Heart of my heart

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-MediumAh, my Lord God, you are the highest and greatest above all others. You are the epitome, the mountain peak, the inner depths of all.  You are so much more powerful than Satan. May you be now and forever. You alone are worthy of the world’s honor. You alone are true glory ~ on earth and in heaven. You alone are my Maker, my Sustainer, my Savior. The stars race through the firmament to be the first to magnify you. The oceans soar to the depths to be the mightiest to magnify you. The new-born baby basks in the memory of seeing you face to face and being rocked by you in the cradle of a womb. All things praise you. And I cannot wait to do so again tomorrow.

Help me, Lord, to find a balance. Help me not be judgmental and just not have an opinion as though nothing truly matters. Forgive me when I say anything that is hurtful. Help me compliment instead of complain. Help me be more like you.

I thank you, Jesus, for materializing and doing all you did to save me from my deserved punishment for my sins. You did not have to leave the comforts of your home to live in a dirty, smelly world. You didn’t have to give up being everywhere at once to be confined to a body. You didn’t have to jeopardize yourself on the cross. But you did. Such love. The agony and anguish you experienced in my place. Such love. I am not worthy. But you could not let me go. Oh, heart of my heart.

.

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-ThumbnailTHEY MET JESUS:  SHADOW OF DEATH.  Pilate was cornered by the people, Simon was cornered by the executioners. Jesus writhed in pain on the cross that should have been ours, and invaded hell to provide escape for us. The thieves struggled with their mortality, Joseph struggled with religiosity, The guards struggled with impossibility. Jesus saw the women, pursued Peter, And enlightened the depressed. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/2UcggRE   

https://northernlightspublishinghouse.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-7-shadow-of-death-adults-childs-versions/

Saturday 6/2 ~ Too busy to be inconvenienced?

The scripture for today, June 2, is Galatians 6:2 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-Cover-KINDLE-Thumbnail-New“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

In case you’re thinking people should take care of their own problems, you are right. But the term “burdens” here refers to overloads.

The main reason this is hard to do is that taking on someone else’s overloaded burdens upsets your daily routine and our peace of mind. It is inconvenient. 

Just remember, it is always inconvenient for those people to have an overload of burdens. They don’t want them. Many times they didn’t ask for them. But, even if they did ask for them with foolish acts, can we not roll up our sleeves and help them out for a little while (not forever)?

You do not have to take on all their problems. But you can give them relief of some of the basic problems so they can concentrate on the more serious ones.  If they need a babysitter, find one for them. If they don’t have decent clothes to go to work, take them to Goodwill.  If they’re behind financially, buy them a tank of gas.  If they haven’t written their parents for a year, sit with them while they write that letter. Take their overburden from them.

What if Jesus had said, “Hey, it’s not my problem! Those people on earth mess up their lives all the time. Why should I leave the comforts of heaven to live among sinners and misery?” But he didn’t say that. Thank God he didn’t say that.

Inconvenient for him to take our overloaded burdens to his cross? Yes. Did he want to do it? No. But he did what was necessary to rescue us. Do we really and truly want to be like Him?

~~~BUYLINK to eBOOK and discount PAPER:  http://bit.ly/500GoodWorks

 

Wednesday 5/30 ~ How do you size up other people?

The scripture for today, May 30 (5/30), is John 5:30 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Inside-COVER-lg thumbnail“By myself, I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”

It is hard to judge people you know and leave your own ego out. If you are jealous, you may judge them harshly. If you admire the person, you may judge them too leniently. Perhaps if you try to walk in their shoes, it will help you understand and not judge too harshly. And perhaps if you compare an admired person to Jesus, it will help you understand and not judge too loosely.

We’re not talking judgmentalism here where you go around sizing other people up all the time so you can feel superior to them. In judging, you judge, then you accept people where they are. Only then can you become their true friend.

If you truly love others, you will not, when judging, seek to please yourself but to please your Creator who knows your heart and loves you the very best.

~~~BUYLINK to eBOOK, discount PAPER, and AUDIO:  http://bit.ly/HeartsOfBibleWomen

.

#judging, #evaluating, #lenience, #harshness, #ego, #WalkInShoes, #judgmentalism, #SizeUp

Friday, 2/1 ~ You’re smart. Check it out for yourself

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

0-Michel-COVER-Kindle-Thumbnail“[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.

The Christmas carol says the star led the wise men the whole way. But Matthew 2:9 & 10 says, “After they had heard the king [Herod], 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 lives and just assume are true. Here’s an idea: Investigate things for yourself! Why take a teaching about the Bible for granted? You’re smart. Check things out yourself.

.

Link to ebook & discount paperback:  http://bit.ly/Michel-WiseMan

.

#Bible, #judging

Scripture for Saturday 12/16 ~ Uppity

The scripture for today, December 16 (12/16), is Romans 12:16 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0000-BK 1-StarSong-CHILD'SCartoonCover-Medium“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”

Who do we associate with? Just people who are like us?

Do we consider people richer than us as greedy, uncaring and uppity? And people poorer than us as lazy, users and lowlifes?

Do we consider people smarter than us as having their heads in the clouds? And people duller than us as incapable of understanding anything important?

