Day 18 - Power Food from God - Daily Inspirational Verses from Real Life

Isaiah 40:31 - (NIV): "but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; 

they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

After the prophet Isaiah spent 39 chapters on what is going to happen to Israel because of their sin, he begins in chapter 40 telling them of their future redemption.  If you are Christian, this part of the prophesy is frequently considered the advent of Christ.

Put aside for the moment that Isaiah has just prophesied the Babylon captivity, which did happen, and he is now prophesying the return to Israel for his people, which also happened, and look at the message. (If you ever wanted a sign that God actually acted in his peoples lives, this chapter and book is what you need.)

He is telling them that their entire nation is going to be destroyed, that their king and his family is going to be destroyed, that their temple is going to be destroyed, and that God is going to allow it to happen.  Then they are going to be taken from the land that God gave them, and forced into a society that will kill them for even believing in God.  Pretty horrible. 

Then he says, Have Hope.  Tall freaking order.  I worry about the gas bill being paid on time, and lose sleep over it; this is several million times worse, an he is saying Have Hope.

Fortunately, he does not just say it, as do so many of today's self help people, he tells us how.  He tells us to let go of what we think the outcome should be, and put it all in God's hands.  Abandon your ideas of escape and your fantasy of revenge or ultimate victory, and just wait on the Lord. He promises us that it will work out so well that we will feel like we are soaring on eagles wings.
In Matthew 4:4 we find that "God's Word Is Spiritual Food Without Which We Will Die."  This is an example of Spiritual Food becoming tangible, as it always should, if we walk in the Spirit of the Lord.

This is Power Food.

This is the Truth.

This will save your life.

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For information on be certain of your Status with God, overcoming your actions that keep you from God, and allowing you to accept his free gift of eternal life, Click Here.

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Day 8 - How Much Does He Love You? - Daily Inspirational Verses from Real Life

Used by Permission:  www.GoodJobNotes.com

Galatians 2:20 - (NIV1984)
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Sometimes I wonder how Peter could deny Jesus at all, much less three times.  I often ask myself how much easier faith would be if we lived in the time of Jesus, and saw him and his signs and wonders.  

If Peter only knew how much He was loved by Jesus, he never would have betrayed him, I say to myself.

It's not true though.  We have much more the Peter had, even though he had the living Jesus.  We have the entire story, and we know exactly how much Jesus loved us.  We know he died for us and we know of his Resurrection.  We know it all because we have the bible and 2000 years of witness.  Peter had none of that.

We know without any doubt that our sins have been washed clean, removed, and all the guilt that goes with knowing your are a sinner is also gone.  Clean.  Live with God Forever.  We know that.

Yet, there is even more good news.  We have been crucified with Christ.  The Price has been paid forever and for all sin in us.  With the Crucifixion comes the Resurrection, if it is with Christ. We get the Resurrection too. Just to make sure we get it, we are told that Jesus LIVES IN US ...  wow.

How would you behave if You know how much Jesus Loved You?

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For information on be certain of your Status with God, overcoming your actions that keep you from God, and allowing you to accept his free gift of eternal life, Click Here.

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What to do if People are Crushing You

Used by Permission of www.GoodJobNotes.com

There are mornings when I wake up, and the weight of my life is crushing me.  I am not sure if the definitions I have of myself are valid, my own, or within the will of God.  I fear that the troubles that I have are a direct result of my sinful actions, which I repent and work mightily at correcting, but find myself time and time again in debt to the same feelings.

For example, I am petty.  There are several people who attack the very core of what we do in our mission field, which is teach people to improve their lives via the conduit of Martial Arts.  When I hear of the attack, which is almost always through a third party, it is viscous and petty.  My first response is almost always, "To Heck with them."  Some time later, sometimes seconds sometimes days later, I find myself asking God's forgiveness, and ask that he heal and protect them.  But my first response is to respond with anger, and hate, and fix it with my own power.  Later I realize that I am but a creature, and one in rebellion at that, when I act out my own salvation.  

Today is one of those days.  Fear grips my heart.  I am sure that the circumstances of my life are beyond my ability to cope with.  There is no solution.  Then something happens to open my eyes to the marvelous creation that God has made us part of.  This morning we are listening to a sports talk show in the car, hoping to hear some good news about the Red Sox, which just is not going to happen this year, and are frustrated with hearing only Patriots news.  The won.  When don't they win, except for when playing the Giants that is.  Then an interview happens with a former NFL quarterback who is a Jets fan now.  He thinks that Tim Tebow, the 2nd or 3rd string quarter back for the New York Jets, needs to be fired.  Why?  Because he thinks he is not a good NFL quarterback.  That is, however, not what Tim Tebow is known for.  He is known for his Love of Christ Jesus, and that is just where this interview went.  The local radio host asked this former quarterback, who is not an announcer, if he had interviewed Tim since he said Tim should be fired.  This announcer stopped dead in his speech, and then said, "I will say this about Tim, he is genuine," meaning he actually believes in Jesus, and lives his life accordingly.  He went on to say, without being asked, the Tim had asked for God's Blessing on that same announcer for each every time he had said something bad about him.  Not curse, not anger, just asking God to bless him.

Wow.  I needed to hear that this morning. A real life leader to show me the way. Thank You God.  You are awesome indeed.