Category: Bible

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The Scripture for today, March 7, is Titus 3:7 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

REV-Cover-Kindle“So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

Being “just” means being correct, being law abiding, being perfect. No one is. Romans 3:23 says “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

But God wants you to live in his home so much that he was willing to overlook your sins and pretend that you are correct, law abiding, perfect ~ just. When you follow God and obey the few commands he has for you in the New Testament, in his eyes you become just.

Not only just, but God has put you in his last will and testament, what we call the New Testament. It contains his uidelines and what you will inherit. It is explained in large part in Revelation ~ God’s heaven. And what an inheritance!

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The scripture for today, March 6, is Proverbs 3:6 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

05-Inspirations-Cover-KINDLE“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Our life has so many twists and turns in it, so many short cuts that never work out, so many detours, so many mountains to climb and valleys to make our way through. Life on earth does have its problems, and those are our assignments from God ~ to follow his way instead of Satan’s way.

Our path to heaven is another matter. Our path to heaven is straight. The Bible ~ God’s Word ~ is a path for us. He has done everything in his power to straighten our path and make it easy for us to reach him. How? By providing his Son to die in our place for our sins, and by providing us with His Word to read any time we want and as often as we want.

Paths in this life can and will be bumpy and crooked. But the path to heaven ~ thanks to our merciful God ~ is straight. What path are you on?

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The scripture for today, March 5, is Titus 3:5 in the New Testament of the Bible:

WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLE

God is perfectly good and cannot dwell with imperfection. How, then, can we ever live with him in his heaven? After all, as hard as we try, we cannot be perfect. But God loved us so much that he solved our dilemma. He sent his Son to live that perfect life that is impossible for us to live.

Then, his perfect “Lamb of God” took our punishment for our sins by paying the fine. Romans 3:23 says the wages of sin is death ~ physical death (separation from this world) and spiritual death ( separation from God). Jesus took all of God’s anger, terrors, rage, fury saved up from the beginning of time and about to burst ~ all hurled down on sin to destroy it. That would have destroyed us, but Jesus took it all for us. And that included being completely separated from God. At the worst of it, Jesus cried out to God, “Why have you FORSAKEN me?” That’s when Jesus died spiritually. It was we who deserved to be forsaken by God.

Sin and its power now destroyed, God said if we do as Jesus did and follow what he said, he will consider us perfect also. Such amazing, amazing love!

And this washing mentioned here. It is interesting that here is the “washing of rebirth”, for in Acts 22:16 it says, “Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins” and in Romans 6:4, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism in order that…we too may live a new life [rebirth].” God took care of the hard part. He gave us the easy part.

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The scripture for today, March 4, is James 3:4 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

HS-COVER-KINDLE-GOLD“Take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.”

James, in this scripture, is talking about the tongue being a small thing, but it can get our entire lives into a lot of trouble. Once we say things, we cannot take them back. What do we spend our day saying to people? We do have a choice. People do more good things than bad things. Do we respond to them with more good or more bad words? It is our choice.

When we compliment someone, they will take heart and try to do that good thing even more. When we berate someone, they will lose heart and probably do the bad thing again. Years ago there was a saying, “You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” Are your words honey or vinegar?

Jesus said out of our heart comes our words. If we normally say nice things to others, it shows we have a nice heart. If we normally say hard things to others, it shows we have a hard heart. Jesus also said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Just for today go out of your way to say nice things to people. All day. You’ll be a happier person for it. And so will they.

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The scripture for today, March 2, is 2nd Corinthians 3:2 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLE“You yourselves are our letter written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.”

As important as it is to read the Bible for yourself and determine for yourself what you will follow, it is equally important to put those things into practice. James 2:19 says that even demons believe, but they are still demons and still bound for hell. It takes more than faith. There are things to do.

Are you a letter from God to people around you? Or do you have a double standard, acting one way around worshipers and another way around non-worshipers? People read our hearts by our words and actions. What do people read in your heart?

Do you absolutely and completely believe people will go to hell without Jesus? Do you absolutely and completely believe people have to rise above demons who believe, but who are still going there? Do you absolutely and completely believe you could be the only one in your family’s and friends’ lives who care enough for their soul that you will actually say something ~ put your heart letter into words?

Do you love them more than yourself? Do you love them enough?

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The scripture for today, March 1, is 1st Thessalonians 3:1,5 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Cover-Bible Women-Createspace“So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens….For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.”

