But they acted so holy

Our scripture for today, July 21 (7/21), is Matthew 7:21ff as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-Thumbnail“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ “

Evil doers?  Church people evildoers?  There are hundreds of denominations and sects out there all contradicting each other. It’s impossible for them all to be right. They cannot all be on different roads going to the same place. They cannot all be pleasing God if we decide opposing things please him.

You can never rely on what someone else says just because they look and act holy and say all the right holy words and phrases and pray such holy-sounding prayers. You must never rely on your religious leaders to tell you what to believe. Shall you take their opinion or God’s opinion?

Romans 10:1 in the Bible mentions some people who had a lot of zeal for God, but were lost because it was not according to the proper knowledge.

Well, how do you get God’s opinion? Read the Bible for yourself! Use a concordance (lists every word in the Bible and every scripture with that word ~ Bible Hub has one on the internet) and look up your chosen subject.  Then, having found the truth, why not go back to your religious leaders in love and try to teach your teachers? Some just might listen to you.

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00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-ThumbnailWORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY is a collection of scriptures (1st-century Christians), statements of famous theologians going back centuries, and statements of 2nd-century Christians about the way God wants to be worshiped, not the way we want to “worship” him. The reader is taken gently step by step toward understanding and acceptance.  It ends with a history of the churches of Christ mostly in Europe from the third to the 18th century.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….

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https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/1107-2/my-book-worship-the-first-century-way/

Intellectually Lazy

The scripture for today, July 6 (7/6), is Mark 7:6f as found in the New Testament of the Bible.   

“He [Jesus] replied, ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ ”

It is the trend today to say that all religions ~ even those who teach opposing things ~ are right, and all are good. It is the trend today to say all gods are the same God, and we are all going to the same heaven if we’re at least pretty good.

It’s not that simple. Jesus did not say this. Well, then, how do we know which religious things we are taught and do today are from God and which from men?

You are smart. Don’t be lazy.  Read the holy books of all major world religions for yourself. Who knows? What you have been told all your life may be wrong.  Do the other holy books have built-in proofs they really originated from God?  Perhaps scientific, archaeological, ancient inscriptions, prophecies fulfilled? Here is a website with those holy books on it:  https://www.sacred-texts.com  Here is a website with nearly 400 proofs the Bible is from God:

casagrandechurchofchrist.com/bible-proofs/

If you conclude the Bible is true, use a concordance and do a study of everything the Bible says about any topic. That way, you will have God’s opinion, not men’s. Here is a website with an online Bible concordance and it’s easy to use: bibletab.com 

You can find out for yourself,~ you can KNOW ~ whether what you were told to believe by family, friends, and leaders is what God told you to believe.  Stop being intellectually lazy.  Your eternity depends on it.

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THE HOLY SPIRIT: 592 VERSES EXAMINED.  There is no other study of the Holy Spirit in existence like it.  Look at every verse in the Bible about God’s Spirit and know for sure.  It is time to stop chasing after people’s favorite sayings and beliefs and learn the truth.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/3f1c9ju   

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https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/1107-2/my-book-the-holy-spirit-in-365-scriptures/

So gear up and take that leap

00-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-ThumbnailThe scripture for today, July 3 (7/3), is Acts 7:3 as found in the New Testament of the Bible: 

” ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ “

This is part of a speech by Christian Stephen soon after the church began. He was reminding the Jewish leaders how God told their ancestor Abraham to leave his religion, home and family, and move to where God had something special for him ~ to begin the Jewish nation and religion.

But when Stephen got to the part where, since Jesus’ arrival, now God wanted his audience to leave the Jewish religion and move on to a still better one ~ the Christian religion ~ they were outraged. They were not like Abraham; they did not want to change. So, not liking the message, they killed the messenger. These religious leaders stoned Stephen to death.

Have you learned “new” things in the Bible that your religion is against? It is hard to change. You could lose your friends and family like Abraham did; you could even lose your home as Abraham did. It takes a great big “leap of faith” to follow that “new” truth you have discovered in the Bible.

But when God does the recommending, you can know he has something special in mind for you. So, gear up and take that leap!

