Saturday 4/6 ~ Your heart will soar

The scripture for today, April 6 (4/6), is 1st Corinthians 4:6 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Thumbnail“…learn from us the meaning of the saying, ‘Do not go beyond what is written.’ Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.”

Periodically through the Bible there appears this same warning for us to not “go beyond what is written.” 2nd Peter 1:20 says prophecy is scripture. Prophecy was needed before the New Testament was written, but no more after that, for by then, the prophecy of the apostles had been written down and were being passed around.

It is important to find out if what we are being taught is “beyond what is written.” It can be done. How? Simple. Use a concordance. A concordance is the size of an unabridged dictionary and includes every word in the Bible alphabetically, and every scripture that contains each word. Many libraries have one. Or you can order one from your local bookstore. There are some concordances on the internet too. Here is one:  http://bibletab.com

You are an intelligent person. Don’t take for granted what others tell you, no matter how holy they look and act and how much they smile at you or threaten you.  Check things for yourself. Read the Bible for yourself. Decide for yourself whether any of your church leaders have gone “beyond what is written.” You can do it: Find out for sure.

It is liberating. Your heart will soar and your soul will embrace God in a whole new way.

Image result for "Buy the book" button redTHE HOLY SPIRIT: 592 VERSES EXAMINED covers every verse in the Bible about God’s Spirit. No guessing. No pet theories. No opinions but God’s. To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this: https://amzn.to/2UmP3xo

sign click here for all my books

#knowledge, #lies, #counterfeits, #falseteachers, #churchleaders, #gullible, #blog, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Wednesday 4/3 ~ Discovering real truth

The scripture for today, April 3 (4/3), is 1st Timothy 4:3 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00- Worship Changes KC COVER-thumbnail“They [false teachers] forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.”

It is hard for you to think that smiling, humble, Bible-quoting, holy-looking church leaders could be false teachers and condemned by the God they claim to represent.  We want to think well of everyone. Isn’t that the way Christians are to think? But sometimes thinking well of someone and thinking well of the truth can clash.  Now you have a choice to make ~ a hard choice.

The Apostle Paul, warned of false teachers in the church that would come in the future. Indeed, it did happen. A time came when certain Christians were ordered not to marry, and not to eat certain foods (for instance, on Friday. They claim it is a sin to disobey them and don’t show you the scriptures they refuse to obey.

Remember, your church leaders are going to be judged by God just like everyone else. Always, as the Apostle Peter once warned, “We ought to obey God and not men” (Acts 4:19). Besides, do you think this is one reason people have turned against “organized religion”?

This is why it is important to read the Bible for yourself. Use a concordance to look up all scriptures in the Bible with any keyword and you will learn what is true and not true. Isn’t it time for you to sort through everything you have been told?  Isn’t it time for you to discover pure truth?

Image result for "Buy the book" button redWORSHIP CHANGES SINCE THE FIRST CENTURY is a year-by-year account of how things gradually changed and what the changers did to those who protested against them. Be prepared to be amazed. To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this: https://amzn.to/2FQgMfM

sign click here for all my books

#priests, #bishops, #Forbidden, #marriage, #hypocrites, #blog, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

March 28 (3/28) ~ Forgiven

The scripture for today, March 28 (3/28), is Mark 3:28f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Thumbnail“I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.”

This is confusing to many because we aren’t sure what it means to speak against the Holy Spirit. Jesus clarifies it in John 14:17 where he said he was going to send to us another Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. And in John 17:17 he said God’s Word ~ the Bible ~ is Truth.

If we refuse to believe what is in the Bible, then we are going to refuse to believe in a Savior and refuse to repent of our sins. These things are unforgivable because God cannot forgive someone who does not believe in Jesus, likes to sin, and refuses to repent.

