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STEP IT UP
HI ALL
Here is the Daily Devotional
There are 18 doctors in the United States with the name Dr. Doctor; there is also a Dr. Surgeon; Dr. Rash, a dermatologist; Dr. Couch, a psychiatrist; and an anesthesiologist by the name of Dr. Gass. It seems popular these days to do whatever it takes to be healthy.
Simply starting out the day with a cereal box in view can give you information like “Whole Grain Guaranteed;” “Low Fat, Naturally Cholesterol Free, Excellent Source of Fiber, No Salt Added;” “Whole grains have powered people from London to Los Angeles and everywhere in between;” “Add banana and almonds for more calcium and Vitamin E—staying full until lunchtime is easy with this fuel efficient combo!”
The media is full of all kinds of advice on diet, exercise, rest, and many other ways to maintain health and fitness, including medications meant to cure any ill. In the first two chapters of the book of Daniel, the prophet and his three friends made a proposal and stuck to a healthy diet in the king’s palace. They were judged to be healthier and better nourished than any of the other young men who ate the royal food.
Why not make your own plan to encourage improved health of body and mind? God is not going to work any miracle to counteract your bad habits. It takes work on your part to stay fit. Keep in mind the words of David: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). We need to stay that way! “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3: 16, 17).
If we want God to dwell in us, we need to make sure we’re providing Him a well-maintained home. Plus, there will be fewer visits to Dr. Doctor, Dr. Surgeon, Dr. Rash, Dr. Gass, and Dr. Couch!
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 1:2From Amazing facts
God bless
DIANA A LEAP OF FAITH, PART 1
Hi to all
There is the Daily Devotional
Long-distance truck drivers will tell you that they have seen just about anything and everything out on the road. It’s difficult to surprise a trucker, but that’s what happened to Diana. She was standing on a four-lane bridge in Ohio, helping a stranded motorist when she looked up to see a semi-truck barreling straight toward her. Diana had seconds to respond. She could stay where she was and get hit, or she could jump off the 25-foot high bridge and pray she wouldn’t land in traffic below.
Diana took a leap of faith and jumped. She felt herself falling through the air and, in answer to her quick prayer, landed on a median. When she awoke, she had to crawl over to her cell phone to call for an ambulance. At the hospital, Diana was told she had fractured her pelvis, broke ribs, fractured her neck, had a collapsed lung, and had internal bleeding. But God brought miraculous healing to Diana.
Life hasn’t always been easy for her, especially as she sought for love in all the wrong places. Diana first ran away from home at the age of eleven. Her dad drank, and her parents fought constantly. She rode her bicycle five miles to her grandparent’s where she found short-term peace in their home.
At age eighteen, Diana looked for happiness by joining the armed services. However, she found only alcohol and bad relationships there. A few years later she got married and, though she ended up with two beautiful daughters, her marriage went south. Sadly, Diana kept trying to fill a hole in her heart left by her father who had gone through multiple marriages. She was looking for love, but she ended up abused.
Later in life, Diana was working as a security officer and often read her Bible during breaks. One day, a fellow worker stopped by and asked if she believed in Christ. She replied, “I’m a sinner, saved by grace. I still have much to learn.”
Diana’s co-worker then said, “I have something for you to read.” He handed her an Amazing Facts Bible Study Guide. She had been praying for more light and shared, “My spirit rejoiced, and I knew that this was an answer to
my prayer!”Reflect: When is the last time you had a close call? Do you believe angels were watching over you?
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 2 Corinthians 5:7From Amazing facts
God bless
Amazing facts Bible study guide ?
Best stick to the original, the Bible, and turn to the God revealed within.
He is close to all.
Human religion seeks the glory but is just another dead end.
God does not live in buildings but in people who know His son.
DIANA A LEAP OF FAITH, PART 2
Hi all
Here is the Daily Devotional
Diana’s thirst for Bible knowledge grew as she studied the Amazing Facts Bible Study Guide given to her by a co-worker. When she learned of the Sabbath truth, she said, “It lit a fire in me that couldn’t be contained. I came alive and was very hungry for the Word and to know my Jesus.”
Soon she was listening to Amazing Facts programs on the web. Eventually, she began attending a Sabbath-keeping church where she was baptized. Diana, once a fighter in the armed forces, now refers to herself as a soldier for Jesus. “I am praying that my Father will transform me into a warrior for Christ.”
