Category: Heaven

Friday 10/18 ~ How many stars are in your crown?

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn church, ego, eternity, good works, Heaven, humility, judging, praise, teachingLeave a comment

The scripture for today, October 18 (10/18), is 2nd Corinthians 10:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Joseph-Cover-Thumbnail“For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

Do you look at your life and decide some of your bad habits are not so bad, considering what some other people you know are doing? Do you look at your life and decide your lukewarmness in good works and spreading the gospel is not so bad, considering what most others around you are doing?

Jesus said you will receive only one reward, and you must choose: (1) Being rewarded by each other, or (2) being rewarded by God. You can’t have both (Matthew 6:5; 18).  Is standing in front of an audience of 500 who won’t remember what you said two hours later more important than sitting with two people who will put your words in their lives?

And that brings up how you judge other people. You may decide certain Christians you know are not pulling their share of the load in your congregation, not doing their part. But that may be a wrong judgment.

A lot of Christians you know may be doing good works you will never learn about. “Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward [them]” (Matthew 6:18a). Who knows? That time someone mowed your lawn while you were in the hospital may have been one of those “do-nothings”.  Ah. I wonder how many stars they have in their crown.

 

0-Joseph-Cover-ThumbnailJOSEPH: THE OTHER FATHER is an unsung hero.  What must life have been like for Joseph to raise the Son of God in a violent world and keep him safe until grown.? How many times do you think he cried out, “God! Help me protect our Son!” To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2qsC4fP

 

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Thursday 11/17 ~ Knowing for sure

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, eternity, forgiveness, Heaven, judging, knowledge, Saved from hell, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, October 17 (10/17), is Romans 10:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Thumbnail“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

The King James version reads “Therefore, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

Faith is not just a feeling or responding to what a friend tells us. It is not responding to a religious book or a website or to a spiritual movement. Faith is the result of hearing/reading the Word of Christ, the gospel ~ for yourself ~ all of it!

Faith is based on knowledge; zeal is not enough (Romans 10:1). Faith is based on considering the evidence; a feeling in one’s heart is not enough (Hebrews 11:1).

You who study the Bible for yourself are doing the right thing. Do not rely on anything but what you have read for yourself. All other religious people are going to be judged by God just like you are. When compared to God’s Word, their word is not important.

You are trying to please God, not people. You are worshiping God, not people. Rely only on what He says, and know for sure.

 

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-ThumbnailTHE HOLY SPIRIT: 592 VERSES EXAMINED does just that. Every verse in the Bible with the word “Spirit” is examined. No coming into the study with what we’ve been told. No guessing. Learn the facts and be astounded by what you have never known before. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2MoQi9L

 

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Tuesday 10/15 ~ Oh, how affectionate

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #ransom, Death of Jesus Christ, ego, eternity, forgiveness, Heaven, Life of Christ, sin, victoryLeave a comment

The scripture for today, October 15 (10/15), is Deuteronomy 10:15 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Road to Heaven-COVER-KINDLE-THUMBNAIL“Yet the Lord set his affection on your forefathers [Abraham, Isaac, Jacob] and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants [Jews], above all the nations, as it is today.”

Mankind has spent millenniums trying to figure out how to be perfect so we can deserve heaven and escape hell.

God gave us that opportunity the first several thousand years of mankind. Some people of the world he left alone to figure out on their own how to be perfect. They created many kinds of religions and philosophies. But to the Jews he sent the Law of Moses containing over 600 intricate laws which, if kept perfectly, would make them perfect. In all cases, no one could be perfect.

Then, when mankind was willing to admit we cannot be perfect, the Word of God materialized and came to us to live that perfect life that is impossible for us to live. Now, all you have to do is follow Jesus and be IN Jesus (Galatians 3:27) for the forgiveness of your sins, and God will consider you perfect too.

God sets his affections on you. Do you run from him? Do you harbor resentments toward him? Are you too busy or having too much fun or too tired to give him a second thought?   He will not force you, but he runs after you begging you to come to him for safety. Oh, how affectionate he feels toward you.

 

Road to Heaven-COVER-KINDLE-THUMBNAILTHE ROAD TO HEAVEN begins in the Garden of Eden where Satan snatched mankind away from God and what God went through to pay the ransom Satan demanded to release us. Then it moves on to our “glorious bodies” and heaven.  Recommended for family and friends who don’t have time for God.  To BUY NOW, click a cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2OTq015

 

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Saturday 10/5 ~ Shhh.  Listen.  Do you hear him now?

