WORDS for your PSYCHE - Part I

Epistles of James and Peter

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you...Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:7-8 and 10 / NIV App)

James

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finishes its works so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4 / NIV App)

“If anyone of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5 / NIV App)

“When tempted, no one should say, ’God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” (James 1:13-14 / NIV App)

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17 / NIV App)

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27 / NIV App)

“...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead…. Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” (James 2:17-18 / NIV App)

“Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell…. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:5-6 and 8 / NIV App)

“For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” (James 3:16 / NIV App)

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you…. Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:7-8 and 10 / NIV App)

1 Peter

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you ….” (1 Peter 1:3-4 / NIV App)

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9 / NIV App)

“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.” (1 Peter 1:18-20 / NLT)

“You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.” (1 Peter 1:22-23 / NLT)

“So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rest upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian.” (1 Peter 4:14-16 / NLT)

2 Peter

“Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and 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.” (2 Peter 1:5-7 / NLT)

“.... we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place - until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19 / NLT)

“For no prophetic message ever came just from the human will, but people were under the control of the Holy Spirit as they spoke the message that came from God.” (2 Peter 1:21 / TEV)