Keep Climbing

Supper-Front Cover-MediumPraises belong to you, Jehovah. You are my father ~ my Father!  And so strong. Please win the war for us ~ the war with Satan. I am weak. We all are. You are stronger.  He thinks he is winning, but he is not. There may be more people following him on earth but they are like ants compared with the lion-like strength of Christians. Every time he thinks he has convinced one of your children to believe his lies, we rise up and say, “No”.  You give us that strength. All power and glory and majesty are yours.  Of course, you will win! You said so yourself.

Ah, thank you, my Lord, for the way you taught mankind to trust you. Over and over through the centuries and millenniums you made promises but almost always said, “Later”.  You understood we need trust and patience. We needed to know victory would eventually come. You could use your power to know the future to help us and give us a reason to keep trying, keep plugging along, keep struggling, keep climbing.  I bow before you, my gratitude spills upon your wounded feet, and I worship you.

.

Supper-Front Cover-ThumbnailTHE LORD’S SUPPER:  52 READINGS WITH PRAYERS.  Perfect for table talks or private meditation while taking the communion.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/2ZvCTDS

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/the-lords-supper-52-readings-with-prayers/

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?

.

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

https://atomic-temporary-67613881.wpcomstaging.com/links-to-some-of-my-fun-bible-stuff/the-old-old-story-set-to-old-old-tunes

The Glimmering Door

The scripture for today, December 31 (12/31), is Luke 12:31 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Medium-New“But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”

The kingdom is already here (Luke 9:27; Colossians 1:13), but heaven is not. That is the final destination of the kingdom. Do you actively seek God’s kingdom? Or do you drift and think God should feel obligated to take you into his heaven? Do you feel like you’re “not so bad,” so God would be bad to not take you into his heaven?

Heaven is God’s home, not yours. God has a door into his home, just like you have a door into your home. God is not required to open his door to just anyone, just like you are not required to open your door to just anyone.  You cannot just show up at the door and smile and assume he will let you in, any more than people who knock on our door and smile can assume you will let them in.

You let people into your home who you have gotten to know and whose motives you trust. Have you given God a chance to get to know you and trust your motives? Are your daily motives to enter heaven, God’s home? Do you even like God?

This life you live on earth is not your permanent life or residence. This is the testing place to see how you handle problems and to see how much your spiritual muscles will grow. God has plans for Christians in heaven we do not know about. What we do know is that he is not a God of idleness. Do you live like the earth is all there is? Do you fear hell?  Do you prefer heaven, where people will worship all the time? Does that sound boring to you?

You are about to enter a brand-new year. Today, decide to start over fresh and set your new goal: To step through the glimmering door, enter God’s home his way and live with him.  Forever.

.

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-NewCOME FLY WITH ME is novel 8 in the THEY MET JESUS series.  It begins with despondency after the untimely death of Jesus and ends with exhilaration as apostle John, no old, sees Jesus once again and tours heaven.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/FLY-WITH-ME

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-8-come-fly-with-me-adults-childs-versions/

The God of Second Chances

00-PAUL COVER-Medium-God, you love every one of your children and we love you in return. But sometimes someone wanders away. You need to leave the rest of us behind to find the lost one and that is fine with me. I will be okay while you’re gone. Oh, me? You mean me? You want me to go for you, and find your missing child? Ah, let me think a moment. Are you sure?  Ummm…  Yes, yes! If you will fill my spirit with your kind of love, then I must go. I will not be able to resist the search. Help me find the lost soul in time. Give me courage to go where ever I must go. And, Lord, help that lost one keep praising you until I arrive.  Me too. I will keep praising you.

Ah, my Lord, I grow so impatient sometimes, waiting for my time to join you ~ impatient over days and months and years. How you must laugh because you work in decades and centuries and millenniums.  Thank you for time.  All things change and all things will eventually pass away.  With time, the consequences of my sins eventually pass away. You give me an opportunity to try again. You are the God of second chances. I will forever bend my knee to you in the shimmering gratitude that permeates my soul.

.

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-PAUL: THE UNSTOPPABLE.  He had to change sides to obey God.  He’s been wrong.  He had to admit it. It took sudden blindness and a voice out of heaven to stop him and make him turn around.  He spent the rest of his life doing the same for others. Constantly stopping people, making them think of what they are doing with their lives, then turning them around to march in victory toward the gates of heaven.  Was it convenient?  They beat him, starved him, imprisoned him, lashed him, stoned him ~ but nothing stopped him.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/UnstoppablePaul

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/books-more-biblical-historical-novels/book-2-paul-the-unstoppable/

Shhh. Listen. God is calling you.

The scripture for today, January 11 (1/11), is 2nd Peter 1:11 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-Medium“And you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

How often do you forget that earth is not your home? As an old gospel song says, “We’re just traveling through.” Do you really believe that?

If someone told you tomorrow you were going to die, would you go into a panic? Would you beg God to let you live another ten or twenty years? Would you feel this was the beginning of the end?

