Category: teaching

See and Talk to God?

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn #Handicaps, Bible, family, Inspirational, joy, knowledge, prayer, Scripture, teaching, truthLeave a comment

Bible Puzzles-Cover-ThumbnailThe scripture for today, June 18 (6/18), is 2nd Chronicles 6:18a as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you.”

Did you ever want to see God, to talk to him face to face? Perhaps something bad had just happened in your life, and you had this urge to bawl him out, then let him explain why.  Or did you ever want to touch God? Perhaps you were so very lonely that you desperately needed his arms around you, and feel his touch as he brushed away your tears.

But, if you could see him and touch him, it would mean that he could not be with others in the world at that time and could not hear anyone else’s prayers at that time except yours. Try to be grateful that you cannot see and touch him for now. He is always available to you, regardless of where you are in this vast world and regardless of how many others are praying to him at that moment.

How he can sort out all our prayers at once is mind-boggling. How he can be everywhere at once is amazing. How he can love each one of us as though we were the only person in the world is miraculous and incredible.

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Bible Puzzles-Cover-ThumbnailBIBLE PUZZLES FOR YOUNG AND OLD.  Secret Codes: Numbers represent letters.  Crossword Puzzles: Some are easy, some a little harder. Fill in the blanks: This puzzle gets people to open their Bibles and read famous passages for themselves. Word Search: From very young to very old.  Puzzles to keep you delighted for hours.  And great for parties, home schoolers, bulletins, ice breakers, homebound. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. http://bit.ly/Bible-Puzzles  https://northernlightspublishinghouse.com/links-to-some-of-my-fun-bible-stuff/bible-puzzles-for-young-and-old/

 

 

 

Joy in fasting?

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn #friendships, #Handicaps, family, good works, Inspirational, Life of Christ, love, power, prayer, problems, teaching, weaknessLeave a comment

00-cover-kindle-medium-newThe 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 worshipped, 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-Cover-KINDLE-Thumbnail-NewAPPLIED CHRISTIANITY:  A HANDBOOK OF 500 GOOD WORKS.  Handicapped? Wanting to do good works for others anyway? Too busy to add good works to your already cluttered life? What do you say when a friend’s relative dies? Wonder how to handle gossip, baby showers, mean bosses, etc. in the workplace? Do the poor in other countries bother you? Want to teach your children to do good deeds? To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/APPLIEDCHRISTIANITY  https://northernlightspublishinghouse.com/1107-2/my-book-applied-christianity/

 

Writings of Churches of Christ in England 1300s-1600s

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn Bible, church, death, Enemies, Fear, governments, knowledge, persecution, sacrifice, Scripture, teaching, truthLeave a comment

COVER-England-medThe scripture for today, April 28 (4/28), is Mark 4:28 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“All by itself, the soil produces grain ~ first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.”

Jesus was explaining that the kingdom of heaven is like a seed planted in the ground. It grows almost miraculously. The church is, indeed, like this. Planted some 2000 years ago, it has survived through every adversity and attack contrived by man. Sometimes the attacks were even from within. But at such times, just when it looked as though it was going to die, just like a seed dying in the earth, it would begin to sprout anew and grow up stronger than ever.

A little seed turning into a stalk is miraculous and amazing. The survival of the church for 2000 years in a hostile world is even more miraculous and amazing.

The church rose up in Jerusalem, then died there. It next rose up and became strong in today’s Turkey, then died there.  It next rose up and became strong in Greece, then died there.  Then in France. Then in Germany. It arrived in England with an apostle and grew strong until the pope claimed jurisdiction in the 1300s.  Then spiritual wars and threatenings and  burnings.  Still congregations multiplied everywhere and grew and thrived. Finally religious freedom came. Then came the infighting in the late 1600s and near destruction of the church there.  Then it rose up in America and became strong, and now it is dying there.  But it is rising up and becoming strong in India and Africa.

It is impossible to destroy the church. Chop down the stalks, but the wind carries the seeds somewhere else to rise up and grow.  Miraculously.

