Category: Inspirational

Scripture for Saturday, May 28 (5/28)

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Acts of the Apostles-Cover-KindleThe scripture for today, May 28, is Luke 5:28 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“And Levi got up, left everything and followed him [Jesus].

This Levi was a tax collector, who, in those days, was allowed to set his own tax rates so he could pocket some of it for himself. Why would such a man follow Jesus, a man who apparently didn’t have much money of his own? He had to trust Jesus and believe that he was truly a friend.

And why would Jesus ask him? Jesus was certainly taking a chance since the uppity leaders of society and their religion openly declared Jesus a bad person for associating with “sinners and tax collectors”. Jesus, in turn, had to trust and believe in Levi.

A lot of Christians brag that their only friends are those who worship with them. They don’t really trust anyone else, so don’t really want to be anyone else’s friend. Well, how are they supposed to bring anyone to Jesus? Jesus went out to “seek and save the lost.”

And sometimes there is a visitor at worship who isn’t dressed right ~ perhaps with uncombed hair, or smell from no shower, or makeup put on too heavy, or clothes not in style, or maybe even dressed too richly. Are we ashamed to be seen with them? Jesus wouldn’t have been. He was color blind, style blind, class blind.

Today, reach out and make friends with someone you have been staying away from. Jesus did. And thereby, you will be like him.

Scripture for Friday, May 27 (5/27)

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The scripture for today, May 27, is Job 5:27 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Cover-Kindle-small“We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.”

How many times have we gone to worship or listened on TV to a minister/priest/rabbi/imam and believed everything he said because the speaker looked so holy and convincing? Isn’t that confusing when so many different religious leaders teach different things, often conflicting?

What is the answer to this dilemma? Examine the Bible for yourself! You’re smart! You can do it!

The best way is to get a concordance. It has every word in the Bible alphabetically, and every scripture that contains that word. If you want to know God’s opinion instead of man’s, use your concordance and look up every passage your chosen topic appears in. You can buy one (it is the size of a large-city telephone book) or use one on the internet.

Then examine everything God ~ not man ~ has to say about anything. Then there are no doubts. Then you know the truth and are ready to apply it to yourself.

Scripture for Thursday, May 26 (5/26)

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The scripture for today, May 26, is 1st Thessalonians 5:26 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Brothers, pray for us.”

Clouds in blue skyDo you have a prayer list? There are many people we can pray for besides ourselves. Often prayers get bogged down and short because the only person we “remember” in prayer is ourselves. Well, and maybe a relative or two.

There are many people who need your prayers: Your family is obvious. How about your neighbors? If you don’t know their names, pray for them by house or apartment number. What about the newspaper? Every one of those bad-news stories is crying out for prayer. The school near you needs your prayers ~ students, teachers, administrators, janitors. It doesn’t matter whether you have a child in that school; pray for them anyway. Who are your local government officials? Not liking them doesn’t make any difference, for Jesus said we are to pray for our enemies too. And that leads to the list of your enemies; do you have any at your workplace? Include them too. It’s pretty hard to resent someone you pray for.

One other thing you might try doing in addition to having a prayer list: Have an answered-prayer list. Write down when you pray for someone, then when it is answered. Keep it as a reminder when you are down and don’t think He’s ever going to answer your requests. God does care after all.

And speaking of requests, by the time you’re done praying for all the other people on your prayer list, you won’t have a lot of time to pray for yourself. And that is okay too, for others are praying for you!

Scripture for Wednesday, May 25 (5/25)

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The scripture for today, May 25, is Galatians 5:25f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

HS-COVER-KINDLE-GOLD“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

When someone is better than us in doing something, do we pick fights with them as punishment, or spread gossip about them in order to get others to quit respecting them?
Perhaps we don’t do this all the time. But what about times when there is something we feel we are really good at, but another person not as talented gets the honor?

That’s when it’s hard to “keep in step with the Spirit.”

Whenever we envy someone, deep down we consider that person our enemy. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45a).

To many, loving our enemy is the most difficult command in the Bible. Perhaps one way to love our “enemy” is to realize that Jesus loved his enemies. Every time we sin, we become one of his enemies. But Jesus keeps right on loving us, even when we don’t want to stop doing whatever we shouldn’t.

Jesus demonstrates the love of the Son of God. And here he says, if we love our enemies, we are demonstrating what the sons of God do. And that is far more important than honor that goes to those we envy. Leaving behind conceit makes it much easier to love everyone.

Scripture for Tuesday, May 24 (5/24)

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The scripture for today, May 24, is Amos 5:24 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

00-Heroes-Alone-COVER-KINDLE“Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.”

