Category: persecution

So gear up and take that leap

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #friendships, church, discouragement, eternity, family, judging, knowledge, persecution, teaching, truthLeave a comment

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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#courage, #Godsrules, #winintheend, #deathtolife, #pride, #Stephenunlikelymartyr, #againstyourfriends, #newbeliefs, #KatherynMaddoxHaddad, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth, #praise, #worship, #prayer  https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/books-more-biblical-historical-novels/book-7-stephen-unlikely-martyr/    

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Declaring Your Majestic Divinity

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn blessings, church, death, forgiveness, Heaven, persecution, praise, prayer, sin, temptation, worship1 Comment

You, my Creator, allow me to be so close to you, it takes my breath away in awe.  I am frail. I am feeble. I am made of dust. But you breathed into me the breath of life. Just think!  I have the breath of God in me.  Oh, miracle of miracles! I will return that breath to you in songs of praise. With that same breath I will extol you to the end of my days on earth, and then resume in your world before your throne forever.  As small as I am, you take time to know me ~ the good and the bad ~ and love me still, and make me your friend. More, you have made me your child. Wonder of wonders.

Thank you, Lord God, for times of worship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Many of us cannot be together right now in order to protect each other.  But our hearts are intertwined with love. Thank you for freedom to worship you. Thank you for your protection. Nothing can hurt me without your permission. And when sometimes I am persecuted, thank you for the privilege of standing tall, forgiving my persecutors, and declaring your majestic divinity before them. And, should I die at their hands, let it be while praising you.

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ADAM & EVE is storybook #1 in the A KID’S BIBLE HEROES series.  Looking at the ages of their sons, they apparently went some 100 years without sinning.  They resisted Satan’s temptations a very long time. There is good and bad in everyone.  “Think & Do” at the end of every chapter. Great for HOME SCHOOLING. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/3dOf7X8

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#GodCreator, #Godsbreath, #worship, #church, #persecutors, #forgiveness, #dying, #praising, #childsbibleheroes, #adamandeve, #gardenofeden, #temptation, #KatherynMaddoxHaddad, #inspiration, #devotional, #worship, #vespers, #meditation,. #godliness, #Christianity, #JesusChrist, #church, #Bible, #Scripture, #HolyBook, #religion, #love, #truth, #praise, #worship, #prayer, https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/a-childs-bible-heroes-1-adam-and-eve/

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Invincible Faith

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #friendships, attitude, Death of Jesus Christ, ego, faith, good works, healing, Heaven, persecution, SatanLeave a comment

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

“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 thought he wanted because it resulted in Jesus destroying the power of Death.

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 dinner.

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.

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NAAMAN’S MAID is storybook #3 in A CHILD’S BIBLE KIDS.  Often it is the children who teach the grownups.  This little girl has so much faith, she was sure her master could and would be healed by the prophet Elisha.  Such examples the little children are for us.  “Think and Do” at the end of each chapter. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/38dRhmK

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The Boomerang Effect

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Enemies, faith, judging, Loss, patience, persecution, power, sin, victory, weaknessLeave a comment

0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-thumbnailThe scripture for today, June 23 (6/23), is 2nd Chronicles 6:23 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence.”

Did you notice here that God brings down on our head what we do to others? It includes how we treat him too. If we don’t have time for God, God doesn’t have time for us. If we put God last, he puts us last. If we refuse to forgive others, he refuses to forgive us. This is the boomerang effect. Here are several scriptures that reflect God doing to people what they do.

  • “The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden. The Lord is known by his justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.” (Psalm 9:15-16)
  • “In his arrogance, the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.” (Psalm 10:2).
  • “The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts.” (Psalm 37:14-15)
  • “Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused.” (Psalm 140:9)
  • “He mocks proud mockers.” (Proverbs 3:34)
  • “Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?” (Proverbs 6:27)
  • “If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.” (Proverbs 26:27)
  • “Woe to you, O destroyer, you have not been destroyed! Woe to you, O traitor, you have not been betrayed. When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed.” (Isaiah 33:1)
  • “According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes.” (Isaiah 59:18)
  • “I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices.” (Ezekiel 7:8)
  • “As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.” (Obadiah 1:15)

In the meantime, we’re to leave punishment to God. And, if you are falsely accused of anything, God will declare you innocent. His is the important judgment.