Have you ever tried reading the Bible through in a year? You could divide all the pages in your Bible by 365 so you know how many pages to read each day. If it’s too much for you, the New Testament half of the Bible was written to the Christians.  Read God’s Word. It will fill you with an amazing amount of knowledge and understanding, all from the Holy Spirit ~ the Spirit that communes with your spirit.

Image result for "Buy the book" button redTHE HOLY SPIRIT: 592 VERSES EXAMINED looks at every verse in the Bible to find out what God’s opinion is of His Spirit, not our opinion. This is a short book at a low price. To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2FzldM9

sign click here for all my books

#unforgivable, #eternity, #HolySpirit, #repent, #blog, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

 

Sunday 3/24 ~ Never, ever take it for granted

The scripture for today March 24 (3/24), is 1st John 3:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-ThumbnailThose 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.

Image result for "Buy the book" button red365 PEARLS OF WISDOM: GOD’S SOUL TO YOURS is a practical and beautiful gift book filled with quotations from the Psalms, Proverbs and other “wisdom literature” of the Bible.  Only $6.00 for the paperback.  To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2IXOkO8

sign click here for all my books

#HolySpirit, #Truth, #wisdom, #commands, #blog, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Wednesday 3/13 ~ Do you hear it now?

The Scripture for today, March 13 (3/13), Is Ezra 3:13 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Golden Cover-KINDLE-thumbnail“No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.”

Solomon’s great temple had been destroyed and the Jews forced to go to Babylon as slaves Now, 70 years later, they were back as freedmen and had rebuilt the temple. The older Jews who had seen Solomon’s golden temple wailed in grief because this one was not nearly so grand. The younger ones shouted for joy because at least they now had a temple again. So, the laughing of the young people and the crying of the old people mingled.

Today, sometimes the laughing and crying around us get too loud and put our lives in confusion. We don’t understand what is going on. Sometimes the laughing or crying is our own. Sometimes we need to get away from the loud laughing and crying.

Turn off the television. The radio. The cellphone. The computer. Don’t answer the door. Go into a room where you can be alone in complete silence. If you have a family, put a sign on the door. Then pick up the Bible and begin to read Luke about the life of Christ, or Philippians about peace, or the Psalms about overcoming adversity, or James about the direction your life is going.  Read an entire book of the Bible in one sitting.  Then be still.

          Hear it now?

               It is God’s heart calling your heart.

Image result for "Buy the book" button365 GOLDEN BIBLE THOUGHTS: GOD’S HEART TO YOURS gives a daily scripture and thought to apply to your day.  Did you realize God poured out his heart to you in the Bible ~ all his dreams and disappointments, his joys and sadnesses? Would you be able to do the same to him?  To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2TKCevN

sign click here for all my books

#noise, #computers, #videogames, cellphones, #televisions, #radios, #blog, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Tuesday 3/12 ~ Are you really sure?

The scripture for today, March 12 (3/12), is Ezekiel 3:12 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Joseph-Cover-Thumbnail“The Spirit lifted me up and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound ~ May the glory of the Lord be praised in his dwelling place!”

This is quite interesting because, despite some who preach being “slain in the Spirit,” the Spirit does not make people fall down. The Spirit lifts people up. The Spirit did this to Ezekiel on several occasions; always, if he was sitting or lying down, the Spirit lifted him up onto his feet.

There are so many things we think we know and are told about the Bible, but when we begin to investigate one of them, it just isn’t there.

>What about Joseph dying after Jesus turned 12? When Jesus was rejected after preaching in Nazareth a year before his crucifixion, they mentioned Joseph in the present tense.

>Or the Holy Land always having been desert? The Bible tells of nine forests plus the trees on mountains.

>Or the prodigal’s brother?  As the oldest son, he was going to inherit the entire estate, but his insane greed wanted his brother’s party too.

>Or David being just a boy when he killed Goliath?  He had already killed a lion and bear before that, and big Saul’s armor fit him.