In Thessalonica there had been a riot, and the man who had given Paul and his helpers a place to live was hauled into court. Paul just couldn’t put his host through that so “when we could stand it no longer” he left the city and went off by himself so he wouldn’t jeopardize anyone else.

Still the great Apostle Paul ~ who went everywhere preaching non-stop for decades; who stood up under beatings, stonings, hunger, and ship wrecks; who explained to church leaders how to lead their congregation; whose letters were prophecy and became scripture ~ the powerful Apostle Paul still felt very tenderly toward his fellow Christians. He worried about how they were getting along spiritually. And when he “could stand it no longer” he wrote back to Thessalonica to find out how they were doing.

Tender love is a powerful love. A strong love. A love that will never, ever let go. Do you feel this way about the spiritual well being of other people?

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The scripture for today, February 28, is Jeremiah 2:28 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Campbell-Cover-KIMBLE“Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.”

Today we think the whole thing is ridiculous. How could people believe in a multitude of gods? Further, how could people make statues of them as though anyone knew what the gods looked like? On top of that, many of them looked like dumb animals. But apparently it was the popular thing to do. In fact, a person discovering yet another god would be highly esteemed. And it seemed logical that the more gods one believed in, the more holy a person was. Or the bigger the statue of a god in one’s home, the more dedicated a person was.

We today call them myths ~ things that were made up out of people’s imaginations. Yet they thrived in their time. Why? Because of “mass hypnosis” in a sense. Because we are social beings and we don’t like being ostracized. We want to be accepted.

Do we do the same thing today? There are evangelists on television who draw crowds of hundred and thousands. They seem so right and so holy. Yet they contradict each other. So it cannot be a measure of rightness and holiness that a lot of people believe something.

The measure must be the Bible. Remember, no matter how many thousands upon thousands who follow a religious leader, that leader will be judged by God just like everyone else.

Let us read the Bible for ourselves. Let us study the Bible for ourselves. Let us not search the scriptures for something to prove our opinion right, or a certain leader right, or our family right, or a particular religious idea right. Let us try to erase all our pre-conceived religious notions, and read with an open mind what God himself has to say to us. It is possible to know for sure.

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The scripture for today, February 27, is Jeremiah 2:27 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

JesusArmWrestlingSatan

People sometimes blame God for bad things happening in their life that are no fault of their own. They don’t really want to blame God because they want to think God loves them. But there is no one else to blame.

No one else to blame? Oh, yes, there is. There is Satan. We tend to forget Satan is out there too. It is Satan who causes bad to happen, not God.

Is that what you’ve done lately ~ blame God for bad happening, then rebel against him? Or do you know someone who is going through many problems not of their doing or choosing? Are they blaming God and rebelling against him? Help them. Remind them of Satan. People want to blame someone. They will be relieved to be reminded that Satan exists. Now they can put the blame were it belongs.

Let us not blame God for the bad. Instead, let us thank Him for the good.

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The scripture for today, February 26, is Ecclesiastes 2:26 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

05-Inspirations-Cover-KINDLE“To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Are we happy regardless of how much wealth we do or do not have? Do we require things in order to be happy? Solomon, who wrote the above scripture, was the wealthiest man in the world, but he found it to be meaningless, a chasing after the wind. In another place in Ecclesiastes (5:10) he said that a man loving money never has enough. Wind indeed.

Centuries later, the apostle Paul, who did not own a home or much of anything else, explained his happiness: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:11b-12).

If we can do this, then we do indeed have wisdom ~ God’s wisdom.

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The scripture for today, February 25, is Revelation 2:25 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Wings of Time“Only hold on to what you have until I come.”

Several years ago my 91-year-old mother left this life. Some say that at the moment of death, one’s life flashes before their eyes. In the case of my mother, at the moment of her death, her life flashed before my eyes. I suddenly imagined her as a baby in her mother’s (my grandmother’s) lap. Then she was a toddler playing in their yard. Then I saw her in school, then as a young bride to my father, then at home with her husband and children gathered around her. Then I saw her as launching a career after we were grown, then retiring, then eventually going into the nursing home.

And when that brief moment of envisioning her whole life was gone, I said, “You made it, Mother! You made it! You never faltered. Through all those years of ups and downs, you never wavered in your faith in Jesus Christ. You stuck it out. And now you’re home!”

May we all live our life in such a way that, despite our ups and downs, we never wander from Jesus. We stick with him through every storm, every flood, every blast of tragedy, every tumbling of dreams. Let us hold on to what we have until the day we leave this temporary life and enter our true eternal life.