Category: Studying the Bible

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The Right Thing

Yesterday morning after breakfast Dave and I decided to walk the campground. It was a nice morning, no wind, and we could hear laughter from some of the different sites. We weren’t working, it was our day off. We stopped and visited with campers along our way.

We are in what the Forest Service calls “Stage II Fire Restrictions”. No wood or charcoal fires, propane only. Limited generator hours. No smoking except in enclosed vehicles or buildings. Every camper was given a list of the restrictions when they arrived and we also told them verbally. Obey the restrictions but have a good time.

As we walked, we had to stop and tell a few campers it was time to turn off the generators and remind them of the restrictions. They were quick to comply. They definitely didn’t want to cause a fire!

They were eager to do the right thing!

This morning I’m not writing a thought that will inspire or encourage. No, it’s a reminder to do what we have already been taught. We should never stop learning, never stop receiving good teaching but it’s imperative that we LIVE what we’ve already been taught.

“17 Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.

19 My dear brothers and sisters, always be more willing to listen than to speak. Keep control of your anger. 20 Anger does not help you live the way God wants. 21 So get rid of everything evil in your lives—every kind of wrong you do. Be humble and accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save you.

22 Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves. 23 Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror 24 and doing nothing about what you saw. You go away and immediately forget how bad you looked. 25 But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard.” James 1:17-25 ERV

God’s instructions were written for our protection and to provide us with a better way of living. Each of us need to make practical application of the teachings in Scripture and do the right thing.

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It Takes Effort

This has been a very challenging morning…let me tell you a story.

The year is 1988, the place is Glendale, AZ. I had just been hired as the administrative assistant to the Dean of Students at a local community college. I was in charge of bringing the Student Handbook up to date and inputting all the information into the new computer program.

In our office was an older woman, thinking about it, she was probably the age I am now. She had worked for the community college for many years. She had no computer skills and so she had been transferred to our department where she could answer phones and have some student interaction.

On rare occasions she would need to log on to the computer and input some travel information. It was obvious that she dreaded this, and her frustration and temper would both rise.

One of the students found a poster, which they purchased and hung in our office, right next to her desk. “Hit Any Key”! She got a good chuckle out of that, we all did. This morning I felt like that sweet lady and the duck on the poster.

I have been battling this “wonderful piece of technology” in my lap for an hour and a half. I have tried to maintain a godly attitude and I have certainly been praying without ceasing. When I stopped to get my second cup of coffee these words came to mind, “study to be approved”.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15 KJV

“Do your best to know that God is pleased with you. Be as a workman who has nothing to be ashamed of. Teach the words of truth in the right way.” II Timothy 2:15 NLV

For the last 30+ years my daily challenge is to spend more time focused on God’s word than on anything else. I don’t mean I sit and read the Bible for hours at a time and ignore the other daily responsibilities. No, I do the regular and the routine but in all that I do I want to see God’s word at work. I want to know my life and my attitudes are being molded by His word.

We should certainly apply as much effort to our spiritual growth as we do to improving our skill sets for work and recreation. It takes time to become proficient in computer skills, leather working, baking, driving a car, photography, flying a plane…

May I encourage you again to look for God in everything. Be teachable. Apply His word to every situation. Yes, it takes effort but being God-minded will keep you from picking up a sledgehammer and striking out.

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Learn to Study

This morning I was considering what to write. I knew I wanted to share some of Paul’s encouragement to us, as Christians. However, some of his sentences are so long and compound with multiple prepositional phrases, adjectives and adverbs.

To fully unpack the meaning of these wonderful words we need to break the sentences down. That takes time and the skills we learned in Jr. Hi English class. Plain and simple, it’s called sentence diagramming.

Paul is writing to the “saints” in Colossae and to us “saints” who live in today’s world.

“This is what we pray: that God will make you completely sure of what he wants by giving you all the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need; 10 that this will help you live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way; that your life will produce good works of every kind and that you will grow in your knowledge of God; 11 that God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come. Then you will be happy 12 and give thanks to the Father. He has made you able to have what he has promised to give all his holy people, who live in the light. 13 God made us free from the power of darkness. And he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son. 14 The Son paid the price to make us free. In him we have forgiveness of our sins.” Colossians 1:9-14

Paul prayed for us. He prayed that God would make us sure, completely sure of what He wants so He gives us wisdom and understanding, all wisdom & spiritual understanding. We need this wisdom and understanding to live a life that honors & pleases the Lord in EVERY way.

