Scripture for Friday, December 2 (12/2)

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

CHANGES IN WORSHIP-COVER-KINDLE“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat 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 as possible. And he was determined to do the job God gave him before returning to heaven.

Where is your determination? You think you have problems? Look at the problems Jesus endured. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Do not “grow weary and lose heart.” 

Dare to stand firm, hold fast, and do the right thing.

#Non-Christians, #ChristianLife, #Persecution, #Opposition, #SinfulMen, #Problems, #Difficulties, #Determination, #Heart

Scripture for Thursday, December 1 (12/1)

The scripture for today, December 1, is Jeremiah 12:1ff as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Life-Changing-Scriptures-Cover-medium“Lord, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you to decide. Now let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil men so happy? You plant them. They take root and their business grows. Their profits multiply, and they are rich. They say, ‘Thank God!’ But in their hearts they give no credit to you. But as for me ~ Lord, you know my heart ~ you know how much it longs for you. And I am poor, O Lord!”

Now compare this with Job 15:20-24:

“All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless through all the years stored up for him. Terrifying sounds fill his ears….He despairs of escaping the darkness; he is marked for the sword. He wanders about ~ food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand. Distress and anguish fill him with terror.”

These two passages contradict each other. So what is the problem? The words spoken in Job were by Eliphaz, one of Job’s well-meaning friends who took it upon himself to help Job figure out why he had lost all his wealth, all his children, and all his health. Was Eliphaz right? 

At the end of the book of Job, is this: “The Lord…said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends because you have not spoken of me what is right.” Then God ordered Eliphaz and his friends to sacrifice seven bulls and rams (not small sacrifices), then ask Job to pray for them so God “will not deal with you according to your folly.”

When we read scripture, let us be careful to investigate its context and ALL other scriptures on the same subject. Only then can we have the whole picture. Only then can we avoid religious folly.

 
#Scriptures, #Bible, #Folly, #Creeds, #Doctrines, #Understanding

Scripture for Wednesday, November 30 (11/30)

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

0-cover-kindle-new-medium“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”

So much said in so few words. What is it to be righteous?

First, it is to become right with God. We become right with God by washing away our sins and being reborn as Christians (John 3:16, Acts 22:16, Romans 6:4-5).

Second, we stay right with God by acting righteous, bearing the right kind of fruit in our life as listed in Galatians 5:22.

 

love                joy                peace            patience 

kindness       goodness       faithfulness  gentleness 

                              self-control

Third, we reach out to others to save their souls. We don’t wait for them to come to us. We search them out. (Remember how Jesus came to seek and save the lost ~ Luke 19:10?) People are most receptive when they are going through a problem such as physical illness. Tell them that Jesus wants to be part of their lives and help them with their problems.

Then you will be wise.

#wisdom, #love, #joy, #peace, #patience, #kindness, #goodness, #faithfulness, #gentleness, #self-control, #FruitOfSpirit

Free Book Opportunity Today

FREE BOOK: Read my guest blog about MEFIBOSET: THE CRIPPLED PRINCE for Liz Tolsma today at      http://liztolsma.com/2016/11/29/the-story-behind-mefiboset-crippled-prince-by-katheryn-haddad/
0-Mefiboset-KINDLE MediumI am also giving away a FREE BOOK there. Pass this along to your handicapped friends, also your friends who want to preserve forests, etc.

 
#CrippledPrince, #BookGiveaway, #Handicapped, #Crippled, #Crutches, #Overcomer, #Naturalist, #PreserveForests, #PreserveNature

Scripture for Tuesday, November 29 (11/29)

The scripture for today, November 29, is Matthew 11:29f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 3-HEARTS AFIRE-COVER“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Everyone has problems, and pretty much the same kinds of problems. They may be rich or they may be poor, but it happens to everyone. Just because someone smiles a lot, it does not mean their heart is not aching inside. Just because they wear nice clothes, it does not mean they are not torn with a growing crisis. Just because they live in a nice home and drive a nice car, it does not mean they are not riddled with guilt over past sinful acts.

Jesus knew this. And so he said to the world ~ to you and me ~ let’s trade. I’ll take your burden and you take mine. What is Jesus’ burden? Telling others of his love. What a wonderful trade. 

So today, make that decision. Will you continue to carry your burdens and let them weigh you down so you can’t move? Or will you let go of them and smile as Jesus smiled, reach out to others as Jesus reached out, teach God’s love as Jesus did? 

Jesus would not have asked you to do the impossible. It is your choice. Today let go and let God.

