daily-bible-study

Parenting Tips by Zacharias

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:17:25 +0100

Luke 1:57

"Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son."

Parenting is one of those things in life you only get one chance to do right. There is no start over button in parenting. Unfortunately there is no perfect parent. The only perfect parent is God the Father. Since none of us are God, we all struggle in this area of parenting. Even though every child is different, and there is no set formula that every parent can follow while raising their children, I do believe there are some common characteristics in the parents who have raised godly children.

Zacharias and Elisabeth followed these characteristics and turned out a preacher by the name of John the Baptist. Who wouldn't want their children to turn out and be like John the Baptist? He turned out to be a godly man who served God his entire life. Let me show you some of the parenting tips that Zacharias showed us within his life.

First, every parent needs to serve God. You have a better chance of influencing your children to do right when you are doing right. A parent should never expect their children to live a life that they are not living. If you want your children to serve God their entire life, then the best advice you could hear is to serve God with your life so as to be an example to your children.

Secondly, every parent should walk with God. Both John the Baptist's parents walked with God. Only God knows what is best for each child, and a walk with God will be the only way that God can reveal to you what your children need. Parents who don't read their Bible and pray daily are hurting themselves and their children.

Thirdly, if you want to raise godly children then keep your marriage strong. The best atmosphere in which to raise godly children is an atmosphere where the marriage is strong. Both parents need to work on keeping the marriage strong and happy so the children receive the security they need in their lives.

Next, in rearing children, both parents need to pull the same direction. Parents who pull their children in different directions rarely raise godly children. You will give yourself a better chance of raising godly children if both parents are on the same page in the areas of discipline and direction. Consistency is very important for the children. When they know both parents are pulling together, then they know that is how they should live.

Last of all; involve your children in serving God. The parents who have involved their children in church work with them have a higher rate of turning out godly children. It should never be that the parents serve God while the children sit at home. Get your children involved in serving God with you.

In closing let me remind you that every child ultimately has their own will. They ultimately decide what kind of life they are going to live. When a child does wrong this is not always a reflection on the parents. Be careful about judging people by how their children turn out.

As a parent, do your best to follow the tips above and you will at least give your children a spiritual home in which to live. When you are walking in the way you should go, it will be natural for your children to walk in that way after they leave home. Most children, not all, will only mimic what they learned growing up. Be sure to give your children a good example to mimic.

A Covenant With God

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:28:56 +0100

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Thursday March 11, 2010, and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Deuteronomy, chapters 29-31. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-11

Title: Bible Study: A Covenant With God
A covenant is an agreement between two people to do or not do something specified. Those whom have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior have made a covenant with God. When God made a covenant with the Israelites, He made an agreement with them to be with them and protect them as long as they honored their part of the agreement. “Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day: That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:” - Deuteronomy 29:9-15. God promised that as long as they fulfilled their part of the agreement that He would always be there for them and this also included any stranger that chose to live among them as well. The same thing applies to us, when we make a covenant with God, He promises to be with us and protect us as long as we stick to our part of the agreement.

Now, once you make an agreement with God, He is going to hold you to it, God promised to bless the Israelites if they promised to obey His commands, but if they did not, they would suffer. “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” - Deuteronomy 30:15-20. God knows each and every persons heart, if they deliberately break the agreement they will suffer. The same thing applies to us, we have a choice, follow God or follow the world, but if you choose to follow God it must be with all your heart, He will know and you will suffer if you deliberately break your agreement with Him.

God turns His back on all who deliberately break their agreement with Him, God knew that once Moses was no longer around that the Israelites would break their agreement, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.” - Deuteronomy 31:16-18. Do you think that God wants to see the ridiculous things we do and get ourselves into? Of course not. We are children of God, not heathens and need to start acting like we are. That is why it is important that we never lose sight of God, He is the only way that we can avoid getting into things we need to stay out of and also avoid needless suffering. Life is hard enough as it is without adding to the complication.

Today, God has made a covenant with not just the Israelites, but all of the human race, believe in my Son, receive eternal life. “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” - John 3:15. God is saying, “I promise to give you eternal life if you believe with all your heart in my Son, Jesus.” “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” - Romans 10:9,10. What is eternal life? Eternal means forever, so eternal life means we live forever. So, how do we live forever if we die? We have three parts to our body, the physical body, the soul, and the spirit. However, when we are born as babies we possess only two of those parts, the physical body and the soul. This means that the spiritual part of the body is not with us. The only way to possess the spiritual part of the body is by receiving it, we receive it by believing in and accepting Jesus Christ into our hearts. Now, this is what is known as being born again. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” - John 3:5-8. The spirit in us is what gives us life, it is literally God in us. If you do not know Jesus you do not have the spiritual part of your body. That is why those who do not know Jesus are always searching for churches or religions or careers or people to make them feel alive.

Now, when the physical body dies, the soul has one of two places to go, up into heaven with God or down into hell with Satan. If you have the spiritual part of your body, this means you have eternal life and your soul will go up into heaven until Jesus returns and then you are reunited with it. If you have not received Jesus into your heart the soul dies, which is known as the second death and you end up burning in a lake of fire. “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” - Revelation 20:14,15. Would you rather spend eternity with God or burn? The choice is yours. God is not the one that makes us suffer needlessly, we do that all by ourselves, but praise God that He can even take away the needless suffering. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - I John 1:9. Have you made a covenant with God? If not, it is not too late, He wants to bless you and see you prosper, but you must first be willing to take that step. Remember, He knows your heart and will save all who truly believe in His Son, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” - Romans 10:10. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week, we are almost there.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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Harken to The Lord, Thy God

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:26:56 +0100

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Wednesday March 10, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-10

Title: Bible Study: Harken to The Lord, Thy God
As Christians we can rejoice in the fact that it is by God's mercy and grace that He sent Jesus to save us all from a fiery hell and all who call on Him are saved. Praise God! While it is the greatest blessing to receive the gift of eternal life and know that no matter how many times we mess up we are still saved, that does not change the fact that we will not suffer if we do not harken to The Lord, thy God. The Israelites had the best thing going for them, they were God's chosen people and that was the best gift they could have ever received. God assured the Israelites that as long as they listened to Him and obeyed His laws that they would be blessed and avoid needless suffering. “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out............But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: ” - Deuteronomy 28:1-6,15. The Israelites had a choice, if they listened to God and followed His commands then they would be blessed, and blessed abundantly, but if they did not listen to God and follow His commands, they would be cursed. This is a choice that we all need to make, when we listen and obey we are rewarded, when we do not listen and obey we are chastised until we either listen or God says, that's it, I'm done trying to get you to listen to me.

Harkening to the Lord means that we are to listen to every Word that God has written and every command that God has given us. This is where people of the world and even Christians want to ignore the fact that God was then and is now always in control. Something caught my attention this morning when reading this chapter, “If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.” - Deuteronomy 28:58-62. God is warning the Israelites that if they do not follow His commands they would face all sorts of diseases and destruction not even mentioned in the Bible. Now, this is a great prophecy of what happens to future generations who ignored God as we read through the Old Testament and also of what we are facing today. Think about it. Look at all the diseases and natural disasters that are going on around the world, especially over the past decade. This is not going on because of global warming or any other claims scientists are trying to come up with, this is God sending a warning to us all, you better harken to my voice, now. God does truly want to bless us while we are here on earth, He just wants us to listen to Him, He knows what is best for us.

We may not be bound to the laws that were given to the Israelites, but that does not mean that we are not to obey His commands, His commandments are for all, Old and New Testament times. A testament is a written document that proves as tangible proof of the covenant that God gave His people, the Old Testament was to record the covenant that God made with His people before Jesus came, the New Testament is to record the covenant that God made with His people when Jesus arrived. Regardless of Old or New Testament, there was one important thing that unifies both testaments and that was the blood that was shed to reconcile the people with God and get God to harken to them. The Old Testament is just as important because it foreshadowed Christ, proving that the entire Bible was focused on one person who would tale the place of countless of animal sacrifices and that was Jesus. “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.” - Hebrews 9:12-20. Today, God's first command is to know Jesus, Jesus is the intercessor between God and us, if we do not know Jesus, we do not know God. No matter how many times we pray, or go to church, or volunteer to help the needy, God will not harken to those who do not harken to Him and come to know His Son. “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” - Galatians 2:16. We are not saved because of the things we do for God, we are saved because Jesus Christ died for us and it is only when we believe in Him that we will receive eternal life. “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” - John 3:34-36.

