Companion Bible Quotes

The need for intimacy with the Creator never left us; it was embedded in our very nature.

A God-given longing must have a God-given fulfillment

We may with confidence approach the throne. We may walk in the garden with Him once again.

Anything less than true companionship with God leaves us feeling on the fringes, close but not close enough.

When we are more aware of our sin than of the blood of Jesus Christ which removes our sin, relationship will remain superficial.

Be willing to be a place where God can let His dreams for you grow.

It was for the purpose of restoring intimate fellowship with mankind that Jesus came.

The Lord delights in you, He is blessed by you, and when you feel the joy of His presence, you are tasting a bit of the joy He has in you.

What is waiting for us if we would simply let go of the seemingly safe ledge to which we are and dive into all God is and all He has for us?

Being able to hear the voice of my Lord fosters trust that gives me the power to stand toe-to-toe against any opponent and speak God’s truth into reality, calling His Kingdom to come into my situation.

I feel his love most strongly when I am confident in his love.

Since the moment of the Fall, God has never stopped searching us out.

We all want reassurance that the love we crave is a love we can find, or that will find us.

When I hear that still, small Voice wooing me and asking me to drop everything and spend time with Him, I need to be willing to yield.

I wish I could say this journey is an easy one. It’s not. As easy as it is to fall in love, it takes effort to make a relationship grow, to continue making the effort to connect, to speak and to listen.

Being a hearer and a doer of the written Word (James 1:22) makes us able to handle more of the spoken word of God.

My deepest desire is to be so intimately acquainted with Him that when we finally meet one another face to face, He and I will not be strangers, no not us!

Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.

Lady Wisdom will be your close friend; and Brother Knowledge will be your pleasant companion.

Jesus is telling us that redemption is more than having our sins forgiven; it is an intimate relationship He came to restore between us and God. If we are going to live out the first and greatest commandment of loving God completely (Matt. 22:36-37), this is the type of experiential intimacy which ought to be the objective of our lives.

The North American Church is at a critical juncture. The gospel of grace is being confused and compromised by silence, seduction, and outright subversion. The vitality of the faith is being jeopardized. The lying slogans of the fixers who carry religion like a sword of judgment pile up with impunity. Let ragamuffins everywhere gather as a confessing Church to cry out in protest. Revoke the licenses of religious leaders who falsify the idea of God. Sentence them to three years in solitude with the Bible as their only companion.

Desires may dry off, bodies may decay, friendship may vanish and positions may be dissolved. One thing will remain; the word of God! In the word is life!

She was under her husband's headship, yet she was in many ways an even more glorious creature than he, treasured and extolled by him. They were partners and companions, fellow-laborers in the garden.

Call it the Human Mission-to be all and do all God sent us here to do. And notice-the mission to be fruitful and conquer and hold sway is given both to Adam and to Eve. 'And God said to them...' Eve is standing right there when God gives the world over to us. She has a vital role to play; she is a partner in this great adventure. All that human beings were intended to do here on earth-all the creativity and exploration, all the battle and rescue and nurture-we were intended to do together. In fact, not only is Eve needed, but she is desperately needed. When God creates Eve, he calls her an ezer kenegdo. 'It is not good for the man to be alone, I shall make him [an ezer kenegdo]' (Gen. 2:18 Alter). Hebrew scholar Robert Alter, who has spent years translating the book of Genesis, says that this phrase is 'notoriously difficult to translate.' The various attempts we have in English are "helper" or "companion" or the notorious "help meet." Why are these translations so incredibly wimpy, boring, flat...disappointing? What is a help meet, anyway? What little girl dances through the house singing "One day I shall be a help meet?" Companion? A dog can be a companion. Helper? Sounds like Hamburger Helper. Alter is getting close when he translates it "sustainer beside him" The word ezer is used only twenty other places in the entire Old Testament. And in every other instance the person being described is God himself, when you need him to come through for you desperately.

Keep negative people long meters away from you; their presence is a threat to your high self-esteem! Job, the man of God kept his wife afar before he could make it again!

The Bible says Eve was born of Adam’s rib, but he was born of the earth, so there was woman before there ever was man. She is not merely a mate, a life’s companion, a helpmeet; she is the moving force, the power.

Well, he'd get help from the Bible. It was all inspired, every word, no matter what scoffers like Jim said. He'd take the first text he turned to and talk on that. He opened on: 'Now THEREFORE, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-boznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which ARE beyond the river, be ye far from thence,' an injunction spirited but not at present helpful.

PSA119.63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,         but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

A man of many companions may come to ruin,         but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

As long as you are at home make your cell your paradise, gather there the varied fruits of scripture, let this be your favourite companion, and take its precepts to your heart.

In hot anger he went back to his father’s house. 20And Samson’s wife was given to  ihis companion,  jwho had been his best man.

The book in my hands became my trusted companion. What was written there had so much power that it forced me to stop avoiding myself, to make my own choices as well. And through some sort of vital intuition, I understood that I had a long way to go, that it would bring about a profound transformation within me, even though I could not determine it's essence, or its scope. In that book there was a voice, and behind that voice threw was an intelligence that sought to establish contact with me. It was not merely the company of written words that distiller my boredom. It was a living voice, speaking. To me.

your best wine mixed with water. 23 Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone  uloves a bribe and runs after gifts. vThey do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them.

Saturday, May 22d.---It is now Saturday night, and I must prepare for the holy Sabbath. My Bible and Confession of Faith are my traveling companions, and precious friends have they been to me. I bless God for that glorious summary of Christian doctrine contained in our noble standards. It has cheered my soul in many a dark hour, and sustained me in many a desponding moment. I love to read it, and ponder carefully each proof text as I pass along.

In the Bible, God's utter sovereignty does not diminish human responsibility; conversely, human beings are moral agents who choose, believe, obey, disbelieve, and disobey, and this fact does not make God's sovereignty finally contingent.

35. There were three women named Mary (Bitter) who walked with the Lord all the time. They were his mother, his sister and Mary of Magdala, who was his consort (companion). Thus his mother, his sister and companion (consort) were all named Mary.

6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;     A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;     Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You     With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.

Neither explaining suffering nor offering a program for the elimination of suffering, Lamentations keeps company with the extensive biblical witness that gives dignity to suffering by insisting that God enters our suffering and is companion to our suffering.

Beautiful was it to mark how the poorest began to improve in personal appearance immediately after they came to our Class; how they gradually got shoes and one bit of clothing after another, to enable them to attend our other Meetings, and then to go to Church; and, above all, how eagerly they sought to bring others with them, taking a deep personal interest in all the work of the Mission. Long after they themselves could appear in excellent dress, many of them still continued to attend in their working clothes, and to bring other and poorer girls with them to that Morning Class, and thereby helped to improve and elevate their companions. My delight in that Bible Class was among the purest joys in all my life, and the results were amongst the most certain and precious of all my Ministry.

redeems my soul in safety         from the battle that I wage,         for  b many are arrayed against me. 19    God will give ear and humble them,         he who is  c enthroned from of old, Selah     because they do not  d change         and do not fear God.     20 My companion [2]  e stretched

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 - When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. [Acts - 16:6-7]

a religious book he had written several years ago called The Truth: A Companion to the Bible. The publicity it would bring the book, he believed, was one of the principal reasons God wanted him to assassinate the president. “Two points will be accomplished,” he wrote. “It will save the Republic, and create a demand for my book,

So far as we know, Jesus did not write anything, nor did anyone who had personal knowledge of him. There is no archaeological evidence of his existence. There are no contemporaneous accounts of his life or death: no eyewitness accounts, nor any other kind of first-hand record. All the accounts of Jesus come from decades or centuries later; the gospels themselves all come from later times, though they may contain earlier sources or oral traditions. The earliest writings that survive are the letters of Paul of Tarsus, written 20-30 years after the dates given for Jesus's death. Paul was not a companion of Jesus, nor does he ever claim to have seen Jesus before his death.

For it is not an enemy who taunts me—         then I could bear it;     it is not an adversary who  t deals insolently with me—         then I could hide from him. 13     u But it is you, a man, my equal,         my companion, my familiar friend. 14    We used to take sweet counsel together;         within God’s house we walked in  v the throng.

It is, in other words, the King James Bible’s exact contemporary, the product of precisely the same cultural moment, produced from precisely the same court culture, with precisely the same intention of celebrating and in a certain sense ‘housing’ James I and his dream of majesty. Can Hatfield House, then, be read as a companion to the Bible whose genesis is so close to its own?

