Thursday 12/26 ~ True and eternal honor

The scripture for today, December 26 (12/26), is John 12:26 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 4-FolkHero-Cover-Kindle-thumbnail-new“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

Ah, Lord Jesus. We claim we understand how humble you were, then build great cathedrals which we claim are to your glory but which are really to our glory. We organize great musical performances which we claim are to your glory, but which are really to our glory.

Just where was Jesus when he was on earth saying this?  In a posh hotel in Jerusalem? Did he have great musicians performing in the background? Did he stand on a podium and declare this to multitudes? Who are you fooling when you declare you are his servant?  

Who or what are you really a servant to? Power in a workplace, club, congregation, neighborhood? Prestige in a community, an occupation, an organization? Self-indulgence of money, music, entertainment?

While you are pursuing things in life, is Jesus there with you? Are you doing what he would be busy doing?  Are you where he was when he said this?

Dare to be a servant to the power of Jesus’ love, prestige in the eyes of God, self-indulgence in the joy of worshiping Him. In this only is there true and enduring honor.

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0-BK 4-FolkHero-Cover-Kindle-thumbnail-newTHEY MET JESUS:  FOLK HERO. Jesus was a hero but never had a cathedral to preach in.  He never had a great choir or grand orchestra as a mood creator before his sermons.  He never wore clothes that were different from other people or insisted on people bowing and kissing his ring.  When he performed miracles of feeding thousands, he never had fine crystal or silver urns to distribute the food or gather up the leftovers.  How we, in our misdirected zeal, shame him.  We bow at his wounded feet and ask his forgiveness.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2EXU85s

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Monday 12/23 ~ He was born to die

The scripture for today, July 23 (7/23), is 1st Corinthians 7:23 in the New Testament of the Bible.

0000-BK 1-StarSong-Cover-new-Medium“You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.”

Who were you bought from? Satan. God told Adam and Eve the day they sinned their souls would die. Satan is the source of death. When we sin, he holds us hostage.  I Timothy 2:6 says Jesus paid the ransom to free us from Satan.  “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

God loved you so much, he put his words in a human body (John 1:1,14). Why? Hebrews 2:14 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.”

Then God told the world through his Bible that, if you will believe this really happened and follow his will for you, he will consider you perfect through the blood of Jesus and eligible to enter his perfect home ~ heaven.

But it is not automatic. Romans 6 speaks a lot of who we are slaves to and how to break those chains and come under the umbrella of what Jesus did for mankind.

As you celebrate his birth (whenever that was), do not forget why he was born. He had a precious gift for you. The gift lives on today.  A simple loving thank you is not enough, but that is all we, in our humanness, have to give.

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Sunday 12/22 ~ A God who wants to make you his own

The scripture for today, December 22 (12/22), is 1st Samuel 12:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Love Letters of Jesus & his Bride, Eccelsia-THUMBNAIL“For the sake of his great name, the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.”

Among all the pretend gods that people have worshiped, there has never been one who made people because he wanted someone to love and wanted them to be his children. Islam, for example, teaches Allah made man to have someone to worship him. Allah has 99 names, but none of them is love. It is the same with other purported gods. Buddhism and Hinduism have gods with no personalities at all; they are just the essence of the universe. So sad.

Oh, how much mankind misses by not opening up to the one and only God.  He wants you to be his child! He wants to lavish you with his love.

God made you because God is Love.  Love must have someone to love. That’s you, dear friend. That’s you!

Amazing love of God. It pleases him to make you his own. It pleases him! You the lowly. You the weak. You the inconsistent. You the sinner.

Let your soul be elevated by the God of Love. Let your heart be warmed. Let your spirit be touched with eternity. Then lift up your voice and shout, “My soul is overwhelmed with joy!”

