When God Seems FAR AWAY
Bible Verses in Psalms
Psalms 125: 1"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which can never be shaken, never be moved. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, now and forever.
3 The wicked will not always rule over the land of the righteous; if they did, the righteous themselves might do evil. 4 Lord, do good to those who are good, to those who obey your commands. 5 But when you punish the wicked, punish also those who abandon your ways.
Peace be with Israel!" (Good News)
Psalms 25 is a prayer for Guidance and Protection...read all of this chapter
1"To You, O Lord, I life up my soul.2 O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. 3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. 4 Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O Lord.
8 Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. 9 The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. 1 For Your name's sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12 Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. 13 He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. 14 The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. 15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net. 16 Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, for I am desolate and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged; bring me out of my distresses! 18 Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins. 19 Consider my enemies, for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred. 20 Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You. 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. 22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all their troubles!" (NKJV)
Psalms 138 :1 "I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart; I will sing your praises before the gods. 2 I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. 3 As soon as I pray, your answer me; you encourage my by giving me strength. 4 Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord, for all of them will hear your words. 5 Yes, they will sing about the Lord's ways, for the glory of the Lord is very great. 6 Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud. 7 Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will protect me from the anger of my enemies. You reach out your hand, and the power of your right hand saves me. 8 The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me." (New Living Translation)
Psalms 138 :1 "Lord, you know everything there is to know about me. 2 You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. 3-4 You are so intimately aware of me, Lord. You read my heart like an open book and you know all the words I'm about to speak before I even start a sentence! You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. 5 You've gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past. With your hand of love upon my life, you impart a blessing to me. 6 This is just too wonderful, deep, and incomprehensible! Your understanding of me brings me wonder and strength. 7 Where could I go from your Spirit? Where could I run and hide from your face? 8 If I go up to heaven, you're there!If I fly with wings into the shining dawn, you're there! If I go down to the realm of the dead, you're there too! 9 If I fly with wings into the shining dawn, you're there! If I fly into the radiant sunset, you're there waiting! 10 Wherever I go, your hand will guide me; your strength will empower me. 11 It's impossible to disappear from you or to ask the darkness to hide me, for your presence is everywhere, bringing light into my night. 12 There is no such thing as darkness with you. The night, to you, is as bright as the day; there's no difference between the two. 13 You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wave them all together in my mother's womb. 14 I think you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord! 15 You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place, carefully, skillfully shaping me from nothing to something. 16 You saw who you created me to be before I became me! Before I'd ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me were already recorded in your book. 17-18 Every single moment you are thinking of me! How precious and wonderful to consider that you cherish me constantly in your every thought! O God, your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore When I awake each morning, you're still with me. 19 O God, come and slay these bloodthirsty, murderous men! For I cry out, "Depart from me, you wicked ones!" 20 See how they blaspheme your sacred name and lift up themselves against you, but all in vain! 21 Lord, can't you see how I despise those who despise you? For I grieve when I see them rise up against you. 22 I have nothing but complete hatred and disgust for them. Your enemies shall be my enemies! 23 God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares. 24 See if there is any path of pain I'm walking on, and lead me back to your glorious everlasting ways - the path that brings me back to you." (Passion Translation)
Luke 10: 1 "The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don't take any money with you, nor a traveler's bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And I don't stop to greet anyone on the road.
5 Whenever you enter someone's home, first say, 'May God's peace be on this house.' 6 If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. 7 Don't move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don't hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.
8 If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. 9 Heal the sick, and tell them, 'The Kingdom of God is near you now.' 10 But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 'We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this - the Kingdom of God is near!' 12 I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.
13 What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 14 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. 15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.'
16 Then he said to the disciples, "Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.'
17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, "Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!"
18 "Yes," he told them, "I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don't rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven."
21 At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.
22 "My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
23 Then when they were alone, he turned to the disciples and said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you have seen. 24 I tell you, many prophets and kings longed to see what you see, but they didn't see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn't hear it."
25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: "Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?"
26 Jesus replied, "What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?"
27 The man answered, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
28 "Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you will live!"
29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30 Jesus replied with a story: "A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
31 "By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 "Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, 'Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here.'
36 "Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy." Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same."
38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me."
41 But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." (New Living Translation)