Category: ethics

Saturday 12/14 ~ Hold fast. Stand firm.

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn attitude, Daily, discouragement, Enemies, eternity, ethics, faith, Fear, governments, Heaven, patience, persecution, power, worship1 Comment

The scripture for today, December 14 (12/14), is 1st Samuel 12:14 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

02-samuel-thumbnailcover“If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God ~ good!”

The Jews had just insisted on having a king rule over them instead of a supreme judge. Samuel, their last supreme judge, replied and said two IFs. IF they serve and obey the Lord, and IF they both (people and king) follow the Lord, then it is good.

Today as then, some people live in a nation where the king/government does not follow the Lord. What to do? Galatians 5:22 tells us to be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled, for “against such things there is no law”.

Is it hard to do this when crooked officials are getting all the advantages and you are being cheated and even threatened if you do not cooperate? Indeed, it is. It may seem they are living the good life. In reality (eternal reality, not earthly reality). They have lost everything. This life is fleeting. Keep your eyes on the eternal. Keep your eyes on God!

Hold fast!

       Stand firm!

             Do the right thing!

In the end, they lose. You and God win. And that is good!

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02-samuel-thumbnailcoverA CHILD’S BIBLE KIDS:  SAMUEL.  How did Samuel’s mother prepare him to live in someone else’s house when he was a toddler? How did Eli settle little Samuel’s confused mind when Eli suddenly became his “grandfather” while he grew up?  But grow up, Samuel did. And he became one of the strongest supreme judges Israel ever had.  But he was also the last.  He had to resign his position when the people wanted a king instead of him.  But, he never stopped being loyal to God.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://amzn.to/2YPmlVe

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Thursday 12/12 ~ “Marks of an Apostle”

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, ego, ethics, healing, Holy Spirit, persecution, ScriptureLeave a comment

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

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-“The things that mark an Apostle ~ signs, wonders and miracles ~ were done among you with great perseverance.”

This is so interesting. These are not things that mark Christians in general, but the Apostles.

Jesus told his Apostles that, when they taught the world about Jesus and baptized them, miracles and signs would accompany the believers (Mark 16:17). The miracles and signs followed conversions of believers by the Apostles to whom he was speaking.

Acts 3:6f and 9:40f involved healing by the Apostle Peter, and Acts 20:9f involved healing by the Apostle Paul which they performed to prove their words were the Words of God.

In Acts 6:5-6, the Apostles laid their hands on seven men to serve the church in a special way. Of those men, Stephen performed miracles (6:8) and Philip performed miracles (8:5-7), both to prove their words were the Words of God.

In Romans 1:1,11, the Apostle Paul said he wanted to visit the Christians in Rome so he could impart some spiritual gift. In 1st Corinthians 1:6-7 the Apostle Paul said he imparted spiritual gifts to Christians in Corinth.

We have no examples in the New Testament of anyone other than an Apostle passing on the power to perform miracles. Even the writings of the “Apostolic Fathers” in the late 1st and early 2nd century say things like “Even down to those times there were a few miracles being performed including raising the dead.”

Yes, the reason for the miracles was to prove the words of the miracle performer were the Words of God (which had not yet been written down). Now that we have the New Testament (Jesus’ and his Apostles’ teachings in written form) we no longer need the miracles.

They were “marks of an Apostle.” The miracles including, healing, renewing the maimed (making limbs grow back), and bringing people back to life. All of them.

Interesting, isn’t it?

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00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-PAUL: THE UNSTOPPABLE.  One reader declared,  “WOW!  OH, WOW!”  Paul was a stubborn man.  He said of himself, “I was a violent man.” Jesus had to strike him blind and let him stew in his confusion before letting the facts sink into his stubborn head: Jesus, whom he persecuted, was the Son of God.  He spent the rest of his life trying to convince the rest of the stubborn world. He suffered the same kind of torture he had meted onto Christians in his youth.  A stubborn and amazing man.   To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://amzn.to/34ktQnT

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Monday 11/18 ~ Perhaps someday they will listen

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn attitude, discouragement, emptiness, Enemies, ethics, governments, Loss, patience, persecution, problemsLeave a comment

The scripture for today, November 18 (11/18), is Deuteronomy 11:18f as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

03-Naaman'sMaid-ThumbnailCover“Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.”

Sometimes the country you live in goes through very bad times. You pray for the bad times to end, but they do not. What is going on? The above warning was to the Israelites just before they entered their promised land. God had just said through Moses, don’t worship idols.

Perhaps your country is going through bad times because of idol worship. Probably not like the hand-made idols of ancient times, but idols of money and power and lack of morality and ethics.

You may feel all alone in trying to get the people you know to do better. They may laugh at you, scorn you, fire you from your job. There have been times in the Bible when a good man prayed, “God, I am the only one left who worships you.” God would reply there were others trying to do right too. But he never replied he was going to stop the punishing. The country hadn’t turned back to God yet.

