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#93
<>< FROM THE TEXT ><>
1 Samuel 16:7:
The Lord said to Samuel, " Do not
look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected
him, for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but
the Lord looks at the heart."
John 7:24
"Do not judge according to outward
appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
Matthew 6:25
For this reason I say to you, do not be
anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor
for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is it not life more than food, and
the body more than the clothing?
Matthew 7:1-5
Judge not, that you be not judged. For
with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use,
it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your
brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you
say to you brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look a plank
is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and
then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
1 Corinthians 4:3-5a
But with me it is a very small thing that
I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge
myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this;
but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time until
the Lord comes.
~~~
=) THINK IT OVER =)
With all of those verses up there, I am
sure you clearly got the message we are trying to tell you about today. Being
judgmental isn’t a good thing, it can hurt other people and it will make other
people judge YOU. Being judged doesn’t feel very good I know that for a fact.
You can’t tell anything about a person by their outward appearance! What do you
think of Saddam Hussein? ………………… You know what you just did? You just judged
him! I am pretty sure that most of you went “he is an awful man” well well
well! Now you have become a judge! That was a little scary wasn’t it? I know
that by all the things that Saddam Hussein has done we can tell that he isn’t a
very nice person. But that’s not for us to worry about that’s for GOD to worry
about when Hussein dies. And yes that will probably come under the hands of the
USA or the British, but in the end God decides his fate.
~~~
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Have you WRONGLY judged
someone this past week? Maybe you should go back and apologize for jumping to
conclusions. I know a lot of people who stereotype other people. And I hope for
you that you don’t do that but instead get to know the person before you cast a
judgment.
~~~
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, I thank you so much that you
don’t judge me for the way I look but rather by the way I act. (Even though
sometimes that isn’t a very good thing) I just pray that you would help me to
do the same by looking at the heart and not the face. Thank you so much. In
Jesus’ name, amen.
***********
Roman’s
Road
Romans
3:23
1. For all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God
Romans
6:23
2. For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans
5:8
3. But God demonstrates
His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us
Romans
10:9-10
4.
That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your
heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For
with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation.
~~~
=) THINK IT OVER =)
What was listed above was the Roman’s
Road to Salvation. Most of you have heard of the Roman’s Road… right? Well for those
of you who haven’t, we’ll explain it to you now! It consists of the 4
scriptures above.
Look at verse #1. It tells us that
we’re all sinners. We’ve all done bad things and aren’t perfect.
Now look at #2. It says that the
penalty for sin is death. But the gift God gave us is a life, in Heaven, with
Christ.
Then #3 goes on to say that God shows
us His love, towards us, by sending His
Son to die for us, even though we’re all sinners.
And lastly the 4th one is
the prayer to get salvation. It’s one of the most important prayers you’re
going to need to memorize if you ever want to witness to anyone. It says that
if you say aloud that Jesus is the Lord/Messiah/Savior (pick your favorite…
lol!), and you believe in your heart that God resurrected him 3 days later,
then you will be saved. All of these verses are VERY clear, but since they are
so clear how come there are so many people who are just pushing them away? You
know, Easter is coming up and I know that originally Easter wasn’t a
celebration about Jesus’ resurrection, but since it is now-a-days next week we
are going to go through the life of Jesus for 8 days. And in the end explain
WHY he did what he did. Later on we will discuss witnessing, just some tips and
things you should mention when you witness. God calls us all to be witnesses in
everything we do, and we need to share God with someone every time we get the
chance right? I know it is soooo hard, but we need to try right?
~~~
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
What do you think about
the Roman’s Road? What road are you walking to Heaven? Think about these
questions and examine your life and the road you’re on. Which way does it lead?
~~~
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, I thank you for everything
that you have done for me. Since you have done so much I am going to go out and
be a light and show other people what you have done for them. Thank you once
more! In Jesus’ name, amen.
~~~
***********
DAY ONE
<>< FROM THE TEXT ><>
read
Matthew 1:18-25 & Matthew 2
=) THINK IT
OVER =)
It’s hard to realize just how lucky we are that Jesus was born. The
reason it’s hard to realize this is because we’ve never had to experience a
life without Him. But, if you think about it, without Jesus we wouldn’t have
any reason for being on this Earth, we wouldn’t have any hope for Heaven.
It’s times like these when God proves to us that He really does know
what He’s doing!
Have you ever heard of blind faith? If you haven’t, it’s basically
having faith in something there is no solid proof of. Lots of Christians
believe that we have to have blind faith to believe in Jesus. Well, I don’t
agree with that. In the scripture above, do you see how we put certain things
in bold? Well, the things we put in bold are prophecies, spoken of in the Old
Testament of the Bible that came true.
For example: It is said in Isaiah 7:14 that a virgin will give birth to
Jesus.
