Category: Daily

Sunday 4/22 ~ So much of filling an empty soul

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The scripture for today, April 22, is Proverbs 4:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

365 Dat by Date-Front-Thumbnail“…for they [my words] are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.”

Nearly everyone with a Bible picks it up at some time or another and reads something out of it. But random reading is like picking up a novel and randomly reading a few passages now and then. The passage itself may be beautiful but does not have a lot of meaning without knowing what came before and after that passage in the novel.

Why not read the entire Bible, beginning to end? Perhaps you can read a chapter a day. Or, if you want to read it through in a year, you can count the total number of pages in your Bible, divide by 365, and read that number of pages each day. If you have time, why not sit down and read it in just a few sittings? This way you will know all the things that occurred before and after your favorite scriptures. Then they will take on new meaning for your life.

For help with how the Bible is organized, go here:  http://www.churchofchrist-cg-az.com/files/BibleOrganization4.htm

Proverbs even says God’s Word adds to your health. Do you suffer from any physical problems caused by anxiety? A lot of physical problems are. This is yet another reason to know the Word of God.

So much comfort. So much information. So much of answering our questions of how and why.  So much of filling an empty soul.

Friday 4/20 ~ Your light: Do you know where you left it?

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

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Thumbnail“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.”

Do you spend your energy on yourself and family? That is good. Your family needs your light. But try going further. Do something for someone else. But who? It requires looking around. Looking around your neighborhood, your school, your job, your club, your community.  

Someone is in darkness and needs light to see by. 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 know where they are going. They need your light. Can you find it? Do you know where you left it?

Thursday 4/19 ~ Are you on the right road?

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The scripture for today, April 19 (4/19), is 1st Corinthians 4:19a as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

OldOldTunes-Thumbnail“But I will come to you very soon if the Lord is willing.”

God knows each step you take through life. He knows all the roads you take in each phase of your life, and what is awaiting you along the way and at the other end. The road you are on today may lead you to where you do not want to go. But not being able to see the future, you do not always know that.

The writer of the above scripture was telling his friends he was coming to see them soon “if the Lord is willing.” Sometimes a decision seems so right. But there may be danger on the way. Or there may be a different road to take leading you to somewhere even better.

Thank God he does not say yes to all of our prayers. Try to remember, when you ask God for things, to add “Your will be done”. His will is for you to have the best life possible.

Saturday 4/14 ~ Shhh. Listen. Don’t you hear them?

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The scripture for today, April 14 (4/14), is Esther 4:14b as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

000-COVER-KINDLE-Thumbnail“And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Today’s scripture is about a reluctant young lady who won a beauty contest and was chosen to be the queen of Persia. Time has passed, and now a command has just gone out to kill all Jews. Queen Esther was a Jewess but had not told anyone at the royal court. She could continue to hide her nationality and let all her people die, or she could intervene with the king. She was the only Jew the king would have listened to. So she took the chance that she, too, would be killed, and spoke on behalf of her people. They were saved.

There are always situations in life in which you are the only one who can accomplish something very needed. Perhaps you are the only adult standing near a strange child who is about to run out into a busy road. Perhaps you are tall and a short person needs to reach something at the store. Perhaps you know a particular language and others around you need you to explain something to them. Perhaps someone called a wrong number on the telephone and reached you instead.

As we go through life, there are situations in which you are the only one who can handle them. Do you? Do you watch for those situations, or do you walk around in your own little world?

Listen! It’s the silent cries of people only you can help. Do you hear them?

 

Thursday 4/5 ~ It cannot control your heart, your spirit, your soul

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The scripture for today, April 5 (4/5), is Micah 4:5 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

00-LUKE-KINDLE Cover-Thumbnail“All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.”

Nations rise and fall. Nations come and go. Nations are founded upon terror and aggression, or peace and democracy. Some nations follow religions which declare that peasants are peasants as punishment for previous lives, so must remain peasants. Some nations follow religions chosen by their national governments and which must be followed upon pain of death. Some nations deny religion completely and destroy anyone who believes anyway.

What kind of nation do you live in? As strong as your nation is, it cannot control your heart, your spirit, your soul. As strong as your nation seems to be, as much power as your government uses to control its citizens, it will not and cannot last forever.

Always remember, there is a forever nation ~ the nation of God, the kingdom of God. No matter what nation you live in, you can have “dual citizenship”. And by being a citizen of God’s forever kingdom, you will walk in it forever and ever and…

Wednesday 4/4 ~ You’ve gotta be kidding! That’s impossible!

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The scripture for today, April 4 (4/4), is Psalm 4:4 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Thumbnail“In your anger do not sin.”

You’ve gotta be kidding!  That’s impossible! When people get angry, don’t we lash out at other people? And yell and call them names? And show our temper? Maybe even throw a few things? After all, that’s the only way to get across to the other person that we are really angry.

Hold on. If, for instance, you told your child not to do something for their own safety but your child did it anyway, of course you would become angry. Why? Your child put himself in danger because of his action.

