Let loose, then cling

COVER-Music-medThe scripture for today, January 25 (1/25), is James 1:25 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it ~ he will be blessed in what he does.”

A lot of people do not understand that there was the Law of Moses with over 600 commands in the Old Testament, and the Law of Jesus with very few commands in the New Testament. Religious leaders use the Law of Moses to justify adding fancy or fun things to worship or a separate priesthood or tithing, or whatever they like. 

But they leave out stoning for adultery or disobeying your parents, killing someone who killed your relative, knocking the eye out of someone who knocked your eye out, giving a third of your income (not just a tenth), killing animals to sacrifice, etc.  It’s all part of the same Law!

Romans 7:4-7 says Christians have been released from the Law. Hebrews 8:13 & all of chapter 9 say the first covenant (testament/law) of Moses had regulations for worship but is obsolete in favor of the new covenant (testament/law). James 2:10 says if you try to live by the old Law but fail in just one point, you are guilty of all of it.

But how are you to know what was in the Old Law of Moses besides the fancy or fun things today’s religious leaders like?  There is only one possible answer:  Read it.  Plow through Leviticus and all those minute codes. Then you will understand.

Let us truly let loose of the old Law of Moses and cling to the “perfect Law that gives freedom” in Christ.

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COVER-Music-thumbINSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN THE PUBLIC WORSHIP OF THE CHURCH is volume II in the RESTORATION REPRINT LIBRARY OF NORTHERN LIGHTS PUBLISHING HOUSE.  It was written by Presbyterian theologian in the 1800s, a masterpiece.  The most thorough work on this topic out there.  A must for every church library.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or past this……….https://bit.ly/3lYBDB7

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You brought eternity into my soul

0-BK 5-FloodGates-Cover-Medium-NewI praise and adore you, Lord God of heaven and earth. Of angels and people. Of stars and beasts. Of galaxies and molecules. So great and so minuscule ~ too large and too small for me to even see. You are in all.  You made all.  Your glory and might and wonders are reflected in all.  You are my Maker, my Defender, the Lover of my soul. You make darkness light. You make rough roads smooth. You make my chains break and fall away. I feel so warm and loved in your presence. You alone are worthy of worship.

Thank you, Jesus, for all your sacrifices. Over and over you sacrificed ~ heaven, a normal childhood, being a suspected bastard, being hounded by would-be assassins for two years. You went in and out of hiding. You dared them to live what they demanded of others. They hated you for it. They tortured you, insulted you, crucified you. Then death and hell.  So much. Because of my sins. My sins. You never gave up on me. Satan tried to destroy you. No one can destroy God.  You destroyed him. You destroyed my sins. Your persistence brought light into my life.  Your love brought eternity into my soul. Your love is unfathomable.

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THEY MET JESUS:  FLOOD GATES.  Jealous leaders feel threatened by Jesus.  The people follow him everywhere.  He is feeding them free.  Healing them free.  Teaching them free.  Even commanding demons. He must be crushed. He must be destroyed.  Spreading rumors about him has not worked.  Blaming him for breaking the law has not worked.  He must be killed.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/2XsOXDS

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-5-flood-gates-adults-childs-versions/

 

The stars sing their praises

02-Noah-KindleMediumThe stars praise you, oh God, with their singing. The mountains praise you with their rumbling. The meadows praise you with their whisperings. The oceans praise you with their ebb and flow in tune with the rest of the universe. Ah, my Lord, to be with you without Satan always trying to lure me away from you. His lies won’t work, Lord! I will not let them. And when I am weak, you will stand between us not let him get to me. Nothing praises Satan except emptiness, shadows and hollow egos. All things good and grand and glorious and praise you now and forever.

Lord, sometimes I eat too much. Why do I do that? The taste is with me but a moment, then whisks away and I have to take another bite to get it back. And another. And another. Help me eat until I am no longer hungry instead of when I am full and about to burst.

Thank you for my family and friends. Thank you for the animals that sometime show more love than do humans. And for birds that hop around and flutter and fly and sing to me. And the fish that wiggle and splash and sparkle. And touch ~ the softness of cotton, the smoothness of silk. Bumpy tree bark and smooth flower pedals. And knowing for sure that spring will return some day.

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Come back! Come back to Me!

The scripture for today, January 13 (1/13), is Habakkuk 1:13 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.”

This pretty much explains why no one deserves heaven. Going to heaven has little to do with doing so many good works God will feel obligated to admit you. 

It’s all about sin.  Only sinless people can be in heaven, for God cannot coexist with sin and still be God. Of course, you cannot be sinless. If nothing else, you have sins of attitude and neglect.

For thousands of years, God let mankind try any way they could to be perfect. Some people he gave the Law of Moses to, and some people he continued to let try on their own. Neither worked. No matter how hard we tried, no one could get it right.