To a true Christian, your dying is the end of the beginning. You have a whole “life” ahead of you in heaven. A never-ending life. Do you live like you believe it? Will you die looking forward to it?

Are you even a Christian yet? What is your life like? Do you even know what is in the Bible, God’s messages to you? Does the thought of heaven sound boring to you?  Do you even like God?

Stop and listen to the empty place in your heart (Ecclesiastes. 3:11).  Do you hear it?  Shhh.  Listen…  God is calling you.

.

00-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-ThumbnailSTEPHEN: UNLIKELY MARTYR tells the story of a cowardly 17-year-old who would give his life as a sacrifice for others eleven years later.  What happened in between to this young man who tried everything to get idol worshipers around him to pay attention to God, but who always failed?  What happened to this young deacon who finally found the way by following Jesus with wife, children and everything to live for?  Why did he enter the Sanhedrin’s chambers, knowing what he had to say would be his death sentence?  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/StephenUnlikelyMartyr

 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/books-more-biblical-historical-novels/book-7-stephen-unlikely-martyr/

 

The meaning of your life

– The scripture for today, December 8 (12/8), is Ecclesiastes 12:8 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

” ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the teacher. ‘Everything is meaningless!’ “

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Medium-NewAbout forty years ago, some Christians in England did a sidewalk survey in the downtown of a major city. One of their inquiries was: “What question about your life do you ask the most?.”  The answer almost always was, “Why am I here? What is life all about?.”

The entire book of Ecclesiastes is about all the things that the richest and most powerful man in the world did in order to have an enjoyable and fulfilling life: He built palaces and grand temples, he cultivated great gardens, he imported tons of gold and precious stones and fabrics from around the globe, he had numerous wives and mistresses, he built the largest army and navy in the world, he studied every possible subject. At the end, he said it was all meaningless.

The meaning of your life is that you were born to die and walk through a gate. This life is temporary. It is your proving ground. This life is the foyer of the life you will have eternally ~ a life in heaven or hell. You were not put here just to have fun, but rather to live in the very presence of your Maker and take many people as possible with you to the home of God, your Maker, the Lover of your soul. That is the meaning of life.

.

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-NewCOME FLY WITH ME is the last book in the 8-novel series, THEY MET JESUS. It begins with the resurrection of Jesus, his final ascension to heaven, the apostles going against the Sanhedrin, then leaving Jerusalem and scattering. The last chapter is of John the fisherman, now the political prisoner, seeing the master of his youth again, and a tour of heaven.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. https://bit.ly/FLY-WITH-ME

 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-8-come-fly-with-me-adults-childs-versions/

 

And God will arise

The scripture for today, December 5 (12/5), is Psalm 12:5 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

changes-in-worship-cover-medium” ‘Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,’ says the Lord. ‘I will protect them from those who malign them.’ “

Notice, in this scripture, the Lord says, “I will now arise.” Sometimes God needs you to endure difficulties so that bad people who cause such problems can be exposed for what they are, and ultimately so Satan can be exposed for what he is. Sometimes that difficulty will last months or years ~ sometimes even a lifetime.

First Corinthians 3:9 in the New Testament says you are a worker together with God. Ephesians 6:12 says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly [spiritual] realms.”

You are where God wants you to be. This is your assignment. Are you up to it? Sometimes your job is just to hang on and not give up on God. That’s what Satan is always trying to get you to do, just as he did Job in the Old Testament. God won’t leave you in a situation that is impossible for you to endure. I Corinthians 10:13 says, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”

So, go ahead and groan in your weakness, beg in your frustration, and cry in your frailty, but hang on. Never let go of God. That’s your part.

As soon as the evil around you is exposed for what it is, you have proven good cannot be conquered by evil, and you have grown spiritually as a result of your experience, Then God will arise.  That’s God’s part.

.

00- Worship Changes KC COVER-thumbnailWANDERING SOUL, ENTITLED HEART, & THE SIDE-TRACKED CHURCH:  WORSHIP CHANGES SINCE THE FIRST CENTURY provides exact dates, places, and people involved in the changes.  Also tells what they did to those protesting the changes and the hymns some of these martyrs wrote.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. https://bit.ly/Worship-Change 

 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/1107-2/my-book-worship-changes-since-the-first-century/

 

A crown and a throne

The scripture for today, December 2 (12/2), is Hebrews 12:2 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Yes, life gets pretty rough sometimes. And the harder we try to act like Christians among non-Christians, the more difficult it can become. Did such difficulties stop Jesus? No. He was determined to save as many souls from hell as possible. And he was determined to do the job God gave him before returning to heaven.

What is your assignment?  God gives everyone an assignment; you can often tell by what is going wrong in your life. Some bad things are our own doing. But Satan never rests, especially among Christians, and the stronger the Christian is, the harder he pushes them. He does this, according to Job, to get us to blame God.

Those with the old excuse, “If God is so good, why does he allow evil?” are still with us long after Job.  Satan makes people forget he exists, thus leaving only one being to blame. He is a liar.

