Sunday

10 Bible Verses of Encouragement in Times of Bereavement



We all need encouragement and the best place to go is to the Bible.

In this blog Post I have tried to gather some Bible passages or Bible verses which will encourage us all when we are grieving over a bereavement.







I do believe that we should not just grab a verse and read it on its own but we should always lift our bibles and read a passage of scripture to make sure that we know the real meaning and context of each of the verses we are putting our trust in. 

I pray that you will do the same and only use this list to guide you as to where you may find help.



So here are 10 Bible verses or short passages for us to turn to in times of  Bereavement



1.   John 11 v 1-44     

Starting off with this passage in John's Gospel where we have the story of the death of the friend of Jesus, look it up, read it through and then focus in on these two sections:

When Jesus comes and is confronted by Martha the sister of Lazarus who believed that if Jesus had been there earlier her brother would not have died  v. 21-24

21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Even though she was upset that Lazarus was dead she still knew the authority Jesus held.

We are naturally and emotionally upset and hurt and distraught in the death of a loved one but we can still have the same belief and trust in Jesus as we did before the event.


Jesus then comforts her with the hope of the future  v. 25-26 and remember these are the words of Jesus








Martha's answer is not a simple yes answer to His question but instead it is a statement of what she believes  v. 27



27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”


and because of what she believes she has faith in Jesus.


Then Mary speaks to Jesus in a similar way v 32


32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”


Both sisters had faith in Jesus.

But we are not left with that, and then Jesus could show His power and raise Lazarus from the dead.  

No!

We then have the shortest verse in the Bible but one which shows more than you could think 2 short words could  v 35


Jesus Wept


Before the joyous act of resurrection we witness the feelings of grief and sorrow that Jesus shared with these two sisters.

May we always remember
 He shares our grief and our sorrow too.





2.   Matthew 5 v 4
    
In the Beatitudes the second blessing is on those who mourn - Jesus cares and He promises comfort.









3.   Isaiah 25 v 8

Even in the Old Testament it was proclaimed that God would destroy death.      
It has always been in His plan.


He will swallow up death forever,

And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;

The rebuke of His people

He will take away from all the earth;

For the Lord has spoken.





4.   Revelation 21 v 4    


Not only is God concerned with our sadness over a death of a loved one or friend at any time but the Bible shows us that He also wants us to look forward to a time when there will be no more death







God has given us a Hope in the future even over death.





5.   John 14 v 1-3


This was my father-in-law's favourite portion of scripture and it should be loved by us all, such assurance that death is not the end.





Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 
In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 




Jesus has already prepared that place for us because He did it by going to the cross.

At the cross His work for our salvation was finished.






6.   1 Corinthians 15 v 52 - 57

There is a resurrection for the saints.


52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.


No matter how death leaves us so distraught it does not last forever when we are in Christ and the grave cannot hold the saints just as it could not hold the Saviour.

God prepared the way for all of this through Jesus.



7.   Lamentations 3 v 31 - 33

God allows us to go through grief at different times.


31 
31 For the Lord will not cast off forever. 
32 Though He causes grief,Yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.  
33 For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men.

However in Mercy He will be compassionate toward us.





8.   John 6 v 39 - 40


God's Will and plan was established long before the Cross and His assurance was that the saints would be safe in the hands of Christ.








Jesus knew the Will of the Father and looked forward to the time when He would raise us up because we trusted in Him.






9.   1 Thessalonians 4 v 13 - 14


In our grief and sorrow over a death of a loved one we need to remember what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and the words are still true today.


13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.  
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.


For those who had trusted in Christ there is resurrection with Him and that is our great Hope.











Then we must also remember that we should always consider how God cares for each of us in our bereavement and grief.

So to finish here is a verse for us to be encouraged to use to encourage others because of these words straight from Jesus.




10.   John 16 v 22



Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and
 your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.



Jesus knows our sorrow but also knows the the effect of the joy that we will have when we see Him face to face.

Such a promise for the future.










The Gospel of Luke - Chapters 14 - 15



What do we read about in the fourteenth & fifteenth chapters of Luke's Gospel?
What do we learn from Luke?


What is the main focus?
Is it important to know the words from this chapter?







I am continuing to write my thoughts on the Gospel of Luke. 



If you missed The Overview or any of the chapters please click  HERE  for a list of them all.



Now let's look at the Fourteenth Chapter of Luke.



Today we are dividing this chapter into 4 sections



Healing in a Pharisee's House on the Sabbath v. 1-6:

Jesus was at a meal in the home of a Pharisee and we are told straight away in verse 1 that 

"they watched Him closely"

Jesus saw a man who was ill and asked what may seem to us like a simple question however with the rules the Pharisees had it was not so simple.

His question was in verse 3

“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

                 The answer was in verse 4

SILENCE


His action was immediate in verse 4

He took him and healed him, and let him go.

He then spoke to them in verse 5

“Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”


                            The result was in verse 6




SILENCE



It is indeed a serious thing to make laws into something they are not meant to be.










God has always intended good through His Laws to the people He created, not legalistic attitudes.



Exaltation & Humility v. 7-14:

Jesus then used the place and situation He was in to teach a parable. 