The wages you earn for sinning is death (Romans 6:23). Remember in the Garden of Eden God warned, “The moment you sin, you die.” He was talking about souls dying, and eventually, bodies dying. Satan was now holding mankind hostage. Satan causes death, so sinners collect the wages Satan pays for following him.

But mankind was still being held hostage and Satan wasn’t about to let us go.  So God set up a trap.  The death of God. Satan wanted to be God and this was the only way he could carry out his plan. He did not realize it would end up being the destruction of his power of death.

Galatians 4:4 says, “When the time was come, God sent his son.” Finally, when mankind understood everyone needed outside help, God sent Jesus. Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus lived the perfect life that was impossible for anyone to live; he was completely free of sin.

Then God was ready to crush Satan’s head.  God offered his son ~ God in the form of mankind. So, Satan freed mankind from his prison of soul death. But Satan was in for a shock.  He is not as smart as God. His gloating came to an abrupt stop.  God tricked Satan. You cannot kill Life.  God returned to that human body and came back to life.

It was too late. Satan had already freed mankind. 

That done, God ~ who is too pure to dwell with sin ~ is now able to allow obedient, faithful believers in Jesus into his home, heaven. For, through Jesus, we become sinless and pure. Glory of glories!

But something terrible happened after that. People began selling themselves back into slavery to Satan (Romans 6:15-23).  No!  No! This cannot be! Not after all God went through to save mankind from Satan.

So God, through Christians, continually calls out to those who no longer want to worship Him or encourage his Family, “Come back!  Come back to your Father!! Come back.  Your brothers and sisters miss you. I miss you….”

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0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-ThumbnailSHADOW OF DEATH takes the reader through the last hours of Jesus before the Great Sacrifice.  Two chapters are completely on his six agonizing hours on the cross ~ the first three in the scorching sun; the second three in cold, cold darkness.  Satan, the Romans, the priests, the Sadducees ~ all thought they had won.  They had only dug their own spiritual graves.  Jesus re-entered his body and walked the earth again.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/2UcggRE

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Staggering beyond comprehension

0-BK 5-FloodGates-Cover-Medium-NewYou are the fountain of all things, the cause of all things, the manifestation, the life-giver and mover of all things. The thought of you is staggering and beyond my comprehension.  Still you reveal yourself and leave it up to me to understand what I can. That understanding is just a shadow, a whisper in this vast cosmos. Someday I will understand ~ well, maybe. Will it ever be possible? I am only human. Still, on that Someday, I will comprehend and praise you more than I ever imagined.

If I stayed to myself and minded my own business instead of encouraging others, I would not be opening myself up to insults. That’s just being a coward. Help me open myself up to taunts. Help me share in the suffering of Jesus.

Your Bible is such a blessing. It is not confusion. It is not chaos in its wondering about this and that. It is not madness in careless guessing. It is order and harmony, peace and tranquility, it is ultimate truth. There it is just waiting for me to discover it. You open your mind and heart to me in your Bible, along with your plans, your movings, your yearnings for me. A love letter from God it is. When I read, it is as though I am in a mist and seeing you afar. Thank you for your Bible.

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You are my song

OldOldTunes-mediumMighty God, conceiver, founder, and Creator of this vast cosmos. You are beyond thought, beyond imagination, beyond human mind. You are greater than any galaxy, mightier than any sun, gentler than the softest feather. And, oh, your ability to love ~ it conquers everything that is bad because love is the strongest essence in existence.  Because of this, you created me. Lowly me. Your thoughts never leave me, your kindness never ceases, the honor of your presence never flies away. I extol you, honor you, and bow at your feet.

Please forgive me for not thinking of others more than myself. I get so caught up in my own life, I hide my eyes from others’ needs, others’ goals, others’ plights. Open my eyes and heart to them and help me be willing to leave my little world to spread your love abroad.

Thank you for loving me. You show it every day in the earth I trod, the food I eat, the birds that fly around me for my entertainment. You are in my every delight, my every movement, my every song. I am surrounded and protected by your high walls of salvation, your waters of life, and your light of truth.  How can I thank you for all you have done for me?

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OldOldTunes-ThumbnailTHE OLD OLD STORY SET TO OLD OLD TUNES is a fun song book with 40 songs from the Old Testament and 40 from the New Testament. All are set to old folk tunes with the lyrics adjusted. Three Blind Mice becomes Three Great Kings. The Old Gray Mare, She Ain’t What She Used to Be becomes A-bra-ham, A-bra-ham, He Ain’t What He Used to be. A fun way for children to learn the Bible. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. https://bit.ly/2YwJVHI

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Then it is dawn again.

OldOldTunes-mediumAh, Lord God, my heart burns within me for you. Burning with the rays of your sun that grace my day. At night it breaks through the darkness from each star firelit with your majesty. Then dawn again. In a blink, your sun is back. But it never really leaves me. For your love keeps my heart warm and bright with the flame of your grace. Someday I will ride one of those sunbeams to you and, in your presence, I shall see your throne ablaze with glory.

I thank you for your love that will not let me go. Though I sometimes wander from you, carelessly, letting Satan have his way, you run after me calling out, “No! Do not go with him. He is dangerous. He will hurt you. His smiles mean nothing but treachery. Let go of Satan and come back to me! Run! Run away from him! Come back!”  When I am blind, you send me your light so I can find my way back to you. Thank you for loving me that much.

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OldOldTunes-ThumbnailTHE OLD OLD STORY SET TO OLD OLD TUNES.  40 songs on the Old Testament and 40 on the New Testament.  Folk tunes make these songs fun to sing.  You will often laugh with them and sometimes cry.  Great for grandparents to entertain grandchildren on  visits. Also fun for classes and as ice breakers.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/OldStoryOldTunes

 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/links-to-some-of-my-fun-bible-stuff/the-old-old-story-set-to-old-old-tunes/

 

Most exhilarating

This morning I woke up to a new day, one more day closer to being with you.  During the morning I shall go to 365 Dat by Date-Front-Thumbnailthe market for food for my family, and I will be a few more hours closer to being with you. All afternoon I will volunteer at a school, and I will be half a day closer to being with you. Tonight, I shall lie down. And perhaps, just perhaps, when I close my eyes in the darkness, it will be my turn to open them to the brightness of your glory. Home at last. Home at last.

Books.  Thank you for books, Lord. At first people wrote them on clay, then reed soaked and flattened out, then animal skins rolled up, then pulp from trees and bound on one side. Finally, they were on screens electrically written. No matter in what form books have come to us, they have always informed and fascinated and brought exciting new knowledge to anticipating minds. Books open up the world. Most exhilarating of all is your Book that opens up your world. Along the way, it reveals our Maker ~ your heart, your knowledge, your emotions, what makes you weep in sadness and laugh in happiness. Thank you for your Book.

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It gave us rainbows

The scripture for today, November 22 (11/22), is Genesis 11:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

02-Noah-KindleMedium“When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.”

How can it be that people could live so long in the early centuries of the world? Isn’t that stretching things a bit? Isn’t it just folklore? Here’s more.

Noah had his first son at age 502 (Genesis 5:32, 11:10). Noah lived a total of 950 years (Genesis 9:29). Noah’s son, Shem, had his first son at age 100 and lived a total of 600 years (Genesis 11:10-11). Now we have Serug, the 7th-generation grandson of Noah, who had his first son at age 30 and lived a total of 230 years (see above).

Do you see the trend downward of ages after the flood? Most of Noah’s life was lived before the flood. Some of Shem’s life was lived before, but most of it was after the flood. All of Serug’s life was after the flood.

Many scientists believe that the earth originally had a constant cloud covering like the planet Venus does. Genesis 2:5-6 says it had not rained yet, but a mist rose to water everything. The King James Version of the Bible regarding the flood in Genesis 7:11 says the windows of heaven were opened. Genesis 8:2 says the windows of heaven were stopped.

Notice, it did not say the windows of heaven were closed; they were just stopped, meaning it could rain again periodically after that. If, indeed, Earth did have a constant thick cloud covering before the flood, then humans would have been protected from radiation from the sun, and therefore could live longer. After the change in Earth’s atmosphere after the flood, humans beings exposed to more radiation, would have lived shorter lives.

Something to think about…. And, one more thought ~ rainbows wouldn’t be possible with a constant cloud covering. The flood brought us rainbows! (Genesis 9:13).

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You don’t have to guess

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-ThumbnailThe scripture for today, October 23 (10/23), is Jeremiah 10:23 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.”

Just how are you supposed to know what steps God has directed you to take? Do you have to guess, rely on a feeling, depend on the movement of your heart, see a vision? Actually, you have a guide, a road map.

Jesus said in John 14:16-17 that after he left, the Father would send another Counselor ~ the Spirit of Truth. In John 16:13, Jesus said, The Spirit of Truth will guide into all truth. In John 17:17, Jesus said, “Your Word is truth.”

Yes, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, guides you through the Word of God, the Bible.

You don’t have to guess! You don’t have to wonder! You don’t have to get discouraged! God has given you his Word to direct your steps. All you have to do is open his Word and read the map.

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0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-ThumbnailTHE HOLY SPIRIT: 592 VERSES EXAMINED clears away the cobwebs of so many strange opinions that never were God’s opinions.  Words before and after “Spirit” are put in categories, then presented under Old Testament-Times Believers,  Prophets,  New Testament-Times Believers, Apostles, Believers After NT written, and the World in general.  Easy to follow, easy to understand.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/592-HolySpirit

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