalm 144  1-2  Blessed be  God , my mountain,      who trains me to fight fair and well. He’s the bedrock on which I stand,      the castle in which I live,      my rescuing knight, The high crag where I run for dear life,      while he lays my enemies low. 3-4  I wonder why you care,  God —      why do you bother with us at all? All we are is a puff of air;      we’re like shadows in a campfire. 5-8  Step down out of heaven,  God ;      ignite volcanoes in the hearts of the mountains. Hurl your lightnings in every direction;      shoot your arrows this way and that. Reach all the way from sky to sea:      pull me out of the ocean of hate,      out of the grip of those barbarians Who lie through thei...

Ephesians 3:17-19 New Century Version (NCV) 17 I pray that Christ will live in your hearts by faith and that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God.

"Whoso hath felt the Spirit of the Highest Cannot confound Him, or doubt Him, or deny"                                                               - Springs in the Valley (February 13)

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 New King James Version (NKJV) 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 John 2:12-17 The Message (MSG) Loving the World 12-13  I remind you, my dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesus’ name. You veterans were in on the ground floor, and know the One who started all this; you newcomers have won a big victory over the Evil One. 13-14  And a second reminder, dear children: You know the Father from personal experience. You veterans know the One who started it all; and you newcomers—such vitality and strength! God’s word is so steady in you. Your fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One. 15-17  Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set...

"Am I in the dark? Then Thou, O Lord will lighten my darkness." - Spurgeon

"It is so often in our daily life; We fail to understand That the twisting way our feet must tread By love alone was planned."                                            - Springs in the Valley (February 9)

"Help me make all my sorrows music for the world." - Springs in the Valley.

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." - C.S. Lewis

Deuteronomy 33:12 New Century Version (NCV) “The Lord’s loved ones will lie down in safety, because he protects them all day long. The ones he loves rest with him.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

"The most sublime moments lie very close to the most painful situations." - Springs in the Valley (February 8)

Isaiah 65:17-25 New Century Version (NCV) A New Time Is Coming 17 “Look, I will make new heavens and a new earth, and people will not remember the past or think about those things. 18 My people will be happy forever because of the things I will make. I will make a Jerusalem that is full of joy, and I will make her people a delight. 19 Then I will rejoice over Jerusalem and be delighted with my people. There will never again be heard in that city the sounds of crying and sadness. 20 There will never be a baby from that city who lives only a few days. And there will never be an older person who doesn’t have a long life. A person who lives a hundred years will be called young, and a person who dies before he is a hundred will be thought of as a sinner. 21 In that city those who build houses will live there. Those who plant vineyards will get to eat their grapes. 22 No more will one person build a house and someone else live t...

"As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit." - Emmanuel Teney

Mark 9:17-29 New King James Version (NKJV) 17  Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” 19  He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20  Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. 21  So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23  Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, [ a ] all things are...

Ephesians 3:20 New Century Version (NCV) With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.

2 Corinthians 3:18 New King James Version (NKJV) 18  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Psalm 74:12-17 New Living Translation (NLT) 12  You, O God, are my king from ages past,      bringing salvation to the earth. 13  You split the sea by your strength      and smashed the heads of the sea monsters. 14  You crushed the heads of Leviathan [ a ]      and let the desert animals eat him. 15  You caused the springs and streams to gush forth,      and you dried up rivers that never run dry. 16  Both day and night belong to you;      you made the starlight [ b ] and the sun. 17  You set the boundaries of the earth,      and you made both summer and winter.

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls. - Mother Terasa

"May the eternal Spirit  stir us all up! May He work in us a more powerful sense of what it is to be true-hearted, single-eyed, devoted servants of the Lord Jesus Christ! " - Springs in the Valley (February 4)

"The most important exchange of all takes place when God takes our guilt and replaces it with His forgiveness, His cleansing." - Evelyn Christenson

"I want to be a humble soul commended in the sky." - John Shober Kimber

Jeremiah 1:4-10 GNT The LORD said to me,  “I chose you before I gave you life, and before you were born I selected you to be a prophet to the nations.” I answered, “Sovereign LORD, I don't know how to speak; I am too young.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say that you are too young, but go to the people I send you to, and tell them everything I command you to say.  Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you to protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Then the LORD reached out, touched my lips, and said to me, “Listen, I am giving you the words you must speak.  Today I give you authority over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Colossians 2:11-19 Good News Translation (GNT) 11  In union with Christ you were circumcised, not with the circumcision that is made by human beings, but with the circumcision made by Christ, which consists of being freed from the power of this sinful self.  12  For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ through your faith in the active power of God, who raised him from death.  13  You were at one time spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were Gentiles without the Law. But God has now brought you to life with Christ. God forgave us all our sins;  14  he canceled the unfavorable record of our debts with its binding rules and did away with it completely by nailing it to the cross.  15  And on that cross Christ freed himself from the power of the spiritual rulers and authorities; [ a ]  he made a public spectacle of them by leading them as captives in his...

"The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself but to stand to your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatest greatness is." - Phillip Brooks

John 21:15-17 New King James Version (NKJV) Jesus Restores Peter 15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah,[a] do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah,[b] do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah,[c] do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.