This wisdom and understanding will cause our lives to produce GOOD works of every kind, understanding & good works will cause us to grow in our knowledge of God. Paul also prayed that God would strengthen us with power, His great power, so that we will be patient (have endurance) and not give up when trouble comes.

Not giving up, we thank the Father because He has made us free from the power of darkness (this is His promise to us) and brought us into His Son’s kingdom where we have freedom and the forgiveness of sins.

WOW!!!

Thank you, Mrs. Morgan, for teaching me to diagram sentences. (By the way, I just saw there’s an app for that). We need to learn how to study the word of God because every word has meaning and purpose.

God doesn’t waste words – In the beginning He said, “Light be” and light was.

When we find a couple of verses filled with so many words, we must take time to find the meaning packed in each one. Learn to study them out.

It’s there we will find the wonderful message of God’s love, His wisdom, understanding and strength!

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Thank You!

It’s been a while since I told you how much I appreciate each and every one of you who join me each day by reading my blog.

Writing the blog is the highlight of my day. I know I am getting to share God’s word with you and “His word never returns void, it accomplishes what its been sent to do”.

There is not a day that passes that I don’t depend on God’s word for answers and it is my hope that you have that same confidence.

“ We can come to God with no doubts. This means that when we ask God for things (and those things agree with what God wants for us), God cares about what we say. 15 He listens to us every time we ask him. So we know that he gives us whatever we ask from him.” I John 5:14-15 ERV

I have a personal request. I don’t know how long Facebook will continue to let us boldly proclaim the Gospel on their forum. I will continue to do daily posts as long as I am allowed. There is a way to make sure that you will always continue to receive it each morning.

Go to the web page by clicking on this ling, Contact | Kristi’s Morning Devotional (arizonakristi.com), and SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG VIA EMAIL, the blog will be sent directly to you each morning. And please share the blog and the website with others who you feel would benefit from it and enjoy it.

“Let the teaching of Christ live inside you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.” Colossians 3:16-17 ERV

I will continue to keep you all in my prayers each day. Hearing how God is working in your lives is such a blessing.

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Repeated With Purpose

As children we heard our parents repeat instructions on a daily basis. Sit up straight, brush your teeth, practice the piano, don’t talk with your mouth full, do your homework, say “yes ma’am, no sir”, and the list goes on.

Why?

These things were repeated with purpose. Our parents were raising us to be responsible, respectful and hard working. They were helping us build character.

Sometimes when I sit to write in the mornings I find myself saying to the Lord “but I’ve already told them that last year, last month, yesterday. Do I really need to go over it again?”

Things are repeated for a purpose.

There are four seasons, repeated every year. Not too many years pass before we learn what to plant when, to get out the jackets and long sleeve shirts. We can predict the weather and know when summer vacation is. Yes, we learn by repetition of natural events, we also learn godly principles the same way.

“But you must be strong and brave about obeying the commands my servant Moses gave you. If you follow his teachings exactly, you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Always remember what is written in that book of law. Speak about that book and study it day and night. Then you can be sure to obey what is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything you do. 9 Remember, I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:7-9 ERV

Study God’s word every day. That means repetition! Go over it again and again. Stay with the things that bring success.

I had a woman ask me once how I study the Bible. I told her I found things that I needed in my life and looked up the verses that dealt with those issues – worry, fear, health, joy, marriage, children, peace – and the list goes on. (Don’t be selfish, share your cheez-its)

I found verses that help with those areas and wrote them on an index card. I kept those cards with me all the time. They were in the truck, in my purse and on the tractor. They sat on my desk and in my kitchen. When I would feel overwhelmed in a situation, I would grab the cards and read God’s word to myself, reminding me that God has a plan and He is working on my behalf. I still have those cards from 35+ years ago.

Repetition with a purpose.

“My son, pay attention to what I say. Listen closely to my words. 21 Don’t let them out of your sight. Never stop thinking about them. 22 These words are the secret of life and health to all who discover them.” Proverbs 4:20-22 ERV

Find a modern version of the Bible if the King James language is too hard to understand and read what the Lord has to say about your situation. You don’t need to read chapter after chapter if you don’t understand it. Read a couple of verses and let them stick with you all day.

These truly are the words of life and we need to apply them over and over again!

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Unshakable, Immovable

A few days back a friend and I were discussing all the senseless tragedies that have been in the news lately. Some people want to blame God for what’s occurring. I would like to go on record, “this is not God’s fault”.

What I’m about to share with you now are the words that came pouring from my heart. The word of God is my unshakable, immovable, solid rock foundation. In these uncertain times we need a firm foundation.

