Monday, November 30, 2015

Facts about Heaven

Clouds

Genesis 1:8-9

8 God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.

Job 26:8 

He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.

Job 38:9 

when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,

Job 38:25-34 

25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,

26 to water a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it,

27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?

28 Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?

29 From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

30 when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?

31 “Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion?

32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs?

33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God's dominion over the earth?

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?

17 The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth.

18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

Matthew 24:30 

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

Old Age, Attainment Of

Ruth 4:15 

He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

Job 42:16 

After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

Psalms 128:5 

5 May the LORD bless you from Zion all the days of your life; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

1 Samuel 2:31-33 

31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line 

32 and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, in your family line there will never be an old man. 

33 Every one of you that I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.

Psalms 71:9 

Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

Genesis 27:1 

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” he answered.

Genesis 48:10

10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Eternal Things


Bible References…

God



Dt. 33:27
Rom. 1:20
Rev. 4:9

God’s name



Ex. 3:15
Ps. 72:17


God’s throne



Ps. 93:2



God’s kingdom on earth



Ex. 15:18
Ps 145:13
Ps.146:10
Jer. 10:10
Dan.2:44-45
2 Pet. 1:11


God's Word



Dt. 29:29
Ps. 12:6-7
Ps. 119:89
Ps.152
Ps.160
Isa. 40:8
1 Pet. 1:23-25

God’s glory



Ps.104:31
2 Cor 4:17
2 Tim 2:10
1Pet 5:10
Rev 1:6



God’s purpose on earth.



Eph 3:11



God’s mercy



1 Chr 16:34
Ps 118


God’s kindness



Isaiah 54:8



God as light among men



Isaiah 60:19-20



Fear of God



Psalm 19:9



God’s counsel



Psalm 33:11



God’s righteousness



Psalm 111:3
112:3
Isaiah 51:8
Dan 9:4
God’s works



Psalm 111:7-8
148:6


God’s protection



Psalm 125:2



Christ



Mic 5:2



Christ’s throne



Psalm 45:6
Heb 1:8




Friday, November 27, 2015

Things God Compared to from the Book of Hosea.

A moth.

Hosea 5:12

12 Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth,
 And to the house of Judah like rottenness.

Rottenness, or worm.

Hosea 5:12

12 Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth,
 And to the house of Judah like rottenness.

An old lion.

Hosea 5:14

14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
 And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
 I, even I, will tear them and go away;

Hosea 11:10

10 “They shall walk after the Lord.
 He will roar like a lion.
 When He roars,
 Then His sons shall come trembling from the west;

A young lion.

Hosea 5:14

14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
 And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
 I, even I, will tear them and go away;

The rain.

Hosea 6:3

3 Let us know,
 Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
 His going forth is established as the morning;
 He will come to us like the rain,
 Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
The latter and former rain.

The ploughman.

Hosea 11:4

4 I drew them with gentle cords,
 With bands of love,
 And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck.
 I stooped and fed them.

A leopard.

Hosea 13:7

7 “So I will be to them like a lion;
 Like a leopard by the road I will lurk;

A bear bereaved of her whelps.

Hosea 13:8

8 I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs;
 I will tear open their rib cage,
 And there I will devour them like a lion.
 The wild beast shall tear them.

The dew

Hosea 14:5

5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
 He shall grow like the lily,
 And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Bible Emergency Numbers

When in sorrow, call John 14

When men fail you, call Psalm 27

When you have sinned, call Psalm 51

When you worry, call Matthew 6:19-34.

In danger, Psalm 91

When God seems far away, call Psalm 139

When your faith needs stirring, call Hebrew 11

When you are lonely and fearful, call Psalm 23

You want peace and rest - Matthew 11:25-30

When the world seems bigger than God, call Psalm 90

When you want Christian assurance, call Romans 8:1-30

When you leave home for labor travel, call Psalm 121

When your prayers grow narrow or selfish, call Psalm 67

When you want courage for a task think of investments/return, call Mark 10

How to get along with fellowmen, Romans 12

For great invention/opportunity, Isaiah 55

For Paul’s secret to happiness, Colossians 

Judging others:

Character Maturity, Friendship and Love is always to be judged in worst conditions, otherwise everyone seems good at coffee table…

Wonderful Relations:

Nobody understands the reason. Why we all meet in this life’s journey. We may not be related by blood. We may not know each other from the start. But God puts us together to be wonderful relations by heart.

