Tag: Bible

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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!

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, Daily, Inspirational2 Comments

The scripture for today, April 7, is Proverbs 4:7 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 3-HEARTS AFIRE-COVER

The verse just before this says, “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.” And the verse just after today’s says, “Esteem her and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.”

How do we get wisdom? The Bible is full of it. Proverbs was written by Solomon, the wisest man in the world. Just reading and applying Proverbs would give a person wisdom. And the entire Old Testament gives examples of numerous people through the centuries who did or did not do right, and the result of their decisions.

Many religious people neglect the Old Testament. It is not always pleasant reading. But by reading it, we can avoid the mistakes made by many, and perhaps gain courage to imitate the courageous one who made the right choices.

How about reading the Bible through every year? To read both the Old and New Testament through in a year would take about 20 minutes a day. Some people have read the entire Bible front to back forty or fifty times. Make this a priority in your life. It will give you wisdom.

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, Daily, Inspirational2 Comments

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

“TheyOld Testament Scroll [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.”

The author, the apostle Paul, is warning 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).

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).

This is why it is important to read the Bible for yourself. You are smart enough. It is easy to understand. You can do it!

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The scripture for today March 24, is 1st John 3:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

HS-COVER-KINDLE-GOLDThose who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”

Some people think we can tell that we are obeying God and he is therefore in us by how we feel, by our emotions. But emotions are fickle. We can feel great one day and sad the next and frustrated after that, then great again. It can be confusing to rely on how we feel as to whether or not God’s Spirit lives in us.

Jesus said in John 14:17 that he was going to send us the Counselor, the Spirit of Truth. And in John 17:17 Jesus said God’s Word is Truth.

Now that makes more sense! We can know by reading the Bible ~ God’s Word ~ and following it. God thought of everything. His Word is clear, and that is how we know we have obeyed him and he lives in us.

How grateful we are for his Bible. No guessing.

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The Scripture for today, March 13, Is Ezra 3:13 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Old Testament Scroll“No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.”

Solomon’s great temple had been destroyed and the Jews forced to go to Babylon. Now, 70 years later, they were back and had rebuilt the temple. The older Jews who had seen Solomon’s temple wailed in grief because it was not nearly so grand as Solomon’s. The younger ones shouted for joy because at least they now had a temple again. So the laughing of the young people and the crying of the old people mingled.

Sometimes the laughing and crying around us get too loud and put our lives in confusion. We don’t understand what is going on. Sometimes the laughing or crying is our own. Sometimes we need to get away from the loud laughing and crying.

Turn off the television. The radio. The telephone. The computer. Don’t answer the door. Go into a room where you can be alone in complete silence. Then pick up the Bible and begin to read Luke about the life of Christ, or Philippians about peace, or the Psalms about overcoming adversity, or James about the direction your life is going. Read the whole book in one sitting.

Be still. Hear it now?

It is God calling your heart to his heart.

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The scripture for today, March 12, is Ezekiel 3:12 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

New Testament Parchment“The Spirit lifted me up and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound ~ May the glory of the Lord be praised in his dwelling place!”

This is quite interesting because, despite some who preach being “slain in the Spirit,” the Spirit does not make people fall down. The Spirit lifts people up. The Spirit did this to Ezekiel on several occasions; always, if he was sitting or lying down, the Spirit lifted him up onto his feet.

There are so many things we think we know about the Bible, but when we begin to investigate, it just isn’t there. Just like Eve eating an apple ~ we don’t know what kind of fruit it was. Or three wise men visiting baby Jesus ~ there were three gifts, not necessarily three men. Or Bethlehem being a little town ~ it was a walled fortress. Or everyone going inside the temple to worship ~ only priests were allowed inside the building.

Read the Bible for yourself. You are smart. You can do it!

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The scripture for today, February 2, is Matthew 2:2 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Star of Bethlehem“[the Magi/Wisemen] asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

There are people who believe the “star of Bethlehem” was in the east. But the star wasn’t in the east; the wise men (Magi) were in the east.

Many believe the star led the wise men the whole way. But Matthew 2:9 & 10 says, “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they HAD seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.”

The wise men saw the star while they were in the east and headed in the direction it came from. After they were in Jerusalem, the star reappeared ~ the star they HAD seen in the east. They rejoiced when they saw the star again, not because it had been with them the whole time, but because it had reappeared.

There are so many things about the Bible that we have heard all our life and just assume are true. Investigate things for yourself. Never take a teaching about the Bible for granted. You are smart. Check things out yourself.

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The scripture for today, January 20, is 2nd Peter 1:20f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Old Testament Scroll“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Isn’t this interesting? It’s a definition of prophecy. Prophecy is Scripture. It isn’t just telling the future. It’s telling the mind of God. Sometimes in the Old Testament God warned his people that if they did so-and-so, this would happen, but if they did such-and-such, that would happen.

But ultimately all prophecy was telling people how much God loved them and wanted them in the long run to be happy. The Old Testament has much of that in it, and all the New Testament does. It is your Creator’s Words.

You are so blessed that you do not have to guess what is on God’s mind. Many other religions have to guess ~ Hinduism, Buddhism, and so on. But you have God’s very own words in black and white to read over and over whenever you like ~ prophecy which is Scripture. Read it. Absorb it. Love it. It was written by the Lover of your Soul.

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

HS-COVER-KINDLE“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.