You’ve heard that line before haven’t you? You’ve probably said it! I know I have! As fallen creatures we do some pretty stupid stuff. Have you seen the videos? The BIG guys falling flat on their tooshes off of those hover board things which are the big rave today? Last night I’m sitting in a Wal-Mart parking lot waiting for my wife and I see two young people, a guy and a girl, come out of the store and she jumps on his back and he steps up on a hoverboard and they ride all of 100 feet to their car, get off and throw the board in the back seat, jump in the car and off they go! No, they didn’t crash but that would have been cute. Ya gotta love it!

Well, leaving the comical realm, we do some very detrimental and tragic things when we get our thinking on the wrong tracks. You are what you think, isn’t that what they say? There’s a lot of truth to that. As people with natures that have an inborn tendency to do the wrong thing, we definitely need a positive influence to harness our thinking and get it moving in the right direction every day of our lives. That influence is the Word of God via the Holy Spirit and the tool is memorization and meditation!

In my blog yesterday we see the first mention in the Scriptures of the word meditation. Isaac was about to make one of the most important decisions in his life and what was he doing? Do you recall? It was a good thing. He was out in the field in the evening meditating! Imagine the scene… maybe he was  gazing over ripe wheat fields that were flowing back and forth in a soft breeze extending as far as the eye can see. It’s probably sunset and the purple clouds are painting an unforgettable scene. Just over the horizon he sees a caravan and in answer to his prayers he sees his new wife Rebekah approaching and the next chapter of his life is about to begin.

What was HE thinking? It doesn’t take too much to come up with a short list. God has been SO good to me! God is SO great to have blessed my family. My family heritage of faith from my father Abraham has been an awesome sight to behold and the blessings have wafted over us in great measure! Oh Father guide my steps!

Soon after my wife and I became Christians God directed us into the Word of Life youth ministry as assistant leaders. Part of our duties was to be a good example to our teenagers by doing a daily Quite Time devotional, read good Christian books and memorize the Word of God on a regular basis. We were only about a year old in our newfound faith and I must say that we would never have gotten a better foundation for our young Christian lives without doing those things. They still are paying dividends today.

What do the Scriptures say about memorizing the Word of God and meditation? Take a look:

Joshua 1:8 You shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Thirteen mentions of meditate in the Psalms, here’s few:

Psalm 1:1,2 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful, But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 63:6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.

Psalm 119:15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.

Psalm 145:5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.

This theme is carried into the New Testament as well:

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Finally, you must have something in your mind on which to meditate. If I’m not mistaken, and pardon the somewhat crude comparison, but the basic meaning of meditation has to do with thinking over and over on a matter like a cow who “chews the cud”. The cow eats a quantity of grass and it goes into a compartment to be used later. Then it brings it back up again and really chews on it before digesting.

Have you ever noticed that when you see a cow it always seems to be chewing something? The reason is because cows must chew their food twice in order to digest it properly. Cows spend nearly eight hours out of every day chewing their cud. This plus normal chewing of food can total upwards of 40,000 jaw movements per day!

Wow, what if WE would chew over the Words of God in our minds like that every day! This world would be radically changed and true revival would spread across our land! So for today let’s begin the important practice of memorizing and meditating on God’s Word.

More Blogs Here: Blog Index

My Bible reading for today contained this wonderful story of faith and worship. It contains lessons we can apply today and making it personal, the lessons are for me to apply to my own current circumstances! That’s the way God works. He knows the paths we take, the things we are going through and as we seek His will and His face we find direction in His Word and through prayer and the events He brings into our lives if we are sensitive to His leading.

In our story Abraham was following God with all his heart. He had sojourned in the land of Caanan for many years and saw God work in many ways. He saw Him intervene when his nephew Lot was taken captive and provided a great rescue and victory. His wife Sarah became pregnant long after her child bearing years. He saw God’s hand in the testing of his faith when asked to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice. In all these things Abraham was faithful and worshipped his Creator. The Bible text of Genesis chapter 24 picks up the story….

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

Lobo: So the servant obeys his master, prepares a caravan loaded with supplies and gifts and heads back to the land of Abraham’s family. Arriving, they stop at a well to drink….

And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

Lobo: The servant employs a familiar method to find the Lord’s will in a matter and he puts out a “fleece” of sorts like Gideon did. He prays that God would confirm his steps by answering in a certain way. Even today we can pray as he did and God may choose to align our circumstances as well. So what happened? Read on!

And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.” So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”

Lobo: Praise God! The servant received the answer just as he had requested! But there was one more piece to confirm. Was she a member of Abraham’s family? The story continues….

And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing tenshekels of gold, and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?” So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”

Lobo: This story comes to a hearwarming end. God confirms that Rebecca is the bride of His choice for Isaac. The servant takes her home and the scene of their meeting is one made for a movie that would surely win an Oscar trophy. The caravan approaches while Isaac is out meditating in a field…. 

And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her.

Lobo: The servant said that “Being on the way the Lord led me” which is a lesson in following the Lord. We must be about His business and His work in our world. We must be busy seeking His will and not just waiting for it to happen. We must listen for His voice in His Word, keenly listening for His whispers through prayer and meditation and we must move out, and while living for Him He will make our path clear.

“O rejoice in the Lord, He makes no mistakes. He knoweth the end of each path that I take. For when I am tried and purified, I shall come forth as gold.”

