Readings and the Thoughts that followed
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Old Testament Books
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New Testament Books
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Genesis 1:1- "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
- God is creative, He created everything. So go out an desperately look for Him in everything. Look around you, can you see God's fingerprints? They're there, you just have to look for them. You never know where you'll spot one. And you may even be surprised by where you find them... 2/25/12
Genesis 1:2 ~ "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."
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Genesis 1:26 ~ "Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”"
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Genesis 1:27 ~ "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
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Genesis 3:15 ~ "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
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Exodus 20:3~ “You shall have no other gods before me."
Leviticus 19:18 ~ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Numbers 11:14 ~ "I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me."
- It seems so easy, but at the root of every single sin we commit is us putting something or someone above God. If we truly kept God and our only God and none before Him, the rest of our sin problems would disappear. 12/6/17
Leviticus 19:18 ~ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
- It's one of the hardest things to avoid. We want people to pay for their actions NOW. Especially when that person committed a crime against us.
- But instead of being so self-centered, do something strange. Think of the possibility of how your actions could bring the other person closer to Jesus.
- Like I said, it's strange, but it's worth it. 12/17/17
Numbers 11:14 ~ "I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me."
- Moses called out to God because of the burden he dealt with. The burden was the people of Israel. They were a consistent thorn in his side. Demanding luxuries from the One who provided everything for them. But when Moses realized it was too much for him, God provided help. 12/10/17
Deuteronomy 6:4 ~ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
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Deuteronomy 6:5 ~ "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
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Joshua 1:9 ~ "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Judges 17:6 ~ "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
Ruth 1:16 ~ "But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God."
1 Samuel 1:13 ~ "Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman."
2 Samuel 7:8 ~ "Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel."
1 Kings 2:2-3 ~ 2"“I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, 3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,""
2 Kings 5:13 ~ "But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”"
1 Chronicles 11:21 ~ He was the most renowned of the thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.
2 Chronicles ~ "if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
Ezra 1:2 ~ “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah."
Nehemiah 8:3~ "And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law."
Esther 4:14 ~ "For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Job 2:10 ~ But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Psalms 119:105 ~ "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
- This verse as well as the 7 before it are spoken by God to Joshua, but even so I believe there are a few things for us as well.
- We can walk through life without fear because we are followers of Jesus Christ, thus the Holy Spirit is with us wherever we go. Therefore, God is with us and working all things toward His will. 12/13/17
Judges 17:6 ~ "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
- This is a very dangerous condition to be in, and most civilizations find themselves on it at one time or another.
- A lack of morals leads to many problems. People who want to rid their country of the Bible or any Christian code of ethics are doing their entire society a huge disservice.
- The Law of God tells all people what is right and wrong, but people want to remove it because it convicts us all as, "guilty." 12/17/17
Ruth 1:16 ~ "But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God."
- I'm not 100% clear on why Ruth was so attached to Naomi, but I think there are some wonderful clues in this verse.
- It seems that Naomi was different. She was strange compared to everybody Ruth was used to coming into contact with.
- Why else would her daughter-in-law choose to go to a foreign land with no promises of an easy life or even a future family?
- I submit that Naomi had a visible relationship with God, that was attractive to Ruth, and she was drawn to her side.
- How about you? Is your relationship with Jesus so visible and attractive that it draws people to you? 12/17/17
1 Samuel 1:13 ~ "Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman."
- Things aren't always what they seem to be at first glance. Take time to get to know them and learn their heart, before you assume to know them. 12/7/17
2 Samuel 7:8 ~ "Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel."
- God doesn't have limits on what He is able to do. Throughout the Bible He chooses to use people who, to my eye, seem unfit for the task at hand.
- But, God helps the people He chooses. He didn't let them fall on their face, but gave them the ability to everything the task required of them.
- Those who seemed the "least" fit for His purposes might actually have been the most fit. They knew the only way they could accomplish the task would be through God's power, not their own. 12/18/17
1 Kings 2:2-3 ~ 2"“I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, 3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,""
- David is giving Solomon final instructions before he dies, and take a look at how many times David says follow "his" ways etc. David very plainly wants Solomon to understand that although he is King, he will need to follow the commands of a Greater King. There is only one right way to rule, or run your business, or govern your employees, or even show up to work for an employer... God's way. ~12/9/17
2 Kings 5:13 ~ "But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”"
- This is one of my favorite stories, Naaman, a great soldier, has leprosy. He ends up going to the prophet Elisha, who tells Naaman to go wash in the Jordan.
- It seemed easy enough, but Naaman was a great warrior and it seemed he expected to have to go through some great act of valor to prove he was worthy to be cured.
- He actually considered not doing what Elisha said, because it didn't make sense to him.
- From the verse we read the servants ask Naaman to reconsider.
- Naaman wanted to earn his cure, but God wanted to be the center of his cure.
- Many of use want to earn heaven by doing good works, but the fact is, we can't. It is completely God doing the work. 12/18/17
1 Chronicles 11:21 ~ He was the most renowned of the thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.
- This verse is speaking of a solider named Abishai in David army. Just before this verse David's Three Mighty Men are introduced. Abishai had great deeds of valor as well, but he did not earn a spot among the 3.
- I can imagine most of us would be extremely upset if we had killed 300 men with out spear and remained in a lesser position than other men, but I admire Abishai for doing his best (which was remarkable) and accepting his place in service to the king.
- I think we could learn from Abishai and strive to do our best, and accept our place in service to The King. 12/11/17
2 Chronicles ~ "if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
- "Humble yourself," sounds like an easy thing to do, but pride/selfishness is the root of every sin you can think of.
- "Pray," what percentages of your prayers are the wish list type prayers? You know, the ones that are you asking for God to do a lot of things followed by a quick closing and "amen."
- "Seek my face," searching to discover more and more of God so you can be a better reflection of Him.
- "Turn," you must repent of your sins, and stop looking to commit the sins you enjoy
- Doing these things can only bring you closer to God. 12/18/17
Ezra 1:2 ~ “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah."
- God uses rulers from all over the world for His purposes. Don't be surprised when God uses unexpected people to do His will. 12/14/17
Nehemiah 8:3~ "And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law."
- I cannot help but be impressed that people from all age groups listened attentively to God's Law being read for at least 4 hours.
- The Law was being read, the very words that convict men of their sins, in order to show them where they stand with a Holy God. 12/18/17
Esther 4:14 ~ "For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
- Many times we are under the false impression that doing nothing means we didn't do anything wrong. Don't be fooled.
- Knowing the right thing to do and doing nothing is a sin. 1/1/18
Job 2:10 ~ But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
- We very often thank and ask God for good things to happen to us. Sometimes we will remember to praise Him and tell others how good He has been to us.
- But what happens when we are bombarded by a series of bad events? When our job isn't going well, our family is a wreck, or when we lose someone close to us. How many times to we end up blaming God, or in the very least questioning His decision making?
- We don't sign up to be His followers in order to receive a nice, trouble-free, comfortable life.
- We signed on to be His. Period. To use however He sees fit to best serve Him.
- Read the rest of Job, God will silence any who doubt His decision making ability. 12/14/17
Psalms 119:105 ~ "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
- If you want to know how to live, look no further than the Bible. Inside is a wealth of wisdom and knowledge that God speaks to us. 1/2/18
Proverbs 12:22- "Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight..."
Proverbs 16:25 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."
Ecclesiastes 3:1 "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:"
Song of Solomon 2:8 ~ The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills.
- Enough said... 2/24/12
Proverbs 16:25 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."
- "Just because you think something is right, doesn't mean it is. You should consult the Bible or other believers." ~submitted by a 12th grader. 2/29/12
Ecclesiastes 3:1 "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:"
- Just because there is a time for everything doesn't mean its always time for anything.
- Be conscious of the circumstances and know the right time and place to do what is appropriate. 1/3/18
Song of Solomon 2:8 ~ The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills.
- Do not neglect to love your spouse, your marriage and the love in it are meant to be a picture of God's love for us. Do not allow your love to fade or burn out, FAN THE FLAME! 1/4/18
Isaiah 7:14 ~ "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
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Isaiah 9:6 ~ "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
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Isaiah 57:1- "The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity"
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Jeremiah 1:6 - "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth."
- Take a look through chapter 1 of Jeremiah, God calls Jeremiah, Jeremiah is afraid, God trains him to do God's will. It beautiful, but it gets even better in the next few chapters. See God takes this "youth" who by his own admission "doesn't know how to speak" and makes him into a prophet who pulls no punches. Youth to Man, nicely done... 2/26/12
Lamentations 3:31-32- "For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;"
Ezekiel 36:26 ~ "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
Daniel 1:20 ~ "And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom."
