Why Don’t We See More Of Our Missionaries?

A few years ago a fellow pastor and friend of mine asked me, “Why don’t we see more of our missionaries? Is there something wrong with our church?”

Perplexed and Hurt

This seemed strange to him because overseas missionaries who are on home assignment are usually eager to visit their supporting churches and reconnect with many friends in the church. This church considered itself very mission-minded, genuinely devoted in prayer and partners in the work. My friend was somewhat offended and hurt.

I happened to know this church and its approach to missions fairly well. True, it was somewhat of a mission-minded church, but the leadership and the congregation were not as committed to missions as they thought they were. It is safe to say that those outside the church would not describe the church as a mission-minded church.

3 Measurements of Commitment

So, I asked how much the church supported each of its missionaries.  It was a modest sum, probably a little too modest. Then we talked about the travel costs for the missionaries to visit the church. This cost was not reimbursed by the church, either. Their missionaries seemed to visit when their church was an easy add-on to a trip, but they were not the main destination.

Then we talked about what a missionary visit would look like. Were opportunities created for the missionaries to give an in-depth view of their work, and would they have freedom to ask others to become supporters of their ministry? It turns out that the church didn’t take the initiative to create such opportunities, or much else.

Then I asked about recent mission trips taken by the church. The last significant one was over five years ago. Occasionally people still talk about it and reminisce about its value and glory. However, in today’s world of inexpensive travel and easy to organize short-term trips of value, it should be routine practice to have church leaders and others visit a church’s missionaries. This is a wonderful opportunity to encourage them, bless them, learn from them and be of value to them.

Making Necessary Adjustments

My pastor friend agreed that they were really a low mission commitment church. And their missionaries probably didn’t sense great commitment on the church’s part. The relationships had not been nurtured. Gladly, my pastor friend decided to make the necessary changes! 

Since our conversation a few years ago, the church has been steadily increasing their financial support of all their missionaries. The church leadership communicates much more and at a higher level of quality with their missionaries and their congregation. 

There is a new level of engagement that is obvious to all. Missionaries are highlighted and given greater access to people. Slowly, new trips are being organized, well-planned for added value, and they are being seen as a key investment for the advance of the Gospel!

Sermons Are Not Meant To Be Remembered

How many of you remember the sermon from last Sunday?  Don’t worry, you were not supposed to anyway.

Look at and Listen to the Preacher:  Not Obnoxious Learning Devices

The congregation really wanted sermon notes in the bulletin, so I gave in. However, I don’t like people looking down when I am preaching. Much more preferable is to have everyone engaged with me in the amazing biblical text, enjoying it together.

Another bad idea is having people looking to the side at a screen as if this holy event were a business presentation or educational lecture. And yet, the ultimate bad idea is fill-in-the-blank preaching notes, especially when bloated with alliteration.

It is also infuriating to listen to powerful (and often long) illustrations, well-crafted story-telling, creative reconstructions of a Bible story (sometimes even including theatrical garb and voice), because the Bible gets lost, and really fast.

Entertaining, motivating, counseling, providing practical steps, creating artsy set designs—can we just stop it and just preach the Word? This is all for getting people to remember. And we falsely assume that remembering brings about transformation. It doesn’t.

What if we gave up on getting people to remember sermons and just went for the transformation outright?

It is actually easier, less time consuming and much more enjoyable for everyone, trust me. Simply listen to the preachers as they explain and apply the Word for us all. It is a good and beautiful thing. Look at the preacher!

Look at and Listen to the Book:  Preaching is Unique Communication

I have never preached so that people remember outlines, stories, life principles or any other cute Christian slogans or quaint Christian sentiments. I don’t want people to remember my sermon, I want them to know and love God more through the Scriptures, and be able to do so on their own, in their families and with other people.

There is no parallel for preaching, not school teaching, not academic lecturing, not business presenting, not inspiring, not theater, not solving problems. We really need to stop trying to find an analogy, because no analogy exists.  Preaching is a unique event.

If the goal is to rejoice in God and His Word before His People, trusting the Holy Spirit who wrote the Bible and indwells His People to stir their hearts for the glory of God, then what are we doing messing around with inferior methodologies and delivery methods that cannot hold the weight of the message!?