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn attitude, Bible, church, ego, faith, Heaven, judging, knowledge, teaching, truth, worship1 Comment

The scripture for today, October 5, (10/5) is 2nd Corinthians 10:5f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

NF-WorshipChanges-WorshipFirst“Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.”

This is about the 40 years the Jews wandered in the wilderness between leaving their slavery in Egypt and beginning a nation for themselves. They had the mindsets of slaves. They did not know how to make decisions for themselves. One of those decisions was to leave the gods of Egypt and worship only the one true God.

It was easier to fall in line with what they were raised to believe. That had long been their comfort zone. They took the easy way out rather than follow the God who had proved the Egyptian gods were not gods at all. They would rather die than change. So they did. They died.

Do you take the easy way out? Do you stick with things you were raised to believe even though you have learned more of the Bible and see those old beliefs are not what God said?

The early Jews did not listen to God, so God did not listen to them. He is calling out to you through the scriptures.. Shhh.  Listen.  Do you hear him now? “Come to me. I want to save you. Please come.”

 

NF-WorshipChanges-WorshipFirstWORSHIP CHANGES SINCE THE FIRST CENTURY provides a year-by-year account when changes were introduced, if not accepted, when they were reintroduced, who introduced them, and what they did to protestors.  Despite all that, a large number of Christians today think all those practices have always been from the beginning.  Written for denominational leaders with its companion, WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2pMK6Q5

 

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Friday 10/4 ~ New and wonderful

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #ransom, Death of Jesus Christ, discouragement, ego, Heaven, judging, knowledge, Saved from hell, victory1 Comment

The scripture for today, October 4 (10/4), is Romans 10:4 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Supper-Front Cover-Thumbnail“Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

When Jesus nailed the Old Law of Moses to the cross (Colossians 2:14) it came to an end. Thank God. There were over 600 commandments in the Law of Moses, not just the “ten commandments.” Those 600 were tedious. Try reading Leviticus and see if you can keep every commandment in it.

Jesus was the only one who ever kept the Old Law perfectly (Hebrews 4:15). Once that occurred, he could be the Perfect Lamb of God without blemish (John 1:29), and he could be sacrificed on the altar of the world (the cross) in our place ~ take the blame for every bad act and thought, then take the punishment for them.

And with his death came the introduction of a New Law covered in the New Testament. (The book of Hebrews explains it all.). Read the New Testament in its entirety. It is not tedious. It is beautiful.

Why would anyone want to dip back into the Old Law and bring back showy worship practices done back then and tithing and special clergy? He put it to death and gave you a new and wonderful and simple law of grace.  How he loves you!

 

Supper-Front Cover-ThumbnailTHE LORD’S SUPPER:  52 READINGS WITH PRAYERS. Excellent for those presiding at the Lord’s Supper as well as meditation for worshippers in the pews.  He paid a terrible price for our ransom from Satan. Now, we thank him. It’s the book hundreds have been looking for for years. Now it is here.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2LLuc0N

 

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Thursday 10/3 ~ The Beautiful Gate

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #ransom, death, Death of Jesus Christ, Enemies, Heaven, sacrifice, Satan, Saved from hell, victory5 Comments

The scripture for today, October 3 (10/3), is John 10:3ff as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-New“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out….I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”

First, do you use the term saved/salvation so loosely, you tend to think you’ve been saved to heaven? No one is saved to something; you are saved from something.  Do you tend to forget what you are being saved from? You are being saved from hell! This is not a minuscule matter.

Second, how do you avoid hell? Through Jesus, the only one ever strong enough to meet Satan face to face and defeat him. He is the only way.

Have you ever been to a funeral where the deceased was preached into heaven? Do you perhaps believe you are “good enough” or “not too bad” and so God would be horrible to not let you into heaven.? Are you trying to climb into heaven through windows, so to speak, like the “thieves and robbers” Jesus referred to?

But heaven is God’s home, not yours. He has a gate into it, just like you have a door into your home. You are not obligated to open the gate or door into your home to just anyone and God is not obligated to open his gate to just anyone. Your door and God’s gate are there for a reason.

Why not enter heaven through the gate ~ Jesus? Then, the angels will shout with joy and God will open his arms, smile and say, “Welcome home.”

 

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Wednesday 10/2 ~ Strength to angels?

