Scripture for Friday, September 29 (9/29)

The scripture for today, September 29, is Matthew 9:29 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Bk3-HeartsAfire-COVER-Kindle.medium-new“Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you.’ “

Sometimes when we pray for healing during sickness, a well-meaning friend will say, “Well, you haven’t been healed because you didn’t have enough faith.” But Jesus did not heal everyone according to their faith.

The boy in Nain he brought back to life (Luke 7:14-15) did not have any faith at all. The girl in Capernaum he brought back to life (Luke 8:51-56) did not have any faith at all. When Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana (John 2:1-9) the hosts did not have any faith at all. There are other examples.

This is encouraging because often we pray for the healing of non-religious friends. It would be futile to ask God to bring them back to health if it depended on their faith all the time.

He is not a God of futility. He is a God of hope.

Scripture for Thursday, September 28 (9/28)

The scripture for today, September 28 (9/28), is Hebrews 9:28 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

campbell-cover-kindle-lg-medium“So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

Waiting is hard to do. We wait for relatives to arrive at our house for a visit. We wait for our next promotion. We wait for babies to be born. We wait for enough money to buy new clothes.

But what about waiting for something that we have never seen? Waiting for something we believe in by faith? Waiting an entire lifetime?

All the more reason to keep our eyes on the Word, our activities in good works, and our hearts on our Creator and Savior. It’s a long spiritual walk. But just keep walking, and keep walking, and keep walking until some day in the distant future you walk right through the gates of heaven.

Then, when you look back from eternity, you will say, “The wait wasn’t so long after all.”

Scripture for Wednesday, September 27 (9/27)

The scripture for today, September 27 (9/27), is Nehemiah 9:27 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

00-PAUL COVER-Medium-“So, you handed them over to their enemies who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed, they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.”

With many people, the only time we think about God is when we feel oppressed by something or someone in our life. We may even blame God.

That can be a good thing. Perhaps we hadn’t given God a second thought since our last calamity. So now, at last, we’re thinking about him. Yes, we may be angry at God, but at least we’re thinking about him.

Let us thank God for times of oppression. Sometimes that is what it takes for God to get our attention. Then perhaps God can show us that he wants to be our friend.

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Scripture for Tuesday, September 26 (9/26)

The scripture for today, September 26 (9/26), is Hebrews 9:26f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face the judgment.”

According to the Old Law of Moses, sacrificing the body of perfect animals had to be done to temporarily collect the wage of death for people’s sins. (Remember, the wages of sin is death ~ Romans 6:23.) But it had to be done on a regular basis. Then Jesus became the perfect Lamb of God. In a sense, he laid his body down on the altar of the world and died our body death for our sins. One of the last things he said was, “It is fulfilled”. He had fulfilled the Law of Moses ~ every jot and tittle ~ by living it perfectly and never sinning (Hebrews 4:15). Thereby, he freed us from slavery to the Law, including animal sacrifices.

Therefore, just as Jesus’ body died once, our body dies once. Then our judgment. No second chances. No being bought out of punishment. No reincarnations.  No going back and trying to be perfect again and failing again. Jesus released us from all of our failures at being perfect.

We marvel at all he did for us to save us from hell. How amazing God’s plan for us! We fall at his wounded feet and worship.

 

Scripture for Monday, September 25 (9/25)

The scripture for today, September 25 (9/25), is 1st Corinthians 9:25f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Cover-Kindle-small“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly….”

Every few years there are world-wide Olympic Games with many races. The racers must eat properly, rest sufficiently, and exercise daily.

The Bible has been called the Bread of Life. As Christians, we need to eat our spiritual meal every day to stay fit. We cannot keep up our strength without it. Our time of rest is prayer. We enter a room alone and talk to God every day. We need our rest. We cannot keep up our strength without it.

I Timothy 4:8 says, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” We exercise our godliness by being out in the world and being a good example in the face of temptation. We exercise our spiritual muscles daily.

The race is our Christian life. We run every day. How is your race going?

Scripture for Sunday, September 24 (9/24)

The scripture for today, September 24 9?24), is Luke 9:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

worship-the-first-century-way-cover-kindle“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

Romans 6 explains this phenomenon best. We are to put our old self to death ~ to crucify that part of us that sins and doesn’t care, that part of us that puts ourselves first (verse 7) ~ in imitation of Jesus dying. Once we decide to put that part of ourselves to death, we are buried, just like Jesus was buried (verse 3 & 4a).

And then, “just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (verse 4b). Why? “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (verse 5). Having been “brought from death to life” (verse 13) through baptism, we have been born again!

Jesus’ physical death on a physical cross had a spiritual meaning of a spiritual death. We understand that. Our watery death has a spiritual meaning of a spiritual death also. There is another spiritual death called the second death in Revelation 21:8. If we go through the first spiritual death at baptism, we will not have to go through the second spiritual death in hell. We will have lost our life of sin and in the process saved our souls.

Only a spiritual mind understands this. And how amazing it is.

 

 

Scripture for Saturday, September 23 (9/23)

The scripture for today, September 23 (9/23), is Luke 9:23 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-Medium“Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’ “

There is another verse similar to this: II Timothy 3:12 ~ “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Have you been playing it safe? Have you been associating only with other Christians and thereby sheltering yourself from persecution? Have you been withholding the gospel from people who might be persecuted if they believe, even if they will be saved by following it?

Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). To do that, we must seek out the lost and try to save them, even when they do not think they are lost. It will end in persecution sometimes ~ you, them, or both. That’s a fact.

Let us not play it safe all the time. Jesus didn’t.

 

Scripture for Friday, September 22 (9/22)

The scripture for today, September 22 (9:22) is Luke 9:22 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Songs-First 140-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“And he [Jesus] said, ‘The Son of Man[kind] must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Jesus did not look forward to his death. Hebrews 5:7 says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death….” Loud cries!

Yet, in today’s scripture, shortly after he announced to his apostles that he would be killed in Jerusalem, over in verse 51 it says, “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”

Jesus had to use every bit of self-determination he could muster to face that terrible death he had to suffer for us. What kept him pushing forward instead of doing something else? He knew he would be saving us from hell by taking our punishment for us. Then his work would be done ~ all would be fulfilled ~ and he could return to heaven and his Father.

Is it difficult for you to get up on Sunday morning to go to church or would you rather be doing something else? Is it difficult for you to read the Bible every day or would you rather be doing something else? Is it difficult for you to invite a friend to church with you or would you rather be doing something else? Do you love Jesus as resolutely as he did and does you?

 

Scripture for Thursday, September 21 (9/21)

The scripture for today, September 21 (9/21), is Hebrews 9:21f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“In the same way, he [Moses] sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”

We may not murder or steal, but do we omit going to see someone who is sick or needs our help? Do we sin by attitude with impatience on the highway or grocery store line, or jealousy? Sin in the Bible is always associated with blood.  When we sin, Satan celebrates by paying us all that he is and has ~ death.

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). This is what we earn for sinning.  This is what we deserve for sinning.  Death means separation. In a physical sense, we are separated from people living on earth. In a spiritual sense, we are separated from God in heaven. God is life, and cannot dwell with death. It is not in his nature.

When we sin, Satan holds us hostage and dares anyone to redeem us from our slavery to him. He wants blood. Satan was not bargaining for anyone to be stronger than him. God sent his own Son to do the job. Jesus gave Satan what he wanted ~ his blood, and collected the death wage. Then he tricked Satan.  Jesus broke free.  He came back to life.  He destroyed Satan’s power over us! He not only broke free of death,  he was willing to take us with him if we will follow him out.

What power! What a mighty God we have! On Sundays, do we even care?

 

Scripture for Wednesday, September 20 (9/20)

The scripture for today, September 20 9/20), is Luke 9:20 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 5-FloodGates-Cover-Medium-New” ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ “

Jesus is still asking that question today. Who do you say Jesus is? Some people in the world say Jesus was the savior of the Christians, the same person as Moses to the Jews, and Mohammed to the Moslems, and Buddha to the Buddhists. In the name of being fair to everyone, they claim these are all saviors of different religions going by different names but of the same God.

Let us not be caught in the web of the New Age Movement that does not want to offend anyone, even if they are wrong,  claiming nothing is absolutely right or absolutely wrong.  Therefore, they put truth in shadows and claim all saviors are the same savior and all gods are the same God.

The Bible ~ the only religious book in the world that can be proven to be divine ~ says regarding our Jesus, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Come out from the shadows. Stand up for Jesus, THE only Light, THE only  Savior.