Scripture For The Day

Scripture For The Day    May 31, 2023 And Salome… There are two Salomes mentioned in the Bible. Today we will focus on the righteous one. Salome in Hebrew is the feminine word for peace. Through historical study and lineage, we know that Salome was the wife of Zebedee and the mother of James and John. We know that she had enough boldness and audacity to ask Jesus if her boys could sit on either side of God’s Throne. Hey, you never know unless you ask. Right? She just wanted the best for her boys. She was also a follower of Jesus and was often in the company of Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph as well as Mary the Mother of Jesus. She and the first two Marys watched from a distance, as Jesus died on The Cross while Jesus’ mother was right there at the cross with John.   Though Salome isn’t mentioned at the burial of Jesus along with the others, she is mentioned as being one of the ladies that was a witness to His Resurrection. Jesus trusted women then and He trusts

Scripture For The Day    May 30, 2023 A Scarlet Rope  The LORD loves a humble heart. Our world is obsessed with what we see. We live in a shallow world. We refuse to invest our time and our hearts into the things that truly matter, in WHO truly matters. As I was studying this morning on yet another woman in the Bible that the Lord used and blessed, my heart became overwhelmed with the fact that He knows us way better than we know ourselves. Rahab; a prostitute, an outsider…a shameful woman. Yet, because of her willing heart, she became a powerful testimony for The Lord. Joshua 2-6 shares with us the story of Rahab. The Israelites were called by God to conquer the city of Jericho. Joshua sent two spies into Jericho to case the joint per se. Word got back to the king of Jericho that there were spies among them. So, the king ordered them to be brought to him. Rahab, had the spies hide on her rooftop at her place. She told them that their lives were in imminent danger. She protected th

Scripture For The Day    May 29, 2023 "A Faith-Filled Power Couple" Priscilla is always linked with her husband Aquila. They were a faith-filled power couple that exhibits what a godly marriage is meant to be. They worked together making tents for their income. They worshipped together. They served The Lord together. They risked their lives together in order to rescue missionaries that were in danger. They were partners through and through, in The Love of God and for each other.  We first meet up with Priscilla/or Prisca in Acts 18. She and her husband Aquila had recently moved to Corinth from Italy because the Roman Emperor Claudius had given an order for all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit Aquila and Priscilla. He stayed with them and worked with them, making tents. The three became great friends during this time. Later they ended up sailing to Ephesus. While there they met an apostle named Apollos. He was an outstanding speaker and charming. Soon, people were foll

Scripture For The Day    May 25, 2023 "You Have Someone To Live For"  We don’t know her name. But we do know she was married to one of Eli’s sons; Phinehas. Being Eli’s sons, they were in the same line as their dad; priests over the Tabernacle. But they were out of control. They had no respect for God’s Laws or His Ways. They wanted what they wanted and they took it. Meat for sacrifice? they took it. The women who served God in the Tabernacle? they used them for their own pleasures. So, judgment was getting ready to be handed down against Eli’s sons, as well as to the Israel Nation for allowing all of this to go on. One day, Hophni and Phinehas took the Ark of the Covenant out to battle against the Philistines; which was customary. But their hearts were not where they needed to be. They were figuratively slapping the face of God every single time they entered the Tabernacle as they privately and publicly sinned against Him with no remorse in their hearts. How often does tha

Scripture For The Day   May 24, 2023 "Which Did Prophesy"   When we speak about prophesying, many people tend to conjure up a picture of an old, crippled man, on top of a mountain telling the future. But prophesying in the Bible gives us a better picture. The True Prophets of God were about teaching and proclaiming The Truth of what God had spoken to them usually while in difficult times.  It was The hard Truth that needed to be told, regardless if anyone wanted to hear it or not. A true prophet of God may or may not prophesy of the future but they will always prophesy His Truth.  And this was not a job just for the men. Since we’ve been studying women in the Bible, we have already had several instances of women who were Prophets of God. In Acts 21:8-9 we read of a group of sisters who were Prophets; “And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; ( this re

Scripture For The Day   May 23, 2023 "Who's Got The Vittles?"  We all respond differently to various circumstances. So, it only makes sense that we would respond differently to the Touch of Jesus. In the Bible, when Jesus healed people, they also reacted differently. Some would run and jump. Some would fall at His feet. Some would cry. Some would laugh. Some would shout His praises for all to hear. Some even followed Him everywhere He went from that day forward. Though I try to be a tough nut, those closest to me, know that I have a tender heart and will cry at the drop of a hat. I feel things deeper than I care to. It frustrates me at times. But this is who I am. And the bottom line is that we generally react to something based on what we are most comfortable with. And one reaction doesn’t mean that it’s better than another. God has made us all so different and that’s the beauty of His Creation. But one thing we all have in common is we ALL NEED JESUS!    Let’s talk abou

