“Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.””
Numbers 14:9
God has told Israel to take the Land. Israel has been told the can’t do it by most of the guys who spied it out. But 2 of them…Joshua and Caleb say WE CAN! Why? “The Lord is with us!”
May we remember that in our day to day battles! The Lord is with us…march on!
Tom
“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. And where I go you know, and the way you know.””
John 14:3-4
Our Savior Jesus tells us plainly here He will be back for us so we can be with Him!!!! And we know the way….Him! Praise Him for this promise from our Lord!
Tom
Job’s response after he lost everything including his children as God allowed Satan to test him:
“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.”
Job 1:21-22
He praised and worshipped God as He had his priorities right in life. May we always remember this in the tough times we face in life as well!
Tom
“One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.”
Proverbs 14:16
The Bible is clear…wisdom comes from knowing and doing God’s Word. We can not be truly wise without knowing God’s Word and then we must put it to use in all situations. On the other hand a fool does whatever he wants, why he wants, and how ever he wants to fulfill his own desires. When one is reckless like this he will answer to God!
Each must ask himself…am I wise or a fool?
Tom
“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
John 15:15
Jesus is not only our Savior but He is also our friend. As our friend He has made known to us the Word of God. So if it is important for Jesus to do that for us it should be important for us to share it with our friends especially our lost friends! If we truly love them nothing will stop us telling them what God’s Word says!!!
Tom
“My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;”
Proverbs 3:1
God through Solomon here speaking to His children…”do not forget my law.” The Word of God is to direct our lives. Teach our children this from a young age! It is of utmost importance! We are to keep God’s commands in our heart! Treasure them because God in His great love for us gave us a guide book for life! Thank you Lord and may we be obedient to you in every way you have taught us!
Tom
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”
Ephesians 1:7
Only in Christ are we redeemed! His precious blood covers our sin so we are forgiven by God. What grace we have been given. Praise Jesus for His great love to each one of us. We are unworthy but so grateful!
Tom
“so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”
Romans 12:5
If you say you are a follower of Christ and have no desire to be a part of a Bible believing church something is wrong! Christ built and died for the church. He desires the church to come together and worship Him, server Him, and be there for one another. As the church we are members one another! Don’t forsake the Church that Jesus built and is coming back for which He calls his “bride”!
Tom
“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,”
Ephesians 2:14
Oh what fantastic news! Jesus has broken down the wall of sin that separated us from God and we now have peace with God as followers of Jesus!!! Praise the Lord. There is no better news than that….ever!
Tom
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:9-11
One day soon Jesus will come and we as His followers will humbly bow before our King for His great love in providing us salvation. Also those who chose to reject Him as their King will also bow and confess their error!!!
What a glorious day it will be!!! Praise the Lord!
Tom
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.””
John 16:33
As we start a new week, let us remember Satan and his demons are out trying to bring us down! As Followers of Jesus we have already won the battle in Christ. Live victoriously and bring God the glory know your soul in at peace for eternity!!!
Tom
“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Psalms 16:11
Jesus is our path. Jesus is the only One who brings full joy. In His presence will be pleasures forever. What more can we ask for and why do we look anywhere else?
Thank you Lord!
Tom
This is a quote from a John Piper book that will make you think more deeply about the seriousness of marriage in regard to Jesus and the church and your spouse!! Read carefully!
“Jesus commands that husbands and wives be faithful to their marriages. He does not assume this is easy. But he teaches that it is a great thing because marriage is the work of God himself whereby he creates a new reality of “one flesh” that surpasses human comprehension and portrays to the world in human form the covenant union between God and his people. Marriage is sacred beyond what most people imagine, because it is a unique creation of God, a dramatic portrayal of God’s relation to his people, and a display of God’s glory. Against all the diminished attitudes about marriage in our day, Jesus’s message is that marriage is a great work of God and a sacred covenant breakable only by death. Marriage: The Mirror of God’s Covenant with His People Jesus knew his Jewish Scriptures and saw them as coming to fulfillment in himself and his work (Matt. 5:17–18). This includes his awareness of what God had said about his relationship with his people when he portrayed it as marriage. For example, God said, “Your Maker is your 322 Command #40 husband, the Lord of hosts is his name” (Isa. 54:5). And “In that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband.’ . . . And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord” (Hos. 2:16, 19–20). And “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine” (Ezek. 16:8). And “Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the Lord” (Jer. 3:20). With these Scriptures as the backdrop, it is inevitable that Jesus would see God’s creation of marriage in the beginning as a means of portraying his relationship with his people. So Jesus read in Genesis 2:24, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” When God said this—and Jesus explicitly says that God said this, not just Moses, the writer of Genesis (Matt. 19:4–5)—he had in view (as he has all things in view) that he would call his people his wife and himself her husband. Therefore, the union between a man and a woman is uniquely God’s creation with a view to portraying the relationship between himself and his people. “
Tom
“And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.”
