Bible Reading Guide:
Saturday:
Beginning to End: Deut. 3-4
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 17-19 & Mark 6:30-56
Historical: Deut. 3-4
Chronological: Numbers 11-13
Blended: Exodus 27-28 & Philemon
Sunday:
Beginning to End: Deut. 5-7
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 23-25 & Mark 7:1-13
Historical: Deut. 5-7
Chronological: Numbers 14-15 & Psalm 90
Blended: Exodus 29-30 & James 1
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
A Constant Witness
"For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard" (Acts 22:15).
Paul was chosen to see and hear the LORD speaking to him out of heaven. This divine election was a high privilege for himself; but it was not intended to end with him; it was meant to have an influence upon others, yea, upon all men. It is to Paul that Europe owes the gospel at this hour.
It is ours in our measure to be witnesses of that which the LORD has revealed to us, and it is at our peril that we hide the precious revelation. First, we must see and hear, or we shall have nothing to tell; but when we have done so, we must be eager to bear our testimony. It must be personal: "Thou shalt be." It must be for Christ: "Thou shalt be his witness." It must be constant and all absorbing; we are to be this above all other things and to the exclusion of many other matters. Our witness must not be to a select few who will cheerfully receive us but to "all men" -- to all whom we can reach, young or old, rich or poor, good or bad. We must never be silent like those who are possessed by a dumb spirit; for the text before us is a command, and a promise, and we must not miss it -- "Thou shalt be his witness." "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD."
By C.H. Spurgeon taken from "Faith's Checkbook"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Deut. 1-2
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 15-16 & Mark 6:1-29
Historical: Deut. 1-2
Chronological: Numbers 8-10
Blended: Exodus 24-26 & 2 Thess. 3
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Paul was chosen to see and hear the LORD speaking to him out of heaven. This divine election was a high privilege for himself; but it was not intended to end with him; it was meant to have an influence upon others, yea, upon all men. It is to Paul that Europe owes the gospel at this hour.
It is ours in our measure to be witnesses of that which the LORD has revealed to us, and it is at our peril that we hide the precious revelation. First, we must see and hear, or we shall have nothing to tell; but when we have done so, we must be eager to bear our testimony. It must be personal: "Thou shalt be." It must be for Christ: "Thou shalt be his witness." It must be constant and all absorbing; we are to be this above all other things and to the exclusion of many other matters. Our witness must not be to a select few who will cheerfully receive us but to "all men" -- to all whom we can reach, young or old, rich or poor, good or bad. We must never be silent like those who are possessed by a dumb spirit; for the text before us is a command, and a promise, and we must not miss it -- "Thou shalt be his witness." "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD."
By C.H. Spurgeon taken from "Faith's Checkbook"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Deut. 1-2
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 15-16 & Mark 6:1-29
Historical: Deut. 1-2
Chronological: Numbers 8-10
Blended: Exodus 24-26 & 2 Thess. 3
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Great in God's Eyes
This morning I came across Proverbs 20:27, "The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the innermost parts of his being." Now that's an eye opening verse. We are an open book the Lord. Every thought and action are known to Him even before we think and do them. It's interesting how everything in this world and beyond is accessible to God. Yet, He is still interested in our heart's condition and who we are becoming. "Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord, how much more the hearts of men." Proverbs 15:11.
After Saul failed in obeying the Lord, God sent Samuel to search for another king to rule over His people. God led him to Jesse because He had chosen one of his sons to be king. One by one Jesse's sons came before Samuel to be consecrated. I'm thinking that Jesse's sons were very handsome in appearance and Samuel noticed. In Samuel's eyes the one who was to be king had to look like a king. So when Jesse's first son, Eliab, entered Samuel assumed it was he that the Lord had chosen. Here the Lord reminds him of what He is looking for, "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." I Samuel 16:7
Each of Jesse's sons came before Samuel and each one was rejected by the Lord. Even Jesse is on the same wavelength as Samuel and sends all his sons in except the youngest because it seems like he didn't think he was king material. "And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are these all the children?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep." I Samuel 16:11
In the end we know that David came before Samuel and was anointed king. To look at David you would have seen a ruddy youth with beautiful eyes and would consider him very handsome. Yet, he was a lowly shepherd and would seem not worthy to be king of God's chosen people. But something within David marked him as a great man even in his youth. God knew his heart and chose him not because of his good looks but because of what was inside.
So often our society preaches that the outward appearance is what matters. It also preaches that we need to constantly seek happiness and flee from trials. Our children are growing up thinking this way and not concerned about who they are becoming. They have lost the ability to have integrity and lack greatly in character. They want to be constantly filled with happy good things in life. We need to be careful not to fall into the world's trap but to keep ourselves focused on the Lord and serving Him alone. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." I Corinthians 15:58
We need to be steadfast in following Jesus. I like what Maltbie Davenport Babcock had to say about being steadfast, "Is not this steadfastness to mark, to make, the character of your lives? Is not god's will that we should press steadily on to our goal in obedience to Him, in channels of His choosing, wether in sunshine or shadow, in the cheer of spring or tin the chill of winter, neither by pleasure nor deterred by pain?"
I pray that we will fix "our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith." He is the perfecter of our faith. He knows what's what and what we need to be doing in order to grow into what He has chosen us to be. It's our choice to follow Him in everything or not in anything at all. May we grow through our trials knowing that we are growing closer to the Lord. May we be more concerned with our character and remain steadfast on the journey God is leading us through.
Krista Jones 7.19.09
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 35-36
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 12-14 & Mark 5:21-43
Historical: Numbers 35-36
Chronological: Numbers 7
Blended: Exodus 23-24 & 2 Thess. 2
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
After Saul failed in obeying the Lord, God sent Samuel to search for another king to rule over His people. God led him to Jesse because He had chosen one of his sons to be king. One by one Jesse's sons came before Samuel to be consecrated. I'm thinking that Jesse's sons were very handsome in appearance and Samuel noticed. In Samuel's eyes the one who was to be king had to look like a king. So when Jesse's first son, Eliab, entered Samuel assumed it was he that the Lord had chosen. Here the Lord reminds him of what He is looking for, "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." I Samuel 16:7
Each of Jesse's sons came before Samuel and each one was rejected by the Lord. Even Jesse is on the same wavelength as Samuel and sends all his sons in except the youngest because it seems like he didn't think he was king material. "And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are these all the children?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep." I Samuel 16:11
In the end we know that David came before Samuel and was anointed king. To look at David you would have seen a ruddy youth with beautiful eyes and would consider him very handsome. Yet, he was a lowly shepherd and would seem not worthy to be king of God's chosen people. But something within David marked him as a great man even in his youth. God knew his heart and chose him not because of his good looks but because of what was inside.
So often our society preaches that the outward appearance is what matters. It also preaches that we need to constantly seek happiness and flee from trials. Our children are growing up thinking this way and not concerned about who they are becoming. They have lost the ability to have integrity and lack greatly in character. They want to be constantly filled with happy good things in life. We need to be careful not to fall into the world's trap but to keep ourselves focused on the Lord and serving Him alone. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." I Corinthians 15:58
We need to be steadfast in following Jesus. I like what Maltbie Davenport Babcock had to say about being steadfast, "Is not this steadfastness to mark, to make, the character of your lives? Is not god's will that we should press steadily on to our goal in obedience to Him, in channels of His choosing, wether in sunshine or shadow, in the cheer of spring or tin the chill of winter, neither by pleasure nor deterred by pain?"