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00-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-ThumbnailSTEPHEN: UNLIKELY MARTYR was a coward as a teenager and his best friend was crucified. But little by little through the years, he stepped up and exhibited courage at increasing levels. How did he do it? What happened to him?  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or PASTE THIS……….  https://bit.ly/2XBFXvJ  

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I am always in heaven

Praise God who makes all things magnificently beautiful. Sometimes I wonder what you are thinking. Each soul you invite into heaven brings along the brightness of their faith in you. Each soul who returns to their Maker brings along the brilliance of their love for you. Heaven grows brighter than before as your children return to you.  And you laugh and rejoice that your family is with you at last. Oh, for the day when I can join your children there and laugh with you. Oh, for the eternal day when I can sing praises to you.  Do you sing, Lord?  I hope so. Will you be the director of our heavenly chorus? Wonderful, incredible day when I close my eyes in weakness and open them in your everlasting strength and ceaseless joy.

Ah, my Lord, thank you for your promises. You always keep your promises. You are my protector, my helper, my shield, and keep me safe under the shadow of your wing.  But the greatest promise of all is that you will return in the clouds someday and bring me up to you. When all who have loved and obeyed you arrive, you will take us with you to heaven. What an amazing and comforting promise. You will take me to the new and glorious body you are preparing for me and I shall walk streets of your golden purity. I cannot begin to conceive what heaven will be like, but with you, I am always in heaven. Thank you.

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REVELATION: A LOVE LETTER FROM GOD.  Once you understand the simple symbolism of numbers to the Jews, it is easy to understand Revelation and to tear down the horror stories people try to feed us.  It is a book of promises fulfilled.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/36W2CqT 

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Then, look up!

The scripture for today, May 13 (5/13), is 1st John 5:13f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

04-Isaac&Jacob-KindleMedium“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

 Ah, to know you have eternal life.  It’s easy to say. “I’m so happy because I have eternal life.”  But do you really believe it?

I hear Christians everywhere lament their death.  “Whew, I could have died in that car crash” “Oh, no, I just took the wrong medicine, and it will kill me.”  “Hurry, get me to the hospital before I die!”

Yes, life here is precious. But it is only the bud of the flower, the spark of the fire, the whisper of the song. Our life here is like living in a dark cave. 

Why would a truly believing Christian fear walking through that marvelous door where Jesus himself awaits their arrival?

True, part of looking forward to heaven is knowing what it looks like. Revelation gives you a hint, but it is symbolic. Cling to what you know. Rush to the door leading out of the cave in anticipation for the world you were always meant to live in.

Some people say, “But I want to be here to watch my children or grandchildren grow up.’ What then? To watch them graduate and get a job and start having babies? What then? When does it end?

Stop right now.   Take a deep breath. Ask God to forgive your doubts and selfishness and putting things and people before him. Then look up. Look up! He is there waiting for you. His hands are reaching out to you. Those hands that were nailed to the cross for you. His hands that are now full of healing and tenderness and glory just for you.

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I pen my thoughts to inspire souls. Will you help me spread the word?    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077MTB94S/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i55

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04-Isaac&Jacob-KindleThumbnailISAAC & JACOB is storybook #4 in the series, A CHILD’S BIBLE HEROES.  They are the son and grandson of Abraham.  Jacob makes lots of bad mistakes, but God turns into good and mighty.  THINK & DO at the end of each chapter.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover.

 

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Who is that “Higher Power” out there?

0-Titus-Cover-Lg ThumbThe scripture for today, May 2 (5/2), is Micah 5:2 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

In today’s world completely connected and interconnected universally, people are asking, “Who is the Higher Power?”.  Some say the Muslim Allah is, some say the Hindu Brahman is, some say the Buddhist Nirvana, some say the Jehovah of Christianity is. This is called the “New Age Movement.”

Buddhism (though most people do not realize where it came from) has infiltrated the young American culture by declaring there is no such thing as truth.  One thing is truth to one person, an opposite thing is truth to another person, so believe what you want.  Hinduism teaches we have to keep being reborn and live through this hard life eternally or until we become perfect.  Islam teaches paradise is a place where you can drink all the wine you want and never get drunk, and are waited on my wide-eyed virgins.

