Saturday 5/18 ~ Rejoice and keep Satan puzzled

The scripture for today, May 18 (5/18), is 1st Thessalonians 5:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

OldOldTunes-Thumbnail“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

This is one of the most difficult verses in the Bible to follow. How can we rejoice with the loss of a loved one, of health, of a job, of a home, of a position? The Christians at Thessalonica, in Greece, had been suffering a lot of persecution for being Christians. Some had even been killed for their faith.

Satan will do all he can to cause bad to happen in your life in order to get you to blame God and forsake him. But the real blame belongs on Satan. It may sometimes seem like the harder you try to follow God, the worse things get in your life.

Satan is afraid of you and is trying more than ever to weaken you, to break you, and get you back on his side. He doesn’t have to attack people he already has.

And sometimes God stands back and tells Satan, “Do your best. This person will grow stronger, not weaker.” Along with the Christians in Thessalonica, you can “become a model….your faith in God…known everywhere” (1st Thessalonians 1:7-8).

So, through your tears, rejoice that Satan is so afraid of you. And at the same time, keep your eyes on Jesus who never gave in when Satan caused bad to happen to him. Rejoice that you are counted worthy to be treated the same way Jesus was treated. Give thanks and keep Satan frustrated and puzzled.

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Friday, May 17 ~ Then your wish will be your reality

The scripture for today, May 17 (5/17) is John 5:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Bk3-HeartsAfire-COVER-Kindle.thumbnail-new“Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.’ “

Psalm 115:12 says God is thinking about you all the time. When you’re walking, riding, talking, doing, coming, going. God is always working for you. A popular song a few years ago was, “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands.”

But does he always keep you from harm? He gave you free will, and sometimes you don’t make good choices. Others around you have free will, and they sometimes don’t make good choices.

If everything was perfect, this would be heaven. But it is not.  Heaven is for later after we go through some tests. Regardless of what happens here, God is beside you if you fall, ready to get to work, ready to hold out his hand to lift you up.

How he loves you and cherishes you and cares for you. He always will if you follow him.  Then, after you have fulfilled your own work here on earth, you can follow him right into that perfect world you wish you had now ~ heaven. Then wish will be reality.

Image result for "Buy the book" button redTHEY MET JESUS: HEARTS AFIRE. Jesus went public and got to work healing people. He was not a fake faith healer.  Broken arms were healed, amputated legs grew back, people deaf and blind for life could hear and see. Lepers with their skin eaten away were instantly given a new body with healthy skin.  Not all of them had faith. The dead he brought back to life certainly did not have faith. Yes, he had much work to do and he did it. To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this: https://amzn.to/2w7sluE

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Wednesday 5/8 ~ Keep on walking and walking and walking until…

The scripture for today, May 8 (5/8), is Psalm 5:8 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-New“Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness, because of my enemies ~ make straight your way before me.”

An enemy would like nothing more than to get into a good fight with someone. Do not let that happen. You have better things to do than argue with people.

Set your eyes, not on your enemy, but on the Lord. The path of enemies will take you on all sorts of side trips that lead to dead ends. The path of God rises up before you ~ straight and direct. Never let your attention stray from that path.

Keep on walking on the path of God.

And keep on walking,

and keep walking,

and walking, and walking…

….until, at last, you walk right through the gates of heaven.

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Monday 5/6 ~ Shhh. Do you hear?

The scripture for today, May 6 (5/6), is Song of Solomon 5:6 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Love Letters of Jesus & his Bride, Eccelsia-THUMBNAIL“I opened [the door] for my lover, but my lover had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer.”

Jesus is the lover of your soul. He hears you knock, so opens the door for you. But you are now sidetracked. Perhaps you’re spending all your time thinking about material things. His heart sinks when you run away from him. Oh, how his heart aches with loneliness for you.

So, Jesus goes out looking for you. He looks everywhere you go. He calls you by name. But perhaps your life is so full of the noise of doing and going and accomplishing, that you do not hear him.

Stop! Allow some quietness into your life. Then listen. Shhh. Do you hear? Jesus is calling for you.

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Sunday 5/5 ~ Seek peace. Deep peace.

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

0-Mefiboset-KINDLE Thumbnail“And he will be their peace.”

The little book of Micah was written during a time when his country was full of prosperity. But it was also full of abused power. The lower on the social scale, the more the people suffered at the hands of the powerful few.

In the midst of warning the social elite, Micah offers comfort to their victims. You may be going through economic distress such as losing your job or losing your home. You may be going through social distress such as being passed up for a promotion or losing friends because of your moral code.

Seek peace. Deep peace.

Sometimes, it is only possible to reveal powerful abusers by revealing their victims to the world. Sometimes our job is to just survive so that a future generation can find justice and acceptance. Or sometimes we must lose everything so that we can quit worrying about this world and look forward to the next.

Seek peace. Deep peace.

So, when you feel left behind with nothing, look up! God is still on his throne. God still holds out his arms. God still wipes away tears. Possibly it is at such times that you can feel God’s love most warmly and God’s peace most deeply.

Image result for "Buy the book" button redMEFIBOSET: CRIPPLED PRINCE endured the enemies of his grandfather, King Saul, and even death threats on his own life plus being crippled for life.  Amidst it all, he found peace.  To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2Ga5tzi

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Saturday 5/4 ~ “Organized Religion”

The scripture for today, May 4 (5/4), is 1st Peter 5:4 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-ThumbnailAnd when the Chief Shepherd [Jesus] appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

The world is frustrated with and has left “organized religion” and it is our fault.  We brought it on ourselves. We have organized our denominations to death, and the spiritually minded have said, “Enough is enough. I want none of it. I just want Jesus.”

