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?

I am so lonely

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #friendships, Bible, blessings, family, Inspirational, Loss, love, praise, prayer, problems, Thanksgiving, weaknessLeave a comment

Inside-COVER-lg thumbnailI praise you, God for all your manifestations in order to reveal yourself to me.  I feel your presence in a morning mist, a crocus peeking up from under winter snow, a bird making her nest. I see your glory in the mighty oceans, the towering mountains, the magnificent moon, and stars that sing together of you.  Mostly you reveal yourself in your Bible. How glorious it is. Every page, every word reveals what is important to you. Every page and every word reveal your wisdom and how you run after us to bring us back to you every time someone strays. You keep track of everyone, yet you make every one of us feel as though we are the most special. How amazing. I worship you.

I moved recently and am so lonely. I have no friends. Is that to remind me of the times I did not befriend a stranger? Help me not resent those I wish to be friends with but to be an example, giving to them what I wish for myself.

Thank you, God, for pouring out you heart, your mind, your existence to me in your Words. And thank you for materializing as Jesus. You are light and the fountain of life. I can never be lonely because you are there. I can never feel forsaken or betrayed because you are there. Always, you are there. Thank you for the friends I have had, and those still unknown I shall have some day. And for the quiet time I have in this moment with you.

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Inside-COVER-lg thumbnailINSIDE THE HEARTS OF BIBLE WOMEN. Do you have a lady friend who is hurting? This book has twelve short stories of women in the Bible who faced the same types of problems we have today. Read this book in private, or in a discussion group, an established church class, or an outreach to women in the community. Also has a leader’s guide, advertising manual, and audio.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/HeartsBibleWomen   

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Is that what you really want?

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn attitude, Daily, eternity, judging, problems, thingsLeave a comment

Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-ThumbnailThe scripture for today, April 25 (4/25), is Proverbs 4:25 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”

There are a lot of interesting and fun distractions in life, so we have to remind ourselves over and over what is most important to us. We have only so much time in a day and in a lifetime. We can run back and forth from one side road to another; one fun thing to another, one power thing to another, one great–looking thing to another.

Before we know it, we have been on that side road a long time. Too long actually.  We can barely see the main road we were on before. And God? He is now so far away. How can that be?  We were always told God would always be there for us.

But God pretty much treats us the way we treat him. If we don’t like being around him, he doesn’t much like being

around us. If we don’t like listening to his word (the Bible), he doesn’t much like listening to our word (prayer). If we don’t like to spend special time with him, he doesn’t much like to spend special time with us. God gives us the same courtesy we give him. God will not force himself on us, for he is a Gentleman.

So what do you have in your sights to do today? Next year? The rest of your life? What road are you on? Where is it leading you in the long run? Is that what you really want?

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Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Thumbnail365 PEARLS OF WISDOM: GOD’S SOUL TO YOURS: Provides a daily short saying from the ancient sheik, Job, from King David’s psalms, and from his son King Solomon’s Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. Job lived some thousand years before David and Solomon; yet we see the same wisdom of God shines forth in every millennium of mankind. This is part of the TOUCHING GOD trilogy of daily devotionals. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/3epvDgU

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As old as whose hills?

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn attitude, Daily, eternity, good works, Inspirational, judging, thingsLeave a comment

The Scripture for today, April 24 (4/24), is Jeremiah 4:24 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

00-cover-kindle-medium-new“I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.”

I was living in a village near the bottom of Mt. St. Helens when it blew.  We had lived there for eight years. We had taken our children up to it and gone sledding, building snow forts, making snow angels, the works. 

It was our mountain. Our beautiful mountain. It reminded me of an upside-down ice-cream cone.  It was perfect in every way.  Everyone knew it was a volcano, but it had formed thousands of years before and would continue like it was for thousands of years in the future. It was our mountain, and it belonged to us to do with as we pleased.

But it wasn’t our mountain.  One morning I looked outside. It seemed as though we had been plunged into the inside of a furnace with all its ashes. I stared. It was snowing gray ash.  I stared more, wondering what the birds had done.  Relieved, I saw them huddled together under bushes.

Of course, the radio and TV had switched to Emergency. We were told to stay indoors because ash is deadly to the lungs. If we did go out, we had to wear surgical masks. If we drove, we were told to put nylons over the air filter and to not go over 10 mph.  Even then, the ash flew everywhere. Our freeway entrance and exit were blocked. The most disturbing thing I heard on the radio (yes, everyone kept their radio on) was that we were at the top of the San Andreas Fault.  And so, we like the birds, huddled and waited for more unknown.

