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Why I Need to Study the Bible
A few weeks ago, I heard the story of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and I was awe struck by the strength of his faith in the face of certain death. Pastor Youcef was sentenced to death in Iran for being a Christian, you can read more about him by clicking here. When presented with the opportunity to save his life by “simply” claiming that Jesus is a prophet and not the son of God, Pastor Youcef replied “I cannot…” and went on to explain that by making that declaration, he would be denying the very essence of his faith and would offend God. Pastor Youcef has become the face of the…
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Marriage {Bible Reading Plan Day 3}
SCRIPTURE I Peter 3:1 {NIV} Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if an of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives. OBSERVATION There are two key points for me here: “…submit yourselves to you own husbands…” ~ this does not mean that wives are lesser than or subservient to their husbands nor does this mean that a husband can walk all over his wife {I Peter 3:7}; this means that as the head of the household, the husband is the final authority and wives are to yield themselves to that authority…
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Marriage {Bible Reading Plan Day 2}
SCRIPTURE Ecclesiastes 9:9 {NIV} Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun~ all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labour under the sun. OBSERVATION There is one key point for me: “Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love…” ~ a husband is to find peace and contentment with his wife because he loves her and he chose to be with her APPLICATION There are so many different diversions out there e.g. video games, movies, etc. that it’s easy to start seeking peace, love and happiness from…
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Marriage {Bible Reading Plan Day 1}
SCRIPTURE Genesis 2:18 {NIV} And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. OBSERVATION Two things stick out for me from this scripture: “…It is not good that the man should be alone;” ~ God knew that man needed someone like himself to talk to and interact with so that he would not be lonely “I will make him an help meet for him.” ~ woman was made to be man’s partner and helper; her God ordained role was to help her husband by meeting his needs APPLICATION My husband always says that his primary…
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Why Does God Love Me? {Bible Reading Plan Day 5)
SCRIPTURE Titus 3:5 {NIV} he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, OBSERVATION Two key points for me are: “he saved us not because of the righteous things we had done, but because f his mercy”: Romans 3:23 {NIV} says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” so it wasn’t our works or the goodness in our hearts that caused God to save us, it was His mercy. Mercy can be defined as compassion that’s shown towards an offender {sinner} or the offering…
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Why Does God Love Me? {Bible Reading Plan Day 4}
SCRIPTURE Jeremiah 29:11 {NIV} For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” OBSERVATION From the beginning, God has had plans for us. He created us, therefore He knows our strengths and our weaknesses, He knows what we can and cannot do. And with this knowledge, His plan for us is that we use our talents to be happy, healthy and prosperous in Him. APPLICATION I have often said that I have the navigational skills of a monkey in a hurricane. Case in point, a few weeks back, my daughter…
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Why Does God Love Me? {Bible Reading Plan Day 3}
SCRIPTURE Psalm 136:1 {NIV} Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. OBSERVATION We are to give thanks to the Lord for all of His blessings and for His never ending love. APPLICATION The other day as I was leaving the post office, I saw a woman trying to balance a giant box and open the door at the same time so I quickly moved to the side, opened the door and held it for her and she brushed past me without so much as a nod. I stood there a minute, door still wide open… Seriously, she couldn’t say “thank you”? What has happened…
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Why Does God Love Me? {Bible Reading Plan Day 2}
SCRIPTURE Deuteronomy 7:6 {ESV} “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the people who are on the face of the earth.” OBSERVATION Three things stood out for me in this verse: “…you are a people holy to the LORD…”: “holy” means to be set apart for a religious purpose and as such, they are to be living according to a strict or highly moral religious or spiritual system “…God has chosen you…”: they were specifically chosen because they were wanted, not because there weren’t any other available options…
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Why Does God Love Me? {Bible Reading Plan Day 1}
SCRIPTURE Genesis 1:26 {ESV} Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on earth.” OBSERVATION There are three things that stood out for me in this verse: “…let us make man…”: indication of the trinity of God; God uses the plural to indicate that He is more than one “…in our image, after our likeness…”: we are the physical and spiritual image of God, with the ability to think and reason;…
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Why Does God Love Me? {Bible Reading Plan}
My sisters and I used to joke that our first stop on the way home from the hospital was church. And from that moment on, we spent every waking moment in church… For most of my life, I’ve always felt God’s presence around me. Even when I was running ahead of Him, I knew He was there, ready to pick me up when I stumbled. So why am I sitting here at 1 something in the morning trying to figure out where it’s all gone? I know I haven’t lost my faith, but I’ve lost something and I need to find it. I want that happiness and joy that I see…
