Focus by Gary Rose

 

We are at WAR. Not a war of guns, bombs or chemicals, but rather of words. Our left-wing driven media is using the same methodology as the German propaganda machine of World War II. Their plan: Redefine words to mean what you want them to mean, so that the truth is obscured. Tell lies so often that they appear to be THE TRUTH. When truth does surface, ignore it. Focus on hate and division so that your opposition is weakened. Repeat until absolute control is permanently achieved.

Christians: We need to focus our lives on what God wants for us. What does God want our focus to be?

The Bible says...

1 Corinthians 13 ( World English Bible )

¹ If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.

² If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing.

³ If I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,

⁵ doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;

⁶ doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.

⁹ For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;

¹⁰ but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.

¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.

¹³ But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.

The truth is that if you focus your life on foolish things, those things will define your life in ways that will ultimately ruin it. Seek love and be blessed with love. God’s ways are always the best ways. Try them and see for yourself. I think that you will simply love the results.

Doors by Gary Rose

Today’s picture is that of a door. We all have seen thousands of doors, of all shapes, sizes and colors. We use them to enter and exit rooms, buildings and even our automobiles. Commonplace as commonplace can be. Where this idea of using a door came from, I have absolutely no idea, except that someone thought of it thousands and thousands of years ago.

Doors can be very important to us and sometimes quite memorable; for example, I will always retain the memory of a hobbit house and that most unusual front door. There are others that will be forever with me as well, such as the front door of the first home we purchased ( In Valley Falls, New York ).

“Doors” can mean other things to us as well. I remember going into the church where Linda and I were married, not so much about the door, but rather what we did there. There are numerous other things like this… coming home from the hospital after our daughter Darlene’s birth to our rented house and seeing an open door, a missing dog and the overwhelming smell of propane gas. And, there was the day that we left our home congregation in Clifton Park to travel to our first church ministry in Dover Delaware. That feeling of exiting the school building and realizing we were really starting a new, exciting aspect of our lives will be a cherished memory as long as I live.

But, enough about me. Jesus has something to say about doors…

John 10 ( World English Bible )

¹ “Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

² But one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.

⁴ Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

⁵ They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.”

⁶ Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they didn’t understand what he was telling them.

⁷ Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door.

⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.

⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.

¹⁰ The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

Jesus uses the concept of a “door” to explain his role for those who genuinely desire to enter heaven. The door is the way in and also the good shepherd who provides true life ( now and forever ). My thoughts about doors are important to me, but Jesus’ teaching can affect all who will truly listen. I pray that you will think about these things and determine this very day to either begin to follow Jesus or to continue to follow him faithfully until your last day on Earth.

One more thing about doors. They can say a great deal about you; your preferences, your character and even what you believe. Recently, my wife Linda and I were watching an episode of “Houses with History” and we learned that the door at the very top of this post is called “A Christian Door” Why? Because the top four panels form a cross and the bottom two represent an open Bible. What a wonderful way to express your faith to the world! The next time you need to replace a door in your home, you might consider “A Christian Door”. Why not share your faith? Someone’s life could be changed by the simple act of entering your home. Remember, anything is possible!

Light and Darkness by Gary Rose

Og Mandino; author of one of the best books that I have ever read: The Greatest Salesman In The World. Read this book, you will be very glad you did! Anyway, I saw this quote attributed to him and it make me think about “Light and Darkness”.

As Christians, we live in a world surround by people who do not really believe in God, for if they truly did they would obey HIM and turn to the light that only HE can provide. Yet, even their unbelief can provide us with something useful; it can cause us to remember what we were like before we turned to God. Bad examples can cause us to be better than we are.

Jesus said…

John 8:12 ( World English Bible )

¹² Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 14:6 ( WEB )

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.

Though we live in a world of darkness ( towards God ), yet we do have light that can and does in fact lead us to God – Jesus. FOLLOW JESUS, LOVE HIM and remember what HE has done for you. Be Happy, fellow Christian, for you have a great deal to be thankful for.

 

A HARD HEART by Gary Rose

A hardened heart just doesn’t happen by accident. Yet, I imagine that only a very few people out there would admit to having a heart like the one above. I chose this picture because this heart was hardened by design. The metal was placed in the appropriate positions and fixed with rivets. And, those spots look to me like some sort of wash that would eliminate anything growing on it. In short, signed, sealed and delivered ( to Satan, of course ).

Jesus said…

Matthew 13 ( World English Bible )

¹ On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.

² Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on the beach.

³ He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.

⁴ As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.

⁵ Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.

⁶ When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.

⁷ Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.

⁸ Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.

⁹ He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

¹⁰ The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

¹¹ He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.

¹² For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.

¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.

¹⁴ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ​‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive:

¹⁵ for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and should turn again; and I would heal them.’

¹⁶ “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

¹⁷ For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.

¹⁸ “Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.

¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.

²⁰ What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it;

²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

²² What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

²³ What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit, and brings forth, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Some people just do not think spiritually and CANNOT-HEAR.

Some people have hardened their heart and have DETERMINED NOT-TO-HEAR.

Some people will hear and DO-SOMETHING-ABOUT-IT.

All this from a simple parable about a farmer that almost everyone can comprehend ( if they want to, of course ). Beyond this parable is a simple question: Is it possible for even the best of us to have a hardened heart at times? The answer is YES. Moses, when charged by God to deliver a message to Pharaoh, whined that he wasn’t a good speaker, so God gave him Aaron. Gideon simply couldn’t believe and asked for miracles. Jonah, when God told him to go to Nineveh, went in the opposite direction. And Peter even had the temerity to rebuke Jesus ( Matthew 16: 22 ).

God is patient with us and will work with us. Moses did lead the Israelite's out of Egypt, Gideon did win a great victory, the people of Nineveh did repent and Peter, eventually he came around too.

Today, take a good look at yourself realize that you are not perfect. God can work with you ( imperfections and all ). Just remember to cultivate a receptive heart and be willing to change.

One last thing

God loves you and wants the very best for you.

Love HIM in return and be the very best you can be.

L-O-V-E by Gary Rose

 

Here is a cat with a message. He ( or she ) does not have to say a word, or meow or cuddle up to you, for its message is written all over its body; especially its face. Love is the message here and there is no denying it. What do you think about when you see this? I think about the 60’s song by the Beatles “All you need it love” and then the following passages from the Bible…

1 Corinthians 13 ( World English Bible )

¹ If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.

² If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing.

³ If I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,

⁵ doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;

⁶ doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.

⁹ For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;

¹⁰ but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.

¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.

¹³ But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.

Hebrews 1 ( WEB )

¹ God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

² has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.

³ His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself made purification for our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

The answer to what is love, is found in 1 Corinthians 13 and the perfect example of it is Jesus. God wanted to show us what love is in material concrete terms and HE sent Jesus to do it. God walking and talking and just everyday living – Jesus. Now, Jesus didn’t have love written all over his face ( like that cat ), but he had a heart full of it. I know this because of what he ultimately did in offering himself as a sacrifice for sin; for all people who will come to him for refuge and forgiveness.

Question:

Have you come to Jesus for forgiveness; if not, why not?

From soft to hard ( and back again ) by Gary Rose

I have had this picture for several years now, but never used it before. I am not exactly sure WHY I have never used it, but the fact remains it has just remained with all the other pictures; just waiting to be used. There is just something about the texture; it seems incredibly soft to me. I can almost feel the softness of the grass near that irrigation ditch. And yet, I know that this picture is not reality. Life isn’t soft, but rather it can be quite hard; and for a genuine Christian very hard.

Paul writes to his young student Timothy the following….

2 Timothy 3 ( World English Bible )

¹⁰ But you did follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, steadfastness,

¹¹ persecutions, and sufferings: those things that happened to me at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. I endured those persecutions. Out of them all the Lord delivered me.

¹² Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

¹³ But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁴ But you remain in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them.

Following Jesus is not easy; the world will hate you for using God’s standards of living. Being different has a price and the world will make you pay and pay and pay. But, through any and all difficulties, God will be there for you, helping and guiding you. Eventually, you will die; that is the harsh reality of life. Yet, with God, you will live again and not just exist, but live an abundant life in heaven.

Humm, I wonder what the TEXTURE OF HEAVEN will be like? My best guess is that it will be beyond the softest environment that the human mind can conceptualize.

 

Beauty and something beyond the sky by Gary Rose

One of my favorite heavenly sights is that of a fire rainbow and this one is undoubtedly the very best one that I have ever seen. It really looks like that the rainbow is actually on fire; magnificent. As I looked at this rainbow, I remembered the words that John Denver sang in his “Rocky mountain high” song. I found this video on you tube with John singing and some beautiful pictures of Colorado – you might enjoy it, I did.

 

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN7M87Vc978

As beautiful as the rainbow is and those wonderful pictures of Colorado, I can only image the splendor of God in heaven and to be able to see Jesus, to look at him face to face and ask him questions. David, the great king of ancient Israel must have thought similar thoughts as he wrote the following…

Psalm 27 ( World English Bible )

1, By David. Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?

2, When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.

3, Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident.

4, One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple.

And then, there is this passage from the book of revelation...

Revelation 1 ( WEB )

1, This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel* to his servant, John,

2, who testified to God’s word, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw.

3, Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand.

4, John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne;

5, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood;

6, and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests* to his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7, Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.

8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,*” says the Lord God,* “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

9, I John, your brother and partner with you in oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God’s Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet

11, saying, “*What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies*: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

12, I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. Having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.

13, And among the lampstands was one like a son of man,* clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest.

14, His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire.

15, His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters.

16, He had seven stars in his right hand. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.

17, When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,

18, and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades*.

Now, we know that from Isaiah 53 that Jesus wasn’t an attractive man as men define beauty, but I like to think that his beauty of one of the inner spirit. Just consider the words of the Beatitudes and I think you will agree with me. As I consider these things, I have more questions than answers, and frankly, I can’t wait to see Jesus and ask HIM questions until eternity ends. How about you?

 

The Correct Choice by Gary Rose

No, this isn’t a commentary on “The Matrix”, but rather a picture of Samuel L. Jackson telling you the truth. And NO there will not be a choice of pills for you to swallow, ( except perhaps whether you will realize that just being good will not get you into heaven ).

But, what will get you into heaven is obeying the Gospel of Christ, obeying his will for your life and being faithful until your last day upon this earth.

The Apostle Paul writes…

1 Corinthians 15 ( World English Bible )

¹ Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,

² by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

⁶ Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.

⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,

⁸ and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was bestowed on me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

¹¹ Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.

Galatians 1 ( WEB )

¹ Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead),

² and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia:

³ Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁴ who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father—

⁵ to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

⁶ I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”;

⁷ and there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you, and want to pervert the Good News of Christ.

⁸ But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.

⁹ As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed.

¹⁰ For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ.

¹¹ But I make known to you, brothers, concerning the Good News which was preached by me, that it is not according to man.

¹² For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ For you have heard of my way of living in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the assembly of God, and ravaged it.

¹⁴ I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

¹⁵ But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me through his grace,

¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles...

The Gospel isn’t so much about you but rather what Christ has done for you. Yes, you ARE INVOLVED, because you need to follow the pattern given you ( See also Romans 6:1-11 and the above verses from 1 Corinthians 15 along with believing in God, repenting of sin and confessing Jesus as LORD and Savior ).

It is the Gospel that saves ( 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 above ) and not how good you are. Paul was good ( rather VERY GOOD, as seen in Galatians 1:14 and 15 ) and that didn’t save HIM and it won’t save you either. And once you have swallowed your pride ( and that could be really tough pill to swallow, couldn’t it ) and obeyed the Gospel, God will add you to those who are destined for heaven ( see also Acts 2:14-41 ). Just continue to follow God, doing HIS will rather than your own and you will make it through those pearly gates.

Now, you have a choice. You can continue to believe what you want to believe and just hope for the best or you can obey God. I really like the second choice because when I reach those pearly gates and am asked why do I think I should be allowed to enter, I can honestly say “ I just did what God told me to do”. Can you say the same?

Bible Reading for September 10 - 12 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading for September 10 - 12

World  English  Bible

Sept. 10

Psalms 55-57

Psa 55:1 Listen to my prayer, God. Don't hide yourself from my supplication.

Psa 55:2 Attend to me, and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and moan,

Psa 55:3 Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked. For they bring suffering on me. In anger they hold a grudge against me.

Psa 55:4 My heart is severely pained within me. The terrors of death have fallen on me.

Psa 55:5 Fearfulness and trembling have come on me. Horror has overwhelmed me.

Psa 55:6 I said, "Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest.

Psa 55:7 Behold, then I would wander far off. I would lodge in the wilderness." Selah.

Psa 55:8 "I would hurry to a shelter from the stormy wind and storm."

Psa 55:9 Confuse them, Lord, and confound their language, for I have seen violence and strife in the city.

Psa 55:10 Day and night they prowl around on its walls. Malice and abuse are also within her.

Psa 55:11 Destructive forces are within her. Threats and lies don't depart from her streets.

Psa 55:12 For it was not an enemy who insulted me, then I could have endured it. Neither was it he who hated me who raised himself up against me, then I would have hid myself from him.

Psa 55:13 But it was you, a man like me, my companion, and my familiar friend.

Psa 55:14 We took sweet fellowship together. We walked in God's house with company.

Psa 55:15 Let death come suddenly on them. Let them go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is in their dwelling, in the midst of them.

Psa 55:16 As for me, I will call on God. Yahweh will save me.

Psa 55:17 Evening, morning, and at noon, I will cry out in distress. He will hear my voice.

Psa 55:18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, although there are many who oppose me.

Psa 55:19 God, who is enthroned forever, will hear, and answer them. Selah. They never change, who don't fear God.

Psa 55:20 He raises his hands against his friends. He has violated his covenant.

Psa 55:21 His mouth was smooth as butter, but his heart was war. His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.

Psa 55:22 Cast your burden on Yahweh, and he will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved.

Psa 55:23 But you, God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in you.

Psa 56:1 Be merciful to me, God, for man wants to swallow me up. All day long, he attacks and oppresses me.

Psa 56:2 My enemies want to swallow me up all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me.

Psa 56:3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.

Psa 56:4 In God, I praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Psa 56:5 All day long they twist my words. All their thoughts are against me for evil.

Psa 56:6 They conspire and lurk, watching my steps, they are eager to take my life.

Psa 56:7 Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, God.

Psa 56:8 You number my wanderings. You put my tears into your bottle. Aren't they in your book?

Psa 56:9 Then my enemies shall turn back in the day that I call. I know this, that God is for me.

Psa 56:10 In God, I will praise his word. In Yahweh, I will praise his word.

Psa 56:11 I have put my trust in God. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Psa 56:12 Your vows are on me, God. I will give thank offerings to you.

Psa 56:13 For you have delivered my soul from death, and prevented my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Psa 57:1 Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed.

Psa 57:2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who accomplishes my requests for me.

Psa 57:3 He will send from heaven, and save me, he rebukes the one who is pursuing me. Selah. God will send out his loving kindness and his truth.

Psa 57:4 My soul is among lions. I lie among those who are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

Psa 57:5 Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let your glory be above all the earth!

Psa 57:6 They have prepared a net for my steps. My soul is bowed down. They dig a pit before me. They fall into its midst themselves. Selah.

Psa 57:7 My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises.

Psa 57:8 Wake up, my glory! Wake up, psaltery and harp! I will wake up the dawn.

Psa 57:9 I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations.

Psa 57:10 For your great loving kindness reaches to the heavens, and your truth to the skies.

Psa 57:11 Be exalted, God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth. 

 

Sept. 11

Psalms 58-60

Psa 58:1 Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?

Psa 58:2 No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.

Psa 58:3 The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

Psa 58:4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake; like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,

Psa 58:5 which doesn't listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.

Psa 58:6 Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh.

Psa 58:7 Let them vanish as water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.

Psa 58:8 Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.

Psa 58:9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.

Psa 58:10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;

Psa 58:11 so that men shall say, "Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth."

Psa 59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God. Set me on high from those who rise up against me.

Psa 59:2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Save me from the bloodthirsty men.

Psa 59:3 For, behold, they lie in wait for my soul. The mighty gather themselves together against me, not for my disobedience, nor for my sin, Yahweh.

Psa 59:4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Rise up, behold, and help me!

Psa 59:5 You, Yahweh God of Armies, the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish the nations. Show no mercy to the wicked traitors. Selah.

Psa 59:6 They return at evening, howling like dogs, and prowl around the city.

Psa 59:7 Behold, they spew with their mouth. Swords are in their lips, "For," they say, "who hears us?"

Psa 59:8 But you, Yahweh, laugh at them. You scoff at all the nations.

Psa 59:9 Oh, my Strength, I watch for you, for God is my high tower.

Psa 59:10 My God will go before me with his loving kindness. God will let me look at my enemies in triumph.

Psa 59:11 Don't kill them, or my people may forget. Scatter them by your power, and bring them down, Lord our shield.

Psa 59:12 For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride, for the curses and lies which they utter.

Psa 59:13 Consume them in wrath. Consume them, and they will be no more. Let them know that God rules in Jacob, to the ends of the earth. Selah.

Psa 59:14 At evening let them return. Let them howl like a dog, and go around the city.

Psa 59:15 They shall wander up and down for food, and wait all night if they aren't satisfied.

Psa 59:16 But I will sing of your strength. Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning. For you have been my high tower, a refuge in the day of my distress.

Psa 59:17 To you, my strength, I will sing praises. For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.

Psa 60:1 God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down. You have been angry. Restore us, again.

Psa 60:2 You have made the land tremble. You have torn it. Mend its fractures, for it quakes.

Psa 60:3 You have shown your people hard things. You have made us drink the wine that makes us stagger.

Psa 60:4 You have given a banner to those who fear you, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.

Psa 60:5 So that your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us.

Psa 60:6 God has spoken from his sanctuary: "I will triumph. I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth.

Psa 60:7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the defense of my head. Judah is my scepter.

Psa 60:8 Moab is my wash basin. I will throw my shoe on Edom. I shout in triumph over Philistia."

Psa 60:9 Who will bring me into the strong city? Who has led me to Edom?

Psa 60:10 Haven't you, God, rejected us? You don't go out with our armies, God.

Psa 60:11 Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain.

Psa 60:12 Through God we shall do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries. 

 

Sept. 12

Psalms 61-63

Psa 61:1 Hear my cry, God. Listen to my prayer.

Psa 61:2 From the end of the earth, I will call to you, when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psa 61:3 For you have been a refuge for me, a strong tower from the enemy.

Psa 61:4 I will dwell in your tent forever. I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah.

Psa 61:5 For you, God, have heard my vows. You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Psa 61:6 You will prolong the king's life; his years shall be for generations.

Psa 61:7 He shall be enthroned in God's presence forever. Appoint your loving kindness and truth, that they may preserve him.

Psa 61:8 So I will sing praise to your name forever, that I may fulfill my vows daily.

Psa 62:1 My soul rests in God alone. My salvation is from him.

Psa 62:2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress-- I will never be greatly shaken.

Psa 62:3 How long will you assault a man, would all of you throw him down, Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

Psa 62:4 They fully intend to throw him down from his lofty place. They delight in lies. They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.

Psa 62:5 My soul, wait in silence for God alone, for my expectation is from him.

Psa 62:6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I will not be shaken.

Psa 62:7 With God is my salvation and my honor. The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

Psa 62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Psa 62:9 Surely men of low degree are just a breath, and men of high degree are a lie. In the balances they will go up. They are together lighter than a breath.

Psa 62:10 Don't trust in oppression. Don't become vain in robbery. If riches increase, don't set your heart on them.

Psa 62:11 God has spoken once; twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God.

Psa 62:12 Also to you, Lord, belongs loving kindness, for you reward every man according to his work.

Psa 63:1 God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.

Psa 63:2 So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory.

Psa 63:3 Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you.

Psa 63:4 So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name.

Psa 63:5 My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,

Psa 63:6 when I remember you on my bed, and think about you in the night watches.

Psa 63:7 For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.

Psa 63:8 My soul stays close to you. Your right hand holds me up.

Psa 63:9 But those who seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

Psa 63:10 They shall be given over to the power of the sword. They shall be jackal food.

Psa 63:11 But the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone who swears by him will praise him, for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be silenced.

Sept. 10

1 Corinthians 6

1Co 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against his neighbor, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

1Co 6:2 Don't you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

1Co 6:3 Don't you know that we will judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

1Co 6:4 If then, you have to judge things pertaining to this life, do you set them to judge who are of no account in the assembly?

1Co 6:5 I say this to move you to shame. Isn't there even one wise man among you who would be able to decide between his brothers?

1Co 6:6 But brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers!

1Co 6:7 Therefore it is already altogether a defect in you, that you have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

1Co 6:8 No, but you yourselves do wrong, and defraud, and that against your brothers.

1Co 6:9 Or don't you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals,

1Co 6:10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortioners, will inherit the Kingdom of God.

1Co 6:11 Such were some of you, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God.

1Co 6:12 "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are expedient. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be brought under the power of anything.

1Co 6:13 "Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods," but God will bring to nothing both it and them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

1Co 6:14 Now God raised up the Lord, and will also raise us up by his power.

1Co 6:15 Don't you know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!

1Co 6:16 Or don't you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, "The two," says he, "will become one flesh."

1Co 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.

1Co 6:18 Flee sexual immorality! "Every sin that a man does is outside the body," but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

1Co 6:19 Or don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own,

1Co 6:20 for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. 

 

Sept. 11

1 Corinthians 7

1Co 7:1 Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman.

1Co 7:2 But, because of sexual immoralities, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.

1Co 7:3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection owed her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.

1Co 7:4 The wife doesn't have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise also the husband doesn't have authority over his own body, but the wife.

1Co 7:5 Don't deprive one another, unless it is by consent for a season, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and may be together again, that Satan doesn't tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

1Co 7:6 But this I say by way of concession, not of commandment.

1Co 7:7 Yet I wish that all men were like me. However each man has his own gift from God, one of this kind, and another of that kind.

1Co 7:8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows, it is good for them if they remain even as I am.

1Co 7:9 But if they don't have self-control, let them marry. For it's better to marry than to burn.

1Co 7:10 But to the married I command--not I, but the Lord--that the wife not leave her husband

1Co 7:11 (but if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband not leave his wife.

1Co 7:12 But to the rest I--not the Lord--say, if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is content to live with him, let him not leave her.

1Co 7:13 The woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he is content to live with her, let her not leave her husband.

1Co 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

1Co 7:15 Yet if the unbeliever departs, let there be separation. The brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us in peace.

1Co 7:16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

1Co 7:17 Only, as the Lord has distributed to each man, as God has called each, so let him walk. So I command in all the assemblies.

1Co 7:18 Was anyone called having been circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised.

1Co 7:19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

1Co 7:20 Let each man stay in that calling in which he was called.

1Co 7:21 Were you called being a bondservant? Don't let that bother you, but if you get an opportunity to become free, use it.

1Co 7:22 For he who was called in the Lord being a bondservant is the Lord's free man. Likewise he who was called being free is Christ's bondservant.

1Co 7:23 You were bought with a price. Don't become bondservants of men.

1Co 7:24 Brothers, let each man, in whatever condition he was called, stay in that condition with God.

1Co 7:25 Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy.

1Co 7:26 I think that it is good therefore, because of the distress that is on us, that it is good for a man to be as he is.

1Co 7:27 Are you bound to a wife? Don't seek to be freed. Are you free from a wife? Don't seek a wife.

1Co 7:28 But if you marry, you have not sinned. If a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have oppression in the flesh, and I want to spare you.

1Co 7:29 But I say this, brothers: the time is short, that from now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none;

1Co 7:30 and those who weep, as though they didn't weep; and those who rejoice, as though they didn't rejoice; and those who buy, as though they didn't possess;

1Co 7:31 and those who use the world, as not using it to the fullest. For the mode of this world passes away.

1Co 7:32 But I desire to have you to be free from cares. He who is unmarried is concerned for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord;

1Co 7:33 but he who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife.

1Co 7:34 There is also a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world--how she may please her husband.

1Co 7:35 This I say for your own profit; not that I may ensnare you, but for that which is appropriate, and that you may attend to the Lord without distraction.

1Co 7:36 But if any man thinks that he is behaving inappropriately toward his virgin, if she is past the flower of her age, and if need so requires, let him do what he desires. He doesn't sin. Let them marry.

1Co 7:37 But he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own heart, to keep his own virgin, does well.

1Co 7:38 So then both he who gives his own virgin in marriage does well, and he who doesn't give her in marriage does better.

1Co 7:39 A wife is bound by law for as long as her husband lives; but if the husband is dead, she is free to be married to whoever she desires, only in the Lord.

1Co 7:40 But she is happier if she stays as she is, in my judgment, and I think that I also have God's Spirit. 

 

Sept. 12

1 Corinthians 8

1Co 8:1 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

1Co 8:2 But if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he doesn't yet know as he ought to know.

1Co 8:3 But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him.

1Co 8:4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one.

1Co 8:5 For though there are things that are called "gods," whether in the heavens or on earth; as there are many "gods" and many "lords;"

1Co 8:6 yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.

1Co 8:7 However, that knowledge isn't in all men. But some, with consciousness of the idol until now, eat as of a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

1Co 8:8 But food will not commend us to God. For neither, if we don't eat, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better.

1Co 8:9 But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak.

1Co 8:10 For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol's temple, won't his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols?

1Co 8:11 And through your knowledge, he who is weak perishes, the brother for whose sake Christ died.

1Co 8:12 Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

1Co 8:13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forevermore, that I don't cause my brother to stumble.