Tag: Bible

Scripture for Monday, August 1 (8/1)

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

CHANGES IN WORSHIP-COVER-KINDLE“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.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: WERE YOU EVER TOLD SOMETHING BY YOUR RELIGIOUS LEADER THAT TURNED OUT NOT TO BE TRUE?

Scripture for Tuesday, July 26 (7/26)

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The scripture for today, July 26, is John 7:26 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

000-BOOK 1-STAR SONG-PRINT COVER-Small“Here he [Jesus] is speaking publicly [in the temple], and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”

These people standing around the temple refused to believe in Jesus because they chose to disregard a scripture that all Jews knew about. They said no one would know where the Christ (the Messiah) would come from. But they did know. It was in their own scriptures ~ Micah 5:2

“But you, Bethlehem…out of you will come for me the one who will be ruler over Israel.”

Are you sometimes like all those people standing around in the temple? Do you sometimes make up your mind about something religious; and even if the Bible says something different, you refuse to acknowledge it? Does your ego sometimes get in the way? Or are you afraid of pressure from your friends?

As you read the Word of God, open wide your heart and mind. Indeed, sometimes your friends and your stubborn will get in the way of walking the beautiful path that God has created for you.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: DO YOU KNOW OF A BIBLE VERSE THAT YOUR FRIENDS TELL YOU DOESN’T MEAN WHAT IT SAYS? WHICH ONE?

Scripture for Sunday, July 24 (7/24)

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

CHANGES IN WORSHIP-COVER-KINDLE“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.”

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.

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.

How about 1st 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….

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).

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

Scripture for Friday, July 22 (7/22)

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The scripture for today, July 22, is 2nd Samuel 7:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Life-Changing-Scriptures-Cover-medium“How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”

How do we know there is no God but the God of the Bible that we read about and “hear with our own ears” (when scriptures are read aloud)?

How do we know our God is the only true God, and our Bible his only true words? Numerous built-in proofs. Prophecies fulfilled of people and entire nations as given in the Bible and verified in secular encyclopedias. Scientific facts not known in early centuries. Over 300 archaeological facts.

Therefore, Christians can KNOW what God is like, what he wants and how he views us, for we have heard with our own ears and seen with our own eyes. How lucky we are. How blessed.

Scripture for Thursday, July 21 (7/21)

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Our scripture for today, July 21, is Matthew 7:21ff as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

CHANGES IN WORSHIP-COVER-KINDLE“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ “

There are hundreds of denominations/sects out there all contradicting each other. It’s impossible for them all to be right. We can never rely on what someone else says just because they look and act holy and say all the right holy words and phrases and pray such holy-sounding prayers. We must never rely on our religious leaders to tell us what to believe. Shall we take their opinion or God’s opinion?

Romans 10:1 in the Bible mentions some people who had a lot of zeal for God, but were lost because it was not according to the proper knowledge.

Well, how do you get God’s opinion? Read the Bible for yourself! Use a concordance (lists every word in the Bible and every scripture with that word) and look up your chosen subject.  Then, having found the truth, why not go back to the religious leaders in love and try to teach your teachers? Some just might listen to you.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: HAVE YOU EVER BELIEVED IN SOMETHING THAT YOU LATER FOUND OUT WAS WRONG?  WHAT WAS IT, AND HOW DID YOU FIND OUT?

Scripture for Friday, July 15 (7/15)

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The scripture for today, July 15, is Matthew 7:15 as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

CHANGES IN WORSHIP-COVER-KINDLE“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

Jesus said this. Maybe sometimes the “false prophet” is within ourselves. We have a pet theory that we want very much for God to agree with us on. So we read through the Scriptures trying to prove our point correct.

Of course, taking a verse here and a verse there, you can “prove” anything you want.
So how do we find out if we are being our own “false prophet”? When we see a verse that contradicts our pet theory, look for other scriptures similar to this one. Use a concordance ~ a book that lists alphabetically every word in the Bible and every verse it appears in.

Or, if we believe in a different holy book of a different world religion, we can read it, then honestly search for built-in proofs it is truly holy. Thereby we can decide if we’ve been listening to a false prophet.

And as you honestly struggle, pray about it. Yes, it is humiliating to believe we just might have been wrong, and then actually admit we were wrong. But it is also liberating.

Many people have already gone through this, and can testify that changing from our viewpoint to God’s viewpoint is not only liberating, but ultimately brings peace.

Scripture for Wednesday, July 6 (7/6)

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The scripture for today, July 6, is Mark 7:6f as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

Life-Changing-Scriptures-Cover-medium“He [Jesus] replied, ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ “

It is the trend today to say that all religions ~ even those who teach opposing things ~ are right and all are good. But Jesus did not say this. Well, then, how do we know which religious things we are taught and do today are from God and which from men?

You are smart. Read the sacred writings of all major world religions for yourself. Do they have built-in proofs they are really sacred ~ scientific, archaeological, ancient inscriptions, prophecies fulfilled? Here is a website with nearly 400 proofs the Bible is from God:

http://www.churchofchrist-cg-az.com/Bible

Then, if you conclude the Bible is true, use a concordance and do a study of everything the Bible says about any topic. That way you will have God’s opinion, not men’s.

Here is a website with an online Bible concordance and it’s easy to use:

http://bibletab.com/

You can find out for yourself, you can KNOW, whether what you were told to believe by family, friends, and leaders is what God told you to believe.

Scripture for Sunday, July 3 (7/3)

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The scripture for today, July 3 is Acts 7:3 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

PAUL COVER-KINDLE-” ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ “

This is part of a speech by Christian Stephen soon after the church began. He was reminding the Jewish leaders how God told their ancestor Abraham to leave his religion, home, and family, and move to where God had something special for him ~ to begin the Jewish nation and religion.

But when Stephen got to the part where now God wanted them to leave the Jewish religion and move on to a still better one ~ the Christian religion ~ they got mad. They were not like Abraham; they did not want to change. So, not liking the message, they killed the messenger. These religious leaders stoned Stephen to death.

It is hard to change. It takes a great big “leap of faith.” But when God does the recommending, we can know he has something special in mind for us. So gear up and get ready for that leap!

Scripture for Saturday, July 2 (7/2)

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The scripture for today, July 2, is Proverbs 7:2ff as found in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Cover-Kindle-small“Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding your kinsman.”

It seems, everywhere we turn, we are given differing religious opinions. They cannot all be true, but everyone who says them seems to be so good. They all pray and do good deeds, and never lie, cheat or steal. But how can they all be right when they contradict each other? Preachers and creeds and elders and dogmas. When it comes down to it, only God’s opinion counts.

So how do we get God’s opinion? We look up everything in the Bible using the key word we are concerned about. We look it up for ourselves and decide for ourselves. We do not let other people decide for us.

Well, how do we find all those verses? By using a concordance which is like a large dictionary listing all the words in the Bible and what verses carry those words. It is the size of a large-city telephone book. You can also get it on the internet free here:

http://bibletab.com/

So today look up something about Christianity you have always been curious about. Then you’ll have wisdom, understanding, and God’s opinion.

Scripture for Thursday, June 16 (6/16)

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The scripture for today, June 16, is Jeremiah 6:16 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLE“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”

We need history, not only for an appreciation of what our forefathers did for us, but also to learn which mistakes not to make all over again. This is true with religion also. There are hundreds of denominations and religions out there. This divisiveness hurts us. It seems the more denominations and religions we have, the fewer people are interested in spiritual things.

Within Christianity, think about creeds for a moment. If a creed is less than the Bible, it isn’t enough. If it is more than the Bible, it is too much. If it is the same as the Bible, why have it? Let us change our loyalties away from denominationalism and toward the Bible. All this confusion is exhausting!

Human nature has always been the same, and the Bible written long ago applies just as much to human nature today as it did then. Proverbs! The life and speeches of Jesus! The many mistakes made by people in the Old Testament! The advice to Christians in the New Testament! It’s not confusing. And maybe then, we will find rest for our souls.