Thursday 7/4 ~ This is that Jesus

The scripture for today, July 4 (7/4) is Romans 7:4 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 5-FloodGates-Cover-Thumbnail-New“So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.”

This is not talking about just any law. It is talking about the law, a specific law ~ the Law of Moses.

Have you ever tried wading through Leviticus, the third book of the Bible? It’s full of all those laws in the Law of Moses (over 600 of them). Thank God Jesus nailed them to the cross and we are no longer bound by killing animals, stoning people for adultery, tithing, having priests, burning incense, going to the temple three times a year, only traveling 1/3 of a mile on Saturday, paying for traveling mercies, and on and on.

How did “we” in today’s scripture die to the law? He said in the previous chapter (6:4) “we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death” and in Colossians 2:14 where Christ “having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross” and in Hebrews 9:13, 10:1 “By calling this covenant ‘new’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear….The law was only a shadow of the good things that are coming.”

God now freely gives you and me His gifts through Jesus Christ.  This is the Jesus who overcame Death, overcame Satan, overcame our having to be perfect when his body came back to life. This is the Jesus who sacrificed everything to bring you to him.

 

0-BK 5-FloodGates-Cover-Thumbnail-NewTHEY MET JESUS:  FLOOD GATES.  Indeed, Jesus did release the flood gates when he announced he was greater than the prophets and greater than Moses.  All the prophecies about some day God coming to be their king were thrown out the window. The religious leaders needed him out of the way. The religious leaders decided to kill their competition.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://amzn.to/32c5UTQ

 

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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

 

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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.

 

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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

 

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Wednesday 6/5 ~ “I just want to keep you safe.”

The scripture for today, June 5 (6/5), is Deuteronomy 6:5 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Mefiboset-KINDLE Thumbnail“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

Jesus said this is the greatest of all the commandments (Mark 12:29). He didn’t say that any of the Ten Commandments were. He chose one of the over 600 commandments God gave to Moses in the Old Testament. It might have been lost in the crowd, but Jesus called it out and gave it special attention.

Although we no longer keep the Old Testament Law of Moses, we do have the New Testament Law of Jesus. There aren’t as many commandments, but there are some. Sometimes Jesus’ law repeats something in the Old Law such as the one above. But it was his choice what to carry over, not ours.

Some people don’t even know they’re obeying any of the Laws of Moses. That’s easy to solve. All you have to do is read that Law and see you if we recognize anything you’re doing. It is full of hundreds of rituals and commands how to worship the way God wanted.

On the other hand, do you love the Lord your God enough to keep all of the commandments of Jesus or do you say the church is too modern now and Jesus’ commands are old fashioned.? Or perhaps do you say Jesus had no commands ~ he just wants me to love him?  We do not tell our parents, “I love you, but you have no right to command me to do anything.” We do not tell our government, “I’m going to drive on any side of the road I want because I’m not going to obey any of your commands”?

Be not like the clay telling the potter what to do (Isaiah 64:8). Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commands” (John 14:15). Commands do not mean someone is trying to hold you down; commands means, “I love you and want to keep you safe from Satan.” Give it a try. Life just might get a little better.

 

0-Mefiboset-KINDLE ThumbnailMEFIBOSET: CRIPPLED PRINCE married and became a father. He had his royal enemies, but never became bitter.  His son often became angry because his father was always forgiving his enemies.  Years later after Mefiboset had died, the son told his own sons about his father ~ “The greatest man I have ever known.”  PERFECT FOR FATHER’S DAY.  Still time to receive on time.  To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2HVKRNs

 

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Monday 6/3 ~ Do you say no to what God says yes to?

The scripture for today, June 3 (6/3), is Romans 6:3f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Joseph-Cover-Thumbnail“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus 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 through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life….because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

Oh! Baptism does all that? Some people say no. God says yes. Some people hate this topic because their church leaders have rejected it as unimportant and even call people who quote such verses in God’s Word as dangerous.  Why?

Look at the list in that verse that baptism does for us.  In baptism, we obtain a new life ~ are born again. And in baptism, we are freed from sin ~ forgiven. Look at it this way: Just as Jesus died carrying our sins on himself, we die to our sinful nature ~ the part of us that sins and doesn’t care. Then just as Jesus was buried in his tomb, we are buried in our watery tomb. And just as Jesus came up out of his tomb the Savior, we come up out of our tomb the saved ~ with a “new life” and “freed from sin.”

Everything works together beautifully ~ hearing, believing, confessing, dying to sin, being baptized. What an honor and privilege we have been given to imitate what he did for us! 1st Peter 3:21 says it is an answer of a good conscience toward God.

Just as the crucifixion was a physical thing to obtain a spiritual outcome, baptism is a physical thing to obtain a spiritual outcome.  How beautiful. How amazing.

 

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JOSEPH: THE OTHER FATHER had the greatest challenge in the history of the world ~ to raise God’s child in a violent world. A year before Jesus died, he visited his hometown of Nazareth. The people there said, “ISN’T this the son of the carpenter?” not “WASN’T”. Read the story of Joseph and all he may have gone through to keep Jesus protected until he was grown. To BUY NOW, click a book title or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2HTIcE6

 

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Friday 5/31 ~ When perfection finally came

The scripture for today, May 31 (5/31), is Deuteronomy 5:31 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Cover-Medium“But you [Moses] may stay here [on the mountain] with me [God] so that I may give you all the commands, decrees, and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.”

Many people believe that the “Law of Moses” consisted only of the Ten Commandments. But there was much more. It took Moses 40 days to write them all down. How many? Over 600 “commands, decrees and laws.”

Some people today want to dip back into the Law of Moses to get showy types of worship ~ candles, incense, stoning for adultery, instruments of music, choirs, animal sacrifices, separate priesthood, special clothing for priests, and tithing to pay for it all. Jesus nailed the old law to the cross (Colossians 2:14) and created a much simpler New Testament/Covenant!

Other people want to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.  Why? So they can revert to animal sacrifices and thus nullify the sacrifice Jesus made of himself?  James said that, if we keep part of the Law, we are obligated to keep it all (James 2:10).

By calling this covenant [testament] ‘new’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear’ “ (Hebrews 8:13). Not part of it. All of it. Hebrews goes on to say that the Holy of Holies is now in heaven, the curtain in the temple is now Jesus, etc.  Rebuilding the temple would mean going backward from grace to legalism.

Thank God we do not have to keep all those 600+ commandments in the Law of Moses. They were controlling and tedious, and some were impossible to keep. Why would God give a law impossible to keep? To help us understand that it is impossible for us to be perfect. Finally, when we understood that, he was ready to send his Son to earth to be perfect for us.

 

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Monday, 5/27 ~ Which is true?

The scripture for today, May 27 (5/27), is Job 5:27 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Thumbnail“We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.”

How many times have you gone to worship or listened on TV to a minister/priest/rabbi/imam and believed everything he said because the speaker looked so holy and convincing? Isn’t that confusing when so many different holy-looking religious leaders teach different things and conflict with each other?

What is the answer to this dilemma? Examine the Bible for yourself! You’re smart! You can do it!

The best way is to get a concordance. It lists every word in the Bible alphabetically, and every scripture that contains that word. If you want to know God’s opinion instead of man’s, use your concordance and look up every passage your chosen topic appears in. You can buy one (it is the size of an unabridged dictionary but not expensive) or use one on the internet.

Then examine everything God ~ not man ~ has to say about anything. Then there are no doubts. You have examined the facts. Now you know the truth.  Now you are ready to apply it to yourself. The truth will set you free.

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Wednesday 5/22 ~ Find Peace

The scripture for today, May 22 (5/22), is Galatians 5:22f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Was Jesus God-COVER-kindle-thumbnail“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

There are some people in the world who call people who practice these traits “losers.”  They distrust people who love everyone, are kind to everyone and are always happy.  “People like that are not for real.”  They believe you have to stick up for yourself and get ahead of the pack or the world will trample you and pass you by.

They are a lot like drivers out on a highway who think they have to pass every car. Once they do, there is usually a brief period when they are ahead of all the others. But soon they catch up with another pack of cars and begin all over again to pass every one, to get ahead of the pack. And so, it happens over and over endlessly. They never relax, for they are never ahead of the others for very long.

Today, relax a little. Exercise patience and self-control.  There is no law against slowing down. And in the process find gentleness and find peace.

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Sunday 5/12 ~ He’s pretty good at that wisdom thing

The scripture for today, May 12 (5/12), is 1st Kings 5:12 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Michel-COVER-Kindle-Thumbnail“The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised him.”

God makes a promise of wisdom to Christians today. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

Amazing! God doesn’t sit around and tell certain people, “You really messed up. Your life is full of turmoil. Now you come to me expecting me to get you out of your mess.” No, God does not throw your faults in your face. It’s no use dwelling in the past; that is history.

He is ready and willing to provide guidance for the present and future, the now and later. But how can you know God’s wisdom? He certainly does not make you guess.

He put everything he wants you to know in his Word, the Bible ~ examples of people who did and did not mess up their lives ~ and words of advice. All you have to do is open it and ask God to help you understand it and apply it with wisdom.

God promised. Check him out. He’s pretty good at that wisdom thing.

Image result for "Buy the book" button redMICHEL: THE FOURTH WISEMAN: Believing a new god had been born with the appearance of THE STAR, King Phraates demands his wise men advisors to tell him who that god is so he can get on his good side. They search the world for the meaning of the star while Michel keeps telling him the answer is right in their own backyard in their archives written by his ancestor. They refuse to listen to Michel’s wisdom. To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2vRiqJE

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