A wake up call…

We need to be ever, ever grateful to him. He does not hold anything against us - though we are sinners. But we get offended with one another, stop talking ruin our relationships, put our ego’s in the forefront…Wow…we need to take a call…A wake up call.


Excuses of the weak and fearful.

I am too weak to live a Christian Life:

Matthew 1:21

21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Isaiah 2:3

3 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

2 Corinthians 9:8

8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

1 Peter 1:5

5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Jude 1:24

24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
 And to present you faultless
 Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

1 John 4:4

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world

1 John 5:4

4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Speaking & Listening:

Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you…Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.

Learning and Teaching:

Never stop learning, because Life never stops teaching.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Wrath of God

God’s Wrath is upon unbelievers and the ungodly -

Evidenced by God’s opposition to all unrighteousness and ungodliness:

Romans 1:18

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

It is upon unbelievers now:

John 3:36

36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

It is upon the children of disobedience:

Ephesians 5:6 

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Colossians 3:6

6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,

Evil people store up wrath for themselves: 

Romans 2:5

5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

Upon disobedient Jews to the uttermost:

1 Thessalonians 2:16

16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

Thoughts:

Our greatest needs cannot exceed God’s great resources.

While Satan accuses and confuses, God controls.

Letter to God.

A Sunday school teacher challenged her children to some time on Sunday afternoon to write a letter to God. They were to bring their letter back the following Sunday.

One little boy wrote, “Dear God, we had a good time at Church today. Wish you could have been there.”


Thursday, November 19, 2015

Before they call I will answer…Isaiah 65:24

This beautiful story was written by a doctor who worked in Central Africa.

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator). We also had no special feeding facilities...

Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in.  Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates).

'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.
'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm’
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.
During prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she prayed, 'Send us a hot water bottle today. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.’

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, 'And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know You really love her?
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say 'Amen'? I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home.  Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door.. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the porch was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.  Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly... Excitement was mounting.  Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box.

From the top, I lifted out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.

Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the..... Could it really be?

I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. 

Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle, and He must have sent the dolly, too! 

'Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!  Looking up at me, she asked, 'Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her? Of course,’ I replied!

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it that afternoon’.

Before they call I will answer…Isaiah 65:24

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost, but a lot of rewards. Let's continue praying for one another.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Our Incomparable Companion.

Scripture: John 14:16-18

Loneliness will creep into every life at some point. But believers are never truly alone because God has given us a permanent companion—the Holy Spirit. He is the Helper who is with us forever.

No one can truthfully promise to always be available to another person; the realities of time, distance, and even death can separate two people who would rather face difficulties together. Thankfully, by sending the Holy Spirit to live inside of us, Jesus Christ keeps His promise to never leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). This means that the relationship with our Companion is greater than any human relationship we have. Since God’s Spirit is a person of the Trinity, He is able to meet our every need. His foreknowledge allows Him to prepare our hearts and minds for any situation.

Faith Quotes

 “The anointing of the Holy Spirit is given to illuminate His Word, to open the Scriptures, and to place the spiritual man in direct communication with the mind of God.”

 “Faith is not something you have to get. It’s something that you, as a born-again child of God, already have. Act on it by releasing it to God. That’s when your healing starts!” 

Fear 

Deuteronomy 28:66-67 

66 You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. 

67 In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.

JESUS

. Our God is huge!  He is mighty! He is everywhere and knows everything! 

. He is worthy of all our praises, honor and worship.

Quotes

. Successful people build each other up. They motivate, inspire, and push each other. Unsuccessful people just hate, blame and complain.

. Love Your Neighbor
 “Not everyone is your brother or sister in the faith, but everyone is your neighbor, and you must love your neighbor.”