We need to believe more in God and His Word. Our goals of transformation are going to be accomplished through the Biblical text. Each person in the congregation should be able to go back to the text and remember by the Holy Spirit and re-preach it to themselves. They should be able to see God’s transformational truth from the Word themselves without the added baggage of the preacher’s outline obscuring the text and confusing them.

This kind of preaching is what the people of God really hunger for. This kind of preaching is what those without God really want and really need to hear. We preachers need to stop playing games and simply love our people and preach the Word. Look at the book!

( See related blog post: Hijacked Preaching)

I remember when I became a Christian at the age of 17. All I wanted was someone to teach me the Bible, someone who knew the Bible, loved the Bible and simply explained it to me without pulpit antics or goofy gimmicks to get me to like the Bible.

As our Apostle Paul instructed Pastor Timothy (2 Timothy 3:14-4:5):

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Lest you think I am a complete iconoclast, I will grant that add-ons can be helpful, but they are not preaching, they are add-ons. All I am asking for is a more thoughtful and prayerful reconsideration of what we are doing when we are preaching the Word of God, the Holy Scripture.

Personal Holiness Has Fallen On Hard Times

Maybe it is just me, but it seems like the topic of personal holiness is overlooked these days.

Even though Christian discipleship is a hot topic today, the part about “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” by Jesus Christ is missing from many discussions and from many lives. Do Christians actively pursue personal holiness still, I wonder?

Possible Reasons

There might be a number of reasons for this lack of pursuit.

1. Christians don’t see it as that important, beyond the basics of acceptable morality.
2. Christians have adopted the best of current cultural standards as their own standards.
3. Christians don’t really know the biblical standards, and there is significant self-doubt about the ones they think they might know.
4. Christians are living outside of God’s moral will, they know it and they feel it.
5. Christians are fearful that they will become self-righteous, or will be viewed that way.

Of course, the biggest category these days has to do with all views, practices and proprieties in the area of human sexuality. It is astounding how difficult it is to have a biblically honest conversation around matters that have historically been clear for millennia even up to about 10-15 years ago.

Preferred Conversations

Instead, Christians prefer to talk about transformation. This is a large theological term, a good term, but it has been co-opted for speaking in general terms about many things. It sounds much more comprehensive; though it provides an excellent opportunity to hide. By focusing on others and on matters of community and social justice it is easy to avoid our own shortcomings whether minor blemishes or even serious sins.

Supposedly getting into morality specifics could be offensive, so we leave it up to the individual brother or sister and their personal relationship with God. This only seems more noble because we are either ignorant of God’s Scriptural commands, or we are afraid of them, or both. But we miss that true transformation, both at the personal level and for the greater good, is rooted in personal character.

1 John 2:15–17 ESV “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Push the Envelope

It is possible to go beyond current acceptable norms in Christianity. How odd it is to use the phrase--but we can “push the envelope” on Christian personal holiness. We need to speak honestly and spiritually with our closest friends.

Ephesians 5:3–17 ESV “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

The goal is to please the Lord, at least it ought to be! Three books that have been helpful to me:  The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul and Holiness by J. C. Ryle.

So then, my friends, “Since we have these promises [in the Gospel], beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)

The Eradication Of Sin

We long for the day when sin will be finally and fully eradicated. At that time we will live in perfection in all our relationships—with God, ourselves, one another and the world. This Day is the Day when Our Lord Jesus Christ Returns. This will be the Day when God will triumph over sin in His People and in His Creation.

Romans 8:18–25 ESV “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

Our Glorification in the Resurrection

Glorification is the final step in the application of our redemption, including the redemption of our bodies as well as our souls.

Romans 8:29–30 ESV “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

The Old Testament promises our resurrection and generates hope. It prepares us for the full revelation of its reality in the New Testament with Our Lord Jesus Christ. Such passages as these: Job 19:25-26; Psalm 16:11; 49:15; 73:24-25; and others.

Isaiah 26:19 ESV “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.” 

Daniel 12:2 ESV “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

The New Testament brings clarity to this long standing testimony of hope from the Old Testament. Jesus Christ’s teachings on this topic are abundant in the Gospel accounts. His own Resurrection of course being the greatest testimony and hope ever! As a result, the New Testament is filed with encouragement to look to this hope at the final Day. Such passages as these: John 11:23-24; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; Hebrews 11:16-19; and others.

