Life-Changing Verses: Volume 3

By Carlton Lee Arnold

Life-Changing Verses, Volume 3, is not your typical devotional book. It attempts to answer the question, What is a Real Christian? Its objective is to enable Christians to apply specific Bible verses to their personal lives. At the same time, you will learn more about your Bible and receive an in-depth discussion of the verses selected.

Life-Changing Verses is a tough Christian book that encourages a stronger life with God. It is highly probable that you will be greatly challenged with each of the Life-Changing Verses. This book guarantees that you will become familiar with Gods story as you read the Bible. Specific verses have already been used in Bible-study groups to generate discussion about relevant topics.

This is a great book to have with you when you have a few minutes. It reduces some of your favorite verses into bite-sized chunks that you can absorb. Your life would be better if you took five minutes to read one chapter a day.
Josh Hunt, Author Teach Like Jesus; Good Questions Have Small Groups Talking; Disciple-Making Teachers

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449798611

Carlton Lee Arnold

I have experienced worship in many churches throughout the Southeast and Northeast, having lived in six states. I served in the USAF for 7 years. After retiring from Verizon in 2003, I served on a church staff for five years as director of adult discipleship. I have been involved with mentoring men for over thirty years. All of the above has allowed me to get to know people and their problems. God has made so many changes in my life that have allowed me to identify personally with others. I currently live in Cumming, Georgia, with my wife of forty-four years.

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LIFE CHANGING VERSES

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VOLUME 3

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Carlton Lee Arnold

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Copyright © 2013 Carlton Lee Arnold. [e-mail]

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.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

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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.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

NIV – New International Version

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9862-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9863-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9861-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013911146

WestBow Press rev. date: 06/20/2013

Contents

Other Works By The Author

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

1 God Keep Your Mind Focused On God

ISAIAH 26:3-4

2 Everything About Your Life Is Because Of Christ

1 CORINTHIANS 1:30-31

3 Prayer Be Faithful In Praying

EPHESIANS 6:18

4 Worship Make It Sincere And Pure Before God

MALACHI 1:10

5 Your Life Being In Unity With Others

PSALM 18:30-32

6 Spiritual Power Power

1 CORINTHIANS 4:20

7 God’s Will – Part 1 God’s Will Versus Your Will

ROMANS 11:33

8 God’s Will – Part 2 God’s Will Versus Your Will

ROMANS 11:33

9 God The Grand Canyon Is In The Wrong Place

ROMANS 11:34

10 Purpose Finding Rest For Your Soul

JEREMIAH 6:16

11 Your Life Your New Life

EPHESIANS 4:22-23

12 Relationship You Are Near To God

EPHESIANS 2:13

13 You Consider Others Better Than Yourself

PHILIPPIANS 2:1-3

14 God A Great And Mighty God

PSALM 147:3-5

15 Encouragement Encouragement Through Serving

2 CORINTHIANS 9:13-15

16 Knowledge Know The Lord

JEREMIAH 31:34

17 Your Life Are You A Tent Peg Carrier?

NUMBERS 4:31-32

ROMANS 12:3

18 Your Life Your Resurrection

1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-17

19 Your Life Idols Don’t Give Comfort

ZECHARIAH 10:2

20 Love Love Others As God Loves You

COLOSSIANS 3:12-14

21 Purpose When You Experience Problems

ROMANS 8:28

22 Sin You Are As Righteous As Christ

2 CORINTHIANS 5:21

23 Thoughts Wrong Thinking

PSALM 71:14-16

24 Prayer Deep Spiritual Prayer

MATTHEW 26:38, 40-41

25 Knowledge Eternal Life Is Not You Living Forever

JOHN 17:3

26 Encouragement Never Give Up!

MATTHEW 6:25-34

27 God The Lord Will Provide

GENESIS 22:12-14

28 Praise Praise The Lord

NEHEMIAH 9:5B-6

29 Your Life Live Biblical Truths During The Holidays

LUKE 12:15


 

30 Religion Definition Of Religion

JAMES 1:27

31 Your Life The Gospel According To You

1 TIMOTHY 4:7-8

32 Your Life Are You Producing Fruit?

MATTHEW 21:43

33 Your Life Take Care Of Your Soul

PSALM 131:1-2

34 God In Your Life

ISAIAH 46:3B-4

35 Spiritual Growth Do You Listen To Others?

1 JOHN 5:2-4

36 You And God Religion Or Relationship?

MARK 7:6-8

37 God’s Love Live A Life Of Love

EPHESIANS 5:1-2

38 Satan Steals, Kills, And Destroys

JOHN 10:10

39 Your Life The People In The Church

3 JOHN 3-4

40 Your Life Do You Believe?

ROMANS 11:36

41 Christianity Life From Death

2 SAMUEL 12:22-23

42 God The Benefits Of Praising Him

PSALM 103:1-5

43 Sin The Way To A Relationship With God

1 JOHN 1:9

44 Faith Should You Obey The Ten Commandments?

GALATIANS 3:25

45 Your Life An Amazing Statement!

LUKE 1:37

46 Your Life Do You Really Want To Grow Spiritually? – Part 1

2 PETER 3:18

47 Your Life Do You Really Want To Grow Spiritually? – Part 2

2 PETER 3:18

48 Thankfulness A Thanksgiving Life

1 THESSALONIANS 5:18

49 God Know What You Are Missing!

PSALM 119:15-16

50 Jesus Christ Boom! And The World Changed Forever

HEBREWS 9:11-12

51 Your Life Time For A Revival?

PSALM 85:6-7

52 Your Life What Are You Becoming?

COLOSSIANS 1:10-12

Conclusion

List Of Bible Verses Used

Index Of Major Topics

Acknowledgements

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge him,

And he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

OTHER WORKS BY THE AUTHOR

L IFE-CHANGING VERSES, VOLUME 1 WAS published in December 2012, and Volume 2 was published in April 2013. This is the third volume of a planned four-volume set of Life-Changing Verses . You will find that there are no repeated verses or chapters. Each set of verses is unique to the entire set of the four Volumes. Volume 4 will be published in 2014. I am currently working on Life-Changing Verses for Men that should be published by October 2013.

While teaching a two-year class that included one year in the Old Testament and one year in the New Testament, my son took it upon himself to digitally record each class. He transcribed these notes verbatim. They are available at www.allarnold.com. You are encouraged to visit the site to read about the Old Testament and the New Testament, especially about God’s story in both testaments. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know at [e-mail].

In another two-year class, a class member took it upon himself to videotape each lesson and transfer them to DVD. Each lesson is available for a nominal fee. Note: there is a special seven-week study of the book of Revelation that has been taught in several Bible Study classes. For more information, access my email: [e-mail].

There are numerous other classes originated by the author to help Christians understand their life in Christ.

These classes include: Holy Spirit, Prayer, and What is Discipleship?

Life-Changing Verses

Volume 3

Encouragement for the Believer

to apply God’s Word with Conviction

To my wife, D’Ette,

To my grandson, Garrett,

To my granddaughter, McKenna

To my granddaughter, Ella

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

FOREWORD

C HANGING OUR LIVES MAY NOT be a subject that we want to think about or deem necessary since the world tells us that we alone have the power to control our destiny. However, when desperate situations eventually confront us, then we realize no longer are we the captain but the slave. It is during this time of humility and hopelessness that God can change our lives.

God uses these downers so that we may develop a closer relationship with Him. God knows we need encouragement and we need hope. He gives them to us through his Word—the Bible, His love letters to us.

For meaningful life changing experiences to occur, we must first accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior and open our hearts to Him. We are now prepared for God to start working on us. He does this many times by placing certain individuals in our lives that He has equipped through the Holy Spirit to teach us the Bible. Great things now start to happen as we learn of our awesome Creator!

My good friend and brother in Christ, Carlton Arnold, has been given a unique gift to impart God’s Word in a way that is pertinent, personal and crystal clear, so that I know God is speaking to me. These are words with the power to change one’s life, and indeed they have done so with mine.

Carlton has been writing Life Changing Verses for our congregation over the past several years. Basically his style is selecting Bible verses, describing their essence and making them personal. The fundamentally unedited results as you will soon experience are truly amazing, but not surprising, considering the work of the Holy Spirit. We are delighted that Carlton has compiled these writings into a book so that others may benefit from God’s Word.

May you allow God to change your life through His Word, and may you be blessed by these verses.

Walter L. (Lou) Meier III, M.D.

PREFACE

L IFE-CHANGING VERSES ARE A COMPILATION of my personal write-ups about selected verses from the Bible. Most write-ups are only one verse and some are well recognized while others are more obscure.

They were published on a weekly basis, and the audience has experienced continued growth over the years. I have been encouraged by many to format the Life-Changing Verses into book form so that others might find them helpful. This is Volume 3 and I plan to write at least one more. Volume 4 should be published in 2014. After Volume 3, I plan to write Life-Changing Verses for Men that should be published in October 2013. I am excited about the men’s book, as several people have requested me to do this.

These are not soft devotionals where you can say that you spent time with God. I am frank and candid about the current situation of the average Believer. This is based on over 35 years of Bible teaching with the last 14 years spent in teaching the Bible through seven times to classes that averaged over 75 people each Sunday.

My guiding principle was to encourage Christians to understand what the Bible says about being a Believer. I attempt to answer the question, How does the Bible describe a Real Christian? My main objective for each Bible verse selected was to make real and practical application to a Believer’s life. I experienced changes in my life while writing many of the Life-Changing Verses. I have a strong opinion that conviction will occur with every Believer. To God is the glory.

You will also find each Life-Changing Verse helpful to get to know your Bible. I intentionally included the story surrounding the verse. Also, the way you think of your Christian life will be challenged.

Finally, a surprise to me was the use of these Life-Changing Verses in Bible Study classes. They are used to generate discussions about various topics. To help with the use of Life-Changing Verses for Bible study, I have included two indices in the back of the book to find topics to discuss. The first is a list of the Bible verses used and the second is a list by major topic.

Each Life-Changing Verse was written by the leading of the Holy Spirit for individual use. I pray that you will be challenged, convicted, and encouraged by each one. And from your reading these, I pray that there will be changes in your life that can be attributed to the power of God as administered by the Holy Spirit.

All writings are the thoughts of the author as prompted by the Holy Spirit. The writer’s sole purpose was to see the hearts and minds of Believers directed toward God after reading Life-Changing Verses. May God and His Son, Jesus Christ, be honored through these writings.

All of the verses are quoted from the New International Version.

INTRODUCTION

A S A HOSPICE CHAPLAIN, I often feel a sense of helplessness in the face of suffering and death. So often patients and families tell me, I don’t know what I would do without the Lord. In this world of suffering there is nothing we need more than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Last year, Blaine Cooper, a member of First Baptist Church of Cumming, Georgia, introduced me to Carlton Arnold. I had the joy of caring for Blaine’s mother as her hospice chaplain.