Scripture For The Day   May 22, 2023 "He Never Left Her Side"  Most of us have studied about Ruth and her love for her mother-in-law. But what about Naomi?  She struggled with a broken heart to the point that she was ready to give up.  A famine sent her family to a foreign land in search of work and food. Not long after their move, Naomi’s husband died. Soon, her two sons soon married Moabite women, which was against their law. They lived in Moab for ten years and then her sons died, leaving her and her two daughters-in-law without any means of support. Ruth was broken beyond broken. She wanted to go home and die. She pleaded with her daughters-in-law to go home to their families. She loved on them, she thanked them for their kindness and they all broke down in tears. Orpah agreed to go but Ruth begged Naomi not to make her leave. ‘where you go, I go and where you stay I stay, your people will be my people, and your God, my God.” Naomi reluctantly agreed but the grief and bro

Scripture For The Day   May 18, 2023 "A Little Girl, With Big Faith"  There is no age requirement when it comes to serving The Lord and today, we study about a young girl who trusted The Lord and was brave enough to show that confidence. The Bible doesn’t tell us how young she was. It just says a little maid or a little girl. In 2 Kings 5, we read about Naaman, who was the captain of the army of the king of Syria. Naaman was very important to his king. But he was a leper. On one raid Naaman’s soldiers took captive a little girl that became the servant of Naaman’s wife. This little girl’s faith in God shone His Light in an otherwise dismal situation and to me, it’s a beautiful story of Trusting in God, no matter what your circumstances are.  Soon, after her captivity, this little girl learned quickly of her master’s leprosy. She goes to her mistress and tells her that she wishes that the master would meet up with a prophet of God that would heal him of the leprosy. No ifs or m

Scripture For The Day  May 17, 2023 "And a Certain Woman Named Lydia"  And a certain woman named Lydia… Lydia was a businesswoman. It never mentions a husband. Her business was a lucrative one. She knew how to make it all on her own. Her business was dealing in an expensive and desired product, purple dye for cloth. She originally lived in Thyatira, which was known for its beautiful dyes and beautiful purple cloth. It was rather expensive. So, only the rich could afford them. Lydia loved God and worshiped Him more than her success. She must have moved to Philippi because one day, at an outside ladies' prayer meeting, Paul, Silas and Luke showed up preaching The Gospel of Jesus Christ and Lydia’s heart was opened to The Truth of Jesus and accepted Him in her heart that day and was baptized. Lydia was Paul’s first convert in Philippi and the first recorded convert to be saved in Europe. She immediately wanted to serve The Lord in any way she could and insisted that the miss

Scripture For The Day    May 15, 2023 "Accept Her the Way God's People Should"  Romans 16 is an eye-opening chapter for me.  Poor Paul has been used and abused in so many ways, in his life and even after his death. He has been misinterpreted on several occasions. One is that Paul had no use for women and that they were to be kept quiet and, in the background, and that, my friends, is an error in judgment. The Lord sent Paul to reach people of various ethnicities, races, and gender. When we accept Jesus, we are all ONE in Him. Romans 16 is a remarkable chapter in the fact that Paul publicly honors women at a time when women were not honored in the Roman Empire. He held these women in high esteem and they occupied various important roles within the church.  Paul describes the women in this chapter in the same terms as he uses for the men. He shines a light on these ladies as being co-workers in Christ and recognizes how hard they work for The Lord. He includes them with t

Scripture For The Day    May 12, 2023 "A Mother's Faith!"  The Bible doesn’t record one single word that Jochebed said, but her story is a courageous and loving story of a faithful Mother. How perfect for us to study her with Mother’s Day just a couple days away.  A new king began to rule Egypt. He looked at all the Israelites and said there were too many of them. They are stronger than us. If a revolution breaks out, we are done for. Eventually, the king told the Hebrew midwives to kill all the baby boys. We will study their story further down the line. Today, let’s look at Jochebed. She Loved God with all her heart and trusted Him even in the midst of her fear.   Jochebed was the wife of a Levite. During the reign of this king/pharaoh, she became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy. She couldn’t stand the thought of her baby boy being killed. So, she hid him for three months, as long as she could. After three months she made a basket, covered it with tar so it wou