First, bad exists because Satan exists. Second, God gave us free will whether to follow him or not, and Christians are subject to those who choose to tear down God and all he represents.  Third, God is preparing us for something in heaven and is testing us to develop our spiritual muscles here on earth. It may have something to do with the servants Jesus mentioned to whom the Master gave cities to rule over (Luke 19:11-27). There are an estimated two trillion galaxies out there.

Where is your determination? Jesus is preparing a crown for you (James 1:12; Revelation 3:11), so you can reign with him (II Timothy 2:12). Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Do not “grow weary and lose heart.”  Jesus has a crown for you. He has a throne for you.  He has a job for you.  Will you listen to Satan’s lies that God hates everyone and is using them as pawns, or will you listen to the God of the Universe? How determined are you to live forever in heaven?

.

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-ThumbnailTHEY MET JESUS:  SHADOW OF DEATH is biblical historical novel #7 in the life of Christ and 100 people he met and struggled with.  Scripture and historical citations at the end of each chapter along with life application thought questions.  Perfect for a BOOK CLUB.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/ShadowOfDeath-7

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-7-shadow-of-death-adults-childs-versions/

He’s still out there, still beautiful, still suave, and still lying.

The scripture for today, November 30 (11/30), is Proverbs 11:30 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Road to Heaven-COVER-KINDLE-MEDIUM“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”

Remember back in the Garden of Eden? Going by the age of their three sons, Adam and Eve were in the Garden close to one hundred years.  Instead of centering on what they did wrong, look at what they did right.  They were sinless for nearly a century! Hardly any of us can accomplish that in 100 minutes.

Just think. Walking through a garden lush with the beauty of holiness.  Walking through a garden with the water of life to drink. Walking through a garden with God (materialized) himself.

How many times did that snake Satan, raise himself up like a king’s scepter and perhaps with a crown of gold and ruby on his head, make his way gracefully through the garden, laughing and enjoying the company of newly made humans? How many times did he coil up his tail like a maelstrom spiraling through the heavens full of light and beauty as he watched the couple enjoy the fruit of the garden? How many times did this magnificent creature sway back and forth, back and forth as cobras do as he spoke hypnotic words to make them feel like gods?

“Oh, look at the fruit on that tree over there? God told you never to touch it, but God is wrong.  Go ahead. Touch it. That’s right. Did anything bad happen to you? Of course not, because God is wrong.  How about touching it with your lips? That’s right. You’re not really eating it. You’re just touching it. Smell it too. Have you ever smelled anything so wonderful? God doesn’t want you to have it. He knows you will learn what evil is and then be as smart as him. God is jealous of you. Go ahead. Take a tiny bite. It won’t hurt you.  See there? Are you dead like he said you would be? No. You are still alive. God is a liar. I am the only one who tells you the truth. I am on your side. God hates you. Sure, go ahead and take another bite, and Adam might like some too.  It’s harmless. Do not believe anything God says. He hates you. I am the only one who loves you.”

How many thousands of times did Adam and Eve chase him off, only to have him back in their lives a few hours later? How many thousands of times did they try to resume what they were doing and try to put him out of their minds? How many times did they do it right? One stumble was all the enemy needed.

That was a long time ago. Now the Tree of Life, which God withheld from Adam and Eve, is in heaven waiting for them. Waiting for you.

And as you wait, win souls.  Snatch them out of the beautiful flower-strewn web of mankind’s enemy number one. He is still out there, still beautiful, still suave, and still lying.

.

Road to Heaven-COVER-KINDLE-THUMBNAILTHE ROAD TO HEAVEN  takes readers step by step through the millenniums from the long road from the Garden of Eden to Heaven.  Hundreds of foot notes to help you study this deep subject.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/Road-To-Heaven

 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/the-road-to-heaven/

 

Sunrise, rainbows, and heaven

02-Noah-KindleMediumLord God, I praise you for the pattern you have set in motion here on earth.  The pattern of birth, life, and death. The pattern of planting, growing, and harvesting. Millenniums ago you set the cycle in motion by putting people on earth. We have been good sometimes and bad sometimes but never perfect.  As for me, I was born, grew up, and now I await my own harvest. When will harvest be? I long for harvest time. Then I will be able to praise you day and night without interruptions from Satan and his emissaries.  Then it will be sunrise in heaven for all eternity.

This morning the sun is rising a little later as winter nears. The sky is all reds and yellows. There are dark clouds behind it. That’s okay. I shall prepare for the storms coming behind the sunset. I will turn on all the lights so that “sunshine” is within. Then, when dark  insults come, when delays come, when accidents come, I shall smile. No matter what, I know ~ because of your promises ~ that the storm will be followed by a rainbow. And that will be your smile.

.

02-Noah-KindleThumbnailA CHILD’S BIBLE HEROES: NOAH is a perfect early-reader. Large letters.  The few long words have hyphens in them to help the child sound them out.  At the end of all chapters is THINK AND DO for life application. Perfect for homeschooling, for grandparents to keep on hand for visiting young ones, for Bible school teachers.  Great gifts for birthday and Christmas.  To  BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/ChildsNoah

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/a-childs-bible-heroes-noah/