Posted in Bible Related

Posted in Bible Related

I read this really neat couple of verses in my Bible this morning. Now, I have read them before. But the thing I noticed about them today was that one was right after the other. I actually realized, for the first time, that they went together. I have heard both of these verses before. I even have one memorized. But I never knew that one was because of the other.

Are you wondering what these two great verses are? Well... I'll tell you. They are Philippians 2:14-15, which say: Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Don't you see? God didn't just tell us to "do all things without murmurings and disputings." He told us why. And, as with all his rules, this one is here for a good reason. He tells us why in the next verse! It's so that we'll "shine as lights" "in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation"!

People do notice the way you live. They notice the way you dress. They notice the way you treat your parents and your siblings. Your neighbors probably notice if you go to church every Sunday. The librarians at our libraries recognize us. Our mailman likes us because we're "nice" kids, "not like the other kids in this neighborhood," LOL! Probably more people recognize us in this town than we even realize! We might be watched every time we go out in public (now that is kind of scary!).

If you're grumbling and complaining about everything you're asked to do, you're not going to be shining very well! But if you're doing what that verse says, you will shine for Jesus!!

I would love to be always doing "all things without murmurings and disputings," but I'm not perfect. I fail often. But isn't it a great feeling to obey right away, to be kind and gentle with your little siblings, and to always have a smile on your face? Do it for your Saviour!

Posted in Bible Related

Have you even noticed all the verses in the Bible that have to do with a long life being a blessing? Here are a few to give you an example:

Genesis 25:8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years...

Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Prov 3:1-2 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

I guess we can conclude from these verses that the Lord considers it a blessing to have a long life. Now, I don't know about you, but I think that I would much rather spend all those extra years off of this sinful planet, and with my Saviour! But since God seems to say that a long life is desirable, I guess we better figure out what is so good about it, since we might just be blessed with "length of days".

For someone who is not a saved person, I can see how a long life can be a good thing -- I mean, if you didn't know what would happen to you when you died, you wouldn't want to die just to find out. Besides that, there are people you love and want to spend time with, places you want to go, and things you want to experience while you still have the chance. I, as a saved, born again child of God, would rather spend time with the Lord in heaven, than do all that, but anyway.

This is what I have come up with as to the blessing of having a long life. Revelation 4:11 says, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Since our ultimate purpose in life is to bring honour and glory to God, if you have a longer life, it means you have more of a chance to bring more glory and pleasure to God. Besides that, you also have more of a chance to receive rewards and blessings for your labors, although that shouldn't be the reason we serve the Lord.

So there you have it. Something to think about for a few seconds before you click off my blog. I'm probably missing at least one more very important reason why a long life is a good thing, but I don't know what it is. So if any of you come up with another idea than what I mentioned, I'd be glad to hear it!

Posted in Bible Related

Do you call yourself a Christian? You probably do. Most people do, even those who are not saved. But just because you say you are a Christian does not make you one. That should be pretty obvious. But neither does just acting like a Christian make you one, either. I think that most of us would agree that the way one becomes a Christian is by repenting of your sins and putting your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to save you by his blood (and if you don't agree, you need to check your opinion with the Bible). So all the so-called "Christians" out there are not real Christians if they have not done this. But anyway, becoming a Christian is not what this post is about.

I've been thinking on a verse in Acts. In chapter eleven and at the end of verse twenty-six, it says, And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. Did you catch that? It says they WERE CALLED Christians. The verse does not say, And the disciples called themselves Christians first in Antioch. So I think that the people who were NOT Christians noticed the difference between themselves and the disciples, and they said (this is not in the Bible -- I am speculating), "We can tell that these people are different from us. They are followers of Christ!! We will call them 'Christians.'"

What do you think would happen if I asked your neighbors if you were a Christian? Would they say, "Oh, yes, definitely. They are always going to church. They are always friendly and helpful. They act like what I think a Christian would act like."? Or would they say, "Christians? I don't know -- why don't you ask them?"? Don't call yourself a Christian if honestly you aren't one.

My point is, do you act like a Christian ought to act? Do you dress the way a Christian ought to dress? Do you talk the way a Christian ought to talk? Philipians 2:12 says to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (This is not talking about working FOR your salvation -- it is talking about working it to the outside so others may see that you are a follower of Christ.)

Remember Psalms 40:3: And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Do you have a song in your heart? Do you live for the Lord like a person who calls himself a Christian should? If there was a law against being a Christian, would there be enough evidence in your life to convict you?

Posted in Bible Related

Have you ever had a battery that seems to lose its charge about five minutes after you charge it? Our family has a few like that. Our digital camera batteries "die" after only a few pictures (thankfully, we are getting a new camera in about a week!) Or there are the other kind of batteries that seem to last forever. Take the batteries in my mom's alarm clock, for example! She hasn't had to replace them in forever!

I think that we can liken batteries to our spiritual life. For me it is like this: I go to church on Sunday. I get my battery all charged up for the Lord. That night when I go to bed I am thinking about how great God is. Monday morning -- I am still charged, but I have lost a little overnight. So I get out my Bible and get charged up a little bit again. By the next day I need to be charged again! And then for several minutes after I read my Bible I am totally charged. I am thinking about the Lord again, my focus is on Him, and I want to please Him with everything I do today. Then a distraction comes along and my mind goes off of the Lord.

Suppose you had a battery that almost jumped around in your hand, once you had charged it, it had so much energy! :o) Then you put it into your... um, camera, for instance! :o) It worked great for a little while and then after a few minutes a message appeared on the screen that said "Change the battery pack." Suppose you only charged the battery once a week. You would not get much accomplished, would you?! So, you would need to charge the battery often. You would need to charge it every day. This is why we need to read the Bible every day. You may be all "charged up" for a little while, and then lose your charge. If you are not "charged up" for the Lord, how will you get things accomplished for Him?

You may just go through the motions once you "lose your charge," but the Lord does not want us to become robotic! So this is why it is important to read the Bible and pray every morning.

Besides getting charged for the day, personal devotions will also help you to get to know the Lord better! The more you get to know Him, the more you will love Him, and the more you know and love Him, the more you will want to read His word!

So what kind of battery are you? Are you the kind of battery that stays charged up for the Lord for a long time, or are you a batter that needs to be charged frequently? There are good things and bad things about each. The good thing about staying charged for a long time is that you are continually thinking on the Lord. You are constantly meditating on His word, and you love Him with all your heart. The problem with this is that perhaps you will feel that since you are thinking so much on the Lord you do not need to spend as much time with Him (it is not necessary to be totally drained to get charged up again)!

The good thing about a person with a battery that does not stay charged up very long is that they will realize the need to spend more time with the Lord and will do so (hopefully!!) The bad thing is that perhaps you will forget about the Lord and will go about your day without even a thought of Him!

So we need to be careful to get charged up every day -- whether you THINK you need it or not (you do :o)  ). Ask yourself, "What kind of battery am I?"

Posted in Bible Related

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. Proverbs 31:10

A Proverbs 31 virtuous woman...

1. ...is rare (verse 10)
2. ...does good to her husband (verse 11)
3. ...is not above working with her own hands (verse 13)
4. ...is not too busy to take charge of her household (verse 27)
5. ...is not at all lazy (verse 27)
6. ...does not put things off until the last minute (verse 21)
7. ...does not have to be beautiful to be virtuous (verse 30)
8. ...does not only spend money on things to better her household; she makes money also (verse 24)
9. ...will someday reap the good things that she is sowing now (verse 25)
10. ...is not too busy or important to be kind to others (verse 26)

Posted in Bible Related

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. (Ephesians 6:1-3) The Bible tells us that we are to honour our parents. How are we to do that? Actually, there are many ways, and here is one of them: we can honour our parents by applying ourselves to our schoolwork and instruction.

Proverbs 23:15-16 says, My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. And the beginning of Proverbs 29:3 says, Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: One way to honour our parents is naturally to please them. Proverbs 23:15, My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.

Just a little “something” to think about. Oh, and by the way, this kind of stuff is definitely a lot easier to write about than to do!! :o)

Posted in Bible Related

Numbers 18:6, And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

In this verse God was talking to Aaron. Remember, when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, how God told them to set up the tabernacle and give special jobs to the Levites? Well, in the above verse, God was telling Aaron about how the Levites would do the service of the tabernacle. Note that God gave the Levites as a gift unto Aaron. Most importantly, notice what comes next in the verse: for the LORD.

God gives each of us gifts and talents. However, they are not for our own glory or pleasure, they are for the Lord! Do you remember the parable about the steward who hid his master's talent in the earth while his master was gone? The servant was wrong to not use his talent to gain more for his master (go to Matthew 25:14-30 to read about that in the Bible). That is the same with us. God has given us each something, even if it is small, and we need to use it for His glory and honour.

Also, if someone praises you for how well you sing, or draw, or whatever, give God the glory! He is the one who gave you the ability, after all! One man was even killed because he didn't give God the glory for what he did. You can read about that in Acts 12:21-23.

And always remember 1 Corinthians 10:31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Posted in Bible Related

Proverbs 22:6 says, Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

When I was little I would think that age twelve was so old and mature. Of course, I would imagine that when I was twelve or a teenager I would just be the sweetest, kindest, most gracious girl there ever was. But, you know, now that I am that age, :o) I realize that is absolutely not true!!! I guess I did know that whatever you are when you’re younger is what you’ll be when you’re older. But it makes so much more sense when it’s reality! So I guess I really need to work on being that gracious young lady now! I won’t just suddenly change someday! I need to start now.

Posted in Bible Related

I was reading my Bible last week when I came across a verse that made me stop, think about it for a minute, and then connect it to another verse I had read a few weeks ago! It was so neat! I thought I would share it.

 

Proverbs 27:7 says, The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; This is so true, and we can apply it to lots of things! But first, let me give you another verse or two, Proverbs 24:13-14. It says, My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off. So this passage is saying that the knowledge of wisdom is like a honeycomb. It is good for you, and if you try it, you will like it! Read Proverbs 22:17-21.

 

Now for the application. If you are “full” of “fluffy fiction” (now, I’m not saying that all fiction is bad, but it can be very time-wasting and not really good for you, either) you will not be “hungry” for good, wholesome non-fiction books that teach you things worth learning. Or if you are full of the junk food of the world, you will not want what the Lord has to say in His Word. But the Bible should be the first priority and we should “eat” it first. Do you know what? If you are meditating on God’s words, you will not be hungry for the junk food that the world has to offer. So we can turn the verse around and say that the soul that is full of the honeycomb will not be hungry for other things!

 

The other half of Proverbs 27:7 says, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. This is like a lost person seeking for something to fill that empty spot in their life. To them, “every bitter thing is sweet”! They try many different things to satisfy them, but only the Lord Jesus Christ can fill that gap.

 

So, what can we learn from this? We need to put the Lord first in everything, including the things with which we fill our minds! Fill your mind with Him, and you will not be hungry for what the world and the devil want to put in there!