Friday 10/12 ~ Keep your eyes on Jesus

The scripture for today, October 12 (10/12), is 2nd Corinthians 10:12 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-Thumbnail“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.”

But that is how most of the Christian world is run. You go to a church and do what they do to get their approval. Or you go one step above what the others do to get a little more approval. Or you go one step below what the others do and say you’re “not so bad” because, at least, you go to church all the time.

What you do must be compared with what Jesus (God materialized on earth) did. Jesus went everywhere doing whatever was necessary to spread the Good News. Instead of saying, “Well, our congregation never did such-and-such before, so it must be wrong,” you must say, “Jesus did it, so I will too.” Instead of saying, “Well, brother or sister so-and-so in our congregation is worse than me, so why object to me?” you must say, “Jesus did not do those things, so I will not either.”

Who are you comparing yourself with?  Your works, your fancy doctrine, your faith?  Dear, dear friend. Jesus gave up heaven and daily associating with angels to become one of us on an earth full of grime and selfish. He gave up being able to be everywhere at once to being confined in a body. Why? For us.

To show us how it is done ~ constantly on the go to find people who need God’s love and attention. He was so busy and so holy.

Never compare with others; always compare with Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus, God the Word in Flesh.

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Thursday 10/11 ~ Playing Peek-a-boo

The scripture for today, October 11 (10/11), is Psalm 10:11 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

00- Worship Changes KC COVER-thumbnail“He says to himself, ‘God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees.’ “

You believe in God in some form. And you believe that God knows what you do. But do you sometimes bury your beliefs in your subconscious mind so you can go around doing things you know are wrong? Do you believe you won’t get caught, and you can slide into heaven doing whatever you want?

In other words, do you justify your favorite sins? Do you justify your sins of attitude such as jealousy, impatience, pride, short temper under the guise of an unhappy childhood or getting what you deserve?  Do you justify your sins of omission ~ good things you should be doing, but are not ~ under the excuse that you don’t have time to do them? Do you justify questionable things you do by saying they’re “not so bad” or God is so good, he will forgive anything you do as long as you say you’re sorry every time you do it?

Do you do as children do who cover their eyes so they cannot see anyone and think that, therefore, no one ~ including God ~ can 17see them?

God loves you more than you can ever imagine. He never forgets you. He sees and hears everything you do. The only things he does not approve of are things that will ultimately hurt you and which he calls sin.

Here is a marvelous jewel for you. Take it, shine it up, and put it on display:  Pleasing God is the ultimate form of pleasing yourself.

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Friday 10/5 ~ Come to me. Please come.

The scripture for today, October 5 (10/5), is 2nd Corinthians 10:5f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now, these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.”

01-Miriam-ThumbnailCoverThis is about the 40 years the Jews wandered in the wilderness between leaving their slavery in Egypt and beginning a nation for themselves. They had the mindsets of slaves. They did not know how to make decisions for themselves. One of those decisions was to leave the gods of Egypt and worship only the one true God.

It was easier to fall in line with what they were raised to believe. They took the easy way out rather than follow the God who had proved the Egyptian gods were not gods at all. They would rather die than change. So they did. They died.

Do you take the easy way out? Do you stick with things you were raised to believe even though you have learned more of the Bible and see those old beliefs are not what God said?

The early Jews did not listen to God, so God did not listen to them. He is calling out to you even now. “Come to me. I want to save you. Please come.”

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Thursday 9/13 ~ You cannot have “victory in Jesus” unless you have a problem to be victorious over

The scripture for today, September 13 (9/13), is Psalm 9:13f as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-“O Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare your praises…and there rejoice in your salvation.”

We all experience difficult things in our life ~ some minor, some major. Do you let them define your entire life? Or do you cling to them, never getting over them, never letting them go, and reliving them over and over in your mind?

 You cannot be “more than conqueror” (Romans 8:37) unless you have something to conquer. You cannot have “victory in Jesus” unless you have something to be victorious over.

God said that he can make “all things work together for good” to those who love the Lord (Romans 8:28).

Today, with the courage of God in your heart, the love of God in your soul, and the might of God in your very being, rise up! Rejoice! Thank God for your problems.  It is only when you have problems that you can experience victories.

 

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Tuesday 9/4 ~ Shhh. Listen. Do you hear him?

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

000-COVER-KINDLE-Thumbnail“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 God should feel obligated to take them to heaven. After all, they are fairly good, and better than some. God couldn’t possibly in all good conscience turn them away.

Yet, their entire life they resent God. They don’t like his few 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. What confusion!

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.

But it’s like a boomerang.  God treats us the way we treat him. If we don’t take time for God, he doesn’t take time for us. If we don’t like to spend time praising him, he doesn’t spend time praising us. Actually, if we don’t really like anything about God, we would be miserable in heaven.

God never forces himself on anyone. But he keeps on calling. Shhh.  Listen. Do you hear him?

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Sunday 9/2 ~ Trying to figure out God?

The scripture for today, September 2 (9/2), is Job 9:2 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

365 Dat by Date-Front-Thumbnail“Though one wishes to dispute with Him [God], he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.”

There are so-called sophisticated intellectuals in the world who want to come up with all the answers about God. Many even make God in their image instead of we being made in God’s image. They try to reduce God to complete human understanding.

That cannot be! If we could understand everything about God, He would not be God! Let us rejoice that there are things about God we do not understand. Let us rejoice that there are events in our life that we do not understand ~ the good, the bad, the ugly. Let us rejoice that such a God loves us in our finiteness.

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Saturday 9/1 ~ Do You Ever Wonder?

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

07-SHADOW-ChildsCartoonThmbnail“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 was 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 you miss to talk to God during the day. Every time you do, you are praising Him. How? By acknowledging His concern with everything you do, and in the process acknowledging His omnipresence. And what a wonder His omnipresence is!

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

 

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Tuesday 8/21 ~ Fasting. Me?

The scripture for today, August 21 (8/21), is Ezra 8:21a as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-New“There, by the Ahava Canal [from the Euphrates R.], I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God.”

In our modern society, does anyone fast anymore? Not drinking our food (juice) for a day and calling that a fast, but a true fast where we drink only water to stay hydrated, but that’s all. And we turn off all computers, phones, radios, and televisions for the day.

Jesus said in his sermon on the mount, “When you fast….” (Matthew 6:16). He didn’t say, “If you fast….” No, he assumed his followers would fast. Do we?

If we do, do we do it as a group? Does anyone else know about it? They shouldn’t know unless they are the reason for our fast. Fasting is an act of self-restraint. It belongs to the sphere of humble self-discipline. It is strictly a personal and private matter.

All moral and bodily restraint, all humbleness of body and spirit are represented by fasting, and it is a complete failure of self-restraint to want to show the world our self-restraint. An unknown author wrote this:

Let us keep our fast within,

Till heaven and we are quite alone;

Then let the grief, the shame, the sin,

Before the mercy-seat be thrown.

Fasting is a way of starving ourselves temporarily, a way of saying, “God, I would do this and more for you; I would die for you.” Or, “God, I would trade lives with this person I am fasting for to give them rest if it were possible. I would even die for this person.” It is a deep expression to God that goes beyond words.

Also, when we fast, our minds are freed from trying to digest food so we can think clearer and deeper. And we can face ourselves more honestly. Just what are we deep down? Do we truly love God as much as we claim? Do we truly love our families as much as we claim? Our neighbors? Our fellow Christians? Our enemies?

It is a time of self-reflection and self-honesty. When we humble ourselves this much, we can grow closer to God.

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Friday 8/17 ~ Remember your proof

The scripture for today, August 18 (8/18), is Mark 8:18f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-Hero Alone-COVER-KINDLE-Thumbnail“Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember when I broke [in pieces] the five loaves for the five thousand [hungry people]? How many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

Economic and political times are uncertain and unstable right now for a lot of people. How much do you worry about it? Planning is good. But worrying?

Instead of spending your time worrying and tearing down your mental and physical health, do what you can, then look around. Is there someone else you can help? Visit someone who is sick and clean up their kitchen for them? Tell a story to a little child? Sing a song to an elderly person and invite them to sing along with you? Write a letter to your parents or a ground child? Read to someone with poor eyesight?

While you’re busy helping others, take Jesus’ advice and remember your past. Ask yourself, “Has God forsaken me in the past?

Sit down and make a list of every time you made it through a bad period of time in your life. How did God get you through it then? This is your proof.

Remember your proof.

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Saturday 8/4 ~ Rise up!

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

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever  they went.”

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

Do you use your circumstance in life as an excuse not to share the Good News that people can be saved from hell and go to heaven instead? 

What if, for instance, you lose your home or job and go to another one? You would be the same person you were at the old home or job.  If your old excuses were not valid any longer, would you then share the Good News?  What is the likelihood you will be any different when your life is “scattered”?

Do not let Satan put excuses in your mind. Rise up! Rise up and do as our Lord Jesus did. Seek and save the lost wherever you go.

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