Scroll to the bottom of my homepage. You will see 48 flags representing the nations of friends who view my website. What a small world we now live in. As people used to say years ago, “Hands across the sea.” What else is possible? Perhaps hearts across the borders? Perhaps? Yes, perhaps.
Category: Inspirational
Scripture for Thursday 12/7 ~ We Are Never Alone
The scripture for today, December 7, is Luke 12:7 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Jesus had just said that God knows every sparrow individually. Amazing! This God of ours, this Creator of ours knows everything that is going on in his world, and knows everyone in his world, regardless of where we are in the world.
Is God invisible? To us he is. Why? He is too big to see. If we stand so close to a building we can see only one brick, we really do not know what the building looks like. It is the same with God. We are so close to him, we cannot see all of him. But that does not matter. It just shows how close he is to us.
Not only does He know everyone, but He knows our name, our likes, our dislikes, our struggles, our joys, if we bump into a door, how much we paid for groceries this week ~ everything. He is with us where ever we go. There is no place we can go that he is not there.
We are never alone.
Scripture for Monday 12/4 ~ Sharing & Caring
The scripture for today, December 4 (12/4), is Isaiah 12:4 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
“In that day you will say: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.’ “
Do you make known to your part of your nation what God has done for you? When a friend tells you of a difficulty, do you share what you went through that was similar, and that God helped get you through it? Are you ready with an easy-to-remember scripture to prove God cares and God helps? When someone is sick or bereaved, do you let them know that God hurts just as much when they suffer as when he watched his own Son suffer on the cross?
Look back over your life. Make a list of some difficult times you and God made it through. Find an applicable verse and memorize it. Find out what is going on in the lives of your friends, co-workers, neighbors. Then be ready to share your story and what God has done for you. It’s up to each one of us to do this.
Thereby God’s name will be exalted.
Scripture for Saturday, 12/2 ~ Determination
The scripture for today, December 2 (12/2), is Hebrews 12:2 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“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 set 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.
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Scripture for Thursday 11/30 ~ A Tree of Life
The scripture for today, November 30, is Proverbs 11:30 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
“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.
Or are we too busy doing “important” things to bother? Bother with the tree of life? What is more important? Just how wise are we?
Scripture for Wednesday 11/29 ~
The scripture for today, November 29, is Matthew 11:29f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“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.
Scripture for Tuesday 11/28 ~ The Lord’s Supper
The scripture for today, November 28 (11/28, is 1st Corinthians 11:28,31 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“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. 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 [Lord’s Supper]” (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. During our weekly partaking of the Lord’s Supper, 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.”
Scripture for Monday, 11/27 ~ Religious Leaders
The scripture for today, November 27 (11/27), is Mark 11:27f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“…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 about 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).
Scripture for Sunday, 11/26 ~ Never Die
The scripture for today, November 26, is John 11:26 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
” ‘ 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 [physically & spiritually]. Born twice [physically & spiritually], die once [physically].” 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!