I Corinthians 15:14
As a follower of Christ you must believe He resurrected from the grave! If you don’t you are following the wrong Jesus and. Jesus that will lead you straight to hell! The resurrection of Jesus is proof He defeated death and sin and thus paid for our sins so we can resurrect from the grave when He returns!!!
Resurrection is of utmost importance!!! Without it we are dead in our sins and headed for hell!
Tom
Read slowly:
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Psalms 103:1-5
May we bless the Lord with praise and service. For he has blessed us in every way! “Forget not all His benefits” as told in the verses above! Oh how good God is to us and oh how much He loves us!!!
Tom
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”
John 1:12
Jesus came as the Savior of the world. First his own, the Jews, had a chance to receive and believe. Some did but many rejected. Then He allowed the good news of Salvation in Him come to the Gentiles and once again some received and believed but many turned away! Today it is the same for all…you either receive and believe Jesus is the Savior of the world or you reject Him. There is no middle ground!
Those who do receive and believe become children of God and those who reject remain children of the devil headed with him to hell!
What’s your choice?
Tom
“Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.”
Ephesians 4:25
As the church we are to be truthful people as Jesus is THE TRUTH! God desires us to imitate Him and being truthful at all times is one way we can do that!
Are you a person of truth? To be like Jesus you must be! Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in this area.
Tom
“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:14
For the follower of Jesus the goal of life is to fulfill His calling on our lives. That call is to bring honor and glory to His name by our service to Him and spreading the gospel! Our ultimate prize is spending eternity with Him!!!
Like Paul may we continue to keep moving forward to the goal of our calling! God bless you!
Tom
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”
Acts 4:13
In the midst of enemies these disciples spoke of Jesus and lived lives faithful to the Lord. They serve as examples to us to always no matter the circumstances let folks know we have been and always will be with Jesus!!!!
Tom
““Hear my prayer, O Lord, And give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner, as all my fathers were.”
Psalms 39:12
Thankful that in the hard times as well as the good that we have a Heavenly Father who listens and reacts to our prayers because He love us! Thank you God!
Tom
“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the Lord.”
Isaiah 65:25
For the true follower of Jesus we have the above verse to look to as it describes what eternal peace in God’s kingdom shall be like. Natural enemies like the wolf and lamb with now eat together as there will peace, love, kindness, and all the other words you can put in there to describe the perfect place to live for animals and more importantly for those who are God’s children! I long for that day and I bet you do too!!
Tom
“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.”
Daniel 6:10
Daniel had some foes when he was exiled into Babylon. They were out to get him anyway they could. They knew he was faithful to God so they got the king to make a decree that no one could pray to any god. What did Daniel do? The verse above tells us…”he prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom”! He worshipped God as he always had!
May we learn from his example and pray and worship God no matter the circumstances in life. Be faithful as God is faithful!
Tom
“Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy.”
Micah 7:18 In the situation above God had warned Israel of their desiring evil, being greedy, being dishonest, and being violent. Thankfully God offers a pardon if they turn from their sin back to Him!
A pardon doesn’t say you are not guilty it is someone showing you mercy and letting you not pay the price you should! That’s what God has done for all who will call upon Jesus as Lord and Savior!
We all need a pardon…have you received yours through Christ?
Tom
As follows of Jesus we should be desiring God to show us the path He wants us to follow as we serve Him just like King David!
“Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.”
Psalms 25:4-5
The main way God will do that is through His Word!
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
Psalms 119:105
God’s Word lights up the path we are to follow! Read it, obey it, and bring God glory!
Tom
“But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.””
Acts 21:39
Here we find Paul, bloody and beaten, by a mob stirred up by his own people who did not like his message about Jesus but rescued by Roman soldiers! Now what did Paul do? He asked to speak to the crowd that just beat him! What did he tell them…about Jesus the reason they beat him!
May we have a love for people and a love for telling folks about our great Savior so we speak no matter the situation!
Tom
Do you love Jesus? Do you love God? There is a test to prove it. Here it is:
“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
John 14:23
If we love Jesus we obey His Word! That also means we will know His Word so we can obey it. Do you know your Bible well? Are you proving your love for Jesus by obeying His Word?
Tom
A common resolution for folks in a new year is to get in better physical shape. Start a fitness routine. This is great and needed for many but what about your spiritual health? What kind of grade would you give your spiritual health. Perhaps you need to set a goal of improving it!
“But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”
I Timothy 4:7-8
We are told in God’s Word that physical exercise is of profit but exercising ourselves towards spiritual health in godliness is profitable for all things!!! Read that Bible, pray, and obey God’s Word and grow stronger. Your faith this new year is extremely important so make it your first priority!!!
Praying for you!!!
Tom