Scripture For The Day    May 11, 2023 "Follow Jesus"  We first meet Joanna in Luke 8:1-3. Jesus was traveling through cities and small towns sharing The Good News of His Father’s Kingdom. The disciples were with Him. There were also certain women that followed Him and served Him everywhere He went whom Jesus had healed of various illnesses and evil spirits. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Susanna, and a lady named Joanna, just to name a few of them. We don’t know what illness Joanna was healed from. The mention of ‘evil spirits’ and ‘infirmities’ can mean just about anything.  But the fact of the matter is, she was touched by Jesus. She was healed by Her Savior. And one thing is for sure, after studying this we can appreciate the fact that she loved Jesus very much and she did everything she could to help Him. Once again a woman was vitally important in the spreading of The Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Joanna was the wife of Chuza,, who was the manager of Herod’s property. He w

Scripture For The Day    May 8, 2023 "To Save a Child"  Today we meet Jehosheba and she was quite the woman. She was courageous in the midst of a horrific situation. Her mother was married to King Jehoram, but was not the primary wife. That position was held by Athaliah, who happened to be the granddaughter of one of the most evil kings of Israel to ever reign. She was also the child of Ahab and Jezebel and when she became queen, Athaliah continued the evil reign. She was the only woman to rule over Judah, albeit for a short time. Her husband, the king had been killed. Then her son, King Jehu was killed and Queen Athaliah took the opportunity to kill all the royal family she could find, including her own grandsons, in order to keep her seat on the throne.   However, our heroine, Jehosheba, the queen’s half-sister rescued young Joash, the queen’s remaining grandson, and his nurse. Jehosheba kept her nephew hidden for six years in the temple while the evil queen Athaliah reig

Scripture For The Day    May 4, 2023 "She Spoke The Truth"  I know I must have read about her before. But for some reason, her story didn’t reach my heart until this morning. I love the perfect timing of our Father. Let’s learn about Huldah, a prophetess, that was known to have enough courage to speak the truth, even when the truth is not something people usually want to hear. Refer to 2 Kings22:8-20, and 2 Chronicles 34:29-38. During a random moment of bookkeeping that the King of Judah was doing, the high priest Hilkiah found a copy of the Book of the Law. It had apparently been lost for a very long time. King Josiah was a man who loved The Lord and the discovery of this book broke his heart. It originated between God and Moses. It was the foundation of what they believed. It set the precedence for their entire Nation. But it had been put aside sometime before by a regime that did not want to waste their time with The Truth of God’s Word. So, when the book (the scroll)

Scripture For The Day    May 3, 2023 Blessed Beyond Her Dreams Childless women have suffered for centuries over something they have no control over.  Elkanah had two wives; Peninnah, who had children, and Hannah who had none. Elkanah loved Hannah very much, even without the children. And he let everyone know. So, of course, this did not bode well for their ungodly union. Peninnah used Hannah’s infertility to her advantage. She began to tease and taunt Hannah’s childless condition to make her feel bad. This happened even more when the family went to the Lord’s house in Shiloh every year. Peninnah hurt Hannah so much that Hannah would cry and wouldn’t eat anything. She didn’t get jealous and retaliate. It just broke her heart.  Elkanah got quite concerned and asked her “Why won’t you eat? Why are you so sad? You have me. Aren’t I better than having ten sons?”  To Elkanah, her value was much more to him than being a mother to his children. But it wasn’t to her. She gave in and ate a lit

Scripture For The Day    May 2, 2023 "The Lord Heard Their Cries"  Yesterday, I shared about Hagar, the servant of Sarai who ran away and encountered The Lord. and called Him El Roi- Hebrew for The God Who sees me. Genesis 16:13 I love this name of God. At times when we feel forgotten or feel like no one sees us we can feel secure in knowing that God sees us. He is aware of our struggles and hurts. He understands our tears. El Roi. Soon, Hagar had her son and named him Ishmael as The Lord had told her to. Fourteen years pass and Sarah gives birth to Isaac. Not long after Isaac was weaned, Sarah saw Ishmael taunting Isaac and she went to Abraham about it. She was angry. “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, Abraham for I will not allow her son to have any part of my son’s inheritance” Reluctantly, Abraham sends Hagar and his firstborn son packing. He provided them with supplies and turned them away into the desert. Poor Hagar. She had been used and abused and mistreate

   Scripture For The Day  May 1, 2023 The Stigma Surrogacy has been around since the OT. Back then the value of a woman rested on her ability to have children or not. So, when a wife wasn’t able to bear children, she had every legal right to find a substitute, a surrogate, to fulfill that need. It usually ended up being a servant that the wife would hand over to her husband. That servant was just an object and she better remember that and the husband better not enjoy it too much. It was the ends to the means. It’s no wonder that the OT is filled with an abundance of family dysfunction.  Not saying anything is wrong with surrogacy. But how they went about it is what caused the problem. The reasoning behind going about it is the problem.  A woman’s worth is so much more than her ability to bear children.  She means just as much to God as her husband does.  Yet, today we still have this stigma. Not quite as obvious but in other ways. I’m going to be honest with you. One of the things