Tag Archive | Bible

Burning Books

Jan1

And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing. — Acts 19:19-20

Could there be books in your life that are stunting the spread of the gospel? Is there entertainment, be it music we listen to, movies we watch, games we play that fill our minds and hearts with fantasy, temptation, things contrary to the Word of God?

I think the new year is a good time to do some burning. The weather outside is conducive to a fire and the fire in our soul could use some refueling by stoking it with the Word of God.

What’s in your life that is inhibiting the consuming fire of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Scriptures. Daily?

Dec21

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. — Acts 17:11-12

The power of the Word of God. Want to see God more clearly, love Him more dearly? Receive the Word eagerly and study it DAILY to see that God is true.

Do you desire for others to believe in God? Give the Word of God. Read the Word of God to others — especially your children, grandchildren, etc. God’s Word is powerful enough to span multiple generations, multiple ethnic groups, multiple social classes and multiple whatever. God’s Word is powerful and stands on its own. We are privileged to be a part of God’s plan to share His Word. To God be the glory!!!

I hope the Word of God is part of your Christmas and a very important part of your daily life.

God bless your day.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Spread The Word

Dec14

 For so the Lord has commanded us,

‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles,
That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’”

When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. — Acts 13:47-49

Oh that we would be so excited about the Word of God! So excited as to rejoice and glorify His Word. So excited and joyful in our salvation that comes by the hearing of the Word. Are you hearing the Word proclaimed today?

As we hear the Word it will spread. Interesting that within the word “spread” is the word “read”. Today many gather to hear the Word proclaimed but tomorrow will you be reading the Word? What about the rest of the week?

Read daily and let the power of God’s Word spread through you to others that they may rejoice and glorify the Word, Jesus Christ.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Guide Me

Nov29

Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. — Acts 8:30-31

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. — John 14:26

If Jesus is your Savior and Lord you are never without the Teacher. Don’t be afraid. Open your Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.

But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. — John 16:13

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Existence

Oct19

yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. — 1 Corinthians 8:6

One God. All things exist because of One God. We exist FOR the Father. We live, do, have, are blessed, provided for, loved FOR the Father. But . . .

We exist through Jesus in whom are all things. We are unable to live for the Father without existing in the Son, Jesus. For it is impossible to please the Father without faith in the Son.

Do you know Jesus personally? Do you live through Jesus for the Father? You can’t have one without the other because they are One God.

You also can abide with them by believing that Jesus is the Son of God; that He came in the form of a man to die on a cross to pay the price for the sin of all mankind; that He was buried (placed in a tomb) and was gloriously raised by the Father from death to life.

But it doesn’t end there. You must seek Him continually and love Him with all your heart. In doing that you should be desiring to know Jesus better by reading His Word, the Bible, and praying continuously (as if He is with you always, which He is).

This is really living (participating) through Jesus for the Father.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

That’s Not All Folks

Oct13

In the beginning God . . . — Genesis 1:1a

You know, truthfully, the Bible could have stopped right there. He is God from the beginning of creation. He is THE Creator of us and all things. He deserves our respect, honor and love. But that’s not all folks. . .

He gave us pages and pages of treasures to explore from Genesis to Revelation. Open the pages of your Bible and hear the voice of the Lord God sharing Jesus and His abounding love for us.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Jesus Loves You

Sep27

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. — John 3:16

Jesus loves you, this I know
For the Bible tells me so.

The Word of God
A source of truth.
The truth.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

The Bible — Word of God

Sep2

Just how important is the Bible — the Word of God? To mankind as a whole? How important is it to you? Is it a priority in your life? Do you consider it the sustenance that keeps your spiritual life alive and well? Are you well fed?

The Bible says the Word of God is:

“the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” — Romans 1:16
“faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” — Romans 10:17
“you have been born again through the living and enduring word of God.” — 1 Peter 1:23

The Word blesses those who read and obey:

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” — Revelation 1:3
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” — Joshua 1:8

The Word of God brings light to the darkness, understanding:

“So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” — 2 Peter 1:19
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” — Psalm 119:105
“The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” — Psalm 119:130
“For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life” — Proverbs 6:23

The Word of God is used for convicting, discipline, teaching:

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” — Hebrews 4:12
“and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;” — 2 Timothy 3:15-16

The Word of God is food for growth:

“like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,” — 1 Peter 2:2
“And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” — Acts 20:32

The Word of God tells of Jesus!!!:

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;” — John 5:39

Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. — James 1:21-25

My hope is that you are feasting richly on God’s wonderful Word.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Are You Prepared?

Aug24

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” — Isaiah 6:8

Are you prepared to go? If not, why not?

Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. — Matthew 9:37

There will come a time when the harvest will be over.  “Harvest is past, summer is ended, And we are not saved.” — Jeremiah 8:20

The world needs salvation.

How can you prepare to go? Open the Bible. Read. Pray for understanding and wisdom. Pray for a heart that sees the lost. Pray for a mouth that speaks truth. Pray for a willing heart.

What you put in your mind and heart from Bible study and prayer will come out for the betterment of mankind and the glory of God. Fill your mind and heart with the love of God. Walk with Jesus and let Him transform you into a willing soul ready to go.

 

Continually seeking Him, 

Sharon

When God Moves

Aug24

Have you been there? When you know something is coming but you’re not quite sure yet what it is? When you are on the brink of something great that God has been preparing you for? When the floodgates of opportunity open up for you? When you’ve been walking in the desert waiting, knowing that at any moment you are about to step into the promised land?

Well, I’ll have to tell you that my life has been a whirlwind of God’s movement since Thursday.

If you recall my devotional on Friday, August 22, you will know that God blessed my obedience with six beautiful ladies coming to my house and enjoying a time of fellowship and introduction to my best friend, Jesus Christ.

Nothing, I mean nothing happens by accident. In God’s perfect plan, He knows all that is going on. Another blessing from my wonderful Father came my way when a free admission ticket dropped into my lap for Women of Faith. I was looking forward to going on Saturday.

God also knew that I would be offered a chance to go to the Friday night program. This of course wasn’t offered to me until 45 minutes before I was to be picked up. Since this was Friday and I had worked all week to make my house presentable for Thursday night fellowship I had decided to take Friday as a “lazy “day. I did laundry, which means all my clothes were dirty, so I lounged around in my PJs all day. When I received the phone call I had not seen soap, water, shampoo or a hairbrush all day. Exactly — 45 minutes to get ready, and do I even have any clean and dry clothes to wear?

I debated whether I really wanted to go. I went ahead and started getting ready, asking God whether I should go or not. I was like the verse in James that says, “like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind”. When I was ready I still have not made a decision until I read a verse from my phone. “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord God is holy”. (Psalm 99:9) I had my answer and off I went for a wonderful evening of worship.

Then comes Saturday. The conference was entitled “From Survival to Revival”. Let me begin by saying that two sessions were entitled Renew and Restore, which are two of the keywords in my mission statement. I am currently doing a Bible study and one week was on recharging, another topic of one of the sessions.  And then there was the final session on Revive. I believe I was there to be revived by God so I could be ready for the mission He is about to unfold through me.

Christine Caine, one of the speakers, spoke out of Joshua chapter 1 where God told Joshua to cross over into the promised land. The promise. Loud and clear I heard, through Christine, that God has prepared me and am I ready to cross over to what He has promised.

God gave to me a promised vision many years ago but He has been at work in me preparing me to cross over to that promise. Am I ready? Yes, although I am afraid, not of where or what God will do through me, but of my failure to lean on, trust in, surrender all to Him. I will move forward with my Lord because I know He loves me and He has promised to be with me always. So my weekend has been a whirlwind that has blessed, challenged and humbled this servant of the Most High God.

Was all this just coincidence? I don’t think so. I hope this testimony encourages you to be ready to be used by God. Sit at the Saviors feet and learn. Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Trust him with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. God has great plans for you and it is an exciting journey.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon