December 31 Psalm 25, Proverbs 25, Acts 25
(Psalm 25) Those that fear the Lord shall have prosperity. This is the true prosperity. That we should know and love the Lord our God. Though the world has other definitions, we know that fellowship with God is all that satisfies. We need to remember that. Regardless of what the enemy says and how things look in the natural, we need to keep out eyes on Jesus.
(Proverbs 25) At the end of this proverb it says that a righteous man that stumbles before the wicked is a polluted well. We really have to be conscious of our witness to the wicked. We are all they will se of God unless they humble themselves and receive Him as their savior.
(Acts 25) Paul did not object to dieing but he was not going to do so until he fulfilled his mission. Paul was bold and confident in his calling. That is so admirable. I wish that I was as clear about what I am to do in all situations. He had a focus and commitment to what he believed to be the right thing to do and he was not to be deterred.
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Here is a story written in the Economist Magazine. I love this mag but can’t afford a subscription.
Here is the text:
Wealth from worship
Dec 20th 2005
From The Economist print edition
An economist finds that going to church is more than its own reward
AT CHRISTMAS, many people do things they would never dream of the rest of the year, from giving presents to getting drunk. Some even go to church. Attendance soars, as millions of once-a-year worshippers fill the pews. In Britain, where most weeks fewer than one person in ten goes to church, attendance more than triples. Even in America, where two-fifths of the people say they go frequently, the share climbs in December.
Some of the occasional churchgoers must wonder whether they might benefit from turning up more often. If they did so, they could gain more than spiritual nourishment. Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, claims that regular religious participation leads to better education, higher income and a lower chance of divorce. His results* (based on data covering non-Hispanic white Americans of several Christian denominations, other faiths and none) imply that doubling church attendance raises someone’s income by almost 10%.
Continue reading ‘Being a Christian means a better life’
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December 30 Psalm 24, Proverbs 24, Acts 24
(Psalm 24) Everything on earth belongs to God. There is nothing that we can see or touch that is not His. Everything in Delray Beach is God’s. In the end, the enemy will inherit none of it. All he gets is a dungen and torment. Though the wicked plot in vain to destroy the kingdom of God they can not actually get anywhere. They are forced to sit on the outside and scoff. They can only look on in jealousy and with they could have the inheritance that the children of righteousness get.
(Proverbs 24) We should not be happy when our enemies fall to destruction, though we normally look forward to it. This tells us that we are supposed to wish the best for people and someone being destroyed is always short of God’s best. God wishes that none would perish. It is His desire that all would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. The fact that we rejoice at calamity shows that there is still evil in us. That is surely wicked.
(Acts 24) Paul preached to Felix about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come. Then Felix went away. He must have been so convicted. And who knows how his Jewish wife felt. She had to be torn in two by the preaching of the Word. I bet Paul could really preach and reason in the scriptures.
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December 29 Psalm 23, Proverbs 23, Acts 23
(Psalm 23) He will guide me to where I need to go. I do not have to worry because of my perfect Shepard in heaven. We have all heard this psalm so many times that it can seem trite after a while but it is still valid today as it was the day it was penned. That life of peace that is being referred to here sure sounds nice. I wonder how green that grass is. I imagine it will be as green as the vision I saw of it. And those still waters are sure going to be cool. That is going to be nice also. Though I know this is a physical place in heaven, I sure would like to see it here. I sure would like to visit that place every now and then. Sometimes it seems like there are angles with flaming swords outside that garden.
(Proverbs 23) I have to be honest. I am not sure this ministered to me at all. Some of these are so negative. How bout a little exhortation? How bout a little testimony time. But no. Instead we hear more about the plotting of the evin and the wickedness of loose women. Surely I should stay away from both.
(Acts 23) Again Paul used his intellect to confound people. He claimed that the resurrection of the dead was the source of his persecution. Is this a lie? Well I guess he was referring to the resurrection of Jesus. But that is not what he was referring to. This Paul was crafty. He was not held captive by a bunch of religious nonsense. He did what he had to do for the furtherance of the Gospel.
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