You can choose to lash out at your child wildly so that your emotions mask your words. Or you can choose to talk calmly and explain the dangers your child was put in because of that action. Maybe punishment is in order.  You can calmly but firmly tell them what their punishment is. You can calmly punish your child without losing your temper.

It is the same way with adults. If you lose your temper and shoot daggers with your eyes and rant and rave, all your actions distract people from your words. Aren’t your words of explanation more important than the emotionalism and yelling? If you were hurt, just say so. If they hurt themselves, just say so.

While we’re at it, not all words help. Name calling does not help. Name calling is done when you choose not to explain how you feel. Name calling such as, “You’re irresponsible,”  locks the other person in and sets them up for future failures between you and them. Losing your temper during anger gets you off the issue and into sin.

Next time, try to remain calm and then explain the problem in tones that the person who has angered you ~ whether child or adult ~ can truly listen to and learn from. If you have trouble doing this, practice when you’re alone. It will come to you in the right way. It will teach you to remain calm when you’re angry.

Anger is not the same thing as sin. What you do with it can be. Choose a calm anger.  Thereby, you will have a peace that passes understanding.

Thursday 3/29 ~ Ordinary you? Never!

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The scripture for today, March 29, is Luke 3:29 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

02-Noah-KindleThumbnail“…the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi….”

Who in the world were these five men: Joshua, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, and Levi? Some were named after famous Jews, but no one in this list was famous himself. In fact, nothing else is said in the Bible about any of these men. They’re just a single name in a single but long list.

Who were they that they earned even one brief mention in the Bible?

They were ancestors of Joseph, the human “father” of Jesus. What else? They were born and survived long enough to have sons. Not important at the time? No, but eventually it was.

We read obituaries and sometimes wonder about our own. Our whole life reduced to born, married, had a job, had children, died. That’s it. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just another one of billions in the world having come and gone.

Hold on! Maybe not!

Maybe your life, as ordinary as it seems now, will someday serve a greater purpose through a descendant or someone you become friends with. In a later generation ~ maybe ten or twenty generations from now ~ someone may do something extremely important for souls of the world. And it was made possible because of your “unordinary life” way back in the early twenty-first century when you survived one day at a time.

Friday 3/23 ~ Keep on keeping on. The world notices.

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The scripture for today, March 23 (3/23), is Colossians 3:23 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

05-Joseph-KindleThumbnail“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”

Perhaps you are in a job that is unfair ~ you are given too much work, you are underpaid, you are not given enough work, you are given too much responsibility, you aren’t given any responsibility, you have been passed over for promotion by someone less qualified than you.

Think not that you are working for the person who supervises you. S/he is only human. You are working for God. You are representing God. If you are being treated unfairly and smile anyway, others will wonder why. Keep smiling and keep working. Others will keep noticing.

Eventually, someone will ask you, “How can you keep going?”. Then you can tell them how you have God’s approval, and that makes you feel like number one. Therefore, nothing anyone can say or do to you can ever make you feel otherwise.

So keep on keeping on. The world notices. God too.

 

Tuesday 3/20 ~ He’s calling you. Do you hear?

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The scripture for today, March 20 (3/20), is Revelation 3:20 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-thumbnail”Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

A couple days ago we read how the love of Christ is everywhere. But he will not force himself on you. He calls to you and knocks on the door of your heart and mind. If you have too much noise going on in your life ~ coming and going to work, coming and going to clubs, coming and going to education and training, athletics and hobbies, you cannot hear him. If the radio and television and phone and movies are blaring all the time with no silence, you cannot hear him.

Stop what you are doing right now. If there is any background noise, turn it off. Sit in silence a moment. Read a scripture about the life of Christ (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) if you have a Bible, and let him knock on the door of your heart. In such silence, you will be able to hear him.

He’s calling you! Shhh.  Listen.  Do you hear?

 

Tuesday 3/13 ~ It’s God’s heart calling to your heart

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The Scripture for today, March 13, Is Ezra 3:13 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Joseph-Cover-Thumbnail.jpg“No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.”

Solomon’s great temple had been destroyed and the Jews forced to go to Babylon. Now, 70 years later, they were back and had rebuilt the temple. The older Jews who had seen Solomon’s temple wailed in grief because it was not nearly so grand as Solomon’s. The younger ones shouted for joy because at least they now had a temple again. So the laughing of the young people and the crying of the old people mingled.

Today, sometimes the laughing and crying around us get too loud and put our lives in confusion. We don’t understand what is going on. Sometimes the laughing or crying is our own. Sometimes we need to get away from the loud laughing and crying.

Turn off the television. The radio. The phone. The computer. Don’t answer the door. Go into a room where you can be alone in complete silence. Then pick up the Bible and begin to read Luke about the life of Christ, or Philippians about peace, or the Psalms about overcoming adversity, or James about the direction your life is going. Read the whole book in one sitting.

     Be still. Hear it now?

          It is God’s heart calling your heart.

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