Category: judging

Scripture for Friday, 12/1 ~ Bible Research

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The scripture for today, December 1 (12/1), 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.

 

Scripture for Saturday, October 28 (10/28)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn blessings, faith, Inspirational, judging, power, Satan, Thanksgiving, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, October 28 (10/28), is Matthew 10:28f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Mefiboset-KINDLE Medium“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.”

This scripture indicates that sometimes God’s allows us to “fall to the ground” ~ our bodies suffer, or we are killed. How can that be? After all, God is so loving. Surely a good God would not allow any harm to come to someone if he truly loves them.

But we all have our assignment from God in this war between Good and Evil. Just as Job in the Old Testament lost his entire family and entire wealth and then his health, he refused to blame God. He even said, “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” (Job 2:10).

Satan causes bad to happen to us. Why? In order to get us to blame God for it. Our assignment is to refuse to deny God. That way, Satan loses one more battle, and God wins one more.

There is an old Christian song called “Victory in Jesus.” How can we have victory in Jesus if we do not have something to be victorious over? Romans 8:37 says we are more than conquerors. How can we be conquerors if we have nothing to conquer?

Let us say with James (1:2) that we consider it pure joy whenever we face trials. Hard to say? Of course, it is. But it could turn your life around.

 

Scripture for Saturday, October 21 (10/21)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn blessings, Daily, Inspirational, judging, Thanksgiving1 Comment

The scripture for today, October 21 (10/21), is Proverbs 10:21 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Mefiboset-KINDLE Medium“The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment.”

What do you talk about during the day? Do you use proper judgment? Do you nourish others by what you say to them?

Are you a complainer or complimenter? Are you rude or patient? Do you glare or smile? Do you criticize the wrong a person does, or praise the right that person does? Do you sing of your love of God on Sunday and use swear words the rest of the week? What is in your heart passes through your lips.

Today, go out of your way to nourish everyone you talk to. Start a new habit. They will see God in you.

 

Scripture for Wednesday, October 18 (10/18)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Daily, good works, Inspirational, judgingLeave a comment

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

00-cover-kindle-medium-new“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 it: (1) Being commended by other people, or (2) being commended by God. You can’t have both (Matthew 6:5; 18).

And that brings up how you judge other people. You may decide certain Christians you know are not pulling their load in your congregation, not doing their part. That may be a wrong judgment. They may be doing good works you will never know about. “Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:18a).

Have you taken your spiritual temperature lately?

 

Scripture for Tuesday, October 10 (10/10)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Daily, Inspirational, judging, Satan, truthLeave a comment

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

Letters-of-Apostles1-Cover-Kindle“He who winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin.”

How can eye winking be malicious? Let’s look further at Proverbs 6:12-14 ~ “A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who winks with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers, who plans evil with deceit in his heart ~ he always stirs up dissension.”

Have we ever said something to someone, but turned to someone else in the room and winked to let the second person know we didn’t really mean what we just said? That made our words a lie.

We might have pre-arranged signals before a meeting such as crossing our feet as a signal we do or don’t like what is being said. Or we may run our fingers over our hair, or tap three times on a table as a pre-arranged signal to someone else in the room. If we are saying one thing but signaling something else to our partner, then our words are lies.

Perhaps we think it is purely innocent and claim that everyone does it. But Satan is the father of liars. And Revelation 21 says “…all liars ~ their place will be in the fiery lake.”

Oh, let us look closer at ourselves and not think we are superior to others. May we look at ourselves as God does.  It can be eye-opening and liberating.

Scripture for Monday, October 9 (10/9)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn death, healing, Inspirational, judging, persecution, SatanLeave a comment

The scripture for today, October 9 (10/9), is Job 10:9 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

00-COVER-KINDLE“Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again?”

Job was sick, his so-called friends came to him to say God was punishing him, and Job was frustrated. He could not reason with his friends, so he tried to reason with God. It was a lovers’ quarrel.

By verse 18, he was so upset with God that he said, “Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me.” Job’s body was broken, and even more, his spirit was broken. Satan was doing everything he could to get Job to deny God. But, even though Job argued with God and perhaps came close to denying him, he always acknowledged the good God did along with the bad. He just didn’t understand the bad.

We don’t understand the bad in our lives. But remember, it is Satan that causes the bad to happen. God may step back and let Satan give it a try, but we are not their toys. We are soldiers in the army of God. When Satan throws darts at us, we hold up the shield of faith and become even stronger.

Sometimes, the bad happening in our life is God’s assignment for us. We are part of the war between God and Satan. As good and loyal soldiers, we take our assignments and stand firm. We may complain, but we still stand firm. We may trip sometimes, but we still stand firm. Being a soldier in the army of God is not easy. But the battle will be won. Some day. So stand firm!

