The scripture for today, August 4, is Acts 8:4 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLE

Sometimes our plans get scattered, our dreams shattered. We lose our home, our job, our chance at an education, our savings, our family.

Satan loves to discourage us. He’s good at it. But Romans 8:28 says that God can make something good come out of all things ~ good or bad.

What about us? What if, for instance, we lose our home or job and go to another one? We are the same person we were at the old home or job as the new one. Are we sharing the Good News right now? If we’re not, then what is the likelihood we will be any different when our life is “scattered”?

The scripture for today, August 3, is 1st Corinthians 8:3 as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

0-BOOK EIGHT-COME FLY WITH ME-Cover“But the man who loves God is known by God.”

How can God know us all individually? Just how does God do it? There are multiplied millions of us. All praying with our own set of problems, sometimes thousands of us at once. All singing our various hymns. All trying to do right in the name of God.

This Creator of the entire universe, the Maker of stars and sunflowers and little puppies and unfathomable oceans, knows each person who loves him. Not “knows about”, but KNOWS! With all that is going on in the world, yea even in the universe, he still knows which ones of us love him, and he takes the time to know us!

How large he is. How small we are.

Utter amazement!

And so we worship him.

Christian Apocalyptic Theology in the New Testament: part 4

Don Merritt's avatarLife Project Blog

The Kingdom of God and the Resurrection of Jesus

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is, needless to say, a seminal event in history. So much has been written; the possible implications are huge, but for this discussion, I’ll keep in a Kingdom context. The first thing we can learn from this event is that Jesus is our contemporary; He is with us now, living and working in our midst. In addition, as He promised His disciples, His Spirit lives within us, ready and able to comfort, guide and lead us in our service to Him, fulfilling Jesus’ promise in Matthew 28: 28: “Surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” “The age” is the very same age in which we are living right now.

Secondly, it tells us that there is life after death. I realize that many people have a hard time…

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The scripture for today, August 2, is Matthew 8:2 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.  ‘I am willing,’ he said.  ‘Be clean!  Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.’ “

People in Jesus’ day who had leprosy had to live outside of town in what we would call a leper colony.  And if someone without leprosy started getting close too them, they were required to call out, “Unclean!  Unclean!”

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Then Jesus did another remarkable thing:  He touched the man.  He touched the leprosy.  Not only was he willing to be seen with an unclean man, he was willing to touch the disease.

Jesus still does this today.  When we come to him with a diseased heart wondering if we are good enough, Jesus reaches out across the centuries and touches us.  And his voice echoes across the centuries and says, “I am willing.”

No matter how much sin mars your life, Jesus still today can say, “Be clean.”

The scripture for today, August 1, is Romans 8:1 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Campbell-Cover-KIMBLE“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

There are a lot of religious groups out there in the world who control their people with fear. If you don’t do such and such, it proves you aren’t spiritual enough. If you do such and such one second before you die, you’re going to hell.

They put burdens on you that just are not in the New Testament. By making you feel guilty, they make you depend on them for your salvation and that boosts their ego. The Apostle Paul wrote to the congregations in Galatia (today’s Turkey) and warned them with tears:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel ~ which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached [past tense] to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again:

If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? ” (Galatians 1:6-10).

Are you sure you are IN Christ Jesus? Do your church leaders dance around scriptures they wish weren’t in the Bible and tell you they don’t really mean what they say? Or add things that the scriptures say nothing about? Are you sure they aren’t people pleasers instead of God pleasers? What do they do with Romans 6:3-4? Look it up and compare.

Oh to be sure we are indeed IN Christ Jesus. This is our longing. Our hope. Our reason for being.

The scripture for today, July 31 (7/31) is 1st Corinthians 7:31b as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK EIGHT-COME FLY WITH ME-Cover“For this world in its present form is passing away.”

How easily that which we have slaved for over a period of years can pass away. It can happen as the result of fire, floods, storms, war, economic crisis. Every day something in this world “is passing away.”

What are we working for day to day? That which can so easily pass away? Or that which is eternal and will never pass away? What are your plans for today? Think about it.

The scripture for today, July 30, is 0-BOOK 3-HEARTS AFIRE-COVERJohn 7:30 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.”

Even though during the last year of his life, many people wanted to kill Jesus out of jealousy or fear or pure meanness, he was never afraid to keep teaching. Why? Because he knew his life was ultimately in the hands of the heavenly Father.

Do we feel fear sometimes because of things going on around us? Do we fear failure, or ruin, or false rumors, or even imprisonment or our life? Remember, each life is in the heavenly Father’s hands.

The scripture for today, July 29, is Ecclesiastes 7:29 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“This only have I found:  God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.”

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We begin our lives upright ~ sinless. But as we grow out of innocent childhood, we begin to want recognition, money, and to make our surroundings beautiful. And we tend to scheme to get them.

True, God does not want to deprive us if we can obtain these things. But Solomon (who wrote this), with all his worldwide fame, wealth, and beauty, still felt empty. Actually, we can even read the Bible and go to worship and still feel empty. Why? Because we need to add good works to our faith (James 2) ~ helping others with the same enthusiasm that we pursue recognition, money and beauty.

Sometimes to fill our emptiness, we need to just return to our early childhood when we saw life through innocent eyes. Through simple eyes. Through eyes that believe so easily in God, and so easily love him. Sometimes as we progress through life, let us return to that more innocent way of life.

The scripture for today, July 28, is 2nd Samuel 7:28 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.”REV-Cover-Kindle

What a beautiful praise. Praising God is different from thanking him. It is acknowledging him for His traits ~ not for what He does, but what He is.

He is trustworthy!
He is able to hear all our prayers at once!
He is everywhere and all knowing!
He is perfect love!
He is anxious to forgive!
He considers us his children!

Today, let us praise Him.

The scripture for today, July 26, is John 7:26 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLE“Here he [Jesus] is speaking publicly [in the temple], and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”

These people standing around the temple refused to believe in Jesus because they chose to disregard a scripture that all Jews knew about. They said no one would know where the Christ (the Messiah) would come from. But they did know. It was in their own scriptures ~ Micah 5:2

“But you, Bethlehem…out of you will come for me the one who will be ruler over Israel.”

Are you sometimes like all those people standing around in the temple? Do you sometimes make up your mind about something religious; and even if the Bible says something different, you refuse to acknowledge it? Does your ego sometimes get in the way? Or are you afraid of pressure from your friends?

As you read the Word of God, open wide your heart and mind. Indeed, sometimes your friends and your stubborn will get in the way of walking the beautiful path that God has created for you.