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Love Letters of Jesus & his Bride, Eccelsia-THUMBNAILLOVE LETTERS OF JESUS & HIS BRIDE, ECCLESIA is a transliteration of the Song of Solomon.  The Bride and Groom write each other when one is lost and they are trying to find each other.  This is, in a sense, an allegory like John Bunyan’s works. They write after they have spent time together at their wedding feast. Footnotes throughout give life application verses from the New Testament for the symbolism of their betrothed life. Font is in beautiful papyri and each page has a bride watermark.  A beautiful gift for newlyweds, anniversaries, even teenagers to help them consider the sacredness of marriage and loyalty.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://amzn.to/34PAKBS

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Wednesday 12/18 ~ The heavenly temple

The scripture for today, December 18 (12/18), is Hebrews 12:18ff as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-lg-thumbnail“You have not come to a mountain [Sinai] that cannot be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storms; to a trumpet blast….The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ‘I am trembling with fear.’ “

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a NEW COVENANT….”
The first paragraph refers to Mount Sinai in Arabia on which Moses received what was called the Law of Moses ~ not just 10 commandments, but over 600 ~ over a 40-day period. It was a terrifying experience for everyone. The second paragraph refers to Mount Zion where the temple was built in Jerusalem by the Jews.

Next, the writer of Hebrews shows that Jesus took mankind higher than either physical mountain through his new agreement with us. He took us from the Old Agreement of the Law of Moses to the New Agreement of the Law of Grace. He took us from the physical to the spiritual. The Christian Jerusalem is in heaven where angels and the living God dwell (Revelation 21).

Why would anyone want to dip into the old Law of Moses to get justification to do showy things in worship when Christian worship is so much more simple and spiritual? Why would anyone want to rebuild the Jewish temple when the temple is in the heavenly Jerusalem? Let us climb down off that old mountain of the Law and physical temple and soar with the angels to the spiritual, the heavenly.

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0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-thumbnailREVELATION: A LOVE LETTER FROM GOD unravels all the confusion and logically takes you through each chapter and how they all link together in order.  The key is to understand the symbolism of the numbers.  I love the number 1000 because it is 10 X 10 X 10 which means all-inclusive X all-inclusive X all-inclusive.  Revelation is a beautiful book of love. It is a love letter to you from God.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://amzn.to/34yGgsz

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Tuesday 12/10 ~ And soar to heaven itself

The scripture for today, December 11 (12/11), is Romans 12:11 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Silver Cover-KINDLE-thumbnail“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”

Sometimes you get physically tired and our spiritual zeal wanes along with it. You just want to rest. Well, while you rest, you can always become a prayer warrior.

When you see friends, ask them, “How was your week/day/month?” Don’t ask them how they are, for they will probably reply, “Fine.” But if you ask how their week has been, that gives them something to talk about. They’ll tell you of things they have been doing. Regardless of what they say, reply, “May I pray for your success in….” or “I’d like to pray for your….”

What the world needs is prayer. Many people have never in their entire life heard someone tell them, “I am praying for you.” Be the first. Open up their lives to the love of God.

Prayer is powerful, especially when you are not praying for yourself all the time, but rather are praying for others. Do you have a prayer list? How many are on it besides yourself? Ten? Fifty? A hundred? Five hundred? Is that too many to cover? Not at all. How long does it take to read 500 names in earnest, sincere prayer?

You may say, “But just mentioning a name is so meaning-less; it’s too simple. God expects me to explain all I know about this person’s problem and then do some begging.” No, he doesn’t; not with everyone. Prayer is so very, very powerful, that just mentioning a person’s name will bring this person before the very throne of God.

Then, even when you are tired and lack physical zeal, your soul can rise up with spiritual fervor and soar to heaven itself.

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Silver Cover-KINDLE-thumbnail365 SILVER-WINGED PRAYERS: YOUR SPIRIT TO GOD’S is the last of the inspirational TOUCHING GOD TRILOGY.  Each day you are given a suggested prayer of praise, repentance, and thanksgiving.  Your prayer requests are up to you.  Begin or end your day with special time with God, the lover of your soul. Great for Christmas, weddings, graduations, birthdays, promotions, retirements and other gift occasions.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://amzn.to/2LHH8V5

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Monday 12/9 ~ God is so proud of you!

