James 4-5

'Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong-you only want what will give you pleasure'

'Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world'

Here it is again, this stuff about loyalty to God and only God, we can ask God for anything and recieve it but only if we are sold out for Him and don't have a divided loyalty to the world! This is pretty much exactly what James wrote earlier in his letter, he practicaly repeats himself! And it something we really need to think about and be challenged on!

1 Timothy 2:6
'He gave His life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message that God gave to the world at just the right time,'

Jesus' life and death on earth was all ways planned, it wasn't an afterthought. God wasn't late, early, or just bored, and it wasn't all selected randomly! God planned it all perfectly and it's good to know that it did happen just at the right time.

Acts 13:

²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
³So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

This passage seems to say the ministy of God had three stages of access

1 :~ Be set apart, we must clean our hands of all sin and selfishness.

2:~ They then fasted and prayed, we must go after seeking and finding God so we can go in communion with him.

3 :~ Their "friends" and church leaders gave them their blessing to go, this race is not a normal running race as christians we must be in a(n, at least) 3 legged race.

Is there anything in our lives that their shouldn't be?
Do we activly seek God's face?
Are we surrounding ourselves with the "right" kind of supportive friends?
Are we being the best support and examples we can be to our friends?

Ecclesiastes 8:4

"Where the word of a king is, there is power;"

Where is the word??? In your Bible. On your iPod. In your heart. On your lips!

Acts 7

35 "This Moses whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?' is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.

Obedience to God will always entail obedience to man at some level. God never works without leadership.
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1 Kings 1-3

29 And the king took an oath and said, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress,

Promises based on confidence in God will stand.
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James 1-3

'If you need wisdom, ask our generous God and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to recieve anything from the Lord'

How amazing is it that we are free to ask our GENEROUS God for whatever we need, and that He will provide it! But there is a timely reminder to be soley focussed on God and to trust in Him alone. I want to recieve from God, I'm hungry for more of Him, but it's easy to have divided loyalty between God and the world, sometimes we don't even realise it. If we want to recieve all that God has for us we need to be undivided!

These are generally three great chapters ram packed with good stuff and definately worth another read. I'd recommend it to you!

Ecclesiastes 8:1

"A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the sterness of his face is changed."

Smile... Jesus loves you! Have a Moses moment.k

Wise Song for Children

"Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do."
NLT Ephesians 6:1

I was listening to some old songs I have lying around and this one popped into my head. Catchy and very wise, it was the first memory verse I ever remembered (no matter how hard I tried before).

I love this verse and will cherish the song for as long as I can.

Acts 6

a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit...8 Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people....15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

Do I look like an angel?

Philippians

3:12
'I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.'

We have to desire perfection and press on for that in our lives. No matter how far off we seem, or how impossible it feels our goal has to be to become more like Christ everyday. We do it because it was for that goal that Christ Jesus first possessed us! We have Christ living in us, who was perfect and overcame every temptation and therefore the enemy has no dominion over us. I want to seek everyday to be less of me and more of Him, not that I've even got that far yet!

4:11-12
'For I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty.'

Are we prepared to live off whatever we have? To be content with whatever God provides at any given time? Sometimes that may be everything we could ever want, sometimes it may hardly anything!

The Random Challenge (flick,pick,blog)

Habakkuk 3:8 (New King James Version)
8 O LORD, were You displeased with the rivers, Was Your anger against the rivers, Was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, Your chariots of salvation?

The answer is of course "No". Creation responds to us, and when mankind fell, creation fell, which is why we see so many so called "acts of God", terrible storms etc in nature.

This is why Paul says that creation itself is groaning, waiting for the revealing of the Sons of God. "Water longs to be walked on again" (Bill Johnson).

Proverbs 3

So encouraging and challenging to trust God and not lean on your own understanding and in ALL your ways acknoledge Him. It's quite a resounding statement. to thank God in every little detail of your day, but he does give us every breath!

Interesting that in verse 4 it says by holding onto steadfast love and faithfulness that " you will find favour in the sight of God AND man" Not sure but that seems to counter what I've heard at points, to expect persecution from man, but none the less encouraging that when you have good standing with man it can be due to the fruits of the spirit.

Acts 5

Awesome scary power right? Keep reading...

Yeah it's one of those fear of God bits of the Bible, but it gets better. We have a super powerful God who's Spirit wasn't shy to punish Ananian & Sapphira for holding back and lying. This one always gets me wondering 'I sure hope I haven't done that!!... Please don't smite me oh mighty smiter.' It all seems a bit old covernant, not lovely nicey Gospel forgiveness and freedom.