“ Anyone who comes and listens to me and obeys me 48 is like someone who dug down deep and built a house on solid rock. When the flood came and the river rushed against the house, it was built so well that it didn’t even shake. 49 But anyone who hears what I say and doesn’t obey me is like someone whose house wasn’t built on solid rock. As soon as the river rushed against that house, it was smashed to pieces!” Luke 6:47-49 CEV

Let’s take a look at God’s word. He has given us a free will and He will not violate that. We are free to choose His blessings or to reject them. The choice of building our lives on the solid rock of God’s word is ours. God will not usurp our will to keep us from going to hell nor will He force us to accept any of his other blessings or His help.

“God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance”. II Peter 3:9 KJV

Psalms 103:1-5 tells us that the Lord forgives all our sins and heals all of our diseases but there are very few people I know who actually live free from the guilt of sin in every area of their lives or who live in divine health, 100% of the time. Does that mean that God lied when He said all, or does it mean we are unworthy to receive those blessings? NEVER!

If we are in Christ, children of the Father, all His promises belong to us.

“We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. 4 God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.” II Peter 1:3-4 CEV

Why do bad things happen to good people? 

If we don’t know that God’s promises belong to us, all of His promises, then we blindly and ignorantly accept the evil being done without fighting back. If we don’t know that God wants us protected, well, prospered, worry-free, forgiven and loved then that lack of knowledge will destroy us. We will have no foundation.

“My people are destroyed because they have no knowledge…” Hosea 4:6 ERV

But if we know we can fight against those things and be victorious, it changes the outcome.

“I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory.” II Corinthians 2:14 CEV

If we are in Christ, and we are as Christians, we are promised victory. I have more to share on this so there will be a part two tomorrow.

Don’t give up, don’t quit! Build on a solid foundation; we will be unshakable and immovable!

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Good Seeds Good Soil

In years past this is the time I start thinking about what I will be planting in my garden. This year there will be no garden. There’s no place to put one in at the RV park.

Although I won’t be planting a physical garden with tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro and the like, I am expecting another kind of harvest.

The primary step to ensure a successful garden is the preparation of the soil. One place we lived had horrible soil. It was rocky and the base was a sticky clay. I had to break up the ground, remove the stones and then add multiple bags of good soil into my garden bed. It was hard to get a good harvest.

“Plow your fields, scatter seeds of justice, and harvest faithfulness. Worship me, the Lord,
and I will send my saving power down like rain.” Hosea 10: 12 CEV

The hard ground of our hearts needs to be broken up too; the stones of bitterness, selfishness, jealousy and anger need to be removed. Good, fertile soil needs to be brought in.

“Jesus told them: If you don’t understand this story, you won’t understand any others. 14 What the farmer is spreading is really the message about the kingdom. 15 The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But Satan soon comes and snatches it away from them. 16 The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it right away. 17 But they don’t have any roots, and they don’t last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.

18 The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. 19 But they start worrying about the needs of this life. They are fooled by the desire to get rich and to have all kinds of other things. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. 20 The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and welcome the message. They produce thirty or sixty or even a hundred times as much as was planted.” Mark 14:13-20 CEV

There are four kinds of ground in this story that Jesus is telling – the hard soil of the road, the rocky ground, the ground with weeds and the good ground. The same seed is being spread on all the ground, it’s the message of God’s kingdom.

Hard-heartedness, lack of being rooted, anxiety and worry kept the seed from growing in each of the first three soils. The good ground is those who hear God’s message and take it to heart. These are tender hearted and the seed takes root and produces a good harvest.

I’m taking inventory – preparing my heart. Have I allowed the ground to get hard? Are there stones that need to be removed, perhaps it’s time to weed out the thorns of distraction and worry?

I want the seed of God’s word to be in a constant state of production. “Lord, I desire to have a heart of good soil that creates an environment for the good seed of Your word to grow”.

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He Brews

This morning’s blog could also be entitled, “Where There’s a Will There’s A Way”, but since it’s about coffee I went with what I thought was a cuter title.

Rarely is our home without coffee so you can imagine my shock when I discovered Friday morning that I had no more coffee stored in the freezer. The canister had enough for Saturday’s pot and then we were out. Our favorite coffee has been missing from our grocery store shelves.

What to do? I went on-line and did what any self-respecting coffee drinker would do, I ordered from Amazon with a promise of next day delivery. It must have been the late hour I ordered or the fear of not having coffee for this morning’s brew but in my haste I didn’t see that I ordered coffee beans.

Yesterday when the order arrived Dave brought it in from the driver and the look on his face was puzzling. He asked, “you ordered coffee beans?”. No…but I had. We don’t have a coffee grinder, ugh. Dave laughed and said, “well, you can always beat them with a hammer”. Not funny!

