Thursday 9/5 ~ Then stand. And act.

The scripture for today, September 5 (9/5), is Nehemiah 9:5a as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Applied Christianity“And the Levites ~ Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherabiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah ~ said ‘Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.’ “

Who in the world are these eight men?  We know nothing about them before this event and nothing about them after this event. But they are forever memorialized in the Bible because, on this one day, within this one hour, in this one moment in time they “stood on the steps of the temple…and called with a loud voice” (Nehemiah 9:4) for the people to “stand up and praise the Lord”.

Can you do that? Can you stand and call out to people around you, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God”? Yes, you can. You can write letters to the editor, you can encourage other students of the Bible, you can start Bible studies in your home or even the internet for adults or children, you can take scripture tray favors to a hospital or nursing home.

In what way can you tell people around you to “stand up and praise the Lord your God”? List for yourself some ideas. Then stand. And act.

 

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Wednesday 9/4 ~ Shhh. Listen. Do you hear?

The scripture for today, September 4 (9/4), is Daniel 9:4 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Thumbnail“I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: ‘O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands….’ “

A lot of people in the world think God should feel obligated to take them to his heaven. After all, they are fairly good, and better than some. God couldn’t possibly in all good conscience turn them away.

Yet, their entire life they resent God. They don’t like his few commands; they don’t want anyone telling them what to do or not do. Or they claim to love God, but create their own commands that just aren’t in the Bible, making themselves God. What confusion!

Ultimately, heaven is God’s home, not yours. He is not obligated to invite anyone into His home. Besides, only perfection can live with God who is perfect. It only takes one sin to make us an imperfect sinner.

So how do you become perfect? That’s where God’s awesomeness is demonstrated. By following Jesus who was perfect and never sinned, and obeying Jesus’ few commands, God considers you perfect by proxy.

But it’s like a boomerang. God treats you the way you treat him. If you don’t take time for God, he doesn’t take time for you. If you don’t like to spend time praising him, he doesn’t spend time praising you. Actually, if you don’t really like anything about God, you would be miserable in heaven.

God never forces himself on anyone. He loves you even when you do not love Him.  So, he keeps on calling, “Come back!  Come back to me!  I can keep you safe.”  Shhh. Listen.  Do you hear Him?

 

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Tuesday 9/3 ~ God in you

The scripture for today, September 3 (9/3), is 1st Kings 9:3 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

3 Great Kings Kindle-Thumbnail“The Lord said to him, ‘I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.’ “

The New Testament builds spiritual concepts on the basic material patterns of the Old Testament. For example, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1st Corinthians 3:16). This is the temple God wants now, not the old material temple of the Old Testament.

Just as there was just one material temple of God in the Old Testament, God looks upon each Christian individually as though you are the only temple. He is with you constantly and hears your every word, your every song, your every prayer.

Is your heart troubled today? Is your heart joyful today? Are you at peace with everything around you? Do you see conflicts you do not know how to solve?

God’s eyes and heart are with you. God sees and watches out for you in everything you do. He knows your cares, your heart’s desires, your joys, your worries. God’s eyes and heart are forever with you. Why? God is living in you, for you are God’s temple!

 

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Monday 9/2 ~ Understanding God

The scripture for today, September 2 (9/2), is Job 9:2 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Thumbnail“Though one wishes to dispute with Him [God], he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.”

There are so-called sophisticated intellectuals in the world who want to come up with all the answers about God. Many even make God in their image instead of we being made in God’s image. They try to reduce God to complete human understanding.

I smile sometimes when I hear TV evangelists declare, “God likes it when you…” or “God approves when you…” or “God thinks…” and they’re all different.  He must look down on us, shake his head, and think, “You know nothing.” 

This was Satan’s temptation and Eve’s desire ~ to know everything God knows. She bought into Satan’s lie.  How can we even begin to figure out God?  There are two trillion galaxies out there ~ not stars but galaxies. God is larger than them all. Dispute with the all-knowing God? 

That cannot be! If we could understand everything about God, He would not be God! He has told us everything about Himself in his Word that he wants us to know and that we are able to comprehend.  Actually, He has poured out his heart to us in His Word.  

Let us rejoice that there are things about God we do not understand. Let us rejoice that there are events in our life that we do not understand with our finite minds. Let us rejoice that such a God loves us in our finiteness. He said so Himself.

 

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Sunday 9/1 ~ My constant companion

The scripture for today, September 1 (9/1), is Psalm 9:1 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Silver Cover-KINDLE-thumbnail“I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.”

I knew a lady many years ago who talked to God all day as though he was sitting or standing beside her, whether she was cleaning floors, washing dishes, going shopping, or had just received a telephone call. She talked to God about everything she was doing. God was her constant companion.

Your throne, oh God, rises above and far beyond everything I know or can comprehend.  Glory greater than the brightest star radiates from you.  The dome of the universe is your mantel of holiness. Rays more dazzling than the sun shoot out, penetrating the darkness surrounding my soul and bringing me into everlasting day. A path of mercy you make for me lighted up with love. I tread that path day by day knowing it leads to you. With all my filthiness, you allow me near. How I worship you.

Thank you, God, for a good summer. We had somewhat of a drought, but my plants were strong and most survived. How I love walking through my garden and pulling up a radish to nibble on, a strawberry to devour, a handful of peas to feast on. I did nothing to make them grow except keep the weeds away. You are the one who took my tiny seeds and turned them into delicious food for my table. That’s when I feel a little like a creator with you. Thank you, my Lord, for all this.

 

Silver Cover-KINDLE-thumbnail365 SILVER-WINGED PRAYERS: YOUR SPIRIT TO GOD’S is one of the TOUCHING GOD trilogy.  The other two are daily scripture thoughts and daily wisdom. Part of today’s thoughts is taken from September 1 of this prayers book.   Perfect for CHURCH LIBRARIES, WEDDINGS, SHOWERS, BIRTHDAYS, CHRISTMAS.  To buy now, click a good cover or past this:  https://amzn.to/30ZfQiV

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