- Tuesday, 1/7/20
Philemon 15, For perhaps he
therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever...
Philemon’s short-term loss (a runaway slave) became his long-term gain (a
Christian brother and co-laborer.) Don’t be so quick to categorize events as
bad...maybe God has a bigger plan.
Matthew 21:5b-6, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them [the Lord hath need of him]: and they let them go. If someone says, “God led me to do thus-n-so,” what is your usual reaction? Unless we know another’s actions are directly contradicting the Bible, we need to trust the they’re doing the will of God as was told them.
- Wednesday, 1/8/20 Mark 11:26, But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. A cardinal truth is that God deals with His children’s sin on 2 levels: temporal and eternal. Eternal forgiveness comes at salvation but He’ll withhold blessings now based on our forgiving others. Whose record do you need to wipe clean? Mark 12:24, And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? This is truly the error of most people today. Everything God has ever done, He’s done through His word. Do you have a copy of His word? (For English speakers, the tried and true is the King James 1611...for a dozen reasons.) Do you read It daily? Obey what It says? In It, He tells of His character and how He’ll act, and demonstrates His ability/power. We truly err...and err greatly, and to our detriment.
- Thursday, 1/9/20 Proverbs 4:26, Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. “Ponder”: actively, repeatedly examine and evaluate. “Established”: by choice. What’re you doing? Where will it end? Why are you doing it? Should you make some changes? 2 Timothy 2:7, Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. Some truths come easily; some must be dug out. Here he says to consider what was read. Consider: “con” with; “side.” Bring the truth alongside of you and mull it over. Write it down; read it 20x a day for a week, all the while asking God to unlock the passage for you. Also, be patient. If you’re saved, the Holy Spirit want to and will teach YOU.
- Friday, 1/10/20 2 Timothy 3:7, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Learning is not the same as understanding. Knowing doesn’t equal knowledge. The Bible is NOT like a science book: it takes spiritual life (new birth) and the Holy Spirit (and His timing) to understand it. Only twice in all the Bible is the phrase “all diligence” used as a command to us. Proverbs 4:23, Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. And 2 Peter 1:5, And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue... So, with ultimate care, we’re to safeguard our hearts and add moral excellence to our faith. “Watch what goes in, and what comes out.” Easy enough...to say...
- Saturday, 1/11/20 We’ve too many dead Christians walking around our churches. Too many who do as little of what God wants as possible. Proverbs 7:2, Keep my commandments, and LIVE; and my law as the apple of thine eye. But we can’t control others: are you fully alive? Am I? Search yourself; ask Him. No true Bible preacher ever finds anything new in the Bible, we simply remind all of us of things which we all know already. Psalm 3:1, Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. The Bible was written for “our ensample,” and therefore, the stories that are recorded are to guide us. Lessons? We WILL have troubles in this life. Troubles...by their nature, are troubling. Learn what to do/not to do from Bible characters. Here, David went to God, and kept on serving Him.
- Sunday, 1/12/20 Psalm 2:1, Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? Rest assured born-again one: those who are lost and unsaved ARE on the losing team. They ARE clinging to a vain, empty, worthless fantasy. So hold fast your beliefs and practices: God WILL be proven right. So sweetly take what your adversaries at work, school, or in the neighborhood dish out. Psalm 3:5, I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. David has a multitude of people persecuting him and writing him off. So what does he do? Goes to bed. Takes the matter to the Lord and trusts God. Does what he can do and not what he cannot do. Doesn’t worry about what he cannot control. Takes care of his physical health. Maybe there’s a lesson in there for you and me.
- Monday, 1/13/20 Proverbs 7 tells the story of a youth who sinned horribly. Chapter 8 begins with, Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? Though we often feel helpless in the face of sin, there is an alternative. 1 Corinthians 10:13 is still there. Get wisdom today to avoid the temptation tomorrow. Why do you make such a big deal about church? Why do you still go 3x a week, tithe, invite visitors, go to a 6:30 a.m. prayer meeting, spend money on a SS class, give in special offerings? Why have I texted out a daily Bible thought and posted a second, different thought on FB for over a decade? Why??? I’m nothing special, and fail far more often than I succeed, but very simply, I am VERY selfish: I want to be blessed by God. Psalm 84:4, Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Notice, it says “dwell in [His] house” not “visit occasionally, when it’s convenient.” Paraphrase: “Be there more often than not.” Oh that I would do so much more for the only One Who deserves anything.