The scripture for today, December 9 (12/9), is 2nd Corinthians 12:9 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Mefiboset-KINDLE Thumbnail“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Oh, how much we need to be reminded of this scripture. Everyone has weaknesses of some kind. Do you complain about the hand you were dealt? Do you lament the country you were born in, the family you were born into, the physical limitations you were born with, the mental, emotional or physical deficiencies you ended up with?

This is your chance! Your grand and glorious chance. Those weaknesses! Go around others with the same weakness you have with joy in your heart, gladness on your lips and a continual gleam in your eyes!  Let God’s strength shine in your weakness!

When people begin to sympathize with you, interrupt them and tell them how much God loves you, and how much God loves them! Encourage your “encouragers.” Let them go away from you with a new understanding of the blessings of weakness! And perhaps be a little more thankful for their own weaknesses.

Lucky you! You are one of the chosen!  God will be glorified in you.  He is so proud of you!

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0-Mefiboset-KINDLE ThumbnailMEFIBOSET: CRIPPLED PRINCE was the grandson of King Saul crippled for life the day his grandfather and crown prince father, Jonathan, died.  Denied the throne at age 11 when his uncle, the last King of Israel died, his family sent him far away from the king’s enemies. Through the years, he avoided being killed by doing tricks upside down on his crutches. He successfully wooed a girl in Ur where they were first introduced to frisky camel rides and the unexpected.  An inspiring book for everyone who is handicapped.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. https://amzn.to/3518cGB

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Friday 12/6 ~ God’s pride and joy

The scripture for today, December 6 (12/6), is 1st Corinthians 12:6 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”

00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-ThumbnailThis is Paul talking about spiritual gifts and jealousy.  Later in this chapter, Paul explains, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you.’  On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (12:21f). He further explains, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body….” (12:13).

For ambitious people in the church who “fight” for position, this is hard to take. Standing in front with a microphone are the most sought-after positions in the church.  Such positions have the potential of making you famous.

Sorry, folks. Not to God. To God you are dispensable. The church could easily survive without you. God could easily get along without you. So, get control of your ego. Huh?

Do you really and truly believe this? Those who do the seemingly menial works (the “weaker”) are indispensable to God ~ you who take food to the bereaved, who read the Bible to the sick, who clean the bathrooms, who daily pray for members and the lost, who give a tract to a friend, who share a bulletin with a neighbor, who send a thinking-of-you card to a lonely person, who mow the church building lawn, who pray with someone who has just told you of a problem, who watch the nursery, who periodically quote a Bible verse to a friend in distress ~ such works that are in the background ~ the ones that don’t make it into the “schedule of worship,” the bulletin, the newspaper, the church periodicals, the billboards are the ones who are indispensable.

To you who are jealous of people who get to have a more public position in the church and stand in front of the congregation and” lead” don’t be. Take heart. God is working more in you than them. Further, public approval by people is their reward. Your reward is from God himself.

You may seem weaker to the others, but to God you are strong. You are mighty. You are God’s pride and joy.

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00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-ThumbnailWANDERING SOUL,  ENTITLED HEART, & THE SIDETRACKED CHURCH: WORSHIP THE 1ST-CENTURY WAY covers every phase of our worship.  Each chapter begins with quotes from famous theologians like Luther, Calvin, Wesley, etc. and ends with quotes of 2nd-century Christians. In between the readers is taken one step at a time from what the common pattern is and gently leads to a better way, the first-century way.  Written for denominational leaders. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://amzn.to/36f2vVR

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Friday ~ How on earth could they live to be 900?

The scripture for today, November 22 (11/22), is Genesis 11:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

02-Noah-KindleThumbnail“When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.”

How can it be that people could live so long in the early centuries of the world? Isn’t that stretching things a bit? Isn’t it just folklore? Here’s more.

Noah had his first son at age 502 (Genesis 5:32, 11:10). Noah lived a total of 950 years (Genesis 9:29). Noah’s son, Shem, had his first son at age 100 and lived a total of 600 years (Genesis 11:10-11). Now we have Serug, the 7th-generation grandson of Noah, who had his first son at age 30 and lived a total of 230 years (see above).

