November 30, Day 333 - Revelation 10

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⁹ So I went to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. “Yes, take it and eat it,” he said. “It will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach!” ¹⁰ So I took the small scroll from the hand of the angel, and I ate it! It was sweet in my mouth, but when I swallowed it, it turned sour in my stomach.

What must John have thought? 

 

November 29, Day 332 - Revelation 9

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²⁰ But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk! ²¹ And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

When you read all the things that happen in this chapter you wonder how can one refuse to repent? Of course, how many times to people blame God for their problems?

 

November 28, Day 331 - Revelation 8

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Sorry about the dates the past few days, I think I finally got it right...

The four trumpets and four catastrophes. I don't know whether I'll experience these events or not, but I trust God to carry me through if I do. 

November 26, Day 330 - Revelation 7

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I guess the thing I don't ever remember seeing in Revelation before is the amount of praise that takes place. Here you have the 144,000 Jews and a vast crowd to great to count and what are they doing!??!?!

Praise the one who brings salvation.

Nov 25, Day 329 - Revelation 6

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⁹ When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. ¹⁰ They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?” ¹¹ Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them.

A great organization to learn more about those who are being martyred in our would today: The Voice of the Martyrs 

 

Nov 25, Day 328 - Rev. 5

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I think the thing that jumped out at me was the worship. Jesus is worthy to open the scroll and He is worthy of praise.

Nov 24, Day 327 - Revelation 4

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Sorry for the late post, my internet was down last night....

The imagery here is amazing from the description of the throne room to the 4 creatures. But my favorite part is the constant praising of God:
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
    who was and is and is to come!”

Reminds me of my favorite passage from Isaiah 6 he witnesses a similar scene. 

The response of the 24 elders is also beautiful:

⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹ “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they existed and were created.”

It is true God is worthy to receive glory and honor and power.  God is good!

Blessings

Nov. 23, Day 326 - Revelation 3

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We have probably all heard the verse 20:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

I've heard it in relationship to salvation and how Jesus wants to enter into our lives and if we answer His knock He'll come in.

But here reading it in context I wonder if it more for the church like Laodicea, who were fooling themselves thinking that they were rich when they were really poor. In verse 19 we are told that those Jesus loves He disciplines. And if we open the door He'll come in. 

Blessings All! 

Nov 22, Day 325 - Revelation 2

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I think the one that jumps out at me is the words to the church of Ephesus. Although they were doing a lot of good things, they had left their first love. I have found it so easy to get wrapped up in doing "things" which I do think our faith should generate works, but we have to stay with that first love, Jesus.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Nov 21, Day 324 - Revelation 1

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I have to be honest I thought about not reading Revelation as part of the Bible 360, but my Pastor encouraged me to include it. I feel ill equipped to really make any comments regarding this book. But I need to trust the Holy Spirit to guide me in this.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

Nov 20, Day 323 - Psalm 150

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Before we start The Revelation I wanted to read one of my favorite Psalms.

¹ Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heaven!
² Praise him for his mighty works;
    praise his unequaled greatness!
³ Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn;
    praise him with the lyre and harp!
⁴ Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;
    praise him with strings and flutes!
⁵ Praise him with a clash of cymbals;
    praise him with loud clanging cymbals.
⁶ Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

One of my favorite bands has always been Petra. This Psalm makes me think of this Petra song and the proclamation "Let Everything that Has Breath PRAISE THE LORD!!!"

Nov 19, Day 322 - Jude 1

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²⁰ But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, ²¹ and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.
²² And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. ²³ Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

"Building each other up" such an important part of what we should be doing for each other. I think about the days I've been down and I get a message of encouragement. It just makes my day and reminds that I do have brothers and sisters in Christ that lift me up. Reminds me that I need to be doing the same.

I also love verse 22. I've heard it said the church is the only army that buries our wounded. We need to show mercy to those struggling with their faith. Good reminders from Jude.
 

Nov 18, Day 321 - Psalm 148

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As I go into worship today, I'm reminded that all of creation praises the Lord!

Nov 17, Day 320 - Psalm 147

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¹ Praise the Lord!

How good to sing praises to our God!
    How delightful and how fitting!

⁷ Sing out your thanks to the Lord;
    sing praises to our God with a harp.

¹² Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem!
    Praise your God, O Zion!

and the last line of the Psalm

Praise the Lord!

We need to start and end everything we do with Praise to our Lord!  (I need that reminder!!)   

Nov 16, Day 319 - 3 John

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⁵ Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. ⁶ They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. ⁷ For they are traveling for the Lord, and they accept nothing from people who are not believers. ⁸ So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.

What a good report! Oh to be faithful to care for God's teachers and ministers. Too often I've seen criticism of God's workers, when we need to lift them up and take care of them. 

I also liked this reminder:

¹¹ Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God. 

Nov 15, Day 318 - 2 John

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⁵ I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. ⁶ Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.

John reminds us several times to love one another. So important!

Nov 14, Day 317 - 1 John 5

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⁴ For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. ⁵ And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

The victory is ours!
 

Nov 13, Day 316 - 1 John 4

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So much good stuff in this chapter:
 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. (4)

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. (9,10)

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. (16)

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. (18)

There is also an important warning: Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. (1)

 
  

Nov 12, Day 315 - 1 John 3

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¹⁸ Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. ¹⁹ Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. ²⁰ Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Walk the talk!! I need this reminder all the time!
 

Nov 11, Day 314 - Psalm 55

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This is another great Psalm to read when your struggling. But I love verse 22 for anytime:

²² Give your burdens to the Lord,
    and he will take care of you.
    He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

From The Voice: 

Cast your troubles upon the Eternal; His care is unceasing! He will not allow His righteous to be shaken.

Reminds me a little bit what Jesus said: 

Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28, The Voice)

 

Nov 10, Day 313 - Proverbs 31

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²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity,
    and she laughs without fear of the future.
²⁶ When she speaks, her words are wise,
    and she gives instructions with kindness.
²⁷ She carefully watches everything in her household
    and suffers nothing from laziness.

Strength and dignity... that's what I want in my life... the joy of the Lord is my strength!!

Thank God for His strength!

Nov 9, Day 312, 1 John 2

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This is a great chapter of encouragement, warnings and directions.
⁹ If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. ¹⁰ Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.

Walk the talk!

²⁸ And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.

²⁹ Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.

Remain in fellowship with Christ! 

Blessings!

Nov 8, Day 311 - 1 John 1

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⁸ If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. ⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Thankful that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from ALL wickedness... all we have to do is CONFESS!

Thank you Lord!

Nov 7, Day 310 - 2 Peter 3

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⁸ But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. ⁹ The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

God wants all of us to come to Him... but he will eventually judge all
¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. 

We need to be ready! 

Nov 6, Day 309 - 2 Peter 2

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I love this story: ¹⁶ But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.


Can you imagine your donkey talking to you!??! Of course, that's not Peter's focus here, but a reminder that false teachers have been around forever. 
A reminder of the importance of knowing God's Word, staying in fellowship with Him so we can recognize the false.

Blessings all! 

Nov 5, Day 308 - 2 Peter 1

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Such a power opening:

³ By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. ⁴ And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

⁵ In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

"God has given us everything we need for living a godly life." The first thing that popped into my head is they didn't have a bunch of books about prayer and Bible study (not that those things are necessarily bad). They had the Old Testament, the stories from that were passed down from the apostles and possibly some of the letters from Paul and/or Peter. Yet Peter tells them they have everything they needed, which means we do too!

Again, I'm not saying that Christian "how to" books are wrong or bad, but I do feel we need to make sure their source is Scripture and we go to the Bible as our primary source. I've really appreciated the comments through the year, so many good thoughts and pointing out things that I didn't see in a passage. It's been a blessing!

Nov. 4, Day 307 - Psalm 41

Click here to go to Psalm 41

This is such a great Psalm when you are facing adversity. Several years ago it was one of the Psalms I prayed frequently when I was facing adversity from a couple of families in my church.

Through it all God was faithful and still is:
¹² You have preserved my life because I am innocent;
    you have brought me into your presence forever.

The natural response... 

¹³ Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
    who lives from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and amen!

So thankful for God's faithfulness. 

Nov 3, Day 306 - Psalm 34

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So many good things in this chapter, I think today this is my favorite:

¹¹ Come, my children, and listen to me,
    and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
¹² Does anyone want to live a life
    that is long and prosperous?
¹³ Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
    and your lips from telling lies!
¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good.
    Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

Nov 2, Day 305 - 1 Peter 5

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⁶ So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. ⁷ Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

I like the way The Voice put verse 7, not different words, but the sentence changes the emphasis in a really good way:

Since God cares for you, let Him carry all your burdens and worries.

And in the words of Peter...

....May peace come to all who follow Jesus the Anointed. (14b The Voice)

Nov 1, Day 304 - 1 Peter 4

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A good reminder:
¹⁰ God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. ¹¹ Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

God has given us all a gift and He wants us to use it!