Therefore, when you are suffering unjustly for what a majority of your countrymen have been doing, you must do it bravely. And while you wait it out, continue to remind yourself, your family, your neighbors, your countrymen of the righteous ways they should be acting.

In bad times, this is your assignment. Be brave and spread the news. Keep reminding and being as patient with them as God is with you. Perhaps someday, they will listen.

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03-Naaman'sMaid-ThumbnailCoverBIBLE KIDS:  NAAMAN’S MAID was kidnapped when people in Israel were not acting right. The girl was turned into a slave in Syria without hope of ever being freed.  She accepted it and was as good as she knew how.  Because of this little girl, a big, important general met a prophet and learned about the true God. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/340Cc4L

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Tuesday 11/12 ~ He sees you through the blood of Jesus

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Daily, discouragement, ethics, forgiveness, judging, Life of Christ, Saved from hell, weaknessLeave a comment

The scripture for today, November 12 (11/12), is Leviticus 11:12 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Cover-Medium“Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.”

Is the Law of Moses still in effect, including its requirement for tithing?  The scripture above is just one of the over 600 laws in the Law of Moses. They were intricate laws governing both their worship and their everyday life. This one chapter in Leviticus says in part they could not eat camels or coneys or rabbits or pigs. They could not eat eagles, vultures, kites, ravens, owls, gulls, hawks, osprey, storks, herons, hoopoes or bats. But they could eat locusts, katydids, crickets and grasshoppers. And this is just part of chapter 11!

Why did God give so many intricate laws to the Jews? To give them a chance to keep them all exactly so they could be perfect. In the meantime, God did not give any laws to the Gentiles; He let them try whatever means they could on their own to become perfect. But during the same time period, both the Jews and Gentiles proved to themselves that it was impossible to keep their religions perfectly and thus be perfect themselves.

Now Jesus was ready to come. He lived the Jewish law perfectly, then nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:14) and established a new last will and Testament (Hebrews 8-9). Now you live under a law of grace, and his commandments revolve around loving God and loving each other.

God cannot co-exist with imperfection. But he loves you and wants you to be his child.  Through Jesus he accomplished it; he set you free. He released you from having to be perfect under the Law, and sees you now through the blood of Jesus and his holy eyes as perfect.

 

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Saturday 11/23 ~ Me, myself, and I

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #friendships, attitude, discouragement, ego, ethics, humility, judging, patience, praise, truth1 Comment

The scripture for today, November 2 (11/2), is Proverbs 11:2 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Bible Puzzles-Cover-Thumbnail“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

The word “disgrace” comes from Hebrew “qalon” meaning confusion. It is also translated dishonor and reproach.

Pride is so hard to control. With the church or clubs or other organizations, do you think your ideas, your points of view, your ways of doing things are the right ideas, views, and ways?  Do you accuse others of not cooperating if it is your ideas, views and ways they don’t go along with? Is it hard to give up your ideas views and ways for the sake of peace?

Even in doing daily business, does your pride show up? Do you become impatient with clerks in stores who do not help you, with other drivers on the road who are too slow for you, with people delivering things to your home who do not deliver them right to your door, with kids throwing rocks at things that belong to you, people who try to cut in line ahead of you, fellow workers who take credit for your work, and on and on?

Is it hard to sit by and let others be praised when you do better work than they do, or you work harder than they do, or they get the promotion you deserve?

How do you control your pride? Perhaps by comparing yourself, not with others around you, but with Jesus? In the same circumstance, what did he do?

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Thursday 10/31 ~ Hold fast. Stand Firm. Do the right thing.

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #friendships, Daily, ethics, problems, sacrifice, temptation, things, truth, victory, worship2 Comments

The scripture for today, October 31 (10/31), is 1st Corinthians 10:31 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

10-Daniel-KindleThumnail“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

How is your everyday life while around other people? What kind of employment do you have? Secretary, engineer, manual labor, going to school, teaching school, keeping your home, watching your children?

Some jobs are exciting, some are boring. Some require decisions, some require following orders. Some can involve a little bit of misrepresenting the truth. Some may be under a boss who is mean. Some may be among fellow-employees who shirk their duties and try to get by with doing as little as possible. Some may be among people who steal from the company.

Always remember that, wherever you are, this is God’s assignment for you in this universal battle between Good and Bad. You must do whatever you do in your daily life as good and honestly as possible. Will others notice? You bet they will!  Will they resent you? Maybe. Will they blame God for the way you act? Deep down the resenters probably will. But at least it will make them think about God.

Then someday when they have a problem they are desperate to work through but cannot, who will they turn to? You. And God.

So, be strong. Hold Fast. Stand firm. Do the right thing. And ultimately God will be glorified.

