Andy's Inspiration Box

Psalm 34:8 New Living Translation (NLT) 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

Colossians 3:16 New International Version (NIV) 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

"A church which seeks only to be ‘nice’ will not speak the truth about God and me. And so it will not be truly loving. A church which seeks only to batter me relentlessly with correct doctrine will become my adversary and my punisher. Truth and love may be uneasy companions at times, but they are not incompatible." - David Reay

Proverbs 4:20-22 New International Version (NIV) 20 My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.

"All is gift, all is grace. Not just our salvation, but life itself. This grace is not some magic potion that makes everything turn out alright. It is not some sort of vaccination which gives us immunity from hardship or setback. It is simply an offer of life in all its messiness and contradictions and yet with the promise of the presence of God." - David Reay

Joshua 1:9 New Living Translation (NLT) 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. "Courage is the capacity to do what needs to be done in a threatening or fear-filled situation. Courage is fear which has said its prayers." - David Reay

"Replace those thoughts of worry with thoughts of hope, faith and victory." - Leona Clausing

Proverbs 14:30 New International Version (NIV) 30 A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

"Much of our lives do not consist in doing great things. At least not great as we commonly understand the word. We perhaps might conclude that our lives don’t amount to much. We have never won prizes or hit the headlines. We won’t be mentioned when the names of those who have changed history are listed. And yet, each of us can change history. Small acts done in the power and with the Spirit of God can change lives even if we are unaware of it." - David Reay

Matthew 6:25-34 New International Version (NIV) 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans...

Jeremiah 29:11 The Message (MSG) 10-11 This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

"Our relationship with God depends on our receiving the mercy of Jesus. And we show we have received the mercy of Jesus not just by observance of rituals but by doing what Jesus tells us to do." - David Reay

Psalm 137:8-9 New International Version (NIV) 8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. 9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks. "Not the warmest or most encouraging of bible verses! But it is worthy of comment for a couple of reasons. One is that it reminds us that we can be honest in praying. We don’t have to smooth out our grammar or censor our thinking or feeling when we pray. We bring God what is on our heart—the good, the bad, and the ugly. The psalmist here reminds us that prayer is not to be sanitised." - David Reay

Job 36:15 New International Version (NIV) 15 But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.

"Let each of us be concerned with our own conviction of the Holy Spirit rather than that of others. We are not Him. He can do His own job." - Beth Moore

"When we fake fine, we fake our way out of authentic relationship with God, others, and ourselves." - Esther Fleece

"Once we recognise our sin we are offered a Saviour. Jesus takes the burden and power of our own waywardness on himself and those who accept what he has done are no longer defined by their sin but by their faith in him. So in some strange way I can accept the fact that I sin, but am no longer simply viewed by God as a sinner." - David Reay

“Wishing has to do with what I want; it extends my ego desires into the future. Hope has to do with what God is planning to do; it arises out of faith rather than ego. We cultivate hope when we refuse to fantasize about what we want and rather live in anticipation of what God is going to do next." - Eugene Peterson

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? | Isaiah 40:26a

1 Timothy 6:12 New International Version (NIV) 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.