Category: Scripture

Scripture for Saturday, February 18 (2/18)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn death, forgiveness, Inspirational, prayer, Satan, Saved from hell, Scripture, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, February 18, is Hebrews 2:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 6-PROMISE KEEPER-Cover-Createspace“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Do you find yourself caught up in some kind of sin over and over? Is the temptation always there? Do you commit the sin and then curse yourself for your weakness in giving in to the temptation? Do you see no way out?

A lot of people never think of Jesus ever being tempted. He was too good. But he had a human body and was tempted in every way that we are (Hebrews 4:15).

Try to imagine Jesus with your particular haunting temptation and imagine how you think he would have resisted it. Jesus used to get angry at temptation, which of course is caused by Satan. In other words, he got angry at Satan. One time when tempted, he declared, “Get behind me, Satan!”

Temptation is not the same thing as sin. Temptation is when we want to commit a sin, but haven’t decided yet to do it. Jesus faced Satan (temptation) head on. Once when he went through over a month of harsh temptation alone in the wilderness, Satan gave him all the reasons he should do certain things and made them look so good and reasonable; then Jesus gave all the reasons he should not do those things.

Hebrews 4:15 says, “We do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are ~ yet was without sin.”

Jesus stood up to Satan.  Jesus was a spiritual warrior.

#Temptation, #Escape, #Sin, #Satan

Scripture for Wednesday, February 15 (2/15)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, Daily, faith, good works, Inspirational, judging, Scripture, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, February 15 is 2nd Timothy 2:15 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

HS-COVER-KINDLE-GOLD“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

Eventually, we will all present ourselves to God. We can do it as an honored worker ~ someone who does good works and spreads the gospel and is not ashamed to do them.

We can also present ourselves to God as one who reads the Word of Truth (the Bible) with an open and honest heart. Pilate who crucified Jesus once asked, “What is truth?”. Today people still ask that question. But we don’t have to guess. God gave us the answers. It is all written down.

If you have a Bible with a concordance or index in the back, you can look up certain key words and find out for yourself what the Word of Truth says about any subject. It is not for others to tell us, but for God himself to tell us. This way we get it first hand, and that’s a lot easier. It’s easy to “correctly handle the word of truth,” with just you and God.

#Truth, #Bible, #WordOfGod, #Concordance, #ChainReference, #WordOfTruth

Scripture for Tuesday, February 14 (2/14)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, blessings, Inspirational, judging, Life of Christ, Scripture, Thanksgiving, truth, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, February 14, is Colossians 2:14 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 5-FLOOD GATES-Cover-Print“[God] 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.”

This amazing scripture tells us that the Old Law of Moses was nailed to the cross. Why? Because it was against us; that is, it was impossible for us to keep perfectly. The Law of Moses wasn’t just ten commandments. It was over 600. Try reading Leviticus in the Old Testament. That’s where most of the old law (“the written code with its regulations”) is.

It’s tedious. It regulated nearly every part of everyone’s daily life. It involved what we could and couldn’t eat, having to kill animals to die in our place whenever we sinned, stoning adulterers to death, having a separate priesthood, tithing, reporting to priests if we had an open sore, use of candles, having to go to the Temple in Jerusalem 3 times a year, and on and on.

The book of Hebrews in the New Testament was written to help us understand that God’s new Law of Grace is much more spiritual.

Hebrews was written about the time the Temple in Jerusalem was permanently destroyed, thus making it impossible to obey several things in the old law. And a little time later the Jewish genealogies were destroyed, thus making it impossible to prove who was a Levite and eligible to be a priest.

The Old Testament of the Bible is not the same as the Law of Moses. The Law is a small part of the Old Testament. The rest of it is praise and wisdom, accounts of people who did or did not try to follow God, warnings, and prophecies of good and bad. These are examples to us today.

