Oct 31, Day 305 - 1 Peter 3

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I've seen verses 1 & 2 lived out in the life of a dear lady that I knew when I was growing up. For years she faithfully attended church and faithfully prayed for her husband. It was years before he came to confess Jesus as Savior and Lord. But it happened.

The verses that jumped out to me were:

⁸ Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. ⁹ Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. ¹⁰ For the Scriptures say,

“If you want to enjoy life
    and see many happy days,
keep your tongue from speaking evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
¹¹ Turn away from evil and do good.
    Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
¹² The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right,
    and his ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord turns his face
    against those who do evil.”

Especially the part "...pay them back with a blessing."

Oct. 30, Day 304 - 1 Peter 2

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One of my favorite verses:
⁹ But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

A verse that is somewhat difficult, especially during this election time, but doesn't change its meaning:

¹³ For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority—whether the king as head of state, ¹⁴ or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.

Really hard sometimes, yet Paul told Timothy a similar thing. 

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. ² Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. ³ This is good and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.   (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

Be Blessed!

Oct 29, Day 303 - 1 Peter 1

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There is a lot of good stuff in this chapter, words of encouragement as Peter reminds us of what Jesus did for us. As well there are strong words about how we should life a holy life as God is holy.

I think this is my favorite verse today at least:
It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, ⁴ and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

So thankful for that great mercy!

Oct. 28, Day 302 - Proverbs 30

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⁷ O God, I beg two favors from you;
    let me have them before I die.
⁸ First, help me never to tell a lie.
    Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
    Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
⁹ For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
    And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

I think this is a good prayer to pray.

 

Oct 27, Day 301 - Psalm 20

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What a great prayer for a leader!!! I love the focus of this prayer I've heard this verse many times
⁷ Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,
    but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.

But reading it in context of the entire Psalm makes it more significant. 

God is Good!

Oct 26, Day 300 - James 5

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WOW!! Day 300 only 66 left. Home stretch and it's been such a blessing to me to read through the New Testament. I've been working on the schedule for next year. Next year will start with John again but then the rest of the Gospels will be spread out about every 3 months. Reading the rest of the New Testament in order that it is believed they were written in. For the weekends reading through the Psalms.

James ends with wonderful words regarding prayer my favorite:

¹³ Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. ¹⁴ Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

Oct 25, Day 299 - James 4

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⁷ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. ⁹ Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

Oh the importance of staying humble and let God lift us to honor in His time and His way.

 

Oct 24, Day 298 - James 3

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Oh the power of the tongue....
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.

So very, very true, but I love how the chapter closes:
¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. ¹⁸ And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

I tend to be a person that tries to help find peace in situations. I like the idea of reaping a harvest of righteousness. 
 

Oct 23, Day 297 - James 2

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⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

Our faith should show itself in our works, but we have to be careful (speaking from experiencing) not to let works go ahead of the faith. In some church traditions it's easy to get caught up in doing the right things without the right motives. We can't earn our way to heaven, Jesus did that for us on the cross, but he does expect us to reach out and do "works" because of our faith.

 

Oct 22, Day 296 - James 1

Click here to go to James 1

James is one of those books that every time I read it I feel like there is so much for me to learn.

Here are some of the verses that jumped out at me:

⁵ If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

¹⁷ Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

¹⁹ Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. ²⁰ Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. ²¹ So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

So much good stuff!  
 

October 21, Day 295 - Psalm 18

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I love the book of Psalm and here's one of the reasons why I like this one

¹⁶ He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
    he drew me out of deep waters.
¹⁷ He rescued me from my powerful enemies,
    from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
¹⁸ They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,
    but the Lord supported me.
¹⁹ He led me to a place of safety;
    he rescued me because he delights in me.

Oct. 20, Day 294 - Proverbs 29

Click here to go to Proverbs 29

This verses jumps out at me:

To discipline a child produces wisdom,
    but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child. (15)
 
Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind
    and will make your heart glad. (17)

Just because I'm struggling with my 13 year old son, the boy needs some wisdom and I definitely could use the peace of mind.

Another good reminder:

Fearing people is a dangerous trap,
    but trusting the Lord means safety. (25)

Oct. 19, Day 293 - Hebrews 13

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²⁰ Now may the God of peace—
    who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
    and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—
²¹ may he equip you with all you need
    for doing his will.
May he produce in you,^[e]
    through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
    All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

Only one of the things that jumped out at me. 

Oct. 18, Day 292 - Hebrews 12

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I love this verse!!!
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. (1)

 
I love how the Orthodox churches have this as a part of their churches. That reminder that we do have the cloud of witnesses.

I also really like verse 14: Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
Sometimes it's a lot of work to live at peace with people. 

 

Oct. 17, Day 291 - Hebrews 11

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It was by faith....

This is such a great chapter to remind us of the people of faith that go before us. My favorite is Rahab. She wasn't a Jew yet she not only helped the Israelites but she was part of the linage of Jesus.

Reading about these great people of faith, who weren't perfect reminds me there's hope for me.

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. (1)

Oct. 16, Day 290 - Hebrews 10

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Where the sacrifices of the priests failed Jesus completed perfectly, where only one person could enter into the Holy of Holies we now can all enter into the presences of our God and Father:

¹⁹ And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. ²⁰ By his death,Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. ²¹ And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, ²² let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

God is good!

Oct. 15, Day 289 - Hebrews 9

Click here to go to Hebrews 9

This chapter gives such beautiful imagery of what Jesus did for us with His death and resurrection. And the author of Hebrews sums it up so well in the last verse:
²⁷ And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, ²⁸ so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.

What a great way to start a Monday!

Oct. 14, Day 288 - Psalm 146

Click here to go to Psalm 146

³ Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
    there is no help for you there.
⁴ When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
    and all their plans die with them.

That is so true and when I think about this election year this is a good reminder. Thankfully the following verses remind us of who is really in charge:

⁵ But joyful are those who have the God of Israel^[a] as their helper,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.
⁶ He made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them.
    He keeps every promise forever.
⁷ He gives justice to the oppressed
    and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners

Oct. 13, Day 287 - Psalm 145

Click here to go to Psalm 145

I love the Psalms, and this one has so much good stuff in it. My favorite section:
⁸ The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
⁹ The Lord is good to everyone.
    He showers compassion on all his creation.
¹⁰ All of your works will thank you, Lord,
    and your faithful followers will praise you.

I'm so thankful for his mercy and compassion!

Oct. 12, Day 286 - Hebrews 8

Click here to go to Hebrews 8

But this is the new covenant I will make
    with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds,
    and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.

You see the above passage several times in the Old Testament. God's desire has always been to have a relationship with His people. He loves us!

Oct. 11, Day 285 - Hebrews 7

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²⁶ He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. ²⁷ Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.

On this Thursday, I'm thankful for our perfect High Priest, Jesus

Oct. 10, Day 284 - Hebrews 6

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Some extremely strong words that we should never forget:
⁴ For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— ⁶ and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

Oct. 9, Day 283 - Hebrews 5

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I love this verse: Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. (1)

When I look at it in context with this verse: In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. (9)

The high priest represented the people to God, yet they were still men with faults and failures, Jesus, however, was God in human flesh, perfect in every way and now He represents us to God our gifts and He was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. 

Blessings!

Oct. 8, Day 282 - Hebrews 4

Click here to go to Hebrews 4

OH WOW OH WOW! What a great chapter!!! Some verses that are my favorites are here:

¹² For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

¹⁴ So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. ¹⁵ This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

But one thing I hadn't noticed before are the verses talking about rest. I've struggled with fatigue over the past year or so, though thankfully I'm doing better. But I love the idea of entering into God's rest. 

⁹ So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. ¹⁰ For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. ¹¹ So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.

Such good words! 

Oct. 7, Day 281 - Proverbs 28

Click here to go to Proverbs 28

²⁰ The trustworthy person will get a rich reward,
    but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.

²⁵ Greed causes fighting;
    trusting the Lord leads to prosperity.

I like these verses and I don't think the author is referring to money when he talks of rich rewards and prosperity. 

Have a blessed Sunday!

Oct. 6, Day 280 - Psalm 144

Click here to access Psalm 144

¹ Praise the Lord, who is my rock.
    He trains my hands for war
    and gives my fingers skill for battle.
² He is my loving ally and my fortress,
    my tower of safety, my rescuer.
He is my shield, and I take refuge in him.
    He makes the nations submit to me.

Thanks for the prayers! I went to sleep laying on an ice pack which helped tremendously. 

Blessings all!

Oct. 5, Day 279 - Hebrews 3

Click here to go to Hebrews 3

Forgive me if I leave a really short message today. (I'm doing this on Thursday night.) I do photography for the sports at the university I work for and we had both men's and women' soccer tonight. Both games went into double-overtime with our girls winning with 3 seconds left. (The guys won as well) With 6 minutes left in the second half of the guys' game the local police showed up to tell us to clear the field they needed to land a helicopter so they could air lift an accident victim. It was a wild and exciting night, but I was on my feet for over 5 hours and my back is KILLING ME!

But the Holy Spirit being good there was a section that jumped out at me, verses 7 - 11:
⁷ That is why the Holy Spirit says,
“Today when you hear his voice,
⁸     don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled,
    when they tested me in the wilderness.
⁹ There your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
    even though they saw my miracles for forty years.
¹⁰ So I was angry with them, and I said,
‘Their hearts always turn away from me.
    They refuse to do what I tell them.’
¹¹ So in my anger I took an oath:
    ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”

Especially verse 8: don't harden your hearts.... 
Blessings all!

Oct. 4, Day 278 - Hebrews 2

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¹⁴ Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. ¹⁵ Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

Wow! God loves us so much!

 

Oct. 2, Day 277 - Hebrews 1

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¹⁰ He also says to the Son,

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth
    and made the heavens with your hands.
¹¹ They will perish, but you remain forever.
    They will wear out like old clothing.
¹² You will fold them up like a cloak
    and discard them like old clothing.
But you are always the same;
    you will live forever.”

Oct. 2, Day 276 - Philemon 1

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What an interesting letter! It seems to be Paul's plea to Philemon to show Onesimus kindness.

I'm not sure what to make of this and how it applies to my life. Though I guess one thing that I learned in reading a little bit about the book is that Onesimus was a slave and Philemon apparently was very rich. And Paul's probable intent was to encourage Philemon and those that met in his home to be accepting of Onesimus. Kind of like we need to be accepting of other Christian brothers and sisters regardless of their social status.

Oct. 1, Day 275 - Titus 3

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I didn't realize that Paul also gave Titus a charge about government leaders:
Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. ² They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.