Ordinary Christians singing praises to God with their whole heart. Amazing!
Author: Inspirations By Katheryn
I am kind of a world traveler. I have lived in Korea, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Tokyo, Canada, Afghanistan, India and USA.
I remember when President Kennedy was assassinated, watched the first human walk on the moon, Alaska became a state, President Kennedy & Martin Luther King were shot, and the first human walked on the moon.
I remember when the first Star Wars movie came out, 900 religiously misguided humans committed suicide in Guyana, when Microsoft was "invented" and the Ayatollah Khoumeini took over Iran, kicked out western companies (employers) and returned his country to the dark ages.
I WAS THERE WHEN MOUNT SAINT HELENS BLEW. I remember when the Berlin Wall fell, the Internet was created, the first warm-blooded animal was cloned (a sheep) and the Hubble Telescope was launched - all in the 1980s.
And you?
Wednesday 10/24 ~ Jesus was king of the world but laid aside his ego
The scripture for today, October 25 (10/25), is 1st Corinthians 10:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”
The context of this verse is that some of the members of the church in Corinth were expressing opinions or doing things that were offensive to some of the other members. They hurt the consciences of some of the weaker members.
Today, do you do anything during the public worship that is offensive to some people? Do you do them as an example of how “holy” you are? Do you even try to get God on your side and say that any Christian could do those things if they had as much faith as you do? Can you control your ego in this?
What about committee meetings? Do you suggest something that the others just aren’t excited about? Do you allow your ego to eventually seep in and begin to feel slighted or challenged because your idea wasn’t accepted? Do you even try to get God on your side and say he will be more glorified if the other committee members accept your plan? Can you control your ego in this?
One way to look at things objectively is to ask yourself, “Would my congregation survive without me?” What if I were killed in an auto accident and suddenly taken from them tomorrow? Would they continue to worship? Would they continue to do good works? Would they continue to meet as a congregation? Ninety-nine percent of the time your congregation would survive without you.
So, try (struggle with tears if necessary) to lay aside your ego that gets hurt or feels challenged, and seek the comfort, welfare, and good of your fellow members.
Jesus was King of the world, but he laid aside his ego. And he triumphed!
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Tuesday 10/23 ~ So, how are we supposed to know?
The scripture for today, October 23 (10/23), is Jeremiah 10:23 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
“I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.”
Just how are we supposed to know what steps God has directed us to take? Do we have to guess, rely on a feeling, depend on the movement of our heart, a vision? Actually, we have a guide, a roadmap.
Jesus said in John 14:16-17 that after he left, the Father would send another Counselor ~ the Spirit of Truth. In John 16:13 Jesus said The Spirit of Truth will guide us into all truth.” In John 17:17, Jesus said, “Your Word is truth.”
Yes, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, guides us through the Word of God, the Bible.
We don’t have to guess! We don’t have to wonder! We don’t have to get discouraged! God has given us his Word to direct our steps. All we have to do is open his Word and read the map.
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Monday 10/22 ~ Guilty Conscience?
The scripture for today, October 22 (10/22), is Hebrews 10:22 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
The previous verse said that Jesus is the great (high) priest over the house of God (the church). Therefore the sprinkling refers to the sprinkling of blood the high priests did on the Day of Atonement once a year. (See Leviticus 16 in the Old Testament.) Today your heart (which we cannot see or touch) is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus.
And how are you to be cleansed from that guilty conscience with our body (which we can see and touch) being washed? I Peter 3:21 says, “Even so does baptism now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience toward God.”
You do not have to guess whether you were sincere enough when you gave your heart to the Lord. Your conscience never has to wonder if you did it right. For God gave you something you can actually do to give you a good and clear conscience toward him.
From henceforth, you can draw near to God in full assurance. Full! Not partial. Not wondering. Not with ups and downs of faith. But full!
God thinks of everything!
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Sunday 10/21 ~ Dying or nourishing?
The scripture for today, October 21 (10/21), is Proverbs 10:21 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
“The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment.”
What do you talk about during the day? What kind of judgment do you use? Do you nourish others by what you say to them?
Are you a complainer or complementor? Are you rude or patient? Do you glare or smile? Do you criticize the wrong a person does, or praise the right that person does? Do you sing of your love of God on Sunday and use swear words the rest of the week?
If you are a foolish talker, you are killing yourself.
Today, go out of your way to nourish everyone you talk to. Start a new habit. They will see God in you.
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Saturday 10/20 ~ Lord God, you are crowned with the sun
The scripture for today, October 20 (10/20), is Deuteronomy 10:20 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
“Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him.”
