Psalm 119:17-20, 24 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/28/2017)...

"The genius of the Word of God is that it has staying power; it can stand up to repeated exposure. In fact, that's why it is unlike any other book. You may be an expert in a given field. If you read a book in that field two or three times you've got it. But that's never true of the Bible. Read it over and over again, and you'll see things that you've never seen before."

Howard Hendricks ("Prof" at Dallas Theological Seminary)

Psalms 119:17-20, 24 (NLT) Be good to your servant, that I may live and obey your word. Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. I am only a foreigner in the land. Don’t hide your commands from me! I am always overwhelmed with a desire for your regulations... Your laws please me; they give me wise advice.

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Colossians 3:16-17 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/27/2017)...

"The Bible was written not to satisfy your curiosity but to help you conform to Christ's image. Not to make you a smarter sinner but to make you like the Saviour. Not to fill your head with a collection of biblicalfacts but to transform your life."

Howard Hendricks ("Prof" at Dallas Theological Seminary)

(1924-2013)

Colossians 3:16-17 (NLT) Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Psalms 119:11 (NLT) I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalms 119:18 (NLT) Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.

Psalms 119:34-40 (NLT) Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you. Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good. I long to obey your commandments! Renew mjy life with your goodness.

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James 1:5-8 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/26/2017)...

"Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better. 

Don't wish for less problems, wish for more skills. 

Don't wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom."

Jim Rohn 

"Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure."

Jim Rohn

James 1:5-8 (NLT) 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 receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

Proverbs 3:5-8 (NLT) Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

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Titus 3:1-7 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/25/2017)...

"I believe that order is better than chaos, creation better than destruction. I prefer gentleness to violence, forgiveness to vendetta. On the whole I think knowledge is preferable to ignorance, and I am sure human sympathy is more valuable than ideology."

Lee Tolstoy

Titus 3:1-7 (NLT) Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone. Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But— When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

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Isaiah 40:28-31 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/22/2017)...

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths."

Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Isaiah 40:28-31 (NLT) Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

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Proverbs 4:25-27 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/21/2017)...

"If I stop to kick every barking dog I am not going to get where I'm going."

Jackie Joyner-Kersee (Olympic Track & Field Athlete)

Proverbs 4:25-27 (NLT) Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

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1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/20/2017)...

"For every failure, there's an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour."

Mary Kay Ash

1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NLT) If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

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James 4:11-12 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/19/2017)...

"Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember ~ the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you."

Zig Ziglar

James 4:11-12 (NLT) Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

Ephesians 4:29 (NLT) Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

 Proverbs 27:6 (NLT) Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

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Colossians 3:17 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/18/2017)...

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you?'"

William Arthur Ward

Colossians 3:17 (NLT) And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Psalms 100:4-5 (NLT) Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

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Blessed!!!

Wow...what a great, loving, and much appreciated surprise Jerral and I received at Family Bible Church today. We were graciously recognized by our beloved church for 20 years of pastoral ministry. We are blessed, humbled, and thankful for the kindness shown...and look forward to whatever years of continued service the Lord will give us at FBC. Lots of love from dear church friends, delicious lobster feast, gracious gifts, heart-felt cards, and cherished fellowship. Soooo thankful.

Galatians 5:1 (NIV)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/15/2017)...

"I learned to put my trust in God and to see Him as my strength. Long ago I set my mind to be a free person and not to give in to fear. I always felt that it was my right to defend myself if I could. I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear."

Rosa Parks ("The First Lady of Civil Rights")

Galatians 5:1 (NIV) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Matthew 5:43-47 (NLT)..,

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/14/2017)...

"Nothing in the Golden Rule says that others will treat us as we have treated them. It only says that we must treat others in a way that we would want to be treated."

Rosa Parks

Matthew 7:12 (NLT) Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

Matthew 5:43-47 (NLT) You have heard the law that says, "Love your neighbor" and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.

Ephesians 4:25-27 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/13/2017)...

"Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret."

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)

Ephesians 4:25-27 (NLT) So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

Proverbs 15:1-2 (NLT) A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.

Proverbs 19:11 (NLT) Sensible peopble control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.

Proverbs 29:11 (NLT) Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.

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Genesis 1:1-3 (NIV)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/12/2017)...

"All the ills from which America suffers can be traced back to the teaching of evolution. It would be better to destroy every other book ever written, and save just the first three verses of Genesis."

William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) former US Sec. of State

Genesis 1:1-3 (NIV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Mark 10:5-6 (NIV) "It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.'"

Colossians 1:15-17 (NLT) Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

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Luke 9:22-27 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/11/2017)...

"Jesus has many who love his kingdom in heaven, but few who bear his cross. He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. He finds many to share his feast, but few his fasting. All desire to rejoice with him, but few are willing to suffer for his sake. Many follow Jesus to the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the cup of his passion. Many admire his miracles, but few follow him in the humiliation of the cross."

Thomas a Kempis (AD 1380-1471) "The Imitation of Christ"

Luke 9:22-27 (NLT) "The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” 

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God.”

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James 1:13-18 (The Message)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/8/2017)...

"Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ."

John Piper (A Sweet and Bitter Providence (Crossway 2010, pp.101-102)

James 1:13-18 (MSG/paraphrase) Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.

So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.”

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1 Samuel 16:6-7 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (9/5/2017)...

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

John Wooden

1 Samuel 16:6-7 (NLT) When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

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