Lamentations is thought to be written by the Prophet Jeremiah. In Chapter 3, he writes about hope in the Lord’s faithfulness.
“”The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance, therefore, I will hope in Him!”
The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. “” (Lamentations 3: vv 22-26, NLT)
“And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, just as He had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles.
In fact, James, Peter and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God and given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles while they contained their work with the Jews. Their only suggestion as that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do.” (Galatians 2:6-10, NLT)
“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.” (Galatians 2:20-21, NLT)
“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in the glorious freedom from death and decay.
For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be release from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children, including the new bodies He promised us. When we were given this hope when we were saved (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently).
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groaning that cannot be expressed words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
And we know that God causes everything to work together, for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory.”
“This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior.
May God give you more and more grace and peace as. you grow in you knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have receive all of this by coming to know Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence. And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His diving nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
So dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:1-10)
A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus (letter from the Apostle Paul to Timothy)
“Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace the God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach the truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.
Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then thy cannot please the officer who enlisted them. ” (1 Timothy 2: 1-4, NLT)
“”Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down. Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord.
Say to Him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer You our praises.”” (Hosea 14: 1-2, NLT)
“”The Lord says,”Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; My love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever. …. My people will live again under My shade. They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon. O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the One who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from Me.”
Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully.
The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.””
Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, soon they wither.
Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.
Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.
“Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” Hebrews 13:2, NLT)
“Therefore, angels are only servants – spirits sent to care fo people who will inherit salvation.” (Hebrews 1:14, NLT)
“”In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!:….. “Don’t be afraid, Mary”, the angel told her, “for you have favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of his ancestor David. And He will reign over Israel forever; His kingdom will never end!”…..”For nothing is impossible with God.”” (Luke 1, vv26-28, 30-33, 37, NLT)
“” Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord cam down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell down into a dead faint. Then the angel of the Lord spoke to the women, “Don’t be afraid!, ” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as He said would happen. Come, see where HIs body was lying. And now, go quickly, and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and He is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there. Remember what I have told you.”” (Matthew 28: vv. 1-7, NLT)
“After sending them out (Adam and Eve), the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And He placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3: 24, NLT)
“”Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.”When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.
Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the sprit of the prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left them there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”” (Daniel 10, vv. 10-14, NLT)
“At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation will arise. There will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time everyone of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued. Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.(Daniel 12, 1-3, NLT)
“Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!
Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. He humbles the proud and brings down the arrogant city. He brings it to dust. The poor and oppressed trample it under foot, and the needy walk all over it.
But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them. Lord, we show our trust in You by obeying Your laws; our heart’s desires to glorify Your name.
All night long, I search for You; in the morning I earnestly seek for God. For only when You come to judge the earth will people learn what its right. Your kindness to the wicked does not make them do good. All others do right, the wicked keep doing wrong and take no notice of the Lord’s majesty.
O Lord, they pay no attention to your upraised fist. Show them your eagerness to defend Your people. Then they will be ashamed. Let Your fire consume Your enemies.
Lord, You will grant us peace; all we have accomplished really is from You. O Lord our Good, others have ruled us, but you alone are the One we worship.” (vv. 3-13, NLT)
The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, Chapter 15)
“We should help others and do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please Himself. ( v. 3, NLT)
“May God, who gives you patienc and encouragement, help you to live in complete harmony with each other, as fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises He made to their ancestors. He came also that the Gentiles might give glory to God for His mercies to them. ( vv. 5-9a, NLT)
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (v. 13, NLT)