No problem, I have a food processor. Oh yes, that’s what I did, I’m embarrassed to admit it but it’s true. It wasn’t ground fine enough to get a good brew but there is coffee in the pot this morning and that’s all that matters. I have Dave’s promise that we will go to town and buy a coffee grinder. (I just sold one we never used in a garage sale before we moved.)

I could have gone to town yesterday and bought coffee but not my favorite blend. I could have gone to town yesterday late after my coffee order arrived and bought a grinder but I’m more determined and resourceful than that.

This morning as I was sipping my weak cup of coffee and thinking about what to share the words He Brews came to mind and I knew I had to share my blight but first I needed a verse to tie it all together.

“6 But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for him.” Hebrews 11:6 CEV

I went through all the above to satisfy my palate for a pot of my favorite coffee. What amount of time and effort I am willing to expend in searching for God who satisfies my soul?

Why is it hard some mornings to sit down and pick up my Bible and study? Time spent in the Word is much more beneficial than a second-rate grinding of coffee beans. People are hurting; they’ve lost loved ones. Parents have lost newborns; spouses have lost their mates. Mental anguish has invaded homes in a similar manner to cancer invading a body; we need to be able to give hope to those who have lost theirs.

When we believe that God is real, we must search for Him. When we search for Him, we will find Him – He’s not hiding, and He will reward us in our search. He will replace our pain with His peace, our confusion with His comfort, our fear with His forgiveness, our loneliness with His love.

If the silliness of my search for coffee taught you anything I hope it was this; put your efforts into searching out the things that have eternal value. Coffee is good but God is great!

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A Bit of Sweetness

A Christmas tradition that my Mom started was the making of peanut butter balls. It’s a favorite of everyone who visits. After all who doesn’t like chocolate, peanut butter, rice crispies and powdered sugar?

This year there has been no time to get into the kitchen to make them. My daughter has said she made some for us and we are looking forward to having a sweet treat!

I’m not sure how the tradition of having sweet cakes, cookies, breads and candy became a part of Christmas but I’m glad it did. Must have been a Scandanavian influence – my Mom had to have “just a little something sweet” after every meal, including breakfast.

Maybe you are a lot like her and don’t feel the day is complete without a little sweetness. I have just the thing for you.

“You have been my teacher, and I won’t reject your instructions. 103 Your teachings are sweeter than honey. 104They give me understanding and make me hate all lies.” Psalm 119:102-104 CEV

In one translation the word “teachings” is interchanged for the “word”. Your word is sweeter than honey…When Jesus came to earth John the apostle wrote:

“In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God. 2 From the very beginning the Word was with God…The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us.” John 1:1,2,14 CEV

Jesus is the living word of God. His influence makes our lives sweeter than we could possibly imagine.

If you’re like my Mom and need a “little something sweet” after each meal I invite you to indulge in God’s word. No need to count calories or carbs – the Word of God is nourishment to our souls.

We should all have a regular diet of this kind of sweetness!

Sorry for the late post – technical difficulties.

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Are We Seeking?

Would you have made a good wise man? That’s the question I found I was asking myself this morning.

Examine their characteristics; they were studious, (they studied the skies looking for a sign), they were diligent, (they didn’t give up looking just because they didn’t see it right away), they were persistent, (they traveled a great distance and time to find the Christ child), they were consistent, (they weren’t distracted from their search) and they were dedicated (they committed to the task and didn’t stop until they reached their goal). And then they were reverent, they worshiped the Christ child and not the nation’s king.

“After Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2 They asked people, “Where is the child who has been born to be the king of the Jews? We saw the star that shows he was born. We saw it rise in the sky in the east and have come to worship him.”…The wise men came to the house where the child was with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened the boxes of gifts they had brought for him. They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:1,2,11 ERV

It’s believed that the wise men’s journey took about two years. They found a child and not a babe. They traveled at their own expense and then they brought gifts, lavish gifts, to the child. It cost them something – if they had been wrong in their search, it would have cost them more than their finances, it would have cost them their reputation.

So, I asked myself, what am I seeking?

Jesus told Martha, and us, that only “one thing” was needful – that was to hear His word.

“Jesus and his followers were traveling, he went into a town, and a woman named Martha let him stay at her house. 39 She had a sister named Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him teach. 40 But her sister Martha was busy doing all the work that had to be done. Martha went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. 42 Only one thing is important. Mary has made the right choice, and it will never be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 ERV

Lord, my desire is to be wise – to seek but one thing, You!

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