The Bible is about relationships: our relationship with those around us and the one we have with ourselves, as well as our relationship with God.
But even though it was written nearly 2000 years ago, it is as relevant today as it was back then.
Both the Old and the New Testament are a treasure trove of practical advice on how to cope with complex situations in our busy lives.
The Bible is simply the best guide to practical living ever written.
It deals with issues such as loss, love, success, anxiety, happiness, friendship, depression, sickness, money, and much more – pearls of wisdom spoken by Jesus and his desciples.
About anxiety, Jesus says in Matthew 6:34, written in the 50s or 60s AD: ‘Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.’
In other words, as we start 2009 with a world wide recession and the temptation to let ourselves be overwhelmed by anxious thoughts, let’s take Jesus’s advice and tackle our problems one day at a time.

When choosing a career…

If any of your lacks wisdom,
let him ask God,
who gives generously to all
without reproach, and it will be
given him.

But let him ask
in faith, with no doubting,
for the one who doubts
is like a wave of the sea
that is driven and tossed by the wind.

For that person must not suppose
that he will receive anything
from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all his ways.

(James 1: 5-8)

When anxious…

‘Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious
about our life,
what you will eat
or what you will drink,
nor about your body,
what you will put on.

Is not life more than food,
and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air:
they neither sow nor reap
nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father
feeds them.

Are you not
of more value than they?

And which of you
by being anxious
can add a single hour to his
span of life?
And why are you anxious
about clothing?
Consider the lilies
of the filed, how they grow:
they neither toil nor spin,
yet I tell you, even Solomon
in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these.
But if God
so clothes the grass of the field,
which today is alive and tomorrow
is thrown into the oven,
will he not much more clothe you,

O you of little faith?
Therefore do not be anxious, saying,
‘What shall we eat?’ or
‘What shall we drink?’ or
‘What shall we wear?’
For the Gentiles seek after
all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness, and all
these things will be added to you.
‘Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.’

(Matthew 6:25-34)

Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known
to God.
And the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:6,7)

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear though
the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved
into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at
its swelling.
There is a river whose steams make
glad the city of God,
The holy habitation of the
Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not
be moved;
God will help her when morning
dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolation on
the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of
the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters
the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.

‘Be still, and know that I am God
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!’
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

(Psalm 46)

In times of success…

Let the lowly brother boats in his exaltation,
and the rich in his humiliation,
because like a flower of the grass
he will pass away.
For the sun rises with its scorching
heat and withers the grass;
its flower falls, and its beauty perishes.
So also will the rich man fade away
in the midst of his pursuits.

(James 1: 9-11)

Beware lest you say in your heart,
‘My power and the might of my hand
have gained me this wealth.’
You shall remember
the Lord your God,
for it is he who gives you power
to get wealth, that he may
confirm his covenant that he swore
to your fathers, as it is this day.
And if you forget the Lord
your God
and go after other gods
and serve them and worship them
I solemnly warn you today
that you shall surely perish.

(Deuteronomy 8:10-20)

Feeling lonely…

‘If you love me, you will keep
my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Helper,
to be with you forever,
even the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees him
nor knows him.
You know him, for he
dwells with you and will be in you.

I will not leave you
as orphans; I will come to you.
Yet a little while and the world
will see me no more, but you will
see me.
Because I live,  you also will live.
In that day
you will know that I am in my Father,
and you in me, and I in you.

Whoever has my commandments
and keeps them, he it is
who loves me.
And he, who loves me
will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and
manifest myself to him.

(John 14:15-21)

Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice
and opens the door,
I will come in to him
and eat with him,
and he with me.

(Revelation 2:20)

When tempted…

Let no one say when he is tempted,
“I am being tempted by God,’
for God cannot be tempted with evil,
and he himself tempts no one.

But each person is tempted
when he is lured and enticed
by his own desire.
Then desire, when it has conceived,
gives birth to sin,
and sin when it is fully grown
brings forth death.

(James 1: 13-15)

Feeling inadequate…

The foolishness of God is
wiser than men,
and the weakness of God
is stronger than men.
God chose what is foolish
in the world to shame the wise;

God chose what is weak in the world
to shame the strong;
God chose what is low and despised
in the world,
even things that are not,
to bring to nothing
things that are,
so than no human being
might boast in the presence of God.

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus,
who became to us wisdom from God,
righteousness and sanctification
and redemption, so that as it is written
‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’.

(1 Corinthians 1:25-31)

But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient
for you, for my power is made perfect
in weakness.’
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly
of my weaknesses,
so that the power  of Christ
may rest upon me.
For the sake of Christ, then,
I am content with weaknesses,
insults, hardships, persecutions,
and calamities.
For when I am weak,
then I am strong.

(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

I know how to be brought low,
and I know how to abound.
In any and every circumstance,
I have learned the secret
of facing plenty and hunger,
abundance and need.
I can do all things through him
who strengthens me.

(Philippians 3:10-11)

When friends fail…

Alexander the coppersmith
did me great harm;
the Lord will repay him
according to his deeds.
Beware of him yourself,
for he strongly opposed our message.

At my first defence no one came
to stand by me, but all deserted me.
May it not be charged against them!
But the Lord stood by me and
strengthened me, so that through me
the message might be fully proclaimed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.

So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me
from every evil deed and bring me
safely into his heavenly kingdom.
To him be the glory for ever and ever.

(2 Timothy 4:16-18)

When afraid…

On that day, when evening had come,
he said to them: ‘Let us go across
to the other side.’ And leaving th crowd,
they took him with them in the boat,
just as he was.
And other boats were with him.
And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were
breaking into the boat, so that
the boat was already filling.
But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.
And they woke him and said to him,
‘Teacher, do you not care
that we are perishing?’
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea
‘Peace! Be still!’
And the wind ceased, and the re was
a great calm.
He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you
still no faith?’
And they were filled with great fear
and said to one another, ‘Who then is this,
that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

(Mark 4:35-41)

Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.

(Isaiah 42:10)