I wipe my tears away as you did my sins

Supper-Front Cover-MediumI adore you, Jehovah, God of the universe and God of my heart, my soul, my very being. I will spend my days searching your Word to follow you closer and know you better. When I read your words, I am filled with awe and wonder. You thought of everything to include in it for me. Some is advice, but most are examples of others who rose or fell and why they did. Ah, Lord God, you are the ultimate example of rising and never falling. You are what I strive to be. I will never rise that high, I know this. So I will continue to worship you.

Help me think of others’ feelings when I see them. Help me ask them what they’re doing and feeling every time I contact them. Help me steer the conversation away from me and be all about them.

Thank you, Jesus, for being my Passover Lamb. You died so I wouldn’t have to. Now, every Sunday I eat the representation of your body and think of the sins ~ my sins ~ that caused all your mental and physical anguish. I take a sip of the representation of your blood.  How could I ever take your precious blood for granted? The cup ~ your blood drained from your body ~ was all for me. For me. I fall at your feet and wash them with the tears of my remorse and wipe those tears away as you did my sins.

.

Supper-Front Cover-Thumbnail

THE LORD’S SUPPER:  52 READINGS WITH PRAYERS provides personal meditation during our holy communion with our selfless-Lord or public thoughts for those presiding at the table.  Put one in your church library.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/2ZvCTDS

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/the-lords-supper-52-readings-with-prayers/

You brought eternity into my soul

0-BK 5-FloodGates-Cover-Medium-NewI praise and adore you, Lord God of heaven and earth. Of angels and people. Of stars and beasts. Of galaxies and molecules. So great and so minuscule ~ too large and too small for me to even see. You are in all.  You made all.  Your glory and might and wonders are reflected in all.  You are my Maker, my Defender, the Lover of my soul. You make darkness light. You make rough roads smooth. You make my chains break and fall away. I feel so warm and loved in your presence. You alone are worthy of worship.

Thank you, Jesus, for all your sacrifices. Over and over you sacrificed ~ heaven, a normal childhood, being a suspected bastard, being hounded by would-be assassins for two years. You went in and out of hiding. You dared them to live what they demanded of others. They hated you for it. They tortured you, insulted you, crucified you. Then death and hell.  So much. Because of my sins. My sins. You never gave up on me. Satan tried to destroy you. No one can destroy God.  You destroyed him. You destroyed my sins. Your persistence brought light into my life.  Your love brought eternity into my soul. Your love is unfathomable.

.

THEY MET JESUS:  FLOOD GATES.  Jealous leaders feel threatened by Jesus.  The people follow him everywhere.  He is feeding them free.  Healing them free.  Teaching them free.  Even commanding demons. He must be crushed. He must be destroyed.  Spreading rumors about him has not worked.  Blaming him for breaking the law has not worked.  He must be killed.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/2XsOXDS

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-5-flood-gates-adults-childs-versions/

 

The “naked” conqueror

05-FLOOD GATES-Child'sCartoon-ThumbnailThe scripture for today, January 21 (1/21), is Job 1:21 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“ ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.’ “

Wow!  Is he for real? Job had every reason to turn against God. In one day his entire wealth was stolen from him, nearly all his servants were killed by an invading army, and all his children died in a storm. Why hadn’t God protected him if he loved him so much?

Amidst tragedy, do you sometimes forget that Satan exists also? Job understood that whatever Satan does, God can undo.

Satan is the accuser (Revelation 12:10), but God is the forgiver. Satan can cause you to get sick, but God can heal. Satan can cause you to die, but God can bring you back to life. Satan can make you miserable in this world, but God can take you to a better world.

Shall you leave God to fight Satan alone? You were made in his image.  And how do you fight Satan? The same way Job did. Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” There’s more….

In all these things we are more than conquerors

through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
Neither angels nor demons,
Neither the present nor the future,
Nor any powers,
Neither height nor depth,
Nor anything else in all creation
Will be able to separate us from the
Love of God
That is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:37-39)


How can you be “more than a conqueror” unless you have something to conquer? How can you have “victory in Jesus” unless you have something to be victorious over?

You have periodic assignments from God. What bad thing has happened in your life lately? That is your assignment.

.

05-FLOOD GATES-Child'sCartoon-ThumbnailA CHILD’S LIFE OF CHRIST:  FLOOD GATES has ten stories about Jesus miracles and how the leaders were jealous of him.  It didn’t stop Jesus; he kept on healing anyway.  “Think and Do” at the end of each chapter.  Understood by ages 3 and up.  Hyphens in big words for early readers.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/3itAvoI

https://wordpress.com/page/inspirationsbykatheryn.com/31052

 

My soul soars with you

0-Cover-MediumI praise you, eternal God, who always was and always will be. You are all light and love and truth. You are the way that takes me from troubles on earth to safety in your realm. You are the way that leads me through dry deserts of sighs, meadows of everyday doings, mountains of victory.  You are alive in my heart and my soul soars to you.

Yesterday I bragged to people about something I made. Forgive my sins of attitude so I can be more like you. Instead of bragging on myself, help me brag on others.

Thank you, God, for your Bible that tells of your dealings with mankind so I can know what you expect of me. Thank you for your amazing love. You let me learn from my own mistakes. Afterward, you let me return to you and say, “You were right” and love me all the more. Thank you for fighting for me in a spirit realm to which I have never been and do not understand. And taking my place and encountering Satan in that realm and crushing his head. How can I, so weak, thank you?  I worship you.

.

00-Cover-ThumbnailFUN WITH BIBLE NUMBERS includes 525 math problems from the Bible.  Most are easy, a few are a little bit hard.  Great for family time, ice breakers, bulletins, homeschoolers, gifts.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/2ArDVWT

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/links-to-some-of-my-fun-bible-stuff/fun-with-bible-numbers/

 

Come back! Come back to Me!

The scripture for today, January 13 (1/13), is Habakkuk 1:13 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.”

This pretty much explains why no one deserves heaven. Going to heaven has little to do with doing so many good works God will feel obligated to admit you. 

It’s all about sin.  Only sinless people can be in heaven, for God cannot coexist with sin and still be God. Of course, you cannot be sinless. If nothing else, you have sins of attitude and neglect.

For thousands of years, God let mankind try any way they could to be perfect. Some people he gave the Law of Moses to, and some people he continued to let try on their own. Neither worked. No matter how hard we tried, no one could get it right.

The wages you earn for sinning is death (Romans 6:23). Remember in the Garden of Eden God warned, “The moment you sin, you die.” He was talking about souls dying, and eventually, bodies dying. Satan was now holding mankind hostage. Satan causes death, so sinners collect the wages Satan pays for following him.

But mankind was still being held hostage and Satan wasn’t about to let us go.  So God set up a trap.  The death of God. Satan wanted to be God and this was the only way he could carry out his plan. He did not realize it would end up being the destruction of his power of death.

Galatians 4:4 says, “When the time was come, God sent his son.” Finally, when mankind understood everyone needed outside help, God sent Jesus. Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus lived the perfect life that was impossible for anyone to live; he was completely free of sin.

Then God was ready to crush Satan’s head.  God offered his son ~ God in the form of mankind. So, Satan freed mankind from his prison of soul death. But Satan was in for a shock.  He is not as smart as God. His gloating came to an abrupt stop.  God tricked Satan. You cannot kill Life.  God returned to that human body and came back to life.

It was too late. Satan had already freed mankind. 

That done, God ~ who is too pure to dwell with sin ~ is now able to allow obedient, faithful believers in Jesus into his home, heaven. For, through Jesus, we become sinless and pure. Glory of glories!

But something terrible happened after that. People began selling themselves back into slavery to Satan (Romans 6:15-23).  No!  No! This cannot be! Not after all God went through to save mankind from Satan.

So God, through Christians, continually calls out to those who no longer want to worship Him or encourage his Family, “Come back!  Come back to your Father!! Come back.  Your brothers and sisters miss you. I miss you….”

.

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-ThumbnailSHADOW OF DEATH takes the reader through the last hours of Jesus before the Great Sacrifice.  Two chapters are completely on his six agonizing hours on the cross ~ the first three in the scorching sun; the second three in cold, cold darkness.  Satan, the Romans, the priests, the Sadducees ~ all thought they had won.  They had only dug their own spiritual graves.  Jesus re-entered his body and walked the earth again.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/2UcggRE

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-7-shadow-of-death-adults-childs-versions/

 

Hold fast. Stand Firm. Do the right thing.

The scripture for today, January 12 (1/12), is James 1:12 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Joseph-Cover-Kindle-Medium“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

How loyal are you to God? Is your relationship up and down, depending on how your life is going at the moment? If you pray for something and don’t get it, do you feel as though God is punishing you?  If everything seems to be going wrong, do you blame God instead of Satan? Do you pray over and over for God to relieve you of a particular burden, but relief hasn’t come so you’ve decided to quit the church?

Quit grumbling! God has assignments for you. What kind of soldier of the Lord are you? Do you tell the general you don’t like what he has assigned for you to do? Where you are today is where God wants you. Your job is to stay loyal no matter how difficult things get.  Be brave. Hold fast. Stand your ground.

Why? To prove that love is stronger than hatred. To prove that good is stronger than bad. To prove that right is more mighty than wrong. To prove that God is stronger than Satan. Ephesians 6:12 says Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Determine today to thank God for whatever state you are in, even if you do it in tears because it goes against all your emotions. And, even though you may feel helpless to do anything about it right now, in your helplessness, persevere!

.

0-Joseph-Cover-ThumbnailJOSEPH: THE OTHER FATHER.  Have you ever wondered the pressure Joseph must have felt those thirty years raising the Son of God? To keep him safe in a violent world? To open up the scriptures to him? To defend him when neighbors called Mary names and Jesus a bastard? To rescue him from bears in the forest while cutting lumber? To watch him and wonder if and when he knew who he was?  And when he felt out of control, did he cry to the other Father, “God!  Help me protect our Son!”  Read this biblical historical novel of how it might have been.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover, or paste this:  https://bit.ly/30FFlbC

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/books-more-biblical-historical-novels/book-5-joseph-the-other-father/

 

Shhh. Listen. God is calling you.

The scripture for today, January 11 (1/11), is 2nd Peter 1:11 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“And you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-NewHow often do you forget that earth is not your home? As an old gospel song says, “We’re just passing through.” Do you really believe that?

If someone told you tomorrow you were going to die, would you go into a panic? Would you beg God to let you live another ten or twenty years? Would you feel this was the beginning of the end?

To a true Christian, your dying is the end of the beginning. You have a whole “life” ahead of you in heaven. A never-ending life. Do you live like you believe it? Will you die looking forward to it?

Are you even a Christian yet? What is your life like? Do you even know what is in the Bible, God’s messages to you? Does the thought of heaven sound boring to you?  Do you even like God?

Stop and listen to the empty place in your heart (Ec. 3:11).  Do you hear it?  Shhh.  Listen…  God is calling you.

 

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-NewCOME FLY WITH ME is the last novel in the series THEY MET JESUS.  Jesus has been buried. His apostles have mourned in confusion. Suddenly he is back!  Alive again!  He appears to them out of nowhere every Sunday until it is time to go. Training is over.  Now left alone, the apostles figure out their strategy.  Be bold.  They are, and they are beaten and imprisoned.  They cannot let their savior down.  They go back and preach again, and again the beatings and imprisonment.  Thousands become Christians anyway!  Eventually, they part ways to go into all the world.  Five decades pass. John is the only one left.  Then his old Friend from days of his youth returns.  What a reunion.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:    https://bit.ly/2OzEnXc

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-8-come-fly-with-me-adults-childs-versions/

 

Staggering beyond comprehension

0-BK 5-FloodGates-Cover-Medium-NewYou are the fountain of all things, the cause of all things, the manifestation, the life-giver and mover of all things. The thought of you is staggering and beyond my comprehension.  Still you reveal yourself and leave it up to me to understand what I can. That understanding is just a shadow, a whisper in this vast cosmos. Someday I will understand ~ well, maybe. Will it ever be possible? I am only human. Still, on that Someday, I will comprehend and praise you more than I ever imagined.

