Andy's Inspiration Box

"Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe." - Mitch Albom

Matthew 4:12-16 New International Version (NIV) Jesus Begins to Preach 12  When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison,  he withdrew to Galilee.   13  Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum,  which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—   14  to fulfill  what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15  “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,      the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,      Galilee of the Gentiles— 16  the people living in darkness      have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death      a light has dawned.” [ a ]

Matthew 6:11 New International Version (NIV) 11  Give us today our daily bread.

Haggai 2:19 New King James Version (NKJV) 19  Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded  fruit. But  from this day I will bless  you. ’”

Romans 10:11 Good News Translation (GNT) 11  The scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.”

Psalm 146 New King James Version (NKJV) The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the  Lord 146  Praise the  Lord ! Praise the  Lord , O my soul! 2  While I live I will praise the  Lord ; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3  Do not put your trust in princes, Nor  in a son of man, in whom there  is  no help. 4  His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish. 5  Happy  is he  who  has  the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope  is  in the  Lord  his God, 6  Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that  is  in them; Who keeps truth forever, 7  Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The  Lord  gives freedom to the prisoners. 8  The  Lord  opens  the eyes of the blind; The  Lord  raises those who are bowed down; The  Lord  loves the righteous. 9...

Mark 14:35-36 New International Version (NIV) 35  Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour   might pass from him.   36  “Abba , [ a ]   Father,”   he said,   “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

James 4:13-15 New King James Version (NKJV) Do Not Boast About Tomorrow 13  Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will   go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14  whereas you do not know what will  happen  tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  15  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

Galatians 5:16-18 Good News Translation (GNT) The Spirit and Human Nature 16  What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature.   17  For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do.   18  If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law.

Mark 6:31 New King James Version (NKJV) 31  And He said to them,  “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."

"When God is bringing us into personal relationship with Himself, it is always the individual relationship He breaks down." - Springs in the Valley (November 25)

Hebrews 3:1-6 New King James Version (NKJV) The Son Was Faithful 3  Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2  who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also  was faithful  in all His house.  3  For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.  4  For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things  is  God.  5  And Moses indeed  was  faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken  afterward,   6  but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 (NIV) 11 I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

"Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul." - Psalm 54:4

1 Timothy 4:4-5 (NIV) 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

Romans 8:27-28 New King James Version (NKJV) 27  Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit  is,  because He makes intercession for the saints according to  the will of God. 28  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to  His  purpose.

Spread out your petition before God, and then say, "Thy will, not mine, be done." The sweetest lesson I have learned in God's school is to let the Lord choose for me. - D.L. Moody

"Do you say that your and have been crushed? Then know this: Jesus Christ is a matchless life-mender." - James H. McConkey

John 8:12 MSG Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.”

"Whatever Thou dost send us best for me, With joyful heart I take it all from Thee, Rejoicing in Thy sovereignty, and pray That Thou wilt lead me on my upward way..." - Amy L. Person

These human longings, let them end in Thee, And let me be Thy bond-slave -  Even me. - The Marechal

Jeremiah 10:23 New King James Version (NKJV) 23  O  Lord , I know the way of man  is  not in himself; It is  not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

Jesus said, "Ye shall have tribulation" - not difficulties, but tribulation . But "tribulation worketh patience ." - Springs in the Valley (November 18)

James 2:14-17 Contemporary English Version (CEV) Faith and Works 14  My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don’t do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you?  15  If you know someone who doesn’t have any clothes or food,  16  you shouldn’t just say, “I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.” What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? 17  Faith that doesn’t lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!

"We may sometimes be tempted to think God has chosen us to serve him and others in his world because of our present or potential strengths. God is a talent spotter. He sees things in us that he can use and develop and so invites us to be part of his purposes. There is some truth in this. God does encourage us in our talents and grants us competence so as to do his work. He does not see us as worthless rubbish. And yet it is perhaps a more profound truth that he chooses us because of our weaknesses. He looks around for some weak person and settles on that person. Why? Because such weakness will prompt such a person to depend more on his power." - David Reay

Psalm 119:105 The Message (MSG) By your words I can see where I’m going;      they throw a beam of light on my dark path. I’ve committed myself and I’ll never turn back      from living by your righteous order.