Let us not neglect the Old Testament as so many people do. It includes the Law of Moses to help us know what to stay away from it in favor of the Law of Grace. If God wanted us to continue any part of it, he repeated it in the New Testament. It is full of examples that we need to know about. And it is full of prophecies of a Savior who would save them and us some day ~ Jesus. Thank God for the Old Testament.

#OldTestament, #NewTestament, #LawOfMoses, #LawOfGrace

Scripture for Monday, February 13 (2/13)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Daily, faith, healing, Inspirational, judging, prayer, Scripture, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for February 13 is Philippians 2:13 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

inside-cover-medium“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

Here is another related verse: “The Lord opened her heart to respond” (Acts 16:14). God the Father moved people’s hearts throughout the Bible ~ Old Testament and New Testament. But he never moved hearts to do what they were not already inclined to do. He does not go against someone’s will, for he gave everyone free will.

If you are struggling to know the will of your religious leaders and friends, you struggle alone. If you are sincerely struggling to know God’s will and do it, the Father will help you.  If you are struggling to act according to the purpose of your religious leaders and friends, you struggle alone. If you are sincerely struggling to act according to God’s good purpose, the Father will help you. If you have a sincerely open heart, God can move you closer to himself so that he can work in you and through you on earth.

He will always tell you what to do through his Word ~ the Bible. You do not have to guess. It covers every possible situation you could ever face and shows you his good purposes. God the Father will work in you if you let him.

#FreeWill, #OpenHeart, #Heart, #Problems, #Decisions, #Struggles, #Direction, #WordOfGod, #Bible, #Purpose, #WillOfGod, #ReligiousLeaders, #Help

Scripture for Sunday, February 12 (2/12)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, blessings, Daily, death, forgiveness, healing, Heaven, Inspirational, Satan, Saved from hell, Scripture, Thanksgiving, truth, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, February 12, is 2nd Timothy 2:12 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us.”

God loves us but never forces us to love him. He has given us a beautiful world to live in full of excitement and challenges and comforts. He has given us family and friends. He has given us his Son to take our punishment for our sins so we can live with him in his home ~ heaven. He is constantly calling to us, “I love you!”

But being the Gentleman that he is, he never forces himself on us. Instead, he lets us lead the way so to speak. If we don’t want to listen to God’s words, God doesn’t want to listen to our words. If we don’t want to spend extra time on God, God doesn’t want to spend extra time on us. If we don’t want anything to do with God in this life, he will not want anything to do with us in the next life.

He never forces us. But oh, how he weeps when we walk away from him.

#God, #love, #avoiding, #calling, #hearing,#heeding, #inviting, #garden, #sacrifice, #heaven, #hell

Scripture for Friday, February 10 (2/10)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, blessings, church, Daily, faith, good works, Inspirational, judging, Satan, Scripture, Thanksgiving, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, February 10, is James 2:10 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

changes-in-worship-cover-medium“Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”

Do we pray on Sunday and curse on Monday? Do we sing on Sunday and lie on Monday? Do we recite a scripture on Sunday and mock someone on Monday?

On the other hand, do we use this as an excuse not to go to church? Do we refuse to attend because there are hypocrites in the church?

Do we refuse to go to work because there are hypocrites there who talk behind the boss’s back? Do we refuse to go to school because there are hypocrites there who would skip school if they could? Do we refuse to go to sporting events because there are hypocrites there that would literally “kill the umpire” if they could?

Even Jesus had a hypocrite among his 12 Apostles ~ Judas. That didn’t stop him from doing what was needed to save us from hell.

In a sense, we are all hypocrites because we go to church and sing songs about giving everything for Jesus, then we go home and don’t. Or we sing songs about going into all the world and teaching the gospel, then we go home and don’t. Or we talk about the importance of praying for everyone around us and their loved ones, then we go home and don’t.

Let us look at ourselves as others do ~ and as God does.

#hypocrites, #Judas, #mouth, #praise, #curse, #self-examination

Scripture for Saturday, February 4 (2/4)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, blessings, Death of Jesus Christ, faith, forgiveness, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Scripture, truthLeave a comment

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

0-BOOK EIGHT-COME FLY WITH ME-Cover“[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 you out of 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 kind of 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 people to fill certain positions. He doesn’t have to be in business and he doesn’t have to give someone else a job. He could do the work himself. But he chooses to hire help and give them part of his money.