God is still on his throne, and all is well.

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COVER-England-medWRITINGS OF & ABOUT CHURCHES OF CHRIST 13TH-17TH CENTURIES ENGLAND:  Before denominations, it was natural to call the church the “Church of Christ” because that is what it is called in the Bible (Romans 16:16).  As you read, absorb the changes in tone of the writers through the decades and centuries.  Watch the New Testament raise the New Testament Church triumphantly, then witness it fall again as it has so many times beginning in Jerusalem where the church hardly exists anymore. But take heart. The church always somewhere rises up again.  Always.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  http://bit.ly/RestorationLibrary3

Writings of & About Churches of Christ 14th-17th Centuries England

Persecuted by Friends

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn #friendships, Bible, church, discouragement, ego, Enemies, faith, Fear, judging, knowledge, persecution, Scripture, teaching, truth, worship1 Comment

COVER-Music-thumbThe scripture for today, April 17 (4/17), is Mark 4:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, they quickly fall away.”

We may be mentally prepared for persecution out in the world. But what about persecution by our friends who we attend worship with all the time? They can turn on us too.

Perhaps you have discovered a “new” truth that was in the Bible all along and are trying to get members of your congregation to believe it. If members get the feeling you are trying to prove them wrong and make them look bad, they will turn on you, much like people do a “whistleblower” in the business world.

On whose side will you stand? Your friends’ so you can continue to be friends with them, or God’s? It’s easy to let things slide and pretend that “new” truth no longer exists so you can keep your friends. How deep are your roots? Who shall you worship? Your friends or your God? What is more important? Your comfort in this life or your eternity?

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COVER-Music-thumbINSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN THE PUBLIC WORSHIP OF THE CHURCH is head and shoulders above anything else I have ever read or heard.  This eminent PRESBYTERIAN PROFESSOR was the last hold out when his denomination added instruments to their public worship in the late nineteenth century.  He ends his comprehensive book with, “In the name of the framers of our venerable standards, in the name of the reformers, divines, and martyrs of the Presbyterian Church, in the name of Christ’s true witness in the centuries of the past, in the name of our glorious King and Head, we erect our solemn PROTEST.”  To BUY NOW from the RESTORATION REPRINT LIBRARY, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/Worship-Music   

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Your Bible: Paid for with blood

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn Bible, blessings, eternity, Fear, knowledge, love, persecution, prayer, sacrifice, Scripture, teaching, truthLeave a comment

changes-in-worship-cover-mediumThe scripture for today, April 15 (4/15), is 1st John 4:15 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.”

The New Testament was written by people who walked and talked with Jesus. They saw his miracles, they heard his amazing words. They were eyewitnesses.

Several first- and second-century manuscripts still exist that were passed down from some who actually knew the eyewitnesses. A few were even written during the late lifetime of the last living apostle, John. The Bible has more existing ancient manuscripts (over 5000) than any ancient writing in the world.

Read the New Testament. It was written by inspired men with a passion that would not let them stop talking about this Jesus. He consumed their life when he was on earth, and consumed their spirit after he left.

Through the centuries, men and women have given their lives so that you today may have the writings (New Testament) of those eyewitnesses in our own language and read it for yourself. Many were ridiculed and tortured terribly, and then died a long excruciating death so that the apostles’ testimony could live on.

Do not take for granted your New Testament ~  the words of Jesus’ eyewitnesses. Jesus lived and died for you. Those witnesses, in a sense, also lived and died for you. Read what they testified to. Then, live, and if necessary, die for it.