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 ESV “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

This teaching of the reality of the resurrection is one of great hope and comfort, and for encouragement to persevere and please God. We will be like Christ in glory, fully renewed in strength, beauty and spirituality. We will be recognizable, being same person in body and soul. All of this is a celebration of God’s triumph over sin

Colossians 1:19–20 ESV “For in him [Christ Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

We are not fully capable of explaining how this will work with our limited scientific minds. This will be a different type of existence, in full righteousness. There will be a renewal of the creation in perfect harmony. We will be embodied, enjoy society and work, all in an endless perfection of God-centeredness.

Jonathan Edward’s Meditations

Heaven, as Jonathan Edward’s taught, is God’s “fixed abode of manifestation” along with His angels and His saints. We cannot exaggerate its glory, and there we will “swim in an ocean of love and be swallowed up by the bright light of infinity.” 

In 1740, Edwards preached a famous sermon on heaven entitled “The Portion of the Righteous.” It is a captivating sermon. John Gerstner referred to Edwards as “the rhapsodic seer” of this beatific vision and summarizes the sermon in this way:

In his sermon, Edwards describes how Christians will behold God with their souls’ eyes, as an experience of their whole being, in the beatific vision of pure love. They will continually grow in perfection with ever new discoveries of God and one another as His saints, like lovers. And they will enjoy blessed fellowship in perfect love together in perfection and perpetual youth.  

Even now, those glorified in heaven are interested in the saints still on earth, for there is One Church of God. But in glory, all the saints of God will be rewarded for their works in Christ according to their capacities, each being full, and yet our blessedness will increase forevermore as we delight in one another’s blessedness. As the stars vary in degrees of brightness we will differ in glory but each being satisfied, according to 1 Corinthians 15:41.

Five Applications

Here are five ways we can apply the coming reality of our glorification and the eradication of sin that will impact our lives today.

1. Actively anticipating heaven and glorification will build up our hope. John Calvin said, “Meditation on the future life is a primary mark of a Christian.”
2. Reflect on the deaths of Christians, especially those you know. Consider their present existence and experience, and let joy of glory fill your soul!
3. Truly hoping for the Day of Christ will have observable effects in our lives. It will actually work to change us and make us more like Christ! (1 John 3:2-3)
4. We are to live out the future we know is secure. We need to keep renewing our minds in thinking this way so that we live this way. (Colossians 3:1-3)
5. Read Jonathan Edwards’ sermon “The Portion of the Righteous.” It will thrill your soul like nothing else you have probably ever read about heaven! It will take you to new heights of praise, delight, and worship!

Behold The Glory Of Christ

The night before His death, Our Lord Christ prayed to the Father and prayed for us as His followers. He prayed that we would behold His glory. This is the greatest blessing for us from Christ, to see Him.

John 17:4–5, 24 ESV “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. . . . Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

This summer my two teenage sons and I are reading and discussing together The Glory of Christ by John Owen. This short book encourages us to behold the glory of Christ now by faith, with the assurance that later we will behold His glory by sight. 

John Owen opens his series of teachings and meditations by saying, “The glory of Christ is the glory of the person of Christ.” He encourages us to consider three aspects of this.

Person of Christ

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the second person of the One Triune God, who became man. He is fully God and fully human. This mystery of His one person in two natures is glorious. Beholding this glory by Bible reading, prayer and meditation brings joy and amazement, satisfying our souls over and over again.

Character of Christ

Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God. Through Him we know God and what God is like. His earthly life and ministry recorded in the Gospels show us the true character of the true God. We see His love, mercy, grace, as well as His truth, righteousness and just judgment. Beholding this glory revealed and recorded in Scripture by prayer and meditation fills up our souls.

Work of Christ

Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins, rose from the dead for our justification, and ascended to glory. He accomplished redemption and brings the full blessings of salvation into our lives through the Holy Spirit. Soon He will return with the fullness of the Kingdom. Beholding this glory which is beyond all human strivings and hopes, written from the beginning to the end of Scripture, is yet again seen by faith through prayer and meditation.

Regularly beholding the glory of Christ by faith will transform your life and your ministry. I often give out The Glory of Christ by John Owen as a gift to ministers around the world, and they later testify to this reality. 

Take time daily to truly behold, to see and enjoy, the glory of Christ in the person of Christ. Do this by faith now, and know that soon we will behold Him with our very eyes!