Hosea 6:6 ~ For I desire steadfast love[mercy] and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- God disciplines His own, in order to bring them back to Himself, not to destroy us. Continue to be obedient.
Ezekiel 36:26 ~ "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
- Quite often it is forgotten or ignored that no amount of hard work you do can give you heaven, God's favor, or cover up past sins.
- Understand that it is God that does all the work involved with you salvation and the good deeds you do afterwards are in no way helping you. Those good works are the result of God's work in your life.
- Its the new heart and spirit He gives you that drives you to live for Him, but you are not earning His love or salvation. 1/5/18
Daniel 1:20 ~ "And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom."
- We don't have an illusion, trick, magic, slight of hand lifestyle. We have God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Because of them we don't have to trick people with false wisdom. We have much more to offer, and we need to offer it to others, not just sit back on it and leave them out to dry. We should be ten times better than everyone else. 12/9/17
Hosea 6:6 ~ For I desire steadfast love[mercy] and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- Don't focus so much on doing for God that you skip giving love and mercy to Him and others. 1/8/18
Joel 2:12-13a ~ “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
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Joel 2:28 ~ "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions."
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Amos 5:21 ~ “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies."
Obadiah 1:3-4 ~ The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” 4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord.
Jonah 3:6 ~ The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
Micah 1:2 ~ "Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple."
Nahum 1:7 ~ The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
Habakkuk 1:4 ~ So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
Zephaniah 2:3 ~ Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.
Haggai 1:5-6 ~ "Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes."
Zechariah 9:9 ~ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Malachi 3:6-15 "But you say, 'How have we robbed [God]?' In your tithes and contributions."
- It is not about doing a list of things to be on the "good side" of God. He cares about the condition of your heart. 1/9/18
Obadiah 1:3-4 ~ The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” 4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord.
- In this prophecy against Edom, we are able to see another reminder of what happens to the proud, and those who put faith in themselves or other things rather than God.
- Do not be fooled, nothing can hold you up nor take you down without God's approval. So, take pride in Him. 12/15/17
Jonah 3:6 ~ The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
- I have always found the king of Nineveh a remarkable guy. He has a stranger roll into his city, basically challenging his power by saying this city will be destroyed, but instead of getting mad and swelling up for a fight the king of Nineveh does what we should do when challenged about our sin.
- He humbly takes a self appraised look, and doesn’t like what he sees.
- And he repents... openly. 1/11/18
Micah 1:2 ~ "Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple."
- It's not something we like to think about, but consider that God is sitting as Judge AGAINST us. Before we became followers of Jesus all of our deeds were condemning us in the eyes of a perfectly holy God.
- From time to time is helps me to sit back and think about that. He is awesome and I am not. He has the right to every cell that makes up my body, to use however He would choose. And I should always be 100% good with Him doing so 12/9/17
Nahum 1:7 ~ The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
- The problem isn't with God's has the ability to help us. The problem is with our ability to go to Him with it. 1/12/18
Habakkuk 1:4 ~ So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
- There are plenty of times when we feel like the godly never catch and break and the ungodly catch nothing but breaks.
- We look around and see evil and it looks like its winning.
- Don't worry, God is in control and you're not the only person nor the first to feel that way. 12/12/17
Zephaniah 2:3 ~ Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.
- Humilty is rarely, if ever, a bad thing. Try it. 1/15/18
Haggai 1:5-6 ~ "Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes."
- Deep down we all know that there is more for our life than working, making money, and acquiring "stuff," but we struggle with it all the same.
- No matter how much of the "stuff" we gain it's never enough, and we always go looking for more.
- One of the things about being found by Jesus is the amazing contentment with our lives and status He teaches.
- We may not practice this contentment all the time, but step by step we become more consumed with Him than "stuff." 1/16/18
Zechariah 9:9 ~ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Centuries before Jesus was born to Mary, God spoke to Zechariah with this message. I know we've all heard it before, but what an amazing display of The Servant Master to come into His city humbly, rather than conquering. Matthew 21:1-11
- How do you arrive? I think this is a great example to follow.
- It is always better to arrive humbly and be exalted by others, than to arrive exalted only to be humbled by others. 1/17/18
Malachi 3:6-15 "But you say, 'How have we robbed [God]?' In your tithes and contributions."
- The one place in the Bible where we are challenged to put God to the test. Its a question of whether or not we can out-give God. God issues the challenge for us to try to give Him more than He gives us. How will we answer??? 2/29/12
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