I praise you, Jehovah, Creator of everything I observe and more. You are too large to see but a speck of you. You are too small to perceive, too much to fathom, too wise to comprehend. You are my monarch, my sovereign, my emperor, my king. You reign over my heart, my mind, my spirit, my soul.
Lord God, you are crowned with the sun. Your scepter is tipped with the moon. Your robe spreads across the Milky Way. Your throne is the dome of the cosmos encircled with a thousand rainbows. Your eyes sparkle like stars, your laughter is like the thunder, your tears like raindrops, your touch like billowy clouds gliding across the sky. Oh, my Lord. I love you, adore you, worship you.
In the Hebrew, “fear” is yirah. It means to revere. Psalm 111:9 (KJV) says, “Holy and reverend is His name,” not somebody else’s name. Some preachers say, “Well, I’m honoring God when I add ‘Reverend’ to my name.” Really?
We are told to hold fast to God. Hold fast to Reverend God, and he will hold fast to you.
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Thursday 10/18 ~ Who Knows? It may be you.
The scripture for today, October 18 (10/18), is 2nd Corinthians 10:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”
Do you look at your life and decide some of your bad habits are not so bad, considering what some other people you know are doing? Do you look at your life and decide your lukewarmness in good works and spreading the gospel is not so bad, considering what most others around you are doing?
Jesus said you will receive only one reward, and we must choose it: (1) Being commended by each other, or (2) being commended by God. You can’t have both (Matthew 6:5; 18).
And that brings up how you judge other people. You may decide certain Christians you know are not pulling their share of the load in your congregation, not doing their part. That may be a wrong judgment.
A lot of Christians you know may be doing good works you will never learn about. “”Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward [them]” (Matthew 6:18a). Who knows? That time someone mowed your lawn while you were in the hospital may have been one of those “do-nothings”. I wonder how many stars are in their crown….
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Wednesday 10/17 ~ You can know for sure
The scripture for today, October 17 (10/17), is Romans 10:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
The King James version reads “Therefore, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Faith is not just a feeling or responding to what a friend tells us. It is not responding to a religious book or to a spiritual movement. Faith is the result of hearing/reading the Word of Christ, the gospel ~ for ourselves ~ all of it!
Faith is based on knowledge; zeal is not enough (Romans 10:1). Faith is based on considering the evidence; a feeling in one’s heart is not enough (Hebrews 11:1).
You who study the Bible for yourself are doing the right thing. Do not rely on anything but what you have read for yourself. All other religious people are going to be judged by God just like you are. When compared to God’s Word, their word is not important. We are trying to please God, not people. We are worshiping God, not people. Let us rely only on what He says, and know for sure.
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Tuesday 10/16 ~ Just who are we trying to please?
The scripture for today, October 16 (1-16). is Acts 10:16 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.”
This is about a vision where God let down a sheet full of animals that were “unclean” or not allowed to be eaten according to the Law of Moses. (See Leviticus 11:1-8.) God told Peter he could now eat them.
Peter already knew that Jesus nailed the Old Law of Moses to the Cross (Colossians 2:14). But it just hadn’t sunk in yet. As many times as Jesus told his apostles about his Sonship of God and proved it with astounding miracles, it wasn’t until just before his death that Jesus told them, “You believe at last!” (John 16:31).
Similarly, sometimes you read the same scripture over and over and it goes right over your head. You are not seeing what God wants you to see. You assume that what you’ve always been doing will always be right. You assume that others in church do things a certain way, so it has to be right.
Do this: Search everything in the scriptures on topics that you assume you know all about, and get everything God has to say about it. Then compare scripture to practice.
It IS possible to get God’s opinion on things, and that is who, in the end, you are trying to please. He will judge you, not your friends. He alone can save you.
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Monday 10/15 ~ Trying hard to be perfect
The scripture for today, October 15 (10/15), is Deuteronomy 10:15 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
“Yet the Lord set his affection on your forefathers [Abraham, Isaac, Jacob] and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants [Jews], above all the nations, as it is today.”
Mankind has spent millenniums trying to figure out how to be perfect so we can deserve heaven.
God gave us that opportunity the first several thousand years of mankind. Some people of the world he left alone to figure out on their own how to be perfect. They created many kinds of religions. But to the Jews, he sent the Law of Moses containing over 600 intricate laws which, if kept perfectly, would make them perfect. In both cases, no one could be perfect.
Then, when mankind was willing to admit we cannot be perfect, the Word of God materialized and came to us to live that perfect life that is impossible for us to live. Now, all you have to do is follow Jesus and be IN Jesus (Galatians 3:27) for the forgiveness of your sins, and God will consider you perfect too.
God sets his affections on you. He will not force you, but he runs after you begging you to come to him for safety. Oh, how he loves you.
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