Scripture for Sunday, July 17 (7/17)

The scripture for today, July 17, is 1st Corinthians 7:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Luke-Slave&Physician KINDLE Cover“Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him.”

In some situations in life, this scripture is hard to accept. Sometimes life gets very, very hard. Sometimes it is hard to keep smiling, even to keep breathing. When will it end? Will it ever end?

But can it be that this is where God wants you? Can it be that the difficulties in your life right now are your assignments from God?

God fights Evil from heaven and it is our place to fight Evil from earth. It is an ongoing battle. “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” (Ephesians 6:12).

For some reason that cannot be understood right now, you are where God wants you to be. This is your assignment from God. Remember, we are “ambassadors for Christ” (II Corinthians 5:20). We must show the world that “all things work together for good to those who love the Lord” (Romans 8:28).

As a soldier for Christ, be brave. Think with a clear head. Stand firm of faith and pure of heart.

Spirituality ~ From Korea

We, the spiritual, are at all times guided by our conscious submission to and dependence on the guidance of His Holy Spirit.

Header-Jesus' Hands In CloudsPrayers of thanksgiving and requests for help are constantly going up. We live in a state of searching to see the gifts He has bestowed on us, and our thanks is given for each one.

The joy of submission never leaves our heart, and the joy of our soul is to find constant service to others. Our heart is never selfish, and the prayers for those with greatest need are the pleasure of our tongues.

The beauty and cleanness of our Father’s earth is our loving concern. No task is ever too great. We know if the Father has called us to the task, He has also provided the means whereby it can and must be done.

Our love for all has never been greater and is still growing. There are no enemies left in our heart to forgive, and no offense remains greater than what we have not already forgiven. Fear, anger, hate and revenge are not a part of our character.

Each day is awakened to the joy and anticipation of the opportunities and services to Him that await our love and sincere service. Each night finds us prone in thanksgiving for the many challenges of strengthening, challenges with which His Holy Spirit has blessed our soul.

As the world around us fights its many wars, we sleep in the peace that only He can provide. We are His, and He is ours.

~~Malcolm Parsley

From his March-April 2016 Korea News Report

~

Scripture for Saturday, July 16 (7/16)

The scripture for today, July 16, is Genesis 7:16 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

HS-COVER-KINDLE-GOLD“The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.”

Does your life sometimes feel like a downpour of unending bad events or a flood of tragedies? Whenever that happens, why not just enter an ark of safety and let God shut the door? When God shuts the door on something, try to recognize it and take advantage of its peace and quiet.

Our ark of safety is in our mind, our heart, our soul. Our ark of safety is quietness in Jesus.

“My heart is not proud, O Lord….But I have stilled and quieted my soul” (Psalm 131:1f)

“In quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15b)

“The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17).

Scripture for Friday, July 15 (7/15)

The scripture for today, July 15, is Matthew 7:15 as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

CHANGES IN WORSHIP-COVER-KINDLE“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

Jesus said this. Maybe sometimes the “false prophet” is within ourselves. We have a pet theory that we want very much for God to agree with us on. So we read through the Scriptures trying to prove our point correct.

Of course, taking a verse here and a verse there, you can “prove” anything you want.
So how do we find out if we are being our own “false prophet”? When we see a verse that contradicts our pet theory, look for other scriptures similar to this one. Use a concordance ~ a book that lists alphabetically every word in the Bible and every verse it appears in.

Or, if we believe in a different holy book of a different world religion, we can read it, then honestly search for built-in proofs it is truly holy. Thereby we can decide if we’ve been listening to a false prophet.

And as you honestly struggle, pray about it. Yes, it is humiliating to believe we just might have been wrong, and then actually admit we were wrong. But it is also liberating.

Many people have already gone through this, and can testify that changing from our viewpoint to God’s viewpoint is not only liberating, but ultimately brings peace.

Scripture for Thursday, July 14 (7/14)

The scripture for today, July 14, is 2nd Chronicles 7:14 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Old Testament Survey-Cover-Kindle“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

There is always a little bit of turmoil in all nations of the world. Of course, there is more in some. The average person cannot make their own nation call on God. But the average person can do this:

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone ~ for kings and all those in authority” (I Timothy 2:1-2). Further, we should pray for them by name.