But He is still an awesome God of justice! Don't hold back like Ananias & Sapphira. Give Him everything you have, and the reward is worth it. The rest of the chapter (from verse 12) shows His commitment to His faithful apostles. He sets people free from sickness and prison! Don't hold back. Give Him ALL and He will do more. He wants to pour out amazing blessings on His children. (I know I need to give Him room to do more.) Awesome scary power?... Awesome God.

Philemon

'I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison. Onesimus hasn't been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us!'

I read this and just started thinking how important it is for all of us to have spiritual fathers in the faith! People who can teach, train and correct us in our faith as well as encourage us and pray for us! We need that kind of accountability to elders in our walk with Christ! I don't think it is any coincidence that after Paul became Onesimus' spiritual father, Onesimus suddenly seems to grow in his faith and become more useful? Just a thought?

Colossians 2-4

'Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where christ sits in the place of honour at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth,'

I love this verse, obviously we need to be in the world and we are called to interact with the world, but we are different! We need to set our hearts and minds on heavenly things, the things of God, of His Kingdom and His throneroom! We need to get away from the binds of earthly viewpoints and ways of doing things!

'Let the message about Christ in all it's richness fill your hearts,'

The gospel message, the story of Jesus IS RICH, it is fulfilling and satisfying! Do we really know the full richness of the message about christ? Do we need to revisit it and let is fill our hearts full afresh once more?

'Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.'

I don't make the most of every opportunity God presents to me, but I really want to! It's the desire of my heart to be open, aware and ready for every opportunity that get to share the amazingly good news about Jesus!

Acts 5

19 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 "Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life."

I could do with some angelic assistance!
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Colossians 1:24-29

'I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for His body, the church,'

Paul says he is glad when he suffers for the colossian church! I believe that there is something very spiritual about going from suffering to glory and how Christ went from suffering to eternal glory. I also believe the same is true of us, our suffering plays a part in shaping us and preparing us for God's eternal Glory! But I'm still not sure how 'glad' I am about the suffering I endure, maybe we should be glad for our suffering and not just see it as means to an end, Something we need to endure to have what's coming next?

'And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. Thid gives you assurance of sharing His glory!'

Christ, the very same Christ through whom all things were made, who was slain BEFORE the foundations of the earth lives in you and me!!!! WOW! That very power of God is inside of you and me! How can we ever be the same?

Plus we can share in Jesus' glory!!!!! WHAT? How amazing, gobsmacking and utterly baffling yet awesome is that!

Ephesians 5 and 6 Colossians 1:1-23

In Ephesians it talks about our relationships with others, our parents, husbands/wives, children, slaves/masters which we could today see as our boss at work of those we are in authority over. It talks of how we should treat them and be in right relationship with them. It just made me think are we honouring the people around us and the relationships we are in?

'Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people'

In all our work, whether christian ministry or not, we should take joy in it and do it to the best of our ability, we should honour God through our work! In any work or ministry it is so easy to lack enthusiasm but remembering that we are doing it for the glory of God can be a real wake up call! It certainly has been after the day I've had!

'The same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It s bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God's wonderful grace,'

This is a LIFE CHANGING and CONTAGIOUS gospel that turns lives upside down and has spread across the whole world!!!!

Ephesians 3 and 4

'By God's grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilage of serving Him by spreading the good news!'

This is a timely reminder that we do not go in our strength or serve God by our own, but by His power and because He has called! It's also a reminder to me of just much of a privilage it is to serve God and how special it is to be doing His work!

' Beacause of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldy and confidently into God's presence!'

Wow, we mere humans, with all our mishaps and short comings can enter the very presence of God, the one truly and living God, creater of all things, king if kings and Lord of all, boldy, because of what Christ has done for us! Why don't we spend more time in the presence of God? Why don't we walk in His presence consciously daily, it's not we have a time slot or a meter!

'Now all Glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinately more than we might ask or think!'

It's so true, how exciting is that!

Eph 4:1-5 again show us how to lead our lives and seek after a life worthy of our calling! I'm nowhere near that kind of life, but I want to seek after it with all that I am!

'And the same who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that He might fill the enitre universe with Himself!'

Acts 4

14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

Experience trumps argument. If it happened its possible, because it happened.
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2 Samuel 10-13

3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?"