When individuals of a nation begin taking advantage of each other, the nation loses its standard of justice. Eventually, nations fall because of it ~ maybe not right away, but eventually.

Although acting justly may decrease someone’s income or status or power, that nation will roll on and on like a river.

Injustice is not impersonal. Injustice begins with you. One person at a time, then eventually an entire nation falls. On the other hand, justice also begins with you. One person at a time and the nation rolls on and on like a river.

What are you doing for your nation?

Scripture for Monday, May 23 (5/23)

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The scripture for today, May 23, is Exodus 5:23 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

HS-COVER-KINDLE-GOLD“Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your [God’s] name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

This is Moses talking to God, and Moses is very angry. Is it a good idea to be mad at God? Deuteronomy 34:10 says there was never a prophet like Moses “whom the Lord knew face to face.”

Getting angry [not violent, that’s different] sometimes is part of a healthy relationship, as long as we are willing to stick around long enough to understand the other person’s point of view. Moses did not desert God. He spoke his mind, then waited to see how God would reply.

It wasn’t that God didn’t want to rescue his people from slavery in Egypt. God was not quite ready yet. And he probably did not rescue his people in the manner Moses had in mind. But eventually ~ after a little patience on Moses’ part ~ it happened: God rescued his people.

Are you angry at God over something? Tell him so. Then stick around and wait for him to express his point of view. It will happen some day. Maybe it won’t be your point of view. Probably it will be better.

Scripture for Sunday, May 22 (5/22)

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The scripture for today, May 22, is Galatians 5:22f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-COVER-KINDLE“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

There are some people in the world who call people who practice these traits “losers.” They believe you have to stick up for yourself and get ahead of the pack or the world will trample you and pass you by.

They are a lot like drivers out on a highway who think they have to pass every car.
Once they do, there is usually a brief period when they are ahead of all the others. But soon they catch up with another pack of cars, and begin all over again to pass every one.

And so it happens over and over endlessly. They never relax, for they are never ahead of the others for very long.

Today, let us relax a little. Let us exercise self-control. There is no law against slowing down. And in the process find peace.

Scripture for Saturday, May 21 (5/21)

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The scripture for today, May 21, is 2nd Corinthians 5:21 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

A lot of people do not understand what Jesus’ death has to do with going to heaven. The key is in Romans 3:23 that says “The wages of sin is death.” When Adam and Eve sinned, immediately their souls died, and the bodies gradually died. It’s been happening to everyone since then.

But, during Old Testament times, God allowed people to make a perfect animal take their penalty, shed its blood and die in their place when they sinned.

This was only a temporary fix, however. Hebrews says the blood of animals cannot truly take away (take the substitute punishment for) sins; they are remembered again every year (Hebrews 10:3-4).

Finally, John the Baptist announced Jesus was “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). In order to forever stop all the sacrificial substitute dying, God prepared his own perfect Lamb ~ Jesus, who never sinned. For 33 years,

God’s Word took human form in Jesus and became one of us. Then he had to shed his blood and die in our place. In so doing, he took the sin penalty forever.

Jesus did two things impossible for us to do: Live a perfect life without sin, and come back to life after he died ~ both physically and spiritually. Why? So we could do another thing that is impossible for us to do on our own: Enter heaven, the home of the perfect.

God invites us to his heaven if we will just follow Jesus. We don’t even have to be perfect ~ just forgiven. Jesus was perfect for us. What amazing love.

Scripture for Friday, May 20 (5/20)

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The Scripture for today, May 20, is 2nd Corinthians 5:20a as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Luke-Slave&Physician KINDLE Cover“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”

When we are in pain and long for reassurances that God is with us, one of the things we often want is to see God, feel God’s touch, look into God’s eyes.

This is where Christians come in. God says to Christians, “Go to those in pain. Let them see you, feel your touch, look into your eyes.”

Are you God’s ambassador? Is God doing anything through you?

Scripture for Thursday, May 19 (5/19)

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The scripture for today, May 19, is Ephesians 5:19 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Oldoldstory-COVER-KINDLE“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.”

What is so interesting about this scripture is how we are to make music to the Lord. In the original Greek the New Testament of the Bible was written in, the term “make music” means to play on strings. But put with the rest of the verse, we see that it means to play on the strings of our heart.

How beautiful! In God’s ears, the strings of our heart are far superior to any musical instrument we can contrive. So, why would we want to use them as a substitute? Shall we not please the One we are worshiping? Let us be attuned, not to what we love, but to what God loves.

And so, let us sing! And in the process, let our singing by accompanied by the beautiful strings of our worshiping heart.