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0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-lg-thumbnailREVELATION: A LOVE LETTER FROM GOD show how the meanings of numbers to the Jews provides easy understanding to a book many people complicate with their outlandish ideas.  Ultimately, God treats people and nations the way they treated him and his people.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/36W2CqT

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I’d die if I had to do that.

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Daily, death, faith, Fear, good works, Holy Spirit, judging, love, persecution, sacrifice, truth, victory, weaknessLeave a comment

00-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-ThumbnailThe scripture for today, June 17 (6/17), is Matthew 6:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face.”

This is interesting because Jesus did not say “If, you fast,” but rather “When you fast.” It was as though he was teaching us to take for granted that we would fast ~ it would be second-nature to us. In a sense, it is, for when most people go through a sudden tragedy such as loss of a loved one, they often cannot eat.

But what about voluntary fasting? The early church sometimes fasted. Acts 13:2 says a congregation in Antioch, Syria, fasted and worshiped, then chose men to go out as missionaries. Queen Esther fasted before going to the king uninvited with a request he might not like (Esther 4:16). Isaiah 58:3 says people fasted in order to humble themselves.

Some people respond, “I’d die if I had to fast.” Perhaps that’s kind of the idea. We know we would die if we went without food long enough. So perhaps one day of fasting is a way of saying, “God, I would die for you if I had to.” Yes, fasting is a humbling experience and frightening to some people. But perhaps that is the point.

Is something important coming up that you know you will be urgently praying about? Once you skip one meal, you will have conquered your desire to eat. Then, with your brain not having to concentrate on digesting food, it will be able to focus more on that important thing happening in your life. Your prayers will be more focused. You will be more focused with your eyes more clearly on God.

So, take a shower, comb your hair, put on some nice clothes, and look like you have something important to do. Then fast.

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00-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-ThumbnailSTEPHEN: UNLIKELY MARTYR did everything he could think of to convince people his religion was good.  He recruited help.  At night they would sneak pages of scriptures under rocks, inside people’s houses, nailed to statues of the gods.  They met in secret and worshiped. Then publicly they would march.  And they fasted as Queen Esther had done.  If it worked for Esther, surely it would work for Stephen and his zealous friends. Would it backfire? To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. https://bit.ly/2XBFXvJ

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Love everyone? What an intriguing thought.

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #Handicaps, attitude, discouragement, ego, Enemies, ethics, forgiveness, humility, joy, Loss, patience, persecution, praise, things, victoryLeave a comment

0-Mefiboset-KINDLE ThumbnailThe scripture for today, May 25 (5/25), is Galatians 5:25f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking, and envying each other.”

When someone is better than you in doing something, do you pick fights with them as punishment, or spread gossip about them in order to get others to quit respecting them?

Perhaps you don’t do this all the time. But what about times when there is something you feel you are really good at, but another person not as talented gets the honor? That’s when it’s hard to “keep in step with the Spirit.”

Whenever you envy someone, deep down, you consider that person your enemy. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45a).

To many, loving our enemy is the most difficult command in the Bible. Perhaps one way to love your “enemy” is to realize that Jesus loved his enemies. Every time you sin, you become one of his enemies. But Jesus keeps right on loving you, even when you don’t want to stop doing whatever you shouldn’t.

Jesus demonstrates the love of the Son of God. And here he says, if you love your enemies, you are demonstrating what the children of God do. And that is far more important than honor that goes to those you envy. Leaving behind conceit makes it much easier to love everyone.  Love everyone?  What an intriguing thought.

