Wednesday 1/31 ~ God didn't create everything?

GOD DIDN'T CREATE EVERYTHING?

The scripture for today, January 31(1/31), is Genesis 1:31 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning ~ the sixth day.”

Oh, how God loves to spoil us! He didn’t create a barren earth and then order us to get to work and plant something. He got everything just right. And then…. And then…. And then his crowning glory ~ he created us! Special us!

We looked around with wonder and began exploring our world as an infant would. But then what? What was there to do?

To our delight, we discovered God hadn’t created everything after all. Why? Because he made us to be like him ~ creative.

He left the jewels unmined, the buildings unbuilt, the clay unmolded, the songs unwritten, the paintings unpainted, the ships unmade, the poems unpenned, the sculptures uncarved….

Today, create something!

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Tuesday 1/30 ~ Me, Lord? Sinful me?

The scripture for today, January 30 (1/30), is 1st Corinthians 1:30 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

"It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us "wisdom" from God ~ that is, our...

• ...righteousness,
• ...holiness and,
• ...redemption."

Me? Sinful me? Considered right and holy?  But I’m not right and holy. How can that be?
Let's look at these words of reassurance backward. When we are redeemed (bought back from Satan, our accuser and punisher), we gain God's holiness and God's rightness. But I am not holy and right.  God, don’t you understand this?
“Yes, my child,” God answers. “But My Son knew how, and so became sinless for you.”
I cannot let what He did for me drift by. Jesus traded.  He took my sinfulness and gave me his sinlessness.  He took my punishment and gave me redemption. Now, at least in the eyes of God, I am holy.
I think on this and the more I do, the more amazed I become.  Me, Lord? Unworthy, sinful me? I am awed into silence and worship.
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link to ebook & discount paper:  http://bit.ly/TheyMetJesus
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#sin, #perfection, #crucifixion

Monday 1/29 ~ Wow! Hyperactive Apostle Paul?

The scripture for today, January 29 (1/29), is Colossians 1:29 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy which so powerfully works in me.”

Wow! Hyperactive Paul, Paul who preached even while in jail, Paul who went back to preaching after he’d been beaten and told not to, Paul with the “A-type personality” said he got all that energy from Jesus Christ (see verse 28)?

Who provides your energy? It depends on what you are being driven to do. It depends on what consumes you. It depends on what you’re spending your time doing. It depends on what is on your mind all the time.

Think about it today. On what things do you use your energy?  What if you switched to doing things for Jesus using His energy?  How would you feel then? Hmmm…

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link to ebook & discount paper:  http://bit.ly/PaulUnstoppable

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#energy, #ApostlePaul

Sunday 1/28 ~ Perhaps Your Child Will Return to God Someday

The scripture for today, January 28 (1/28), is 1st Chronicles 1:28 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
"The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael."
Are you a parent with a grown or nearly-grown child who is going in the wrong direction? Have you tried everything you can think of, and nothing is working? Do you know in your heart that you have been a good example and things shouldn't have turned out like they have?
Abraham has been called the Father of the Faithful. Yet he had one son who followed Jehovah ~ Isaac ~ and one son who followed idols ~ Ishmael. Certainly, Abraham tried everything he could to "talk some sense" into Ishmael. Certainly, he prayed earnestly for Ishmael. So what went wrong?
Just as God has given each of us free will, our children also have free will. Just as God will never force us to follow him, we cannot force our children to follow God. You did not refrain from having your children because they may have difficulties in their life, and neither did God. And when our children rebel and break our hearts, imagine what God goes through when we rebel and break his heart.
Who knows? Perhaps your child will return to God someday in your old age, or even after you have died. If your child deep down has a good heart, that is enough for God to work with.
Keep hope alive.
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Link to ebook & discount paperback:  http://bit.ly/PaulUnstoppable
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#children, #faith

Friday 1/26 ~ And spend the rest of your life thanking and thanking and...

The scripture for today, January 26 (1/26), is 1st Samuel 1:26f as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
"And she said to him, 'As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.’ "
Wow!  Hannah prayed for a baby and God gave her a son!  How often do you tell someone God has answered your prayer, big or little?
Or do you wander aimlessly from prayer request to prayer request, and let the answer drift away from you unnoticed? Or worse, do you ask others to pray for something, but after once or twice you stop praying for that thing yourself? A year later, someone tells you they are still praying for your something and you have completely forgotten it.
Begin today to keep a list of your prayer requests. Write down the date you first began to pray for each. If your requests are all about yourself, begin including your neighbors, your co-workers, people you attend church with, your relatives, people in the newspaper.
Then begin a second list of your answers and the dates. You will be amazed how fast your Prayers Answered list grows. Do not let the answers drift away from you unnoticed.
Notice them.
          Claim them.
                    Tell others.
Then spend the rest of your life thanking God over and over and…
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Link to ebook & discount paperbook:  http://bit.ly/ChildsLifeOfChristSet
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#problems, #prayer, #thanks