When you read the Word of God, what do you discover and see about who Christ is? Stop reading and praise Him for who He is in the glory of His being. What do you see highlighted about what He is like as a person? Again, stop and behold His glory in adoration and enjoyment. What blessings are described as a result from Christ’s work on the Cross and in His Resurrection? Yet again, pause and use the very Words of Scripture in your worship of the Glorious One.

All The Bible Verses On Fasting

A number of years ago our church studied the Christian spiritual discipline of fasting. Over the course of 12 weeks we learned about the value of fasting and its many purposes. We practiced fasting, and even fasted together at times. 

As a result, we all grew closer to God through prayer and fasting. We enjoyed Christ and our salvation more deeply. And we developed a new pattern of Biblical spirituality that many of us previously lacked.

In one of the first lessons we took a look at the Biblical basis of fasting. In doing so, we examined all the passages in the Bible about fasting. Below is the list I compiled.

Biblical Terms

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew terms are tsûm/tsôm, or ‘innâh nephesh, meaning “to fast; a fast/fasting,” or “humble one’s soul.”

In the New Testament, the Greek terms are nesteuo (v.) and nesteia (n.), meaning “to fast” and “a fast/fasting.” Also nestis and asitos are used.

Searching for terms will find most of the references, but it will not reveal all of them. There are other ways of referring to fasting than just using the term itself, such as using a descriptive phrase like "not eating or drinking."

Selected Scripture Passages: An Overview

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.’  So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.” (Exodus 34:27-28; see Deuteronomy 9:9, 18)

“‘And this shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls, and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you shall be clean from all your sins before the LORD.   It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute.” (Leviticus 16:29-31; see Leviticus 23:14, 26-32; 29:7)

“Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.  For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, ‘The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.’  So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.” (Ezra 8:21-23)

“‘Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins.  Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.  “Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?”  ‘Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers.  Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.  Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD?  Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?  Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?  Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.  Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, “Here I am.”  If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,  And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday.  And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.  And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.’” (Isaiah 58:1-12)

“So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” (Daniel 9:3)

“‘Yet even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping, and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments.’  Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting of evil.  Who knows whether He will not turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a libation For the LORD your God?  Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,  Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber.  Let the priests, the LORD'S ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, ‘Spare Thy people, O LORD, And do not make Thine inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, “Where is their God?”’” (Joel 2:12-17)

“Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.  When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes.  And he issued a proclamation and it said, ‘In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.  But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands.  Who knows, God may turn and relent, and withdraw His burning anger so that we shall not perish?’” (Jonah 3:5-9)

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.” (Matthew 4:1-2; parallel Luke 4:1-2)

“‘And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (Matthew 6:16-18)

“Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?’  And Jesus said to them, ‘The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.  But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.  Nor do men put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.’” (Matthew 9:14-17; parallel Mark 2:18-22 and Luke 5:33-39)

“And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’  Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” (Acts 13:2-3)

“And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” (Acts 14:23)

The Rest of the Scripture Passages on Fasting

Genesis 24:33
Numbers 6:3-4; 29:7
Judges 20:26
1 Samuel 1:7-8; 7:5-6; 14:24-30; 20:34; 30:11-12; 31:11-13
2 Samuel 1:11-12; 3:35; 11:11; 12:15-23
1 Kings 13:8-25; 17:6, 14-16; 19:8; 21:4-16, 27
1 Chronicles 10:11-12
2 Chronicles 20:3
Ezra 9:5; 10:6
Nehemiah 1:4; 9:1-4
Esther 4:3, 15-17; 9:29-32
Job 33:19-20
Psalm 35:13; 42:3; 69:10-11; 102:4; 107:17-18; 109:21-25
Jeremiah 14:10-12; 36:6-7, 9-10
Daniel 1:12-16; 6:16-18; 10:1-3
Joel 1:14
Zechariah 7:3-5; 8:18-19
Matthew 11:18; 15:32; 17:21?
Mark 8:2-3; 9:29?
Luke 2:37; 7:33; 18:12
John 4:31-34
Acts 9:9, 19; 10:30?; 23:12-21; 27:9, 21, 33-36
Romans 14:21
1 Corinthians 7:5?; 8:13
2 Corinthians 6:5; 11:27
1 Timothy 4:3