Category: Daily

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

0-BOOK EIGHT-COME FLY WITH ME-Cover“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.

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The scripture for today, February 24, is 1st Peter 2:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

Many people do not understand what Jesus dying on the cross has to do with us going to heaven. Here it is. God is perfect, so cannot dwell with imperfection. God is complete love and goodness, so cannot dwell with hatred and bad.

Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. So all through the Old Testament era, whenever we sinned, God allowed us to kill/sacrifice a perfect animal in our place. This, however, was a temporary fix.

Eventually God sent his own Son to come to earth and live in a human body and be tempted in every way that we are (see Hebrews 4:15). Jesus resisted all temptations, and lived his entire life sinless. He was perfect. Then as the perfect Lamb of God (John 1:29), Jesus was the final sacrifice. He died in our place. He took the punishment for our sins. On the cross, he died spiritually (forsaken by God) and physically (blood was shed).

Then God basically told the world, “I will consider you perfect too; all you have to do is believe in and follow my Son.” It is explained further in Romans 6:3-4. Just as Jesus died bearing our sins, we die to our sinful nature ~ the part of us that sins and doesn’t care. Then just as Jesus was buried in his tomb, we are buried in the watery tomb of baptism. And finally, just as Jesus rose up out of his tomb the Savior, we rise up out of our watery tomb the saved ~ born again to a new life.

Indeed, by Jesus’ wounds we can be healed. We fall at his feet and say, “I am a sinner and so unworthy. Thank you.”

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The scripture for today, February 23, is 1st John 2:23 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

HS-COVER-KINDLE-GOLD“No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”

Have you ever wondered how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit can be three but one? They are kind of like a coin.

The top of the coin looks one way and helps us identify it. The bottom of the coin looks another way and provides something for the coin to sit on. The edge of the coin looks yet another way and holds the two sides together. But, if you take away any one part of the coin, you take away the entire coin. Three, yet one.

Another way to look at it is that both the Son and the Spirit have been called the Word of God. John 1:1-14 says Jesus was the Word, and was God come to us in flesh. Then Jesus in John 14:17 said that he was going to send ANOTHER comforter, the Spirit of Truth. And in John 17:17 Jesus said God’s Word is Truth. So, Jesus was the Word we could watch, and the Spirit is the Word we can read.

Yet another way to look at God being three yet one is like H2O ~ Water, Snow, Ice. Three manifestations of the same thing.

How wonderful!

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The scripture for today, February 22, is Ephesians 2:22 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Cover-KINDLE“And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

Another place in the New Testament, 2nd Corinthians 6:16, says we are the temple of God. A lot of things in worship under the Law of Moses were a literal version of what Christians some day would enjoy in a spiritual and deeper sense.

We have no need for the temple in Jerusalem, for now God dwells in Christians. We have no need for the altar of sacrifice at that temple because Jesus was our final sacrifice (Hebrews 10:4-12). We have no need for the cymbals, harps and lyres played in worship, because Christians play on the strings of their hearts (Ephesians 5:19). We have no need for the priestly system in the Law of Moses because all Christians are priests (1st Peter 2:5). And how do we serve as priests? Romans 12:1 explains it: “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices.”

What a concept! God does not dwell in temples or church buildings!
     He dwells in Christians.
          He lives and moves through Christians.
               What a privilege.
                    What a responsibility.

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The scripture for today, February 21, is Daniel 2:21 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

CHANGES IN WORSHIP-COVER-KINDLE“He [God] changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”

It seems there is always some amount of restlessness within each nation regarding who is ruling. Some people like the ruler, some do not. Or people may start out liking the ruler, but later dislike him. Some rulers are okay, a few are considered outstanding, and a few others are outright evil.

But God sets up the rulers of nations and deposes them. Many places among the prophets of the Old Testament, God explains that he may raise up a cruel leader just because he is strong enough to get rid of other cruel people. After that, God deposes the cruel leader.

In the midst of all this, innocent people are always hurt. That is why it is important for us not to complain, but to bear up under a hard government with patience and courage. It is in hardship that the true heart of a Christian is revealed. And it is in hardship that many people turn to God who might never have done so.

God knows what he is doing, even if we do not understand ~ at least, on this side of eternity. Remember Romans 8:28 ~ “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord.” Life is a mosaic of many colors ~ sometimes bright and sometimes dark ~ but in the end, it can be beautiful.

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The scripture for today, February 20, is Galatians 2:20 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

PAUL COVER-KINDLE-“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”

The apostle Paul wrote this. He had been an angry, spiteful, and hateful, man in his younger days. He had been a terrorist and had even declared holy jihad against Christians. He had gone around the country rounding up Christians and sending them either to prison or to their death. He hated Christians.