Do we consider people stronger than us as egotistical show-offs? And people weaker than us as not worthy of notice?

How this hurts our Savior who died for them as well as you. We are all sinners. We all need the same saving grace.

Let us live in harmony with all. Let us make everyone ~ both those “above” us and “below” us ~ feel the love of God through us. And equal.

 

Scripture for Friday, March 3 (3/3)

campbell-cover-kindle-lg-mediumThe scripture for today, March 3, is Genesis 3:3 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

” ‘But God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it or you will die.’ “

This is a conversation Eve is having with Satan in the Garden of Eden. She was a little put out by God that he would withhold even one item from her. So, she misrepresented God. What God actually said was….

“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Eve had added to what God had said: “You must not touch it.”

Do we do that? When we get put out by someone, do we embellish a little and add a few little things to an event in order to make the other person look worse than s/he really is? Are we in the habit of making ourselves a victim so we can get other people’s sympathy and maybe get other people to act on our behalf?

1st Corinthians 13:5 says love does not keep a record of wrongs. If you have a feud going with someone, try breaking the cycle 1st Corinthians 13:7 says love protects, always trusts, always hopes. Bring hope back. Then keep hope alive.

http://northernlightspublishinghouse.com

http://bit.ly/2lml7js

#Arguments, #Disagreements, #Forgiveness, #Healing, #Judging, #Lies, #Truth, #Hope, #Love, #Protection, #Trust

Scripture for Friday, December 16 (12/16)

The scripture for today, December 16, is Romans 12:16 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-cover-kindle-new-medium“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”

Who do we associate with? Just people who are like us? 

Do we consider people richer than us as greedy, uncaring and uppity? And people poorer than us as lazy, users and lowlifes?

Do we consider people smarter than us as having their heads in the clouds? And people duller than us as incapable of understanding anything important?

Do we consider people stronger than us as egotistical showoffs? And people weaker than us as not worthy of notice?

How this hurts our Savior who died for everyone. We are all sinners. We all need the same saving grace. 

Let us live in harmony with all. Let us make everyone ~ both those “above” us and “below” us ~ feel the love of God through us. And equal.

#Judging, #Ego, #Clique, #Arrogance, #Equality

Scripture for Saturday, December 3 (12/3)

The scripture for today, December 3, is Romans 12:3 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-michel-cover-kindle-medium“For by the grace given me I say to everyone of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

The context of this verse is members of a congregation getting along with each other. He explains that each person is given certain gifts such as serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing and so on (12:6-8). 

Many disagreements come about because one person has an idea about a good work, and someone else has a different idea about it, and still someone else says some other good work should be done ~ and they all believe their way is the best way. 

Perhaps the best way to judge whether we are thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought, is to ask ourselves this: If I moved away or if I died, would this congregation survive without me? Of course, it would.  

And if our hearts are set on a certain good work, we can always do it alone; we do not need a committee of people to do it with us.

May our prayer be, “Lord, help me see myself as others do.”

#Ego, #GoodWorks, #Judging, #Mirror, #Committees

Scripture for Wednesday, November 16 (11/16)

The scripture for today, November 16, is John 11:16 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Joseph-Cover-Kindle-Medium“Then Thomas…said to the rest of the disciples, ‘Let us also go that we may die with him.’ “

This apostle is most often called “Doubting Thomas.” We’ve all heard the story about Thomas being absent when Jesus appeared to the other apostles, then later said he wouldn’t believe Jesus was alive again unless he could touch him. Well, the other apostles hadn’t believed until they saw him either.

After returning to life, Jesus first appeared to the women. Then, “when they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others…But they did not believe the women because their words seemed to them like nonsense” (Luke 24:9-11).

Now let’s look at our scripture for today. In the months before Jesus’ death, he had been traveling everywhere except to Judea where Jerusalem and the religious leaders were. Those leaders were after Jesus’ life, and everyone knew it. Then Lazarus died and was buried about six miles from Jerusalem. It was dangerous for Jesus to go there.

John 11:7-8 says, “Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’ ‘But Rabbi,’ they said, ‘a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?’ “

After explaining that he needed to get to Lazarus, it was Thomas who bravely spoke up and said, “Let us also go that we may die with him!”

Doubting Thomas? Far from it! Brave Thomas. Devoted Thomas. Thomas who was willing to follow his Lord to the death. That was the real Thomas.

#Thomas, #DoubtingThomas, #Judging, #Faith

Scripture for Tuesday, October 18 (10/18)

The scripture for today, October 18, is 2nd Corinthians 10:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-COVER-KINDLE“For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

Do you look at your life and decide some of your bad habits are not so bad, considering what some other people you know are doing? Do you look at your life and decide your lukewarmness in good works and spreading the gospel is not so bad, considering what most others around you are doing?

Jesus said you will receive only one reward, and we must choose it: (1) Being commended by each other, or (2) being commended by God. You can’t have both (Matthew 6:5; 18).

And that brings up how you judge other people. You may decide certain Christians you know are not pulling their load in your congregation, not doing their part. That may be a wrong judgment. They may be doing good works you will never know about. “Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:18a).

#SelfJustifying, #Judging, #BadHabits, #GoodWorks