Marriage is a partnership. Someone has observed that in the Bible account of the creation woman was not formed from a part of man's head, suggesting that she might rule over him, nor from a part of a man's foot that she was to be trampled under his feet. Woman was taken from man's side as though to emphasize the fact that she was always to be by his side as a partner and companion.

What a revolution! In less than a century the persecuted church had become a persecuting church. Its enemies, the “heretics” (those who “selected” from the totality of the Catholic faith), were now also the enemies of the empire and were punished accordingly. For the first time now Christians killed other Christians because of differences in their views of the faith. This is what happened in Trier in 385: despite many objections, the ascetic and enthusiastic Spanish lay preacher Priscillian was executed for heresy together with six companions. People soon became quite accustomed to this idea. Above all the Jews came under pressure. The proud Roman Hellenistic state church hardly remembered its own Jewish roots anymore. A specifically Christian ecclesiastical anti-Judaism developed out of the pagan state anti-Judaism that already existed. There were many reasons for this: the breaking off of conversations between the church and the synagogue and mutual isolation; the church’s exclusive claim to the Hebrew Bible; the crucifixion of Jesus, which was now generally attributed to the Jews; the dispersion of Israel, which was seen as God’s just curse on a damned people who were alleged to have broken the covenant with God . . . Almost exactly a century after Constantine’s death, by special state-church laws under Theodosius II, Judaism was removed from the sacral sphere, to which one had access only through the sacraments (that is, through baptism). The first repressive measures

PHILIPPIANS 4 Therefore, my brothers, [1] whom I love and  jlong for,  kmy joy and  lcrown,  mstand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. Exhortation, Encouragement, and Prayer 2I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to  nagree in the Lord. 3Yes, I ask you also, true companion, [2] help these women, who have labored [3] side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers,  owhose names are in the book of life. 4 pRejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

These aren't still shots; the camera is always moving. And the scene is always just slipping out of sight, as if in spite of myself I were always descending a hill, rounding a corner, stepping into the street with a companion who urges me on, while I look back over my shoulder at the sight which recedes, vanishes. The present of my consciousness is itself a mystery which is also always just rounding a bend like a floating branch borne by a flood. Where am I? But I'm not. "I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more. . . .

11One day,  zwhen Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their  aburdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. [3] 12He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he  bstruck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13When  che went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14He answered,  d“Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But  eMoses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by  fa well.

Interviewer: What helps to sustain you while you're climbing? Is there a particular Bible verse, or, song or song verse? Poem maybe? Mekael: That's a good question. Thoughts of my three sons, are my constant companions. Thoughts of them, help to keep me focused. As for other sources of inspiration....I'm a music lover. I think all Mountaineers and Poets are music lovers, so, when I'm climbing, I'm either in a Tupac zone, or I may be in a Linkin Park or Creed zone. Interviewer: Any song or verse in particular? Mekael: When during a climb, everything has aligned, Creed's 'Higher' pops into my head. I dig the part in the chorus when they sing..... 'Up high I feel like I'm, alive for the, very first time Set up high, I'm strong enough To take these dreams And make them mine

The inconsistencies of Christian people, who while professing to believe their Bible were yet content to live just as they would if there were no such book, had been one of the strongest arguments of my skeptical companions; and I frequently felt at that time, and said, that if I pretended to believe the Bible I would at ay rate attempt to live by it, putting it fairly to the test, and if it failed to prove true and reliable, would throw it overboard altogether. These views I retained when the Lord was pleased to bring me to Himself; and I think I may say that since then I have put God's Word to the test. Certainly it has never failed me. I have never had reason to regret the confidence I have placed I its promises, or to deplore following the guidance I have found in its directions.

Hareton, with a streaming face, dug green sods, and laid them over the brown mould himself: at present it is as smooth and verdant as its companion mounds—and I hope its tenant sleeps as soundly. But the country folks, if you ask them, would swear on the Bible that he walks: there are those who speak to having met him near the church, and on the moor, and even within this house. Idle tales, you’ll say, and so say I. Yet that old man by the kitchen fire affirms he has seen two figures looking out of his chamber window on every rainy night since his death:—and an odd thing happened to me about a month ago. I was going to the Grange one evening—a dark evening, threatening thunder—and, just at the turn of the Heights, I encountered a little boy with a sheep and two lambs before him; he was crying terribly; and I supposed the lambs were skittish, and would not be guided. “What is the matter, my little man?” I asked. “There’s Heathcliff and a woman there under the hill,” he blubbered, “an’ I daren't pass ’em.” I saw nothing; but neither the sheep nor he would go on, so I bid him take the road lower down.