None of the writings of these religions have been proven true. The Bible is the only religious book in the world with built-in proofs that it is of divine origin. Prophecies of many events in the life of Christ and of entire empires flow throughout the Old Testament. No human could have known these hundreds of facts hundreds of years before they happened. And, if these prophecies were truth, then the rest of the Bible is truth.

Today’s amazing scripture prophesies where the “ruler…from ancient times” ~ the eternal king ~ will be born. It gives the exact city Jesus (who had been in heaven before his human birth) would be born in but was written seven centuries before his birth.

The Word of God in flesh (John 1:1,14) wasn’t just a prophet, he wasn’t just a good man, he wasn’t a fraud. Isaiah says this child would be mighty God and both Son and Father ~ self-existent.  Thank God, He thought of everything to help us believe Jesus was, indeed, a part of God materialized for lowly us.

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I write to encourage souls. Will you help me share today’s book with someone?          https://amzn.to/2NsVRSL

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0-Titus-Cover-Lg ThumbTITUS: THE ARISTOCRAT was raised in Antioch in today’s Turkey. It was an elitist city where citizens only spoke the proper Latin, not the Greek of commoners.  He was a successful lawyer and arbitrator. He married his “ice queen,” a Nordic princess who feared no one and had a son and daughter. When he met Paul and became a Christian, Paul turned him loose on congregations who did not know how to get along.  Just as he had solved impossible mysteries as a lawyer, now he solved impossible rifts in congregation. Then his daughter died and his wife and son were killed by angry priests.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. https://amzn.to/2NsVRSL

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Shhh. Do you hear? It’s your turn.

0-Joseph-Cover-Kindle-MediumThe scripture for today, April 29 (4/29), is Deuteronomy 4:29 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Ah, to find God.  Who are you, God?  What do you do all through my day?  What do you have to say to me?  Or do you not say anything?  Do you even see me, God?  Where are you?  I cannot find you.

Open your eyes, friend. God is always nearby.  There is an old expression, “To know him is to love him.” So true.  To find God, get to know him.  He is talking to you right now in his Bible, explaining what he is like and how he reacts to every possible situation in life. Open your Bible.  Look through the mini-books within.  God not only gives you examples of right and wrong ways to seek Him, but he gives you beautiful psalms and proverbs for your everyday life.  And, wonder of wonders, He tells how He came down to us and walked among us as Jesus.  Seek him there. He is talking to you.

Then take the next step.  When he asks questions to people in his Bible, take them as your questions and answer them. When he tells someone to stop doing wrong, take them as yours and admit to him the things you do or say that are wrong. When he blesses people in the Bible, take them as your blessings and thank him for them.   

Yes, seek, and you will find. This mutual conversation with God is the with-all-your-heart-and-soul kind. You can do it. He’s waiting for you.  Shhhh.  Do you hear the silence? It’s your turn. Talk to God.

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I write to encourage souls. Will you help me share today’s book with someone?    https://amzn.to/2FkH4Ku

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0-Joseph-Cover-ThumbnailJOSEPH: THE OTHER FATHER.  What kind of man was Joseph for God to entrust his son to him? What kind of man took on the responsibility of keeping the boy safe in a violent world until he was grown?  How many times, when Roman soldiers were attacking, or the Zealots were wreaking havoc or bears came out of the woods where they were cutting timber did Joseph lift his head and cry out, “God, help me protect our son!”?  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. https://amzn.to/2FkH4Ku

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He poured his heart out

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-ThumbnailThe scripture for today, April 22 (4/22), is Proverbs 4:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

.” ..for they [my words] are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.”

God poured out his heart and soul in the Bible. He revealed his most inner feelings ~ all his desires and disappointments, all his moments of highest joy and deepest sorrow, all his dreams and plans and hopes for us.

Have you ever done that? Have you ever bared your heart and soul to someone else? Would you do it for just anyone? Would you do it if you did not trust the person, especially if the person did not even like you?

That’s what God did. This thought escapes my mind and soars to galaxies unknown. They begin in a mist and burst forth in reality. To know the inner-most thoughts of my God and my Creator!