Normally I think the main focus people take from this parable about guests at a wedding feast is the fact of Jesus talking to the guests coming and choosing good places to sit and then being asked to move because a more honoured guest has arrived.  They have esteemed themselves to great. 

It is better for us not to think so highly about ourselves and leave it to the host to recognise our worth.

Which leads us to the well known  verse 11







But then there is the other fact that is not mentioned so often in the next section  verses 12 - 14 where Jesus talks to the host of the meal about who he invites.

We as hosts are not to invite people who will honour us in return but we should be reaching out to help others who may need more help or friendship and not expect anything in return.

I leads to the idea of rewards and we must not look for a reward on earth as we are told in 
 verse 14


“And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”


We must not forget this second part and end up having ulterior motives for our actions.



The Parable of the Great supper  v. 15-24:

One of the guests in this Pharisee's house makes a statement in verse 15


“Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Which is when Jesus tells the parable of the Great Supper.

Briefly:
A man plans a great feast and invites many people but when the feast is ready they all have excuses for not attending.
When the man hears this he says in verse 21



‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’


Which is very similar to verse 13 from the previous talk of humility and exaltation.


But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 

So we see what we should be doing is what God would do.

God has a blessing for all His creation but not all the people will accept it.
And
He will not keep a place for us if we keep saying no because there are other things more important to us.



Leaving All to Follow Christ  v. 25-35:


It is not surprising that the previous parable leads into this next section of verses.
There Jesus had been talking to a limited number of people in a house but now here we see how He talks in a similar vein to crowds who follow Him.

Jesus knows that people follow Him about and will listen to His teachings

BUT

Do they really mean to follow Him faithfully and keep His teachings?

People have different reasons for being in a crowd of followers but here we see that each person must know how much they are willing to give up - when or if it is needed - to be a true follower of Christ.

Extreme examples are given but to take just one of them it is not meant that as Christians we leave our families who depend on us and do not offer comfort, companionship, love or help because in God's Word we know we are taught to love and care for others.

It is pointing out that in the end we cannot let other factors keep us from our true walk with God, or draw us away from the faith.   We must instead not jump into something we do not firmly believe because we will not finish the race like Paul talks about in  2 Timothy 4 v 7-8







Not to be mistaken for the thought of

"I won't be able to keep this salvation"

But more like the lesson we are taught in the parable of the sower - with all the distractions and hindrances and attacks of the devil.






Because we do not have to keep our Salvation - Jesus is the One who does all the keeping and He is well able to do that.








Now let's look at the Fifteenth Chapter of Luke.



Today we are dividing this chapter into 3 sections.



The Parable of the Lost Sheep  v. 1-7:


Can you imagine Jesus saying these words from verse 6 ?

‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’





Well we should be able to imagine this because this is how He felt when He brought us into His Kingdom.



The Parable of the Lost Coin  v. 8-10:


Can you imagine Jesus saying these words from verse 9 ?

‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’






Well we should be able to imagine this because this is how He felt when He brought us into His Kingdom.


Yes these two portions of Scripture are parables Jesus told but they were told to express the love and joy He and all of Heaven feel for each person that accepts His gift of Salvation.




The Parable of the Lost Son  v. 11-32:


The son left the father and went his own way, just as we (all people have sinned against God and gone our own way)


Brings to my thoughts  Romans 3 v 23









The father never forgot about his son and waited looking out for him all the time (God wants everyone to be saved)


Brings to my thoughts  John 3 v 16







When the son returns home the father has a special meal for him, clothes for him, shoes and a ring, gifts to show him how important he was to his father and how he was part of the family.


Brings to my thoughts  Romans 6 v 23







Because to the father the son was dead until he came home  verse 24



for this my son was dead and is alive again; 
he was lost and is found








You can find more posts on the chapters of Luke  HERE  






Tuesday

Appointment with Death - Book Review


I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.








Appointment with Death



1938


Description


The unstoppable Hercule Poirot finds himself in the Middle East with only one day to solve a murder in the classic Agatha Christie mystery, Appointment with Death

Among the towering red cliffs of Petra, like some monstrous swollen Buddha, sits the corpse of Mrs. Boynton. A tiny puncture mark on her wrist is the only sign of the fatal injection that killed her.









My Thoughts


This is the 31st book by Agatha Christie and the 18th Poirot Mystery

The actual murder takes place on an Archaeological Dig in the Middle East but the preamble to it is set in a travelling atmosphere so it has the added mix of having people of various nationalities intertwined more than those of her novels which are set in the United Kingdom.


The usual family members of course are involved and then the people involved in the dig plus some other visitors.

Many servants and manual workers but is there a red herring in this one?

Who are we meant to like and to dislike?

Does Miss Christie try to lead us up the wrong path?

Yes of course she does but which path is the wrong one and which is the right one.

Not one of my favourites partly because I'm not so fond of that type of location but she does present us with what looks like an impossible murder and of course that is Christie at her finest.





If you would like to know more about this book then click on the title or picture above.









 Here is a link to a list of her novels on Amazon
Books by Agatha Christie



If thinking of reading this book in the future why not pin this pic to go back to later.









Disclaimer:
I did not receive a free copy of this book or any other incentive to review this book.
I have owned all the Christie novels for many years.