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I pen my thoughts and stories to touch souls. Will you help me tell people about today’s book?

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0-Mefiboset-KINDLE ThumbnailMEFIBOSET: CRIPPLED PRINCE.  If ever anyone deserved to destroy his enemies it was this man.  His uncle took the throne from him, the steward of his grandfather’s palace took the palace from him, his grandfather’s enemies went after him.  Yet, he smiled.  Why?  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/2ywrqJi

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Unable to Stop Myself

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, blessings, death, Enemies, eternity, faith, family, Inspirational, love, persecution, praise, prayer, Thanksgiving, victory, worshipLeave a comment

00-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-ThumbnailI adore you, my God.  You envelop the earth with grandeur. You soar through the cosmos stepping on planets and touching each star. You call them all by name and they join you in the song of the universe. You are so large, I cannot fathom you, for you are more gigantic that the universe you created. You are everywhere and you are in my heart.  I am passionate about you. May you forever be my obsession that keeps me lunging forward toward you, unable to stop myself because of the power of your love.

Ah, my Lord and God, how I love your Book.  You tell me so many things in it. They are so exciting. That is because you are so exciting. We are fickle but you remain the same. When things are going well, we take credit for it, then you bring us low. Then the cycle begins again. In your Book, you tell of the ebb and flow of our devotion to you. You tell of the depths of despair mankind lowers itself to when forsaking you, then you tell of the mountains of glory we can have when we return to you. I worship you. You are my light and life. Sometimes I feel selfish because I feel as though I have you all to myself.  I must tell others. I must share your Words ~  your Love ~ with the World.

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

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00-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-ThumbnailSTEPHEN: UNLIKELY MARTYR. The book begins with 17-year-old Stephen whose best friend is being crucified for defacing a goddess statue in Antioch.  It progresses as his parents escape with him to safety. They end up in Cyrene, Libya where Simon the Cyrenian lives.  Gradually as time goes by, he matures as he faces his own challenges. Eventually, he marries the daughter of Rabbi Joseph and both he and Simon move to Jerusalem. There they become Christians and Stephen is made a deacon. When Simon’s life is threatened, Stephen knows he must do whatever is necessary to save the life of the man who carried Jesus’ cross.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://amzn.to/2wtVwIA

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Rushing into his arms

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Daily, Enemies, eternity, Heaven, persecution, problems, sacrifice, sin, teaching, truth, weaknessLeave a comment

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-The scripture for today, April 26 (4/26), is Galatians 4:26 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.”

There is more confusion over the “new Jerusalem” than you might think.  Well, let’s ask God.

What is “the Jerusalem that is above”? Revelation 21:2 says, “I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”

Aha! We learn two things.  The New Jerusalem already exists.  And the New Jerusalem is sometimes called our mother and sometimes the Bride of Christ!

 So, what is the Bride of Christ? Ephesians 5:25,27 says, “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy…and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”  How exciting! The New Jerusalem, which is the Bride of Christ, is the Church – all of us.

What else can we learn about the New Jerusalem?  Well, the foundation of the New Jerusalem is the apostles. Revelation says it, and Ephesians 2:20 says it.

Hmmm.  This is getting more interesting all the time.  Okay, let’s look at the 12 gates leading into the church. They are the 12 tribes of Israel, Judaism, where all the prophecies of Jesus are found. 

Always check out the symbolism in the Bible. It deepens your spiritual understanding. Like the Walls of Salvation around the New Jerusalem insurmountably high (Isaiah 26:1 & 60:18). The River of Life and Tree of Life are there in the New Jerusalem.  Just imagine on the final day when the church arrives in heaven, and we are all arrayed in sinless white and are rushing into the arms of our groom, our Jesus.