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- Tuesday, 1/7/20 Philemon 15, For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever... Philemon’s short-term loss (a runaway slave) became his long-term gain (a Christian brother and co-laborer.) Don’t be so quick to categorize events as bad...maybe God has a bigger plan. Matthew 21:5b-6, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them [the Lord hath need of him]: and they let them go. If someone says, “God led me to do thus-n-so,” what is your usual reaction? Unless we know another’s actions are directly contradicting the Bible, we need to trust the they’re doing the will of God as was told them.
- Wednesday, 1/8/20 Mark 11:26, But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. A cardinal truth is that God deals with His children’s sin on 2 levels: temporal and eternal. Eternal forgiveness comes at salvation but He’ll withhold blessings now based on our forgiving others. Whose record do you need to wipe clean? Mark 12:24, And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? This is truly the error of most people today. Everything God has ever done, He’s done through His word. Do you have a copy of His word? (For English speakers, the tried and true is the King James 1611...for a dozen reasons.) Do you read It daily? Obey what It says? In It, He tells of His character and how He’ll act, and demonstrates His ability/power. We truly err...and err greatly, and to our detriment.
- Thursday, 1/9/20 Proverbs 4:26, Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. “Ponder”: actively, repeatedly examine and evaluate. “Established”: by choice. What’re you doing? Where will it end? Why are you doing it? Should you make some changes? 2 Timothy 2:7, Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. Some truths come easily; some must be dug out. Here he says to consider what was read. Consider: “con” with; “side.” Bring the truth alongside of you and mull it over. Write it down; read it 20x a day for a week, all the while asking God to unlock the passage for you. Also, be patient. If you’re saved, the Holy Spirit want to and will teach YOU.
- Friday, 1/10/20 2 Timothy 3:7, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Learning is not the same as understanding. Knowing doesn’t equal knowledge. The Bible is NOT like a science book: it takes spiritual life (new birth) and the Holy Spirit (and His timing) to understand it. Only twice in all the Bible is the phrase “all diligence” used as a command to us. Proverbs 4:23, Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. And 2 Peter 1:5, And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue... So, with ultimate care, we’re to safeguard our hearts and add moral excellence to our faith. “Watch what goes in, and what comes out.” Easy enough...to say...
- Saturday, 1/11/20 We’ve too many dead Christians walking around our churches. Too many who do as little of what God wants as possible. Proverbs 7:2, Keep my commandments, and LIVE; and my law as the apple of thine eye. But we can’t control others: are you fully alive? Am I? Search yourself; ask Him. No true Bible preacher ever finds anything new in the Bible, we simply remind all of us of things which we all know already. Psalm 3:1, Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. The Bible was written for “our ensample,” and therefore, the stories that are recorded are to guide us. Lessons? We WILL have troubles in this life. Troubles...by their nature, are troubling. Learn what to do/not to do from Bible characters. Here, David went to God, and kept on serving Him.
- Sunday, 1/12/20 Psalm 2:1, Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? Rest assured born-again one: those who are lost and unsaved ARE on the losing team. They ARE clinging to a vain, empty, worthless fantasy. So hold fast your beliefs and practices: God WILL be proven right. So sweetly take what your adversaries at work, school, or in the neighborhood dish out. Psalm 3:5, I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. David has a multitude of people persecuting him and writing him off. So what does he do? Goes to bed. Takes the matter to the Lord and trusts God. Does what he can do and not what he cannot do. Doesn’t worry about what he cannot control. Takes care of his physical health. Maybe there’s a lesson in there for you and me.
- Monday, 1/13/20 Proverbs 7 tells the story of a youth who sinned horribly. Chapter 8 begins with, Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? Though we often feel helpless in the face of sin, there is an alternative. 1 Corinthians 10:13 is still there. Get wisdom today to avoid the temptation tomorrow. Why do you make such a big deal about church? Why do you still go 3x a week, tithe, invite visitors, go to a 6:30 a.m. prayer meeting, spend money on a SS class, give in special offerings? Why have I texted out a daily Bible thought and posted a second, different thought on FB for over a decade? Why??? I’m nothing special, and fail far more often than I succeed, but very simply, I am VERY selfish: I want to be blessed by God. Psalm 84:4, Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Notice, it says “dwell in [His] house” not “visit occasionally, when it’s convenient.” Paraphrase: “Be there more often than not.” Oh that I would do so much more for the only One Who deserves anything.
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