“My step has a spring to it, I smile with confidence,” she says. “I have been set free from my relationship addiction. Prayer and the Bible have become my sword, and faith has become my shield. It is a new day, and I am blessed.”
Today, Diana is back on the road, driving and witnessing for Christ.“Amazing Facts has been my rock on this journey because I can listen to important truths as I travel down the road,” she says. “I only return home once a month, so listening is very important to my getting fed by the Word.”
She looks for opportunities every day to share her faith. One day, she offered a ride to a 21-year-old who was living on the road. The young adult, named Tyler, was struggling with depression and had recently lost three friends. Diana felt that he needed to hear Pastor Doug’s testimony. So she played it for him while they started on a 550-mile stretch. She ended up playing one sermon right after another.
When she arrived at her destination, she gave him a Bible, covered one night’s lodging in a motel, and bought him a bus ticket home. “I believe in my heart that he went away knowing Jesus a little better,” she recalls. “I thanked my Father for the opportunity to show His love and prayed that Tyler would someday be fully committed to Him.”
Diana understands what it’s like to find your way home. It’s been a long journey through pain, but by God’s grace she has made the leap of faith into her Father’s arms.
Reflect: Have you ever had to take a leap of faith in your Christian journey? What happened?
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Blessed be the LORD my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: Psalm 144:1From Amazing facts
God bless
BULLETPROOF WASHINGTON
Hi to all
Here is the Daily Devotional
On July 9, 1755, during the French and Indian War, a force of 1,500 British soldiers was ambushed in the open by a small force of French and American Indian fighters shooting from the woods. The British soldiers—trained for European war—made easy targets standing shoulder to shoulder in their bright red uniforms. And their officers were even more exposed on horseback, high above the men on the ground, making perfect targets.
The slaughter continued for two hours as nearly 70 percent of the British soldiers were cut down. One by one, the chief’s marksmen shot the British officers from their horses until only one remained. Amazingly, round after round was aimed at this one man. Twice the young lieutenant’s horse was shot out from under him. Twice he grabbed another horse. Ten, fifteen, twenty rounds were fired by the sharpshooters.
Still, the officer remained unhurt. The native warriors stared in disbelief. Their rifles seldom missed. The chief realized that a mighty power must be shielding this man and commanded, “Stop firing! This one is under the special protection of the Great Spirit.”
Eventually the lieutenant colonel gathered the remaining British troops and led them to safety. That evening, as the last of the wounded were being cared for, the officer noticed an odd tear in his coat. It was a bullet hole! He rolled up his sleeve and looked at his arm directly under the hole. There was no mark on his skin. Amazed, he took off his coat and found three more holes where bullets had passed through his coat but stopped before they reached his body.
Nine days after the battle, the young lieutenant colonel wrote his brother: “By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side!”
The 23-year-old officer went on to become the commander in chief of the Continental Army and the first president of the United States. During the years that followed in his long career, this man, George Washington, was never once wounded in battle. Washington also escaped flying bullets on four other occasions and survived contracting diphtheria, malaria, smallpox, and tuberculosis.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Psalm 91:7From Amazing facts
God bless
<span style=”color: #ff0000;”>A KING’S RANSOM</span>
Hi to all
Here is the Daily Devotional
In A.D. 1532, Francisco Pizarro, with around 160 men, entered the heart of the Inca Empire in search of gold. The Conquistadors eventually found their way into the presence of the young Inca king, Atahuallpa. That’s when a Spanish friar, traveling with Pizarro, told the Inca monarch his people must renounce their gods. When Atahuallpa asked them upon what authority they were making this demand, the Catholic friar handed him a Bible.
Atahuallpa held the book next to his ear, trying to listen to its pages. At last he asked: “Why doesn’t the book say anything to me?” And he threw it violently to the ground. The Spanish used this insult as an excuse to attack and massacre the crowds of unarmed people, and the handsome king was arrested.
It is, indeed, astonishing to think how a small army like Pizarro’s, with only 62 horsemen and 102 infantry, were able to attack an empire of at least five million people. But they had the latest technology in deadly weapons—guns and mechanical crossbows and horses—that terrified the natives.
King Atahuallpa, now understanding that the Spanish wanted gold, came up with his plan to free himself. He told Pizarro he would give, for his release, enough gold and silver vessels to fill three large rooms. The Spaniards thought this was impossible, but the gold-hungry Pizarro agreed. So Atahuallpa decreed that his realm be ransacked to fill one room 18-by-22-feet with gold stacked to a height of a little more than eight feet.