Even if you think some people in authority in your nation are against you, you must pray for them anyway. Then wait quietly for God to work things out. It may take Him a year, a decade or a lifetime to bring about your heart’s desire for your nation. But keep praying.

Your job, in the meantime, is to follow God’s ways yourself. Romans 13:1,3-4 says, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established…For rulers hold no terror for those who do right….For he is God’s servant to do you good.”

God is aware of the suffering going on in your nation. He will not leave you or forsake you.

Scripture for Wednesday, July 13 (7/13)

The scripture for July 13 is in Job 7:13ff in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 3-HEARTS AFIRE-COVER“When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.”

Job was extremely depressed. It happens to everyone sometimes. His depression was certainly valid ~ he had lost all his income and all his children in a recent storm. Now he had what the Bible translated as “boils” but the symptoms indicate he had a form of leprosy.

This particular form leads to nightmares in addition to the physical problems. Job had every right to be depressed. So depressed was he, that he no longer wanted to live, for his life no longer had meaning.

But, as miserable as Job was, he hung on. Patiently he hung on during the bad times. Sometimes during our bad times, the greatest thing we can do is “hang on” ~ be patient.

Romans 8:28 says all things work together for good to those who love the Lord. Job loved the Lord. Even in his misery and desire to die, he continued to love God and trust Him.

And although at such times you may believe your misery will never end, you may believe you will never even smile again, it will happen. The misery comes to an end. It did for Job. He got his health and wealth back and more children to comfort him. God will see you through too.

Scripture for Tuesday, July 12 (7/12)

The scripture for today, July 12, is Revelation 7:12 in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-Heroes-Alone-COVER-KINDLE“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!”

How often do we praise God? Praise is more than thanking Him. Praise refers to God’s attributes. Let’s see what these words mean in the original Greek language of the New Testament:

Glory: magnificently beautiful
Wisdom: great understanding
Thanks: bestowed favor
Honor: great weight and power

God deserves all this from us. Some people think God is ugly, He doesn’t understand them, He is against them, and is for weaklings. Some even hate God and are even repulsed at the idea of worshipping him. They just don’t know God.

Today, will you help someone know God?

Scripture for Monday, July 11 (7/11)

The scripture for today, July 11, is Matthew 7:11 as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

REV-Cover-Kindle“If you, then, though you are ‘evil’, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

The Creator of the Universe our Father? The master-mind behind the intricacies of our bodies our Father? The One who can be everywhere at once our Father?

How unworthy we are. All we can do is fall at his feet and whisper, “You are so great. I am so small. I am overwhelmed by your love.”

Scripture for Sunday, July 10 (7/10)

The scripture for today, July 10, is Psalm 7:10 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Luke-Slave&Physician KINDLE Cover“My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.”

We wouldn’t need a shield if everything on earth was good. But God gave us free will to love him or not, to follow him or not. He did not want robots to love and follow him, for that is not true love or true commitment.

And so each of us has an assignment in life: To bloom where we are planted. To be strong in the Lord when others want to tear us away from him. To be an example. And when sometimes things get too difficult for us (and they do from time to time), God stands ready to shield us while we rest.

He loves us so.

Scripture for Saturday, July 9 (7/9)

The scripture for today, July 9, is Deuteronomy 7:9 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

REV-Cover-Kindle“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.”

Our amazing God! He loved our great great grandparents and He will love our great great grandchildren. The average age of having children is 30. Therefore, if we took this literally, 1000 generations would be 30,000 years. In that case, we’ve only just begun.

If taken figuratively, 10 to the Jews meant all inclusiveness, and 1000 is 10 x 10 x 10 or all inclusiveness times all inclusiveness times all inclusiveness. This means God will love us all inclusive years, times all inclusive years, times all inclusive years ~ for eternity!

And God gives everything we ask of him if it is good for us. All he asks in return is for us to give the little bit that he asks of us ~ faithfulness and keeping his few commandments. What a grand arrangement!