#Problems, #Troubles, #Relief, #JesusChrist, #Burdens

Scripture for Monday, November 28 (11/28)

The scripture for today, November 28, is 1st Corinthians 11:28,31 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup [of the Lord’s Supper]….But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.”

“When they met on THE first day of the week to break bread” (Acts 20:7), these first-century Christians were meeting to keep the Lord’s Supper, for the word (“met”) in the original Greek of the New Testament meant a religious meeting. Interestingly, the word “the” in the original Greek meant each and every without exception perpetually. 

Even if we did not know the Greek, look at how the Jews (and we) interpreted “Remember THE Sabbath Day to keep it holy”. They did not remember the Sabbath day monthly, quarterly or yearly, but weekly. Therefore,  the first-century Christians realized that “When they met on THE first day of the week to break bread” (Acts 20:7), it meant every Sunday.

We can sing, pray, teach and read the Bible any day of the week. What makes Sunday special is that is the day we are to meet to take the Lord’s Supper, the Communion ~ the bread representing his body dying in our place, the wine representing his blood shed in our place.

During the Communion, we consider Jesus’ terrible sacrifice in order to save us from hell. And we consider our sins that made his sacrifice necessary to save us from hell. The above scripture also tells us that. During our weekly partaking of the Communion, we should be examining ourselves, comparing ourselves to Jesus. It is kind of like taking weekly exams so we will be ready for the big final exam on the Day of Judgment. 

God thought of everything ~ weekly remembering the sacrifice of our Lord so that we never take him for granted, and weekly remembering our sins. And so we fall at his feet and whisper “Thank you.”

#Lord’sSupper, #HolyCommunion, #WeeklyWorship, #Crucifixion, #Hell, #Heaven

Scripture for Sunday, November 27 (11/27)

The scripture for today, November 27, is Mark 11:27f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

PAUL COVER-KINDLE-“…the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him [Jesus]. ‘By what authority are you doing those things?’ they asked. ‘And who gave you authority to do this?’ “

As you learn more of the Bible, consider teaching your community’s religious leaders. Have the courage to speak up and quote something in the Bible which that church may not be following. Then, when your religious leaders go to you wanting to know by what authority you teach something new, be ready for them with the scriptures. Periodically tell them in private ~ gently and respectfully ~ again and again.

Just remember that leaders often take longer to accept a new teaching. It may take them months or years to accept it. Keep on keeping on. And be patient with them. 

Pray for your community religious leaders.  Ask God to touch their hearts. He will not go against their natural nature, but if they have honest hearts, it will work. Plant the seed, and God will give the increase (1st Corinthians 3:16). God said, “My Word will not return to me void” (Isaiah 55:11).

#Bible, #Bishops, #Pastors, #Reverends, #Elders, #Preachers, #Ministers, #Scriptures, #Truths, #Doctrines, #Creeds

Scripture for Saturday, November 26 (11/26)

The scripture for today, November 26, is John 11:26 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLE” ‘ And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ “

Jesus was talking to the sister of his close friend, Lazarus, who had just died. Of course, we understand he was talking about spiritual death ~ the death of our souls. And death in the original Greek means separation; so in the case of our souls, it would be separation from God.

Revelation 20:6 & 14 refer to the second death which is the lake of fire. So what is the first death of our souls?

In John 3:3 Jesus said we must be born again of water and the spirit. Romans 6:4 says “we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death [of that sinful life] in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a NEW LIFE.”

Someone has said “Born once [physically], die twice. Born twice [physically & spiritually], die once.” If we emerge from the waters of our mother’s womb, that is the first birth of our souls. If we emerge from the waters of baptism, that is our second birth.”

So when Jesus said believers would never die, he meant our souls would never die. How reassuring!

Oh how God loves to spoil us!

god-loves-to-spoil-us-medium

Scripture for Thursday, November 24 (11/24)

The scripture for today, November 24, is Ezekiel 11:24 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Life-Changing-Scriptures-Cover-medium“The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God.”

How did the Holy Spirit move people? Not by making them fall down, but by lifting them up. Ezekiel was the prophet who experienced this most often, and the Spirit always lifted him up.
Jesus said in John 14:17 that he would send the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. And in John 17:17 he said, “Your [God’s] Word is Truth.”
The Word of God does throw some people off, and that’s because they don’t like everything it says. So, they, in turn, throw the Bible down. Let us be grateful for the Bible and that we do not have to guess what God is like and how he says we can live the best possible life. Let us continue to read the Word of God and let the Holy Spirit continue to lift us up.
#HolySpirit, #SlainInTheSpirit, #SlayInTheSpirit, #FallDown, #LiftUp, #Bible, #WordOfTruth