So how do we qualify for God’s grace? We never deserve it; but because God loves us, he asks just a few things to qualify. Believing is just the first step. Read Romans 10 and Acts 2. Those two chapters pretty much sum up what we do to be qualified. Not many things, but they do qualify us if we follow them.

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

#SalvationForAll, #Grace, #Saved, #Choosing, #Truth, #Heaven

Scripture for Thursday, February 2 (2/2)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, Daily, faith, Inspirational, judging, Scripture, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, February 2, is Matthew 2:2 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

000-BOOK 1-STAR SONG-PRINT COVER-Small“[the Magi/Wise Men] asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

There are people who believe the “star of Bethlehem” was in the east. But the star wasn’t in the east; the wise men (Magi) were in the east.

Many believe the star led the wise men the whole way. But Matthew 2:9 & 10 says, “After they had heard the king [Herod], they went on their way, and the star they HAD seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.”

The wise men saw the star while they were in the east and headed in the direction it came from. After they were in Jerusalem, the star reappeared ~ the star they HAD seen in the east. They rejoiced when they saw the star again, not because it had been with them the whole time, but because it had reappeared.

There are so many things about the Bible that we have heard all our life and just assume are true. Investigate things for yourself. Never take a teaching about the Bible for granted. You are smart. Check things out yourself.

#Bible, #Trust, #Gullible, #Naive, #Examination, #WiseMen, #BethlehemStar, #Christmas, #Herod, #Orient, #Magi

Scripture for Monday, January 30 (1/30)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, Inspirational, judging, Saved from hell, Scripture, truthLeave a comment

0-michel-cover-kindle-mediumThe scripture for today, January 30, is 1st Corinthians 1:30 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us “wisdom” from God ~ that is, our…

  …righteousness,

   …holiness and,

   …redemption.”

What is wisdom from God? Here it is spelled out. It is three things. Let’s look at it backwards. When we are redeemed from our sins, we gain God’s holiness and God’s rightness. We don’t know how to be sinless so we cannot have righteousness and holiness on our own. But Jesus knew how, and so became sinless for us.

We cannot let what He did for us drift by. That is not wisdom. Wisdom is to follow Jesus so He can give us His sinlessness (at least in the eyes of God). What a privilege He has given to us! And how unworthy we are!

#redemption, #holiness, #righteousness, #wisdom, #forgiveness, #goodness, #impossibility, #unworthiness

Scripture for Saturday, January 28 (1/28)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Daily, faith, forgiveness, good works, healing, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, judging, prayer, Satan, Saved from hell, Scripture, truth, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, January 28, is 1st Chronicles 1:28 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

PAUL COVER-KINDLE-“The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.”

Are you a parent with a grown or nearly-grown child who is going in the wrong direction? Have you tried everything you can think of, and nothing is working? Do you know in your heart that you have been a good example and things shouldn’t have turned out as they have?

Abraham has been called the Father of the Faithful. Yet he had one son who followed Jehovah ~ Isaac ~ and one son who followed idols ~ Ishmael. Certainly, Abraham tried everything he could to “talk some sense” into Ishmael. Certainly, he prayed earnestly for Ishmael. So what went wrong?

Just as God has given each of us free will, our children also have free will. Just as God will never force us to follow him, we cannot force our children to follow God. You did not refrain from having your children because they may have difficulties in their life, and neither did God. And when our children rebel and break our hearts, imagine what God goes through when we rebel and break his heart.

Who knows? Perhaps your child will return to God some day in your old age, or even after you have died. If your child deep down has a good heart, that is enough for God to work with. Keep hope alive.

#Children, #FreeWill, #Families, #Adolescence, #Astray, #Hope, #Teaching, #Training, #BrokenHeart, #GodsHeart