Tag: scripture

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Spread the word.The scripture for today, July 24, is Matthew 7:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 5-FLOOD GATES-Cover-PrintSpread the word.”Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Spread the word.The problem we have with putting into practice the Words of God is that we sometimes read blindly. We don’t see the significance of something. We may read it over and over for years and never see its significance.

Spread the word.Take, for example, the story of Jesus’ birth. We sometimes see pictures of baby Jesus in a stable with the shepherds and three wise men all gathered around him. But Matthew 2:11 says by the time the wise men arrived, Jesus and his parents were living in a house. Further, the Bible does not say how many wise men there were; it just says they gave three kinds of gifts ~ gold, incense and myrrh.

Spread the word.How about I Timothy 3:2? “Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.” This word “overseer” is sometimes translated bishop, sometimes elder, and sometimes pastor. It’s all the same office. We might think at first glance that we believe all this. But do we glaze over the fact that he must have a wife?
Hmmm….

Spread the word.Here’s another one. At funerals we often quote Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me.” But for the Christian, there are no shadows in the valley of death. Jesus was born “to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the path of peace” (Luke 1:79).

Spread the word.Oh, so many things we over look ~ meaningful things. Let us continue to study God’s Word daily with our minds and hearts open to new things we never realized before so that we can build the house of our lives “on the rock.”

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

Star of Bethlehem“[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 in the east.

Many believe the star led the wise men the whole way. But Matthew 2:9 & 10 says, “After they had heard the king, 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 life and just assume are true. Investigate things for yourself. Never take a teaching about the Bible for granted. You are smart. Check things out yourself.

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The scripture for today, January 20, is 2nd Peter 1:20f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Old Testament Scroll“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Isn’t this interesting? It’s a definition of prophecy. Prophecy is Scripture. It isn’t just telling the future. It’s telling the mind of God. Sometimes in the Old Testament God warned his people that if they did so-and-so, this would happen, but if they did such-and-such, that would happen.

But ultimately all prophecy was telling people how much God loved them and wanted them in the long run to be happy. The Old Testament has much of that in it, and all the New Testament does. It is your Creator’s Words.

You are so blessed that you do not have to guess what is on God’s mind. Many other religions have to guess ~ Hinduism, Buddhism, and so on. But you have God’s very own words in black and white to read over and over whenever you like ~ prophecy which is Scripture. Read it. Absorb it. Love it. It was written by the Lover of your Soul.

The scripture for today, April 27 (4/27), is Acts 4:27b as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“…your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.”

In this prayer of early Christians, they acknowledged that God had anointed Jesus. What does anointing mean? In the Old Testament, men were anointed to become the high priest or the king.

Aaron was the very first high priest (Leviticus 6:20,22) and his son [and descendants] who succeeded him as high priest was also anointed. Saul was the very first king of the Jews (I Samuel 15:1) and he and all succeeding kings were anointed. This was a form of coronation.

And so when God anointed Jesus, he made him both high priest and king. Hebrews 4:14 says, “we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.” And in Mark 15:2, Jesus acknowledged that he was King.

And so we worship him.

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn Bible, Daily, InspirationalLeave a comment
On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn Bible, Daily, InspirationalLeave a comment

The scripture for today, April 26 (4/26), is Galatians 4:26 as found in the new Testament of the Bible:

“But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.”

What is “the Jerusalem that is above”? Revelation 21:2 says, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”

Aha! The New Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ! So, what is the Bride of Christ? Ephesians 5:25,27 says, “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy…and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

So, we see the New Jerusalem is the church which Christ brought to us out of heaven!

The Bible always interprets itself. Search through it, and you will find the answer to all your questions.

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The scripture for today, April 25 (4/25), is Proverbs 4:25 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”

There are a lot of interesting and fun distractions in life, so we have to remind ourselves over and over what is most important to us. We have only so much time in a day and in a lifetime. We can run back and forth from one fun thing to another, one power thing to another, one great–looking thing to another and keep wondering what our life is for.

God pretty much treats us the way we treat him. If we don’t like being around him, he doesn’t much like being around us. If we don’t like listening to his word (the Bible), he doesn’t much like listening to our word (prayer). If we don’t like to spend special time with him, he doesn’t much like to spend special time with us. God gives us the same courtesy we give him. God will not force himself on us, for he is a Gentleman.

So what do you have in your sights to do today? Next year? The rest of your life?