If I stayed to myself and minded my own business instead of encouraging others, I would not be opening myself up to insults. That’s just being a coward. Help me open myself up to taunts. Help me share in the suffering of Jesus.

Your Bible is such a blessing. It is not confusion. It is not chaos in its wondering about this and that. It is not madness in careless guessing. It is order and harmony, peace and tranquility, it is ultimate truth. There it is just waiting for me to discover it. You open your mind and heart to me in your Bible, along with your plans, your movings, your yearnings for me. A love letter from God it is. When I read, it is as though I am in a mist and seeing you afar. Thank you for your Bible.

.

0-BK 5-FloodGates-Cover-Thumbnail-NewFLOOD GATES is biblical historical novel #5 in the series THEY MET JESUS.  By now, Jesus has turned the world upside down.  More and more people want to make him their king.  Free medical care so they wouldn’t have to rely on doctors.  Free food so they wouldn’t have to work.  What could be better? To the Temple leadership, it is a nightmare. Some are moving their money to banks in other countries. Others are making arrangements to flee on a moment’s notice.  Jesus has opened the flood gates.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/2XsOXDS

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-5-flood-gates-adults-childs-versions/

Go and conquer anyway

The scripture for today, January 9 (1/9), is Joshua 1:9 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Thumbnail“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord, your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Fear can paralyze. Just ask Joshua. He had just been given the job of conquering horrible people who practiced prostitution as a religion, self-mutilation, and sacrificing their children to the fire god.  Plus, his spies said those bad people were like giants and his army was made up of the children of former slaves with no experience.

Guess what God said.  “Go anyway. Conquer anyway.”

What do you fear?  A few people fear spiders and night time and heights and such. A lot more of us fear changing a bad habit that has us in its claws and won’t let us go. Even more serious, do you fear telling a neighbor, someone in a club, a relative about Jesus’ willingness to save them from hell and get them ,entrance into heaven?  To all this, God says, “Go anyway.”

Some of you reading this live in countries where it is dangerous to be a Christian. Do you fear being arrested, tortured, killed for your faith?  God tells you, “Be strong!  Be courageous!  Do not be terrified!”  Why. Because “the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

What keeps the fear under control?  “Perfect love casts out fear” (I John 4:18).  Love yourself, love your neighbor, love God.

Today, whatever it is holding you back, “Go anyway, Conquer anyway.”

.

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-ThumbnailTHE HOLY SPIRIT:  592 VERSES EXAMINED.  This book does not cater to any fad of beliefs about the Holy Spirit, regardless of how big an important the religious leaders are who declare them. No opinions are inserted.  It is a word study of every verse in the Bible with the word Holy Spirit or God’s Spirit in it.  Concise and clear.  A real eye-opener.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/376695S

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/1107-2/my-book-the-holy-spirit-in-365-scriptures/?frame-nonce=9f9ac75c8f

Keep Climbing

Supper-Front Cover-MediumPraises belong to you, Jehovah. You are my father ~ my Father!  And so strong. Please win the war for us ~ the war with Satan. I am weak. We all are. You are stronger.  He thinks he is winning, but he is not. There may be more people following him on earth but they are like ants compared with the lion-like strength of Christians. Every time he thinks he has convinced one of your children to believe his lies, we rise up and say, “No”.  You give us that strength. All power and glory and majesty are yours.  Of course, you will win! You said so yourself.

Ah, thank you, my Lord, for the way you taught mankind to trust you. Over and over through the centuries and millenniums you made promises but almost always said, “Later”.  You understood we need trust and patience. We needed to know victory would eventually come. You could use your power to know the future to help us and give us a reason to keep trying, keep plugging along, keep struggling, keep climbing.  I bow before you, my gratitude spills upon your wounded feet, and I worship you.

.

Supper-Front Cover-ThumbnailTHE LORD’S SUPPER:  52 READINGS WITH PRAYERS.  Perfect for table talks or private meditation while taking the communion.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/2ZvCTDS

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/the-lords-supper-52-readings-with-prayers/