Scripture For The Day

   Scripture For The Day  March 31, 2023 "There's Much More to Her Story"   Her nickname was Abi, but her full name was Abijah. There’s not a lot said about Abi in the Bible. Honestly, it only mentions her a few times and mostly about her being King Hezekiah’s mother.  2 Kings 18:2 and 2 Chronicles 29:1. So, why should I even bring her up? Can’t you see? There is much more to her story. Let’s look at Hezekiah’s dad. His dad, King Ahaz, was a horrible king. He was considered one of the worst kings of Judah. He brought back Baal worship. He destroyed God’s Temple by placing idols to be worshiped there. He even sacrificed one of his own sons to this false god. Oh my! Needless to say, God was not happy with this king. But he is not our focus, he is just some background. Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king. In truth, Hezekiah should have been pretty messed up in the head because of his dad. We all know how that can happen. However; when He...

Scripture For The Day   March 29, 2023  The Helpmeet  The Church at Thyratira was getting reprimanded for a woman named Jezebel. It wasn’t the fact that she was a woman or that she was a prophetess. The Bible shares God appointed women who were prophets and leaders and teachers all throughout His Word.  But this particular woman was not called to be a prophet, she called herself... And trust me on this, just because someone says they are called to do this or that, does not mean that they truly are, whether it be a woman or a man.  But some people like to use this scripture in Revelation 2:20 to downgrade women who are truly called by God to do the tough jobs. The New Testament records Anna in Luke 2:36-37 as a woman being called to be a prophetess. She served God with everything she had. Just to name one.   All of us struggle. But many women, even within the church,  struggle with low self-esteem.  They are listening to the lies of...

Scripture For The Day    March 23, 2023  "Oh, How Sharp That Two-Edged Sword Can Be"  We often use the idiom “it cuts deeper than a two-edged sword” to describe situations that can have a positive and negative effect. The Word of God is that double-edged sword. Hebrews 4:12 His Word is Alive and Working. It’s so sharp it cuts us to the core, to where the soul and the spirit are joined. In other words, in many ways, His Word comforts and encourages us but His Word is also meant to convict our hearts to change our ways.  Nothing is hidden from God and we all need correction from time to time. Correction leads to growth.   In Revelation 2:12-13 John continues to write what Jesus tells him to. He tells John to write to the church in Pergamum; “Here is a message from The One Who has the sharp sword with two edges; I know where you live. You live where satan has his throne, but you are true to me… But I have a few things against you…So change your hearts! I...

   Scripture For The Day  March 22, 2023  "Nourish Our Souls"  When my husband and I were first together, we were as close to poverty without being in the clutch of poverty. We struggled. We also didn’t want to be a burden, so we wouldn’t ask for help. We tried to get jobs and for a few months, we were without money. We ate very little. It hurts our daughter when we share this story but to us, it was a blessing and we grew stronger together through it.  This was at a time before my husband had been saved. But I continued to pray and Trust The Lord to get us through it. A few months earlier was Christmas and Tom had given me a gigantic, thick candy cane stick. It was huge. Through the scarcity of jobs and the lack of money, we ran out of food. Eventually, we became so hungry that Tom would take a knife and shave pieces off of the stick for us to eat. It was a good diet to lose weight, the problem was at that time we couldn’t even afford to lose weight....

Scripture For The Day    March 21, 2023  "Remember Your First Love"  Moving on in our study of John, he shares with us the message from Jesus Christ, Himself, to the seven churches in Asia. Those messages transcend time and are not only applicable to those original seven churches but are also applicable to churches today as well as to individual Christians. We can find our church and even ourselves within one or all the letters.  Each letter has some common attributes. First, Jesus identifies Himself. Then He commends each church with ‘I know your…” letting those churches and us know that He knows all about us. But then the rebuke comes. Not all of them had the rebuke and not all rebukes were the same level. But most all need correction, just like we do. He strongly recommended each church (and us) to change in a specific manner. He finishes up by encouraging all of us to keep on keeping on; overcoming the weight of the world and avoiding obstacles that stan...