Not only was our mountain turned inside out, but our world was too.

People have expressions that something is “as eternal as the mountains” or “as old as the hills.”  Not true. Nothing on earth is eternal. That also includes things, people, power, position, belongings, even dreams.  Eventually, they quake and sway and are gone. Only that which is spiritual is forever.

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00-Cover-KINDLE-Thumbnail-NewAPPLIED CHRISTIANITY: A HANDBOOK OF 500 GOOD WORKS.  Every possible type of good work is included in this book, along with step-by-step methods. Something for everyone, whether you have 10 minutes a day or 1 hour a day available. Letter writing, benevolence, works for and by the handicapped, newcomers, military personnel, university students, works for Bible school class children to do, crafts, keeping your home, workplace by employee and employer, church office, worldwide missionary work, works for seniors, assisted-living homes, nursing homes, loss of loved ones, telephoning, prayer warriors, prayer partners, home Bible studies, heavenly reward. For individual use, small and large congregations, small towns, big cities, old people, young people, active or paralyzed. There is something everyone can do. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this: https://bit.ly/APPLIEDCHRISTIANITY 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/1107-2/my-book-applied-christianity/

Diamonds in sparkling waters

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn attitude, blessings, death, Death of Jesus Christ, eternity, faith, Heaven, Inspirational, patience, praise, prayer, victory, worshipLeave a comment

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW-ChildsCartoonMedium

A child’s cooing praises you. A lion’s roaring praises you. An ocean rising and falling praises you. Rainbows and snow tops and diamonds in sparkling waters praise you. Everything I see, sound I hear, everything I touch are full of praises for you. You are everywhere and you, my God, are my soul. With exhilaration, I worship you.

Ah, my Lord, how I long to see you as you are. Life here is too long. I know I must do my share in conquering Satan and making him weaker all the time. But, when my work is done, I get to be in your realm and exchange smiles with you. What a day it will be. A glorious day when I, your bride, will be united with you forever.

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07-SHADOW-ChildsCartoonThmbnailA CHILD’S LIFE OF CHRIST: SHADOW OF DEATH is a gentle account of the crucifixion of Jesus where he “hurt a lot” and the sadness of his friends and the joyous day when he came back to life just as he had promised.  How surprised the guards were and happy everyone who loved him was. Jesus always keeps his promises and everybody who loves Jesus will get to see him some day.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/388AfYj       

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/a-childs-life-of-christ-book-7-shadow-of-death/

Singing to the Lover of my Soul

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn attitude, church, ego, humility, joy, judging, knowledge, praise, prayer, Thanksgiving, things, truth, worshipLeave a comment

COVER-Music-thumbMy heart with all its vulnerabilities reaches for you and  sings to the lover of my soul , the God of heaven and earth. The strings of my heart tremble and vibrate, then rise up in loving strains. From earth to heaven, from my heart to yours, my spirit to yours. Transcending worlds, my song spreads its laughter and sighs and rests in you. Be ever my song.

Lord, I went to some friends’ house and they had a beautiful new carpet. It was lush and deep and soft to walk on. I keep thinking about it and wondering how I could get such a carpet for myself. How selfish and greedy.  There are orphanages struggling to stay open. There are preachers who have trouble supporting their families. How can I think about carpet when their needs are so great? Forgive me please.

Thank you, God, for making me move to an area where not as many people believe in you. I will no longer take your church for granted. I have struggled so much here trying to expand your kingdom. It’s been so hard. Now I understand their struggles. I thank you for your strength that keeps me on course in a wilderness. I thank you for your example of courage and concern. You went everywhere seeking and saving the lost. And thank you for the church around the world, both small and large. They are your crown jewels.

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COVER-Music-thumbRESTORATION REPRINT LIBRARY:  INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN THE PUBLIC WORSHIP OF THE CHURCH. This book is head-and-shoulders above any other printed the last hundred years on the subject.  This staunch Presbyterian uses this book as a last stand, appealing to Presbyterians worldwide to maintain their purity of worship without a musical instrument at a time when most in his denomination had already purchased an organ or piano and had no intention of going back to the old ordinary ways.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/Worship-Music 

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Now, where’d I leave my light? Oh, there it is!

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #friendships, blessings, faith, good works, healing, Inspirational, love, patience, problems, victoryLeave a comment

The scripture for today, April 21 (4/21), is Mark 4:21 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

03-Naaman'sMaid-ThumbnailCover“Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?”

Jesus said something similar in Matthew 5:14f, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Light? I have a light? Oh, I forgot.  Besides, it’s just one little flame.

Little? Little?  In a world of darkness, one little flame is all they need to give them hope and lead them toward a larger light.

Do you spend your energy on yourself and family? That is good. Your family needs your light. But try going farther. Look around.  Your neighborhood, your school, your job, your club, your community.

Someone is in darkness and needs your light. Always keep looking around. Keep searching for little nooks and crannies in the lives of others where you can bring the light of a good deed to someone’s world.

Dare to spread light over them so they can know where they are going. They need Jesus’ precious light shining through you. Your light may be the only one some people will ever see.

Where is your light? Is it hidden? Can you find it? Do you know where you left it? Oh, there it is.

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03-Naaman'sMaid-ThumbnailCoverA CHILD’S BIBLE KIDS:  NAAMAN’S MAID.  Nara was 12 years old and so happy when she met Elisha, the prophet. He performed miracles. Then she was kidnapped by Syrian soldiers and made a slave.  Her master was Naaman, captain of the army. One day he got sick and she told him how he could get well.  Will he listen to a mere slave girl?  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/38OR4qT 

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I am sooo much better than you.

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #friendships, attitude, church, ego, Enemies, good works, humility, power, sacrifice, sinLeave a comment

The scripture for today, April 20 (4/20), is 1st John 4:20 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

COVER-Millennial-med“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

Jealousy and hatred are very much akin. Are there people you are jealous of? Do they have a position you want, and so you say and do things to undermine their character or work, so you can get their position? Do you have a position you love, and there is a new person who could perform better, so you undermine that person’s ability in order to protect your position?

God eliminates jealousy this way: Do what you do best in private. What you accomplish  that everyone knows about isn’t as important to him as what you accomplish when no one is around to praise you. Jesus said those who receive acclamation by people already have their reward.(Matthew 6:1-5, 16-18).

Is divine reward from Almighty God for eternity so inferior in your mind that you would sacrifice it all to be number one here on earth?

Ah, my Lord God, forgive me. Pride stands between you and me. Take hold of my awful pride and dissolve it in a sea of tranquility graced by a ray of humility.

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COVER-Millennial-thumbRESTORATION REPRINT LIBRARY:  THE BEST OF ALEXANDER CAMPBELL’S MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.  Even though Christians in the restoration movement came to America aboard the Mayflower in the early 1600s, this is an excellent primary source to understanding and tracing that portion of the restoration movement that writer Alexander Campbell, influenced. Articles appeal to the dissolving of denominations and coming together in Christian unity. Some articles quote founders of various denominations on baptism and other issues. Includes much on the world-wide cholera epidemic, especially in North America.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/3v8OSng

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/the-best-of-alexander-campbells-millennial-harbinger-1830-1839/

Altogether Love

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #ransom, Daily, faith, forgiveness, Heaven, Inspirational, joy, Life of Christ, love, praise, prayer, Thanksgiving, truth, victory, worshipLeave a comment

0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-lg-thumbnailI lift up my praises to you, the self-existent one.  Both Father of the Son and Son of the Father. The great wellspring, mind, and will of all things. The only life giver to all things. You are all life, all truth, and altogether love. You are so far above me and yet so near. You fill the universe, yet make your home in my heart. Even the stars bow to you in effervescent awe.

Thank you, God almighty, for all you did to save me. So complicated. Yet you stayed on track. You gave mankind a chance to earn and deserve our salvation by giving us the Law of Moses which we just could not to keep perfectly. You let the rest of the world come up with their own god-laws. Nothing worked. We could not be perfect. Then Jesus came and did it for us, for me. You were perfect for me and for everyone. You see me as perfect as Jesus was. Oh, Lord, you are so wonderful and merciful. I do not deserve your presence, but you love me still and stand by me always. And so always I worship you.