In addition, two equal-sized rooms would be filled with silver! By July of 1533, more than 24 tons of exquisite treasure had been collected, worth at least 267 million dollars at today’s values. The Spaniards did not honor their promise. They kept Atahuallpa imprisoned for another year, using him to control the Inca Empire, and then killed him.
How sad that the largest ransom ever paid for a man’s freedom was in vain! Sadder still, there are millions of people who have had a king’s ransom paid for their freedom and they choose to remain in prison! It doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus is waiting to release us from the prison of sin. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). Will you accept this freedom today?
<p style=”text-align: center;”><span style=”color: #008000;”>KEY BIBLE TEXTS</span>
<span style=”color: #008000;”>Stand fast therefore in the liberty where with Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1</span></p>
From Amazing factsGod bless
Hi to all
Here is the Daily Devotional
FANNY CROSBY BLESSED ASSURANCE, PART 1
Life did not start well for Fanny Crosby. Born into a poor family, tragedy struck early. At just six weeks old, she developed a bad cold. When the family doctor was not available to provide help, a medical quack came and recommended a treatment that left her blind for the rest of her life. But she felt no resentment. At the age of eight, she composed the following poem:
Oh, what a happy soul I am! Although I cannot see,
I am resolved that in this world Contented I will be.
How many blessings I enjoy That other people don’t!
To weep and sigh because I’m blind I cannot and I won’t.Fanny’s father died when she was just a year old. Her mother and grandmother raised her in a Christian home that was centered on the Bible. She developed an incredible ability to memorize large passages of Scripture— including the entire books of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus.
At fourteen she was enrolled in the New York Institute for the Blind where she excelled as a student for eight years. Along with traditional subjects, she learned to sing and to play the piano and the guitar. She later taught at the school and became an ardent supporter for the blind, even speaking before Congress and with several presidents of the United States.
Fanny Crosby is best known as the most prolific hymn writer in history, creating over 8,000 hymns that were often published under a pseudonym because hymn publishers felt people would not purchase books that included too many songs from one author.
Some of her best-known hymns include “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,” “Blessed Assurance,” and “To God Be the Glory.” Fanny also composed over 1,000 poems, wrote two best-selling autobiographies, and was a public lecturer who was committed to Christian rescue missions.
Though raised from childhood as a Christian, she did not make a complete surrender to Jesus until she was an adult.
Reflect: When did you first think about making a full surrender of your life to Jesus? If you have not committed your heart to Christ, read 2 Corinthians 6:2.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1From Amazing facts
God bless
Hi to all
Here is the Daily Devotional
FANNY CROSBY BLESSED ASSURANCE, PART 2
In 1839, when Fanny Crosby was about 19 years old, she began attending meetings at a Methodist church. She was timid and never spoke in public. In fact, she agreed to play music for the meetings on the condition that she would never be asked to speak.
A few years later, she developed a friendship with one of the teachers whom she would consult “concerning all matters in which I was undetermined how to act.” Mr. Camp became a true friend and, according to Fanny, “I owe my conversion to that same friend, in so far as I owe it to any mortal.”
When she was about 25, she dreamed that on a cloudy day someone invited her to visit Mr. Camp who was very ill. When she spoke with him, he asked, “Fanny, can you give up our friendship?” She replied, “No, I cannot. You have been my adviser and friend, and what could I do without your aid?”
Mr. Camp indicated that his time on earth was limited. He then asked Fanny, “Will you meet me in Heaven?” She said, “Yes, I will, God helping me.” Then he responded, “Remember, you promise a dying man!”
When she awoke from her dream, the words resonated in her mind, “Will you meet me in Heaven?” Mr. Camp was in perfect health, but the dream left an impression on her and made her think deeply about salvation and whether she would meet her friend or anyone else in “the Better Land.”
Just a few years after her dream, Fanny attended revival meetings at her church. She explains, “On two occasions I sought peace, but did not find the joy I craved, until one evening, November 20, 1850, it seemed to me that the light must indeed come then or never; and so I arose and went forward alone.” As she earnestly petitioned the Savior, heavenly light flooded her heart as she realized for the first time “that I had been trying to hold the world in one hand and the Lord in the other.”
At the age of 30, Fanny Crosby could now genuinely sing, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!”
Reflect: Carefully read the lyrics to the hymn “Blessed Assurance,” written by Fanny Crosby. Pray that God will help you sing these words from your heart.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Isaiah 32:17From Amazing facts
God bless
“Surrender to Jesus and you shall be saved.”
Sorry I must have missed it in my Bible Berean so can you give me chapter and verse thanks.
So it is possible to save yourself? Wow.
Hi Berean,
“Repent and be baptised each one of you for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”is the command of God given through Peter, but you know better?
K J B
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Math.11:28-30
FULL SURRENDER TO THE LORD JESUS
DOES NOT SAVE ANYONE.
Obedience to the words of Peter at Pentecost does.
” and there is salvation in none else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved”
Acts 4.12
Nick
FULL SURRENDER TO THE LORD JESUS
DOES NOT SAVE ANYONE.
Obedience to the words of Peter at Pentecost does.
” and there is salvation in none else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved”
Me
AND This NAME IS JESUS CHRIST
The ONLY ONE WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD.
John 1:29Yes.He is Lord of all.
And rebirth into him in his name is the salvation God offers all.
We cannot improve on the offer by surrendering. That is a human myth.
Hi to all
Here is the Daily Devotional
THE GIVER OF WISDOM
Born of slave parents in Diamond Grove, Missouri, George Washington Carver was rescued from Confederate kidnappers as an infant. He began his education in Newton County in southwest Missouri, where he worked as a farmhand and studied in a one-room schoolhouse. Throughout his formal education, Carver was the only African-American student at each school he attended.
An excellent student, he thrived in the educational environment, impressed his teachers, and went on to earn a master’s degree from Iowa State College. Carver is perhaps to this day the nation’s best known African-American scientist. In the period between 1890 and 1910, the cotton crop had been devastated by the boll weevil.
At Tuskegee Institute, Carver had developed his crop rotation method, which alternated nitrate-producing legumes—such as peanuts and peas—with cotton, which depletes the soil of its nutrients.
Carver advised the cotton farmers to cultivate peanuts. Following Carver’s lead, southern farmers soon began planting peanuts one year and cotton the next. While many of the peanuts were used to feed livestock, large surpluses quickly developed. Carver then invented over 300 different uses for the extra peanuts—from cooking oil to shampoo, from milk to printer’s ink.
When he discovered that the sweet potato and the pecan also enriched depleted soils, Carver found almost 20 uses for these crops, including making synthetic rubber and material for paving highways. His accomplishments earned him world renown as a plant expert, scientist, and inventor, and he received many honors.
While some people, such as George Washington Carver, seem to have an extra measure of wisdom, we can all increase our wisdom. The Bible clearly identifies the true source: “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6). God wants us to have wisdom. His Word tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).
George Washington Carver had great faith in God and knew Jesus as his Savior. He was also a humble man. Because he understood that all wisdom comes from God, he rightly gave God the credit for all of his skills, talents, and accomplishments.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom. 1 Kings 4:34If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. James 1:5From Amazing facts
God bless
Hi to all
Here is the Daily Devotional
GUARDING A DEAD ROSEBUSH
Years ago in the old Russian Empire the ruling czar, Nicholas II, was strolling through his vast palace gardens when he came upon a lonely guard standing at attention in a secluded corner of the great meandering gardens. “What are you guarding?” asked the inquisitive ruler. “To tell you the truth, O Great Sovereign, I have no idea, but the captain of the guard ordered me to this post,” the sentry replied.
Czar Nicholas then summoned the captain and made further inquiries as to what was being guarded. The captain of the guard replied, “O Great Sovereign, there are clear written regulations specifying that a guard was to be assigned to that precise corner at all times and this has been done as long as I can remember.” The curious czar then ordered a search to find out why.
The palace archives finally yielded the answer. Years before, Catherine the Great had planted a special rose bush in that corner, and she had firmly ordered a sentry to be posted there to guard it so nothing might disturb or damage it. Now, one hundred years later, even though the rose bush had died long before, sentries were still guarding the now barren corner of dirt, even though no one knew why!
Traditions of faith can be valuable. They may be useful in preserving special experiences or ideals handed down by family or culture. However, we should be careful in what we spend our time guarding! Many religions zealously defend rituals which have lost their meaning. People may faithfully stand by traditions but not know why.
There is a more serious concern regarding traditions that Jesus warned us about. If a custom should ever stand in conflict with the commandments of God, it should be thrown out. Christ told us that holding such traditions makes “the word of God of no effect” (Mark 7:13). It’s a good idea to reflect on the traditions we keep. Do they conflict with God’s law? If so, we are stepping away from the Bible. It’s like standing guard over a dead bush.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Mark 7:7From Amazing facts
God bless
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