Scripture For The Day    March 17, 2023  "The Island of Patmos"  I’m at the point of studying John and his exile to the island of Patmos. Some people have wondered through the years why John was spared a horrific death and was able to live to a ripe old age. While the other disciples and many other Christians were persecuted, tortured, and killed, John was exiled. My take on that is that God wasn’t through with John yet. He appointed John to be the one to write down what Jesus told him regarding the book of Revelation. Jesus gave this vision and writing to John at a time when John was exiled to the Island of Patmos and life had essentially slowed down for him. John was already aged and frail at this time of his life.  I’m sure he had some manual labor to do in his exile. He was more than likely beaten for his beliefs. But his running was over. His hiding was over. Knowing John like we do, he was still sharing The Gospel where he was at, when he could, even w...

Scripture For The Day    M arch 16, 2023  "Let My Life Be A Testimony For You"   Since we finished up the study of the Sermon on the Mount, I recently turned back to studying John. You remember John, right? ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’? That tickles me how John describes himself. But I love the confidence and John was right, Jesus did love him and even though John was as close as a brother to him, Jesus also loves you. And Believe it or not, He loves me too.  But today we are going to revisit what John said about Diotrephes. I can’t seem to get him off my mind. Can you imagine? Apparently, God deemed it important enough to call him out by name for all the world to see. John described Diotrephes as being someone who always wanted to be first, to be the leader, to be in control of whatever is going on, and to top it off, he was a liar. Diotrephes refused to be kind to certain people. He refused to help people who he didn’t like. He was pure arrogance and pe...

   Scripture For The Day  March 13, 2023  Don't Let Others Crazy Rub Off On You  Life can be overwhelming at times. People are frustrating and full of so many opinions. And boy can’t we get caught up in the junk of others? The mindset of people is outstanding, to say the least. Frivolity, wastefulness, quick-tempered, selfishness, hatefulness, control freaks, you name it. We’ve all come across it. We probably could admit that we have been there and done that at one time or another. But some people choose to live every day in that mindset. It’s tempting at times to just say “I’m shaking the dust off my sandals…I’m done.” But the question is ‘Are we? Are we really done? Or is there something else The Lord wants us to do? “ We need to be certain before we give up. That’s why it’s so important to have those Sabbath moments in our lives when we stop and rest. This is not about giving up. It’s about a rejuvenation of the spirit.  If your body is as fit...

Scripture For The Day   March 10, 2023  "Be True, Be Honest, Be Pure"  One of the quickest ways to get me angry or frustrated is to lie to me. I can not deal with being lied to. It’s difficult to trust people as it is without being lied to. And for some odd reason, there are people that will lie about the stupidest things. I have stood face to face with people even in church and recognize that they are lying to me, over nothing. It’s crazy ridiculous. I grew up with some people who would lie as easily as they breathed and so I’ve learned quickly to recognize the liars and I generally end up steering clear of them. Especially the older I get. I don’t have time for mind games. So, I pull away from those people. I remain friendly and loving and will pray for them. But conversations are very limited. Life’s too short for that junk. I need to Trust you to have a relationship with you. 2 John reminds us that there are MANY false teachers in this world right then and ri...

Scripture For The Day  March 9, 2023  Love Each Other  Clement, a Greek theologian, born back in the day of 150 ad, wrote about John in this true account. The apostle John was, of course, one of the founding fathers of the early churches. “Listen to a story which is not a story but a true tradition of John the Apostle preserved in memory.” Clement goes on to tell us that John was out visiting a new bishop in Smyrna when he saw a young man in the congregation  The young man looked strong. He was good-looking and was very friendly. By all accounts, John knew that if no one took this young man into hand the enemy would pull him away from the church. So, John turns to the bishop and says; ‘I commend this man to you,’ John said, ‘with all diligence in the face of the church, and with Christ as my witness’ John then returned to Ephesus and, as promised, the bishop took the young man under his wing and baptized him. It doesn’t say how much time passed but evidently, t...