Thursday 1/25 ~ The perfect law

The scripture for today, January 25 (1/25), is James 1:25 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
"But the man who looks intently into the perfect Law that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it ~ he will be blessed in what he does."
A lot of people do not understand that there was the Law of Moses with over 600 commands in the Old Testament, and the Law of Jesus with very few commands in the New Testament. They use the Law of Moses to justify adding fancy or fun things to worship or a separate priesthood, or tithing, or whatever they like.
But they leave out stoning for adultery or disobeying your parents, killing someone who killed your relative, knocking the eye out of someone who knocked your eye out, giving a third of your income (not just a tenth), killing animals to sacrifice, etc.  It’s all part of the same Law!
Romans 7:4-7 says Christians have been released from the Law. Hebrews 8:13 & all of chapter 9 says the first covenant (testament/law) of Moses had regulations for worship but is obsolete in favor of the new covenant (testament/law). James 2:10 says if you try to live by the old Law but fail in just one point, you are guilty of all of it.
But how are you to know what was in the Old Law of Moses besides the fancy or fun things people like?  Read it.  Plow through Leviticus and all those minute codes. Then you will understand.
Let us truly let loose of the old Law of Moses and cling to the “perfect Law that gives freedom” in Christ.
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Link to ebook or discount paper:  http://bit.ly/TheyMetJesus
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#LawOfChrist, #LawOfMoses

Wednesday 1/24 ~ Have you sacrificed anything for him lately?

The scripture for today, January 24, is Jude 1:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy ~ "
God is perfect, and so cannot dwell with faults and imperfection. We have faults. Romans 3:23 says everyone sins. And Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. But God always has wanted us to live with him. What a dilemma!
God solved our problem at great expense. He sent His Son, Jesus, to earth who lived the faultless life for us. Then God offered His perfect Son, His only Son, Jesus, to die in our place. Amazing.  But God wasn’t through yet.
After that, God told the world He would consider us "without fault" vicariously through Jesus. He has already collected the penalty for our sins ~ death. For our part, all we have to do is believe He did and follow everything He said and did to the best of our ability.
Jesus sacrificed everything for us. Have you sacrificed anything for Him lately?
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link to ebook & discount paperback:  http://bit.ly/TheyMetJesus
#sacrifice, #sin, #forgiveness, #death

Tuesday 1/23 ~ He is too big to see

The scripture for today, January 23 (1/23), is Romans 1:23 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“….and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”

Well, the opposite has happened in our millennium.  Instead of worshipping many gods, people are worshiping nothing.  They declare God does not exist. They declare the existence of the universe just happened for no reason and that their minds have reason for no reason. One of their arguments is that they cannot see God.

Do you ever wish you could see God, touch God, look God in the eye? Everyone has. And we may wonder why we can’t.

If this were the case, then God wouldn’t be God. He wouldn’t be omnipresent (present everywhere). He would only be able to listen to one prayer at a time, and the rest of the world’s prayers would go unheard.

Besides, God is too big to see.  It is like facing a tree or building half an inch away.  We have no way to know what the tree or building looks like because it is so big. So, we see only a tiny bit of God because He is so big he covers the universe and beyond.

Let us be grateful our God is so great He cannot be limited. He cannot be pictured. He fills heaven. He is so great He fills our hearts and our souls.

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link to ebook & discount paperback:  http://bit.ly/ChildsLifeOfChristSet

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#polytheism, #atheism, #God, #faith

Monday 1/22 ~ Radiant? Me radiant, Lord?

The scripture for today, January 22 (1/22), is Ephesians 1:22 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
"And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."
What makes this so interesting is that...

• the church is the body of Christ. What else is the church? Colossians 1:18 says...
• the church has only one head on earth and in heaven ~ Jesus.   Matthew 16:17-18 says...
• the church is the kingdom of heaven. Ephesians 5:25 & 32 says...
• the church is his bride. Revelation 21:2, 9-10 says...
• the church bride is the new Holy City Jerusalem.

And what does Jesus think of the church? Oh, you already know this one.  Ephesians 5:25-27 says he loved the church so much that he gave himself up for her, to make her radiant ~ no stains, no wrinkles, no blemishes.
Oh, that last part: I must have missed it before.  Me, radiant? Human, sinful me, radiant? And no stains, Lord?  No stains, too?
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link to ebook & discount paperback:  http://bit.ly/TheyMetJesus
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#sinner, #forgiveness, #namesOFchurch, #sinner

Saturday 1/20 ~ Read it. Absorb it. Love it.

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

“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.

1st Corinthians 13 says prophecies will cease and they did when we got the entire Word of God, the entire Bible.  If someone prophesied today, it would be unfair to the rest of the world, for prophecy is scripture. The rest of the world would be cheated out of knowing the complete Word of God.

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.

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link to ebook & discount paper:  http://bit.ly/BibleLifeChanging

#scripture, #prophecy. #Bible, #Holy Spirit

Friday 1/19 ~ And the peace. Oh, my, the peace!

The scripture for today, January 19 (1/19), is James 1:19a as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."
There was a book published a few years ago entitled, Hurt People Hurt People. Have you ever wanted to say something like, "How dare you think you know how bad I feel!" or “How dare you think you understand the ordeal I went through!” or “How dare you treat me like that!” ?
Those are accusing words. And what do they accomplish? It’s almost like bragging. “My hurt is so far above your hurt, you could never come up to my superior level.”
You may feel justified in explaining how badly you were treated by someone. But, in reality, it makes the hurt keep going and going and going…. Perhaps this is an accusing cycle you've been in for a long time with someone.
Which one of you is going to stop the cycle?
Satan is the accuser (Revelation 12:10).  God is the forgiver.  Even Jesus forgave his killers. When you have been hurt, be ready to listen to the other person’s hurt instead of accuse. And in the process, "bring about the righteous life that God desires."
And peace.  Oh, my!  The peace you will experience.
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Link to ebook & discount paperback:  http://bit.ly/LazarusSamaritan
#peace, #vengeance

Monday 1/15 ~ You may already be doing it

The scripture for today, January 15 (1/15), is Galatians 1:15f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
"But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles...."
Isn't this amazing! God knows before you are born what you can be doing for him later in life. He sets aside work for you to do, but he does not force you to do it. You may set aside a certain amount of money to spend on food but you end up spending it on clothing.  Being set aside does not mean something will end up doing what it was set aside for.
 God has given you certain talents and set you aside to use them for Him.  Do you? Is your thinking even oriented on things that can endure through eternity? Or do you think only of the next day, or the next year?
You do not have to guess what God has set you aside to do.  Read the scriptures. He has messages for you all through it.  Find someone in the Bible with your personality and use that person as an example.  Find advice in the proverbs. Find advice in Jesus’ teachings, and in his apostles’ teachings.  It’s all there.  Pick one and do it.
If you are willing to follow God’s advice and not man’s, then God has work set aside for you to do.
You may not think your life has been very exciting. You may be waiting for God to give you a big important job to do for him. But the truth is, you ~ in your seemingly mundane life ~ may already be doing what God set aside for you to do.
Never underestimate yourself and what God can accomplish through you.
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Link to ebook and discount paperback:  http://bit.ly/500GoodWorks

Sunday 1/14 ~ My Guardian Angel and I

The scripture for today, January 14, is Hebrews 1:14 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
Are not all angels ministering spirits, sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"
Have you ever wondered if the Bible really mentions guardian angels? Well, here it is. But the angels do not minister to everyone ~ just to the saved who will inherit salvation.
As much as they minister to us, however, we are not to worship them and we are not to pray to them. For a while ~ and still some today ~ it was popular to collect pictures and statues of angels. Some people were saying there is no God, but there are guardian angels. Some people who do believe in God bypass Him and ask angels to help them, kind of like going to the peasant instead of the king.
Where do they think angels come from? We are not to adore, worship or pray to angels (Revelation 19:10; 22:9).
So, yes, we do have guardian angels.  Let us be grateful God loves us enough to send the angels to minister to us until we reach his home, heaven. Then, we and the angels will bow down together to the God of the universe and him will we worship.
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Link to ebook & discount bookstore:  http://bit.ly/TheyMetJesus
#GuardianAngels

Thursday 1/11 ~ Shhh. Listen... God is calling you

The scripture for today, January 11 (1/11), is 2nd Peter 1:11 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
"And you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
How often do you forget that earth is not your home? As an old gospel song says, "We're just traveling through." Do you really believe that?
If someone told you tomorrow you were going to die, would you go into a panic? Would you beg God to let you live another ten or twenty years? Would you feel this was the beginning of the end?
To a true Christian, your dying is the end of the beginning. You have a whole "life" ahead of you in heaven. A never-ending life? Do you live like you believe it? Will you die looking forward to it?
Are you even a Christian yet? What is your life like? Do you even know what is in the Bible, God’s messages to you? Does the thought of heaven sound boring to you?  Do you even like God?
Stop and listen to the empty place in your heart (Ec. 3:11).  Do you hear it?  Shhh.  Listen...  God is calling you.
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link to ebook & discount paperback:  http://bit.ly/stephenmartyr

Wednesday 1/10 ~ ARE YOU BALANCED?

The scripture for today, January 10 (1/10), is Colossians 1:10 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: Bearing fruit in every good work; Growing in the knowledge of God.”

Are you always doing some good work for other people? Does it fill your thoughts and life?  Or are you always delving into the Bible to gain more knowledge of God? Does it fill your thoughts and life? Good for you.

But we see here, we must have a balance. James 2:17 says faith without works is dead. On the other hand, Romans 10:2 says certain people were zealous for God, but their zeal was not based on knowledge.

We have to add to our Bible-based faith, good works. We have to add to our zealous good works, the knowledge of God from the Bible.

It’s hard to get out of a rut, no matter how good it is.  Maybe it’s time to examine yourself.  Maybe it’s time to add the other requirement to your life.  Don’t you want to be spiritually balanced?

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link to ebook & discount paperback:  http://bit.ly/LazarusSamaritan

#goodworks, #bibleknowledge

Monday 1/8 ~ Loving one we have never met

The scripture for today, January 8 (1/8), is 1st Peter 1:8 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

"Though you have not seen him, you love him! And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him! And are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy!"

Ah, the memories Peter had of being with Jesus when they all were young.  Now he was old and people were dying out who had seen Jesus in person.
After Jesus returned to heaven, it was the job of his Apostles to tell people about him and repeat his words. They spent the rest of their lives doing just that. What joy they found when people believed, even though they had not seen him. They not only believed, but they also loved him
Thank God, the Apostles wrote the New Testament so we would never have to guess what Jesus was like and never have to guess what his words were, even after the Apostles died. In fact, we have the advantage because we do not have to wait for an Apostle to come visit us and tell us. We can read about Jesus for ourselves over and over as many times as we like right in our home.
Yes, we have not seen Jesus. Yet, with his life and words before us, we believe! And we love him.  What inexpressible and glorious joy!
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Link to ebook and discount paperback: http://bit.ly/TheyMetJesus

Sunday 1/7 ~ Timidity and a "new truth"

The scripture for today, January 7 (1/7), is 2nd Timothy 1:7 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.”

Have you discovered some “new truth” in the Bible? Perhaps you have read it a hundred times but never noticed it before.

People fear the unknown. Do not fear it. Embrace it. Then share with others this new-found truth. The word “timidity” is sometimes translated “fear.” Remind your friends of that “new truth” you discovered enough times that it is no longer an unknown and no longer something to be feared.

Do we fear reprisal among our church friends or leaders if we stand up for some “new truth” no one noticed before? God can help you. God can give you the courage to speak out with power, with love, and with self-discipline as you explain that new-found truth.

Then be patient. God said, “My word will not return to me void” (Isaiah 55:11).

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Saturday 1/6 ~ Oh! I didn't know that before

The scripture for today, January 6 (1/6), is Titus 1:6f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

"An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless ~ not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, nor pursuing dishonest gain."

This is quite interesting. God does not leave us to guess the qualifications of a church leader. We don't have to hold conferences or synods to decide on qualifications for this office because God has already given them.
Something surprising here is that the word elder is used interchangeably with the word overseer (sometimes also translated bishop). The word elder comes from the Greek word presbyter. The word overseer/bishop is from the Greek word episcopos. Elder and overseer and bishop all are the same in this passage referring to the same office!
Here’s something else interesting about the elder/overseer/bishop: The word pastor comes from the Greek word for shepherd, poiman. In Acts 20:17, Paul sent for the elders of the church in Ephesus to talk to them. When they arrived, he said, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds [pastors] of the church of God which he bought with his own blood.”
Do you see the overlapping of the same office being called by different names? It's kind of like father and papa being the same.
Titus 1:6f uses elder and overseer for the same office. Overseer is the same in Greek as bishop. Acts 20:17 uses elder, overseer, shepherd (pastor) for the same office.
In our daily lives, we have different words meaning the same person; such as father, parent, dad, papa ~ all names for the same position in the family.
So, too, for the family of God ~ the church ~ all these words overlap as names for the same office! And the qualifications for this office are found in our scripture for today, Titus 1:6f. Indeed, how interesting!
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ebook & discount paperback link:  http://bit.ly/WorshipChanges