Saturday 9/15 ~ Just how far would you go?

The scripture for today, September 15 (9/15), is 2nd Corinthians 9:15 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Thumbnail“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

Can you imagine dying in the place of someone else?  We occasionally hear stories from the battlefield of a man falling on a grenade so he is the only one killed, thus saving his buddies.

But closer to home, if you saw a child in the path of a car, would you run out and throw the child out of the way knowing there will be no time for you to escape death?

What if you were hiking or sailing with a friend and got lost? Would you split the food and water evenly, or would you give it all to your friend? What would you do if you were lost with someone who hated everyone? Would you give them all the food and water knowing you would die and the hateful person live on?

What if you were with a friend and were arrested for a crime the friend did? Would you take the blame and the punishment of twenty years in prison so your friend could go free?  What if that person was a habitual criminal, you happened to cross paths at the wrong time, and you were both arrested for his heinous crime? Would you take the blame and his punishment (execution) for him?

Now try to imagine making your child take the blame and die in the place of every sinner in the world ~ your sinless, innocent child.

     It is indescribable.

            It is unimaginable.

                It is unthinkable.

                        But God did exactly that.

How can we thank Him for his indescribable gift of Jesus redeeming us from Satan with his blood? We fall silently at His feet and worship.

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Sunday 9/9 ~Donkeys and Mules: The Ride of Kings

The scripture for today, September 9 (9/9), is Zechariah 9:9 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

365 Dat by Date-Front-Thumbnail“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Most people think Jesus riding on a donkey made him humble. Not at all. Donkeys and mules were rides of kings.

Judges 5:9-10 says, “My heart is with Israel’s princes….you who ride on white donkeys.” Supreme Judge Jair led Israel 22 years and had 30 sons who rode 30 donkeys (Judges 10:3-4). Supreme Judge Abdon, who ruled Israel 8 years, had 70 sons and grandsons who rode on 70 donkeys (Judges 12:14).

II Samuel 18:9 says Absalom, King David’s son, rode on a mule. In I Kings 1:33,38,44, David ordained that his son, Solomon, ride on his own mule through the street as one proof that he chose Solomon to be the next king.

The people of Jerusalem knew Jesus was not only riding the ride of kings when he entered their capital city, but he was also, at last, fulfilling the centuries-old prophecy they all knew so well (today’s scripture).

This is the humility that Jesus did exhibit: He rode on the colt of a donkey.

Do we blindly follow whatever our religious leaders tell us? Do we know the scriptures as well as we think we do?

Let us glory in learning new things about our King of Glory.

 

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Thursday 9/6 ~ God is One!

The scripture for today, September 6 (9/6), is Isaiah 9:6 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible.

0-Joseph-Cover-Thumbnail“For to us a child is born! To us a son is given! And the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!”

This is one of the most amazing scriptures in the entire Bible explaining how God is One and self-existent. It is as astounding as John 1:1,14 that says, “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

This child predicted to be born unto us was both Father and Son and God. He created Himself. He was self-existent.

He is the image of the invisible God. ”For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:15, 19; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:4). The men who saw Jesus Christ saw God (John 12:45, 14:9). God’s blood (God’s Word in flesh) was shed on the cross (Acts 20:28).

In America, we sometimes say about a son, “he is the spitting image of his father.”  Jesus said, “If you want to look at the Father, look at me.” God is a Spirit but created us in a material world. So, sometimes God materialized in the Old Testament. In the New Testament he materialized as Jesus.

This is so amazing. And we have been so blessed beyond full comprehension.

 

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Wednesday 9/5 ~ Stand up and do what?

The scripture for today, September 5 (9/5), is Nehemiah 9:5a as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

OldOldTunes-Thumbnail“And the Levites ~ Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherabiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah ~ said ‘Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.’ “

Who in the world are these eight men?  We know nothing about them before this event and nothing about them after this event. But they are forever memorialized in the Bible because, on this one day, within this one hour, in this one moment in time they “stood on the steps of the temple…and called with a loud voice” (Nehemiah 9:4) for the people to “stand up and praise the Lord”.

Can we do that? Can we stand and shout to people around us, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God”? Yes, we can. We can write letters to the editor, we can encourage other students of the Bible, we can start Bible studies in our home or even the internet for adults or children, we can take scripture tray favors to a hospital or nursing home.

In what way can you tell people around you to “stand up and praise the Lord your God”? Write down some ideas. Then act.

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Monday 9/3 ~ Are you God’s forever temple?

The scripture for today, September 3 (9/3), is 1st Kings 9:3 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-New“The Lord said to him, ‘I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.’ “

The New Testament builds spiritual concepts on the basic material patterns of the Old Testament. For example, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1st Corinthians 3:16). This is the temple God wants now, not the old material temple of the Old Testament.

Just as there was just one material temple of God in the Old Testament, God looks upon each Christian as though we are the only temple; for he is with us constantly and hears our every word, our every song, our every prayer.

Is your heart troubled today? Is your heart joyful today? Are you at peace with everything around you? Do you see conflicts that you do not know how to solve?

As God’s temple, God’s eyes and heart are with you. God sees and watches out for you in everything you do. He knows your cares, your heart’s desires, your joys, your worries. God’s eyes and heart are forever with you, for you are God’s temple!

 

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Saturday 9/1 ~ Do You Ever Wonder?

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

07-SHADOW-ChildsCartoonThmbnail“I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.”

I knew a lady many years ago who talked to God all day as though he was sitting or standing beside her, whether she was cleaning floors, washing dishes, going shopping, or just received a telephone call. She talked to God about everything she was doing. God was her constant companion.

What opportunities you miss to talk to God during the day. Every time you do, you are praising Him. How? By acknowledging His concern with everything you do, and in the process acknowledging His omnipresence. And what a wonder His omnipresence is!

Does this include times when everything in your life is going wrong? You bet! On some days, the wonders of God are about the only positive things you can find in our life.

Praising God for his wonders amidst your frustrations, tears, fears, and helplessness can lift you out of the mire. It can remind you that you are not alone; for God sees what is happening to you, and in his own way he will perform a wonder for you.

 

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Monday 8/13 ~ Where is the Lord Almighty in my list of gods?

The scripture for today, August 13 (8/13), is Isaiah 8:13f as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Inside-COVER-lg thumbnail“The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary.”

“Holy” in both the Hebrew and Greek means someone or something set apart as very special. Who or what do you daily set apart as someone or something special? Do you in a sense “worship” that person or thing? Whoever or whatever you worship, you become a slave to. Are you a “slave” to anything in your life? Is there something you cannot control because it controls you? Are you a slave to attention or food or money or power or clothes or houses or cars or etc?

Then, when there is a tragedy in your life, can you rely on those things to get you through? Who or what will be your sanctuary in times of trouble? Will you be able to say, “The Lord Almighty…he will be my sanctuary” even though he is not a sanctuary to people who have put him at the bottom of their list?  Where is the Lord Almighty in your list of gods?

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Monday 8/6 ~My spare-time

The scripture for today, August 6 (8/6)is 1st Corinthians 8:6f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-Cover-KINDLE-Thumbnail-New“Yet for us, there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord [Word], Jesus Christ, through whom all things came [by the Word] and through whom we live [by the Word]. But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols.”

We all believe in Jesus, so we think we’re not involved with idols. But we all sometimes idolize something when we should be idolizing Someone. With advertising of things all around us, we are tempted to trade God for things. Having once turned things into our idol, we set Jesus aside.

Oh, we may still worship at least once a week. And pray every morning. We may even read a chapter of the Bible every day. But what do we spend the rest of the day thinking about and doing? Yes, when we’re on the job, we must think about giving our employers an honest day’s work for an honest day’s wage. And we have families we must love and attend to.

But after that……..

Then what?

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Sunday 7/29 ~ Innocence of childhood

The scripture for today, July 29 (7/29), is Ecclesiastes 7:29 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

03-Naaman'sMaid-ThumbnailCover“This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.”

You begin your life upright ~ sinless. But as you grow out of innocent childhood, you begin to want recognition, money, and to make your surroundings beautiful.

True, God does not want to deprive you if you can obtain these things. But Solomon (who wrote this), was the richest man in the world with all his worldwide fame, wealth, and beauty. Yet, he still felt empty.

Today, you can even read the Bible and go to worship and still feel empty. Why? Because you need to add good works to your faith (James 2) ~ helping others with the same enthusiasm with which you pursue recognition, money and beauty – yes, and worship.

Sometimes, to fill your emptiness, you need to just return to your early childhood when you saw life through innocent eyes. Through simple eyes. Through eyes that believe so easily in God, and so easily love him.

Sometimes, as you progress through life, why not return to that more innocent way of life?

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Saturday 7/28 ~ Is there anyone we can trust?

The scripture for today, July 28, is 2nd Samuel 7:28 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Thumbnail“O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.”

 

What a beautiful praise. Praising God is different from thanking him. It is acknowledging him for His traits ~ not for what He does, but what He is.

 

  • He is trustworthy!
  • He is able to hear all our prayers at once!
  • He is everywhere and all knowing!
  • He is perfect love!
  • He is anxious to forgive!
  • He considers us his children!

Sometimes in life, we come to a  point when there is no one to trust about a certain thing. What a lonely feeling. But, if we have God, we have someone we can always trust. 

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