The scripture for today, February 23 (2/23), is 1st John 2:23 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”
This verse tells us the Son and Father are one. Isaiah 9:6 calls the child to be born both the Son and the Father and Mighty God. The Son gives birth to the Father; the Father gives birth to the Son. In other words, God is self-existent and one.
When you speak into a tape recorder and your voice then comes out of that machine for other people to hear, that doesn’t make you two. You are still one; you have just chosen to put your voice in something where you can be heard by people away from you. That tape recording is just another form of you. You can also put your voice and body in a movie. That doesn’t make two of you ~ one on the screen and one in your physical body. You are still one.
God is One, and yet he revealed a part of himself in a burning bush to Moses just like you revealed a part of yourself in the tape recorder or movie. Does that mean there were two Gods ~ one in heaven and one in the bush? No. God can and has sometimes revealed himself in different ways. Remember how he walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?
Some say, “If Jesus was God on earth, when he died, God was dead.” No. That temporary body was dead, but God’s Spirit, God’s Soul, God’s being continued to live. Jesus, the Word of God, did not depend on a body to be alive.
Why would Jesus be called the Son of God, since he was not a son created in the literal way we have sons? You have thoughts, and those thoughts have existed as long as you have. But you still created those thoughts. When your thoughts become hearable or seeable, people call that your “brainchild.” In that same sense, Jesus was God’s “brainchild” ~ God’s thoughts in hearable and seeable form.
How was he the only begotten Son? God has only one Word ~ the Bible. “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God…All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3). When God spoke the world into existence, that was Jesus. Every time God spoke, that was Jesus.
Isaiah 9:6 says the Son shall be called Mighty God and Everlasting Father. And so he was. And so he is.
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THEY MET JESUS: STAR SONG. Come meet the people who met Jesus. You are one of them Probably you are several of them. Go ahead and struggle with him as they did. Laugh. Cry. Do mental battle with him. Emotional battle too. Fight for your faith as they fought. Pause to listen for what you’ve never heard before. Then touch Jesus. This is the story of faith in the impossible. Hope in the inconceivable. Love for the invincible. It is the dreams of youth, the desperations of infirmity, the hopes of age, and the song of eternity. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:https://bit.ly/3qMEUXd
The scripture for today, February 2 (2/2), is Matthew 2:2 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“[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.”
They rejoiced when they saw the star again, not because it had been with them the whole time, but because it had reappeared.
The Christmas carol also speaks of them as “We Three Kings.” First, there were three gifts but could have been an entourage of ten or twenty or more. Second, they were not kings. It wasn’t until 600 AD that someone named them as the king of Arabia, king of India and King of Persia. The original language calls them Magi which is a tribe of astrologers and priests in Babylon and Parthia.
By the way, the manger scenes show the wise men there with the shepherds on the night Jesus was born. Jesus was around two years old by the time the wise men figured out the meaning of the star and traveled over 1000 miles to get there, following by boy babies killed ages two and under.
Then there are the carols that say the angels sang are wrong. Angels do not sing. Christians do, but angels do not. Check it out. 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. You can do it. Will you?
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THEY ROCKED THE CRADLE THAT ROCKED THE WORLD is the stories of everyone in the Bible involved in the birth of Jesus. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this: https://bit.ly/ChristmasNovelsStories
Majestic God of the heaven and earth with all their bewilderments and surprises and astonishments. You made all which exists. You made it all for our pleasure and benefit. You also made it as a proving ground to test the power of love through us. Hate can and never will overcome love. Hate wants to accuse and punish. Hate wants instant gratification no matter who it hurts. Hate loves to hate. Love covers up the wrong in others because it is merciful. Love wants to patiently develop and grow. Love always is strongest. That is you, my God. You are Love and I worship you.
Ah, how can I thank you, my Lord, for making this earth, then becoming flesh and walking among us? We saw your love, we felt your love, we were saved by your love. Without you, my life would only be getting and earning, building and making ~ all the while, trying to find some meaning in life. You provide the meaning: Life with you is life to its fullest and it is eternal.
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STAR SONG is Biblical Historical Novel #1 in the THEY MET JESUS series. This entire book is about events surrounding his birth and everyone involved in it. Come along and see when Christmas was every day. Life-Application questions and historical citations at the end of each chapter. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/Star-Song
The scripture for today, December 24 (12/24), is Luke 12:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!”
In many nations right now, things are financially strained. Luxuries? No. To be able to live until tomorrow? Yes.
Which is more valuable? To impress men or impress God? A life dedicated to things impresses men. A life dedicated to doing good things impresses God.
I know of a group of believers in Jesus recently in an African country who had to flee soldiers who were after Christians. They had to run immediately upon sight of the soldiers. No time to pack anything. Just run. Escape. Run. Escape.
To get to true safety, they had to walk a hundred miles. What did they eat? Grass. Leaves from bushes. Tree roots. But they made it. They made it to safety and the loving, protective arms of other Christians.
Today, instead of a luxury, can you send that money to people in parts of the world who are struggling to stay alive? Struggling to stay safe because they are Christians?
Consider the ravens.
PS ~ Those of you with children, and you cannot get them much for Christmas: Write IOU’s to them and put each one in a box. Wrap each with typing paper if you don’t have Christmas paper. And with a red or green crayon, draw a ribbon on top. What’s on the IOU’s? “One hour of coloring with you.” “One hour of playing ball with you.” “Three hours of hiking with you.” “Two hours of baking cookies with you.” Give yourself for Christmas!
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STAR SONG is novel one in the THEY MET JESUS series. Meet ten people involved in the birth of Jesus. Mary was too young, Elizabeth too old, Joseph too gullible, the shepherds too smelly, Anna too senile, Simeon too idealistic, The wise men should have minded their own business, Zachariah should have accepted he’d never have children. King Herod dared control God, The Bible scholars dared interpret God. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this: https://bit.ly/Star-Song
The scripture for today, July 24 (7/24), is Matthew 7:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on therock.”
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.
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.
How about 1st 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….
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).
Oh, so many things we over look ~ meaningful things. Let us continue to study God’s Word daily with our mind and heart open to new things we never realized before. Let us build the house of our faith “on the rock.”
JEAN WILLIAMS, AUTHOR contributor to eight book anthologies. I got goose bumps and tears in my eyes. Fantastic! I’m telling you this is pure genius. Katheryn Haddad’s book is breaking molds, and she may be a leader of this type of book.
MARY CHATHAM, AUTHOR of Secret Promise, Courtship of Miss Loretta Larson, Dream Bucket, and Abi of Cyrene: I’m awed by the author’s writing skill. It is evident that she is a seasoned writer with great talent. Katheryn Haddad delves into the inner thoughts of Mary and Joseph on a personal level. By including modern concepts with authentic details of New Testament times, she demonstrates the relevance of the events of Christ’s birth. The author tells the story of Jesus in such a way that those who may not know the details of the scripture will be lead to read the gospels and those who are Bible scholars will hunger and thirst for the insights found in Star Song.
ANNA GABOCZI EVANS, AUTHOR of Scorched Earth, Death or Matrimony, The Homesteader, My Tale of Hijabs, Witchcraft Circles, & the Cross: In Star Song, Katheryn retells the story of Jesus’ birth in poignant prose. The story starts with the birth of Mary and makes the reader feel the desperation of the Jews at that time as they were oppressed by Roman rule. Told in a refreshingly relatable way, you will worry with Mary as she arrives home from Elisabeth’s house to announce her pregnancy to her betrothed. And feel for Joseph as he is cut to the heart by his love’s apparent betrayal. A delightful read, Star Song will help you picture the Christmas story in a way you never have before.
ROGER BRUNER, AUTHOR of Impractically Yours, The Devil & Pastor Gus, Found in Translation & Lost in Dreams: This book is a fascinating and compelling combination of Bible facts, careful historical research, and stunning imagination. The present tense writing made me feel I was right there watching and listening to everything that was happening. The author has challenged me to consider many things I had never thought that much about before–how Mary felt about being pregnant with the Son of God, for example, and how God might have felt about choosing Joseph as His Son’s earthly father. Star Song has provided a real boost to my enjoyment and appreciation of what the Christmas season is really all about.
KIERSTI PLOG, AUTHOR of Beneath a Turquoise Sky and Remember the Wind: The first in an eight-volume series, Star Song is a beautiful walk through both the history and the heart of the coming of Jesus Christ to earth. Katheryn Haddad takes us into the inner journey of people present at His advent—Mary, Joseph, Anna, Simeon, Elizabeth, and others—and reminds us how they had much reason to doubt, yet chose to believe. I enjoyed the author’s imaginings of the various characters in this true story, but the way she brings to life the tumultuous historical context into which Jesus came touched me most. People just before the coming of Jesus must have felt the same, yet Star Song struck home to me that it is exactly in turmoil like this that God can and does do His greatest work…just not often in the way we expect Him to. Perfect for discussion groups and Bible studies, Star Song includes life application questions and a list of Scripture references at the end of each chapter. Read with an open heart, and be blessed.
SYLVIA NASH, AUTHOR of The Missing Calico and Benjamin’s Ghosts: Star Song presents the stories of the people in Jesus’ life in such a way that the reader cannot help but identify with them and cannot help but feel what they must have felt. It goes a step beyond that in the application sections, though, by encouraging the reader–young or old–to think on and then act on the messages that unfold along with the story.
KENNETH F. MADDOX, USN RETIRED: “It’s dynamite!”
CHERYL LEVERETT, REGISTERED NURSE: In similar style of her other books, Haddad transports the reader back to the first century with highly imaginative musings. Star Song starts with the life of Mary and gives us a glimpse of what it must have been like growing up Jewish in the first century. From wicked Kings to faithful Jews, we’re led to discover what it was like back then. Intriguing, Haddad develops the characters with lots of personal detail to give us insight into the earthly person and family of Jesus.
CLARE WALIGORY, CIVIL SERVANT, STATE OF NEW YORK: Star Song is a wonderful and delightful book about the birth of our Savior. The author has a unique style which makes the reader feel as though they are a part of the story. It can be understood and enjoyed by a wide spectrum of people. I highy recommend it for both young and old.
REVIS LEONARD, LEGAL ASSISTANT: I thoroughly enjoyed what the author did with this story. I found this book bringing to life the day-to-day emotions, doubts, trials, etc. that Mary, the mother of Jesus, and others faced during Jesus’ lifetime. In other words, the historical story became “real”. The Life Applications at the end of the chapters included thought-provoking questions. This well-written story in novel form and will appeal to a range of readers. I will be recommending this book to my friends.
VALERIE CARAOTTA, MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER: Star Song is a uniquely written book with simply you and I in mind and how we have questioned and wondered about many Biblical happenings. As you come aboard this Christmas story you are encouraged to think and dream outside the box. Enter Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah’s, Joseph’s and Jesus world and you will see characters come to life as never before. The uncertainties of tomorrow will intersect with confusion and rage, all wrapped up in a bundle of miraculous happenings. All events-raw and real.
DICK ELL, NEW AGE UNIVERSALIST: The author has captured feelings that they must have had, and done it in a dramatic fashion. This is very interesting reading, capturing the fears, worries, doubts, obstacles in the lives of those that knew Jesus. Exciting to read. This is very good. She is a story teller and does it well.”
LINDA ASHLEY, LADIES RETREAT DIRECTOR, CANADA: I read it to the ladies…you could have heard a pin drop….I found myself pulled into it waiting breathlessly for the next sentence. It has all the earmarks of a great love story, with the beauty of the story of Christ, and the accuracy of the biblical perspective. What a treasure this will be to people everywhere.
LORI WOOTEN, LEGAL SECRETARY RETIRED: The author has done a fantastic job in this historical novel woven around the birth of Jesus. It gives historical credence to the major characters in the greatest drama ever played. It makes me want to look more into the historical background for the politics and events of the times. She made the greatest story come to life.
EDLYNN POWELL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER & REAL ESTATE AGENT: It didn’t take me long to become engrossed in the story. I began to feel the events surrounding Jesus birth and how his young parents must have felt and coped with the miraculous events. I hadn’t even thought much about the appearance and thoughts of all the people involved in Jesus’ birth, but they became real people. It was obvious how much research and preparation Karheryn put in to making this book as accurate as possible while making the story really come alive. I look forward to the other books that she plans to follow on all aspects of Jesus life.
VIRGINIA HELMDINGER, RETIRED IN FLORIDA: As I read this version of Jesus’ birth, I was touched by the unfolding events and awed by the author’s tremendous talent and ability to communicate so expressively. Such a moving expose.
Come meet the people who met Jesus. You are one of them Probably you are several of them. Go ahead and struggle with him as they did. Laugh. Cry. Do mental battle with him. Emotional battle too. Fight for your faith as they fought. Pause to listen for what you’ve never heard before. Then touch Jesus.
This is the story of faith in the impossible. Hope in the inconceivable. Love for the invincible. It is the dreams of youth, the desperations of infirmity, the hopes of age, and the song of eternity.
Follow the suspense as each person in Jesus’ life comes to terms with who they are, and who Jesus is. Jesus accepts them as they are. But can they accept themselves as they are? More than that, can they accept Jesus as he is? Both God and man? Both Creator and created? Both King and servant?
It is the story of doubts explained away, animosities melted away, misunderstandings cleared away. It is your story and mine. For deep within each of us is everyone who ever met and struggled with Jesus.
BOOK 1: STAR SONG. Mary was too young, Elizabeth too old, Joseph too gullible, the shepherds too smelly, Anna too senile, Simeon too idealistic, Salome too flippant. The wise men should have minded their own business, Zachariah should have accepted he’d never have children. King Herod dared control God, the Bible scholars dared interpret God.
The scripture for today, February 23 (2/23), is 1st John 2:23 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
THEY MET JESUS: STAR SONG. Come meet the people who met Jesus. You are one of them Probably you are several of them. Go ahead and struggle with him as they did. Laugh. Cry. Do mental battle with him. Emotional battle too. Fight for your faith as they fought. Pause to listen for what you’ve never heard before. Then touch Jesus. This is the story of faith in the impossible. Hope in the inconceivable. Love for the invincible. It is the dreams of youth, the desperations of infirmity, the hopes of age, and the song of eternity. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this: https://bit.ly/3qMEUXd
“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.”