I pray that we will fix "our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith." He is the perfecter of our faith. He knows what's what and what we need to be doing in order to grow into what He has chosen us to be. It's our choice to follow Him in everything or not in anything at all. May we grow through our trials knowing that we are growing closer to the Lord. May we be more concerned with our character and remain steadfast on the journey God is leading us through.
Krista Jones 7.19.09
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 35-36
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 12-14 & Mark 5:21-43
Historical: Numbers 35-36
Chronological: Numbers 7
Blended: Exodus 23-24 & 2 Thess. 2
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Praise the Lord
"Praise the Lord for the glory of His name; worship the Lord because He is holy." Psalm 29:2
Praise is the highest occupation of any being. What happens when we praise the Father/ We reestablish the proper chain of command, we recognize that the King is on the throne and that He has saved His people.
By Max Lucado taken from "Walking with the Savior"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 33-34
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 9-11 & Mark 5:1-20
Historical: Numbers 33-34
Chronological: Numbers 5-6
Blended: Exodus 21-22 & 2 Thess. 1
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Praise is the highest occupation of any being. What happens when we praise the Father/ We reestablish the proper chain of command, we recognize that the King is on the throne and that He has saved His people.
By Max Lucado taken from "Walking with the Savior"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 33-34
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 9-11 & Mark 5:1-20
Historical: Numbers 33-34
Chronological: Numbers 5-6
Blended: Exodus 21-22 & 2 Thess. 1
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Flexible Living
"Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer." Deuteronomy 10:16
Many of us are crippled from birth. The backbone of our standard for living comes fused into unyielding rules and regulations. We are rigid in our determination to control life's course and outcome.
We're sure, for example, how people ought to look, behave, and respond. Things have to be done a certain way - our way. We know, too, exactly how a godly marriage should operate; and we're quite familiar with the model of the ideal Christian family scene - which, of course, we intend to duplicate perfectly.
Then real life sneaks up and whacks us from behind, seeking to break our unbending back and our stiff neck, threatening to paralyze us.
There is a cure. We are offered opportunity to exercise the suppleness of godly grace and perspective. Each time life throws us a punch, we can do a deep-knee bend, forcing our muscles of faith, hope, and understanding to strength.
Eventually that brittle backbone will grow strong and supple, bending with the rhythms of grace yet standing tall and firm in the face of compromise.
All of this requires considerable daily "give". Such give is not a one-time choice but a lifestyle of generosity, spontaneity, and openness to truth.
How often I have thought that if I could give just one gift to my children - besides a heart for God - it would be the golden gift of flexibility.
By Susan L. Lenzkes taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 31-32
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 7-8 & Mark 4:21-41
Historical: Numbers 31-32
Chronological: Numbers 3-4
Blended: Exodus 19-20 & 1 Thess. 5
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Many of us are crippled from birth. The backbone of our standard for living comes fused into unyielding rules and regulations. We are rigid in our determination to control life's course and outcome.
We're sure, for example, how people ought to look, behave, and respond. Things have to be done a certain way - our way. We know, too, exactly how a godly marriage should operate; and we're quite familiar with the model of the ideal Christian family scene - which, of course, we intend to duplicate perfectly.
Then real life sneaks up and whacks us from behind, seeking to break our unbending back and our stiff neck, threatening to paralyze us.
There is a cure. We are offered opportunity to exercise the suppleness of godly grace and perspective. Each time life throws us a punch, we can do a deep-knee bend, forcing our muscles of faith, hope, and understanding to strength.
Eventually that brittle backbone will grow strong and supple, bending with the rhythms of grace yet standing tall and firm in the face of compromise.
All of this requires considerable daily "give". Such give is not a one-time choice but a lifestyle of generosity, spontaneity, and openness to truth.
How often I have thought that if I could give just one gift to my children - besides a heart for God - it would be the golden gift of flexibility.
By Susan L. Lenzkes taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 31-32
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 7-8 & Mark 4:21-41
Historical: Numbers 31-32
Chronological: Numbers 3-4
Blended: Exodus 19-20 & 1 Thess. 5
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Monday, February 23, 2009
Lessons from the Ants
"Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provisions in the harvest." Proverbs 6:6-8
For some reason these verses stuck with me. I have often been amazed at ants and think that we can take a lesson or two from these little bitty guys. It is said that ants are very social insects. By this it means that they live in large colonies that can consist of millions of ants. There are three types of ants - the queen, the sterile female workers and males. The ant goes through four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Ants communicate very well and do so by touching each other with their antennae as well as leaving a sent of trails, called pheromones, for other ants to follow. They are also known to be able to solve complex problem.
How can we learn from these insects?
What we can take from them is a sense of community.
• I Cor. 12:12 says, "For even as the body is one and yet has man members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ." The importance of being in a church body where we can socialize, grow spiritually and serve our one true God.
As there are different types of ants so there are different types of gifts each one of us has be given by the Lord to serve Him within the church body.
• I Cor. 12:17-27 says, "If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor or that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that ht members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it."
Also like the ants, we go through different growth stages. Craving milk as a young believer to craving meat as a maturing believer.
• I Peter 2:2 says, "like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the world, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation."
• Hebrews 5:12-14 says, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who become of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."
We can learn to communicate better as a body of believers. We don't realize that just as it's vital for a colony's survival to communicate that it's vital to our church body to do the same. And by properly communicating I can see how it would be easier to solve the more complex problems we seem to face. I think what the ants have that we tend to lack is listening. If they stop listening to each other and their queen ant all would break down, chaos would reign and defenses and survival would go down.
• James 1:19, "This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger."
And lastly, we need to leave a scent of Jesus where ever we go. That way others will be know which path to follow to get to their loving Father. We do this by showing others that we are God's children by reflecting Him. We may not have a "scent" like ants do but we shine like a light for Jesus which shows people the way to Him.
• I John 2:3-10, "by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him; the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as he walked. Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shinning. The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him."
• I John 5:10, "The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself."
• Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Krista Jones 7.15.09
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 28-30
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 5-6 & Mark 4:1-20
Historical: Numbers 28-30
Chronological: Numbers 1-2
Blended: Exodus 16-18 & 1 Thess. 4
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
For some reason these verses stuck with me. I have often been amazed at ants and think that we can take a lesson or two from these little bitty guys. It is said that ants are very social insects. By this it means that they live in large colonies that can consist of millions of ants. There are three types of ants - the queen, the sterile female workers and males. The ant goes through four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Ants communicate very well and do so by touching each other with their antennae as well as leaving a sent of trails, called pheromones, for other ants to follow. They are also known to be able to solve complex problem.
How can we learn from these insects?
What we can take from them is a sense of community.
• I Cor. 12:12 says, "For even as the body is one and yet has man members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ." The importance of being in a church body where we can socialize, grow spiritually and serve our one true God.
As there are different types of ants so there are different types of gifts each one of us has be given by the Lord to serve Him within the church body.
• I Cor. 12:17-27 says, "If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor or that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that ht members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it."
Also like the ants, we go through different growth stages. Craving milk as a young believer to craving meat as a maturing believer.
• I Peter 2:2 says, "like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the world, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation."
• Hebrews 5:12-14 says, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who become of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."
We can learn to communicate better as a body of believers. We don't realize that just as it's vital for a colony's survival to communicate that it's vital to our church body to do the same. And by properly communicating I can see how it would be easier to solve the more complex problems we seem to face. I think what the ants have that we tend to lack is listening. If they stop listening to each other and their queen ant all would break down, chaos would reign and defenses and survival would go down.
• James 1:19, "This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger."
And lastly, we need to leave a scent of Jesus where ever we go. That way others will be know which path to follow to get to their loving Father. We do this by showing others that we are God's children by reflecting Him. We may not have a "scent" like ants do but we shine like a light for Jesus which shows people the way to Him.
• I John 2:3-10, "by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him; the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as he walked. Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shinning. The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him."
• I John 5:10, "The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself."
• Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Krista Jones 7.15.09
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 28-30
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 5-6 & Mark 4:1-20
Historical: Numbers 28-30
Chronological: Numbers 1-2
Blended: Exodus 16-18 & 1 Thess. 4
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Weekend Bible Reading
Bible Reading Guide:
Saturday:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 23-25
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 1-2 & Mark 3:1-19
Historical: Leviticus 23-25
Chronological: Leviticus 24-25
Blended: Exodus 12-13 & I Thess. 2
Sunday:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 26-27
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 3-4 & Mark 3:20-35
Historical: Leviticus 26-27
Chronological: Leviticus 26-27
Blended: Exodus 14-15 & I Thess. 3
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Saturday:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 23-25
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 1-2 & Mark 3:1-19
Historical: Leviticus 23-25
Chronological: Leviticus 24-25
Blended: Exodus 12-13 & I Thess. 2
Sunday:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 26-27
Old and New Testaments Together: Numbers 3-4 & Mark 3:20-35
Historical: Leviticus 26-27
Chronological: Leviticus 26-27
Blended: Exodus 14-15 & I Thess. 3
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Friday, February 20, 2009
Being Led by God
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" Isaiah 58:8-9
How do you know what thoughts are your thoughts versus God's thoughts? One of the great paradoxes of walking with God is discerning the difference between a "natural idea" versus a "God-idea." One of my mentors challenged me one day to make sure that my ideas and the actions I take are directed by God and not from my own reasoning. But being in a marketing profession, there is a constant rub between the "natural" and the "spiritual."
There are three places from which a thought or idea originate: 1) Our natural man, 2) Satan, and 3) The Holy Spirit. There are a few ways to discern from which place a thought is coming. If a thought comes into your mind that you know you would never have thought of, and it might be something you would not normally consider doing. This is likely God speaking.
I once participated in a conference when an offering was being taken to make up for a poorly organized event that left the organizers very short on funds. It was clearly a case of poor management. Nevertheless, I prayed. I assumed I would give a token gift. However, the figure that suddenly came into my mind was $1,000. I argued with God and struggled with my attitude. I thought He must have two zeros out of place! But I obeyed - as I knew that was not my idea.
In order to be obedient, we must not make advance decisions about a particular matter. Each of our decisions must be submitted to the Lord for His counsel to us, not just based on our reasoning.
By Os Hillman taken from "Today God is First"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 21-22
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 26-27 & Mark 2
Historical: Numbers 21-22
Chronological: Leviticus 22-23
Blended: Exodus 9-11 & 1 Thess. 1
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
How do you know what thoughts are your thoughts versus God's thoughts? One of the great paradoxes of walking with God is discerning the difference between a "natural idea" versus a "God-idea." One of my mentors challenged me one day to make sure that my ideas and the actions I take are directed by God and not from my own reasoning. But being in a marketing profession, there is a constant rub between the "natural" and the "spiritual."
There are three places from which a thought or idea originate: 1) Our natural man, 2) Satan, and 3) The Holy Spirit. There are a few ways to discern from which place a thought is coming. If a thought comes into your mind that you know you would never have thought of, and it might be something you would not normally consider doing. This is likely God speaking.
I once participated in a conference when an offering was being taken to make up for a poorly organized event that left the organizers very short on funds. It was clearly a case of poor management. Nevertheless, I prayed. I assumed I would give a token gift. However, the figure that suddenly came into my mind was $1,000. I argued with God and struggled with my attitude. I thought He must have two zeros out of place! But I obeyed - as I knew that was not my idea.
In order to be obedient, we must not make advance decisions about a particular matter. Each of our decisions must be submitted to the Lord for His counsel to us, not just based on our reasoning.
By Os Hillman taken from "Today God is First"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 21-22
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 26-27 & Mark 2
Historical: Numbers 21-22
Chronological: Leviticus 22-23
Blended: Exodus 9-11 & 1 Thess. 1
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Thursday, February 19, 2009
God Always Gives Grace
"God can do all things." Mark 10:27
Our questions betray our lack of understanding:
How can God be everywhere at one time? (Who says God is bound by a body?)
How can God hear all the prayers which come to Him? (Perhaps His ears are different from yours.)
How can God be the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? (Couldn't it be that heaven has different set of physics than earth?)
If people down here won't forgive me, how much more am I guilty before a holy God? (Oh, just the opposite. God is always able to give grace when we humans can't - He invented it.) - The Great House of God
By Max Lucado taken from "Grace for the Moment"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 18-20
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 25 & Mark 1:23-45
Historical: Numbers 18-20
Chronological: Leviticus 19-21
Blended: Exodus 7-8 & Mark 16
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Our questions betray our lack of understanding:
How can God be everywhere at one time? (Who says God is bound by a body?)
How can God hear all the prayers which come to Him? (Perhaps His ears are different from yours.)
How can God be the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? (Couldn't it be that heaven has different set of physics than earth?)
If people down here won't forgive me, how much more am I guilty before a holy God? (Oh, just the opposite. God is always able to give grace when we humans can't - He invented it.) - The Great House of God
By Max Lucado taken from "Grace for the Moment"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 18-20
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 25 & Mark 1:23-45
Historical: Numbers 18-20
Chronological: Leviticus 19-21
Blended: Exodus 7-8 & Mark 16
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
My Eye Are Toward the Lord
"Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net." Psalm 25:15
When God invites every one to come, as surely He does through the open arms of His Son, Jesus Christ, He does not invite us to attend a meeting or to read a book or to observe a rite. He does not even invite us to embrace a religion.
He invites us clearly and plainly to enter into a relationship with a Person.
"Come unto me . . ."
"Look unto me . . . "
God invites us to come to Him in time of trouble and find out for ourselves that His is a shepherd heart. Throughout the Old Testament we find God's people calling on Him in times of trouble and heartbreak and loss. And God replied; "Comfort ye, my people . . . I am the Lord . . . that is my name." God knows we all get our feet tangled up in the "nets" of trouble and snap judgements and failure. He knows the "nets" of sorrow and heartache and sudden tragedy snarl around our feet, and He knows we would surely fall without Him to set us free. Certainly, it is completely true that God is a deliverer. That we can depend upon Him to get us out of our predicament. But, there is a subtle trap here also. We are too prone to depend upon the fact of His deliverance, rather than upon God Himself. I am coming to believe that He does not even want us to depend upon His promises to deliver us, but upon Himself. That is why David wrote about the Lord first in this verse and then about the net. Our tendency is to look at our feet tangled up in the net and try to quote Scripture verses that suit our special trouble. But David, the man after God's own heart, says: "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net." Toward the Lord - not the net.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith . . .
By Eugenia Price taken from "Share My Pleasant Stones"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 16-17
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 23-24 & Mark 1:1-22
Historical: Numbers 16-17
Chronological: Leviticus 16-18
Blended: Exodus 4-6 & Mark 15:26-47
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
When God invites every one to come, as surely He does through the open arms of His Son, Jesus Christ, He does not invite us to attend a meeting or to read a book or to observe a rite. He does not even invite us to embrace a religion.
He invites us clearly and plainly to enter into a relationship with a Person.
"Come unto me . . ."
"Look unto me . . . "
God invites us to come to Him in time of trouble and find out for ourselves that His is a shepherd heart. Throughout the Old Testament we find God's people calling on Him in times of trouble and heartbreak and loss. And God replied; "Comfort ye, my people . . . I am the Lord . . . that is my name." God knows we all get our feet tangled up in the "nets" of trouble and snap judgements and failure. He knows the "nets" of sorrow and heartache and sudden tragedy snarl around our feet, and He knows we would surely fall without Him to set us free. Certainly, it is completely true that God is a deliverer. That we can depend upon Him to get us out of our predicament. But, there is a subtle trap here also. We are too prone to depend upon the fact of His deliverance, rather than upon God Himself. I am coming to believe that He does not even want us to depend upon His promises to deliver us, but upon Himself. That is why David wrote about the Lord first in this verse and then about the net. Our tendency is to look at our feet tangled up in the net and try to quote Scripture verses that suit our special trouble. But David, the man after God's own heart, says: "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net." Toward the Lord - not the net.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith . . .
By Eugenia Price taken from "Share My Pleasant Stones"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 16-17
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 23-24 & Mark 1:1-22
Historical: Numbers 16-17
Chronological: Leviticus 16-18
Blended: Exodus 4-6 & Mark 15:26-47
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A Faithful Friend
"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands." Deuteronomy 7:9
Friends are important part of our lives. some are causal acquaintances; others close friends; still others more intimate, dear ones. How we appreciate those whom we characterize as "faithful friends," friends who are steadfastly loyal friends on whom we can depend at all times and for every need.
Yet most of us have experienced the hurt that comes from friends whoa re unfaithful. Even members of our family may prove unfaithful.
How reassuring to know there is one who is faithful - faithful always and faithful in everything. "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God" (Deuteronomy 7:9). Because of His very nature, He could not be God and be unfaithful. We read in 2 Timothy 2:13
"If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself."
He never changes. He never fails. He never goes back on one of His promises. God, being who He is, cannon cease to be what He is. He cannot act out of character with Himself. Because He is faithful, He will be faithful in His actions.
At times we may forget His faithfulness to us. When trials and testings come, it may seem as if God has surely forgotten us. When friends fail us and our lives are falling apart, we may feel He has forsaken us. There seem to be so few people we can trust. Many people do not keep their word. Our faith in human nature becomes shaken, and we wonder if anyone is honest.
Yet there is One, the faithful God, on whom we can depend. He will never let us down. He has promised:
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
By Millie Stamm, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 14-15
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 21-22 & Matthew 28
Historical: Numbers 14-15
Chronological: Leviticus 14-15
Blended: Exodus 1-3 & Mark 15:1-25
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Friends are important part of our lives. some are causal acquaintances; others close friends; still others more intimate, dear ones. How we appreciate those whom we characterize as "faithful friends," friends who are steadfastly loyal friends on whom we can depend at all times and for every need.
Yet most of us have experienced the hurt that comes from friends whoa re unfaithful. Even members of our family may prove unfaithful.
How reassuring to know there is one who is faithful - faithful always and faithful in everything. "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God" (Deuteronomy 7:9). Because of His very nature, He could not be God and be unfaithful. We read in 2 Timothy 2:13
"If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself."
He never changes. He never fails. He never goes back on one of His promises. God, being who He is, cannon cease to be what He is. He cannot act out of character with Himself. Because He is faithful, He will be faithful in His actions.
At times we may forget His faithfulness to us. When trials and testings come, it may seem as if God has surely forgotten us. When friends fail us and our lives are falling apart, we may feel He has forsaken us. There seem to be so few people we can trust. Many people do not keep their word. Our faith in human nature becomes shaken, and we wonder if anyone is honest.
Yet there is One, the faithful God, on whom we can depend. He will never let us down. He has promised:
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
By Millie Stamm, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 14-15
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 21-22 & Matthew 28
Historical: Numbers 14-15
Chronological: Leviticus 14-15
Blended: Exodus 1-3 & Mark 15:1-25
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Monday, February 16, 2009
God of Purpose
"He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people." Matthew 20:28
(Jesus) refused to be guided by anything other than his high call. His heart was purposeful. Most lives aim at nothing in particular and achieve in. Jesus aimed at one goal - to save humanity from its sin. He could summarize his life with one sentence: "The Son of Man came ot seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10 RSV). Jesus was so focused on his task that he knew when to say, "it is finished" (John 19:30). But he was not so focused on his goal that he was unpleasant.
Quite the contrary How pleasant were his thoughts! Children couldn't resist Jesus. He could find beauty in lilies, joy in worship, and possibilities in problems. He would spend days with multitudes of sick people and still feel sorry for them. He spent over three decades wading through the muck and mire of our sin yet still saw enough beauty in us to die for our mistakes.
By Max Lucado, taken from "Grace for the Moment"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 11-13
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 19-20 & Matthew 27:51-66
Historical: Numbers 11-13
Chronological: Leviticus 11-13
Blended: Isaiah 65-66 & Mark 14:54-72
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
(Jesus) refused to be guided by anything other than his high call. His heart was purposeful. Most lives aim at nothing in particular and achieve in. Jesus aimed at one goal - to save humanity from its sin. He could summarize his life with one sentence: "The Son of Man came ot seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10 RSV). Jesus was so focused on his task that he knew when to say, "it is finished" (John 19:30). But he was not so focused on his goal that he was unpleasant.
Quite the contrary How pleasant were his thoughts! Children couldn't resist Jesus. He could find beauty in lilies, joy in worship, and possibilities in problems. He would spend days with multitudes of sick people and still feel sorry for them. He spent over three decades wading through the muck and mire of our sin yet still saw enough beauty in us to die for our mistakes.
By Max Lucado, taken from "Grace for the Moment"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 11-13
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 19-20 & Matthew 27:51-66
Historical: Numbers 11-13
Chronological: Leviticus 11-13
Blended: Isaiah 65-66 & Mark 14:54-72
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Weekend Bible Reading
Bible Reading Guide:
Saturday:
Beginning to End: Numbers 7
Old and New Testaments Together: Lev. 15-16 & Matthew 27:1-26
Historical: Numbers 7
Chronological: Lev. 5-7
Blended: Isaiah 59-61 & Mark 14:1-26
Sunday:
Beginning to End: Numbers 8-10
Old and New Testaments Together: Lev. 17-18 & Matthew 27:27-50
Historical: Numbers 8-10
Chronological: Lev. 8-10
Blended: Isaiah 62-64 & Mark 14:27-53
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Saturday:
Beginning to End: Numbers 7
Old and New Testaments Together: Lev. 15-16 & Matthew 27:1-26
Historical: Numbers 7
Chronological: Lev. 5-7
Blended: Isaiah 59-61 & Mark 14:1-26
Sunday:
Beginning to End: Numbers 8-10
Old and New Testaments Together: Lev. 17-18 & Matthew 27:27-50
Historical: Numbers 8-10
Chronological: Lev. 8-10
Blended: Isaiah 62-64 & Mark 14:27-53
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Friday, February 13, 2009
Are You Protecting Your Eyes?
I'm now reading through the Psalms which has been an uplifting experience. I came across a verse that I've have seemed to have ignored or skipped over, "Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 17:8
My study notes about "apple of the eye" refer me to Deuteronomy 32:10, "He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye." My study notes say of pupil of His eye that it's referring to the delicate part of the eye that is essential for vision and that therefore must be protected at all costs. The pupil of the eye is the opening that is located in the center of the iris of the eye. It controls the amount of light that enters the eye.
We need to be careful with what we allow to enter into our lives. We must not allow those thing that will cause harm to become a part of us and blur our vision. It is good to know that we have a Father who is concerned with protecting us and guarding us in the shadow of His wings.
Are you protecting your eyes?
Krista Jones
6.16.08
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 5-6
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 14 & Matthew 26:51-75
Historical: Numbers 5-6
Chronological: Leviticus 1-4
Blended: Isaiah 56-58 & Mark 13:21-37
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
My study notes about "apple of the eye" refer me to Deuteronomy 32:10, "He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye." My study notes say of pupil of His eye that it's referring to the delicate part of the eye that is essential for vision and that therefore must be protected at all costs. The pupil of the eye is the opening that is located in the center of the iris of the eye. It controls the amount of light that enters the eye.
We need to be careful with what we allow to enter into our lives. We must not allow those thing that will cause harm to become a part of us and blur our vision. It is good to know that we have a Father who is concerned with protecting us and guarding us in the shadow of His wings.
Are you protecting your eyes?
Krista Jones
6.16.08
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 5-6
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 14 & Matthew 26:51-75
Historical: Numbers 5-6
Chronological: Leviticus 1-4
Blended: Isaiah 56-58 & Mark 13:21-37
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Strength in Christ
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." PHILIPPIANS 4:13
"Let him take hold of my strength." ISAIAH 27:5
THOU canst o'ercome this heart of mine,
Thou wilt victorious prove;
For everlasting strength is Thine,
And everlasting love.
CHARLES WESLEY
WE are conscious of our own weakness and of the strength of evil; but not of the third force, stronger than either ourselves or the power of evil, which is at our disposal if we will draw upon it. What is needed is a deliberate and whole-hearted realization that we are in Christ, and Christ is in us by His Spirit; an unconditional surrender of faith to Him; a practice, which grows more natural by exercise, of remembering and deliberately drawing by faith upon His strength in the moments of temptation and not merely upon our own resources. "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I will do thus and thus." So we too may form, like St. Paul, the habit of victory. - CHARLES GORE
Complied by Mary Wilder Tileston taken from "Joy and Strength"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 3-4
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 13 & Matthew 26:26-50
Historical: Numbers 3-4
Chronological: Exodus 39-40
Blended: Isaiah 53-55 & Mark 13:1-20
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
"Let him take hold of my strength." ISAIAH 27:5
THOU canst o'ercome this heart of mine,
Thou wilt victorious prove;
For everlasting strength is Thine,
And everlasting love.
CHARLES WESLEY
WE are conscious of our own weakness and of the strength of evil; but not of the third force, stronger than either ourselves or the power of evil, which is at our disposal if we will draw upon it. What is needed is a deliberate and whole-hearted realization that we are in Christ, and Christ is in us by His Spirit; an unconditional surrender of faith to Him; a practice, which grows more natural by exercise, of remembering and deliberately drawing by faith upon His strength in the moments of temptation and not merely upon our own resources. "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I will do thus and thus." So we too may form, like St. Paul, the habit of victory. - CHARLES GORE
Complied by Mary Wilder Tileston taken from "Joy and Strength"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 3-4
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 13 & Matthew 26:26-50
Historical: Numbers 3-4
Chronological: Exodus 39-40
Blended: Isaiah 53-55 & Mark 13:1-20
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sharpening the Axe
"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that your have. But do this with gentleness and respect . . ." I Peter 3:15
I have never subscribed to the doctrine that we Christians should live in an intellectual vacuum, refusing to hear what the world has to say. A faith that must be "protected" is no faith at all. If I can retain my faith in Christ only by closing my mind against every criticism, I give proof positive that I am not well convinced of the soundness of my position. The soul that has had a saving encounter with God is sure beyond the possibility of a doubt. His happy testimony will be, "To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side" (Psalm 3:4-6). Such a man will not need to shield himself from the classics nor from comparative religions or philosophy or psychology or science. The Spirit bears witness to Christ deep within his consciousness. His heart knows, though his reason my not yet have caught up with his heart.
When a very young minister, I asked the famous holiness preacher, Joseph H. Smith, whether he would recommend that I read widely in the secular field. He replied, "Young man, a bee can find nectar in the weed as well as in the flower." I took his advice (or, to be frank, I sought confirmation of my own instincts rather than advice) and I am not sorry that I did.
John Wesley told the young ministers of the Wesleyan Societies to read or get out of the ministry, and he himself read science and history with a book propped against his saddle pommel as he rode from one engagement to another. Andy Dolbow, the American Indian preacher of considerable note, was a man of little education, but I once heard him exhort his hearers to improve their minds for the honor of God. "When you are chopping wood," he explained, "and you have a dull axe you must work all the harder to cut the log. A sharp axe makes easy work. So sharpen your axe all you can."
Thought: With full commitment to Christ we may sharpen the axe by judicious reading so that we have understanding of worldviews and, in that context, can gently and respectfully give the reason for our hope.
By A.W. Tozer
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 1-2
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 11-12 & Matthew 26:1-25
Historical: Numbers 1-2
Chronological: Exodus 36-38
Blended: Isaiah 50-52 & Mark 12:28-44
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
I have never subscribed to the doctrine that we Christians should live in an intellectual vacuum, refusing to hear what the world has to say. A faith that must be "protected" is no faith at all. If I can retain my faith in Christ only by closing my mind against every criticism, I give proof positive that I am not well convinced of the soundness of my position. The soul that has had a saving encounter with God is sure beyond the possibility of a doubt. His happy testimony will be, "To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side" (Psalm 3:4-6). Such a man will not need to shield himself from the classics nor from comparative religions or philosophy or psychology or science. The Spirit bears witness to Christ deep within his consciousness. His heart knows, though his reason my not yet have caught up with his heart.
When a very young minister, I asked the famous holiness preacher, Joseph H. Smith, whether he would recommend that I read widely in the secular field. He replied, "Young man, a bee can find nectar in the weed as well as in the flower." I took his advice (or, to be frank, I sought confirmation of my own instincts rather than advice) and I am not sorry that I did.
John Wesley told the young ministers of the Wesleyan Societies to read or get out of the ministry, and he himself read science and history with a book propped against his saddle pommel as he rode from one engagement to another. Andy Dolbow, the American Indian preacher of considerable note, was a man of little education, but I once heard him exhort his hearers to improve their minds for the honor of God. "When you are chopping wood," he explained, "and you have a dull axe you must work all the harder to cut the log. A sharp axe makes easy work. So sharpen your axe all you can."
Thought: With full commitment to Christ we may sharpen the axe by judicious reading so that we have understanding of worldviews and, in that context, can gently and respectfully give the reason for our hope.
By A.W. Tozer
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Numbers 1-2
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 11-12 & Matthew 26:1-25
Historical: Numbers 1-2
Chronological: Exodus 36-38
Blended: Isaiah 50-52 & Mark 12:28-44
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Still Raining
This morning I wake up to rain yet again. As I watch it fall like mist I realize I need cleansing. I have slowly gone down into depression. I have allowed my outward circumstances dictate to me how I feel. It's hard not to be in the sunlight when you wake up and go to bed with the rain falling. Job 36:26-31 spoke of clouds and rain.
"Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable. For He draws up the drops of water, they distill rain from the mist, which the clouds pour down, they drip upon man abundantly. Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thundering of His pavilion? Behold, He spreads His lightening about Him, and He covers the depths of the sea. For by these He judges peoples; He gives food in abundance."
My study notes say of these verses is that God's thoughts are infinitely higher then our thoughts. Although I'm feeling down and just want to be filled with sunshine, I know He knows and understands what I'm going through. In verse 31 the verb "judges" can be translated into "nourishes," which means that the Lord nourishes us with the showers from the rain.
The encyclopedia says of rain, "Rain plays a role in the hydrologic cycle in which moisture from the oceans evaporates, condenses into drops, precipitates (falls) from the sky, and eventually returns to the ocean via rivers and streams to repeat the cycle again. The water vapor form plant respiration also contributes to the moisture in the atmosphere." We all need the rain as part of our life cycle. It's important to plant life which means it's vital to agriculture. It's interesting that cultural attitudes towards rain differ. Where rain is in abundance it tends to carry a negative connotation. But in dry hot places like parts of Africa, Australia, India and the Middle East, it's greeted with euphoria. To them it brings joy and can be soothing.
How wonderful is it that the Lord has given me a different perspective of waking up to the rain!
Here is what my daily devotional out of Streams in the Desert had to say:
"If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him." II Tim. 2:12
One does not travel very far in the pathway of life without encountering what we call trouble. Trouble is a relative term in that it does not mean the same thing to all people. Some of the human experiences we are accustomed to call 'trouble' have to do with bodily affliction, to another it may be a great sorrow brought about by the death of a loved one or a friend. To another it may take the form of failure or disappointment.
Some folk seem to think that the best way to deal with trouble is simply to laugh it off - 'Keep smiling!' - ' Chins up!' etc. That philosophy is good as far as it goes; but how inadequate is this advice of laughing off one's trouble when we have to deal with stark reality. The really decisive question is not what happens to us, but what happens in us. Not what kind of troubles come to us; but our attitude toward them that counts most. Self pity and resentment is all wrong and un-Christian. so many interpret trouble and sorrow in this manner. God so often enables us to triumph over our troubles. This is always true when we let Him have His way with us.
The Christian way is to transform our troubles into triumph. Just as the oyster must put up with the irritable grain of sand and suffer the long process of spinning a gummy substance around the trouble spot to produce a pearl, our suffering can be transformed into a blessing. The liability can be changed into as asset. The adversity and disappointment can beget victory. Shall we not try hard to transform our troubles into triumph?" - Selected
For ever hill I've had to climb,
For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat,
My heart sings but a grateful song -
These were the things that made me strong.
For all the heartaches and the tears,
For all the anguish and the pain,
For gloomy days and fruitless years,
And for the hopes that lived in vain,
I do give thanks, for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow! - Unknown
I know my troubles are small peanuts compared to others. And it is interesting that trouble comes in different forms to different people. But I also know that I need to stop wallowing in them and move on to what God is trying to teach me. I need to turn my face towards the rain and allow it to cleanse me.
Krista Jones
6.11.08
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 26-27
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 8-10 & Matthew 25:31-46
Historical: Leviticus 26-27
Chronological: Exodus 33-35
Blended: Isaiah 47-49 & Mark 12:1-27
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
"Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable. For He draws up the drops of water, they distill rain from the mist, which the clouds pour down, they drip upon man abundantly. Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thundering of His pavilion? Behold, He spreads His lightening about Him, and He covers the depths of the sea. For by these He judges peoples; He gives food in abundance."
My study notes say of these verses is that God's thoughts are infinitely higher then our thoughts. Although I'm feeling down and just want to be filled with sunshine, I know He knows and understands what I'm going through. In verse 31 the verb "judges" can be translated into "nourishes," which means that the Lord nourishes us with the showers from the rain.
The encyclopedia says of rain, "Rain plays a role in the hydrologic cycle in which moisture from the oceans evaporates, condenses into drops, precipitates (falls) from the sky, and eventually returns to the ocean via rivers and streams to repeat the cycle again. The water vapor form plant respiration also contributes to the moisture in the atmosphere." We all need the rain as part of our life cycle. It's important to plant life which means it's vital to agriculture. It's interesting that cultural attitudes towards rain differ. Where rain is in abundance it tends to carry a negative connotation. But in dry hot places like parts of Africa, Australia, India and the Middle East, it's greeted with euphoria. To them it brings joy and can be soothing.
How wonderful is it that the Lord has given me a different perspective of waking up to the rain!
Here is what my daily devotional out of Streams in the Desert had to say:
"If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him." II Tim. 2:12
One does not travel very far in the pathway of life without encountering what we call trouble. Trouble is a relative term in that it does not mean the same thing to all people. Some of the human experiences we are accustomed to call 'trouble' have to do with bodily affliction, to another it may be a great sorrow brought about by the death of a loved one or a friend. To another it may take the form of failure or disappointment.
Some folk seem to think that the best way to deal with trouble is simply to laugh it off - 'Keep smiling!' - ' Chins up!' etc. That philosophy is good as far as it goes; but how inadequate is this advice of laughing off one's trouble when we have to deal with stark reality. The really decisive question is not what happens to us, but what happens in us. Not what kind of troubles come to us; but our attitude toward them that counts most. Self pity and resentment is all wrong and un-Christian. so many interpret trouble and sorrow in this manner. God so often enables us to triumph over our troubles. This is always true when we let Him have His way with us.
The Christian way is to transform our troubles into triumph. Just as the oyster must put up with the irritable grain of sand and suffer the long process of spinning a gummy substance around the trouble spot to produce a pearl, our suffering can be transformed into a blessing. The liability can be changed into as asset. The adversity and disappointment can beget victory. Shall we not try hard to transform our troubles into triumph?" - Selected
For ever hill I've had to climb,
For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat,
My heart sings but a grateful song -
These were the things that made me strong.
For all the heartaches and the tears,
For all the anguish and the pain,
For gloomy days and fruitless years,
And for the hopes that lived in vain,
I do give thanks, for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow! - Unknown
I know my troubles are small peanuts compared to others. And it is interesting that trouble comes in different forms to different people. But I also know that I need to stop wallowing in them and move on to what God is trying to teach me. I need to turn my face towards the rain and allow it to cleanse me.
Krista Jones
6.11.08
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 26-27
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 8-10 & Matthew 25:31-46
Historical: Leviticus 26-27
Chronological: Exodus 33-35
Blended: Isaiah 47-49 & Mark 12:1-27
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Monday, February 09, 2009
Greek versus Hebraic
"I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you like a warrior's sword" (Zech 9:13).
In the early church there was an emphasis on developing a heart toward God. This was the Hebraic way. The scriptures were not accessible like they are for us. So, the relationship with God was the key focus. God related to his people on a personal and intimate level. And obedience was the key to a healthy relationship with God. Decisions were not made based on reason and analysis, but by obedience. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Ps. 111:10).
This is why many of the miracles performed in the Bible went against natural reason, (i.e. feeding five thousand, crossing the Red Sea, retrieving a coin from a fish's mouth, walking around Jericho to win a battle, etc.) God constantly wanted to check the leader's obedience, not his knowledge. Knowledge and reason came into the early Church with the Greek scholars in subsequent centuries. This is when the church began to affirm oratory skills among Church leaders. Gradually, over many centuries the focus on knowledge and reason has become more accepted in the Church.
Loss of intimacy with God has been the fallout as a result of the influence of the Greek spirit. The primary focus has been teaching and discipleship instead of the development of a personal and intimate relationship with God. This has resulted in a form of religion, but one without power.
In the early church, the rabbi was there primarily for quality control, not as the primary teacher and speaker. He did not even address the people from an elevated platform. The whole congregation was in a more circular format, each sharing what they believed God was saying. The focus was on the power of God working through each individual, not one individual (1 Cor. 14:26).
Is your focus on gaining more knowledge or growing in intimacy and power with Jesus? He desires to know you intimately.
By Os Hillman taken from "Today God Is First"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 24-25
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 6-7 & Matthew 25:1-30
Historical: Leviticus 24-25
Chronological: Exodus 30-32
Blended: Isaiah 45-46 & Mark 11:19-33
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
In the early church there was an emphasis on developing a heart toward God. This was the Hebraic way. The scriptures were not accessible like they are for us. So, the relationship with God was the key focus. God related to his people on a personal and intimate level. And obedience was the key to a healthy relationship with God. Decisions were not made based on reason and analysis, but by obedience. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Ps. 111:10).
This is why many of the miracles performed in the Bible went against natural reason, (i.e. feeding five thousand, crossing the Red Sea, retrieving a coin from a fish's mouth, walking around Jericho to win a battle, etc.) God constantly wanted to check the leader's obedience, not his knowledge. Knowledge and reason came into the early Church with the Greek scholars in subsequent centuries. This is when the church began to affirm oratory skills among Church leaders. Gradually, over many centuries the focus on knowledge and reason has become more accepted in the Church.
Loss of intimacy with God has been the fallout as a result of the influence of the Greek spirit. The primary focus has been teaching and discipleship instead of the development of a personal and intimate relationship with God. This has resulted in a form of religion, but one without power.
In the early church, the rabbi was there primarily for quality control, not as the primary teacher and speaker. He did not even address the people from an elevated platform. The whole congregation was in a more circular format, each sharing what they believed God was saying. The focus was on the power of God working through each individual, not one individual (1 Cor. 14:26).
Is your focus on gaining more knowledge or growing in intimacy and power with Jesus? He desires to know you intimately.
By Os Hillman taken from "Today God Is First"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 24-25
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 6-7 & Matthew 25:1-30
Historical: Leviticus 24-25
Chronological: Exodus 30-32
Blended: Isaiah 45-46 & Mark 11:19-33
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Weekend Bible Reading
Bible Reading Guide:
Saturday:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 19-21
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 1-3 & Matthew 24:1-28
Historical: Leviticus 19-21
Chronological: Exodus 25-27
Blended: Isaiah 41-42 & Mark 10:32-52
Sunday:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 22-23
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 4-5 & Matthew 24:29-51
Historical: Leviticus 22-23
Chronological: Exodus 28-29
Blended: Isaiah 43-44 & Mark 11:1-18
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Saturday:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 19-21
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 1-3 & Matthew 24:1-28
Historical: Leviticus 19-21
Chronological: Exodus 25-27
Blended: Isaiah 41-42 & Mark 10:32-52
Sunday:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 22-23
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 4-5 & Matthew 24:29-51
Historical: Leviticus 22-23
Chronological: Exodus 28-29
Blended: Isaiah 43-44 & Mark 11:1-18
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Friday, February 06, 2009
He Acts on Honest Confession
"He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light" (Job 33:27-28).
This is a word of truth, gathered from the experience of a man of God, and it is tantamount to a promise. What the LORD has done, and is doing, He will continue to do while the world standeth. The LORD will receive into His bosom all who come to Him with a sincere confession of their sin; in fact, He is always on the lookout to discover any that are in trouble because of their faults.
Can we not endorse the language here used? Have we not sinned, sinned personally so as to say, "I have sinned"? Sinned willfully, having perverted that which is right? Sinned so as to discover that there is no profit in it but an eternal loss? Let us, then, go to God with this honest acknowledgment. He asks no more. We can do no less.
Let us plead His promise in the name of Jesus. He will deliver us from the pit of hell which yawns for us; He will grant us life and light. Why should we despair? Why should we even doubt? The LORD does not mock humble souls. He means what He says. The guilty can be forgiven. Those who deserve execution can receive free pardon. LORD, we confess, and we pray Thee to forgive!
By C.H. Spurgeon taken from "Faith's Checkbook"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 16-18
Old and New Testaments Together: Exodus 39-40 & Matthew 23:23-39
Historical: Leviticus 16-18
Chronological: Exodus 22-24
Blended: Isaiah 39-40 & Mark 10:1-31
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
This is a word of truth, gathered from the experience of a man of God, and it is tantamount to a promise. What the LORD has done, and is doing, He will continue to do while the world standeth. The LORD will receive into His bosom all who come to Him with a sincere confession of their sin; in fact, He is always on the lookout to discover any that are in trouble because of their faults.
Can we not endorse the language here used? Have we not sinned, sinned personally so as to say, "I have sinned"? Sinned willfully, having perverted that which is right? Sinned so as to discover that there is no profit in it but an eternal loss? Let us, then, go to God with this honest acknowledgment. He asks no more. We can do no less.
Let us plead His promise in the name of Jesus. He will deliver us from the pit of hell which yawns for us; He will grant us life and light. Why should we despair? Why should we even doubt? The LORD does not mock humble souls. He means what He says. The guilty can be forgiven. Those who deserve execution can receive free pardon. LORD, we confess, and we pray Thee to forgive!
By C.H. Spurgeon taken from "Faith's Checkbook"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 16-18
Old and New Testaments Together: Exodus 39-40 & Matthew 23:23-39
Historical: Leviticus 16-18
Chronological: Exodus 22-24
Blended: Isaiah 39-40 & Mark 10:1-31
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Degrees of Faith
"Let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece." Judges 6:39
There are degrees to faith. At one stage of Christian experience we cannot believe unless we have some sign or some great manifestation of feeling. We feel our fleece, like Gideon, and if it is wet we are willing to trust God. This may be true faith, but it is imperfect. It always looks for feeling or some token besides the Word of God. It marks quite an advance in faith when we trust God without feelings. It is blessed to believe without having any emotion.
There is a third stage of faith which even transcends that of Gideon and his fleece. The first phase of faith believes when there are favorable emotions, the second believes when there is the absence of feeling, but this third form of faith believes God and His Word when circumstances, emotions, appearances, people, and human reason all urge to the contrary. Paul exercised this faith in Acts 27:20, 25, "And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away." Notwithstanding all this Paul said, "Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me."
May God give us faith to fully trust His Word though everything else witness the other way. --C. H. P.
When is the time to trust? Is it when all is calm, When waves the victor's palm, And life is one glad psalm Of joy and praise? Nay! but the time to trust Is when the waves beat high, When storm clouds fill the sky, And prayer is one long cry, O help and save!
When is the time to trust? Is it when friends are true? Is it when comforts woo, And in all we say and do We meet but praise? Nay! but the time to trust Is when we stand alone, And summer birds have flown, And every prop is gone, All else but God.
What is the time to trust? Is it some future day, When you have tried your way, And learned to trust and pray By bitter woe? Nay! but the time to trust Is in this moment's need, Poor, broken, bruised reed! Poor, troubled soul, make speed To trust thy God.
What is the time to trust? Is it when hopes beat high, When sunshine gilds the sky, And joy and ecstasy Fill all the heart? Nay! but the time to trust Is when our joy is fled, When sorrow bows the head, And all is cold and dead, All else but God. --Selected
Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman taken from "Streams in the Desert"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 14-15
Old and New Testaments Together: Exodus 36-38 & Matthew 23:1-22
Historical: Leviticus 14-15
Chronological: Exodus 19-21
Blended: Isaiah 37-38 & Mark 9:30-50
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
There are degrees to faith. At one stage of Christian experience we cannot believe unless we have some sign or some great manifestation of feeling. We feel our fleece, like Gideon, and if it is wet we are willing to trust God. This may be true faith, but it is imperfect. It always looks for feeling or some token besides the Word of God. It marks quite an advance in faith when we trust God without feelings. It is blessed to believe without having any emotion.