9I, John, your brother and companion in the mtribulation and kingdom and patient endurance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, [exiled there] because of [my preaching of] the word of God [regarding eternal salvation] and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The inconsistencies of Christian people, who while professing to believe their Bibles were yet content to live just as they would if there were no such book, had been one of the strongest arguments of my sceptical companions;

Nouwen sought counseling from a center that ministered to homosexual men and women, and he listened as gay friends proposed several options. He could remain a celibate priest and “come out” as a gay man, which would at least release the secret he bore in anguish. He could declare himself, leave the priesthood, and seek a gay companion. Or he could remain a priest publicly and develop private gay relationships. Nouwen carefully weighed each course and rejected it. Any public confession of his identity would hurt his ministry, he feared. The last two options seemed impossible for one who had taken a vow of celibacy and who looked to the Bible and to Rome for guidance on sexual morality. Instead, he decided to keep living with the wound. Again and again, he decided. 12

Here is the promise of the gospel and the message of the whole Bible: In Jesus Christ, we are given a friend who will always enjoy rather than refuse our presence. This is a companion whose embrace of us does not strengthen or weaken depending on how clean or unclean, how attractive or revolting, how faithful or fickle, we presently are. The friendliness of his heart for us subjectively is as fixed and stable as is the declaration of his justification of us objectively.

Optimized Under 35: The Ultimate Hormonal Health Guide for Young Men116. This book will be a MUST HAVE companion book for any younger man looking to fully optimize his life.

The Oxford Bible Atlas has been a much valued companion of readers of the Bible since its first publication in 1962. This fourth edition is substantially revised yet it is very much the child of its predecessors. There are definite family resemblances, but also some differences.

So many Bibles, so many Bibles—and so little thoughtful reading of them. The next stage is the Bible as source of prooftexts; the stage after that is the Bible as quaint relic; the next, the Bible as antiquarian magic; the next, implacable ignorance—and all the while, a growing hunger for something wise, something stable, something intelligent, something prophetic, something true. And the hunger is not satisfied. The only answer is the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:17.

Satan in Islam “…Satan is an enemy to you…. He only invites his adherents that they may become companions of the blazing fire.”  Quran 35:6 ~ Satan was one of the Jinn.[13]  He was the best among them and elevated to a high position. ~ Allah cursed Satan when he did not bow down before Adam. ~ The Quran talks about Iblis (Satan) as a physical being created from fire. ~ He is a rebellious creature who touches every human at birth so that they will commit evil acts.

Most Jewish animal sacrifices required two companion offerings, whose proportions depended on the type of animal offered: (1) wine and (2) semolina mixed with oil.8 Thus, the offered meat was joined to a delicious drink and an unctuous starch. These are the makings of a meal, as religion scholar W. Robertson Smith has observed: “When the Hebrew ate flesh, he ate bread with it and drank wine, and when he offered flesh on the table of his God, it was natural that he should add to it the same concomitants which were necessary to make up a comfortable and generous meal.

[...] Romans 16, in which Paul speaks of a woman, Junia, and a man who was presumably her husband, Andronicus, both of whom he calls "foremost among the apostles" (v. 7). This is a significant verse, because it is the only place in the New Testament in which a woman is referred to as an apostle. Interpreters have been so impressed by the passage that a large number of them have insisted that it cannot mean what it says, and so have translated the verse as referring not to a woman named Junia but to a man named Junias, who along with his companion Andronicus is praised as an apostle. The problem with this translation is that whereas Junia was a common name for a woman, there is no evidence in the ancient world for "Junias" as a man's name.

Where should this leave us? In gratitude. True, we seldom if ever think of it – of the horror and pain the Lord’s servants endured in order to be the vehicles through whom his word is passed on to us in the Scriptures. We sit comfortably at our desks or tables with a companionable mug of coffee, read the prophets, and scarcely think of how Daniel was physically and emotionally wiped out or Ezekiel plunged into a mental morass of anguish and anger (Ezek. 3:14–15) – in short, of how much the word of God cost them.