But once Jesus got his attention and he realized he was persecuting those who could tell him the true way to heaven, he switched sides. Jesus had to do it himself because all the Christians were afraid of him. Then he, so to speak, crucified his old self, and let Jesus and his words live in him instead. All his tremendous energy that he used to use for hate was now used for love, and he turned his part of the world upside down for Christ.

Is there someone in your life or that you know of who is angry, spiteful, and hateful? Dare to talk to that person and tell them how much God loves him/her. S/he will argue with you and maybe even be meaner to you than ever. But when things calm down, try saying something else, perhaps about what Jesus did or said once in his life. It may take you months or years. S/he will be curious why you keep coming back when s/he is being so mean to you. And eventually, this same person who uses all his enormous energy in a negative way, just might turn that same enormous energy around and use it for Jesus in a great way.

Give it a try. If you are crucified with Christ, then nothing anyone says can hurt you because your ego is dead. Keep trying to reach this enemy of Jesus. Keep trying to help this person become a close friend of Jesus. You may be the only one in his or her world with the courage to do it. Keep trying, and keep trying, and keep trying. Who knows?

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The scripture for today, February 19, is Ephesians 2:19 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Campbell-Cover-KIMBLE“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.”

Let us pretend there is a nation called Occland and we want to become a citizen of that nation. Of course citizenship would not be automatic. And in the same way, citizenship in the Kingdom of God (being a Christian) is not automatic.

Just living in a Christian nation does not automatically make us a Christian any more than just living in Occland would automatically make us a citizen.

Owning a Bible does not automatically make us a Christian any more than owning a copy of Occland’s constitution would automatically make us a citizen.

Going to church meetings every Sunday does not automatically make us a Christian any more than going to Occland’s meetings of parliament or the senate would automatically make us a citizen.

It just is not automatic. We would need to be invited into Occland, and then do things to accept Occland’s invitation. God invites us into his kingdom, but we must do things to accept his invitation. Romans 6, Acts 2 and 1st Peter 3 in the New Testament are good places to check it out. Do so.

God has already done the hard part. Our part is easy ~ our part in accepting his invitation to be citizens in his kingdom.

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The scripture for today, February 18, is Hebrews 2:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 6-PROMISE KEEPER-Cover-Createspace“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Do you find yourself caught up in some kind of sin over and over? Is the temptation always there? Do you commit the sin and then curse yourself for your weakness in giving in to the temptation? Do you see no way out?

A lot of people never think of Jesus ever being tempted. He was too good. But he had a human body and was tempted in every way that we are (Hebrews 4:15).

Try to imagine Jesus with your particular haunting temptation and imagine how you think he would have resisted it. Jesus used to get angry at temptation, which of course is caused by Satan. In other words, he got angry at Satan. One time when tempted, he declared, “Get behind me, Satan!”

Temptation is not the same thing as sin. Temptation is when we want to commit a sin, but haven’t decided yet to do it. Jesus faced Satan (temptation) head on. Once when he went through over a month of harsh temptation alone in the wilderness, Satan gave him all the reasons he should do certain things and made them look so good and reasonable; then Jesus gave all the reasons he should not do those things.

Hebrews 4:15 says, “We do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are ~ yet was without sin.”

Jesus stood up to Satan. Jesus was a spiritual warrior.

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The scripture for today, February 17, is 1st John 2:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-COVER-KINDLE“The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.“

The previous verse in the KJV says there are three basic types of sins: Lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and pride of life. The lust of the flesh is feel-good things that we are willing to do anything to get, even if it is wrong. Lust of the eye is things and possessions that we are willing to do anything to get, even if it is wrong. The pride of life is power, prestige, a well-known name that we are willing to do anything to get, even if it is wrong.

But once we get what we crave ~ what we lust for ~ we end up just wanting a little more, and then a little more. We are never satisfied. All these things ~ the fleshly, the material, the power ~ are temporary.

Only one thing can ever give us what we truly crave ~ doing the gentle will of God. He is our Creator and he knows what will make us happy. Then we can have all we ever craved ~ forever.

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The scripture for today, February 16, is 2nd Thessalonians 2:16 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 3-HEARTS AFIRE-COVER“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”

How amazing! God, the Creator of the universe, and Jesus his only begotten Son, actually know who we are. If he didn’t, he couldn’t love us. Love is not in the abstract. It is specific. And it is specifically for you.

Not only that, but we are given eternal encouragement. Our friends may only encourage us when we are doing something that would help them. Our family members may encourage us as long as we do something they would do. But God’s encouragement never ceases. It is always there. There when we feel alone, when we feel forsaken, when we feel helpless, when we feel hopeless.

And yes, God gives us good hope. Sometimes things in our life may be going so badly that we have trouble having faith in God. But we can still hope. The candle of your faith may be flickering, but your hope can still be a flaming hope, a large hope, a good hope.