Saturday 7/27 ~ The Encourager

On July 27, 2019July 15, 2025 By Inspirations By KatherynIn #friendships, discouragement, Inspirational, love, praise, problems, victory1 Comment

The scripture for today, July 27 (7/27), is Luke 7:27 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ “

Jesus had a difficult task ahead of him. He had to prove to the world who he was while not scaring them to death with lightning strikes out of the sky or being a giant, or striking unbelievers dead. So John the Baptizer announced his coming ahead of time, smoothing out the crooked roads in the hearts of people.

Do you know a dreamer who is struggling to accomplish something very important to them? Have they been trying to overcome all the obstacles for weeks or months or years? Do you know anyone who is an obstacle for them? Can you say something to that obstacle in order to help smooth the way for the dreamer? Does this dreamer need something in their climb that you can provide for them? How about encouragement?

On the other hand, do you sometimes slump into times of discouragement or depression? You can prepare “the way” for yourself. We all have our ups and downs. You know yourself better than anyone. You know best what you need to hear when you are down in order to lift you back up. Write yourself a letter. Tell yourself what you need to hear. Then put your letter away in preparation for one of your downtimes.

Life is hard. It is full of both promise and discouragement. Today, sit down and write yourself that letter. Then contact someone else for whom you can begin to prepare “the way”.

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Friday 7/12 ~ And the stars sing together

On July 12, 2019 By Inspirations By KatherynIn blessings, Daily, eternity, Inspirational, praise, prayer, Thanksgiving, worship2 Comments

The scripture for today, July 12 (7/12), is Revelation 7:12 in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

How often do you praise God? Praise is more than thanking Him. Praise refers to God’s attributes.

Some people think God is ugly, He doesn’t understand them, He is against them. Some think God is a figment for weaklings. Some even hate God and are even repulsed at the idea of worshipping him.

How much they do not understand. There is a spirit world out there. Every day God runs after us, “Come this way. I will save you from a terrible fate. Come! I have wonderful plans for you. Come! Together we will climb mountains, leap to the moon and soar through the stars of heaven. Come! See all the excitement I have planned for you.

Ah, yes, Lord! I am coming. Gladly I am coming. The mountains touch the clouds and declare your glory. The moon glows in praise of you. The stars sing together in anthems of your greatness, your magnitude, the divinity of your being. And I worship you.

365 SILVER-WINGED PRAYERS: YOUR SPIRIT TO GOD’S has a prayer of praise, a prayer of repentance, and a prayer of thanksgiving for your every day. With these thoughts in your mind, you are now ready for your requests, be they for yourself or others in the world. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this: https://amzn.to/2GcvQVi

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Thursday 7/11 ~ Overwhelmed

On July 11, 2019July 11, 2019 By Inspirations By KatherynIn blessings, forgiveness, healing, Inspirational, joy, praise, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, July 11 (7/11), is Matthew 7:11 as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

“If you, then, though you are ‘evil’, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Yes, we are evil. Evil and sin mean the same thing. Let’s face it: If we are sinful, then we are evil. Hard to think of ourselves that way. Could we do nice things to someone who did bad things to us every day? God can. God does. He is the God of the impossible. The God who absorbs the black hole of sin and brings light into it, not to reveal it but to forgive it.

The Creator of the Universe our Father? The master-mind behind the intricacies of our bodies our Father? The Creator of over two trillion galaxies (not stars, but galaxies of stars) our Father? The one who occupies the tiniest atom our Father? The One who can be everywhere at once our Father?

How unworthy we are. All we can do is fall at his feet and whisper, “You are so great. I am so small. I am overwhelmed by your love.”

PAUL: THE UNSTOPPABLE called himself a violent man, and that he was. He imprisoned, tortured, and executed people for believing in Jesus. Then he switched sides. So overwhelmed was he for God’s ability to forgive him, he endured beatings, slashings, storms, floods, hunger, shipwrecks, and each time he cried out, “Jesus! This is for you!” To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this: https://amzn.to/2SHeQPg

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Thursday 6/27 ~ Problems = Opportunities

On June 27, 2019 By Inspirations By KatherynIn attitude, discouragement, faith, Inspirational, power, praise, victory, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, June 27 (6/27), is Daniel 6:27 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“He [God] rescues and he saves, he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

This was proclaimed by none other than Darius, Emperor of Persia and Babylon. He normally worshipped idols. What made him respect God? It was Daniel’s example of being true to God even in the face of death.

Everyone has problems. You can consider them opportunities. People of the world do not see any benefits to Christianity in their everyday life. You can show them the advantage by how you face your own difficulties by trusting God. They will notice.

