Month: July 2014

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Our scripture for today, July 21 (7/21), is Matthew 7:21ff as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!’ “

There are hundreds of denominations/sects out there all contradicting each other.  It’s impossible for them all to be right.  We can never rely on what someone else says just because they look and act holy and say all the right holy words and phrases and pray such holy-sounding prayers.  We must never rely on our religious leaders to tell us what to believe.  Shall we take their opinion or God’s opinion?

Romans 10:1 in the Bible mentions some people who had a lot of zeal for God, but were lost because it was not according to the proper knowledge.

Well, how do you get God’s opinion?  Read the Bible for yourself!  Use a concordance (lists every word in the Bible and every scripture with that word) and look up your chosen subject. Then, having found the truth, why not go back to the religious leaders in love and try to teach your teachers?  Some just might listen to you.

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The scripture for today, July 20 (7/20), is Ecclesiastes 7:20 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”

Many people believe if we don’t murder or steal, and if we help people poorer than ourselves, and aren’t mean to our family, God will have no choice but to let us into heaven.  It only takes one sin to be a sinner.

God ~ who is Perfect Goodness ~ cannot dwell with sin.  But mankind has never figured out a way to be perfectly good.  Remember, the cost of sin is death (Romans 6:23).  So in Old Testament days, God allowed people to kill perfect animals as a substitute for paying the cost of our sins ~ temporarily.

Then Jesus came.  He became that perfectly good person (Hebrews 4:15) ~ that perfect Lamb of God (John 1:29).  Then he died in our place to pay the cost of our sins ~ permanently.  Now all he asks is that we love him, thank him, worship him, follow his examples and all his commands (there aren’t many).  Then God the Father will consider us perfect too.  And then we will be accepted into heaven.

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The scripture for today, July 19 (7/19), is found in Romans 7:19 as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

“For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do ~ this I keep on doing.”

Doesn’t this pretty much describe all of us in some area of our life?   It may be eating too much, breaking the law by going over the speed limit, laughing at dirty jokes, habitual lying, stealing “little things” at work, cheating on tests, jealousy ~ any number of things.

Sins of habit and attitude are hard to break.  So we go to God over and over asking him to forgive that which, deep down, we know we’re going to do again.

Perhaps this emphasizes the importance of us forgiving others who habitually do wrong to us.  We do not know their battles any more than they know our battles.

Jesus said, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matthew 6:14).

Satan wants us to quit trying to do better.  And he wants us to quit forgiving each other.  Let us not give in to Satan.  Let us give in to God.  God’s way leads to ultimate forgiveness.

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The scripture for today, July 18 (7/18), is Acts 7:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Then another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt.”

Does God really answer prayers? When the Jews first arrived in Egypt, they received “royal treatment” because they were relatives of “Prime Minister” Joseph. Then he died, but his relatives stayed. Eventually they were resented, then feared, then made slaves of the Egyptians.

For the following 400 years or so, the Jews prayed for God to release them from their slavery. Generation after generation died believing that God does not answer prayers.

But God saw the big picture. He saw that the 70 relatives of Joseph who originally went to Egypt would become over three million over the next four centuries. Then and only then would they be large enough to begin a new nation ~ the Jewish nation. In Egypt during those centuries, they were in a form of “protective custody”.

Are you frustrated and confused because God is seemingly not answering some very important prayers? Perhaps you are part of a bigger picture that God knows about. Perhaps your job is to stay where you are and just keep hanging on. Are you up to the task God has assigned to you?

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The scripture for today, July 17 (7/17), is 1st Corinthians 7:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him.”

But can it be that this is where God wants you?  Can it be that the difficulties in your life right now are your assignments from God?  God fights Evil from heaven and it is our place to fight Evil from earth.  It is an ongoing battle.  “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

For some reason that cannot be understood right now, you are where God wants you to be.  This is your assignment from God.  Remember, we are “ambassadors for Christ” (II Corinthians 5:20).  We must show the world that “all things work together for good to those who love the Lord” (Romans 8:28).

As a soldier for Christ, be brave.  Think with a clear head.  Stand firm of faith and pure of heart.

