Monday 7/22 ~ You can know for sure

The scripture for today, July 22 (7/22), is 2nd Samuel 7:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible.

0-Michel-COVER-Kindle-Thumbnail“How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”

How do you know there is no God but the God of the Bible that we read about and “hear with our own ears” (when scriptures are read aloud)? How do you know our God is the only true God, and our Bible his only true words?

Investigating the numerous built-in proofs is how we know. They are all over the Old Testament ~ Prophecies fulfilled of people and entire nations as given in the Bible and verified in secular encyclopedias. Scientific facts not known in early centuries. Over 300 archaeological facts.  Here is a colorful website showing most of them:  http://bit.ly/2M4VdNu

Therefore, you can KNOW what God is like, what he wants and how he views you, for you have heard with your own ears and seen with your own eyes. How lucky you are. How blessed.

 

0-Michel-COVER-Kindle-ThumbnailMICHEL: THE FOURTH WISE MAN and the pagan wise men tried for over a year to find the meaning of the star. Only after a year was Michel able to convince the pagan wise men to check the archives where Queen Esther and Daniel had left copies of their own writings and writings of the Jewish prophets. There they found prophecies of the God-King.  At last, they knew.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2M4uzEj

LINK TO ALL MY BOOKS:  http://bit.ly/MyBookInfo

SIGN-NARROW Click Here for All My Books

#Bible, #OneGod, #TrueGod, #evidence, #proof, #archaeology, #manuscripts, #papyrus, #parchment, #ancientengravings, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Sunday 7/21 ~ Teaching the teachers

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

NF-WorshipChanges-WorshipFirst“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!’ “

There are hundreds of denominations/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.

 

NF-WorshipChanges-WorshipFirstWORSHIP CHANGES SINCE THE 1ST CENTURY gives the very year changes were introduced and who introduced them. It also tells what they did to the protesters to each change.  WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY gently covers each part of our worship beginning with quotes from famous theologians, scripture examples, and intermittent prayers for guidance.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2M2Gsux

LINK TO ALL MY BOOKS:  http://bit.ly/MyBookInfo

SIGN-NARROW Click Here for All My Books

#worship, #denominations, #churches, #knowledge, #teaching, #teachers, #truth, #judging, #ego, #humility, #falsehood, #doctrines, #creeds, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Saturday 7/20 ~ Invading Heaven

The scripture for today, July 20 (7/20), is Ecclesiastes 7:20 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Thumbnail“There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”

Many people believe if they don’t murder or steal, and if they help people poorer than themselves, and aren’t mean to their family, God will have no choice but to let them into heaven. But it only takes one sin to be a sinner.

God ~ who is Perfect Goodness ~ cannot dwell with sin. But mankind has never figured out a way to be perfectly good.

God said in the Garden of Eden that the moment we sin, our soul dies. Satan holds us for ransom. I Peter 1:18-19 says, “…knowing that you were not ransomed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

Jesus became that perfectly good person (Hebrews 4:15) ~ that perfect Lamb of God (John 1:29). Then he paid the terrible ransom to free you and me from Satan. But, it does no good if you do not believe he did this. You cannot despise Jesus and say he is too demanding.

Your part is the easy part. All he asks is that you love him, thank him, worship him, follow his examples and all his commands (there aren’t many). Then Satan can no longer hold you hostage. God the Father will consider you perfect too. Then you will be accepted into heaven.

 

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-ThumbnailTHEY MET JESUS: SHADOW OF DEATH takes the reader to the last hours of Jesus’ life on earth, two chapters on the crucifixion itself, and his unexpected resurrection. Join him in the lowest and highest days in the history of mankind. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2JFUvV7

 

LINK TO ALL MY BOOKS:  http://bit.ly/MyBookInfo

SIGN-NARROW Click Here for All My Books

#sin, #heaven, #hell, #ransom, #kidnapped, #Satan, #invasion, #perfection, #goodness, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Monday 7/15 ~ Challenging and liberating

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

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Thumbnail“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 yourself. You have a pet theory you want very much for God to agree with you on. So you read through the Scriptures trying to prove your point correct. Of course, taking a verse here and a verse there, you can “prove” anything you want.