Then, in Hosea 11:1 it says that God calls His
Son out of
Next in Micah 5:2 it tells us that Jesus is
going to be born in
And the last bolded fact above is found in Judges 13:5. There, we are
told that Jesus will be a Nazarene.
So now that you know all of these prophecies came true, do you really
believe that our faith is totally blind? I think God gave us quite a few actual
facts to base our beliefs on.
But don’t take our word for it, go get a Bible and check out this
scripture for yourself! You’ll see that all of these prophecies actually did
come true!
~~~
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Today we
challenge you to recognize what a blessing it is that Jesus was born. Without
Him, we would have absolutely no hope. No reason for living, and no meaning or
purpose. So find some time today to thank God for sending his only Son, so that
if we believe in Him, we won’t perish, but we’ll have life that lasts forever!
~~~
(-.-) PRAY
ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord,
Today we just
want to say thank you! Thank you for being born. Thank you for giving Joseph
and Mary the strength and knowledge to follow God, even though it might not have
been the easiest thing for them to do. We love you God, and in Jesus’ name we
pray,
Amen
<>< FROM THE TEXT ><>
read:
Miracle 1- Turning
Water into Wine- John 2:1-10
Miracle 2- Healing the
Nobleman’s Son- John 4:46-53
Miracle 3- Healing an Infirm
Man at Bethesda- John 5:3-9
Miracle 4- Feeding of
the 5,000- John 6:7-14
Miracle 5- Walking on
the Sea- John 6:18-21
Miracle 6- Healing a
Man Born Blind- John 9:1-7
Miracle 7- Raising
Lazarus – John 11:43-44
=) THINK IT OVER =)
Jesus preformed a lot of miracles which
proved that he was who he said he was. But even with all of those miracles,
people were still skeptical.
We wanted to make sure you know that Jesus performed WAY more then
seven miracles. These ones were just the seven really extraordinary ones,
pointed out in the book of John.
With that said… wow! Jesus only had to speak words, and people who had
been suffering some pretty awful things would be healed. And it’s interesting,
because after He healed people sometimes He would tell them not to go and tell
everyone it was Him who had healed them. He did this because He didn’t want
everyone to believe in Him just because of the miracles.
Talk about being humble! What a great example!
Now what, may we ask, is the definition of the word ‘humble’? Well, basically,
it’s being modest or not
being arrogant and full of pride.
Now, Jesus most certainly fit that definition. I mean, He had every
reason to be full of pride and arrogant; after all he was the PERFECT man!
But still, He never was full of pride, and he never was arrogant. He
gave us a great example to follow. Because Jesus wasn’t arrogant (as perfect as
He was) then what makes us think we have the right to be?
~~~
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Today we challenge you to read all the
scripture we gave you a few times. Wasn’t Jesus wonderful? I mean, He only had
to speak a few words, and people were healed. That’s just so amazing.
~~~
(-.-) PRAY
ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear God,
Today please be
with everyone reading this newsletter. Also, I would really love to witness one
of your miracles. Yes, I’m sure I already have witnessed plenty, but it would
be so nice to see one again. If the answer to that request is no, that’s okay.
I just want you to know that I love you! In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen
Day 3: John the Baptist’s Message
=) THINK IT OVER =)
John was a true hard-core believer back
in those days. He ate, slept, and breathed on the thought of Jesus saving the
world. He went out and told everyone possible! A very good example don't you
think? Now we’re not saying you should live off of locusts and honey for the
rest of your life while going around preaching, but you can be a hard-core
Christian in this tainted world. People will notice.
Matthew 3:11&12 are the big verses in today’s newsletter. Who do
you think that John the Baptist is talking about when he says:
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance,
but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy
to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in His hand and He
will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the
barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Did you guess it? Yes, he’s talking about Jesus. He’s saying that Jesus
is so great that he’s mightier then John. He’s so much mightier, that John
wouldn’t even be good enough to carry Jesus’ sandals!
Can you believe that? Someone not even being good enough to carry
someone’s sweaty sandals? That’s so strange. I guess I can understand though.
Jesus, after all, was REALLY, REALLY great.
The point of these verses is to explain to the people that Jesus is
coming. John the Baptist is trying to tell those people that someone really
great is coming, and even though John was a pretty good guy (by human
standards), Jesus is still so much better!
~~~
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Today we want you to get an idea of how
great Jesus actually was. I mean, it’s hard enough for us to go through a day
without sinning once. Well, Jesus went His whole lifetime without sinning once.
It’s hard for us to understand just how big of a thing that is, but if you
think about it long enough you’ll get it. It means that Jesus never lied, never
coveted, never disrespected his parents, never worshiped anyone but God, etc…
Today as you go through your day just try
and realize how hard that would be to do, and how great Jesus is to have
actually done it!
~~~
(-.-) PRAY
ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Jesus,
Today we want
to tell you that you are so great! You never did one single bad thing! For
that, you are worthy of our worship and praise. So I’ll tell you again: you’re
great, and we love you!
Please be
with us as we go through our day and let some of you shine through us, so that
others may have a glimpse at just how great you are!
In Jesus’
name we pray,
Amen
<>< FROM THE TEXT ><>
John 1:35-51
=) THINK IT
OVER =)
This is only when Jesus is talking to a few if His disciples. We wanted
to make sure you knew that there are actually 12.
The names of them are below.
Andrew, Bartholomew, James, James the son of Alphaeus, John, Judas Iscariot, Matthew, Philip, Simon the Canaanite,
Simon Peter, Thaddeus, Thomas
Wow! Wouldn't that be something if
Jesus came up to you and said "quit everything you're doing, leave your
family, and follow me"? I just can't imagine what I would do! Would you be
willing to leave everything behind and follow Christ?
Do you guys know what the Great Commission is? It’s what Jesus
told His disciples to do. It’s found in Mark 16:15:
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature.
Notice how He didn’t say go into all the world and preach the
gospel to the rich and famous people. He said to go and preach it to every
creature!
God doesn’t care what kind of clothes we wear, or how cool we
are. He doesn’t care how in-style our haircuts are, or whether or not we just
got highlights. He wants all of us to be saved. He wants Heaven to be jam
packed, because he doesn’t want any of his children to go to hell. He gave us
the option of whether or not we want Heaven, yet some of us are still too
stubborn to say yes!
That isn’t the point though. The reason Jesus told his disciples
to go preach to people, was for a couple different reasons. One was because the
people need to be saved, and two because once those people are saved, then they
go out and they go talk to OTHER people about God. Funny how that works, isn’t
it?
Well, now the Great Commission has been passed down to us! Now
it’s our turn to go into the world and tell them about Jesus. Because if we
don’t… who will?
The reason we brought all of this up today is because we were talking
about disciples. We feel like it’s important for you to know why Jesus picked
those 12.
~~~
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Can you name all 12 disciples by heart? If
you can’t, here’s a trick I learned to help me remember all of their names:
2 S’s
2 T’s
4 J’s
MAP B
I have no idea why that helps you memorize
them better, but it does. There are two names that start with the letter S
(Simon, and Simon Peter). There are two T’s, Thomas and Thaddeus. There are 4 J’s (John, John the Baptist,
James, James) and then there’s Matthew
Andrew
Peter and
Bartholomew
So your challenge for today is to try and
memorize all of the disciple’s names. Good luck!!
~~~
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT
IT (-.-)
Dear Lord,
Please be with us, and let our
day be good. Thank you so much for knowing that there is a need for disciples.
After all, without them, who would Jesus have given the Great Commission to? If
they didn’t exist, so many less people would be saved. So thank you for them.
In Jesus’ Name I pray,
Amen
<>< FROM THE TEXT ><>
Matthew 26:64-68
Matthew 27:24-28
Matthew 27:27-31
Matthew 27:34
Matthew 27:39-44
Matthew 27:46-54
=) THINK IT OVER =)
In Matthew 27:51 I think that, that verse
is very interesting, it says, "And behold the veil of the temple was torn
in two from top to bottom."
See, behind the veil was supposed to be the very presence of God, and the
priest could only go in there once a year to give a sacrifice.
But when Jesus died, the veil was torn, the wall between man and God was torn
down. And now through Jesus we have direct instant access to God.
And also in verse 53 it says that the
saints who had fallen asleep (died) were awoken (raised from the dead) and then
when Jesus came back to life, they started walking around in the Holy City,
(Jerusalem) and probably started preaching to people.
Also if you read John 18 - 21, Mark 14
- 16, and/or Luke 22 - 24 you can see
different points of view and there is a little more detail.
Jesus also told his disciples what
would happen before it happened. See Mark 10:33
A very wise person once told me,
"See, that's what I like about God's word, it'll tell us things over and
over again until it gets through our thick heads."
I read something called “A Physician’s
View of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ” and it explained exactly what Jesus
went through, what the
Bible tells us is that Jesus was
crucified and scourged. That was actually a rather common punishment
back-in-the-day which is why the 4 Gospels don’t go into great detail when
explaining exactly what Jesus went through. Well, today we’re going to tell
you.
First Jesus was arrested in the middle
of the night and he was brought before the high priest; it is here that the
first physical trauma starts. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for
remaining silent when questioned. Then the palace guards blind-fold him. While
He was blindfolded they passed by Him, hitting Him, spitting on Him, and then
taunting Him to identify who had just done the mean thing to Him. Their logic
was that, ‘If He was really God, then a blindfold wouldn’t be able to hide
anyone’s identity.’
Then in the early morning, battered and
bruised, dehydrated and exhausted from the sleepless night, Jesus was taken to
a government area for His trial (to see what punishment awaited Him). It was
there that Pilate condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion.
Preparations for the scourging were
carried out when Jesus was stripped of His clothes and His hands were tied to a
post above His head. Then the Roman legionnaire steps forward with a flagrum in
hand. A flagrum is a short whip which consists of several heavy leather strips,
and two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip is
brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ body.
At first the thongs cut through the
skin only, but eventually after much beating the cuts got deeper and deeper and
the blood starts to ooze from the capillaries and veins of the skin. Finally
His arteries start bleeding and the small balls of lead make deep bruises on
the skin that’s not already torn up.
Jesus was nearly beaten to death when
they finally stopped. He was untied and allowed to slump to the pavement,
covered in His own blood.
The Roman soldiers seemed to think this
was all so funny!! This Jewish King, falling on the ground? So they threw a
robe over his bloody shoulders and make him hold a stick (for a scepter). Then
they find flexible branches covered with long thorns and they pressed these
into his already sore scalp.
After making fun of Him for a while,
and striking Him across the face, the soldiers take the stick and hit Him over
the head with it, driving the thorns even deeper into His scalp. Finally they
get tired of their evil game and they tear the robe from His back.
Eventually His garments are given back
to Him. Then He has to carry the cross on His sore shoulders, and exhausted
body to the place where he is going to be crucified. In spite of His efforts to
walk, He is unable to because of the blood loss, so He stumbles and falls and
the rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of His
shoulders. He tries to rise, but His human muscles have been pushed beyond
their endurance. So another man is chosen to help Jesus carry His cross.
Next Jesus is offered some wine as a
pain reliever. But Jesus refuses to take any. He doesn’t want to have any thing
help Him endure all of this pain. Why? Because He was doing all of this for
you! He was doing all of this for me! He was going through all of this
unimaginably horrific pain so that you and I can go and be with Him in Heaven
for EVER! When doing this, He knew that there would still be some who wouldn’t
care that He had done all of that, but He also knew that there would be a few
who would be saved because of it. And He felt like the few who would be saved
would be worth the pain. The sad part is--- it still wasn’t over!
Finally they got to the place where
Jesus was to be crucified. He was nailed to the cross. Many people think that
the nails went through Jesus’ palms, but they didn’t. They were driven between
the small bones of His wrist. If they had been in His palms they would have
slid out between the fingers when made to support the weight of the human body.
The last nail was driven through the arch of the feet. The left foot was
pressed backward against the right foot, leaving His knees flexed.
As Jesus pushed Himself upward to avoid
this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail in His feet.
Again there is more EXTREME pain. Then His arms fatigue, and great waves of
cramps sweep over the leg muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing
pain. With these cramps comes the inability for Jesus to push Himself upward.
Since He can’t pull Himself upward it makes the whole breathing process
extremely difficult. You see, He can get air in just fine, but He has to raise
His whole body to get the carbon dioxide out. So it builds up in the lungs and
in His blood stream. Occasionally He is able to push Himself upward to exhale
and bring in the life-giving oxygen. But each time He pushes Himself up, it
causes that searing pain to go through His feet.
While Jesus is still on the cross he
says a total of 7 short sentences. The first one is when he looks down at the
Roman soldiers who are gambling for His clothing and He says, “Father, forgive
them for they know not what they do.”
The second is to a thief, “Today thou
shalt be with me in
The third was when he was looking down
at the terrified, grief-stricken John, and he told him, “Behold thy mother.”
Then looking at His mother, Mary, “Woman behold thy son.” Basically He’s
telling them to take care of each other.
The last thing Jesus says on the cross
is, “It is finished.” And with that Jesus breathes his final breath, and then
dies.
~~~
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Today we challenge you to share this
newsletter with one of your friends. They can be Christian, but they don’t have
to be. Just share it with someone. Share with them the story of Jesus’ death
and all of the pain He had to suffer through because of us!
~~~
(-.-) PRAY
ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear God,
I don’t even
know how to pray to you today. I feel so unbelievably thankful and at the same
time so incredibly guilty. Because of me and all of the mistakes I make every
day, Jesus, you had to suffer all of that. So thank you a million times, thank
you! I love you so much Lord!
In Jesus’
name I pray,
Amen
Matthew 28
John 20:29
Hosea 6:2
=) THINK IT OVER =)
This is another big thing! If I saw
someone who had just risen up from the dead I think I would pass out! John
Did you know that Jesus being risen
from the dead was predicted? There are a ton of things predicted about Jesus
that came true.
Henry Liddon said that there are 332
prophecies fulfilled in Christ. The mathematical probability that all of these
could be fulfilled in one person by sheer chance alone has been calculated at
one in eighty-four (followed by one hundred and twenty-three zeroes).
If you want to read about the
prophecies Jesus fulfilled go to:
http://www.geocities.com/tonysurf01/prop.html
That web page
gives us Old Testament scripture where things were predicted, and then New
Testament scripture where things were fulfilled by Jesus. It’s really
interesting to read about. So if you have some spare time in your day we highly
recommend that you visit the site!
~~~
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
You already read our challenge for today.
Today we challenge you to read about prophesies fulfilled by Jesus.
~~~
(-.-) PRAY
ABOUT IT (-.-)
Jesus,
I am so
amazed by you, all of those things the Bible predicted that you would do, you
did! You never woke up and decided you were too tired to tell people about God.
You never ran out of faith. And I admire you so much for that. Thanks for being
such a great example for us, and I pray that You will help me to do my best to
follow you.
In Jesus’
Name I pray,
Amen
<>< FROM THE TEXT ><>
Why Jesus Did What He Did:
John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the
world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
How can we get saved?
John 3:15
that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have eternal life.
Romans 10:9-10
That if you confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God had raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works lest anyone should boast.
~~~
=) THINK IT OVER =)
Do you feel
loved? Because, I do! God made it so unbelievably, incredibly easy for us to
get saved. He loved us soooooo much that He wanted our ticket to spend eternity
with Him to be relatively easy to get. Jesus already took care of the hard part
for us! All we have to do is confess with our mouth that Jesus is indeed Lord,
and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, and BOOM, we’re
saved!
We can’t ever
get to Heaven through doing good works, because if we could, Jesus dying for us
would have just been a waste of time (and it wasn’t). If we could get to Heaven
through doing good things, then people would be able to boast and to brag. No
one can do this, so no one should brag.
Jesus did all this because he LOVES
us!! That’s one powerful love, don't you think? It’s so weird how someone did
all that, taking the chance that we may never even love him back. Now that’s
TRUE love, for ya!
~~~
*&* Some Lyrics to Think About *&*
Grace and Love
Many things in life are hard for me
Many things can pull us down
I don’t understand why I do what I do
How could I take my eyes off You?
After all You’ve done for me
And after all You’ve done for me
It’s by Your grace and love I am saved
It’s by Your grace and love You’ve
forgiven me, hey
And by that love and grace, I’m amazed
It’s by Your grace and love I am free
I am free
And it’s by grace and love that I am free
I’ll live with You eternally
I thank you Lord that I am free
I thank you Lord for loving me
I thank you Lord for dying… upon the tree
of Cavalry
I thank you Lord for loving me
I thank you Lord for dying for me
Because it’s by grace and love I am saved
It’s by Your grace and love You’ve
forgiven me, hey
And by that love and grace, I’m amazed
It’s by Your grace and love I am free
I am free
By: Kutless
~~~
(-.-) PRAY
ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear God,
Thank you for
giving us the spare time to write these newsletters this past week. Without
you, we would’ve never been able to.
Also, thank you for making our admission to Heaven so easy to get. We love you so much! In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen
***********
<>< FROM THE TEXT ><>
Jeremiah 32
38They shall be My people, and I will be their God; 39then
I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the
good of them and their children after them. 40And I will make an
everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good;
but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.
41Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly
plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.'
Romans 8
28And we know that all things work together for good to those who
love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
~~~
=) THINK IT OVER =)
On this earth the good stuff always
runs out. Things we look forward to finally arrive and then they’re over. You
open your last birthday present. You have to go home from vacation. The lights
have to come off the Christmas tree. All the anticipation is over, the event
has taken place, you’ve got memories and some snapshots.
Have you ever heard anyone say, “I
can’t help anymore. I’m worn out. I’ve done all that I can do. I just don’t
have anything left to give.”? Maybe they’ve run out of time or money or energy
or enthusiasm. That’s just life as a human. Our resources are limited. Our
passions change.
But the Lord never gets to the end of
his goodness or His ability to help. He promises to always do good things for
you. He won’t whine when you ask for His help or get worn out and need a break.
He is at work in your most awesome days, doing what is best for you. He will be
excited about you FOREVER. And He’ll be doing good things for you all the
while.
~~~
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
What has the Lord blessed
you with recently? Don’t say “nothing” because you know it’s not true! We want
you to remember all that God has done for you and thank him for it.
~~~
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, thank you so much for doing
good things for me. I know that you have my best interest in your mind. Thank
you again. Amen.
***********
<>< FROM THE TEXT ><>
Who carries out
God’s judgment?
2 Samuel
24:15-16
So the Lord sent
a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to
Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died.
And when the angel
stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the
destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is
enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing
floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble,
By sending angels of destruction among them.
What do some
angels look like?
Isaiah 6:2
Above it stood
seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his feet, and with two he
flew.
Is the
appearance of angels frightening?
Ezekiel 1:27-28
Also from the
appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with
the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His
waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness
all around.
Like the
appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the
brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory
of the Lord.
How impressive
are angels?
Daniel 10:6
His body was
like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of
fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his
words like the voice of a multitude.
Can angels die?
Luke 20:47
Nor can they die
anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of
the resurrection.
Who will judge
the angels?
1 Corinthians
6:3
Do you not know that
we shall judge angels? How much more, thing that pertain to this life?
~~~
=) THINK IT OVER =)
If you’re
anything like me, you’ve probably wondered about angels more than once. Today
we’re going to give you the answers to some of the most frequently asked
questions.
For instance,
did you know that angels are the ones who carry out God’s judgment? I sure
didn’t! Also: 1 Corinth. 6:3 tells us, that angels also have to be judged. And
here, I thought it was just us humans who had to go through that!!
Isaiah 6:2
does a pretty good job of explaining what some angels look like. It’s funny,
most people draw angels with 2 wings, but according to this verse they have
six!
Daniel tells
us that there bodies are beryl (A
clear glassy mineral occurring in hexagonal prisms. I picture it to look like
what you see when you look in a kaleidoscope.) This particular angel’s eyes
were like fire, and it’s arms and feet are like bronze.
Now
that we have talked about what angels are like, don’t you ever wonder if you’ve
ever met one? Yeah you read that right. Have you ever MET one??? I wonder that
allll the time! What if I am “entertaining angels”? Just think about it…..
~~~
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Have you ever had a time
where you knew someone was looking out for you? God sends his angels to protect
us! [Psalms 91:11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in
all your ways.] Isn’t that just so awesome??
~~~
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, I thank you for giving your
angels to protect me, and your holy spirit to guide me and teach me. Thank you
for all that you have done for me and my friends and family. In Jesus’ name,
amen.
***********
<>< FROM THE TEXT ><>
Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;
whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
Ephesians 5:18
And do not be drunk with
wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
Romans 13:11-14
And do this, knowing the
time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is
nearer than when we first believed.
The night is far spent, the
day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put
on the armor of light.
Let us walk properly, as in
the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in
strife and envy.
But put on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
~~~
=) THINK IT OVER =)
Some Drinking FACTS.
Don’t believe the myth that coffee can make you sober. Coffee will only make you a wide-awake drunk. It won’t help you think faster or speed up your reactions. And coffee may hold the hidden danger of making you think you’re alert enough to drive when you really aren’t.
What problems does alcohol cause?
Alcohol
can ruin your health. The more you drink, the more damage is done. You can get
alcohol poisoning if you drink too much too fast. As the level of alcohol in
your blood rises, the chemicals in your body can cause vomiting or seizures, or
you may pass out. This type of poisoning will make you sicker than you’ve
probably ever been.
|
Other
things alcohol can do
|
Cirrhosis of the liver is one of the most well-known effects of alcohol abuse. Cirrhosis stops the liver from being able to clean the toxins (poisons) out of your body, which can cause a type of poisoning. Alcohol can also cause stomach ulcers that can lead to internal bleeding. If you drink when you’re pregnant, your baby could be born mentally retarded or with other birth defects.
How can I stop drinking?
|
What causes
a hangover? As you drink, your body tries to make up for the changes alcohol causes. It “turns up” all of its senses. When the alcohol begins to wear off, these heightened senses cause shakiness, headaches and nausea. Everything may seem louder, bigger and faster. |
The
first step is to admit you have a problem and to get help. Talk to your family
doctor, a school counselor, your family, or your minister or priest. The phone
book is a good resource to find contact information for Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
and other groups that help people quit.
How much alcohol is really in a drink?
Beer usually has 3% to 5% alcohol. Wine has 9% to 16%. Hard liquor usually contains the highest levels (up to 50%). Most states consider an adult to be “under the influence” or intoxicated (meaning drunk) at 0.08% blood level of alcohol. But for people under 21, many states have lowered their definition of intoxication to .02% or lower. For a man who weighs 160 pounds, this might mean as few as 1 to 2 beers (12 ounce cans) in an hour. For a woman who weighs 120 pounds, this might mean less than 1 beer in an hour.
You know losing brain
cells and puking doesn’t sound like it’s worth getting drunk to me, what do you
think? Television and radio make it
sound easy to “Just say no,” but it may not be so simple for you. You’re facing
some real pressures: your friends may want you to drink with them, you may be
stressed out at home, school or work, or you may think drinking is a way to
make people like you. But remember, only you can make decisions about what you
do or don’t do. This is your chance to be your own person.
As Christians we really
need to try and set examples. That doesn’t sound like much fun, but it needs to
be done. The reason I say this is because:
Let’s say you claim to be
a Christian, you tell everyone you believe in God, and you go to church every
week. Then after telling people this you go to a party and get completely
wasted. You’re so drunk that you say really stupid things that you never, in
your right mind, would have said. You do really stupid things that you never,
in your right mind, would have done!
