Scripture for Friday, November 3 (11/3)

The scripture for today, November 3 (11/3), is Luke 11:3 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Bible Puzzles for Young And Old-Cover“Give us each day our daily bread.”

This is part of the ideal prayer that Jesus taught his followers to say. We claim to agree with it. But do we completely?

Do we feel like it is our hard-earned money that bought that bread? Do we claim it is our ability to cook that created that bread? Do we claim it was the hard work of the farmers and their equipment that brought us the grain from whence the bread is made? Or the mills that ground it into flour? Or the stores that brought the flour to the consumers?

Ultimately we must look past all of this to that which is beyond our control. It is God who makes the sun to shine down upon the seed. It is God who makes the rain to come down to water it. It is God who places life in the buried wheat germ for it to reproduce with a flourish.

Many activities of man bring us our daily bread. But ultimately it is God the Creator who makes it all possible. He not only makes it possible for good people, he brings bread also to the bad.

He loves everyone so.

Scripture for Monday, August 21 (8/21)

The scripture for today, August 21 (8/21), is Ezra 8:21a as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

00-Heroes-Alone-COVER-KINDLE“There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God.”

In our modern society, does anyone fast anymore? Not drinking our food (juice) for a day and calling that a fast, but a true fast where we drink only water to stay hydrated, but that’s all. And we turn off all computers, phones, radios, and televisions for the day.

Jesus said in his sermon on the mount, “When you fast….” (Matthew 6:16). He didn’t say, “If you fast….” No, he assumed his followers would fast. Do we?

If we do, do we do it as a group? Fasting is an act of self-restraint. It belongs to the sphere of humble self-discipline and deep inner understanding. It is strictly a personal and private matter. All moral and bodily restraint, all humbleness of body and spirit are represented by fasting, and it is a complete failure of self-restraint to want to show the world our self-restraint. An unknown author wrote this:

  • Let us keep our fast within,
  • Till heaven and we are quite alone;
  • Then let the grief, the shame, the sin,
  • Before the mercy-seat be thrown.

Fasting is a way of facing our true deep-down selves.  When we starve ourselves temporarily, we are saying, “God, I would sacrifice all my food and more for you; I would die for you.” Or, “God, I would trade lives with this person I am fasting for to give them rest if it were possible. I would even die for this person.” It is a deep expression to God that goes beyond words.   Take the challenge.

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#fasting, #food, #restraint, #sacrifice, #self-examination, #love, #martyrdom, #life, #death #relief

Scripture for Saturday, June 17 (pre-Father’s Day)

The scripture for today, June 17 (6/17), is Matthew 6:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Joseph-Cover-Kindle-Medium“But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face.’

This is interesting because Jesus did not say “If, you fast” but rather “When you fast.” It was as though he was teaching us to take for granted that we would fast ~ it would be second-nature to us. In a sense it is, for when most people go through a sudden tragedy such as loss of a loved one, they often cannot eat.

But what about voluntary fasting? The early church sometimes fasted. Acts 13:2 says a congregation in Antioch, Syria, fasted and worshiped, then chose men to go out as missionaries. Queen Esther fasted before going to the king uninvited with a request he might not like (Esther 4:16). Isaiah 58:3 says people fasted in order to humble themselves.

Some people respond, “I’d die if I had to fast.” Perhaps that’s kind of the idea. We know we would die if we went without food long enough. So perhaps one day of fasting is a way of saying, “God, I would die for you if I had to.” Yes, fasting is a humbling experience, and frightening to some people. But perhaps that is the point.

Is something important coming up that you know you will be urgently praying about? Once you skip one meal, you will have conquered your desire to eat. Then, with your brain not having to concentrate on digesting food, it will be able to focus more on that important thing happening in your life. Your prayers will be more focused. You will be more focused with your eyes more clearly on God.

So, take a shower, comb your hair, put on some nice clothes, and look like you have something important to do. Then fast. Jesus fasted.

How many times do you think Joseph–probably the most admired father in the Bible– fasted?

 

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#fasting, #Esther, #elders, #mothers, #fathers, #prayer, #meditation, #death, #food
 

The scripture for today, November 3, is Luke 11:3 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 4-FOLK HERO-COVER“Give us each day our daily bread.”

This is part of the ideal prayer that Jesus taught his followers to say. We claim to agree with it. But do we completely?

Do we feel like it is our hard-earned money that bought that bread? Do we claim it is our ability to cook that created that bread? Do we claim it was the hard work of the farmers and their equipment that brought us the grain from whence the bread is made? Or the mills that ground it into flour? Or the stores that brought the flour to the consumers?

Ultimately we must look past all of this to that which is beyond our control. It is God who makes the sun to shine down upon the seed. It is God who makes the rain to come down to water it. It is God who places life in the buried wheat germ for it to reproduce with a flourish.

Many activities of man bring us our daily bread. But ultimately it is God the Creator who makes it all possible. He not only makes it possible for good people, he brings bread also to the bad. He loves everyone so.

WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLEThe scripture for today, September 25 (9/25), is 1st Corinthians 9:25f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly….”

Every few years there are world-wide Olympic Games with many races. The racers must eat properly, rest sufficiently, and exercise daily.

The Bible has been called the Bread of Life. As Christians we need to eat our spiritual meal every day to stay fit. We cannot keep up our strength without it. Our time of rest is prayer. We enter a room alone and talk to God every day. We need our rest. We cannot keep up our strength without it.

I Timothy 4:8 says, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” We exercise our godliness by being out in the world and being a good example in the face of temptation. We exercise our spiritual muscles daily.

The race is our Christian life. We run every day. How is your race going?

The scripture for today. June 25 (6/25), is Matthew 6:25 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

Do you sometimes wonder how God can allow people to starve with such a promise as this?   Try to remember the Big Picture.  

Remember the Jews being in slavery in Egypt for 400 years?  They must have prayed thousands of times to be freed, but most died still in slavery, believing their prayers never had been answered.  God had a greater plan for them ~ a plan to give them time to multiply from the original 70 people who went to Egypt to the over 3 million who left Egypt.  

So, too, God has a Master Plan for each person and each nation.  It is our assignment to hang on and keep believing in Him and that which we do not understand.  God always does.