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

“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 that God should feel obligated to take them to heaven. After all, they were fairly good, and better than some. God couldn’t possibly in all good conscience turn them away.

Yet, their entire life they resent God. Mostly they don’t like his 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.

Ultimately, heaven is God’s home, not ours. 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 we 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 us perfect by proxy.

God never forces anyone to agree with him or spend time with him here on earth.

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

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 as though we are the only temple; for he is with us constantly and hears our every word, our every song, our every prayer.

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

As God’s temple, then 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, you joys, your worries. God’s eyes and heart are always with you, for you are God’s temple!

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

“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 were sitting or standing beside her, whether she was cleaning floors, washing dishes, going shopping, or just received a telephone call. She talked to God about everything she was doing. God was her constant companion.

What opportunities we miss to talk to God during the day. Every time we do, we are praising Him. How? By acknowledging His concern with everything we do, and in the process acknowledging His omnipresence. And what a wonder His omnipresence is!

Does this include times when everything in our life is going wrong? You bet! On some days, the wonders of God are about the only positive things we can find in our life.

Praising God for his wonders amidst your frustrations, tears, fears and helplessness can lift you out of the mire. It can remind you that you are not alone; for God sees what is happening to you, and in his own way he will perform a wonder for you too.

The scripture for August 31 (8/31) is John 8:31f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, then the truth will set you free.’ “

Myriads of people call themselves believers in or disciples of Christ. What is Jesus’ definition of a believer or disciple? He explained, IF we hold to his TEACHINGS, then we are his disciples.

It’s not automatic? So being born into a Christian family doesn’t automatically make us a Christian? Being born in a Christian nation doesn’t automatically make us a Christian? Owning a Bible doesn’t automatically make us a Christian? Believing Jesus is the Son of God doesn’t automatically make us a Christian? (Demons believe that and aren’t Christians.)

“But, Jesus,” we might say, “I really feel like I’m a Christian.” And Jesus replies, “Hold to my teachings, then you are really my disciple.”

So if we learn Jesus’ teachings, then hold to them, THEN the truth will set us FREE.

The scripture for today, August 30 (8/30), is Acts 8:30 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked.”

Our friends, family and neighbors will continue riding their chariots and understanding little of the Bible unless someone asks, “Do you understand?”.

“Do you understand why you are here?” “Do you understand why Jesus had to die?” “Do you understand that Jesus nailed the Old Law to the cross?” “Do you understand the Bible can be proven true?” “Do you understand how much God loves you?”

People are afraid to ask us questions because they think we will make fun of their ignorance. We’ll probably never know what they don’t understand unless we do the asking. Let us go up to their chariots and offer to help them so that they, too, can understand.

The scripture for today, August 29 (8/29), is Matthew 8:29 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

” ‘What do you want with us, Son of God?’ they shouted. ‘Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?’ “

If you are not familiar with this passage, these are the words of a demon. If you have ever studied demons in the Bible, you will find that they never tried to spook or scare people. They never made dishes rattle or lamps fall over.

All they did was cause physical problems during the lifetime of Jesus and his apostles. There is no evidence of demons doing this in the Old Testament before Jesus, nor after his apostles died, either in the Bible or in the writings of the apostolic fathers. It is as though the demons were loosed for a season so Jesus could show his power over them also ~ Ephesians 1:20-21.

Notice, demons never said bad things. If they talked at all, it was out of fear and honesty. James 2:19 says all demons believe in Jesus. In the book of Matthew they knew who Jesus was. They called him the Son of God.

Jesus told them to be quiet. Why? He didn’t want evil beings telling people who he was; he wanted goodness to tell people who he was.

The movies have warped our understanding of demons. Let us search the scriptures to find out their true nature. Then we no longer have to guess. We can know.

The scripture for today, August 28 (8/28), is Romans 8:28 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

This is a favorite verse of many people. Notice, God can make all things work together for good. ALL things. That means bad things, disappointing things, unfulfilled things. It doesn’t say God will make them all work together for the best, but he will bring some kind of good out of them, no matter how terrible they are.

What has been your most recent disappointment or tragedy? Things that just did go the way they should have. Believe what God told you who are living according to his purpose. Believe that God can take anything and turn it in to some kind of good for you. Will you let him?

The scripture for today, August 26 (8/26), is Romans 8:26 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

The Holy Spirit in the New Testament is always linked with communication between God and Man. Even the miracles, made possible by the Holy Spirit, were a guarantee that the words and teachings accompanying the miracles were from God. This was needed before the New Testament was written. But the Holy Spirit does more than this.

God speaks to us in his Word, the Bible. Then we speak to him in return in prayer. But sometimes all we can do is bow our head in silence and know that God understands ~ His Spirit communes with our spirit. How blessed we are.