The next day you go to
school everyone remembers you. You’re the Christian who got drunk. Oh, but wait
there is more to this story. Someone who isn’t sure what religion they want to
take up has noticed you. They’ve seen you, and know you’re a Christian. That
person was also at the party last night. They saw you get drunk and act like a
fool!
You have possibly just
turned this person off from God. That person might now be thinking, “If that
person supposedly is Christian, and the Bible tells us not to get drunk, then
maybe Christians are just fakes. Hmmm…. Maybe I’ll just become an atheist now.”
That story I just gave
you was completely made up, but there’s no reason why it couldn’t happen in
real life. Like we said before, when you become a Christian, you need to try
and set an example. Nobody is saying you won’t mess up now and again. Nobody is
saying that you have to be perfect, but after all Jesus did for us, the least
we could do is try.
~~~
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
I know it can be tempting
to go out and get drunk, especially with peer pressure included. You want to
fit in, you want to be cool: even if it does mean going against something you
believe in. It may be hard to say “no” but I know that you know that it’s worth
it!
~~~
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, I thank you for this
precious BODY AND BRAIN you have given me. It is a temple in which to glorify
you, and I will not harm it. Thank you for giving me the strength and endurance
to stay away from getting drunk. In Jesus’ name, amen.
~~~
***********
Dear Danielle and Kelly,
I have a friend who isn't Christian and gets
upset when people talk about Jesus or anything related to Christianity. How can
I talk to him about it without offending him? I want him to have The Lord in
his life, but he won't even think about it and I don't want to pressure or
smother him.. I just want him to listen. What can I do? - Amber
We need to let everyone we know and
even people we don't know; about what Jesus has done for us! If we just kept
that secret, how would anyone get to go to Heaven? There are many ways to let
people know that Jesus loves them and died for them, and that they have a hope
in Christ Jesus!
p.s. keep reading your answer is sort of
mixed in.
There are many ways to share your faith
with people. You need to tell them the basics.
--
He loves you!
John 3:16-17
For God so loved THE WORLD that He gave
his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have
everlasting life.
For God did not send his son into the
world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
There are many verses about God's love for you, and this is the most
famous. I am sure you can see why! Do you guys remember last month how we did
those 7-day Easter devotionals? Well, one of those days we talked about Jesus’
death in great detail. If He was willing to go through all of that torture,
pain, and agony, for people who hadn’t even been born yet, well, then that’s
some pretty powerful love.
Lots of people have problems accepting
God's love because so many bad things have happened to them in their lives.
We’re all so quick to blame God for the bad things. Then when something really
great happens, we don’t give any of the credit to God. So my question is this:
How can you blame God for the bad things, but not thank Him for the good
things?
But then there are other times they
think that God can't love them because they have been absolutely horrible! They
sin all the time and think that they aren't worthy of God's love. We just need
to let them know that it's not true.
--
He will forgive you!
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
All you have
to do is say "God I know I was wrong, I'm sorry!" And BAMB he will
forgive you. He will erase it out of his memory forever! I will be the first
one to tell you that I’ve made a thousand mistakes in my short life. But it’s
nice to know that no matter what I do, no matter how bad it is, God will never
forget about me or stop loving me. All I have to do to get His forgiveness is
to truly be sorry, and to ask for it! It’s as simple as that!
--
He wants to be your friend!
John 15:13-14a
Greater love has no one than this: that
one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends...
Jesus laid
his life down for his own friends. WE ARE HIS FRIENDS!!!! And he just said,
that there "IS NO GREATER LOVE THAN THAT"!! WOW!!!!
--
You can know that you will go to a better place when you die!
John 14:2-3
In my Father's house there are many
dwelling places, if it were not so I would have told you, I go to prepare a
place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Although we
don't know what exactly heaven will be like, we know it is a lot better than
hell! There is really nothing more to say! In the Bible it clearly tells us
that there is ONLY pain and suffering in hell. No partying, nobody to talk to,
just plain misery. Otherwise, why would God need hell?
About your friend: I wouldn't pressure him into anything. It
sounds like you have planted a seed, and that's really all you need to do! God
says to go out into the world and preach the gospel. He doesn't say you need to
force them to get saved. All you need to do is talk! Let God work on his heart.
All you need to be doing now is praying for him.
***********
><> FROM THE TEXT <><
Job 1:21-22
And he said: “Naked I came from my
mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has
taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this, Job did not sin nor
charge God with wrong.
Matthew 6:19-20
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Mark 10:25
It is easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Luke 16:13
“No servant can serve two masters; for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all
evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith
and pierced their hearts with many pangs.
Hebrews 13:5
Let your conduct be with out covetousness;
be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never
leave you nor forsake you.”
Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air, for they
neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not of more value than they?
(= THINK IT OVER =)
There are so many Bible verses that
tell us how much the love of money can hurt us. I love how Job puts it. He basically
tells us that we came here with nothing, and we will leave with nothing. The
Lord gave us all that we have, and therefore He has the right to take away
whatever He wants to take away. In Luke we are told that we cannot serve two
masters. We can’t serve both God and the world. As humans, we desire
possessions. Our possessions will only be with us for a little while though.
And the thing with possessions is that no matter how much we get, we always
want more. People who are in love with money will never be fully satisfied. Oh
no, they will always want something else. They will buy a Porsche and realize
they want a Jaguar! Money truly is the root of all evils. It leads to all kinds
of bad things, and it can even lead us away from God sometimes.
Hebrews is giving us some of the best
advice that you’ll ever receive. Stop coveting!!!! Be happy with what you have.
God’s never going to leave you and he’s never going to forsake you. If God is
willing to take care of birds and provide them with what they need, then don’t
you think He will take care of us as well? As Jesus puts it: “Are we not of
more value than they?”
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
There are A LOT of people who are “in love”
with money. You would be surprised at the statistics. You remember the fall of
Enron? That was a consequence of “money love”. There are people getting
arrested everyday for stealing money. Now sometimes it isn’t because they love
it... but a lot of the time it is! I just want you today to think about all
this for a moment. Could you be coveting something without knowing it? Not
necessarily money, but could it be something else? Do you think it’s getting in
the way of your relationship with God, your marriage, work, or school?
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, I just lay this love, this
addiction, whatever it may be, down at your feet. I want to be washed clean of
it and have a renewed mind in you. I know this has been a problem in my life,
but after this moment it won’t be anymore. Thank you for always giving me a
second chance and helping me every step of the way. In Jesus’ name, amen.
***********
><> FROM THE TEXT <><
Isaiah 58:2 – Open Bible
Yet they seek Me DAY BY DAY and DELIGHT to
know my ways, as a nation that has done righteousness, and has not forsaken the
ordinance for their God. They ask Me for just decisions, they delight in the
NEARNESS of God.”
John 4:23 – God’s Word
Indeed the time is coming, and it is now
here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The
Father is looking for people like that to worship him.
Matthew 15:8
These people draw near to Me with their
mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.
Hebrews 12:28
Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom
that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with
reverence and awe.
Matthew 11:28
Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy
laden and I will give you rest.
Psalm 139:17-18 – NLT
How precious are Your thoughts about me, oh
God! They are innumerable! I can’t even count them, they out number the grains
of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, You are still with me.
Psalm 1:2 – NAS
But his delight is in the law of the Lord
and in His law he meditates day and night.
(= THINK IT OVER =)
I think that if I put any more verses
up there on how much God wants to spend time with us and why we should worship
him, I would over load your minds! “How precious are your thoughts about me…
they out number the grains of sand!” WOW that’s a lot of good thoughts. Did you
know that he thinks about you every second of every day, and all of his
thoughts are good and different from the last thought. That’s a lot of good
things to think about someone. And you know what else?? HE NEVER RUNS OUT OF
GOOD THINGS TO THINK ABOUT YOU. So no matter what you think of yourself or how
“horrible” you think you are: God will never think a single bad thing about
you! Isn’t that amazing?
“Yet they seek me DAY BY DAY, and
DELIGHT to know My ways…. They DELIGHT IN THE NEARNESS of GOD” God wants us to
spend time with him, be close to him, and get to know him better. How do you do
that? By praying, worshiping, and reading your Bible. There is no other way!
You’ve gotta dive into the word, indulge yourself in God’s awesome presence and
thank him in any way you can. You will not believe the things that happen when
you get to know God and spend time with him. He will open up ministry
opportunities, bless you financially, physically, spiritually and so much more!
He loves to be close to you and you will love to be close to him as well.
I know you hear a lot about reading
your Bible everyday and I personally know a lot of people who think it is a
bunch of mumbo jumbo. But when you start a routine of praying and reading your
Bible everyday, you can notice a difference in your life. In the way you feel,
act, and just… live! There are times when you may miss a day and you just feel
so drained! Then you think “wait… did I read my Bible and spend time with God
today?… no!” yeah.. it makes a HUGE difference.
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
It’s
not that hard, you don’t have to sit there forever and read 5 chapters at a
time: start with just a few verses… maybe even just one. Then MEDITATE on it,
(Psalm 1:2) read it over If you need to, write it down and carry it with you.
Then pray over what you read, and ask God to reveal it to your heart.
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, I thank you for everything
that you have done to me and I WANT to make it up to you and thank you for it by
spending time with you and in Your word daily. Thank you once again, in Your
name, amen.
***********