So how do you find out if you are being your own “false prophet”? If you see a verse that contradicts your 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. There is one on the internet here:  https://biblehub.com/concordance/

Or, if you believe in a different holy book of a different world religion, you can read it, then honestly search for built-in proofs it is truly from a mind that knows things humans do not such as prophecies of the future that came true.

Or perhaps your pet belief is based on deep emotional longings or excitements or desires that want to show themselves in outward ways  “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:1, 14).  So God in flesh was Jesus, therefore God was and is word, logic. Therefore, try to find explanations of your deep emotional expressions in the Bible.  If you do not find them, perhaps your emotional expressions came from a tradition instead of God.

Yes, there are ways to determine if you’ve been listening to a “false prophet”. Yes, it is humiliating to believe you just might have been wrong, and then actually admit you were wrong. But it is also liberating. Many people have already gone through this challenge and can testify that changing from their viewpoint to God’s viewpoint is not only liberating, but ultimately brings peace.

 

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-ThumbnailTHE HOLY SPIRIT IN 592 VERSES is one of those liberating books.  We are told we do or do not have the Holy Spirit for all kinds of reasons people. Some are contradictory so they cannot all be true. Eliminate the confusion. Go with the author to all 592 times God’s Spirit is mentioned in the Bible and find out for sure.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2vKlzeK

 

#falseprophet, #opinions, #creeds, #pentecost, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Saturday 7/13 ~ When misery ends with gladness

The scripture for today, July 13 (7/13), is in Job 7:13ff in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Bk3-HeartsAfire-COVER-Kindle.thumbnail-new“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 called Elephantiasis.

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 your bad times, the greatest thing you 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 and 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.

 

0-Bk3-HeartsAfire-COVER-Kindle.thumbnail-newTHEY MET JESUS: HEARTS AFIRE.  Come along with Jesus during the first year of his ministry.  His apostles have been chosen and people are beginning to sit up and take notice of this amazing miracle worker. Even with such powers, he has time ~ makes time ~ for them all.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2PXauQs

 

#sickness, #illness, #salary, #income, #death, #funeral, #misery, #hope, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Saturday 7/6 ~ It IS possible to know!

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 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:

https://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:  http://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. Your eternity depends on it.

 

CHRISTIANITY OR ISLAM: THE CONTRAST quotes from both the Qur’an and New Testament of the Bible on the same subjects without comment. It can be given in a Muslim without offending them. Things they have been told about Christianity which is not true are explained. It ends with statements of over 100 Muslims I have studied with who decided Jesus really was the Son of God and not just a prophet.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2NyJHMH

 

#Islam, #Buddhism, #Hinduism, #Atheism, #Christianity, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Wednesday 7/3 ~ Gear up and take that leap

The scripture for today, July 3 (7/3), is Acts 7:3 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-” ‘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 a new religion.

But when Stephen got to the part where 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!

 

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-PAUL: THE UNSTOPPABLE did everything possible to not change from Judaism to Christianity. He hauled people to prison and even killed them if they refused to stop talking about changing. It was only when he changed sides that he saw what he had been missing out on. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this: https://amzn.to/328ta59

 

#Bible, #scriptures, #truth, #ego, #blindness, #religion,#inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Tuesday 7/2 ~ God’s Opinion?

The scripture for today, July 2 (7/2), is Proverbs 7:2ff as found in the Old Testament of the Bible.

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Thumbnail“Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding your kinsman.”

It is popular today for people to reject Christianity because they don’t like rules. That is not logical. Everything in life has rules ~ getting tired and having to sleep is a rule to keep your energy up.  Eating is a rule to keep you alive.  Not running out into the street with cars coming is a rule to save your life.  True Christianity has the same kind of logical rules. They may annoy you, but God is trying to save your soul.

Still, it seems, everywhere we turn, we are given differing religious rules and way too many. They cannot all be true, yet people who give them seems to be so good. They all pray and do good deeds, and never kill, cheat or steal.

How can they all be right when they contradict each other? Preachers and creeds and elders and dogmas. No wonder people are turned off by all the man-made rules.  When it comes down to it, only God’s opinion counts.

So how do we get God’s opinion? We look up everything in the Bible using the keyword we are concerned about. We look it up for ourselves and decide for ourselves. We do not let other people decide for us.