 

Scripture for Saturday, October 7 (10/7)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn death, governments, Inspirational, judging, powerLeave a comment

The scripture for today, October 7(10/7), is Joshua 10:7f as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Clouds in blue sky“So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.’ “

We today cannot imagine a good God condoning violence, let alone promoting it. But think back. Mankind was quite barbaric in the centuries and millenniums before Christ. God never runs very far ahead of mankind, or else mankind would not understand, would grow discouraged and then not even try to follow God. By the time Jesus came, God was saying, “No more violence.”

In this scripture for today, God was telling Joshua to attack people in the Jews’ Promised Land ~ Canaan. This brings up a related question: Why would a good God allow one group of people to kill off another group of people? God had told Abraham centuries earlier, “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure” (Genesis 15:16).

In Leviticus 18:24, 28, God warned the Jews through Moses, “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled….And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.” So God warned the Jews that, if they got as bad as the previous people in Canaan, he would drive them out too.

One of the monstrous sins of the Amorites was child sacrifice in the open fires of Marduck.  Eventually, the Jews began doing the same thing, and God drove them out of their Promised Land to Assyria and Babylon.

Further, in Old Testament times, God often punished people immediately. Why punish them? Partly to get them away from the good people. And God used armies of believers to do the punishing for him.

In the New Testament, God does not expect us to do the punishing. Romans 12:19 says, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay’ says the Lord. On the contrary, If your enemy is hungry feed him….Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Thank God, he has taken the terrible task of vengeance away from us. We can just forgive (let loose of) our enemies and hand things over to God to take whatever steps need to be taken. In the meantime, we can read the Old Testament and learn that God takes notice when people are doing bad things to us. God does take care of us. God does love his children.

Scripture for Tuesday, October 3 (10/3)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn faith, forgiveness, Heaven, Inspirational, judging, Saved from hell, Scripture, truthLeave a comment

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-Medium-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 of all, we use the term saved/salvation so loosely, we tend to forget what we are being saved from. We are being saved from hell! This is not a minuscule matter.

Second, how do we avoid hell? Through Jesus! This is the only way.

How many of us have been to funerals where the deceased was preached into heaven? So many people believe they are “good enough” or “not too bad” and so God would be horrible to not let them into heaven. Such people will climb in through windows so to speak into heaven as the “thieves and robbers” Jesus referred to.

But heaven is God’s home, not ours. He has a gate into it, just like we have doors on our house. Just like we are not obligated to open the gate or door into our home to just anyone, God is not obligated to open his gate to just anyone. Our door and God’s gate are there for a reason.  Let us enter heaven through the gate ~ Jesus.

Then God will smile and say, “Welcome home.”

Scripture for Sunday, October 1 (10/1)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, faith, Inspirational, judging, Saved from hell, Scripture, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, October 1 (10/1), is Romans 10:1f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-PAUL COVER-Medium-“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for ______ is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.”

Being “religious” isn’t enough. There are lots of religions. Feeling “spiritual” isn’t enough. There are lots of differing religions that induce a “spiritual” feeling. The confidence of salvation isn’t enough. There are lots of differing religions that create questionable confidence of salvation. Dedication to prayer isn’t enough. There are lots of differing religions that require much prayer.

Sincere Christian leaders today may want us to rely on feelings and inducements and confidence and dedication, but they can be sincerely wrong. If we base our salvation on feelings and inducements and confidence and dedication only, we have zeal, but our zeal is not based on knowledge. Some may defensively call “knowledge” legalism.

God gave us his Word ~ the Bible ~ for a reason. He wanted us to reason. Hebrews 11:1 says faith is accepting the evidence ~ not wishful thinking. Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing/reading the Word of God for ourselves ~ not someone’s sermon. Let us search the scriptures daily for ourselves.

And, let us not be afraid to approach our religious leaders and try teaching the teachers. Then their zeal, as well as ours, can be based on knowledge.

Scripture for Friday, September 29 (9/29)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn blessings, faith, healing, Inspirational, judging, prayer2 Comments

The scripture for today, September 29, is Matthew 9:29 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Bk3-HeartsAfire-COVER-Kindle.medium-new“Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you.’ “

Sometimes when we pray for healing during sickness, a well-meaning friend will say, “Well, you haven’t been healed because you didn’t have enough faith.” But Jesus did not heal everyone according to their faith.

The boy in Nain he brought back to life (Luke 7:14-15) did not have any faith at all. The girl in Capernaum he brought back to life (Luke 8:51-56) did not have any faith at all. When Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana (John 2:1-9) the hosts did not have any faith at all. There are other examples.

This is encouraging because often we pray for the healing of non-religious friends. It would be futile to ask God to bring them back to health if it depended on their faith all the time.

He is not a God of futility. He is a God of hope.