Look at all the denominations that appoint someone to be the head of their religion at their world headquarters. He goes by different titles ~ bishop, high priest, father, pope, president. Their headquarters may be a small office or a multi-story building, or an entire complex of buildings.

From here the head meets regularly with his immediate underlings (who are still much higher than us ordinary people) to make decisions for their denomination. They pass regulations on who can hold office, what percent of income must be given to their denomination, where their contributions must be spent, amendments to their particular creed, and on and on. (By the way, shepherd is translated in modern English to pastor.)

Here is a unique thought: Let us set this system aside and replace everything with Jesus as the only head, and let the world headquarters be in heaven! We do not have to rely on the decisions of men but on the decisions of God the Son who loved us so much that he became human for a while so he could die for us. Maybe we need to sell our big buildings, give the money to mission work and the poor, and return to meeting in unorganized homes or fields.

We don’t even need a creed, because, if it is less than the Bible it isn’t enough, if it is more than the Bible it is too much, and if it is the same as the Bible why have it?

No more “organized religion.” No more divisiveness. No more denominationalism. Just one united church of Christ with its divine Founder as our sole leader, and His divine words as our sole creed. This will never fade away.

Jesus is the crown giver. Return Him to His throne and watch the world return to Him.

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Friday 5/3 ~ Soon will come your morning

The scripture for today, May 3 (5/3), is Psalm 5:3 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

05-Joseph-KindleThumbnail“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

Morning. The time of new beginnings. Birth is a morning. Graduating is a morning. Marriage, a new job, birth of a child ~ these are obvious mornings.

You can create your own morning of life in a spiritual way too. You can stop depending on yourself and begin following and depending on God. You cannot fix all your problems. Sometimes you get yourself into your own problems and don’t know how to get yourself out. But God knows.

Lay your requests before God. Then wait. Waiting in the shadows can create frustration and even panic. But wait in peace. It is not quite dawn and God is preparing the answer to rise up in your heart and life.

He loves you as his child and knows when the moment is right for your dawning. Sometimes when you look back, you are most grateful he did not answer a prayer for you; he had something better in mind. And then, it was morning.

God loves to answer prayer. Therefore, while still in the shadows, wait. Now, do you see it? The grayness of dawn with silver hopes intertwined.  Wait in peaceful expectation.  Soon will come your morning.

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Sunday 4/28 ~ God is still on his throne and all is well

The scripture for today, April 28 (4/28), is Mark 4:28 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-Hero Alone-COVER-KINDLE-Thumbnail“All by itself, the soil produces grain ~ first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.”

Jesus was explaining that the kingdom of heaven is like a seed planted in the ground. It grows almost miraculously. The church is, indeed, like this. Planted some 2000 years ago, it has survived through every adversity and attack contrived by man. Sometimes the attacks were even from within. But at such times, just when it looked as though it was going to die, just like a seed dying in the earth, it would begin to sprout anew and grow up stronger than ever.

A little seed turning into a stalk is miraculous and amazing. The survival of the church for 2000 years in a hostile world is even more miraculous and amazing.

God is still on his throne, and all is well.

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Thursday 4/11 ~ God has an assignment for you

The scripture for today, April 11 (4/11), is Exodus 4:11 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Mefiboset-KINDLE Thumbnail“Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?”

This is a dynamic verse, for it helps answer the question: “If God is so good, why did he allow me/my relative to become deaf/blind?”

Here is the answer.  Satan is the prince of this world.  So, God takes countermeasures to defeat him.  Everything Satan does God can undo.  But he does it in his own way.  He does it through us.

God gives each of us an assignment. We all have something God wants us to overcome. Why?  Because it makes us spiritually stronger. It is intended to turn us into spiritual giants. Perhaps he has something special in mind for us in our eternal world.

His assignment may be the family we were born in to, the country we were born in, an earthquake, a flood, an unfair professor, a mean boss.  Amidst our tears, as we face sometimes unbearable assignments, the challenge is for us to carry on with the smile of faith on our lips.

Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 12:10, “For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses…For when I am weak, then I am strong!” If God did not believe you or your relative or friend could handle your affliction, he would not allow you to have it.

It’s almost as if the more affliction you have, the more faith God has in you.  After all, 2nd Corinthians 6:1 says we are workers together with God.

Has God given you an assignment? What a privilege!

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Wednesday 4/10 ~ Small Beginnings

The scripture for today, April 10 (4/10), is Zechariah 4:10 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0000-BK 1-StarSong-Cover-new-Thumbnail“Who despises the day of small things?”

We tend to admire big things ~ big buildings, big empires, big trees, big causes.  Sometimes it is difficult to remember that those things started out small.

Have you been wanting to accomplish something big? All buildings started out with one board or one stone. All empires started out with one person. All big trees started out as one seed. All big causes started out with one dream.

Perhaps your dream started out small but stayed small. That doesn’t mean it will always be small. It may become big years from now, or even in someone else’s lifetime. Don’t despise what you have now.

Have you been putting off trying to make your dream reality because it won’t be big and people will laugh at you and you will get depressed?   Do not fear it. Have faith in it.  Plant that small seed.  Do not despise it. Embrace it. Nourish it. 

Make today the day of your new beginning. Launch your dream. Soar with it, even if you’re the only one

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