>What about “Doubting Thomas”?  The other apostles refused to believe before they saw Jesus alive again. More, when Jesus wanted to go to Jerusalem, his apostles said no, but Thomas said, “Let us go to Jerusalem so we may die with him.”

>Or everyone going inside the temple to worship?  Only priests were allowed inside the building. Commoners worshiped in the courtyard.

>Or Bethlehem being a little town? It was a fortified walled city.

What excitement to read the Bible for yourself and discover its treasures for yourself. Open it. Read it. Be delighted.

Related imageJOSEPH: THE OTHER FATHER.    Jesus was born into a dangerous world with skirmishes on the highway and riots in the temple. How did Jesus keep him alive long enough to begin his ministry? To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2TR3byd

sign click here for all my books

#knowledge, #truth, #egos, #Bible, #truth, #falseteachers, #blog, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Monday 3/11 ~ Shhh. Do you hear him?

The scripture for today, March 11 (3/11), is Ecclesiastes 3:11 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Golden Cover-KINDLE-thumbnail“…He has also set eternity in the hearts of men….”

People have always thought about eternity. Ancient explorers often went out in search of the Fountain of Youth. Everyone wonders sometimes why we are here and what happens when we die. All people hope to live on.

That instinct is God speaking to us saying, “Yes, there is an eternity, and I want to be part of yours.”

Indeed, there is a God-shaped emptiness in the heart of man. God wants to fill it. We want him to.

But how badly do we want him to? If we spend each day so busy pursuing things and pleasures and power, it’s easy to forget about him. Then our heartaches, and we do not understand why.

It is eternity calling out to you still. It is God calling out to you still. Listen! He’s calling you in His Word ~ the Bible. Open it and listen.  Shhh.  Do you hear him?

Related image365 GOLDEN BIBLE THOUGHTS: GOD’S HEART TO YOURS is a compilation of daily inspirational thoughts based on the date.  For example, March is the 3rd month. Therefore, on March 16 (3/16), the verse for the day and following inspirational thought is John 3:16.  This is the beautiful gift-book edition. To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2J66kpA

sign click here for all my books

#eternity, #forever, #afterlife, #faith, #fountainofyouth, #God, #emptiness, #blog, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Sunday 3/10 ~ A part of you

The scripture for today, March 10 (3/10), is Colossians 3:10 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Thumbnail“And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

Did you ever make something with your hands and it was your pride and joy?  Were you so proud of it that you would stop at nothing to take care of it and make sure it lasted forever? Yes, you had a few rules about its care. You had a few rules about who could touch it and who couldn’t. You had a few rules about whether it should be kept at high or low temperature and should or shouldn’t be exposed to water. You were its creator and it was, in a sense, a part of you.

Do you resist knowing the Bible because you think of it as being full of rules from a God who doesn’t really like you and is just giving you a hard time so you can’t have any fun?

Think again. He made you. You are his pride and joy. He will stop at nothing to make sure you will last forever. He made a few rules for your daily maintenance.

He is your Creator. He loved you enough to make you, and you are a part of him. Now he wants to take care of you so you can last forever. Can you love him back ~ your Maker and the Lover of your soul?

Related image365 PEARLS OF WISDOM: GOD’S SOUL TO YOURS is book 2 in the TOUCHING GOD series. Each day is a quotation from one of David’s psalms and one of Solomon’s proverbs. To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this: https://amzn.to/2TIsbHC

sign click here for all my books

#maker, #creator, #care, #prideandjoy, #God, #blog, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

 

Thursday 2/28 ~ Is it possible to know for sure?

0-Strip Of All Workbooks

The scripture for today, February 28 (2/28), is Jeremiah 2:28 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.”

Today we think the whole thing is ridiculous. How could people believe in a multitude of gods or even one? Further, how could people make statues of them as though anyone knew what the gods looked like? On top of that, many of them looked like dumb animals. And gods you could carry around?