   Scripture For The Day  March 8 th , 2023  "Let's Be Real"  One of the best ways to see God here on earth is through loving each other. 1 John 4:12 tells us that we have never personally seen God. But if we have Jesus in our hearts and then when we sincerely love each other, God’s Love is made perfect within us. Romans 12: 9 tells us love must be without dissimulation; must be REAL. We are to hate what is evil and only do good. The more we abide in Him, the more our behavior, and our attitude will be reflected in how we love others.  We can’t fake that kind of love.  You either have it or you don’t. But with Jesus in our hearts and a desire in our hearts to love like Him, we are able to have that real love for each other. The world talks about love quite a bit. They equate love with tolerance. As Christians, we should be all about truth and love and speaking The Truth with Love. The enemy lies to people and deceives this world into thinking t...

Scripture For The Day  March 7, 2023 On The Solid Rock I Stand   Two Kinds of People  Today we finish out our study on Jesus’ Sermon on The Mount. It’s been quite interesting and eye-opening for me. I hope you have enjoyed it as well. In our study today Jesus tells us about two kinds of people. Matthew 7:24-28 “Whoever hears these teachings of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house upon a rock. It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall because it was built upon a rock. Whoever hears these teachings of mine and does NOT obey them is like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against the house. And it fell with a loud crash. When Jesus finished speaking, the people were amazed at His teaching. He did not teach like their teachers of the law. He taught like someone Who has Authority.” This is partly where some people get ...

Scripture For The Day  March 6, 2023   What People Do!  Jesus’s Sermon continues... Matthew 7:15-21 Be careful of false prophets. I was just having a conversation on this subject with the hubby a couple of days ago. Jesus warned us that there will be people who will come to us and look as gentle as sheep but will actually be as dangerous as wolves. There will be people who will say that they are called to do this or to do that when they haven’t been. Either they are fooling themselves or trying to fool us. Jesus warns us to be aware that not everyone who claims to be a Christian, is a Christian. This reminds me of the old cartoon when the wolf would dress up as a sheep to get inside the pen in order to attack the sheep. But the sheepdog was too smart for him and would catch him every single time. As per Jesus’s teaching, it all goes back to the heart. We will mess up. We will sin. He is not saying that Christians will be able to live a sinless life, that’s impossibl...

   Scripture For The Day  March 3, 2023  "Narrow is The Way"  The Way to Heaven and the Way to Hell – Jesus’s Sermon continues Matthew 7:13-14   Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: Contrary to what the world wants you to believe, contrary to what the enemy is deceiving people into thinking, there is only ONE way to get to heaven and that way leads through a narrow gate. Why? Because, sadly,  not everyone will choose to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts. Many will play Christian but not everyone will truly accept Him. So, that gate is narrow by all counts. But Hell? Jesus says that the gate to hell is very wide, and there is plenty of room on the road that leads there. This is straight from the mouth of Jesus Christ – Many people will choose to go that way. But the gate that opens the way to true life is narrow and the road that l...

 Scripture For The Day   March 2, 2023  Ask, Seek, Knock Matthew 7:7-12 continues with Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks the door will be opened.” This is another misused scripture. This is not a “Name it and claim it” prayer. We don’t get what we want just because we pray for it. The Lord is not some genie in the bottle waiting for us to rub the lamp and ask for our wishes to be granted, even if we meticulously polish the lamp. He continues “Which of you, if your son would ask for bread, would you give him a stone? Of if he asked for a fish, would you give him a snake? If you, who are primarily bad, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him! So, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to ...

Scripture For The Day    March 1, 2023  Look in the Mirror  Today we continue to study Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  Do not criticize others. – Matthew 7:1-6 The quickest way for my temper to jump is when I come in contact with a bully. It has become way too easy for someone to hide behind a computer or phone screen and give harsh and one-sided opinions and insults. It's become too easy to bully people.  Remember this sermon was geared toward the followers of Jesus. We are held to a higher standard and we will be held accountable for our behavior. The scripture we study today is one of the most misunderstood and gets misused quite often in order to teach tolerance of sin. That is so not the case. Jesus does not tolerate sin. But He loves the sinner.  Jesus tells us in chapter 7:1 to not judge others and then God will not judge us. If you do then He will judge you the same way. We’ve all heard this scripture. But let’s dig deeper. Study shows us th...