More Blogs Here: Blog Index

There is a tremendous truth in the life of every Christian that is a very well kept secret of the enemy, and that is… YOU were at the Cross! Yes, it sounds simple enough, YOU were at the Cross. Go to a quiet place and think about it, repeat it to yourself and let the truth of it sink in. “I was at the Cross”…. “I was at the Cross”, what a remarkable thought! Amidst the jeers of the crowd, the cowering disciples, the tears of John and Mary, the scorn of the religious leaders, the stares of the Roman Soldiers, the cries of the heavens scowling down on three agonizing souls…. in the darkness… YOU were there.

How could this be you say? How could you, living in the dawn of a new century, have been at the site of the most momentous event in history almost 2,000 years ago, on a hill called Calvary on which Jesus died? The fact is in the mind of God, you were not only AT the cross, you were ON the cross! Yes it is true, but only if you have the life of His Son Jesus flowing through your being. Consider the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20 where he said, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live but Christ lives in me….”. The Apostle Paul was not among those who stood on Calvary, nor was he physically on the Cross in the Biblical record, neither did he die by crucifixion since tradition records that he was beheaded for his faith.

So how could this beloved Apostle and writer of most of the New Testament say, “he was crucified with Christ”? It is because he understood through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the important Biblical truths concerning the physical man and the spiritual man. Let me illustrate by drawing a contrast between your physical and spiritual heritages. You owe to your physical ancestors all that you are physically. Your looks, the color of your skin, your language, and ultimately your position in society, your wealth, education, etc. all were passed to you from your physical ancestors. Just as a whole range of lush green mountain forests can thank the persistence of one lone acorn springing forth with life from the mountain soil, so you can thank the persistence and resourcefulness of your ancestor’s DNA from generation to generation for all that you are physically today. This goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden as we are all physically in Adam.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” One is physical the other spiritual. We are physical beings “in Adam” and we walk this earth knowing that our days are numbered and we experience the suffering and affliction all the children of Adam have down through the ages. Which brings us to the second half of this principle. In Christ all can be made alive. All who know Him or ever will know Him, can experience all of the spiritual blessings which He won in His victory on the Cross because in a spiritual way, while He hung there, we were IN HIM on the Cross. Read that again… slowly.

We need to understand and comprehend that Christ did two crucial things for us on that Cross. By dying in our place He covered our sins and fulfilled God’s requirement making it possible for His spiritual life (His spiritual DNA as it were) to indwell our spirit and ultimately our physical body. This happens when we place our faith in Him at conversion, when we are “Born Again” (see John chapter 3). Secondly,  He made it possible for us to defeat our old nature or “old man”(the flesh within us) in our daily walk on earth because positionally, that is from God’s perspective, our old man was crucified on the Cross!

If this were not true then the Apostle Paul would not have declared over and over in his epistiles to the Church, and in essence to you and me, the FACT of this wonderful truth. Consider these passages:

Romans 6:6 “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him…”

Romans 6:8 “Now if we died with Christ we believe that we also will live with Him.”

Romans 7:4 “So my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ.”

Colossians 3:4 “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

Galatians 2:20 “ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

The Apostle Paul knew this was true because he experienced spiritual victories and blessings while in his physical body as a result of this important truth. He was not unlike you or me when it came to striving with his old nature that often led him to sin and set him up to be defeated by temptation, trials and suffering. What made the difference was, he discovered that the powerful life of Christ flowed into him from Calvary and his old man was crucified there! He realized he was on the Cross and therefore by faith defeated his spiritual enemies which could have robbed him of all the joys of the Christian life.

So stick with me as I close…. go get a drink of water, take a deep breath.

Consider the rest of Romans 6:6, a portion of which I quoted earlier, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him… that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” Here is the unpreached truth of the ages, WE NO LONGER HAVE TO BE SLAVES TO OUR SINFUL NATURE, THE TEMPTATIONS OF THE WORLD, NOR TO SATAN’S SCHEMES BECAUSE WE ARE DEAD IN CHRIST TO THEM, SINCE WE WERE ON THE CROSS WITH HIM! Rejoice, for the victory over your spiritual enemies is yours to claim by faith! Can you see it? The power of Christ on that Cross flows down through the annals of time right to your heart! Victory awaits!

So how is it done? Do it the Apostle Paul’s way. He knew the victory had been won so he knew he had to get God’s perspective on the battles he would face. He needed God’s thoughts pouring through his mind. I’m sure he used the Old Testament Scriptures and the available New Testament writings as well, and so he memorized and meditated on these truths breathing them in and out of his new inner man created in Christ. When facing sin he would pull out his Sword of the Spirit and slay the enemy!

The Christian today has the full revelation of the Word of God to read, study, memorize and meditate on in order to fill his being with its truth and power. But so many of us have become spiritually anemic by ignoring the Word of God in our lives. Many have fallen into an existence of defeat and despair. The Word of God brings us back to God through repentance, then it reveals these truths to our heart and mind. This is the only way to victory.

Finally, Do it Jesus’ way! When Christ fought the temptations of Satan in the wilderness He showed us the way to fight our enemies. With the Word of God! By an act of His will he purposely used the Old Testament Scriptures as His weapon. “Thus it is written” He repeated time after time until Satan gave up and the angels came and ministered to Him. He could have spoken new revelation and the Biblical writers would have recorded it as Scripture but He did not. That is because He wants US to rely on the principles of the Scriptures today and see ourselves with Him on the Cross. We must see ourselves on the Cross in order to live a victorious life. You were at the Cross! You were ON the Cross! BELIEVE IT!

Join me and read the Bible, the No. 1 best selling book of all time, from cover to cover this year.

You are in good company if you make this resolution!

John Adams, the second president of the United States, read the entire Bible every year. He studied the Scriptures every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. Regularly reading the Bible shaped his character, and his character shaped our country.

Andrew Jackson, our seventh president, referred to the Bible as “The rock on which our Republic rests.” He read three to five chapters each day.

Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, called the Bible “The best gift God has ever given to man … But for it we could not know right from wrong.”

Woodrow Wilson, our 28th president, said, “The Bible is the Word of life. I beg that you will read it and find this out for yourself. When you have read the Bible you will know it is the Word of God, because you will have found in it the key to your own heart, your own happiness, and your own duty.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower, our 34th president, and his family used the Bible each day during family devotions, with each family member taking his or her turn in reading a passage.

Jimmy Carter, our 39th president, reads the Bible daily and has taught a Sunday school class for over four decades.

Ronald Reagan, the 40th president, wrote, “Inside the Bible’s pages lay all the answers to all the problems man has ever known. I hope Americans will read and study the Bible … It is my firm belief that the enduring values presented in its pages have a great meaning for each of us and for our nation. The Bible can touch our hearts, order our minds, and refresh our souls.”

Here are (20) reasons you should consider committing to read through the Bible this year:
• It’s the No. 1 best-selling book of all time.
• No book has made a greater impact on the world than the Bible.
• The Bible magnifies our ability to love others and to love ourselves.
• No book reveals more about God than the Bible, and God rejoices when we read it.
• Daily Bible reading centers us spiritually and is so enjoyable that you will want to encourage others to do it as well.
• Taking time to read the Bible for 15 or 30 minutes each day transforms our lives, our marriages, our relationships and our families. It helps us to be better parents, spouses, neighbors, Christians, workers, citizens and human beings.
• The Bible is the best understanding that we have of Jesus — the person who has had the greatest impact on history.
• There are over 2 billion Christians. One out of every three people on the planet practices Christianity. The Bible is their chief narrative. It’s worth knowing why.

• The Bible has inspired people to found the first universities and hospitals in Western society.
• You cannot fully appreciate Western culture, literature and art without knowing the Bible.
• Many of the expressions that we use each day come directly from the Bible.
• People constantly debate what they believe the Bible says without having read it. It’s worth reading it to find out what the Bible actually says.
• You can read the Bible every day and constantly find new things within it.
• The Bible will speak to you in a different way each time you pick it up and read it.
• Reading the Bible will push you to explore what it means to be created in God’s image, and it will help you understand God, your life’s purpose and why you were put on earth.
• No two people interpret the Bible in the exact same way. It’s worth developing your own understanding of the Bible and not settling for what someone else has to say about it.
• The Bible, prayerfully and reasonably read on a regular basis, inspires people to be better persons than they ever would be had they not taken time to read it regularly.
• The Bible offers the most sustained and vital value system in history, and we cannot live and impart these values to our children and to others unless we read it regularly.
• The Bible is like a mirror. Reading it regularly develops our conscience, helps us to arrange our priorities and encourages us to make significant improvements in our lives.
• Reading the Bible keeps our heads and our hearts in the right place, develops compassion and good judgment within us and prepares us to spend eternity with God.

Here is a chronological reading schedule which will only take about 15 minutes a day. Every day before you start to read pray, “Lord open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Your Word.”

Jan 1 Gen 1‐3
Jan 2 Gen 4‐7
Jan 3 Gen 8‐11
Jan 4 Job 1‐5
Jan 5 Job 6‐9
Jan 6 Job 10‐13
Jan 7 Job 14‐16
Jan 8 Job 17‐20
Jan 9 Job 21‐23
Jan 10 Job 24‐28
Jan 11 Job 29‐31
Jan 12 Job 32‐34
Jan 13 Job 35‐37
Jan 14 Job 38‐39
Jan 15 Job 40‐42
Jan 16 Gen 12‐15
Jan 17 Gen 16‐18
Jan 18 Gen 19‐21
Jan 19 Gen 22‐24
Jan 20 Gen 25‐26
Jan 21 Gen 27‐29
Jan 22 Gen 30‐31
Jan 23 Gen 32‐34
Jan 24 Gen 35‐37
Jan 25 Gen 38‐40
Jan 26 Gen 41‐42
Jan 27 Gen 43‐45
Jan 28 Gen 46‐47
Jan 29 Gen 48‐50
Jan 30 Ex 1‐3
Jan 31 Ex 4‐6
Feb 1 Ex 7‐9
Feb 2 Ex 10‐12
Feb 3 Ex 13‐15
Feb 4 Ex 16‐18
Feb 5 Ex 19‐21
Feb 6 Ex 22‐24
Feb 7 Ex 25‐27
Feb 8 Ex 28‐29
Feb 9 Ex 30‐32
Feb 10 Ex 33‐35
Feb 11 Ex 36‐38
Feb 12 Ex 39‐40
Feb 13 Lev 1‐4
Feb 14 Lev 5‐7
Feb 15 Lev 8‐10
Feb 16 Lev 11‐13
Feb 17 Lev 14‐15
Feb 18 Lev 16‐18
Feb 19 Lev 19‐21
Feb 20 Lev 22‐23
Feb 21 Lev 24‐25
Feb 22 Lev 26‐27
Feb 23 Num 1‐2
Feb 24 Num 3‐4
Feb 25 Num 5‐6
Feb 26 Num 7
Feb 27 Num 8‐10
Feb 28 Num 11‐13
Mar 1 Num 14‐15, Ps 90
Mar 2 Num 16‐17
Mar 3 Num 18‐20
Mar 4 Num 21‐22
Mar 5 Num 23‐25
Mar 6 Num 26‐27
Mar 7 Num 28‐30
Mar 8 Num 31‐32
Mar 9 Num 33‐34
Mar 10 Num 35‐36
Mar 11 Deut 1‐2
Mar 12 Deut 3‐4
Mar 13 Deut 5‐7
Mar 14 Deut 8‐10
Mar 15 Deut 11‐13
Mar 16 Deut 14‐16
Mar 17 Deut 17‐20
Mar 18 Deut 21‐23
Mar 19 Deut 24‐27
Mar 20 Deut 28‐29
Mar 21 Deut 30‐31
Mar 22 Deut 32‐34, Ps 91
Mar 23 Josh 1‐4
Mar 24 Josh 5‐8
Mar 25 Josh 9‐11
Mar 26 Josh 12‐15
Mar 27 Josh 16‐18
Mar 28 Josh 19‐21
Mar 29 Josh 22‐24
Mar 30 Judg 1‐2
Mar 31 Judg 3‐5
Apr 1 Judg 6‐7
Apr 2 Judg 8‐9
Apr 3 Judg 10‐12
Apr 4 Judg 13‐15
Apr 5 Judg 16‐18
Apr 6 Judg 19‐21
Apr 7 Ruth 1‐4
Apr 8 1 Sam 1‐3
Apr 9 1 Sam 4‐8
Apr 10 1 Sam 9‐12
Apr 11 1 Sam 13‐14
Apr 12 1 Sam 15‐17
Apr 13 1 Sam 18‐20, Ps 11, Ps 59
Apr 14 1 Sam 21‐24
Apr 15 Ps 7, Ps 27, Ps 31, Ps 34, Ps 52
Apr 16 Ps 56, Ps 120, Ps 140‐142
Apr 17 1 Sam 25‐27
Apr 18 Ps 17, Ps 35, Ps 54, Ps 63
Apr 19 1 Sam 28‐31, Ps 18
Apr 20 Ps 121, Ps 123‐125, Ps 128‐130
Apr 21 2 Sam 1‐4
Apr 22 Ps 6, Ps 8‐10, Ps 14, Ps 16, Ps 19,
Ps 21
Apr 23 1 Chr 1‐2
Apr 24 Ps 43‐45, Ps 49, Ps 84‐85, Ps 87
Apr 25 1 Chr 3‐5
Apr 26 Ps 73, Ps 77‐78
Apr 27 1 Chr 6
Apr 28 Ps 81, Ps 88, Ps 92‐93
Apr 29 1 Chr 7‐10
Apr 30 Ps 102‐104
May 1 2 Sam 5:1‐10, 1 Chr 11‐12
May 2 Ps 133
May 3 Ps 106‐107
May 4 2 Sam 5:11‐6:23, 1 Chr 13‐16
May 5 Ps 1‐2, Ps 15, Ps 22‐24, Ps 47, Ps 68
May 6 Ps 89, Ps 96, Ps 100, Ps 101, Ps 105,
Ps 132
May 7 2 Sam 7, 1 Chr 17
May 8 Ps 25, Ps 29, Ps 33, Ps 36, Ps 39
May 9 2 Sam 8‐9, 1 Chr 18
May 10 Ps 50, Ps 53, Ps 60, Ps 75
May 11 2 Sam 10, 1 Chr 19, Ps 20
May 12 Ps 65‐67, Ps 69‐70
May 13 2 Sam 11‐12, 1 Chr 20
May 14 Ps 32, Ps 51, Ps 86, Ps 122
May 15 2 Sam 13‐15
May 16 Ps 3‐4, Ps 12‐13, Ps 28, Ps 55
May 17 2 Sam 16‐18
May 18 Ps 26, Ps 40, Ps 58, Ps 61‐62, Ps 64
May 19 2 Sam 19‐21
May 20 Ps 5, Ps 38, Ps 41‐42
May 21 2 Sam 22‐23, Ps 57
May 22 Ps 95, Ps 97‐99
May 23 2 Sam 24, 1 Chr 21‐22, Ps 30
May 24 Ps 108‐110
May 25 1 Chr 23‐25
May 26 Ps 131, Ps 138‐139, Ps 143‐145
May 27 1 Chr 26‐29, Ps 127
May 28 Ps 111‐118
May 29 1 Kgs 1‐2, Ps 37, Ps 71, Ps 94
May 30 Ps 119:1‐88
May 31 1 Kgs 3‐4, 2 Chr 1, Ps 72
Jun 1 Ps 119:89‐176
Jun 2 Sng 1‐8
Jun 3 Prov 1‐3
Jun 4 Prov 4‐6
Jun 5 Prov 7‐9
Jun 6 Prov 10‐12
Jun 7 Prov 13‐15
Jun 8 Prov 16‐18
Jun 9 Prov 19‐21
Jun 10 Prov 22‐24
Jun 11 1 Kgs 5‐6, 2 Chr 2‐3
Jun 12 1 Kgs 7, 2 Chr 4
Jun 13 1 Kgs 8, 2 Chr 5
Jun 14 2 Chr 6‐7, Ps 136
Jun 15 Ps 134, Ps 146‐150
Jun 16 1 Kgs 9, 2 Chr 8
Jun 17 Prov 25‐26
Jun 18 Prov 27‐29
Jun 19 Eccl 1‐6
Jun 20 Eccl 7‐12
Jun 21 1 Kgs 10‐11, 2 Chr 9
Jun 22 Prov 30‐31
Jun 23 1 Kgs 12‐14
Jun 24 2 Chr 10‐12
Jun 25 1 Kgs 15:1‐24, 2 Chr 13‐16
Jun 26 1 Kgs 15:25‐16:34, 2 Chr 17
Jun 27 1 Kgs 17‐19
Jun 28 1 Kgs 20‐21
Jun 29 1 Kgs 22, 2 Chr 18
Jun 30 2 Chr 19‐23
Jul 1 Obad 1, Ps 82‐83

Jul 2 2 Kgs 1‐4
Jul 3 2 Kgs 5‐8
Jul 4 2 Kgs 9‐11
Jul 5 2 Kgs 12‐13, 2 Chr 24
Jul 6 2 Kgs 14, 2 Chr 25
Jul 7 Jonah 1‐4
Jul 8 2 Kgs 15, 2 Chr 26
Jul 9 Isa 1‐4
Jul 10 Isa 5‐8
Jul 11 Amos 1‐5
Jul 12 Amos 6‐9
Jul 13 2 Chr 27, Isa 9‐12
Jul 14 Mic 1‐7
Jul 15 2 Chr 28, 2 Kgs 16‐17
Jul 16 Isa 13‐17
Jul 17 Isa 18‐22
Jul 18 Isa 23‐27
Jul 19 2 Kgs 18:1‐8, 2 Chr 29‐31, Ps 48
Jul 20 Hos 1‐7
Jul 21 Hos 8‐14
Jul 22 Isa 28‐30
Jul 23 Isa 31‐34
Jul 24 Isa 35‐36
Jul 25 Isa 37‐39, Ps 76
Jul 26 Isa 40‐43
Jul 27 Isa 44‐48
Jul 28 2 Kgs 18:9‐19:37, Ps 46, Ps 80, Ps 135
Jul 29 Isa 49‐53
Jul 30 Isa 54‐58
Jul 31 Isa 59‐63
Aug 1 Isa 64‐66
Aug 2 2 Kgs 20‐21
Aug 3 2 Chr 32‐33
Aug 4 Nahum 1‐3
Aug 5 2 Kgs 22‐23, 2 Chr 34‐35
Aug 6 Zeph 1‐3
Aug 7 Jer 1‐3
Aug 8 Jer 4‐6
Aug 9 Jer 7‐9
Aug 10 Jer 10‐13
Aug 11 Jer 14‐17
Aug 12 Jer 18‐22
Aug 13 Jer 23‐25
Aug 14 Jer 26‐29
Aug 15 Jer 30‐31
Aug 16 Jer 32‐34
Aug 17 Jer 35‐37
Aug 18 Jer 38‐40, Ps 74, Ps 79
Aug 19 2 Kgs 24‐25, 2 Chr 36
Aug 20 Hab 1‐3
Aug 21 Jer 41‐45
Aug 22 Jer 46‐48
Aug 23 Jer 49‐50
Aug 24 Jer 51‐52
Aug 25 Lam 1:1‐3:36
Aug 26 Lam 3:37‐5:22
Aug 27 Ezek 1‐4
Aug 28 Ezek 5‐8
Aug 29 Ezek 9‐12
Aug 30 Ezek 13‐15
Aug 31 Ezek 16‐17
Sep 1 Ezek 18‐19
Sep 2 Ezek 20‐21
Sep 3 Ezek 22‐23
Sep 4 Ezek 24‐27
Sep 5 Ezek 28‐31
Sep 6 Ezek 32‐34
Sep 7 Ezek 35‐37
Sep 8 Ezek 38‐39
Sep 9 Ezek 40‐41
Sep 10 Ezek 42‐43
Sep 11 Ezek 44‐45
Sep 12 Ezek 46‐48
Sep 13 Joel 1‐3
Sep 14 Dan 1‐3
Sep 15 Dan 4‐6
Sep 16 Dan 7‐9
Sep 17 Dan 10‐12
Sep 18 Ezra 1‐3
Sep 19 Ezra 4‐6, Ps 137
Sep 20 Hag 1‐2
Sep 21 Zech 1‐7
Sep 22 Zech 8‐14
Sep 23 Est 1‐5
Sep 24 Est 6‐10
Sep 25 Ezra 7‐10
Sep 26 Neh 1‐5
Sep 27 Neh 6‐7
Sep 28 Neh 8‐10
Sep 29 Neh 11‐13, Ps 126
Sep 30 Mal 1‐4
Oct 1 Luke 1, John 1:1‐14
Oct 2 Matt 1, Luke 2:1‐38
Oct 3 Matt 2, Luke 2:39‐52
Oct 4 Matt 3, Mark 1, Luke 3
Oct 5 Matt 4, Luke 4‐5, John 1:15‐51
Oct 6 John 2‐4
Oct 7 Mark 2
Oct 8 John 5
Oct 9 Matt 12:1‐21, Mark 3, Luke 6
Oct 10 Matt 5‐7
Oct 11 Matt 8:1‐13, Luke 7
Oct 12 Matt 11
Oct 13 Matt 12:22‐50, Luke 11
Oct 14 Matt 13, Luke 8
Oct 15 Matt 8:14‐34, Mark 4‐5
Oct 16 Matt 9‐10
Oct 17 Matt 14, Mark 6, Luke 9:1‐17
Oct 18 John 6
Oct 19 Matt 15, Mark 7
Oct 20 Matt 16, Mark 8, Luke 9:18‐27
Oct 21 Matt 17, Mark 9, Luke 9:28‐62
Oct 22 Matt 18
Oct 23 John 7‐8
Oct 24 John 9:1‐10:21
Oct 25 Luke 10‐11, John 10:22‐42
Oct 26 Luke 12‐13
Oct 27 Luke 14‐15
Oct 28 Luke 16‐17:10
Oct 29 John 11
Oct 30 Luke 17:11‐18:14
Oct 31 Matt 19, Mark 10
Nov 1 Matt 20‐21
Nov 2 Luke 18:15‐19:48
Nov 3 Mark 11, John 12
Nov 4 Matt 22, Mark 12
Nov 5 Matt 23, Luke 20‐21
Nov 6 Mark 13
Nov 7 Matt 24
Nov 8 Matt 25
Nov 9 Matt 26, Mark 14
Nov 10 Luke 22, John 13
Nov 11 John 14‐17
Nov 12 Matt 27, Mark 15
Nov 13 Luke 23, John 18‐19
Nov 14 Matt 28, Mark 16
Nov 15 Luke 24, John 20‐21
Nov 16 Acts 1‐3
Nov 17 Acts 4‐6
Nov 18 Acts 7‐8
Nov 19 Acts 9‐10
Nov 20 Acts 11‐12
Nov 21 Acts 13‐14
Nov 22 Jas 1‐5
Nov 23 Acts 15‐16
Nov 24 Gal 1‐3
Nov 25 Gal 4‐6
Nov 26 Acts 17‐18:18
Nov 27 1 Thes 1‐5, 2 Thes 1‐3
Nov 28 Acts 18:19‐19:41
Nov 29 1 Cor 1‐4
Nov 30 1 Cor 5‐8
Dec 1 1 Cor 9‐11
Dec 2 1 Cor 12‐14
Dec 3 1 Cor 15‐16
Dec 4 2 Cor 1‐4
Dec 5 2 Cor 5‐9
Dec 6 2 Cor 10‐13
Dec 7 Acts 20:1‐3, Rom 1‐3
Dec 8 Rom 4‐7
Dec 9 Rom 8‐10
Dec 10 Rom 11‐13
Dec 11 Rom 14‐16
Dec 12 Acts 20:4‐23:35
Dec 13 Acts 24‐26
Dec 14 Acts 27‐28
Dec 15 Col 1‐4, Phm 1
Dec 16 Eph 1‐6
Dec 17 Phil 1‐4
Dec 18 1 Tim 1‐6
Dec 19 Titus 1‐3
Dec 20 1 Pet 1‐5
Dec 21 Heb 1‐6
Dec 22 Heb 7‐10
Dec 23 Heb 11‐13
Dec 24 2 Tim 1‐4
Dec 25 2 Pet 1‐3, Jude 1
Dec 26 1 Jn 1‐5
Dec 27 2 Jn 1, 3 Jn 1
Dec 28 Rev 1‐5
Dec 29 Rev 6‐11
Dec 30 Rev 12‐18
Dec 31 Rev 19‐22

Make the Bible your guide in 2016 and buckle your seatbelt for a wild ride of blessing!

Another year rolls by and with time the years seem to roll forward at increasing speed. Babies are born, knees are skinned, fenders bent, vows are made, clocks are punched, taxes paid, prescriptions filled. Then one day someone calls you Gramps or Me-Maw and there’s a shorter distance to the end than the beginning, but it’s all good and good to remember and to think back.

One day my Grandma contemplated about her storied life. She was married as a young teenager, to a strapping lantern jawed young man who would demonstrate what it was like to live on the wild side so to speak, and it wasn’t always fun. He ruled like a dictator and his word was the end of the story. When he said jump you jumped, and didn’t ask how high but jumped with all your might. Thinking back about her life she once said, “You know, I’ve had three lives, one short life before Pop, one life with Pop and one since he’s gone, and I liked the last one the best! No more packing lunch, my house remodeled, I got to travel, I enjoyed my kids and grandkids and I didn’t have to get Pop off to work or worry what to cook.”

Grandma always summarized her year at the end of her diaries like this entry: “1970 was a very good year for me. I count my many blessings. In April I got my teeth fixed by a very wonderful dentist. Totty took me and she really deserves the credit. And in July we were given a new minister to our church, Rev Gary Epler. He is a very dedicated man. Two new grandsons were born this year Jared & Eric Wolfe, 2 sweet babies! Thanksgiving and Christmas were very good days. My family gathered together and we had a good feast. Larry had a narrow escape Dec 24th. His car was demolished. He got out with a few scratches. Thank you Lord for all the wonderful days you have given me. Amen.”

Another closing activity usually on the back page was to list all those who passed from this life into eternity that year. Sounds kind of morbid but if you knew Grandma it really wasn’t. You see, she treasured people and the lives they lived. She knew bad times and good times and she knew that they were just like her, plus she cared for each one in her own way. It was her way of giving a memorial, remembering, that’s it remembering! We all want to be remembered don’t we?

We’ve raised three wonderful sons and I can still remember when our oldest left home (for the last time:) to be married to his wonderful bride. We were carrying things from his bedroom to the loading truck, back and forth, back and forth, until finally he stood before me holding the last box and said, “Well, this is it!” It was like a flash through my mind, this WAS it, twenty some years all wrapped up in this one last box! Another “three-lives” story turning a page.

Well folks, these true life stories tend to touch the heart, make you reminisce and maybe even make you a bit sad, but we must also remember that in the LORD all is good! Living with HIM in your life is the abundant life and putting your faith in Him leads to an eternal life with Him! He gives year after year so faithfully and then greets us in His presence with rejoicing on streets of gold. Let’s rejoice in Him in 2017! May you have a Happy and Blessed New Year!

Next story: “Grandma A Pearl of Great Price!” below:

Grandma, A Pearl of Great Price

A friend asked me what I thought he needed to defend his home.

I suggested a 9mm, a couple clips, and a box of shells.

A few days later, he sent me this picture and asked how to make it work.

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Are You An Old Geezer?

An old geezer became very bored in retirement and decided to open a medical clinic.

He put a sign up outside that said: “Dr. Geezer’s clinic. Get your treatment for $500, if not cured, get back $1,000.”

Doctor “Young,” who was positive that this old geezer didn’t know beans about medicine, thought this would be a great opportunity to get $1,000, so he went to Dr. Geezer’s clinic.

Dr. Young: “Dr. Geezer, I have lost all taste in my mouth. Can you please help me?

Dr. Geezer: “Nurse, please bring medicine from box 22 and put 3 drops in Dr. Young’s mouth.”

Dr. Young: “Aaagh! — This is Gasoline!”

Dr. Geezer: “Congratulations! You’ve got your taste back. That will be $500.

Dr. Young gets annoyed and goes back after a couple of days figuring to recover his money.

Dr. Young:  “I have lost my memory, I cannot remember anything.”

Dr. Geezer: “Nurse, please bring medicine from box 22 and put 3 drops in the patient’s mouth.”

Dr. Young:  “Oh, no you don’t, — that is Gasoline!”

Dr. Geezer: “Congratulations! You’ve got your memory back. That will be $500.”

Dr. Young (after having lost $1000) leaves angrily and comes back after several more days.

Dr. Young: “My eyesight has become weak — I can hardly see anything!”

Dr. Geezer: “Well, I don’t have any medicine for that so, here’s your $1000 back (giving him a $10 bill).”

Dr. Young: “But this is only $10!”

Dr. Geezer:  “Congratulations! You got your vision back! That will be $500.”

Moral of story — Just because you’re “Young” doesn’t mean that you can outsmart an “old Geezer.“

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Young unmarried man shares this story …

Old people at weddings always poked me and said, “You’re next!”

So, I started doing the same to them at funerals, “You’re next!”             (Ouch, that’s not funny!)

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Psalm 126:2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!

 

 

 

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for my blog. Take a look!

My theme verse for my blog is Psalm 45:1 “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning my King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

Here’s an excerpt of the report:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,700 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 28 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. God thought of the word “Church”. The angels and heavenly beings had no clue what it meant but His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit knew, and fully embraced God’s plan and so should we because it was something created for our benefit from start to finish!

So what is church? And what does it have to do with me? Those are good questions as we prepare to welcome the year 2016! Especially since one day we will all meet God and He will wonder what we did about His Church. Jesus, as He walked on earth, was God in the flesh so what did he have to say about the church? Let’s take a look.

The first mention of the word “church” in the Bible was from Jesus own lips when in the book of Matthew chapter 16:18 He is recorded as saying, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Some pretty strong words! So Jesus is the builder which means it is a VERY important thing He is building and we should take The Church seriously. At the end of His ministry on earth he commissioned His disciples to go to the ends of the earth and preach His Good News so that His Church would be formed and all people would have an opportunity to be saved.

So let’s be clear, nowhere in the Bible will you find Jesus telling His disciples to gather together the bricks and mortar for a building project because the Church was people! We can see this in Romans 16:5 where the Apostle Paul sends a greeting, “Likewise greet the church that is in their house”. The Church Jesus was creating was not a building but was a group of believers joined together by the Holy Spirit to do His will. The mistake that has been made down through the ages is when we treat the building as the Church. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a church building, and in fact they began to be built and were a convenient place for the believers to meet once they outgrew the home churches that quickly sprang up after Pentecost.

So what is the Church supposed to do? We see the work of the Church summarized in the book of Acts which is the book in which we find the most references to the church. The below verses give a checklist of the activities of the church. (One aside, the Temple was not the church. There was only ONE Temple and the Body of Christ’s actions would quickly supersede all the activities that once went on in the Temple.) Here is how it came about and what they did after Peter’s Spirit filled preaching at Pentecost.

“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:41,42,46,47).

So the church is the Body of Christ on earth and that body has a purpose. In fact, it has multiple purposes among which are meeting together to hear from God, worshiping God & acting for God. These believers gathered to worship, hear the teachings from God’s Word, have fellowship, pray for one another, meet the needs of the poor, the widows & orphans, and spread the message of Jesus. They were a people in whom God chose to manifest Himself so the world could see Him and hear of His message of righteousness and salvation.

But many people today say that they don’t need church. They say it’s a place full of hypocrites, or they just want my money! Or they say they can worship God in the mountains, in creation, on the golf course or on a lake fishing, and so they can! But God’s Word specifically says to “not forsake the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another so much the more as we see the Day (of His return) approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

Jesus fulfilled His Father’s will by dying on the cross and then proclaiming He would build His Church and the gates of Hell would not be able to withstand the onslaught of the Good News of the Gospel being proclaimed by His church! That is, people who are being held captive by the devil and his fallen angels can be rescued by the Church when they share the Good News of the Gospel!

So then my question is, what are you doing in regards to this mission? First of all, are you a called out one? Meaning, have you trusted Christ as your savior and joined His spiritual body the church? See my blog “Guaranteed Reservation in Heaven” for more on this.

Guaranteed Reservation in Heaven!

Secondly, are you hearing from God through your personal actions of seeking Him and then from attending the gathering of His Church (in a local church building) where His Word is preached? Thirdly, are you worshipping God by confessing your sins, forgiving others and offering your life as an offering of praise to Him? Lastly, are you acting for God by serving Him within your community and circle of influence?

Jesus needs you to be an integral part of His Church. He needs you to do your part in His body the Church. We all have a role to fulfill and unless we do, the Church will not be the Church God intended it to be. May the Force be with you!

Glory is a God word. The angels proclaimed it on a lonely hillside outside of Bethlehem to shepherds guarding their sheep, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace good will toward men” they said. Merriam-Webster defines it as “worshipful praise, honor and thanksgiving” and that is what it was.

The angels were announcing a pivotal event that would change the world! The Savior had arrived and unlike ever before the Lord of Glory, the Creator God Himself, the Alpha and Omega was on Earth in human form as a vulnerable little baby in a manger!

He did not have to come to earth, he owed nothing to mankind, but nevertheless he came as the song says, “Down from His glory, ever living story, our God and Savior came, and Jesus was His Name. Born in a manger to His own a stranger, a man of sorrows, tears and agony”. Why the sorrow, tears and agony? Because He grew up to be “Despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and aquainted with grief” (Isaiah Chp 53:3) and He had His sight set on a hill called Golgotha where His work as Savior for us would culminate.

Psalm 24 declares His position as Creator proclaiming, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters.” It also refers to His purity, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?”

Glory is a God word. The Triune God will not share His glory with lowly sinful man unless as Psalm 24 goes on to require,“He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.” The clean hands and pure heart come as a result from the cleansing and forgiveness of the New Birth when one receives Christ as Savior. “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation, old things are passed away, behold all things become new” (2 Cor 5:17). But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Cor 3:18).

So this Christmas let us join with the Angels and the Psalmist proclaiming, “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory!”

Yes, Glory is a God word, but God want’s the Glory of His Son to be spread around the world in lives transformed by his Grace, Love and Forgiveness. So let us “Shine Jesus shine, Fill this land With the Father’s glory. Blaze Spirit blaze, Set our hearts on fire. Flow river flow Flood the nations With grace and mercy. Send forth Your word Lord And let there be light!”

Make your heaven reservation here: Guaranteed Reservation in Heaven!

It was a “holy night” when our Savior was born. Be blessed by this message from my brother.

PREPARING FOR THE BIRTH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
“THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL”
by Evangelist Larry Wolfe
The prophet Isaiah throughout his writings entitles the coming Messiah–our Lord Jesus Christ–the “Holy One” although he uses this significant name interchangeably for God the Father. This title, Isaiah’s favorite, is used a total of twenty-nine times beginning in the very first chapter of his most significant prophecy, most significant because of its intense focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and Hebrew Messiah. This attribute of the character of God is in fact more than just an attribute, for holiness is the primary word used to describe the very essence of the God of the Bible.
It is not surprising therefore that the preparation for the Holy One’s birth would be saturated in holiness as described in Luke chapter one. From the very outset, when Zacharias was visited by the holy angel as he was ministering in the holy place at the altar of incense, God’s holy angel underlined the fact that Zacharias’ son would ‘Be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.’ (Luke 1:15)
Another of God’s holy angels, Gabriel, would then visit the Virgin Mary bringing the good tidings of great joy, telling her that she would ‘Conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS'(Luke 1:31). He explained to her that ‘The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God’. (Luke 1:35)
Mary then visits Elizabeth, her cousin, the wife of Zacharias who was already miraculously with child as the holy angel had told her husband. When Mary greeted Elizabeth ‘The babe[John the Baptist] leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost’ and immediately ‘Spoke out with a loud voice'(Luke 1:41, 42) and blessed Mary, recognizing that Mary would be the mother of her Lord!
Mary, following Elizabeth’s words, magnified the Lord, rejoicing in spirit for what God her Savior was doing in her life. She rightfully ascribed to Him the name ‘Holy’ in verse 49! She continues her magnification of the Lord by listing His mighty actions toward men and His people Israel. Later in the chapter, the birth of John the Baptist is recorded.
And at that time his father Zacharias was ‘Filled with the Holy Ghost'(Luke 1:67) prophesying of God’s great working in visiting and redeeming His people, bringing salvation through the house of David by the Lord Jesus Christ just as He had spoken through his ‘Holy prophets’. Zacharias continues by underlining the fact that God remembers His ‘Holy covenant’ performing the mercy He promised to the fathers.
The last reference to holiness comes in v.75 where Zacharias encourages and exhorts those who would read his prophecy in the ages to come. He reminds us all that we must serve the Lord without fear, in ‘Holiness’ and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. This holiness which we need in order to ‘See the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14) is provided by the Lord Jesus Christ when we receive Him as our personal Savior. The provision of personal holiness is just one of the many benefits we receive when we are ‘Born again’ by turning from our sin and putting our faith in His death, burial and resurrection. However, the holiness we receive is provisional and we need to live holy lives in our daily experience.
This first chapter of Luke’s Gospel, which gives the surrounding circumstances of our Savior’s birth, is saturated in holiness, a fitting preparation for the miraculous incarnation of the Son of God, the Holy One of Israel in chapter two! Have you received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? If you have, are you serving Him in ‘holiness and righteousness’? The greatest gift you can give the ‘Holy One’ this Christmas is yourself, dedicated to serving Him in ‘Holiness and righteousness’…all the days of your life: “I beseech ye therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)
Chaplain LEWolfe http://www.btmi.org I-85 Exit 35 SC ‘McPilot’