You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. 48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” THE WORLD IS NOT A STAGE

Proverbs 16:28-30 28 A troublemaker plants seeds of strife;        gossip separates the best of friends. 29 Violent people mislead their companions,        leading them down a harmful path. 30 With narrowed eyes, people plot evil;        with a smirk, they plan their mischief.

For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit, 5 tasted God's good word and the powers of the coming age, 6 and who have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt.

Prayer is the companion of Bible study.

Acosta alludes to this, in his "History of the Indies," as follows: "In the beginning of the year 1518, they (the Mexicans), discovered a fleet at sea, in the which was the Marques del Valle, Don Fernando Cortez, with his companions, a news which much troubled Montezuma, and conferring with his council, they all said, that without doubt, their great and ancient lord Quetzalcoatle was come, who had said that he would return from the East, whither he had gone." [239:6]

The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.

The origin of the Jews is revealed by the origin of their tribal name. The word "Jew" was unknown in ancient history. The Jews were then known as Hebrews, and the word Hebrew tells us all about this people that we need to know. The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines Hebrew as originating in the Aramaic word, Ibhray, but strangely enough, offers no indication as to what the word means. Most references, such as Webster's International Dictionary, 1952, give the accepted definition of Hebrew. Webster says Hebrew derives from the Aramaic Ebri, which in turn 19 derives from the Hebrew word, Ibhri, lit. "one who is from across the river. 1. A Member of one of a group of tribes in the northern branch of the Semites, including Israelites." That is plain enough. Hebrew means "one who is from across the river." Rivers were often the boundaries of ancient nations, and one from across the river meant, simply, an alien. In every country of the ancient world, the Hebrews were known as aliens. The word also, in popular usage, meant "one who should not be trusted until he has identified himself." Hebrew in all ancient literature was written as "Habiru". This word appears frequently in the Bible and in Egyptian literature. In the Bible, Habiru is used interchangeably with "sa-gaz", meaning "cutthroat". In all of Egyptian literature, wherever the word Habiru appears, it is written with the word "sa-gaz" written beside it. Thus the Egyptians always wrote of the Jews as "the cutthroat bandits from across the river". For five thousand years, the Egyptian scribes identified the Jews in this manner. Significantly, they are not referred to except by these two characters. The great Egyptian scholar, C. J. Gadd, noted in his book, The Fall of Nineveh, London, 1923, "Habiru is written with an ideogram. . . sa-gaz. . . signifying 'cut-throats'." In the Bible, wherever the word Habiru, meaning the Hebrews, appears, it is used to mean bandit or cutthroat. Thus, in Isaiah 1:23, "Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves," the word for thieves here is Habiru. Proverbs XXVIII:24 , "Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, 'It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer," sa-gaz is used here for destroyer, but the word destroyer also appears sometimes in the Bible as Habiru. Hosea VI:9 , "And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent; for they commit lewdness." The word for robbers in this verse is Habiru.

If chastening were merely a matter of remedial education to morally neutral people, the timing and severity would not matter very much; we would learn. But the Bible insists that this side of the Fall we are by nature and persistent choice rebels against God. If we are chastened, we whine at God's severity. If we are not chastened, we descend into debauchery until the very foundations of society are threatened.

The Bible insists that man started at the heights, at the zenith point with creation, a companion of God himself, and has fallen so far down that he is utterly unable to even glimpse the heights to which he once attained. The Fall was complete, and as the face of God became a fading memory in the lives of men, their lifespan quickly became shorter, their tempers larger, their hands ever more bloody, and they were forever doomed to become mere empty shells of what God had made them.

{2:18} so that they would seek mercy before the face of the God of heaven, about this mystery, and so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the other wise men of Babylon.

First, it speaks of Eve's fundamental equality with Adam. The woman was taken out of man. They shared the same essential nature. She was not a different kind of creature; she was of exactly the same essence as Adam. She was in no way an inferior character made merely to serve him, but she was his spiritual counterpart, his intellectual coequal, and in every sense his perfect mate and companion.

The earliest discussion of the authorship of Luke and Acts is from Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons in Gaul, writing in the late second century. He attributes the books to Luke, the coworker of Paul, and notes that the occurrence of the first-person narrative (“we”) throughout the later chapters of Acts (starting at 16:10) indicates that the author of Acts was a companion of Paul and present with him on these occasions. These “we” passages in Acts are the key to the authorship of both Acts and the Gospel of Luke.

