Month: June 2015

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The scripture for today, June 20, is Matthew 6:20f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Cover-KINDLE“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

In describing heaven, terms are used like pearls, diamonds, emeralds, gold, and so on. So certainly God is not against riches. Otherwise he would not have described heaven with those terms.

So what is the problem? We must ask ourselves, “If I lost everything tomorrow, could I face life?” We may say yes, but what about friends who are now unsure they want to associate with someone with nothing? So, it is not only a greed problem, but a social problem. It is a problem of losing both our possessions and our friends.

Some have solved this problem by moving out into the country where possessions and social status don’t mean so much. Or we could
stay where we are and just change our choice of friends. Our new friends may be truer friends than we ever had before and may need us
more.

Lastly, if we lost our job, our car, our home ~ our identity ~ would we be so devastated that we would contemplate suicide as some have done? Or would we be able to look around us and see what we can do without having possessions and without having a job to occupy our time?

There are always things we can do for others. Is that truly where our heart is? In that case, loss of everything will not bring catastrophe. Rather, it would give opportunity to reveal what stuff we are made of deep down inside where our true treasure is ~ in our heart.

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The scripture for today, June 19, is 1st Corinthians 6:19f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have received from God? You are not your own. You were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

Sun Rays on Road-greenOur bodies are pretty valuable. Jesus bought us with something very expensive ~ his blood.

This world’s temples are sometimes small and sometimes large. Sometimes plain, sometimes fancy. Sometimes there is complete silence in a temple. And sometimes it echoes with song. Sometimes it has many people, sometimes it stands alone. People can usually figure out that each is a temple whether or not it has a sign.

Can people tell what you are without you having to tell them? When your family and friends need a place of quiet and rest, can they come to you? When people need a place of joy, can they come to you? After you part company with someone, are they glad you’re gone, or do they feel good about themselves and look forward to the next time they can be with you?

Today, allow your body to be seen as a temple.

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The scripture for today, June 18, is 2nd Chronicles 6:18a as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

GoldenStairs“But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you.”

Did you ever want to see God, to talk to him face to face? Perhaps something bad had just happened in your life and you had this urge to bawl him out, then let him explain why. Or did you ever want to touch God? Perhaps you were so very lonely that you desperately needed his arms around you, and feel his touch as he brushed away your tears.

But, if we could see him and touch him, it would mean that he could not be with others in the world at that time, and could not hear anyone else’s prayers at that time except yours. Let us be grateful that we cannot see and touch him for now. He is always available to all of us, regardless of where we are in this vast world and regardless of how many others are praying to him at that moment.

How he can sort out all our prayers at once is mind-boggling. How he can be everywhere at once is amazing.

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The scripture for today, June 17, is Matthew 6:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 6-PROMISE KEEPER-Cover-Createspace

This is interesting because Jesus did not say “If, you fast” but rather “When you fast.” It was as though he was teaching us to take for granted that we would fast ~ it would be second-nature to us. In a sense it is, for when most people go through a sudden tragedy such as loss of a loved one, they often cannot eat.

But what about voluntary fasting? The early church sometimes fasted. Acts 13:2 says a congregation in Antioch, Syria, fasted and worshipped, then chose men to go out as missionaries. Queen Esther fasted before going to the king uninvited with a request he might not like (Esther 4:16). Isaiah 58:3 says people fasted in order to humble themselves.

Some people respond, “I’d die if I had to fast.” And perhaps that’s kind of the idea. We know we would die if we went without food long enough. So perhaps one day of fasting is a way of saying, “God, I would die for you if I had to.” Yes, fasting is a humbling experience, and frightening to some people. But perhaps that is the point.

Is something important coming up that you know you will be urgently praying about? Once you skip one meal, you will have conquered your desire to eat. Then, with your brain not having to concentrate on digesting food, it will be able to focus more on that important thing happening in your life. Your prayers will be more focused. You will be more focused with your eyes more clearly on God.

So, take a shower, comb your hair, put on some nice clothes, and look like you have something important to do. Then fast. Jesus fasted. We must follow his example.

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The scripture for today, June 16, is Jeremiah 6:16 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLE

We need history, not only for an appreciation of what our forefathers did for us, but also to learn which mistakes not to make all over again. This is true with religion also. There are hundreds of denominations and religions out there. This divisiveness hurts us. It seems the more denominations and religions we have, the fewer people are interested in spiritual things.

Within Christianity, think about creeds for a moment. If a creed is less than the Bible, it isn’t enough. If it is more than the Bible, it is too much. If it is the same as the Bible, why have it? Let us change our loyalties away from denominationalism and toward the Bible. All this confusion is exhausting!

Human nature has always been the same, and the Bible written long ago applies just as much to human nature today as it did then ~ Proverbs! The life and speeches of Jesus! The many mistakes made by people in the Old Testament! The advice to Christians in the New Testament! It’s not confusing. And maybe then, we will find rest for our souls.

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The scripture for today, June 15, is 1st Timothy 6:15 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

HS-COVER-KINDLE-GOLD

But it’s hard to know just when God’s time is. You may think it is when an opportunity arises, but something happens and it doesn’t turn out. So later another opportunity arises, but something happens there too and it still doesn’t turn out.

This verse can carry you from hope to hope. Your life is like a line drawn across a piece of paper, and you have to stay on that line. But God looks down and can see the entire line at once, and he can also see everything going on around you.

Rather than give up on God and decide he doesn’t really love you like he claims, amidst your tears of disappointment, stretch your spirit and praise him anyway. Acknowledge him. Then rest until his own time.

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The scripture for today, June 14, is Numbers 6:14 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover

A lot of people don’t understand what Jesus dying on a cross has to do with going to heaven. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death.” In Old Testament times, God allowed people to kill a perfect animal in their place whenever they sinned. But they had to keep doing it over and over, because it is impossible for us to be perfect.

Finally Jesus came to earth as a human, and John the Baptist called him the Lamb of God (John 1:29). Jesus was perfect; that is, he never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). Then he took the wages of sin and died as the perfect Lamb of God in our place ~ both physically (separation from people on earth) and spiritually (separation from God). He even went a step further and miraculously came back to life!

Then God said, If you’ll believe and imitate Jesus, I will forgive your sins and consider you perfect too (Romans 6). Then I’ll bring you back to life in heaven. How amazing!

And, by the way, since he came back to life on Sunday, that’s what makes Sunday so special. It’s a I’m-sorry-you-had-to-die-for-my-sins Day, and a Gratitude Day.

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The scripture for today, June 13, is Judges 6:13f as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Sun Rays on Road-green” ‘But sir,’ Gideon replied, ‘if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about?…But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us in the hand of Midian [enemies].’ The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have.’ “

Sometimes we spend our time concentrating on our problem rather than a possible solution. Or we try to find someone else to solve our problem for us. Or we feel so helpless, we sit back and ask God to take care of our problem. When Captain Gideon did this, God basically replied, “You’ve still got strengths. Use them.”

Don’t sit idly by while bad things happen around you. Everyone has some sort of God-given strength. Look deep within your heart. It’s there. Then go forth in the strength you have.

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The scripture for today, June 12, is Luke 6:12 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:REV-Cover-Kindle

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountain side to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”

How in the world did Jesus think of enough things to say that he could pray all night? Most of us on a good day only manage a 5-minute prayer. The next verse says that the next morning he selected his twelve apostles. He had probably spent at least half an hour each praying for them by name, as well as for others he was considering.

Who do you pray for by name? Do you have a prayer list? How about opening the newspaper and praying for all those people in the news ~ perpetrators, victims, causes, governments, situations? Or everyone you work with? Or everyone your children go to school with? Or all their teachers and administrators? Or the clerks in the stores you go to regularly? Or members of an organization you belong to?

There are always people in need of prayer. And one of the joys of such a prayer life is now and then telling people whom you know that they are in your prayers; or writing a note to someone who was a stranger to you that you pray for them.

Some people have never heard their name in prayer. Some people have never even been told that someone prays for them.

God loves to answer prayer. Do you love prayer?

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The scripture for today, June 11, is Job 6:11 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects that I should be patient?”

Many people use the expression, “patience of Job.” But he had on-and-off patience, for he was very sick. By descriptions he gave of himself ~ sores, rancid breath, low voice, partial blindness, skin turned hard and black, bloating, nightmares, extreme pain, unrecognized by his closest friends, some believe he had a grotesque form of elephantitis leprosy.

What did he need from his friends? He surely didn’t get it, for they spent their time trying to prove that he had sinned and God was right to be punishing him. His reply? “I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing?” (Job 16:2f).

So how do we comfort someone who feels utterly hopeless? We certainly don’t put the blame on them, nor do we tell them it’s “all in your head’ or to “snap out of it”. We can share times when we felt hopeless. We can weep with them. We can hold their hand. We can sit with them in silence. We can pray aloud for them. (Some people have never heard their name mentioned in a prayer.)

And we need to let them talk. Sometimes they will say things they don’t mean in the long run, but at that brief moment they do. Or sometimes they need to talk through things they are unsure about. They may even say contradictory things.

At one time Job said, “Surely, O God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household… .God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at me” (16:7f). But another time he said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth….I myself will see him with my own eyes ~ I and not another. How my heart yearns within me” (19:25f)

If you have a very sick friend, let your heart yearn with them.