"In religion faith does not spring out of feeling, but feeling out of faith. The less we feel the more we should trust. We cannot feel right till we have believed." - Horatius Bonar

"The Saviour can solve every problem,  The tangles of life can undo,  There is nothing too hard for Jesus,  There is nothing that He cannot do."  - Springs in the Valley, Nov 17 

"May today there be peace within.  May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.  May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.  May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.  May you be content knowing you are a child of God.  Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.  It is there for each and every one of us."                    -  Teresa of Ávila

"The more we allow our minds to dwell on the fact that we are loved the more likely it is that our emotions will get the message. What we think about affects the way we feel, and the way we feel affects the way we act. So think about how much you are loved. Think about it constantly. Dwell on the fact until it transforms your emotions." - Selwyn Hughes

John 14:15-17 The Message (MSG) The Spirit of Truth 15-17  “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be  in  you!

Psalm 94:17-18 The Message (MSG) If  God  hadn’t been there for me,      I never would have made it. The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,”      your love,  God , took hold and held me fast.

“I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Ask yourself “How has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way?” Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is slavery.” - Mother Teresa

Ephesians 5:1-2 The Message (MSG) Wake Up from Your Sleep 5  1-2  Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

"The Acts of the Apostles shows them (the disciples) to be afraid of nothing - life, death, opposition, the Roman authorities? They had been filled with adequacy, the adequacy of the Holy Spirit. Fear no longer paralysed them. They belonged to the 'Society of the Emancipated'. And the doors of that society are open to you and to me." - Selwyn Hughes

"Behind the dim unknown Standeth God within the shadows Keeping watch above His own." - Springs in the Valley, Nov 13

"Faith, and hope, and patience and all the strong, beautiful, vital forces of piety are withered and dead in a prayerless life. The life of the individual believer, his personal salvation, and personal Christian graces have their being, bloom, and fruitage in prayer." - E. M. Bounds

Ephesians 4:16 The Message (MSG) We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

Jeremiah 10:7-10 New International Version (NIV) 7  Who should not fear  you,      King of the nations?      This is your due. Among all the wise leaders of the nations      and in all their kingdoms,      there is no one like you. 8  They are all senseless  and foolish;      they are taught by worthless wooden idols. 9  Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish      and gold from Uphaz. What the craftsman and goldsmith have made      is then dressed in blue and purple—      all made by skilled workers. 10  But the  Lord  is the true God;      he is the living God,  the eternal King.

"He is the Source. Of everything. Strength for your day. Wisdom for your task. Comfort for your soul. Grace for your battle. Provision for your need. Understanding for each failure. Assistance for every encounter."  - Jack Hayford

II Thessalonians 2:1-4 NKJV Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Psalm 85:12-13 New King James Version (NKJV) 12  Yes, the  Lord  will give  what is good ; And our land will yield its increase. 13  Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps   our pathway.

Ephesians 3:20-21 The Message (MSG) 20-21  God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." - Sirius Black

Ephesians 3:14-17 English Standard Version (ESV) Prayer for Spiritual Strength 14  For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,   15  from whom  every family [ a ]  in heaven and on earth is named, 16  that according to  the riches of his glory  he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit  in your inner being,   17  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith...

"Jesus Thy life is mine!  Dwell evermore in me; And let me see That nothing can untwine  Thy life from mine."  - Frances Ridley Havergal 

Isaiah 55:6-13 English Standard Version (ESV) 6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12 “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall...

"Take the promise that suits your need and step out on it." - Dr A. B Simpson

"Whether things are good or bad, happy or sad, difficult or easy, you're in the middle of a God-ordained adventure that changes day by day - sometimes second by second." - Thelma Wells

"Christ desires to be with you in whatever crisis you may find yourself. Call upon His name. See if He will not do as He promised He would. He may not make your problems go away, but He will give you the power to deal with and overcome them." - Billy Graham

Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.

2 Corinthians 4:6 New King James Version (NKJV) 6  For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to  give  the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

"God is more interested in developing our character than He is in manipulating our circumstances to make us happy." - Cynthia Heald

"The fruit of our placing all things in His hands is the presence of His abiding peace in our hearts."  - Hannah Whithall Smith

Acts 17:24-26 NIV “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

Psalm 77:11-15 New King James Version (NKJV) 11  I will remember the works of the  Lord ; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. 12  I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. 13  Your way, O God,  is  in the sanctuary; Who  is  so great a God as  our God ? 14  You  are  the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. 15  You have with  Your  arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. 

But you  are  a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light...   1 Peter 2:9  

Romans 15:4-6 NKJV For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:12-14 NLT Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

"When you get a promise from God it is worth just as much as fulfilment." - Dr. Andrew Murray