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Daily, faith, Heaven, Inspirational, patience, power, praise, prayer, victory, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, October 2 (10/2), is Daniel 10:2ff as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Silver Cover-KINDLE-thumbnail“At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks…On the twenty-fourth day of the first month…I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude….Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me because I was detained there with the king of Persia.’ “

The description of the speaker indicates he may have been angel Gabriel. Michael is another known angel. In Daniel 12:1 he is called “Michael, the great prince who protects your people.” Jude 9 refers to Michael as an archangel who disputed with Satan over the body of Moses.

Revelation 12:7-9 says, “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down ~ that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth and his angels with him.”

Now, let us look back at Daniel 10. Daniel prayed for 21 days. The un-named angel (Gabriel?) appeared to him on the 24th day and said Daniel’s prayers had been heard the first day, but God’s angel could not break away to help because of fighting Satan’s angels.

Now look at Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Does our persistence in prayer give strength to the angels?  Something to think about….

 

Silver Cover-KINDLE-thumbnail365 SILVER-WINGED PRAYERS: YOUR SPIRIT TO GOD’S is one of the TOUCHING GOD series. The other two are daily inspirational thoughts and daily wisdom.  Perfect for weddings, births, funerals, birthdays, graduations.  Beautiful original artwork covers and interior.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2ooAsTj

 

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Saturday 9/28 ~ Just keep walking and walking and…

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #ransom, Daily, death, discouragement, eternity, faith, Heaven, Inspirational, victory, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, September 28 (9/28), is Hebrews 9:28 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Medium-New“So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

Waiting is hard to do. We wait for relatives to arrive at our house for a visit. We wait for our next promotion. We wait for babies to be born. We wait for enough money to buy new clothes.

But what about waiting for something that we have never seen? Waiting for something we believe in by faith? Waiting an entire lifetime?

All the more reason to keep your eyes on the Word, your activities in good works, and your heart on your Creator and Savior.

It’s a long spiritual walk. But just keep walking, and keep walking, and keep walking until someday in the distant future you walk right through the gates of heaven.

Then, when you look back from eternity, you will say, “The wait wasn’t so long after all.”

 

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Thursday 9/26 ~ How amazing God’s plan for us

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #ransom, death, Death of Jesus Christ, eternity, forgiveness, Heaven, Life of Christ, Satan, Saved from hell, sin, victory, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, September 26 (9/26), is Hebrews 9:26f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

07-SHADOW-ChildsCartoonThmbnail“Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face the judgment.”

According to the Old Law of Moses, sacrifices of perfect lambs had to be made to temporarily pay the ransom of death for people’s sins. But it wasn’t enough because what Satan really wanted was the death of God so he could take over.

Finally, Jesus became the perfect Lamb of God and gave Satan what he wanted (Matthew 20:28). In a sense, he laid down on the altar of the world. He paid the ransom Satan demanded to release our sinful souls from his clutches.

Then Jesus fooled Satan.  Satan thought he got what he wanted ~ God in the body of Jesus had died.  The ransom was paid and our souls released in one fell swoop. Then three days later he played a trick on Satan: He came back to life!

And so, just as Jesus died once, we too die once. Then our judgment. No second chances. No reincarnations. No going back and trying to be perfect again and failing again.  No trying for yet another 1000 years because supposedly Jesus didn’t get it right the first time.  

Jesus released us from all of our failures at being perfect. Thank God, he was perfect for us. And now, after dying once, when he returns, he will not set foot on earth.  Instead, his followers will meet him in the air among the clouds (I Thessalonians 4:17). The rest will face judgment.

How amazing God’s plan for us!

 

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Tuesday 9/24 ~Mull over it. Absorb it. Be amazed

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn death, Death of Jesus Christ, eternity, forgiveness, Heaven, Inspirational, Saved from hell, truth, victory1 Comment

The scripture for today, September 24 (9/24), is Luke 9:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-lg-thumbnail“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

Romans 6 explains this phenomenon best. We are to put our old self to death ~ to crucify that part of us that sins and doesn’t care, that part of us that puts ourselves first (verse 7) ~ in imitation of Jesus dying. Once we decide to put that part of ourselves to death, we are buried, just like Jesus was buried (verse 3 & 4a).

And then, just as he was raised from the dead as the savior, we rise from the dead as the saved. Why? “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (verse 5). Having been “brought from death to life” (verse 13) through baptism, we have been born again!

This is a spiritual death, of course. There is another spiritual death called the second death in Revelation 21:8. If we go through the first spiritual death at baptism, we will not have to go through the second spiritual death in hell. We will have lost our life of sin and in the process saved our souls.

It’s all there. Study it. Mull over it. Absorb it. Be amazed.

 

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