Scripture for Sunday, September 17 (9/17)

The scripture for today, September 17 (9/17), is Nehemiah 9:17 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore, you did not desert them.”

Such love! We rebel against God (who is only trying to save us from hell) over and over because we don’t want anyone telling us what to do, and God forgives over and over. First Peter 3:9 says “The Lord…is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

God could turn us all into robots and force us to obey him. But that wouldn’t be Love. God is Love, and he cannot go against his own nature. He does not desert us when our spirits become self-destructive.  Instead, he follows us around and pleads over and over, “Follow my Son, Jesus, to safety!”

Would you be willing to forgive as many times as you expect God to forgive you?  Would you run after someone who wants nothing to do with you as much as God runs after you? 

Scripture for Monday, February 20 2/20)

The scripture for today, February 20, is Galatians 2:20 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

PAUL COVER-KINDLE-“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”

The apostle Paul wrote this. He had been an angry, spiteful, and hateful man in his younger days. He had been a terrorist and had even declared holy jihad against Christians.  He had gone around the country rounding up Christians and sending them either to prison or to their death. He hated Christians.

But once Jesus got his attention and he realized he was persecuting those who could tell him the true way to heaven, he switched sides. Jesus had to do it himself because all the Christians were afraid of him. Then he, so to speak, crucified his old self, and let Jesus and his words live in him instead.  All his tremendous energy that he had previously used to hate was now used to love, and he turned his part of the world upside down for Christ.

Is there someone in your life or that you know of who is angry, spiteful, and hateful? Dare to talk to that person and tell them how much God loves them. They will argue with you and maybe even be meaner to you than ever. But when things calm down, try saying something else, perhaps about what Jesus did or said once in his life. It may take you months or years. They will be curious why you keep coming back when they are being so mean to you. And eventually, this same person who uses all his enormous energy in a negative way, just might turn that same enormous energy around and use it for Jesus in a great way.

Give it a try. If you are crucified with Christ, then nothing anyone says can hurt you because your ego is dead. Keep trying to reach this enemy of Jesus. Keep trying to help this person become a close friend of Jesus. You may be the only one in their world with the courage to do it. Keep trying, and keep trying, and keep trying. Who knows?

#Change, #Character, #Repentence, #Conversion

Scripture for Friday, July 15 (7/15)

The scripture for today, July 15, is Matthew 7:15 as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

CHANGES IN WORSHIP-COVER-KINDLE“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

Jesus said this. Maybe sometimes the “false prophet” is within ourselves. We have a pet theory that we want very much for God to agree with us on. So we read through the Scriptures trying to prove our point correct.

Of course, taking a verse here and a verse there, you can “prove” anything you want.
So how do we find out if we are being our own “false prophet”? When we see a verse that contradicts our pet theory, look for other scriptures similar to this one. Use a concordance ~ a book that lists alphabetically every word in the Bible and every verse it appears in.

Or, if we believe in a different holy book of a different world religion, we can read it, then honestly search for built-in proofs it is truly holy. Thereby we can decide if we’ve been listening to a false prophet.

And as you honestly struggle, pray about it. Yes, it is humiliating to believe we just might have been wrong, and then actually admit we were wrong. But it is also liberating.

Many people have already gone through this, and can testify that changing from our viewpoint to God’s viewpoint is not only liberating, but ultimately brings peace.