Apparently, it was the popular thing to do. In fact, a person discovering yet another god was highly esteemed. And it seemed logical that the more gods one believed in, the more holy a person was. Or the bigger the statue of a god in one’s home, the more dedicated a person was.

We today call those old gods myths ~ things that were made up out of people’s imaginations. Yet they thrived in their time. Why? Because of “mass hypnosis” in a sense. Humans are social beings and we don’t like being ostracized. We want to be accepted.

Do we do the same thing today? There are evangelists on television who draw crowds of hundreds and thousands and people send them millions of dollars. They seem so right and so holy. Yet they contradict each other. So it cannot be a measure of rightness and holiness that a lot of people believe something.

The measure of spiritual things must be the Bible. Many religious leaders in antiquity and up to today have duped peopled because they looked and acted so “holy.” Remember, no matter how many thousands upon thousands follow a religious leader, that leader will be judged by God just like everyone else.

There are a lot of religious contradictions out there.  We cannot say “all religions are right in their own way”. Religion is not a philosophy. Religion involves whether we will spend eternity in heaven or hell.

Is it ever possible to sort through all the contradictions and come up with what is the truth? Is it possible to know for sure?

Let us read the Bible for ourselves. Let us study the Bible for ourselves. Let us not search the scriptures for something to prove our opinion right, or a certain leader right, or our family right, or a particular religious idea right. Let us try to erase all our pre-conceived religious notions, and read with an open mind what God himself has to say to us. It is possible to know for sure.

Image result for "Buy the book"The EASY BIBLE WORKBOOK series is just fill-in-the-blank Bible verses. I take you in an orderly fashion through many books of the Bible from Genesis through all the writings of the Apostles.  Easy Peasy.  Start with the OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY.  Click a picture or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2IGMEZb

sign click here for all my books

#Bible, #scriptures, #knowledge, #creeds, #imagination, #blog, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth

Monday 2/4 ~ Choices

The scripture for today, February 4 (2/4), is 1st Timothy 2:4 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-Thumbnail“[God]…wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Some people say, “You don’t choose God; God chooses only certain ones to be saved and keeps out all the other people of the world.” But God wants to choose us all. He wants everyone to be saved. So, in what sense does he choose us?

He is like an employer who is looking for people to fill certain positions. He chooses those who qualify. He doesn’t have to choose anyone. By the employer’s grace, he chooses to hire help and give them part of his money. But we must qualify to be chosen.

I Timothy 6:11 says we were called to eternal life but have to take hold of it.  II Peter 1:10 says we are to make sure his calling and choosing us.  Hebrews 6:4-6 says those who fall away crucify Jesus anew.

So how do we qualify for God’s grace? Certainly, atheists do not qualify, for they would not love God. People who worship another so-called god or nature do not qualify, for they would not love God. People who do not want to be looked upon as a goody-goody would not qualify, for they would not love God.

So, again, the question: How do we qualify? First, we never deserve it. We can never do enough good works to qualify because we still sin. We can qualify to be selected for heaven only if we are sinless. Impossible! Yes, for us it is. But, because God loves us, he has given us a few things to do to qualify and be sinless in his eyes.

Believing is just the first step to qualifying. Admitting we sin and repenting is another step to qualifying. Read Romans 6 and Acts 2. Explaining what baptism is for. Not many things, but they are necessary. Look them up. Check them out.

And remember 2nd Peter 3:9 ~ “He [God] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but EVERYONE to come to repentance.”

When we make ourselves God and say the Bible doesn’t mean what it says so we can sneak into heaven our own way, how our Lord’s heart must ache.

Image result for "Buy the book"Every phase of worship is investigated in scripture along with quotes from famous theologians such as Luther and Wesley and quotes from second-century Christians. A must-have for every Christian. To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2GnxpBA

 

sign click here for all my books

#choices, #oncesavedalwayssaved, #Calvinism, #irresistablegrace, #irresistablehell, #grace, #blog, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth