Scripture for Wednesday, January 11 (1/11)

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

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

How often do we forget that earth is not our home? As an old gospel song says, “We’re just traveling through.” Do we really believe that? If someone told us tomorrow that we were going to die, would we go into a panic? Would we beg God to let us live another ten or twenty years? Would we feel this was the beginning of the end?

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

#Heaven, #Death, #Dying, #Earth, #Life

Scripture for Sunday, December 4 (12/4)

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

0-Joseph-Cover-Kindle-Medium“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.

#problems, #troubles, #illness, #death, #MoralSupport, #GodsLove, #GodHurts, #GodCares

Scripture for Friday, September 30 (9/30)

The scripture for today, September 30, is Luke 9:30f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.”

Hebrews 5:7 says something very startling to most people. “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.”

Jesus did not look forward to going to the cross, even though many thousands of others had died that way. Why was it different for him? Because he had to take on all our sins as though he had committed them himself ~ every lie we’ve told, every gain from cheating, every insult, every slander campaign against another, every adultery, every murder ~ everything ~ all our sins! How could he bear it?

Not only that, but he had to experience both physical and spiritual death. Spiritual death means being separated from, being forsaken by God. What a terror to experience!

And so, a few weeks before his crucifixion, as he prayed on the mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared to him and they spoke about his death. They surely gave him courage to do what had to be done to save you and me who deserve hell.

The crowning glory of this conversation with Moses and Elijah is that God reassured him by announcing, “THIS IS MY SON! WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN! LISTEN TO HIM!”

Jesus was to nail the Old Law of Moses to the cross (Colossians 2:14). He had promised people, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets: I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).

Indeed, by the time Jesus returned to heaven, he had lived the Old Law introduced by Moses perfectly ~ something no man had ever been able to do. And by the time he returned to heaven, he had fulfilled every prophecy about his birth, life, and death, the first such prophet being represented by Elijah.

Oh the things Jesus went through for us. We fall at his feet and worship him.

#Law, #crucifixion, #hell, #death, #prophecies

Death is the end of the beginning

death-end-of-beginningmedium

Scripture for Wednesday, September 21 (9/21)

The scripture for today, September 21, is Hebrews 9:21f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“In the same way, he [Moses] sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”

The wages we earn when we sin is death (Romans 6:23). Death means separation. In a physical sense, we are separated from people living on earth. In a spiritual sense, we are separated from God in heaven. God is life, and cannot dwell with death. It is not in his nature.

But he loves us dearly. So he sent a final blood sacrifice for us ~ his own Son, the perfect Lamb of God ~ to shed his blood in our place, to collect the terrible wages of our sin for us ~ so mankind could be forgiven of our sins.

What a God we have! Let us fall at his feet and worship.

#sin, #death, sacrifice

Scripture for Tuesday, August 23 (8/23)

The scripture for today, August 23, is 2nd Kings 8:23 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK EIGHT-COME FLY WITH ME-Cover“As for the other events of Jehoram’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?”

All the years of this great king’s life were reduced to a few pages in a book. When you die, what will there be to write about? Will people list only the date and place of your birth, marriage, and death ~ your statistics? What will you be remembered for? What will be in your obituary?

Better still, what is God writing about you in his books? “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and books were opened. Another book was opened which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books” (Revelation 12).

Will your book be thin with not a lot worth writing about? Will it be thick and full of all you’ve accomplished for good and God in this life? What will be in your book?

DISCUSSION QUESTION: IF YOU KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO DIE IN A WEEK, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH YOUR LAST WEEK?

#life-death, #obituary, #bookofGod, #judgmenet

Scripture for Thursday, August 11 (8/11)

The scripture for today, August 11, is Romans 8:11 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLE“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”

Death literally means separation. Physical death means separation from this body on earth. Spiritual death means separation of our soul from God who is Life. Whenever we sin, our soul dies. It happened to Adam and Eve who didn’t think God meant it when he said, “In the day you eat of the fruit, you will die.” They could no longer walk and talk with God in the garden because they were now separated from him, spiritually dead. With that eventually also came physical death.

There are certain spiritual laws that cannot be broken. For example, it is impossible for God to lie. It is also impossible for God to sin. Therefore, God cannot co-exist with sin. We sin. Another law is that sin demands death. For centuries, God allowed mankind to sacrifice an animal in their place to take their death punishment. But it was just a temporary fix. Finally, he sent the Son in bodily form to be sacrificed in our place and take our death punishment. Now, all we have to do is be “in Jesus” which is accomplished by baptism: Galatians 3:26 says this.

What is the role of our spirit? When we die, we say our spirit has left our body. So, as long as we are alive, it means our spirit is still in us. We are not conscious of our spirit being in us; we just know it is because we are still alive. In the same way, when we become Christians by believing, repenting, confessing and being baptized, God’s Holy Spirit enters us; Acts 2:38 says so. This is when we become spiritually alive; Romans 6:3-4 says so. We are not overtly conscious of God’s Spirit being in us, but we know it is true because our soul is now alive.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: LOOK UP ACTS 2:38. WHAT DOES IT SAY TO PROVE THE HOLY SPIRIT IS IN US? HAS ANYONE EVER TOLD YOU THAT YOU HAD TO DO MORE THINGS THAN THIS?

#death, #Holy Spirit, #Soul, #Baptism

Scripture for Saturday, July 23 (7/23)

The scripture for today, July 23, is 1st Corinthians 7:23 in the New Testament of the Bible.

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.”

Who were you bought from? Satan. Romans 3:23 says everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God. God, who is perfection, cannot dwell with us. It would be like light dwelling with darkness. It cannot be done.

But God loved you so much, he figured out a way to make you sinless. He sent his son, Jesus, to live that perfect life that is impossible for you to live. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. So Jesus drew those wages in your place. He took the blame for all your sins onto himself and died spiritually and physically in your place.

Then God told the world through his Bible that, if you will believe this really happened and follow his will for you, he will consider you perfect too. Until that happens, you are a slave to what men tell you to do ~ and of Satan.

You were bought at great price ~ the blood of Jesus Christ.

Free Book July 4 Only

FREE BOOK JULY 4 ONLY AT Amazon

00-COVER-KINDLEBetty (Mrs. JC) Choate: When I started “The Samaritan’s Quest” at the Harding Lectures, I picked it up again every time I had a few minutes and just lived the “bringing to life” of Jesus’ parables!

Katheryn did such excellent research into geography, history, culture, names, and the biblical account in her development of the Samaritan’s life. She is an amazing writer and Bible scholar, and I do heartily recommend this book. When you read it, I am very sure you will look for opportunities to tell others about it.

Now I’m waiting for her next treasure, magnifying historically and culturally the life and work and sufferings of the apostle Paul.

http://amzn.to/29eJEy2

Scripture for Tuesday, June 21 (6/21)

The scripture for today, June 21, is Romans 6:21ff as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

PAUL COVER-KINDLE-“What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Sometimes we do things we are ashamed of, and decide God would be too ashamed of us to accept us as his child. But God can get rid of the shame, for he can forgive so completely that it is as though we never did those things.

Some people bristle from the phrase “slaves to God” or even slavery at all. But we’re all slaves to something ~ a big car, high position, beauty, a hobby, chasing after the opposite gender, reading, eating, music, sports, etc.

From the beginning of time, sin has always resulted in death. Death means “separation” , and in the case of sin, it means separation from God. God allowed us in Old Testament times to kill a perfect animal in our place, but we had to keep doing it throughout life. Then Jesus came as our perfect Lamb of God, and allowed himself to be killed in our place.

The wages were paid through Jesus; so by believing this is true and following Jesus, we are no longer in debt.