With this thought in mind, why not read the entire Bible, beginning to end? Perhaps you can read a chapter a day. Or, if you want to read it through in a year, you can count the total number of pages in your Bible, divide by 365, and read that number of pages each day. Or, if you have time, why not go all out and read it in just a few sittings? This will take on new meaning for your life. No matter how many times you read it, there are always new meanings waiting for your mind to grasp it, cling to it, and grace your life.

So much comfort. So much information. So much of answering our questions of how and why.  So much of reading God pouring his heart out and filling an empty soul.

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I pen my thoughts to reach out to souls. Will you help me tells others about this book?        https://amzn.to/2RZlf6T

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0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-ThumbnailTHE HOLY SPIRIT: 592 VERSES EXAMINED reveals everything in the Bible God wants us to know about his Spirit ~ no more and no less. By grouping scriptures together on the same subject, understanding changes from complicated to simple.  The Bible always interprets itself.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://amzn.to/2RZlf6T

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You poured out your heart to me

The highest praise belongs to you alone, Jehovah of the universe, both that which is seen and unseen.  I praise you, God of the glorious name, God the I AM. You are not just self-existent. You are Love.  You know me by my name. You run after me when I run away from you and call my name. You love me so. If you did not love, you could not exist. If you were not life, you could not exist. How I worship you. 

I am just a weak sinner. I find it hard to forgive sometimes and have to remind myself that you forgive me only as I do others.  Satan wants me to become an accuser like him. Satan, get away from me!

I whisper thank you in my heart for your Word ~ your heart poured out. My puny thanks swells, rushes to you, and bursts forth in your throne room.  Thank you, Jesus, for being my perfect sacrifice. You had to materialize so you could be my substitute. You went through what you did not have to do, even while I was offending you with my sins. Thank you for giving life, and re-giving life over and over. You cannot stop because you are God. Thank you for being stronger than Satan and keeping him at enough distance that I can recognize all the good that you are. Oh, how I long to be with you as your bride forever.

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I pen my thoughts to reach out to souls. Will you help me tells others about this book?’          https://amzn.to/34iQFde

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CHRISTIANITY OR ISLAM: THE CONTRAST can be given to any Muslim without offending them.  So far, I have taught 7000 Muslims and early on realized they have not truly read their Quran any more than the average American has read the Bible. They do not know the violent parts are in there.  This book QUOTES the Quran and Bible on the same subjects to show the contrast. The middle of the book explains falsehoods they have been taught about Christians (such as worshipping 3 gods), and ends with testimonies of 100 of my students who have decided Jesus really was the Son of God.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://amzn.to/34iQFde

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Scripture for Tuesday 3/24

Inside-COVER-lg thumbnailThe scripture for today, March 24 (3/24), is 1st John 3:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”

Some people think we can tell that we are obeying God, and he is, therefore, in us by how we feel by our emotions. But emotions are fickle. We can feel great one day and sad the next and frustrated after that, then great again. It can be confusing to rely on how we feel as to whether or not God’s Spirit lives in us.

Jesus said in John 14:17 that he was going to send us the Counselor, the Spirit of Truth. And in John 17:17, Jesus said God’s Word is Truth.

Now that makes more sense! Even in the days before the New Testament was assembled into one book, Christians were given the gift of prophecy by the Spirit of Truth, and sometimes they wrote it and circulated it.

In the meantime, the apostles went everywhere teaching, and they wrote letters that were circulated (even those we don’t know about today). Those letters that were preserved were copied and circulated everywhere.

Finally, their letters were assembled into what we call the New Testament. So, today we can still know God’s Spirit lives in us by reading the Bible ~ God’s Word ~ and putting it in our mind and heart and following it. God thought of everything. His word is clear, and that is how we know we have obeyed him, and he lives in us.

How grateful we are today for his Bible. No guessing. So, do not take it for granted. Never take it for granted.

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I pen my thoughts to encourage souls. Will you help me share today’s book with someone?          https://amzn.to/2Ugmj7Y

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Inside-COVER-lg thumbnailINSIDE THE HEARTS OF BIBLE WOMEN is stories of Bible Women who lived through the same kinds of tragedies modern women do.  Each chapter is a story but with endnotes that are really thought questions.  Also has an audio, and a teacher’s manual.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………  https://amzn.to/2Ugmj7Y

 

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