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WORSHIP CHANGES SINCE THE FIRST CENTURY includes what the pope did to people who dared translate the Bible into the language of the people. Their tongues were cut off, they were dragged through the streets, they were burned at the stake. Never take the Bible for granted.  It was brought to you with blood.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/3eqMQXc  

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The crown

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn attitude, church, Daily, death, Enemies, Fear, forgiveness, Inspirational, persecution, prayer, Saved from hell, teaching, victoryLeave a comment

he scripture for today, April 8 (4/8), is 2nd Timothy 4:8 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-medium“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 between sixty and seventy at this writing. He’d been converted probably in his thirties. He’d spent the past forty years 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 was 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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0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-thumbnailREVELATION: A LOVE LETTER FROM GOD.  This is a history of the world before Jesus was born, especially the world of the Israelites. It is also an account of Jesus birth, ministry, and death. It ends with the final doom of Satan and the final victory of the church, the heavenly Jerusalem. The scriptures always interpret themselves; therefore, the author takes you through each scene with applicable background scriptures to magnify the meaning with unique clearness.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/36W2CqT 

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Wandering Soul, Entitled Heart, & the Side-Tracked Church

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn attitude, church, ego, ethics, governments, judging, knowledge, persecution, prayer, sacrifice, teaching, truth, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, April 3 (4/3), is 1st Timothy 4:3 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“They [false teachers] forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.”

changes-in-worship-cover-mediumIt is hard for you to think that smiling, humble, Bible-quoting, holy-looking church leaders could be false teachers and condemned by the God they claim to represent.  We want to think well of everyone. Isn’t that the way Christians are to think? But sometimes thinking well of someone and thinking well of the truth can clash.  Now you have a choice to make ~ a hard choice.

The apostle Paul warned of false teachers in the church that would come in the future. Indeed, it did happen. A time came when certain Christians were ordered not to marry, and not to eat certain foods (for instance, on Friday). They claim it is a sin to disobey them and don’t show you the scriptures they refuse to obey.

Remember, your church leaders are going to be judged by God, just like everyone else. Always, as the Apostle Peter once warned, “We ought to obey God and not men” (Acts 4:19). Besides, do you think this is one reason people have turned against “organized religion”?

This is why it is important to read the Bible for yourself. Use a concordance to look up all scriptures in the Bible with any keyword, and you will learn what is true and not true. Isn’t it time for you to sort through everything you have been told?  Isn’t it time for you to discover pure truth?

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00- Worship Changes KC COVER-thumbnailWORSHIP CHANGES SINCE THE 1ST CENTURY. Trace the exact date changes were made in church worship since the first century. These changes were mostly led by popes who had bought their office, led armies against people rejecting them, and had illegitimate children. Trace the protesters since the second century and the persecution they endured, often being burned at the stake. Discover the hymns we sing still today written by the protesters, sometimes just hours before their torturous death. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/3eqMQXc  https://northernlightspublishinghouse.com/1107-2/my-book-worship-changes-since-the-first-century/

 

Hold me up until my faith in you returns

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn attitude, Enemies, faith, Fear, Inspirational, love, persecution, prayer, teaching, truth, weaknessLeave a comment

00-PAUL COVER-Medium-
God, if I had a voice that was strong enough, I would declare your glory to the stars. If I had feet that were robust enough, I would climb the tallest mountain and raise a banner of love for the world to see.  If I had arms that were long enough, I would embrace the world with your magnitude. Give me eyes that see you in everything. Give me ears that hear you in all things. Though the world rebels against you, not wanting anyone to tell them what to do, I will defend you and reveal the part of you they do not understand ~ that you, their Maker, loves them so much you will spend their life running after them. They are falling into the mire and do not know it. They are obeying Satan and do not realize it. Waken them, Lord, with your magnificence and envelop them with love that goes deep into their souls and will not let them go. Give them new eyes to see you, new ears to hear you, a new heart that loves you back.

Lord, as hard as I try, sometimes I begin to doubt you. I think I am not the only one who goes through this. I suppose if Satan weren’t afraid of me and my relationship with you, he wouldn’t attack me with doubts. Forgive me when I succumb to the doubts he puts in my mind. Though sometimes he kidnaps my mind, keep him from having my heart and soul too. At such times, help me to at least hope. Hold me up until my faith in you returns.

