Tag: Bible

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The scripture for today, December 4, is Isaiah 12:4 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Cover-Bible Women-Createspace“In that day you will say: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.’ “

Do you make known to your part of your nation what God has done for you? When a friend tells you of a difficulty, do you share what you went through that was similar, and that God helped get you through it? Are you ready with an easy-to-remember scripture to prove God cares and God helps? When someone is sick or bereaved, do you let them know that God hurts just as much when they suffer as when he watched his own Son suffer on the cross?

Look back over your life. Make a list of some difficult times you and God made it through. Find an applicable verse and memorize it. Find out what is going on in the lives of your friends, co-workers, neighbors. Then be ready to share your story and what God has done for you. It’s up to each one of us to do this.

Thereby God’s name will be exalted.

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The scripture for today, November 13, is Zechariah 11:13 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’ ~ the handsome price at which they paid me! So I took the thirty pieces0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter.”

The book of Zechariah is full of prophecies about Jesus, especially circumstances surrounding his death. Compare the above scripture with this:

“Then one of the Twelve ~ the one called Judas Iscariot ~ went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him [Jesus] over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty silver coins” (Matthew 26:15).

and….

“When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests….So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself….So they [chief priests] decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners” (Matthew 27:3, 6-7).

The prophet Zechariah wrote this prophecy some five centuries before Jesus. The prophet had been long dead before it was fulfilled. This could not possibly have been contrived to fit such a distant future ~ the exact sum Judas was paid, the money being thrown into the temple and then given to the potters.

This is only one of many proofs. The Bible is the only religious book in the world with built-in proofs it is of divine origin.

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The scripture for today, November 10, is Acts 11:10 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Cover-Kindle-small“This happened three times and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.”

Acts 11 is about God telling Peter that his new heavenly kingdom was for the whole world, not just the Jews. What was pulled up to heaven again was a “sheet” holding all the unclean animals which the Old Law of Moses commanded not to eat. Now God was saying, “Eat it. The Old Law of Moses isn’t in effect any more.”

This was hard to grasp. So hard that, even though it was God telling Peter directly a new spiritual concept, Peter refused it. So hard for him to believe it, that God had to tell him three times!

Isn’t this the way many of us are? We read something in the Bible that we never believed before. We read it and re-read it and re-read it, and it never sinks in. After all, we never believed that before. None of our religious friends believe it. None of our religious leaders believe it. No one on Christian radio/TV or in Christian magazines believes it.

But God’s Word remains, and so over the weeks and months and years we pass through that scripture and read it and re-read it. Over the weeks and months and years its meaning for our life goes right over our heads.

Then one day, the light goes on! Viola! We see it! We get it! We are blessed!

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The scripture for today, October 23, is Jeremiah 10:23 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Cover-Kindle-small“I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.”

Just how are we supposed to know what steps God has directed us to take? Do we have to guess, rely on a feeling, depend on the movement of our heart, a vision? Actually, we have a guide, a road map.

Jesus said in John 14:16-17 that after he left, the Father would send another Counselor ~ the Spirit of Truth. In John 16:13 Jesus said The Spirit of Truth will guide us into all truth.” In John 17:17, Jesus said, “Your Word is truth.”

Yes, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, guides us through the Word of God, the Bible.

We don’t have to guess! We don’t have to wonder! We don’t have to get discouraged! God has given us his Word to direct our steps. All we have to do is open his Word and read the map.

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The scripture for today, August 1, is Romans 8:1 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Campbell-Cover-KIMBLE“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

There are a lot of religious groups out there in the world who control their people with fear. If you don’t do such and such, it proves you aren’t spiritual enough. If you do such and such one second before you die, you’re going to hell.

They put burdens on you that just are not in the New Testament. By making you feel guilty, they make you depend on them for your salvation and that boosts their ego. The Apostle Paul wrote to the congregations in Galatia (today’s Turkey) and warned them with tears:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel ~ which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached [past tense] to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again:

If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? ” (Galatians 1:6-10).

Are you sure you are IN Christ Jesus? Do your church leaders dance around scriptures they wish weren’t in the Bible and tell you they don’t really mean what they say? Or add things that the scriptures say nothing about? Are you sure they aren’t people pleasers instead of God pleasers? What do they do with Romans 6:3-4? Look it up and compare.

Oh to be sure we are indeed IN Christ Jesus. This is our longing. Our hope. Our reason for being.

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Spread the word.The scripture for today, July 24, is Matthew 7:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 5-FLOOD GATES-Cover-PrintSpread the word.”Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Spread the word.The problem we have with putting into practice the Words of God is that we sometimes read blindly. We don’t see the significance of something. We may read it over and over for years and never see its significance.

Spread the word.Take, for example, the story of Jesus’ birth. We sometimes see pictures of baby Jesus in a stable with the shepherds and three wise men all gathered around him. But Matthew 2:11 says by the time the wise men arrived, Jesus and his parents were living in a house. Further, the Bible does not say how many wise men there were; it just says they gave three kinds of gifts ~ gold, incense and myrrh.

Spread the word.How about I Timothy 3:2? “Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.” This word “overseer” is sometimes translated bishop, sometimes elder, and sometimes pastor. It’s all the same office. We might think at first glance that we believe all this. But do we glaze over the fact that he must have a wife?
Hmmm….

Spread the word.Here’s another one. At funerals we often quote Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me.” But for the Christian, there are no shadows in the valley of death. Jesus was born “to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the path of peace” (Luke 1:79).

Spread the word.Oh, so many things we over look ~ meaningful things. Let us continue to study God’s Word daily with our minds and hearts open to new things we never realized before so that we can build the house of our lives “on the rock.”

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

New Testament Parchment“We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.”

How many times have we 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 religious leaders teach different things, often conflicting?

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 has 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 a large-city telephone book) or use one on the internet.

Then examine everything God ~ not man ~ has to say about anything. Then there are no doubts. Then you know the truth and are ready to apply it to yourself.

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The scripture for today, May 13, is 1st John 5:13f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 6-PROMISE KEEPER-Cover-Createspace“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

What a wonderful and comforting promise: The God of the universe, the Creator, the King of all kings hears you!

Of course, it must be “according to his will.” Well, how are you supposed to know God’s will? By a feeling deep in your heart? Feelings are fickle. But can there be another way? Of course. It’s simple. Just read his very words to you in the Bible.

The Bible is full of examples of people who did right and who did wrong, to help you see the consequences of good and bad decisions. The Bible is also full of God’s advice to you. Proverbs is one of the books that is full of such advice. Read the Bible. You do not have to guess what God’s will is.

What about asking God’s will whether you should move to this place or that, whether you marry this person or that, whether you take this job or that? Perhaps all your choices are good. God has also given you free will. Always remember, “ALL things work together for good to those who love the Lord and called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

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The scripture for today, April 29, is Deuteronomy 4:29 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 6-PROMISE KEEPER-Cover-Createspace“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

God is always nearby, but we do not always acknowledge it. He will not force himself on us. So he waits.

There is an old expression, “To know him is to love him.” This is true also of God. God is talking to you in his Bible, explaining what he is like and how he reacts to every possible situation in life. Seek him there. He is talking to you.

The conversation turns the other way when we talk to him in response to what we have read, or what we are trying to apply to our lives, or our concern for others. This mutual conversation with God is the with-all-your-heart-and-soul kind.

And it is good.

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The scripture for today, April 22, is Proverbs 4:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

New Testament Parchment

Nearly everyone with a Bible picks it up at some time or another and reads something out of it. But random reading is like picking up a novel and randomly reading a few passages now and then. The passage itself may be beautiful, but does not have a lot of meaning without knowing what came before and after that passage in the novel.

It is the same with God’s Word. Read the entire Bible. Perhaps you can read a chapter a day. Or, if you want to read it through in a year,
you can count the total number of pages in your Bible, divide by 365, and read that number of pages a day. This way you will know all the
things that occurred before and after your favorite scriptures. Then they will take on new meaning for your life.

Proverbs even says this adds to your health. Do you suffer from any physical problems caused by anxiety? A lot of physical problems
are. This is yet another reason to know the Word of God.

How amazing!