Tue, Nov 30th - 11:59PM

1 Peter 1:16

1 Peter 1:¹⁶ Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

What does it mean to be holy?  Holy: consecrated: dedicated or set apart for religious purposes. 

We are to be separated from the world.  We are not to be part of the world or the ways of the world.  We live to please God and we live to represent God.  We are expected to live a holy and pure life before God.

Mon, Nov 29th - 11:49PM

Ephesians 2:8

 Ephesians 2:⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

There are certain verses that really spell out the Christian faith and this is one of them.  We are saved by the grace of God.  The God that gave his Son to die on the cross for us.  To become a sin sacrifice for us.  That is the grace of God, that he gave his only begotten Son to die for us that whosoever believes in him will not perish.  Sound familiar.  We come to God in faith that he is the one and only I AM.

Sun, Nov 28th - 11:27PM

James 4:1-3

James 4:¹ What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (NIV)

Some people try to turn God into some kind of magical genie.  A god that sits on the clouds waiting to answer our every desire.  That is very far from the truth.  We are to come to God with our needs.  But there is a very big difference between want and need.  I need money to buy food and pay the rent.  To want more than that is greed.  I need clothes to survive.  To want expensive designer name clothes to impress others in not God’s desire.  I need a car to get back and forth to work.  To want a fancy car, with a loud stereo and shiny rims so everyone will notice us is not God’s desire for us.  This is vanity which is the complete opposite of the humility which is what is taught in the Bible.

As verse 3 says we do not receive because we ask with wrong motives.  Remember the prayer of Jesus in the garden before he was crucified, not my will but yours God.  Are we willing to put the will of God before our desires to be popular and to have fancy things?

Sun, Nov 28th - 12:40AM

James 3:2-10

^{James 3:2} Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

 ³ We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. ⁴ And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. ⁵ In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

   But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. ⁶ And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.^[b]

 ⁷ People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. ¹⁰ And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! (NLT)

Words are powerful things.  With our words we can bring life into a dark world.  With words we can brighten someone’s day.  With words we can show our love for our fellow man.  With our words we build relationships.  With our words we bring truth into the world.  With our words we can praise our fellow man and bring praise to God.

But with words we can destroy someone’s life.  With words we can destroy someone’s day.  With words we can show hatred instead of love.  With our words we can tell lies, spread gossip, spread deception. With words relationships have been destroyed forever?  With our words we can tear down another person and bring shame to God.  What do you chose to show with your words? 

Check out what Matthew 12:34-37 says.

^{Matthew 12:34} You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. ³⁵ A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. ³⁶ And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. ³⁷ The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” (NLT)

Whatever is in your heart determines what you say?  So if you are always cussing, lying, and putting people down, what does that say about you?  Is their evil or good in your heart?  Verse 37 says our words will either acquit or condemn us.

Check out Proverbs 26:20, 21

²⁰ Fire goes out without wood,
      and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.

 ²¹ A quarrelsome person starts fights
      as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood.

Some people can’t help themselves the only way to feel good about themselves is to put others down.  They are bitter and have no self esteem.  They have no love in their heart and their heart is full of bitterness and darkness.

Check out Proverbs 16:27,28

²⁷ Scoundrels create trouble;
      their words are a destructive blaze.

 ²⁸ A troublemaker plants seeds of strife;
      gossip separates the best of friends.

Are you a scoundrel, a troublemaker?  How many churches have been destroyed by troublemakers.  I have seen it myself.  One group of people in the church took offense at some of the ideas the pastor had for the church.  Pretty soon that church was split with one group siding with the pastor and one group siding with the troublemakers.  Pretty soon over half the church left for other churches.  How is that Biblical?  There is a way to handle disputes.  That Pastor is a man of God sent to Sheppard that church.  Those that tore up the church were doing the work of Satan by causing strife and division in the church.

Then you have the complainers.  They are never happy.  You can give them a million dollars on a silver plate and they would complain it is not 2 million dollars on a gold plate.  They are never happy with anything and just constantly bring everyone around them down with their constant complaining.  I know we are to love everyone, and I do but I can’t be around these people.  I am more of a just do it person.  I might suck but it could always be worst.  I have my health, a place to live, a job, clothes on my back, my family is healthy, God loves me, life is good is my motto.

Check out Galatians 6:7-10

 ⁷ Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. ⁸ Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. ⁹ So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. (NLT)

If you are the type of person that is always negative and always bitter and hateful that is all you will get out of life but if you are the type that is always joyful and spreading good cheer that is what you will get out of life.  A person that spreads hate can’t expect love in return.

How powerful are your words?  If your words are powerful how much more powerful is the Word of God?  The Word of God gives life?  It restores the broken hearted and brings light into a dark world but how will this happen unless we bring this life giving light of the Word into the world?  How many people do you know have never heard the Gospel?  Have you told them about Jesus or are you happy with letting them continue to live in darkness knowing they are heading toward eternal punishment?  Can you live with that?