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0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-lg-thumbnailREVELATION: A LOVE LETTER FROM GOD.  Revelation is not a book of gloom and doom. It is a book of hope. A book of reassurance that, no matter how bad things get in the world, God is still in control and still loves us like light shimmering in the soul. This is a history of the world before Jesus was born, especially the world of the Israelites. Then it moves on to Jesus’ birth, ministry, and death. It ends with the final doom of Satan and the final victory of the church, the heavenly Jerusalem. After all, does not chapter 1, verse 19 state that John was to “write, therefore, what you have seen [past], what is now [present], and what will take place later [future]”? To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/REVELATION-LOVE   

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You hold my heart in your arms

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #friendships, Fear, Inspirational, praise, prayer, problems, Thanksgiving, victory, weakness, worshipLeave a comment

Inside-COVER-lg thumbnailAh, my Lord, you are my light for the path I walk.  You are my way through the world I travel.  Your holiness soars through the cosmos and settles at last in my heart.  I can never feel alone when you are near. I can never feel rejected when you carry me. I can never feel deserted when you hold my heart in your arms and sing to me with your spirit.

Forgive me, Lord, when I am alone in my house and am afraid of what might be lurking in the darkness outside. Remind me that nothing will happen to me without your permission and for some greater good.

Thank you, God, for getting me through yesterday when I felt so down. I did not stay down. I saw a few friends and you lifted me up through them.  Thank you for your life on earth and your willingness to live it to the fullest ~ all the way to dying for being good. You seemed so defeated. How wrong everyone was. What you went through made your victory so much more dynamic. Thank you for materializing for me. Forever thank you. From my heart thank you. with my soul I worship you.

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Inside-COVER-lg thumbnailINSIDE THE HEARTS OF BIBLE WOMEN.  Do you have a lady friend who is hurting? Inside the Hearts of Bible Women is twelve short stories of women in the Bible who faced thousands of years ago the same types of problems we have today. Read this book in private, or in a discussion group, an established church class, or an outreach to women in the community.  Audio, leader’s guide, and advertising manual also available.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/HeartsBibleWomen   

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Guest Blog: Moses’ Shining Face

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn prayerLeave a comment

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It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. (Exodus 34:29-30)

Moses, the great Lawgiver, was many times found in the presence of God. Yes, we understand that Moses (nor any living person) could ever, as it were, look God in the eye and see Him face to face. And yet, as much as it is humanly possible, Moses did indeed many times speak face to face with God (cf. Exodus 33:11 where it is made abundantly clear!).

So great was the shining of Moses’ face that it could not be looked upon by even Aaron the High Priest. Certainly there was something of the Lord’s own presence and awesomeness in the appearance of a man who’d been in such close proximity the God.

This amazes us in much the same way as God’s comments on His fellowship with Enoch (cf. Genesis 5:21-24). In a world rapidly filling with sin and unbelievers, how could Enoch remain so pure? How could he develop such a kinship with the Lord that he would walk with him for over three centuries? And what must his face, indeed his whole bodily form, been like from being so close to the Almighty for so long?

And yet none of God’s people today seem to “glow” as it were with the presence of God. For that matter, none of us seem to even be compared to an angel in appearance as Stephen was (cf. Acts 6:15). So, have we failed God?

Before you feel like a failure, re-read Acts 4:5-14. Peter and John are confronted by High Priests along with many of the other scholars, elders and teachers. They were amazed that “uneducated and untrained men” (by their standards of scholarship and training – cf. verse 13) were so filled with God’s Spiritual wisdom that the intelligent of earthly status were unable to answer them.

Paul would point out to us in 1 Corinthians 1:25: Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. God’s real glory may well be missed by the world.

Now note Paul’s connection for us: Now if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones, came with such glory that the Israelites were unable to gaze steadily into the face of Moses due to the glory of his face, fading as it was, (8) how much more glorious will be the ministry of the Spirit? (9) For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, how much more will the ministry of righteousness exceed it in glory! (10) For indeed, what had been glorious, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. (11) For if what was fading away came with glory, how much more will that which is permanent be filled with glory. (2 Corinthians 3:7-11)

Did you catch the lesson? The ministry, the work of God’s Spirit in us (fulfilling the Great Commission! Cf. Matthew 28:19-20 and 1 Peter 2:9) actually makes us much more glorious than Moses. And our glory will never fade away (cf. 1 Peter 1:3-5).

No, we may not have faces that glow with a blinding light, nor should anyone mistake us for an angel. But if the presence of the Lord is within us and we are filled with His word should the world not see a difference in our lives? Should not the world marvel and take note of us that we have been with Jesus as it once did the Apostles?

We are specifically called to BE the light of the world and to be careful that our lights are not hidden (cf. Matthew 5:14-16). We are challenged to PROVE ourselves as children of God in this wicked world and we are seen as those lights by that world if we are faithful to our calling (cf. Philippians 2:14-16).

— Lester P. Bagley