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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/3bEHw1L

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00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-PAUL: THE UNSTOPPABLE is by far the most sought-after of all 70 of my books.  It is about a man obsessed, a man who can never do enough to make up for imprisoning, torturing, and killing God’s children. He spends forty-five years going from one city to another daring them to stop him.  They harass him, beat him, starve him, rob him, imprison him, lash him, hound him to the next city. Nothing works.  He knows when he enters a city what they will do to him.  He knows!  But he cannot stop him.  Each time they torture him, he cries out, “Jesus!  This is for you!” At the beginning of the book, he is tall, robust, athletic. By the end, he is stooped, disfigured, the shell of a man, but never defeated.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://amzn.to/3bEHw1L

Where’s your crown?

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn #ransom, Daily, death, Death of Jesus Christ, Enemies, eternity, forgiveness, governments, Heaven, Inspirational, persecution, prayer, Satan, Saved from hell, victoryLeave a comment

Road to Heaven-COVER-KINDLE-THUMBNAILThe scripture for today, April 8 (4/8), is 2nd Timothy 4:8 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day ~ and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

The Apostle Paul was somewhere around his seventies at this writing. He’d been converted probably in his thirties. He’d spent the past forty years calling the bluff of all the governments who made it illegal to be a Christian on pain of death. Forty years of defying them all and telling people how to escape a place they didn’t believe they were going to and disrupting the religion they already had.  

Forty years of tolerating persecution, sometimes hungry and cold and beaten and hated. Forty years of seldom staying in a city longer than a few months, always on the go.  Forty years of never being satisfied with the number of people he had reached with the Good News of their escape from Satan, the Good News of a God who actually loved them, Good News of heaven.

Now he is in prison.

“I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Oh, that we all could say this at the end of our life.

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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/2RkH54u

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Road to Heaven-COVER-KINDLE-THUMBNAILTHE ROAD TO HEAVEN.  The road was never simple. It had many detours. It all began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned and their souls immediately died as God said it would. Satan had them and intended to keep all mankind.  So, God developed a plan. It took thousands of years to put the plan together. But finally, Jesus came.  He faced Satan head-on at the cross.  Satan had no choice but to release mankind at last.  A good read during the Easter Season. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://amzn.to/2RkH54u

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No Matter what they do to you.

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn attitude, death, Enemies, eternity, Fear, love, persecution, sacrifice, teaching, victoryLeave a comment

07-SHADOW-ChildsCartoonThmbnailThe scripture for today, April 1 (4/1), is Ephesians 4:1 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

Paul, imprisoned for spreading the word about Jesus? Now he wants others to follow his example, even if they end up in prison like him? 

Did Paul’s incarceration stop the Christians he was writing to from spreading the word?  More, did Jesus’ crucifixion stop them for fear they would be crucified too? Did early Christians decide it was too dangerous to tell people the way to escape hell and go to heaven? Never.

They loved people’s souls so much, they were willing to take insults, persecution, imprisonment and even death in the hopes their persistent love would Eventually, lead to people becoming Christians and being saved from eternal hell. They knew their “calling” as Christians.

How about today? Do you live a life worthy of your calling as a Christian? Do you stand up for Jesus and reach out to the lost, regardless of how they treat you? Or do you cower and use the excuse, “Once people see my godly life, they will ask me how to be saved”?  How many times do the lost really do that?

Rise up!  Stand tall as a brave soldier of the Lord. Dare to march into enemy territory and do everything you can to snatch the lost out of the claws of Satan.

No matter what they do to you.

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I pen my thoughts to encourage souls. Will you help me share today’s book with someone?                    https://amzn.to/2Rh7iB9

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07-SHADOW-ChildsCartoonThmbnailSHADOW OF DEATH IS storybook #7 in A CHILD’S LIFE OF CHRIST.  It has the same chapters as the adult SHADOW OF DEATH in THEY MET JESUS series with stories on a child’s level.  This one has been toned down a great deal. At the end of each of the ten chapters in each storybook is Think & Do to help the child apply that story to their daily life.  This is a great time to read with your child.  Understandable at age 3 and up to 12. At age 13, they should switch to the adult version.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………  https://amzn.to/2Rh7iB9

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