Passages of Power, Passion and Praise: Nurture Your Spirit, Soothe Your Soul

By C. Figueroa-Faxton

You may have heard her on the radio, seen her on cable TV, read her magazine articles, attended her earlier seminars, or purchased her relationship guides: Getting Him, Keeping Him, Making It Work; Getting Her to Be the Woman You Need; Getting the Love that You Need; and Getting Lifelong Love With Gods Guidance and Grace.

Now, through the guidance and inspiration of God, C. Figueroa-Faxton shares her own story of faith and salvation in this wonderful compilation of Scriptures, entitled Passages of Power, Passion, and Praise.

Passages of Power will enlighten you, guide you, comfort you, and grant you peace. Its a beautiful compilation of Scriptures and a useful reference guide; a glossary and index of common quotes are included. When youre sad, lonely, depressed; when you face illness, tragedy, adversity; when you seek Gods blessings and bountiful goodness, read Passages of Power, Passion, and Praise. It will empower you through Gods grace.

Rev. Pearl Hedgspeth, President
Queens, New York City Chapter
E. C. Reems Womens International Ministries


Sunday school teachers, Bible-study groups, parents, grandparents, and students of all ages will find Passages of Power... very beneficial, interesting and easy to use. It is a thoughtful, creative presentation of the selected scriptures. Passages of Power... will renew or strengthen your faith to help you face lifes many challenges with added determination, purpose and hope.

Rev. Edward L. Jenkins
Pastor, Ebenezer Wesleyan Methodist Church
Brooklyn, New York

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inspiring Voices
• Release date: May 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781462406005

Book preview

PASSAGES OF POWER, PASSION AND PRAISE

Nurture Your Spirit, Soothe Your Soul

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C. FIGUEROA-FAXTON

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Copyright © 1999, 2013 C. Figueroa-Faxton.

Proof-reader: D. Simone

Research Assistant: Shannon Jones

Author’s Photograph: James Kriegsman

Make-up: Jay Manuel

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982,1989 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-4624-0599-2 (sc)

ISBN: 9781-4624-0600-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013907142

Inspiring Voices revision date: 04/29/2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Introduction

The Author’s Own Story of Faith

He Is All Mighty

Acknowledge His Might

A Few Examples of God’s PromiseS

God’s Admonitions

God’s Blessings

God’s Curses

God’s Covenants

Renew Your Commitment and Covenant With God

Faith and Trust In God

Renew Your Faith and Trust In God

Passages to Read:

Examples of When You Need Him

Examples of When You’re Sad, Lonely, Depressed

Examples of When You Feel Weak, Discouraged, Afraid

Examples of When You’re Unsure, Uncertain, Indecisive

Examples of When You Face Illness, Tragedy, Adversity

Examples of When You’re Downcast Or Downtrodden

Examples of When Others Shun You, Mistreat You, Despise You

Examples of When You Need Patience, Discipline, Self-Control

Examples of When You Seek His Blessings And Bountiful Goodness

Examples of When You Need To Ask Forgiveness For Your Sins

Rejoice! Give Him Thanks and Praise

Glossary

Index of Common Quotes

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my beloved mother, the late Muriel Evelyn Victoria Trumpet-Penniston, who was a devout Christian of the Methodist church. She fully understood her responsibility as a parent and head of household: As a parent, in addition to providing the basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, shelter, you’re responsible for your child’s emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual well-being.

My mother took all of these responsibilities quite seriously. She provided the basic necessities and struggled to give even more. On a chamber maid’s salary she managed to clothe us well, feed us well and send us to learn classical piano lessons (no doubt hoping we would soon be able to play her favorite hymns.) She instilled pride, moral values and a desire for higher learning. She disciplined us; gave us love and nurtured us spiritually.

Every Sunday she took us to Sunday school and church. She always sang hymns around the house; her favorite verse was Ask the Saviour to help you, comfort, strengthen and keep you. He is willing to aid you; He will carry you through.

She always read her Bible and quoted the scriptures. As a result, I was able to quickly assemble the quote index in the back of this book, based on all the quotes I remembered.

She always prayed–and she taught us how to pray–no matter what the situation or circumstance–always thanking God for what we have and asking God for His guidance, assistance and protection.

In her later years, after she finally achieved her goal of owning her own home, she often hummed her favorite hymn as she tended her roses in the backyard garden. Even during periods of dementia due to alzheimers, she had an unshakable faith and trust in God.

A few months after my mother passed away (January 24, 1999) I heard Dr. Charles Stanley of the televised In Touch Ministries say, . . . the best inheritance you can leave your children is unshakable faith and trust in God.

As I heard his lecture I realized that my mother, probably unwittingly, but much to her credit, did everything he said parents should do to leave their children an inheritance of unshakable faith and trust in God.

Thank you, Ms. Muriel, for a wonderful inheritance. I know that you’re walking in a garden of roses and singing your favorite hymns with the angels. Thanks be to God.

I’d also like to thank Rev. Jenkins, Rev. Martin, Rev. Hedgspeth, S. Jones, D. Simone, M. Leconte, A. West and G. Serventi for their encouragement, assistance and support. Thanks to Jim and Pastor Dan for helping me to rediscover my God-given purpose.

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INTRODUCTION

The Christian life demands diligence in pursuing moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and selfless love. Although many people in today’s society seem to scoff at the thought of future judgment, living their lives only in the present, there are many others who are Christians, seeking to maintain their unshakable faith and trust in God and the Lord Jesus Christ, while preparing themselves for a life in the world to come.