There is a third stage of faith which even transcends that of Gideon and his fleece. The first phase of faith believes when there are favorable emotions, the second believes when there is the absence of feeling, but this third form of faith believes God and His Word when circumstances, emotions, appearances, people, and human reason all urge to the contrary. Paul exercised this faith in Acts 27:20, 25, "And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away." Notwithstanding all this Paul said, "Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me."
May God give us faith to fully trust His Word though everything else witness the other way. --C. H. P.
When is the time to trust? Is it when all is calm, When waves the victor's palm, And life is one glad psalm Of joy and praise? Nay! but the time to trust Is when the waves beat high, When storm clouds fill the sky, And prayer is one long cry, O help and save!
When is the time to trust? Is it when friends are true? Is it when comforts woo, And in all we say and do We meet but praise? Nay! but the time to trust Is when we stand alone, And summer birds have flown, And every prop is gone, All else but God.
What is the time to trust? Is it some future day, When you have tried your way, And learned to trust and pray By bitter woe? Nay! but the time to trust Is in this moment's need, Poor, broken, bruised reed! Poor, troubled soul, make speed To trust thy God.
What is the time to trust? Is it when hopes beat high, When sunshine gilds the sky, And joy and ecstasy Fill all the heart? Nay! but the time to trust Is when our joy is fled, When sorrow bows the head, And all is cold and dead, All else but God. --Selected
Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman taken from "Streams in the Desert"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 14-15
Old and New Testaments Together: Exodus 36-38 & Matthew 23:1-22
Historical: Leviticus 14-15
Chronological: Exodus 19-21
Blended: Isaiah 37-38 & Mark 9:30-50
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
God’s Overpowering Purpose
"I have appeared to you for this purpose . . ." Acts 26:16
The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, "Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine." And the Lord also says to us, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go . . ." (John 15:16).
When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be "disobedient to the heavenly vision"Ðnot to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ.Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling ". . . to make you a minister and a witness . . . ." There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2).
By Oswald Chambers taken from "My Utmost for His Highest"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 11-13
Old and New Testaments Together: Exodus 34-35 & Matthew 22:23-46
Historical: Leviticus 11-13
Chronological: Exodus 16-18
Blended: Isaiah 34-36 & Mark 9:1-29
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, "Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine." And the Lord also says to us, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go . . ." (John 15:16).
When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be "disobedient to the heavenly vision"Ðnot to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ.Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling ". . . to make you a minister and a witness . . . ." There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2).
By Oswald Chambers taken from "My Utmost for His Highest"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 11-13
Old and New Testaments Together: Exodus 34-35 & Matthew 22:23-46
Historical: Leviticus 11-13
Chronological: Exodus 16-18
Blended: Isaiah 34-36 & Mark 9:1-29
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Small Is Beautiful
"Who has despised the day of small things?" Zechariah 4:10
Just the other day someone said of a friend, “This man is destined for a great ministry,” by which he meant he was headed for the big time—a high-profile church with a big budget.
It made me wonder: Why do we think that God’s call is necessarily upwardly mobile? Why wouldn’t He send His best workers to labor for a lifetime in some small place? Aren’t there people in obscure places who need to be evangelized and taught? God is not willing that any perish.
Jesus cared about the individual as well as the masses. He taught large crowds if they appeared, but it never bothered Him that His audience grew smaller every day. Many left Him, John said (John 6:66), a fickle attrition that would have thrown most of us into high panic. Yet Jesus pressed on with those the Father gave Him.
We live in a culture where bigger is better, where size is the measure of success. It takes a strong person to resist that trend, especially if he or she is laboring in a small place.
But size is nothing; substance is everything. Whether you’re pastoring a small church or leading a small Bible study or Sunday school class, serve them with all your heart. Pray, love, teach by word and example. Your little place is not a steppingstone to greatness. It is greatness. — David H. Roper
The Lord will give you help and strength
For work He bids you do;
To serve Him from a heart of love
Is all He asks of you. —Fasick
Little is much when God is in it.
Taken from "Our Daily Bread"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 8-10
Old and New Testaments Together: Exodus 31-33 & Matthew 22:1-22
Historical: Leviticus 8-10
Chronological: Exodus 13-15
Blended: Isaiah 32-33 & Mark 7:8
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Just the other day someone said of a friend, “This man is destined for a great ministry,” by which he meant he was headed for the big time—a high-profile church with a big budget.
It made me wonder: Why do we think that God’s call is necessarily upwardly mobile? Why wouldn’t He send His best workers to labor for a lifetime in some small place? Aren’t there people in obscure places who need to be evangelized and taught? God is not willing that any perish.
Jesus cared about the individual as well as the masses. He taught large crowds if they appeared, but it never bothered Him that His audience grew smaller every day. Many left Him, John said (John 6:66), a fickle attrition that would have thrown most of us into high panic. Yet Jesus pressed on with those the Father gave Him.
We live in a culture where bigger is better, where size is the measure of success. It takes a strong person to resist that trend, especially if he or she is laboring in a small place.
But size is nothing; substance is everything. Whether you’re pastoring a small church or leading a small Bible study or Sunday school class, serve them with all your heart. Pray, love, teach by word and example. Your little place is not a steppingstone to greatness. It is greatness. — David H. Roper
The Lord will give you help and strength
For work He bids you do;
To serve Him from a heart of love
Is all He asks of you. —Fasick
Little is much when God is in it.
Taken from "Our Daily Bread"
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 8-10
Old and New Testaments Together: Exodus 31-33 & Matthew 22:1-22
Historical: Leviticus 8-10
Chronological: Exodus 13-15
Blended: Isaiah 32-33 & Mark 7:8
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
Monday, February 02, 2009
February's Memory Verse
John 15:5
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit: for apart from Me you can do nothing."
John 15:5 (NASB - New American Standard Bible)
January's Memory Verse: Ephesians 3:20-21
December's Memory Verse: Lamentations 3:22-23
November's Memory Verse: 2 Timothy 2:15
October's Memory Verse: Proverbs 16:1-3
September's Memory Verse: Proverbs 17:9
January's Memory Verse: Ephesians 3:20-21
Remember the key is to review review review. Always review the verses you've already memorized along with learning this month's verse.
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 5-7
Old and New Testaments Together: Exodus 29-30 & Matthew 21:23-46
Historical: Leviticus 5-7
Chronological: Exodus 10-12
Blended: Isaiah 30-31 & Mark 7:14-37
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit: for apart from Me you can do nothing."
John 15:5 (NASB - New American Standard Bible)
January's Memory Verse: Ephesians 3:20-21
December's Memory Verse: Lamentations 3:22-23
November's Memory Verse: 2 Timothy 2:15
October's Memory Verse: Proverbs 16:1-3
September's Memory Verse: Proverbs 17:9
January's Memory Verse: Ephesians 3:20-21
Remember the key is to review review review. Always review the verses you've already memorized along with learning this month's verse.
Bible Reading Guide:
Beginning to End: Leviticus 5-7
Old and New Testaments Together: Exodus 29-30 & Matthew 21:23-46
Historical: Leviticus 5-7
Chronological: Exodus 10-12
Blended: Isaiah 30-31 & Mark 7:14-37
The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible
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