- Tuesday, 7/23/19 Luke
9:56, For the Son of man is not come to
destroy men's lives, but to save them. Of course, Christ came to save souls
for eternity, and if you don’t know your soul is guaranteed of Heaven, message
me. However, if your life has been destroyed, Christ can likewise save it also.
For the last 12 days, I’ve given over 30 similarities between fishing and soul winning. Christ said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” If you’re not fishing, you’re not following. So...point blank: are you, TODAY, a follower of Christ? And if you’re not following Him, whom is it that you ARE following? Learn how to, or get back to, soul winning, or increase your amount and/or your fervency. Ask anew for a filling of the Holy Spirit.
- Wednesday, 7/24/19 We usually cannot control our outer circumstances, but we can control our thinking and thus, our attitude/spirit. Psalm 9:2, I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. You can be happy over being IN HIM. Sing, even under your breath. “Work is just so stressful! Maybe I’ll get another job...” Jeremiah 29:7, And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. Have you done all you can to de-stress work? To make it a better place to work for everyone? Do you smile and joke and whistle and hum? Are you praising God, even under your breath? Stay until God tells you to leave, but while you’re there, pray for the peace there, and “brighten the corner where you are.”
- Thursday, 7/25/19 Psalm 9:17, The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. Let this verse be both a comfort and a motivation to win souls. Overall, the wicked will be dealt with; individually, we must reach them while we can. “Just trust your heart.” “Follow your heart!” These are perennially popular bits of advice...but do you know what is IN your heart? YOUR heart? Matthew 15:19, For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies... DO NOT TRUST YOUR HEART, or mine either.
- Friday, 7/26/19 So often we get a blessing or a lesson from an individual verse or story in the Bible, but...what about the bigger picture? We often admire the branches or leaves on an individual tree, but miss the beautiful forest. Over the next several days, I’ll relate some of the bigger pictures in the Bible. John 14:15, If ye love me, keep my commandments. A person can keep the commandments (obey) without loving; but no one can love without keeping the commandments and obeying. Obedience to commandments is a matter of the will and the body; true love is a matter of the spirit.
- Saturday, 7/27/19 Bible Big Picture #1. Overall synopsis: we might suffer like Job. We might go from worst to first like Joseph in Genesis. We might be the top dog like David. We might “turn the world upside down” or we might die a martyr’s death like the apostles. We might be a prophet with mighty power and a miraculous ending like Elijah, or we might be despised and rejected like Jeremiah. John 14:15, If ye love me, keep my commandments. Having high standards (or low ones) shows a level of obedience, not spirituality. The intensity of love indicates the spirituality. One can be spiritual but not obedient (usually through ignorance), however, the love of Christ (spirituality) will prompt increased obedience.
- Sunday, 7/28/19 Bible Big Picture #2. Can you point out many major Bible characters who didn’t have major suffering, huge problems, &/or painful rejection in their lives? So, maybe it shouldn’t be considered “outside the realm of possibility” that we’ll have a lot of it too. Don’t look forward to it, but look for it. Proverbs 22:11, He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend. A pure heart will make gracious lips. Lips that are encouraging, full of forgiveness, gentle, edifying; lips that motivate and enable the hearer to obey God. How pure is your heart? How gracious are your words? (Don’t get mad at me...I’m just the messenger...)
- Monday, 7/29/19 Bible Big Picture #3. Regardless of their situation in the Bible, regardless of the pain they endured; regardless of their loneliness then: all of our favorite Bible characters are in Heaven today. There IS a rainbow after our storm; there is a pot of gold there; there will be rest for the weary; the worst that could happen to us is that we...won’t go to Heaven today. Luke 17:4, And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. If you’re the offender: keep on repenting and keep on apologizing. If you’re the offended, keep on forgiving and loving. (And be sure the offender [who, by definition, is weak] knows he’s forgiven and loved.) Get your eyes off of what another SHOULD do...do what YOU CAN do.
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