Well, how do we find all those verses? By using a concordance which is like a large dictionary listing all the words in the Bible and what verses carry those words. It is the size of a large-city telephone book. You can also get it on the internet free here:  http://bibletab.com/

So today look up something about Christianity you have always been curious about. It will open up a whole new world for you. Then you’ll have wisdom, understanding, and God’s opinion.

 

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-ThumbnailTHE HOLY SPIRIT:  592 VERSES EXAMINED. The religious world has confused us with so many pet theories about God’s Holy Spirit.  Let’s forget them all and look up every verse in the Bible where God himself explains his Spirit to us.  Put together, we have a simple and beautiful picture of the Holy Spirit.  It is only $2.99 in e format and $12 in paper. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2FzPTQu

 

#HolySpirit, #HolyGhost, #GodsSpirit, #Bible, #scripture, #knowledge, #truth, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Saturday 6/29 ~ Invincible Faith

The scripture for today, June 29 (6/29), is John 6:29 as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

00-LUKE-KINDLE Cover-Thumbnail“Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: To believe in the one he has sent.’ “

Yes, it is true that the gift of salvation is just that ~ a gift, a free gift. That’s because God was the only one powerful enough to overcome Satan.  Satan wanted God’s death as a ransom in order to free you from your bondage to him. God gave Satan what he wanted, then tricked Satan and came back to life. You could have never freed yourself.

And it is true that you cannot be good enough to earn salvation from Satan because you don’t know how to be sinless, and heaven can only be occupied by the perfectly sinless. Satan is always lurking in the shadows to lure you back. It only takes one sin to be a sinner.

But at the same time, James 2:18 says “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” In other words, there are things you need to do to obtain salvation. You have to believe there is a gift for you somewhere, walk over to it, reach out, and grasp it.

Believing is a work because you have to find and spend time listening to or reading the Word before you can believe. And Jesus himself said believing (faith) is a work.

How do you go about obtaining faith? By believing what other people tell you to believe? Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing/reading the Word of God ~ the Bible. It is going directly to God’s Words to find out for yourself. It takes a little bit of work to read through it. But then, you can know that what you believe is really what God said.

What a marvelous, delightful, magnificent thing it is to find out what this invisible God did for you and to bask in the glory of such knowledge through invincible faith.

 

00-LUKE-KINDLE Cover-ThumbnailLUKE: SLAVE AND PHYSICIAN started out his life being a slave and believer in may gods. All physicians in the first century were slaves. Then, one day, he met Paul, learned about the one God who would free his soul from slavery to Satan. Then, his master, Theopholis, who had learned to love him, gave him his physical freedom.  After that, Luke was unstoppable. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this: https://amzn.to/323txxV

 

#faith, #knowledge, #Satan, #crucifixion, #sin, #power, #victory, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Sunday 6/16 ~Ask for the ancient paths

The scripture for today, June 16 (6/16), is Jeremiah 6:16 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Titus-Cover-Lg Thumb“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”

We need history, not only for an appreciation of what our forefathers did for us but also to learn which mistakes not to make all over again. This is true with religion also. There are hundreds of denominations and religions out there. This divisiveness hurts us. It seems the more denominations and religions we have, the fewer people are interested in spiritual things. They call it “organized religion”.

Within Christianity, think about creeds for a moment. If a creed is less than the Bible, it isn’t enough. If it is more than the Bible, it is too much. If it is the same as the Bible, why have it? Let us change our loyalties away from denominationalism and toward the Bible. All this confusion is exhausting!

Human nature has always been the same, and the Bible written long ago applies just as much to human nature today as it did then. Proverbs! The life and speeches of Jesus! The many mistakes made by people in the Old Testament! The advice to Christians in the New Testament!

It’s not confusing. And maybe then, we will find rest for our souls.

 

0-Titus-Cover-Lg ThumbTITUS: THE ARISTOCRAT was raised in the elite city of Antioch (according to tradition). When he was converted to Christianity, Paul sent him everywhere to arbitrate problems between Christians and problems in churches.  He was a “smooth operator” and knew how to make both sides feel they won while staying true to the one path of truth.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2MRwnmn

 

#OldFashioned, #truth, #knowledge, #examples, #history, #past, #organizedreligion, #denominations, #dividedchurch,#inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth