Welcome to the Monday Night Bible Study. Our format is Welcome, Song, Prayer, Lesson Closing.
Tonight we are going to look at 15 Bible Verses on God’s Comfort from the internet.
Song The STEADFAST LOVE of the LORD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUlJEcfy4CI
Prayer: Father we bless you in this day. We thank you for loving us. We thank you for this place and this time when we can step aside from the “stuff” of life and simply be with you. Lord you know each of us intimately and exactly what we need. So we choose to trust you and rest and relax with you.Bless each one here, in Jesus name amen.
Comfort seemed a good topic to me. So tonight we will ponder verses about the comfort of God.
1–The Steadfast Love of the LORD Never Ceases
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV).
Dodi Note: Isn’t it ironic that these two verses are part of Lamentations? To lament is to weep and wail in great sorrow or need. And yet here is this gem from that Book of the Bible.
The Steadfast Love of the LORD Never Ceases
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness”
The STEADFAST LOVE….of the LORD….NEVER ceases.
His love is ongoing. Never ending. Permanent. God IS love.
His love is steady and unchanging. Even if we do not feel loved or lovable, God still LOVES us because He is love.
We toss that word love around all the time. I love chocolate. I love my mother. I love these shoes. I love my hair. That sort of love is NOT the sort God is speaking of.
We find what I consider the best definition of love ever in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
We are using Amp version for this.
4 Love endures with patience and serenity,
love is kind and thoughtful,
and is not jealous or envious;
love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant.
It is not rude; it is not self-seeking,
it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured.
It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail].
Love bears all things [regardless of what comes],
believes all things [looking for the best in each one],
hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times],
endures all things [without weakening].
Love never fails [it never fades nor ends].
Wow, right? God’s love never ends and this passage gives us a hint of the fullness of what God’s love is like.
Let’s go back and reread Lamentations:
The Steadfast Love of the LORD Never Ceases
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV).
Ok, steadfast love. But that is not all.
His, God’s MERCY never comes to an end.
His, God’s Mercy toward us is NEW every morning.
And…God is faithful, actually God has GREAT faithfullness toward us.
Sometimes we confuse God’s grace with His mercy and they are kind of intertwinned. Gotquestions says: Mercy and grace are often confused. While the terms have similar meanings, grace and mercy are not the same.
To summarize the difference: mercy is God not punishing us as our sins deserve, and grace is God blessing us despite the fact that we do not deserve it.
Mercy is deliverance from judgment. Grace is extending kindness to the unworthy.
Mercy and grace are best illustrated in the salvation that is available through Jesus Christ.
We deserve judgment, but if we receive Jesus Christ as Savior, we receive mercy from God and we are delivered from judgment.
Instead of judgment, we receive by grace, salvation, forgiveness of sins, abundant life (John 10:10) , and an eternity in Heaven, the most wonderful place imaginable (Revelation 21-22).
John 10:10 (The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Because of the mercy and grace of God, our response should be to fall on our knees in worship and thanksgiving. Hebrews 4:16 declares, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
You can read more at https://www.gotquestions.org/mercy-grace.html
And thankfully we get both for free because for sure we could never earn either.
The passage in Lamentations reminds us that God’s mercy toward us never ends. And we can indeed start each morning afresh.
The next verse is one I love.Ever since I “discovered” it.
2
“Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you” (Isaiah 46:4).
As we age, our bodies decline. But our spirit often becomes more sensitive to the Headship and leading of Jesus. Things that once consumed our thoughts and even our actions seem to fade away.
However, our bodies become more frail. We creak sometimes. But God has given us a promise in Isaiah.
God says…he will KEEP us. Take care of us. Be with us. Even to our gray hairs. Ha ha.
Not only that God says he will carry us. I wonder if that means carry us through whatever befalls us right into heaven?
Sometimes, as an older person, I laugh a little and say being old is kind of like being a toddler. In order to get up and move about we have to actually think about what we are doing.
This verse is very comforting to my heart.
How about yours?
3–A Thousand May Fall At Your Side …
“A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked” (Psalm 91:7-8).
Don’t you love Psalm 91? It is a great read. Maybe consider reading the entire thing later.
But for now…a thousand may fall, ten thousand even but we shall be safe.
We can look back and see the reward of the wicked.
Now we all know that at times, even often, it seems like “they” are getting away with murder…not literally but as an expression. And we are barely hanging on.
But in the end, God WILL have His way. “They” will end up where no one wants to be.
4–Spread His Protection
“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield” (Psalm 5:11-12).
Another GREAT reminder. This one has a stipulation. “All who take refuge in GOD”…. can forever SING for JOY because God will spread HIS protection over us. He protects and shields us as/when we take refuge in Him. To me that implies I do not need to defend myself or worry about what might or might not happen, because He has promised to protect me. And I have actually seen that happen over and over.
The Psalm goes on to say that the LORD blesses us and covers us with favor as a shield.
A Roman shield was huge, almost as tall as a man. It covered all of the person behind it. Everyone would have that picture as a visual.
(PICTURE)
5–Under His Wings
He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler” (Psalm 91:4).
PICTURE:
God will cover us with his love and we can take refuge under his wings. The reason is His truth is our shield and buckler.
I looked it up to see what a “buckler” was and it seems it is a smaller shield that goes over your arm.
Our shield and buckler are HIS TRUTH. That means we need to KNOW really know the truth which is found in His Word.
I love the phrase, “under the shadow of His Wings”. There was a picture circulating on the internet a few years ago which is such an excellent visual of that.
A mother bird had her babies under her wings.
Let’s look at two because “a picture is worth a thousand words” and once we get this picture of God hiding us in the shelter of his wings we will always have it and this verse to go back to.
6–Safety When You Lie Down
“When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught” (Proverbs 3:24-26).
Dodi Note: Isn’t this a GREAT promise? We can go to bed, go to sleep and know that we have no need to be afraid.
There is another verse that says…Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. it is Psalm 121:4. And we also have Psalm 3:5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
So whether we are awake or asleep we are safe for the LORD Himself keeps watch over us.
7–I Will Fear No Evil
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
Dodi Note: Have you ever thought about the purpose of a rod and staff? They are used by the Shepherd to protect the flock. But they can also be used to correct/steer/guide the sheep.
When we each reach the end of our time on earth, we can know that our Abba, our Father will bring us safely home to heaven. That is good news.
I have seen several Christians take their last breath and it was gentle and peaceful at the end.
Number 8 is…….God of All Comfort
Comfort is GREAT. Dictionary defines it as: 1. a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint.
2. the easing or alleviation of a person's feelings of grief or distress.
The Word tells us that indeed God does comfort us and there is a purpose behind it as well.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says:“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God”
Don’t you LOVE that term? God of ALL comfort? And the reason is just because it is what God does, but then we will want to pass it on to another.
Can anyone remember a time when you were able to speak truth and comfort to another because you had received comfort in the past from God?
9–Whom Shall I fear? Of Whom Shall I Be Afraid?
“THE LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).
Doesn’t this remind you of that Song, God of Angel Armies?
God lights our path…Jesus is our Salvation. We really do not need to fear because we know the final outcome.
The next verse elaborates on that theme.
10–We Will Not Fear
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah” (Psalm 46:1-3).
Something to really ponder. A great verse to memorize.
Reminds me of that newish song… I Will Not Be Shaken.
11–From Whence Comes My Help?
“I WILL lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber” (Psalm 121:3, NKJV).
And here is the one I linked with the one about sleep. But this time the context is to remind us that when we do need HELP, and there will be times when we do all need help, God is there watching over us and willing to help.
We have a part to play and it is to choose to “remember what we know” and TRUST the Word of God and the person of God.
The next verse reminds us of that.
12–Lord of Hosts
“O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” (Psalm 84:12, ESV).
Do you see the name of God here? LORD of HOSTS. Lord of every.single.thing.person.place.event.Even when we forget.
The next verse is sweet. 13–Comfort My People
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (Isaiah 40:1).
14–We Share in Christ’s Sufferings and Comfort
“For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Corinthians 1:5).
Guys, Jesus suffered. Jesus died. Jesus was abandoned by His closest friends in his time of need.
The Bible never once tells us we will never suffer. But it does tell us that when we do go through hard times, God is with us. God will help us. God will comfort us.
And our last one is a blessing right from the Bible.Father God help us to open our hearts and our minds and our spirits to receive what he has for us.
Which is number 15–Eternal Comfort
“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).
http://christian-way.com/15-bible-verse ... s-comfort/