We heard God say earlier, “ye shall be left few in number” God is weeding out all the devil worshiper's, and false god worshipers, and so called Christians, and false prophets, and false men of God, and only those who have truly know we see life beyond this earth. Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” - Matthew 7:13,14. Many will try to enter the gate, but only a few will make it through because they have not harkened to the Lord and followed His commands. Praise God, that all who come to Jesus will enter that gate, but if we truly want to see God's blessings here on earth we need to hearken to the Lord, our God. As long as we harken to God He will in turn harken to us and bless us.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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God Will Fulfill His Purpose

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:09:45 +0100

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Tuesday March 09, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Deuteronomy, chapters 24-27. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-9

Title: Bible Study: God Will Fulfill His Purpose
Many people, even Christians, do not realize that the Bible has been around since God created the earth. God chose forty men to write His Word, these were just ordinary, sinful people, like you and I who chose to follow the will of God rather than their own. Even they messed up with God at times and fell out of His will, but God still used them to complete the work He had begun in them. Moses was called when he was forty years old to fulfill God's purpose, but he killed a man then fled for forty years. At the age of eighty he began serving God as the one He chose to lead the Israelites out of slavery and into the promised land. Moses began writing down what God told Him along the way, including the Book of Genesis, which was given for God to give an account for the creation of all of earth and what His purpose for creating it was. The Bible was more than just commands from God, it was to give a record and account for the Israelites until Jesus came as well as show testimonies as to who God chose to represent Him and what happened to them in their times of obedience and disobedience to Him. While blessings result from obedience and faithfulness, severe punishments and judgment are the inevitable result of disobeying God's Word! We are all accountable for our own actions, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge: But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.” - Deuteronomy 24:16-18. A pledge is a solemn promise to fulfill a purpose or refrain from something. When we chose to follow the will of God, He holds us to our promise and we are accountable for fulfilling that promise. “This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.” - Deuteronomy 26:16-19. We think we have made the decision on our own to follow God, but God chose us Himself and we are to respect that and honor Him for choosing us by keeping ourselves holy. That is why He places these commands and judgments upon us. We are all here for a purpose and God uses us regardless of whether or not we choose to obey His commands, He chose to use specific men, women, and events to feature in His Word to prove to all, Israelites, as well as strangers, and even heathens, that He is the only God and creator of even them and in control of all things, regardless of how many gods they created. Praise God!

All the words that Moses has spoken to the Israelites regarding God's laws and commandments were to be written on plaster and placed upon the altar for all to easily read them. “And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister: And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee. Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister. And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God: And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God. And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.” - Deuteronomy 27:1-8. It was important that the Israelites had these laws and commands written down to remind them of all that God gave them and what they were required to do in order to be able to live peacefully in the land that He had given them. Had they not had them, then further generations would not have been able to know how to be reconciled with God. That is why we are to read both Old and New Testaments, of course we are not bound to many of these laws, but the morals of the laws still apply. If you read chapter 27 you would have seen the things listed that caused a curse on the people and these things are still an abomination to God and cause a curse upon us. We are children of God and are to behave like we are to set an example for those who are just starting out as Christians as well as the rest of the world. “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained........ These things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine........Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” - I Timothy 4:6,11-13, 16.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and enjoy the rest of your week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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Following The Will of God

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:30:15 +0100

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Monday March 08, 2010, and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Deuteronomy, chapters 21-23. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-8

Title: Bible Study: Following The Will of God
As a child of God we are to be an example for the world to follow, we are to show them that we can live a morally, uncorrupted life and still enjoy prosperity given by the Lord our God. The sad thing is that the majority of God's children do not take the world out of their lives and it is because of this that the world does not believe their lives can be changed with God in it. Following the will of God means that we are to eliminate anything that corrupts the mind, body, or soul. God addresses these issues to the Israelites, issues from disobeying parents, to fornication, to a man who rapes a woman, to adultery, and to prostitution are written in these three chapters. God stresses the importance of why He placed such harsh punishments upon the people, “And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.” - Deuteronomy 21:21. God placed these punishments upon the people to keep the rest of them from falling into corruption. If they feared what was going to happen to them they stay away from it. Think about it. If you are warned to stay away from something that is dangerous, for example, an electrical outlet. You know it is full of electricity and if you place anything other than a plug in it that you would get a shock, so you avoid it. Of course, if you did not know that and stuck something is the plug you would get a big jolt and possibly lose your life. It is things like this that teach the rest of us to avoid things that are dangerous to us. The same thing applies to our lives with God, we are to stay away from the immoral things that are dangerous to us,

that includes reading explicit material, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, witchcraft, reading horoscopes, wearing provocative clothes, and even making yourself to look like your opposite gender. The underlying principle of the laws of these chapters was given by our loving Creator to protect His people from the immoral conduct of surrounding nations which would destroy their ability to fulfill His purposes.

In order to fulfill His purposes, we are to keep ourselves in the will of God. In order to be in the will of God we need to fulfill the promise we made to God. ““For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee......When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.” - Deuteronomy 23:14,21-23. We are to live our lives holy and uncorrupted. It is one thing to ask Jesus to save you, it is another to take a vow and say you want to live you life for Him, yet do nothing to live your life for Him. God will hold you to your promise, just like He fulfills His promises to give us the things we ask for we are to fulfill our promises to Him.

It all comes down to this, we are children of God, we did not just become a child of God by chance, He chooses us personally. We should be honored to be a child of God and in respect of that, do what He asks us to do. It is not easy to be a child of God, it takes a big responsibility and the power of God to make that happen. If know anything about Spider-man, you know the phrase, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” The same thing applies to a Christian, we are given the great power of God, through the Holy Spirit that dwells in us and that means we are greatly responsible for that power. Think about it. Would you do some of the things that you do knowing that Jesus was right there doing it with you? He is, in fact, right there with all who call on Him to save them. Jesus Said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” - Matthew 5:11-17. We are going to face persecution and all types of struggles, but the hardest struggle can not take us away from the one great thing that we have going for us and that is heaven. We are children of God and those who truly are Christians do shine and actually change people in the world. I have a brother that is a mechanic, when he first got his job at the place he is now he wondered why God sent him there, but ever since he started, they began closing on Sunday's, getting more business, and people are coming to him about Salvation. We may never understand sometimes why God places us where we are, but where ever it is it is for His purpose and those who seek to follow His will first always prosper. My brother got a raise and also works six days a week. God is always with us and will take care of all who follow His will.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and enjoy the rest of your week.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

Learn About Salvation Only Made Through Jesus Christ
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Be Prepared For Battle

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:33:10 +0100

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Sunday March 07, 2010, and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Deuteronomy, chapters 17-20. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-7

Title: Bible Study: Be Prepared For Battle
Christian's who dedicate their lives to Christ are to stay away from all evil, to separate themselves from the world, and to be on guard and prepare ourselves for battle, a spiritual battle. No one who lives in the world realizes that the wars we face between nations, our country, and in our own back yard are all controlled by God. Everything is in God's control, whether we, even we Christian's, would like to admit that fact or not. Anyone notice all the earth quakes, tsunami's, and other natural disasters around the world today? These are not really natural disasters, but in fact, God Himself, and He is showing us and warning us that He is still in control and Christ's return is closer than we can imagine. Before the Israelites were about to enter the promised land, Moses informed them that they were to enter a land that had been utterly controlled by heathens. The Canaanites were idolaters who worshiped false gods, were full of sin, and became involved in things that were an abomination to God. God warns them what would happen to them if they got involved in their practices. “Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God. If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.” - Deuteronomy 17:1-5. There was no compromise here, any person caught doing any of these wicked things was to be put to death. No inhabitants of Canaan were to be spared to share the land of promise, “For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.” - Deuteronomy 18:12. God knew that the Israelites would get involved in these practices if they remained in the land. Of course, as you read through the Old Testament you will learn later on that they did not do as God commanded and many did, in fact, become a part of these evil practices. Does any of this sound familiar to you? You know, when America was first discovered, the people, who were Christians, came here to be able to worship God on God's terms, not man made religion terms. It was a land, which the Indians inhibited, and for a while it was a God nation, but the Indians still controlled the land and still do, now it is so corrupted with false gods and religion that no one, except true Christians know the truth. See all the problems going on in America today? Think it is just bad government? It has nothing to do with the government, it has to do with a bunch of egos on a power trip trying to control us. God is giving us a warning here and we better start paying attention to it.

Now Israel was about to be faced with armies who were far greater in numbers. However, through Moses, God reminded them not only of what He had done for them in the past, but what He would do for them when going into battle. “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.” - Deuteronomy 20:1-4. God assured them that they were going to battle with Him on their side and no matter how big of an army they faced, He was with them and would save them. Today, we are in a constant spiritual battle, it seems every day we go up against some new religion or a bunch of them wanting to come together as one religion. Can you imagine people from every religion and every belief coming together a one? Talk about a war, that will be one huge war that will destroy the entire world. However, those who know the truth, those faithful Christians that guard and armor themselves with the Word of God will be saved. Praise God!

In the midst of these chapters is a great prophesy of the one prophet who would come to save us in this spiritual battle. “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;.…..I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” - Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19. Of course, this is no one other than Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus came for one purpose only and that was to follow the will of His Father and that was to teach all nations how to live as a child of God and to die for those children so they could live with God. God also warns them of the false prophet, “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” - Deuteronomy 18:20-22. There are going to be many false prophets out there trying to take us away from the truth and some will even know a little bit of Scripture to back up their story. This is where many are deceived and fall into Satan's web, even Jesus said that both Moses and the Scriptures bore witness of Him and yet they would believe the false prophet over Him.“I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” - John 5:43-47. The truth is this, the only way to know God's Word is to know Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” - John 14:6,7. If you know Jesus, you know the truth and will understand God's Word and not get deceived by all the false prophets out there and I am not talking about some book that claims to be His Word or explain it to you in simple terms. All who know Jesus will understand the Bible because the Holy Spirit teaches it to them. We are in a spiritual battle daily between good and evil, the power to be victorious daily is keeping our heart, eyes, ears, mind, and soul on Jesus all day long. If there is any person to truly have on your side, that person is Jesus. He truly saves us from every battle we face. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and have a great week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

P.S. I apologize for the late posting of this message, I have a brother that is in the hospital with double pneumonia and it is taking it's toll on the family. Everything should resume as normal after today. Thanks again.

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Are You Really in The Will of God?

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:44:12 +0100

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Saturday March 06, 2010, and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Deuteronomy, chapters 14-16. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-6

Title: Bible Study: Are You Really in God's Will?
Faithful Christians take a vow to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and mind, they confess their sins, accept Jesus into their hearts, and are eager to live their lives for Christ. Now, we grow a little each day in our Christianity, so, not everyone is going to grow at the same time as others, but over time learn to trust in Him more and more, and are eager to follow His will. When we get to the point that we want to know what His will is for our lives, this is where many people hit a wall and do not grow. Following His will means that we are to slowly let go of the things of the world and replace it with things God wants us to do, even things like music, clothes, movies, and tv shows are to be replaced. Moses reminds the new generation of Israelites of how important it is to let go of these things. “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.” - Deuteronomy 14:2. We are holy, peculiar people of God and have been chosen by Him personally and are above all who are upon the earth. That alone should get us excited, we should be honored to know that we are chosen by God Himself. Sadly, many people do not want to give up the things of the world, it is amazing how many churches bring the world into the church, loud music, rewritten Bibles, and every religion imagined are coming together to compromise with the worldly Christians. However, this is not following God's will, while God loves every one of us and accepts all who come to Christ, that does not mean He condones things He despises. Things like intoxication, adultery, fornication, and homosexuality are still things He will not tolerate. If we truly want to be blessed by God we need to remove all of the world from our lives, of course, it takes time, but as long as we are truly trying, God will show us how to get out of it. I know people that have by the power of God overcome alcohol and drug addiction, and even homosexuality. So, it is not an option to say this is how God made me, it is how you made you, not God. You can get yourself out of any situation that you are in, but you must be willing to do it for yourself, no one, not even God can make you change, this is something that only you can make happen, but once you do, God is willing to help you and send people to help you along the way.

Perhaps another act that keeps people out of the will of God is tithing, this has always been a very controversial subject. I agree that many people have been deceived by churches and so called men of God that do nothing, but take peoples money, but giving tithe is very important to be in the will of God. Moses explains, “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.” - Deuteronomy 14:22-29. While the common tithe during the Old Testament was animals and food from the harvest, those who did not have these things were to bring money. They were required to remember the Levites because they were God's servants, those who served Him in the church. As long as they gave tithe God blessed them with more. The prosperity of Israel in the promised land did not depend on advanced agricultural techniques, but on its obedience to the Word of God. Tithing reminded the them that they, as well as the land, belonged to the Lord. Since all they possessed was the result of His loving provision, before all other considerations, their tithes to the Lord were to be given first. Furthermore, no Israelite could come before the Lord without an offering commensurate with his income. To merely bring what was left over would be an expression of disobedience and ingratitude. Today, the Lord's ministries, missionaries, churches, Bible schools, translators, and other agencies are God's servants and being sustained through the tithes and offerings of His people. Most people fear giving tithe because they have so many bills and expenses already that to give would anything would be impossible. However, this is where trusting in God comes to play. Jesus addresses this issue, “And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” - Mark 12:41-44. God knows what we are going through and as long as we think of Him and do what we can He will bless anything we give. God loves a cheerful giver, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” - II Corinthians 9:7.

Knowing and following God's will comes down to this, are we willing to trust Him and do the things that He calls us to do. I know people that have come to our church and no longer do because of one reason, they do not like the music, they say it is too boring. Are we willing to give up blessings that God has waiting for us because we do not want to listen to music we think is boring? When we follow God's will we develop a longing for the so called boring music. When I first came to my church I thought the music was a little on the country side, old time stuff, but the more I learned the words, the more I came to love the music that keeps me going every day. Today, I have thrown out all my rock and heavy metal music and replaced it with music God wants me to listen to. Without God's music I would not know how to get through the day. We all have a choice, if we want God's blessings upon our lives we must be willing to give up the world, keep it out of the church, and commit to doing everything God asks us to do. Then He will send us so many blessings we would be encouraging others to seek God as well. “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” - II Peter 2:1-3. God's Word is the only thing that can help us know His will, the more we learn it, the more we grow, the more we lose the world and learn to desire the things God wants for us.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and weekend.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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Life For The Heart & Soul

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:54:43 +0100

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Friday March 05, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Deuteronomy, chapters 11-13. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-5

Title: Bible Study: Life For The Heart & Soul
Did you ever wonder, maybe even right now you are, how did I end up in this situation? You spent/spend sleepless nights worrying and stressed out because things did not go as planned, yet the more you did/do to fix the situation the further you got/get into a bigger mess of things? We all have gotten into messes like these and the main culprit to these situations is two things that Satan uses to reel us in all the time. Those things are the heart and the soul. Time and time again in the Bible we will read, love or serve the Lord with all your heart and soul. Moses explains this to the new generation of Israelites, “And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,.......Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And then the LORD's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you. Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” - Deuteronomy 11:13,16-19. Think about it, the heart is the center of our feelings, the thoughts we get in our head come from the heart. The soul is the center of our physical bodies, the feelings we get in our heart come from the soul. We get into these situations because the soul desires something the heart just can not give and that is life.

What is life? Life is the blood that is within us, without it we are dead, but blood is more than just fluid that runs through our veins. We can not just have any kind of blood put in us, it must be a special type or serious complications or even death can occur. The one true thing to give life to the soul is God and Moses explains this further, “When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike. Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD. Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose:” - Deuteronomy 12:20-26. Think about it, the soul longs to eat flesh, meaning it desires physical things that the heart longs for, but the blood, the true source of life, was not to be eaten, meaning God is the only true source for life. We learned from the book of Leviticus that for those that ate blood, contrary to this command of God, it is threatened that He would set His face against them, and they should be cut off. Just as the blood of sacrifices were poured upon the altar, the blood of common flesh was to be poured upon the earth, signifying it was not to be used, and no account to be made of it and in doing so their posterity might be spared, and continue long, and enjoy much prosperity. In other words, our soul is telling us we need something to make us feel alive. Then the heart gets involved searching for anything to make it feel alive, instead of the one true thing that can give life to the soul, and that is God. The truth is without God the heart and soul are always searching for something material to make it feel alive.

Now, Moses also warns the Israelites that they could not just trust anyone claiming to know the true source of life, “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.” - Deuteronomy 13:1-5. This is warning to all those false prophets and religions claiming that they know God, but lead them so far away from Him. We can not trust every person that claims they know God, the only way to know God is by reading His Word personally.

So, who is the true source to God who gives us life? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” - John 14:5,6. Jesus is the only true source to life and all who accept Him have life. The soul literally comes alive and then informs the heart to keep it on Him to keep us feeling alive. It is important that we always keep our heart and soul on Jesus, doing that keeps us out of trouble and from getting into unnecessary messes. However, one thing we can be sure on that no matter how many messes we have gotten/get ourselves into that He will show us how to get our of them as long as we turn to Him and get our eyes, ears, mind, and heart on Him.“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - I John 1:8,9. Praise God! You do not have to worry or stress out about things, God is with you, if you have Jesus with you, and He will help you out of every situation that you are in. He knows what is deep inside your heart and will bring the light to any person who calls on Him. Praise God.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and have a great weekend!
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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God's Purpose For His Word

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:36:11 +0100

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Thursday March 04, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Deuteronomy, chapters 8-10. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-4

Title: Bible Study: God's Purpose For His Word
Bible studies are great to help us not only to read, understand, and discuss the Word of God, but to also keep us in fellowship with others who have the same beliefs as you do. The answer to every question that we will ever have in our lives can be found in this great book. Of course, there are some things that God will only reveal to us when we see Him in heaven, but the majority of questions concerning His laws, commands, why He made them, and even the trials we go through are right here in the Old and New Testaments. Sometimes it may seem as though all God wants us to do in our waking hours is read the Bible and pray, while that is a good thing from time to time, that's why He gave the command of the Sabbath day, He knows that we have other work to do, so He came up with these laws and commands to allow us to do other work without getting ourselves into trouble. Since there were only three people out of the over 400,000 Israelites that were freed from Egyptian slavery still alive to survive the wilderness journey, it was important for Moses to remind the new generation of Israelites about God's laws, commands, and why they were in the wilderness for forty years. Now Moses gets to the good part, he answers their question as to why they were in the wilderness for so long and what God's purpose for it was. “All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” - Deuteronomy 8:1-3. God places circumstances in our lives to humble us, to remove the pride from our hearts, and to show us that material things are not what we are to live for, but the Word of God. The Word of God gives us the power to know and understand and live the best life we can live on this earth, with no worries, but the second we forget God the worries do begin because we are no longer dependent on God, but ourselves, and that is why He will place circumstances in our lives. When being tempted of the devil, Jesus Himself quoted this verse, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” - Matthew 4:4. Jesus was brought here to show us that no matter how close we are to God the devil is able to try to tempt us, but it is only the power of God through His Word that can keep us from falling into that temptation. Jesus had every part of the soul and flesh that we had and was just as capable as sinning as the rest of us. A vital key to overcoming Satan is knowing God's Word through which we are empowered to be over comer any of His tricks to get us away from God. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12.

God used forty men, filled with His spirit, to write the Bible, it was written for several reasons, it was written to keep a record of the Israelites journey with God until Jesus came, to show them where they came from and remind them that they were chosen by God Himself to represent Him and show the world who the One true God is. “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.” - Deuteronomy 10:12-21. God truly does love us and want the best for us, but if we want to receive His best we need to do what He requires, and this is for any generation of God's people. We are to fear God, love Him, trust Him, and delight in having a relationship with Him. We are to serve Him with all our heart and soul, cheerfully and with good will. God knows our hearts and He knows if we are doing something for Him because we want to or out of obligation. God is not forcing us here, He is giving us a choice to serve Him and if we make that choice we need to do it wholeheartedly. It truly is honorable to God when we delight in His Word, respect Him, work, and live in obedience to Him. It is time to circumcise our hearts, to cast away all the things that corrupt it and hider us from truly fearing and loving God as He loves us.

The main reason for God to create the Bible is written in the New Testament, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” - II Timothy 3:16,17. Every word in the Bible is given to us to teach us His doctrine, to show us His truths, the correct us, and to teach us to live righteously. God is teaching us that we are just ordinary, sinful people, with the same problems as every other generation, but we are His people and no matter what background we came from or what we have done in our lives we can turn things around and have a wonderful life, even through trials, serving Him. The first step however, is to know Jesus. If you do not know Jesus, you will never know the true meaning of the Bible, it will be a fictional book to you. The only way the Israelites or any stranger among them was able to be in the presence of God was while He was above them in the Tabernacle. Today His presence still only exists in the Tabernacle, through the Holy Spirit, but this time His Tabernacle is within each person who accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior. “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit........What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” - I Corinthians 6:15-17,19,20. We are God's people and it is time to start acting like we are. We truly have no idea how blessed we are just to be able to say that we are a child of the one and only living God. People make false gods all the time, but not one of them can say that their god is alive and living in them as Jesus Christ lives in us. Praise God! I'll take Jesus any day over the likes and sacrifices that some of these so called Christians have to deal with just to be able to say they are a Christian. Do you know what really makes you a Christian? It is by knowing Jesus personally, the one and only begotten Son of God, who died to save us, then rose again three days later to prove that He and only He is God. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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A Mighty & Terrible God

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:32:40 +0100

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Wednesday March 03, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Deuteronomy, chapters 5-7. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-3

Title: Bible Study: A Mighty & Terrible God
When one thinks of the word terrible it does not sound very good, but in the midst of all the horrible meanings that come out of that word, is the meaning exciting terror, which is defined as something awesome, amazing, and stunning. Often you will come across verses in the Bible that say God is a great or mighty and terrible God, “for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.” - Deuteronomy 7:21b. So, if we take the word terrible and think of it as awesome, it comes out as this, God is a great or mighty and awesome God. As Christians, we can all agree on that. Praise God! As we read today chapters, Moses continues to remind the new generation of Israelites of God's commands and His choice to choose Israel as His special people. “Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.........Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Neither shalt thou commit adultery. Neither shalt thou steal. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.” - Deuteronomy 5:7-12,16-21. God did not give these commands just to keep them from enjoying life, but so they could in fact enjoy life without all the things of the world that could corrupt them and hurt them. The same thing applies to you and I. While many believe that the ten commandments were replaced when Jesus died and arose and gave a new covenant to the people, we are to follow these just the same. Of course, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior we are redeemed, saved of all our sins, and become one of God's special people, but that does not mean that we are to forget His commands.

Think about it. God's commands were given for all His people to live honorably and righteously, not immorally and corrupt. It benefits all of us if we truly think about what we are doing, sure we are no longer bound to some of the laws that were given to our fathers, but that does not mean that we are not to respect all of God's Word and keep it in our hearts. Moses continues, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.........And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.” - Deuteronomy 6:4,5,24,25. Following God's commands prolongs our life and keeps our heart and soul right with Him.

God assures us that we have nothing to be afraid of, we are His people, special people chosen to receive eternal life with Him.“For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:..…..Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;” - Deuteronomy 7:6,7,9. If we fear (respect) Him and follow His commands than we will not have to face suffering caused upon ourselves. We do not have to do what others do, even if they are in our families. “Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.” - Deuteronomy 7:21. God is with all who put their trust and faith in Him. It is time to take a stand and not let the people of the world keep you in corruption. You may be surrounded by it, but God is a mighty and terrible (awesome) God, who is always with those who keep their heart, soul, eyes, ears, and and mind on Him. Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30. No matter what problems we are facing, call on Jesus and He will make the burden lighter and you will find rest and peace. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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