Do we receive the comforter, or reject His ministers because we misunderstand their intentions.


11 And Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing."


Are we with His presence in the battle, or relaxing at home in bed. Wake up church!
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Acts 28:1-31 Ephesians 1&2

Ok so this is my first very late post on this blog! So today I read Acts 28:1-31 and then Ephesians 1-2!

In Acts it talks about how paul is shipwrecked on Malta, then he gets bitten by a poisonous snake and yet he isn't harmed at all! All the people around him thought that he was going to die and yet his hand didn't even become enflamed! How awesome is our God, we truly have nothing to fear! The snake had now power over Paul, it could not harm him! I have a massive fear of snakes but this is a remionder to me that I need to fear nothing when I am in Christ, except God Himself!

When paul gets to Rome he is there under house arrest awaiting his appeal to Ceasar, and yet even when under arrest it amazing me to see just how many people Paul can reach and minister to. It is truly awesome how God can use any situation we are in! It also spoke to me that we may sometimes find oursleves in unlikey situations or not be able to see how God can use them and yet God can use any situation, any place and any time to see the advancing of His glorious kingdom!

Ephesians 1 and 2 are just amazing chapters to look over to remind us of the wonderous love of God, His grace which is at work in our lives and the immensity of our spiritual blessings! Because we are in Christ we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms!!!!

What! How awesome is that!!!! We are one with Christ and recieve an inheritence from Him. Hahahahaha, that is soooo exciting! I'm literally getting very excited as I read Ephesians again now!

Wow God's grace is amazing, the depths of His love are unfathomable! We are now united with Christ and as His followers we have the power that raised Christ FROM THE DEAD living IN US!

Acts 3

Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

Peter's command produced expectation to receive. His subsequent actions in making the man stand up, further demonstrated and imparted confidence that God would heal there and then.
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Bible Meteor Shower?

"...the sun will be darkened,
the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shake"
NLT Matthew 24:29

This sounds a bit like a meteor shower, it also sounds like an awesome movie. Not that the bible is a movie or anything, I am just saying it sounds cool.

Acts 2

38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.



I've been baptised and repented: I must enjoy my free gift to the full!

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2 Samuel 4-6

5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the LORD on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals



Quietly?



15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.



Decently and in order?



16 Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD;

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Springtime for God.

2 Samuel 11 : 1

"In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war,"

I didn't know there was a set time for warfare, interesting

so we're in spring now, what are our King's plan for now? do you know your part of God's battle plan? How do I enlist?

Where's the front line, for God, in your life?

Acts 1

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[a] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

The primary function of the power of the Spirit is to witness.

22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection."

The primary function of Apostleship is to witness.

What is love... I mean TRUE love?

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
NLT 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

This passage is one of the many I cherish the most... love is not just something you are in but something you work at and continue in. I don't believe in 'falling out of love' for if it was true love it would continue whatever the cost.

I feel I am in love with someone and even though we have had our arguments, I remember back to this passage and decide myself to follow it. Love grows and changes and we must follow it.

What is his name?

"13) ...they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
14) God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.”"
NLT Exodus 3:14

I love this passage when God tells Moses his name and Moses is all, 'well that makes no sense!'. If find it really comforting and awesome that my God just is. He is pure existence, being and life.

What an awesome God I have.

By his stripes...

"by his wounds you have been healed."
NLT 1 Peter 2:24

When reading this verse I strongly believe that Peter is talking of wounds spiritually, mentally and physically.
And because of his suffering and pain we can be healed of ALL sicknesses.

That I truly believe in my heart.

John 21

15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

Do I love Jesus more than my other friends?

THE FIRST POST

This is a blog to help us all (anyone that joins) read the Bible everyday. It doesn't matter if its one verse, one chapter, the whole of Leviticus or the entire Amplified version of the Bible. Our only aim is to read a bit, and put something on here to say what we've read:

Today, I read Acts 10.38, and it was good.

OR

Today I read Acts 10.38 and it really challenged me because blah di blah...

OR

Today I read the whole of Leviticus and have decided that blogging is unscriptural otherwise Moses would have said something about it.

We are not aiming for theological accuracy. We are not planning to write loads and loads in case it scares each other. Our only aim is to read some of the Bible every day, and post a note about that bit. We probably won't write something every day. We might, because we are filled with the Holy Spirit and can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. But we might not. We will all write something as often as we remember, as close to everyday as we can.

If we leave it a month, we won't think "Oh its been a month, I might as well give up". we will have another go.