Category: Bible

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The scripture for today, July 23, is 1st Corinthians 7:23 in the New Testament of the Bible.

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.”

Who were you bought from? Satan. Romans 3:23 says everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God. God, who is perfection, cannot dwell with us. It would be like light dwelling with darkness. It cannot be done.

But God loved you so much, he figured out a way to make you sinless. He sent his son, Jesus, to live that perfect life that is impossible for you to live. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. So Jesus drew those wages in your place. He took the blame for all your sins onto himself, and died spiritually and physically in your place.

Then God told the world through his Bible that, if you will believe this really happened and follow his will for you, he will consider you perfect too. Until that happens, you are a slave to what men tell you to do ~ and of Satan.

You were bought at great price ~ the blood of Jesus Christ.

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The scripture for today, July 22, is 2nd Samuel 7:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Clouds in blue sky

How do we know there is no God but the God of the Bible that we read about and “hear with our own ears” (when scriptures are read aloud)?

How do we know our God is the only true God, and our Bible his only true words? Numerous built-in proofs. Prophecies fulfilled of people and entire nations as given in the Bible and verified in secular encyclopedias. Scientific facts not known in early centuries. Over 300 archaeological facts.

Therefore, Christians can KNOW what God is like, what he wants and how he views us, for we have heard with our own ears and seen with our own eyes. How lucky we are. How blessed.

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Our scripture for today, July 21, is Matthew 7:21ff as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

CHANGES IN WORSHIP-COVER-KINDLE“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ “

There are hundreds of denominations/sects out there all contradicting each other. It’s impossible for them all to be right. We can never rely on what someone else says just because they look and act holy and say all the right holy words and phrases and pray such holy-sounding prayers. We must never rely on our religious leaders to tell us what to believe. Shall we take their opinion or God’s opinion?

Romans 10:1 in the Bible mentions some people who had a lot of zeal for God, but were lost because it was not according to the proper knowledge.

Well, how do you get God’s opinion? Read the Bible for yourself! Use a concordance (lists every word in the Bible and every scripture with that word) and look up your chosen subject. Then, having found the truth, why not go back to the religious leaders in love and try to teach your teachers? Some just might listen to you.

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The scripture for today, July 20, is Ecclesiastes 7:20 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover

Many people believe if we don’t murder or steal, and if we help people poorer than ourselves, and aren’t mean to our family, God will have no choice but to let us into heaven. It only takes one sin to be a sinner

God ~ who is Perfect Goodness ~ cannot dwell with sin. But mankind has never figured out a way to be perfectly good. Remember, the cost of sin is death (Romans 6:23). So in Old Testament days, God allowed people to kill perfect animals as a substitute for paying the cost of our sins ~ temporarily.

Then Jesus came. He became that perfectly good person (Hebrews 4:15) ~ that perfect Lamb of God (John 1:29). Then he died in our place to pay the cost of our sins ~ permanently. Now all he asks is that we love him, thank him, worship him, follow his examples and his all commands (there aren’t many). Then God the Father will consider us perfect too. Then we will be accepted into heaven.

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The scripture for today, July 19, is found in Romans 7:19 as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

HS-COVER-KINDLE-GOLD

Doesn’t this pretty much describe all of us in some area of our life? It may be eating too much, breaking the law by going over the speed limit, laughing at dirty jokes, habitual lying, stealing “little things” at work, cheating on tests, jealousy ~ any number of things.

Sins of habit and attitude are hard to break. So we go to God over and over asking him to forgive that which, deep down, we know we’re going to do again.

Perhaps this emphasizes the importance of us forgiving others who habitually do wrong to us. We do not know their battles any more than they know our battles.

Jesus said, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matthew 6:14).

Satan wants us to quit trying to do better. And he wants us to quit forgiving each other. Let us not give in to Satan. Let us give in to God. God’s way leads to ultimate forgiveness.

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The scripture for today, July 18, is Acts 7:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Cover-KINDLE“Then another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt.”