A friend of mine was a logger (lumberjack). This big guy got up at 4 AM every day and didn’t get home from work and finish eating dinner until about an hour before bedtime. So, he began reading his Bible out in the forests during his lunch break. The other guys made fun of him.

They had to ride a small bus together to get deep into the forest, and the guys would harass him on the bus. One day they harassed and teased him so bad because of his Christianity (he wouldn’t cuss and swear with or at them) and Bible reading, that he asked the bus driver to stop. He got out and walked ten miles to his home.

Some time later one of the men who had teased and harassed my friend went to him in private with a problem. He said, “I teased and harassed you with everyone else, but deep down I admired you.” Then he went on to explain his problem to my friend “because you are the only one I know to turn to.”

So today, if you are facing a problem, face it together with God. Face it with courage. Face it with the belief that it is for a reason and that reason may be so you can be an example of godly strength to others. Give it a try. You can do it!

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Wednesday 6/26 ~ I can tell you love me

On June 26, 2019 By Inspirations By KatherynIn Daily, healing, Heaven, Inspirational, joy, love, praise, prayer, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, June 26 (6/26), is 1st Chronicles 6:26ff as found in the Old Testament of the Bible.

“Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son and SAMUEL his son. The sons of Samuel: JOEL the firstborn and Abijah the second son.”

This is a little long, but I think you will enjoy it.

The prophet Samuel came from a musical family who descended from Levi’s son Kohath. Samuel’s son listed in this scripture was Joel. Verse 33 called the son of Joel and grandson of Samuel “Heman the musician”. Just what did Heman the musician do?

David told the Levites to appoint “singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals“. Heman was the first one they appointed (I Chronicles 15:16f) and he had two assistants ~ Asaph and Merari (I Chronicles. 6:39, 44). David put them in charge of the music in the house of the Lord and they performed their duties according to the regulations (verses 31f).

So what David appointed was a choir and orchestra. When David first appointed them, Heman had 120 relatives in his clan, and his assistants had 220 and 130 in their clans (I Chronicles. 15:5-7; 19-22; 27-28) so they had a total of 470 musicians. Wow! And these musicians had a full-time job!

They were to minister before the Lord “according to each day’s requirements” of sacrifices as written in the Law of Moses. Heman and the others were responsible for sounding the trumpets and cymbals and playing the other instruments ~ lyres, harps and cymbals (15:19-21) ~ for sacred song (16:37-42). In addition to playing the prescribed lyres, harps and cymbals, trumpets were to be sounded to announce sacrifices, etc. (16:4-6).

By the time David was old, there were “four thousand…to praise the Lord with the musical instruments” (I Chronicles 23:5)! What an amazing choir and orchestra they had by this time! Remember, they were all male Levites, and were to help Aaron’s descendants, the priests, in the temple every day and at special feasts (verse 28, 30f). And what instruments were they still playing? Cymbals, lyres and harps “for the ministry at the house of God” (I Chronicles. 25:1 & 6).

Years later after David died and his son Solomon had completed the grand Temple in Jerusalem (II Chronicles. 5:1), “all the Levites who were musicians…stood on the east side of the altar dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres, accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and singers joined in unison as with one voice to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and the other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the Lord” (verses 12-13).

Can you imagine such an orchestra and choir? The tinkling of the harps and lyres, with cymbals keeping the tempo, and trumpets calling attention to it all? And all those singers! Was God pleased? Indeed he was, for in the form of a cloud “the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God” (verse 14).

All this occurred around 1000 BC. Three centuries later when Hezekiah was king, the same instruments were being played ~ cymbals, harps and lyres (II Chronicles. 29:25f). Why? Because they were prescribed by David, Gad the seer and Nathan the prophet as commanded by God through his prophets. (Acts 2:29-30 says David was a prophet too.)

So we see that during Old Testament times, God commanded that they have full-time musicians to sing and play during daily sacrifices and special feasts and they had to be male Levites and they had to play cymbals, harps and lyres, sometimes accompanied by trumpets.

What a family Samuel had! And I’ll bet he was musical himself. How proud he would have been of his descendants.

Interestingly, although God specified every detail of the instruments that had to be played in the Old Testament, nothing like that was specified in the New Testament. Did God forget? Perhaps God took us to a higher plain in the New Testament era. We do know that in I Corinthians 14:15, we are told to both pray and sing with mind and spirit.

And in Ephesians 5:19 we are told to “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.” The term “make music” in the original Greek language of the New Testament is to play on strings. Since we are to make music in our hearts, then it looks like we are to play on the instrument of our heart. How beautiful!

About 40 years ago when my father died, the funeral was in a little country church. The music consisted of a small group from the congregation who sang hymns without the accompaniment of an instrument. They were not good performers ~ they twanged a lot and sometimes were a bit off key. But it was some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard. Why? Because their singing was accompanied by their heart. They were telling my family, “We love you,” and I really felt that they did.

God looks down at our singing ~ no matter how good or feeble ~ and says, “I can tell you love me.” And that’s all that matters.

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Monday 6/24 ~ The Lord bless & keep you

On June 24, 2019June 24, 2019 By Inspirations By KatherynIn blessings, church, family, Inspirational, joy, praise, prayer, Thanksgiving, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, June 24 (6/24), is Numbers 6:24f as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

This beautiful blessing from the Bible has been set to music and turned into a spiritual song. Enter this on the internet, and you should be able to hear it sung: http://bit.ly/1HAztLI

Sit back, close your eyes and imagine you singing or saying this to someone who does not understand God.

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Saturday 6/8 ~ Have I died with Christ?

On June 8, 2019 By Inspirations By KatherynIn Death of Jesus Christ, faith, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, praise, things, truth, victory, worship1 Comment

The scripture for today, June 8 (6/8), is Romans 6:8 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”

We all want to live with Christ, but how do we die with him? Earlier in this same chapter, God inspired the writer to say this: “We died to sin….don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead…we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:2-4).

So, just as Christ did a physical action to die for you, you do a physical action to die with him. And just as Christ’s physical death overcame spiritual death, so your physical action overcomes your spiritual death. Then you are born again, or as this verse says, you “live a new life”

Some say this is water salvation. But it is no more water salvation than the cross was wood salvation. You live in a physical world and God has us sometimes do physical things in order to obtain a spiritual outcome. Your singing praise songs is a physical thing, but it is no less spiritual in its outcome. Your eating the Lord’s Supper is a physical thing, but it is no less spiritual in its outcome.

Have you died with Christ?

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Saturday 5/25 ~ Love everybody? What an intriguing thought!

On May 25, 2019 By Inspirations By KatherynIn attitude, ego, Enemies, healing, humility, Inspirational, judging, patience, praise, victory1 Comment

The 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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Sunday 5/19 ~ Sing with God

On May 19, 2019July 15, 2025 By Inspirations By KatherynIn Inspirational, joy, love, praise, Thanksgiving, victory, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, May 19 (5/19), is Ephesians 5:19 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.”

What is so interesting about this scripture is how we are to make music to the Lord. In the original Greek the New Testament of the Bible was written in, the term “make music” means to play on strings. But put with the rest of the verse, we see that it means to play on the strings of our heart.

How beautiful! In God’s ears, the strings of our heart are far superior to any musical instrument we can contrive. So, why would we want to use them as a substitute? Shall we not please the One we are worshiping? Let us be attuned, not to what we love, but to what God loves.

And so, let us sing! In the process, let our singing be accompanied by the beautiful strings of our worshipping heart. Then let the stars join in and sing with us. (Job 38:7) And finally join with the Maker of song (Zephaniah 3:17) and sing with God!

THE OLD OLD STORY SET TO OLD OLD SONGS is so much fun. Enjoy “Abraham, Abraham, he aint what he used to be, aint what he used to be.” Recognize the tune? (“The old grey male”). Or “Jonah got burped up, Jonah got burped up.” That one is “Farm in the Dell”. How about “Three great kings, three great kings, see how they run” from “Three Blind Mice.” Order this book today for your grandkids, your VBS, or even singing in the shower! To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this: https://amzn.to/2F3uEEL

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Friday 4/12 ~ You will be astounded

On April 12, 2019July 15, 2025 By Inspirations By KatherynIn faith, Inspirational, love, praise, prayer, Thanksgiving1 Comment

(Sorry for some of my messages being delayed. I must be doing something wrong. I’ll double check from now on.)

The scripture for today, April 12 (4/12), is Colossians 4:12 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“He is always wrestling in prayer for you.”

Do you have fast-food prayers? Drive in, ask for something for yourself, and drive out two minutes later?

How about trying gourmet prayers ~ where you gather many ingredients, not just one? They take longer but are very special and rewarding.

Your menu is your prayer list. People on your list don’t even have to be people you know personally. They can be from the newspaper, teachers at a local school, government officials, your neighbors, your congregation. List people by name. Pray for them by name.

Then tell these people you are praying for them. You may think you’ll get some strange looks, but mostly, even from the unreligious, you will get a smile and a whispered thank you. Some will actually reply, “No one has ever told me they were praying for me.” After a while, you will begin receiving word from people you are paying for, “Guess what? Your prayer worked.”

Prayer is powerful and wonderful. God loves to answer prayer. It is most wonderful when it centers, not on what you want for yourself, but on struggling in prayer for other people.

One by one you will begin seeing amazing answers in the lives of those you pray for. Don’t believe it? Give it a try. You will be astounded.

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