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10-Daniel-KindleThumnailA CHILD’S BIBLE HEROES: DANIEL.  Daniel began as a slave and ended up being the best friend to the emperor of Persia.  Why? Because he had integrity. He kept to God’s code of ethics and never wavered for the sake of his career.  Those who hated him tried to destroy him, but he only grew stronger.  Each chapter ends with “Think and Do.”  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2BY1jcc

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Wednesday 10/30 ~ Eye for eye? Tooth for tooth?

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #friendships, ego, Enemies, ethics, forgiveness, healing, humility, judging, Loss, persecution, sin, victory1 Comment

The scripture for today, October 30 (10/30), is Hebrews 10:30 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Mefiboset-KINDLE Thumbnail“For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ “

In the Law of Moses, people were expected to avenge those who did not follow the law. The vengeance was to be carried out by the person who had been hurt. Some things were even punishable by death.  Remember the “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” command?

But Jesus you need to forgive people so that God, in turn, will forgive you (Matthew 6:14).

What is forgiveness? It is not condoning the bad someone did. Forgiveness is letting go and letting God do any punishing that may be required. Forgiveness is wishing the other person well. You may not trust the other person to not do the bad thing again, and you may forever fear that person. But you can always hope and pray that their lives and hearts will change for the better someday. No one is so bad that you cannot wish them well and pray for them. That’s forgiveness.

Vengeance only prolongs the pain; vengeance is hard on you. So, as the old saying goes, “Let go, and let God.” God will do his part ~ the hard part. He has left the easy part for you.

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0-Mefiboset-KINDLE ThumbnailMEFIBOSET: CRIPPLED PRINCE was denied the throne when crippled for life, ran from Grandfather Saul’s enemies, enslaved, swindled by his palace stewart, falsely accused, and made fun of. But he married, had a son, spread cheer where ever he went and managed to turn his enemies into his friends. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/31YmyFi

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Monday 10/21 ~ Golden lips

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn blessings, Daily, ethics, healing, Inspirational, joy, love, patience, praise, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

The scripture for today, October 21 (10/21), is Proverbs 10:21 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Michel-COVER-Kindle-Thumbnail“The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment.”

What do you talk about during the day? What kind of judgment do you use? Do you nourish the spirit of others by what you say to them? Do people want to be around you?

Are you a complainer or complementor? Are you rude or patient? Do you glare or smile? Do you criticize the wrong a person does, or praise the right that person does? Do you sing of your love of God on Sunday and use swear words on Monday?

Today, go out of your way to nourish everyone you talk to. Start a new habit. They will see God in you and be fed glory.

 

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Saturday 10/12 ~ But keep your eyes on Jesus

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn attitude, Daily, ego, ethics, Inspirational, judging, knowledge, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, October 12 (10/12), is 2nd Corinthians 10:12 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Thumbnail“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.”

But that is how most of the Christian world is run. You go to a church and do what they do to get their approval. Or you go one step above what the others do to get a little extra approval. Or you go one step below what the others do, and say you’re “not so bad” because, at least, you go to church all the time.

What you do must be compared with what Jesus (God materialized on earth) did. Jesus went everywhere doing whatever was necessary to spread the Good News. Instead of saying, “Well, our congregation never did such-and-such before, so it must be wrong,” you must say, “Jesus did it, so I will too.” Instead of saying, “Well, brother or sister so-and-so in our congregation is worse than me, so why object to me?” you must say, “Jesus did not do those things, so I will stop doing them.”

Who are you comparing yourself with?  Your works, your fancy doctrine, your faith?  Dear, dear friend. Jesus gave up heaven and daily associating with angels to become one of us on an earth full of grime and selfishness. He gave up being able to be everywhere at once to being confined in a body. Why?

For us. To show us how it is done ~ constantly on the go to find people who need God’s love and attention. He was so busy and so holy.

Never compare yourself to others; always compare yourself to Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus.

 

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Tuesday 8/20 ~ Whose road are you on?

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Daily, eternity, ethics, faith, forgiveness, good works, judging, Scripture, sin, teachingLeave a comment

The scripture for today, August 20 (8/20), is Proverbs 8:20 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Strip Bible Heroes 5 & 5“I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice.”

Interestingly, the original Hebrew of “way” is the customary path, and the original Hebrew of “paths” is the customary road.

If you had a house out in the country, it would have paths leading to and from it. These paths would be taken in your day-to-day life without much thought. In the same way, we live out our principles and moral standards pretty much the same every day on such paths.

But eventually, these paths can merge into major roads. Now we have to make major decisions. Our life decisions on such roads must be based on justice.

It is sometimes hard to make the right judgments because we can get emotionally involved and start wishing for an outcome that cannot possibly occur.  In those cases, we must stand back and consider, “What would be the just thing to do if someone else had to make this decision?”.

We could also ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?”. After all, Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, the Life” (John 14:6).

Ultimately, whose highway are you on? Will it take you to where you want to go?

 

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