Does God really answer prayers? When the Jews first arrived in Egypt, they received “royal treatment” because they were relatives of “Prime Minister” Joseph. Then he died, but his relatives stayed. Eventually they were resented, then feared, then made slaves of the Egyptians.

For the following 400 years or so, the Jews prayed for God to release them from their slavery. Generation after generation died believing that God does not answer prayers.

But God saw the big picture. He saw that the 70 relatives of Joseph who originally went to Egypt would become over three million over the next four centuries. Then and only then would they be large enough to begin a new nation ~ the Jewish nation. In Egypt during those centuries, they were in a form of “protective custody”.

Are you frustrated and confused because God is seemingly not answering some very important prayers? Perhaps you are part of a bigger picture that God knows about. Perhaps your job is to stay where you are and just keep hanging on. Are you up to the task God has assigned to you?

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The scripture for today, July 17, is 1st Corinthians 7:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Cover-Bible Women-Createspace“Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him.”

In some situations in life, this scripture is hard to accept. Sometimes life gets very, very hard. Sometimes it is hard to keep smiling, even to keep breathing. When will it end? Will it ever end?

But can it be that this is where God wants you? Can it be that the difficulties in your life right now are your assignments from God? God fights Evil from heaven and it is our place to fight Evil from earth. It is an ongoing battle. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

For some reason that cannot be understood right now, you are where God wants you to be. This is your assignment from God. Remember, we are “ambassadors for Christ” (II Corinthians 5:20). We must show the world that “all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

As a soldier for Christ, be brave. Think with a clear head. Stand firm of faith and pure of heart.

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The scripture for today, July 16, is Genesis 7:16 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 6-PROMISE KEEPER-Cover-Createspace

Does your life sometimes feel like a downpour of unending bad events or a flood of tragedies? Whenever that happens, why not just enter an ark of safety and let God shut the door? When God shuts the door on something, try to recognize it and take advantage of its peace and quiet.

Our ark of safety is in our mind, our heart, our soul. Our ark of safety is quietness in Jesus.

“My heart is not proud, O Lord….But I have stilled and quieted my soul” (Psalm 131:1f)

“In quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15b)

“The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17).

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The scripture for today, July 15, is Matthew 7:15 as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

Campbell-Cover-KIMBLE“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

Jesus said this. Maybe sometimes the “false prophet” is within ourselves. We have a pet theory that we want very much for God to agree with us on. So we read through the Scriptures trying to prove our point correct. Of course, taking a verse here and a verse there, you can “prove” anything you want.

So how do we find out if we are being our own “false prophet”? When we see a verse that contradicts our pet theory, look for other scriptures similar to this one. Use a concordance ~ a book that lists alphabetically every word in the Bible and every verse it appears in.

Or, if we believe in a different holy book, we can read the holy books of the other major world religions, then honestly search for built-in proofs which book is truly holy. Then we can decide if we’ve been listening to a false prophet.

And as you honestly struggle, pray about it.

Yes, it is humiliating to believe we just might have been wrong, and then actually admit we were wrong. But it is also liberating. Many people have already gone through this, and can testify that changing from our viewpoint to God’s viewpoint is not only liberating, but ultimately brings peace.

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The scripture for July 13 is in Job 7:13ff in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 3-HEARTS AFIRE-COVER“When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.”

Job was extremely depressed. It happens to everyone sometimes. His depression was certainly valid ~ he had lost all his income and all his children in a recent storm. Now he had what the Bible translated as “boils” but the symptoms indicate he had a form of leprosy. This particular form leads to nightmares in addition to the physical problems. Job had every right to be depressed. So depressed was he, that he no longer wanted to live, for his life no longer had meaning.

But, as miserable as Job was, he hung on. Patiently he hung on during the bad times. Sometimes during our bad times, the greatest thing we can do is “hang on” ~ be patient.

Romans 8:28 says all things work together for good to those who love the Lord. Job loved the Lord. Even in his misery and desire to die, he continued to love God and trust Him.

And although at such times you may believe your misery will never end, you may believe you will never even smile again, it will happen. The misery comes to an end. It did for Job. He got his health and wealth back and more children to comfort him. God will see you through too.