As the saying goes the only Bible some people will ever read is us.  What are you telling them?  What are you telling them about Christ?  What are you telling them about Christianity?  What are you telling them about the reasons to be saved?  We are to be ambassadors of Christ.  An ambassador speaks on behalf of the person he represents.  He does not speak for himself.  He does not promote himself he promotes the one who sent him.  We are sent by Christ to represent him as light bearers in a world of darkness.  This world is full of darkness and we are to bring light into the darkness.  A light in a hill that cannot be hidden.  Don’t let your light be hidden by the words you speak.  Be a positive light representing Christ’s love in you.

Sat, Nov 27th - 12:51AM

2 Corinthians 4:3,4

^{2 Corinthians 4:3}But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

 ⁴In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

The god of this world of course is Satan and his has blinded the heart of the non-believers in the ignorance of their non-belief so that they might remain lost in their lack of belief and lack of faith.

Fri, Nov 26th - 1:32AM

James 1:22-24

James 1:²²But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

 ²³For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

 ²⁴For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

Every Sunday morning millions of people go to church.  Majority get up after the service walk out of the church and don’t play Christian again until the next Sunday morning.  They are called Sunday Morning Christians.  The only time they pray is Sunday morning during the service, the only time they open their Bible is Sunday morning during the service.  The majority of them have no idea about what is actually in the Bible.  This is not what God had planned for Christians.  There are many people in the world who have never heard the gospel and never will with people like this.  Can you imagine what would of happened if the Disciples had the same attitude?

Thu, Nov 25th - 1:15AM

James 1:2-4

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Sun, Nov 21st - 11:53PM

Hebrews 11:1

 ¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Chapter 11 demonstrates the nature of the only kind of faith that is acceptable before God and that will triumph in the worst of situations.  It is a faith that believes in spiritual realities, verse 1.  Leads to righteousness, verse 4.  Seeks God, verse 6.  Believes in his goodness, verse 6.  Has confidence in His Word, verses 7 and 11.  Obeys his commands, verse 8.  Regulates life on the promises of God, verse 13 and 39.  Rejects the spirit of this evil age, verse 13.  Seeks a heavenly home, verse 14-16.  Perseveres in testing, verses 17-19.  Blesses the next generation, verse 21.  Refuses the pleasures of sin, verse 25.  Endures persecution, verse 27.  Performs might acts of righteousness, verses 33-35.  Suffers for God, verses 25, 35-38.

Sun, Nov 21st - 12:57AM

Hebrews 10:26-31

Hebrews 10: ²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (NIV)

There are many who choose to reject the coming judgment of God.  They read the Bible but still choose to deny the judgment of God.  Don’t be fooled by these people.  If you reject the salvation offered by Christ on the cross you are already found guilty and condemned to eternal damnation.

Thu, Nov 18th - 11:18PM

Hebrews 9:27,28

^{Hebrews 9:27}And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

 ²⁸So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Don’t let anyone fool you.  Don’t let anyone deceive.  The judgment of God is very real and we will all stand before God someday to give an account of our lives.  Are you ready for that day?  Can you stand before God and give a good account of your life?  Can you stand before God washed cleaned in the blood of Christ?

Tue, Nov 16th - 11:30PM

Hebrews 13:5

^{Hebrews 13:5}Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

The Lord God Almighty the Creator of heaven and earth has said he will never leave us or forsake us.  How great is that?

Tue, Nov 16th - 1:46AM

Hebrews 5:11-14

^{Hebrews 5:11} There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. ¹² You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.^c]">[c] You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. ¹³ For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. ¹⁴ Solid food is for those

 who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. (NLT)

God’s desire is for us to continue to grow as believers.  To continue to mature as believers.  But instead the church is populated with way to many Sunday Christians.  Christian who come to church on Sunday morning and that is it for them.  They don’t pray, they don’t study, they don’t read the Bible.  They have no desire to get closer to God.  The Biblical ignorance among confessing Christians is shocking.  People who claim to have been Christians for years don’t have the smallest clue of what the Bible actually says.  How are we to stand up against the temptation of the devil if we don’t know how to use our number one weapon against our enemy.  You really have to take a hard look at yourself, you claim to be a follower of Christ but have no desire to know Christ?  How does that work?  It doesn’t.  These are the people that fall away at the first sign of trouble because they have no spiritual backbone.  They have no foundation, no roots. 

Sun, Nov 14th - 11:59PM

Hebrews 4:1-3

Hebrews 4: ¹ God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. ² For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. ³ For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said,

   “In my anger I took an oath:
      ‘They will never enter my place of rest,’”

   even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. (NLT)

Are you going to be the one who enters into God’s place of rest because you put your faith in Jesus or are you going to be one of the others who fail to enter into God’s place of rest?  As verse 1 says you should be trembling in fear that you might miss it because the alternative is hell. 

Sun, Nov 14th - 12:59AM

Hebrews 12:1-4

Hebrews 12: ¹Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

 ²Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 ³For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

 ⁴Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

We all have sins that attract us.  Sins from our past or sins that come to us naturally.  I think it is no secret that men are more likely to be attracted to sexual sins while women are more prone to gossip then men.  No matter what attracts us and tries to slow us down we are to push them aside to run the race before us.  Just like runners shed extra pounds so they are not slowed down by extra weight we are to shed our sins so we are not weighed down with extra baggage.  In other words don’t let the weight of sin pull you down, cast them off so you can fly. 

Sat, Nov 13th - 12:59AM

Acts 24:24,25

^{Acts 24:24} Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ As Paul

 talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” (NIV)

When is a convenient time?  After you have breathed your last breath it is to late, Hebrews says after death is the judgment.  At that time it is to late.  When is a convenient time?  After Jesus has appeared in the clouds to re-claim his church and usher in a time of tribulation on the earth?  When is a more convenient time?  After the last day in time we will all stand before the judgment seat of God to give an account of our lives.  At that time it is to late to accept Christ as your Savior.  The time is now.  We don’t know if tomorrow is our last day or not.  One thing we can be sure of is that with each passing day we are one day closer to standing before God.

Fri, Nov 12th - 12:56AM

Hebrews 11:1-6

Hebrews 11: ¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

 ²For by it the elders obtained a good report.

 ³Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

 ⁴By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

 ⁵By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

 ⁶But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

There are many false teachers out there, liars are what they are, that will say you don’t need faith in God, that we are all saved already, that we don’t need to come to God in faith that he gave his only begotten so for our sins.  These people are liars and servants of Satan and are leading people to hell and will suffer the consequences for their deception.  As verse 6 says it is impossible to please God without faith.

Thu, Nov 11th - 1:01AM

Hebrews 10:26-31

^{Hebrews 10:26}For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

 ²⁷But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

 ²⁸He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

 ²⁹Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

 ³⁰For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

 ³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God

Don’t be fooled by these false teachers who preach that God will not judge you.  They are deceived and all deceiving others.  The judgment of God is very, very real and we will all stand before the judgment seat of God to give an account of our lives.  How will God judge your life?

Sat, Nov 6th - 1:15AM

Hebrews 2:3

^{Hebrews 2:3} So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those

who heard him speak?

The Bible says we are all sinners worthy of death, spiritual death, eternal punishment, eternal separation from God.  But God has provided a way for us to escape death, his Son.  His Son which died on the cross for our sins.  All you have to do is believe and accept Christ as your Savior from death.

Fri, Nov 5th - 1:11AM

1 Timothy 6:6-10

1 Timothy 6: ⁶But godliness with contentment is great gain.

 ⁷For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

 ⁸And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

 ⁹But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

 ¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Isn’t this different then what society teaches?  We live in a society that judges people by how successful they are, what kind of job they have, what kind of car they drive, the house they live in, it is all about the bling.  Why don’t we judge people by how close they are to God?

Wed, Nov 3rd - 12:06AM

1 Timothy 4:1-5

1 Timothy 4: ¹Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

 ²Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

 ³Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

 ⁴For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

 ⁵For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

I think with all of my heart and soul we are in the beginning stages of the great apostasy mentioned in the Bible.  I am not that old, 38, but I have seen big changes in society in my time.  Things considered taboo when I was young is now openly displayed and talked about openly.  There has always been homosexuality but when I was kid you didn’t talk about it, now it is on the TV, they want to marry, raise kids.  When I was kid saying hell on TV was a big deal now that is G rated compared to some of the language.  I remember as a kid you was lucky to find any business open on Sunday because everyone was at church now it is the complete opposite, you are lucky to find a business not open.  When I was a kid everyone might not of believed in God but they respected your right to do so, now days Christians are free game.  They are mocked and insulted in the media on a regular basis.  Christians are labeled as being intolerant because we refuse to compromise our beliefs when in reality it is the enemies of Christianity that preach intolerance.  If you refuse to accept their ideas and beliefs you are free game for attack.  Our kids are taught they have to accept everyone and everything.  We live in a society where morality lies with each individual to determine.  The problem with that is that sin has corrupted most of humanity’s sense of morality.  Where does it end.  With the legalization of drugs?  The legalization of gay marriages?  What about triad marriages or group marriages?  Or marrying children?  Where do we draw the line as a society?  Are we to withdraw to the dark ages?  Before Christ came into the scene as a baby in Bethlehem how far had Israel withdrawn from God?  How far has this world turn from the true God of the Bible, not the feel good hippie god of the new age scene.  I am talking about the true almighty God Jehovah?   The God of righteousness and holiness.

Mon, Nov 1st - 11:53PM

Hebrews 4:12

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