Maybe it's just easier to hold onto resentment and bitterness.But when you hold onto them, you're imprisoning yourself, not the other person. Not forgiving is pretty heavy baggage to carry around.

as Emma, stood and gathered plates. "And thin as a rail, you are. Looks like I need to fatten you up." She cackled again. Dakota moved to help her clean the small kitchen, really just a small corner of the entire living space, but Emma waved her off. "No, you been sick. Just sit there and talk to us." "How sick was I?" "With that fever of yers, I's afraid you just might not make it." Hank hurried the words, then looked at her from the bottom of his bifocals, bearded chin in air. "Didn't your grandparents teach you not to roll around in muddy water when it's freezing outside?" Dakota shrunk a little lower. They knew

9Two are better than one because they have a good return for their hard work. 10If either should fall, one can pick up the other. But how miserable are those who fall and don't have a companion to help them up! 11Also, if two lie down together, they can stay warm. But how can anyone stay warm alone? 12Also, one can be overpowered, but two together can put up resistance. A three-ply cord doesn't easily snap.

The 144,000 have the patience of the saints; they keep the commandments of God, and they also have the faith of Jesus. For them the doors of heaven will swing wide open. They enter as those who have a right to the tree of life, and with holy boldness they go with Jesus even into the presence of God. In this group God completes the demonstration of His power to save. The vilest sinners can be made fit companions for the saints in light. If these persons chosen from the last and weakest generation can endure the test given them, there is no excuse for the fall of Adam. He, in the fullness of strength, failed in the smallest test; these, in all the weakness of humanity, pass a test infinitely greater. Hence, God cannot be accused of requiring more of Adam than he could do. God is now looking for candidates for immortality. He is looking for men and women to make up the number required in the last demonstration. He wants converted, sanctified, dedicated people, such as will not boast of their attainments, but who in humility will follow in the Master's footsteps, exercise the faith He did, have the patience needed to finish the work, and at last enter with Him through the gates into the city.

Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

[13:20] Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!

Before saying 'I do', make sure you know who you're saying it to. Never marry a man without uncovering his background, for he could be hiding a criminal past, struggling with mental or health issues, or even concealing his true identity. Remember, 'wisdom is better than strength' (Proverbs 24:5), so seek wisdom and knowledge before entrusting your life to another." Quote: "Uncover the truth before you uncover your heart." Additional Bible Verses: - Proverbs 13:20 - "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." - 1 Timothy 5:24-25 - "The sins of some people are obvious, leading them to judgment, while the sins of others will follow them to judgment. Similarly, good works are also obvious, and those that are not cannot remain hidden.

Then shall we know and taste and feel the happiness of this vast but short sentence, complete in Christ. Not till then shall we fully comprehend the heights and depths of the salvation of Jesus. Does not your heart leap for joy at the thought of it? Filthy as you are, you shall be clean. Oh, it is a marvelous salvation this! Christ takes a worm and transforms it into an angel; Christ takes a dirty and deformed thing and makes it clean and matchless in His glory, peerless in His beauty, and fit to be the companion of seraphs. O my soul, stand and admire this blessed truth of maturity in Christ.

If Daniel’s prophecy constantly discloses a God who is in sovereign control, Hosea discloses a God who is passionately moved by his fickle people. We need to nurture both portraits of God—God the transcendent sovereign, God the passionate person—if we are to be faithful to what the Bible says about him.

The Bible insists that the heart of all human problems is rebellion against the God who is our Maker, whose image we bear, and whose rule we seek to overthrow All of our problems, without exception, can be traced to this fundamental source: our rebellion and the just curse of God that we have attracted by our rebellion.

When Karen shared that with me, the first thing that came to mind was the way God cared for Timothy in the Bible. The text says that this young man had to deal with frequent illness, and there is no record that he found healing. Instead, the apostle advised him to use a little medicinal wine to settle his stomach.5 God also cared for James, but James was run through with Herod’s sword because of his testimony.6 God cared for John, but allowed him to be exiled and left isolated on a lonely island.7 He cared for Stephen, from the first stones that struck the young man’s earnest, unmarred face to the last one that sent him out of his broken body.8 He cared for Paul’s companion Trophimus, whom the apostle had to leave behind sick in Ephesus—though he was desperately needed for ministry.

