Be a hero to yourself: Hang on.

The scripture for today, July 13 (7/13), is in Job 7:13ff in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Inside-COVER-lg thumbnail“When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.”

Job was extremely depressed. It happens to everyone sometimes. His depression was certainly valid ~ he had lost all his income and all his children in a recent storm. Now he had what the Bible translated as “boils” but the symptoms indicate he had a form of leprosy called Elephantiasis.

This particular form leads to nightmares in addition to the physical problems. Job had every right to be depressed. So depressed was he, that he no longer wanted to live, for his life no longer had meaning.

But, as miserable as Job was, he hung on. Patiently he hung on during the bad times. Sometimes during your bad times, the greatest thing you can do is “hang on” ~ be patient.

Romans 8:28 says all things work together for good to those who love the Lord. Job loved the Lord. Even in his misery and desire to die,  he continued to love God and trust Him.

And, although at such times you may believe your misery will never end and you will never even smile again, it will happen. The misery comes to an end. It did for Job. He got his health and income back and more children to comfort him. God will see you through too.

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Inside-COVER-lg thumbnailINSIDE THE HEARTS OF BIBLE WOMEN.  What did Job’s wife endure with the loss of all her children? What did she go through as she watched her husband suffer physically and mentally. What was her own anguish?  The word “barek” translated “curse” is always translated “bless” everywhere else in the Bible.  Do you suppose she finally said, “Husband, it’s okay if you die.  I’ll be all right.  Just keep blessing God and go to him in comfort.” Read the story of Job’s wife and other women in the Bible and how they handled their own challenges.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/HeartsBibleWomen                                                                      https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/1107-2/my-book-inside-the-hearts-of-bible-women/

 

Diamonds in sparkling waters

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A child’s cooing praises you. A lion’s roaring praises you. An ocean rising and falling praises you. Rainbows and snow tops and diamonds in sparkling waters praise you. Everything I see, sound I hear, everything I touch are full of praises for you. You are everywhere and you, my God, are my soul. With exhilaration, I worship you.

Ah, my Lord, how I long to see you as you are. Life here is too long. I know I must do my share in conquering Satan and making him weaker all the time. But, when my work is done, I get to be in your realm and exchange smiles with you. What a day it will be. A glorious day when I, your bride, will be united with you forever.

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07-SHADOW-ChildsCartoonThmbnailA CHILD’S LIFE OF CHRIST: SHADOW OF DEATH is a gentle account of the crucifixion of Jesus where he “hurt a lot” and the sadness of his friends and the joyous day when he came back to life just as he had promised.  How surprised the guards were and happy everyone who loved him was. Jesus always keeps his promises and everybody who loves Jesus will get to see him some day.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/388AfYj       

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/a-childs-life-of-christ-book-7-shadow-of-death/

Get ready to be amazed

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-ThumbnailLord God of heaven and earth, your radiance dazzles the universe. When you speak, the thunders crash. When you protect, you send bolts of lightning where needed. You are not soft. Your enemies hate you for stopping them. They declare you are not a good God because you will not let them do whatever they want.  I am unendingly grateful that you are my shield, my defender, my safeguard, my shelter. You are always there when I need you. I do not even know all the times you have kept me from harm, but I know you do. I praise you with my lips, my actions, my heart.

The other day I began flattering someone so they would do something for me. They are not normally the way I described them. They knew it and I knew it. It was blatant flattery. Lord, nothing is so important that I need to flatter and lie for something to be given or done.

Thank you for rain ~ gentle showers, rushing torrents, and all that is between.  You soften the ground with it and make it ready for seeds anxious to reproduce themselves. Spring is filled with hope, autumn overflowing with bounty.  Even the deserts with their sparseness and sand that blows wearily here and there come alive with blossoms that have been hidden since the last rain long before. No seed really ever dies. It always has life in it. How amazing how you awaken what was thought to be dead even in the desert, and bless the earth. How kind you are to provide my food when I am hungry and nourish my life so I can plant seeds of your hope in others’ hearts.

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0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-ThumbnailTHE HOLY SPIRIT:  592 VERSES EXAMINED.  There are numerous books on the Holy Spirit, but they are based on only a few Bible verses. Read through these chapters, not to prove what you already believe, but with an open mind and heart that perhaps you don’t believe in enough things the Holy Spirit does, or you believe in more things than the scriptures actually teach.  Now, let us gear up for all things God’s Holy Spirit does, and get ready to be amazed.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/376695S 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/1107-2/my-book-the-holy-spirit-in-365-scriptures/?frame-nonce=9f9ac75c8f

 

Sunday 4/8 ~ Oh, that we could all say this at the end of our life

The scripture for today, April 8 (4/8), is 2nd Timothy 4:8 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-“Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day ~ and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

The Apostle Paul was somewhere around his seventies at this writing. He’d been converted probably in his thirties. He’d spent the past forty years telling people how to escape a place they didn’t believe they were going to and disrupting the religion they already had.

Forty years of tolerating persecution, sometimes hungry and cold and beaten and hated. Forty years of seldom staying in a city longer than a few months, always on the go.  Forty years of never being satisfied with the number of people he had reached with the Good News of their escape from Satan, the Good News of a God who actually loved them, Good News of heaven.

Now he was in prison.

“I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Oh, that we all could say this at the end of our life.

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

The scripture for today, November 25, is John 11:25 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

REV-Cover-Kindle“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.’ “

This has always been puzzling: People who have been Christians all their lives find out from their doctor that they are going to die, and they weep and beg God to keep them alive. Why? Heaven is our final destination, not earth. We claim we want to go to heaven, but we do not want to do what is necessary to get there. Death is the door to heaven. Death is not the end, but the beginning!

Let us be willing to look death in the eye and say, “Jesus has conquered you! I will close my eyes in death and then open them again to behold my Creator and my Savior!”