Do you see the trend downward of ages after the flood? Most of Noah’s life was lived before the flood. Some of Shem’s life was lived before, but most of it was after the flood. All of Serug’s life was after the flood.

Many scientists believe that the earth originally had a constant cloud covering like the planet Venus does. Genesis 2:5-6 says it had not rained yet, but a mist rose to water everything. The King James Version of the Bible regarding the flood in Genesis 7:11 says the windows of heaven were opened. Genesis 8:2 says the windows of heaven were stopped.

Notice, it did not say the windows of heaven were closed; they were just stopped, meaning it could rain again periodically after that. If indeed, Earth did have a constant thick cloud covering before the flood, then humans would have been protected from radiation from the sun, and therefore could live longer. After the change in Earth’s atmosphere after the flood, humans beings exposed to more radiation would have lived shorter lives.

Something to think about…. And, one more thought ~ rainbows wouldn’t be possible with a constant cloud covering. The flood brought us rainbows! (Genesis 9:13). 

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Saturday 11/9 ~ A little bit of physical, a whole lot of spiritual

Silver Cover-KINDLE-thumbnailThe scripture for today, November 9 (11/9), is Luke 11:9 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

” ‘So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.’ “

Does this mean that, if you ask for your favorite team to win, they will win? Does this mean that, if you ask for a particular job, you will get that job? Or, if you have your eyes on a particular young man or young woman, you will marry that person?

In the context that Jesus said this, he had just taught his disciples what many call the Lord’s prayer. In that prayer, Jesus instructed us to ask for a little bit of the physical and a whole lot of the spiritual.

You might say, “Well, that doesn’t leave me much to pray for.” Oh, yes it does. Shift your focus from yourself. It leaves the rest of the world to pray for. What about their little bit of physical and their whole lot of spiritual? How many people do you pray for? Not as a group, but by name? Not occasionally, but every day?

Well then, will God give you every one of the souls you pray for? God gives everyone free will. He does not force people to follow him. God provides opportunities for people you pray for, and he even moves their hearts. But he does not force them. You must still, keep on praying, even when you feel like someone is hopeless. Maybe they are hopeless during your lifetime. But sometimes someone’s soul is saved after your death.

So, pray for others and never tire of it ~ a little bit of the physical and whole lot of the spiritual. Seek and you will find. God will answer in his own way. And that’s a promise.

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Silver Cover-KINDLE-thumbnail365 SILVER-WINGED PRAYERS: YOUR SPIRIT TO GOD’S provides a daily prayer of praise, confession, and thanksgiving.  This is the third book in the TOUCHING GOD SERIES. The other two are daily inspirational thoughts and daily wisdom.  The cover is original art by famed Betsy Kemp Thompson.  Interior has artistic font.  Beautiful gift book.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2yUvPSD

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Sunday 11/3 ~ Our daily bread

The scripture for today, November 3 (11/3), is Luke 11:3 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-Cover-Thumbnail“Give us each day our daily bread.”

This is part of the ideal prayer that Jesus taught his followers to say. People claim to agree with it. But do you completely?

Do you feel like it is your hard-earned money that bought that bread? Do you claim it is your ability to cook that created that bread? Do you claim it was the hard work of the farmers and their equipment that brought you the grain from whence the bread is made? Or the mills that ground it into flour? Or the stores that brought the flour to the consumers?

Ultimately you must look past all of this to that which is beyond your control. It is God who makes the sun shine down upon the seed. It is God who makes the rain come down to water it. It is God who places life in the buried wheat germ for it to reproduce with a flourish.

Many activities of man bring you your daily bread. But ultimately it is God the Creator who makes it all possible. He not only makes it possible for good people, but he brings bread also to the bad. He loves everyone.

Thank you for loving me. You show it every day in the earth I trod, the food I eat, the birds that fly around me for my entertainment. You are in my every delight, my every movement, my every song. I am surrounded and protected by your high walls of salvation, your waters of life, and your light of truth.  How can I thank you for all you have done for me?

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