Thank you for opportunities to suffer for you. Your Word says the righteous will always be persecuted. Take me down paths where I know persecution will travel toward me. May I never “play it safe”. Open up doors where Satan thinks he rules so I may have the privilege of proving him weak and wrong. Lord, you made me your bride. How blessed is that! Oh, the depths of the relationship you want with me. Thank you, my Lord, my God, the reason for my being.

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00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-INTREPID MEN OF GOD.  PAUL: THE UNSTOPPABLE traveled everywhere he was not wanted.  The honest ones needed Jesus, but did not know it.  The egotistical ones were jealous of Jesus and did everything they good to beat and destroy his ambassador.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/3fw2mlA 

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Lead our young to relight the torch

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn attitude, good works, healing, Inspirational, love, patience, prayer, teaching, truth, victoryLeave a comment

00-cover-kindle-medium-newThe children, Lord. Make today’s children rebellious. Make them tell their “hippie” parents and grandparents, “No more. You do not want rules, but I do.” Lead this young generation to light the torch and carry it high so the world will see that Satan will not and cannot win. Help the teenagers of today do what they so naturally want to do. Help them rise up in rebellion against the immorality and lack of ethics that have raised their ugly heads in society. Help them find out who the only true God really is ~ not some high-minded imagination of people who make themselves gods by promising a religion full of emptiness.  Help these teenagers light the torch that reveals you to the world of their grandparents, their parents, their peers, and the next generation. May you be magnified and glorified through this next generation.

Lord, forgive me when I become suspicious of people’s motives. Why do I do that? You are the only one who can read hearts. I try to give a dollar here and there to beggars on the street and never question how they will use it; I just tell them they need to go home. But other people I do question. It is not up to me. That is up to you. No matter who does what, make me assume their motives are good, encourage them, and put my mind at rest.

Thank you, Lord God, for loving everyone, even my enemies. You give me courage when I have no courage. You give me strength when I am weak. You give me love when I do not feel it.  I am weak and sinful. Yet you love me and stay with me in your patience. I do not deserve you. I can only whisper over and over, thank you.

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00-Cover-KINDLE-Thumbnail-NewAPPLIED CHRISTIANITY: A HANDBOOK OF 500 GOOD WORKS.  Handicapped?  Wanting to do good works for others anyway? Too busy to add good works to your already cluttered life?  What do you say when a friend’s relative dies?  Wonder how to handle gossip, baby showers, mean bosses, etc. in the workplace?  Do the poor in other countries bother you?  Want to teach your children to do good deeds?  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/2TQBGDF

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You stopped at nothing

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn #ransom, Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, love, patience, prayer, Saved from hell, teaching, Thanksgiving, worship2 Comments

Supper-Front Cover-MediumGod of heaven and earth, you are far above anything and anyone else.  You are our Creator.  You are perfection. I am so far below you in all things. But you are the lover of my soul, my protector, my comforter, my betrothed. Thank you. You deserve all earth’s praise and honor and glory.  All heaven praises you and I adore you.

Lord, I have been neglecting the lost. Why do I do that? Help me be alone with them and ask them about their relationship with God. Instead, I surround myself with my Christian friends. I need them, but the lost need me more. Forgive me when I become too comfortable. Oh, Lord, give me souls or else I die.

Thank you, God of my heart and soul, for loving me so. You stopped at nothing to save me, despite my rebellious ego that does sinful things you say will hurt me.  You are so good, and though I offend you every day, you keep coming back and loving me all the more. No human is able to forgive as often as you do ~ hundreds of times just in one year and sometimes in one month. How can I truly thank you? I fall at your feet unworthy and worship you.

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Supper-Front Cover-ThumbnailTHE LORD’S SUPPER:  52 READINGS WITH PRAYERS provides material for leading the holy communion service on Sundays.  It can also be used by individual partakers for their quiet meditation.  Every church library should have one.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/2ZvCTDS

The Lord’s Supper: 52 Readings with Prayers