Passages of Power, Passion and Praise is a compilation of selected passages of the Bible, designed to encourage people of all ages to have God and His Holy Word at the center of their daily lives. By the grace of God, I’ve been inspired to select a few passages which I believe will be helpful to you, as you face life’s many challenges. Simply read what is presented here, and according to your needs, choose a few passages to include in your daily prayers and devotion.

As I embarked on my spiritual journey, I decided to read the Bible from cover to cover. While reading, I selected the passages that inspired me, comforted me and gave me peace during trying times. I’ve also heard many of the selected passages quoted repeatedly throughout my life–by my mother, ministers, Sunday school teachers and others. Many of the passages have been used to create some of today’s most comforting hymns.

Although there are many new versions of the Bible which have been updated to eliminate the t-h’s and s-t’s, there is something very beautiful and poetic about the old English, found in earlier versions of the Bible and included in this compilation.

There are so many passages, phrases and words in the Bible which are open to interpretation. Many great scholars and ministers have already interpreted and are still interpreting the scriptures for us; so, I will not attempt to do anything that even comes close to interpretation.

But there are a few simple words which need to be clarified or redefined, since their meaning in the scriptures differ from what we may understand them to mean today. For instance, the word fear as it is used regarding God, means to be in awe of; to hold in high esteem; to have reverence and great respect for.

Since it is important that you understand what you read, a Glossary and Index of Common Quotes are included in the back of Passages of Power, Passion and Praise. Words such as terrible, wonderful, without, straitened (note the spelling without the gh) and froward (not to be confused with forward) are also clarified in the Glossary, which provides brief definitions, and, in many instances, a notation of the scripture in which the word appears.

The Index of Common Quotes is comprised of phrases which people have quoted so frequently that many of them have become common place in our society. Bible scholars might notice that some of the quotes appear in several places in the Bible; but in the interest of space and time, only one or two examples are noted in Passages of Power…

Please take the time to browse through the Glossary and Index of Common Quotes. You’ll find there are many words, which, once defined, will bring excitement and enjoyment to reading the scriptures. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to read the Holy Bible in its entirety after reading Passages of Power, Passion and Praise. Reading the Bible from cover to cover–both the Old and New Testaments–will greatly expand your awareness and understanding, as well as deepen your spirituality.

THE AUTHOR’S

OWN STORY OF FAITH

What a delightful, enlightening experience reading the Bible is! As a child it was such a pleasure to hear Bible stories over and over again. So, this time, as an adult, I was delighted to find all my favorite Bible stories waiting right there for me. But of course, silly, I thought, "where else would Bible stories be!"

As I immersed myself into the scriptures and came across many of the quotes that had become common place to me, I was so filled with peace and joy! I quickly noted them to create the Index of Common Quotes.

Reading the Bible not only comforted and inspired me, but it reassured me how well-loved I was by my mother; what a wonderful Christian woman she really was. She took her responsibility for our spiritual and emotional well-being very seriously, as I mentioned in the dedication.

I was raised as a Christian child and my mother struggled to pay for piano lessons for us, probably with the hope that we would one day play her favorite hymns. She loved her hymns and classical piano music. She made sure that we attended Sunday school every Sunday; she always sang her favorite hymns and frequently quoted the scriptures around the house. One of her favorite hymns was Ask the Savior to Help You.

I remember making a feeble attempt to read the Bible in its entirety during my youth, but I never got pass the begats and I soon begat disinterest! As a teenager, I was more interested in basketball and boys. As a young adult, I was interested in partying–never anything too wild, but I loved to dance and was very much a part of the disco era. Aside from that, I didn’t stray too far from my spiritual training. But the hypocrisy and the un-Christian-like behavior I witnessed among some church members and professed Christians filled me with disdain and resentment for them. I gradually stopped attending church. And, after dancing all through my Saturday nights, it became very easy and totally justifiable for me to sleep away years of Sunday mornings.

Periodically I would attend church for my own spiritual needs, but it was my husband’s illness and life’s many challenges that brought me to my knees and back to God.

My husband, who developed rheumatoid arthritis, also developed lymphoma of the lungs. Incredibly, we courageously lived through chemotherapy and all the transformations of it. I watched as my husband lost his hair, mustache, goatee and body hair. I watched as he gained weight, lost weight and began re-growing a few wisps of hair. The six months of chemotherapy didn’t seem so bad at all.

But as soon as the chemotherapy ordeal was over, he was diagnosed as having interstitial lung disease. He became highly susceptible to all viruses; he had an incessant cough which shook his whole body once it began, and his emotional state was at an all time low. November, 1998, he finally had to stop working, when he was stricken with a series of illnesses: shingles, upper respiratory problems, pneumonia–and that earth-shaking, incessant cough.

Stressed to my limit, my old back problem reoccurred. I was home from work due to acute back pain, but I still had to try to nurse him back to health. He experienced a brief respite, a short-lived recovery, but once again began coughing, wheezing, and gasping for air. It seemed as though the cloud of doom would never be lifted. We quickly worked together to create a will; to get his affairs in order. We truly believed he was going to die.

In addition to working with less income, we now had to find money for nutrient supplements of all kinds; we had to be sure he had all his prescribed medication on hand–and there was a plethora of them. We had to go back and forth to the many doctors assigned to his case. The credit card bills seemed to be spiraling out of control. I worried I might soon be out of a job because my unit was in the midst of a spin-off. There was unrest between us and our tenant. The boiler cracked and needed to be repaired. Where would we get the money?

While I was concerned about my husband’s health and so many other issues, I received a call regarding my mother who was placed in a nursing home in 1995. She was also sick. Because my husband needed me, and I knew my mother was getting the best care in the