God’s Word holds out the promise of rich benefits for those who spend time reading it and taking its truths to heart. Here are just seven of the many ways your life can be better as you make the Bible your daily reading companion. All seven come from Psalm 119—a magnificent song of praise for God’s Word.    1. The Bible will help keep you from sin. “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (verse 11).    2. The Bible will lift your burdens. “I weep with sorrow; encourage me by your word” (verse 28).    3. The Bible will guide your steps. “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path” (verse 105).    4. The Bible will bring you joy. “Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight” (verse 111).    5. The Bible will lead you to wisdom. “The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand” (verse 130).    6. The Bible will give you peace. “Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble” (verse 165).    7. The Bible will bring you back to God. “I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come and find me, for I have not forgotten your commands” (verse 176).

The truth is constantly unfolding and presenting new features to different minds. All who dig in the mines of truth, will constantly discover rich and precious gems.

YHWH claims that he does not look on outward appearances but at the heart (will) of the person (1 Sam. 16.7). However, when the last of Jesse's sons comes into the room, we are told:'Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said [to Samuel], "Rise and anoint him for this is the one"' (1 Sam. 16.12). Thus the selection of David as the boy companion of the main warrior chief, while it departs from the standards of beauty set by Saul, appears nonetheless to begin with his remarkable beauty...The first thing we know about Saul and David is their beauty.

However, when first approaching the game, you might be scared, after all we’ve been taught that is a game for brainiacs of math geniuses. But nothing could be further than the truth, anyone can learn to play Chess and start to think like a Grandmaster! You will need a little help and a lot of practice, but if you just cracked open this book, so you are on the right path.

What unites all the books that make up the Scripture—what binds the Old and New Testaments together—is a singular, coherent story. It is the story of how a world of breathtaking beauty fell into ruin because of human selfishness. But God, because of his unshakable love, prepared the world for his arrival in disguise, the arrival of a Rescuer. This is the secret the stranger on the road to Emmaus reveals to our two companions: the Rescuer has arrived. His name is Jesus of Nazareth, the same figure referred to in the Hebrew Bible as "the hope of all the ends of the earth." … As we shall see, the Christian story is indeed a conspiracy story—a divine conspiracy—and there is no one who is not implicated in its plot.

First, Wesley believed that "works of piety" and "works of mercy" are inseparable companions in the genuine Christian life. Authentic personal holiness is also social holiness. Bible study, prayer, fasting, Christian conversation, the Lord's Supper, public worship, and the other disciplines of the Christian life are critical to the holy life; but holy living is impossible until Christians engage in "doing good" to their neighbors. In word and deed, faith must be active in love. God's grace prepares us, accepts us, and sustains us. But then God's grace expects something of us: our faithful discipleship and ministry in Christ's name, undergirded by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

In our shortsightedness we sometimes think God is a little abrupt when in certain passages, not least in the Old Testament, he instantly chastens his people for their sins. But what is the alternative? Quite simply, it is not instantly chastening them. If chastening were merely a matter of remedial education to morally neutral people, the timing and severity would not matter very much; we would learn. But the Bible insists that this side of the Fall we are by nature and persistent choice rebels against God. If we are chastened, we whine at God's severity. If we are not chastened, we descend into debauchery until the very foundations of society are threatened. We may then cry to God for mercy. Well and good, but at least we should see that it would have been a mercy if we had not been permitted to descend so far down into the abyss.

In the Bible, God's utter sovereignty does not diminish human responsibility; conversely, human beings are moral agents who choose, believe, obey, disbelieve, and disobey, and this fact does not make God's sovereignty finally contingent. That is clear from the way God's sovereignty manifests itself in this chapter, that is, in election, even while the chapter bristles with the responsibilities laid on the people.

The Holy Spirit existed from Genesis to Revelation in the Bible. In the same manner, a believer's trip right here on earth have to begin with Him. He is the One who displays things in our heart. He is the breath of the Inner Man. An opener to the hidden in things. A partner of companions. An unwavering partner. A comforter to the brokenhearted. A counselor to the confused. A faithful listener and guider. Shine with The Holy Spirit.

Do not be afraid” is one of the most repeated commands in the Bible. That tells me God never intended for us to go even a day with fear as our companion. He wants to be our daily companion; He does not want us to walk in fear.