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The scripture for today, July 16 (7/16), is Genesis 7:16 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah.  Then the Lord shut him in.”

Does your life sometimes feel like a downpour of unending bad events or a flood of tragedies?  Whenever that happens, why not just enter an ark of safety and let God shut the door?  When God shuts the door on something, try to recognize it and take advantage of its peace and quiet.

Our ark of safety is in our mind, our heart, our soul.  Our ark of safety is quietness in Jesus.

“My heart is not proud, O Lord….But I have stilled and quieted my soul” (Psalm 131:1f)

“In quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15b)

“The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17).

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The scripture for today, July 15 (7/15), is Matthew 7:15 as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

“Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

Jesus said this.  Maybe sometimes the “false prophet” is within ourselves.  We have a pet theory that we want very much for God to agree with us on.  So we read through the Scriptures trying to prove our point correct.  Of course, taking a verse here and a verse there, you can “prove” anything you want.

So how do we find out if we are being our own “false prophet”?  When we see a verse that contradicts our pet theory, look for other scriptures similar to this one.  Use a concordance ~ a book that lists alphabetically every word in the Bible and every verse it appears in.

Or, if we believe in a different holy book, we can read the holy books of the other major world religions, then honestly search for built-in proofs which book is truly holy.  Then we can decide if we’ve been listening to a false prophet.

And as you honestly struggle, pray about it.

Yes, it is humiliating to believe we just might have been wrong, and then actually admit we were wrong.  But it is also liberating.

Many people have already gone through this, and can testify that changing from our viewpoint to God’s viewpoint is not only liberating, but ultimately brings peace.

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The scripture for today, July 14 (7/14), is 2nd Chronicles 7:14 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

There is always a little bit of turmoil in all nations of the world.  Of course, there is more in some.  The average person cannot make their own nation call on God.  But the average person can do this:  “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone ~ for kings and all those in authority” (I Timothy 2:1-2).  Further, we should pray for them by name.

Even if you think some people in authority in your nation are against you, you must pray for them anyway.  Then wait quietly for God to work things out.  It may take Him a year, a decade or a lifetime to bring about your heart’s desire for your nation.  But keep praying.

Your job, in the mean time, is to follow God’s ways yourself.  Romans 13:1, 3-4 says, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. …For rulers hold no terror for those who do right….For he is God’s servant to do you good.”

God is aware of the suffering going on in your nation.  He will not leave you or forsake you.

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The scripture for July 13 (7/13) is in Job 7:13ff in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine.  I despise my life; I would not live forever.  Let me alone; my days have no meaning.”

Job was extremely depressed. It happens to everyone sometimes.  His depression was certainly valid ~ he had lost all his income  and all his children in a recent storm.  Now he had what the Bible translated as “boils” but the symptoms indicate he had a form of leprosy.  This particular form leads to nightmares in addition to the physical problems.  Job had every right to be depressed.  So depressed was he, that he no longer wanted to live, for his life no longer had meaning.

But, as miserable as Job was, he hung on.  Patiently he hung on during the bad times. Sometimes during our bad times, the greatest thing we can do is “hang on” ~ be patient.

Romans 8:28 says all things work together for good to those who love the Lord.  Job loved the Lord.  Even in his misery and desire to die, he continued to love God and trust Him.

And although at such times you may believe your misery will never end, you may believe you will never even smile again, it will happen.  The misery comes to an end.  It did for Job.  He got his health and wealth back and more children to comfort him.  God will see you through too.

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 The scripture for today, July 12 (7/12) is Revelation 7:12 in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Amen!  Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.  Amen!”

How often do we praise God?  Praise is more than thanking Him.  Praise refers to God’s attributes.  Let’s see what these words mean in the original Greek language of the New Testament:

Glory:  magnificantly beautiful
Wisdom:  great understanding
Thanks: bestowed favour
Honor: great weight and power

God deserves all this from us.  Some people think God is ugly, He doesn’t understand them, He is against them, and is for weaklings.  Some even hate God and are repulsed at the idea of worshiping him. They just don’t know God.  

Today, will you help someone know God?