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Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Mark 11:25 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (11/30/2021)…

“Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.”

C. S. Lewis


Mark‬ ‭11:25‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.

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Colossians‬ ‭3:12-13‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.


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Monday, November 29, 2021

Psalm 92:12-15 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (11/29/2021)…

"Her Majesty believes you are as old as you feel, as such The Queen does not believe she meets the relevant criteria to be able to accept, and hopes you will find a more worthy recipient."

Tom Laing-Baker

Private secretary to 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth.

Quote is response to British magazine wanting to name her "Oldie of the Year."


Job‬ ‭12:12-13‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old. But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his.

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Psalms‬ ‭92:12-15‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare, “The Lord is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him!”

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Proverbs‬ ‭16:31‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life.


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Thursday, November 25, 2021

Psalm 136:1-9 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (11/25/2021)…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING THOT


“God wants to see prayers that are filled with genuine praise and thanksgiving for what He has done in the past. He wants our hearts to be filled with awe and gratitude for His blessings. He wants us to set up memorials in our hearts testifying to the provisions He has given us.”

Michael Youssef

Pastor


Psalms‬ ‭136:1-9‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. 

Give thanks to the God of gods. His faithful love endures forever. 

Give thanks to the Lord of Lords. His faithful love endures forever. 

Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever. 

Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully. His faithful love endures forever. 

Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters. His faithful love endures forever. 

Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights— His faithful love endures forever. the sun to rule the day, His faithful love endures forever. and the moon and stars to rule the night. His faithful love endures forever.

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Image: CC (pxhere.com)

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

1 Peter 1:6-7 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (11/24/2021)…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING THOT


“The thankful heart sees the best part of every situation. It sees problems and weaknesses as opportunities, struggles as refining tools, and sinners as saints in progress.”

Francis Frangipane

Pastor and author


1 Peter‬ ‭1:6-7‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:6-7‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)

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Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Psalm 9:1-2 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (11/23/2021)…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING THOT


“We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.”

Harry Ironside (1876-1951)

American Theologian


Psalms‬ ‭9:1-2‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.

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1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:16-18‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

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Monday, November 22, 2021

Proverbs 15:22 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (11/22/2021)…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING THOT


I humbly (embarrassingly) confess to having learned a basic life-lesson from my wife recently. Our last pricy toaster ended up at Twin Chimneys Landfill. Grrrrrr! The heating elements stopped engaging. Several (many…many) attempts at engaging them via rapid-fire lever usage proved fruitless, or toastless/bagelless. 

A new pricier toaster was purchased. One year and many toasts/bagels later, same result. Heating elements would not engage properly. 

Solution? Violent rapid-fire lever engagement attempts. No luck! And yes, of course I tried pinching the heating elements together with my fingers while aggressively holding down the lever. I’m not an idiot. ðŸ˜Ž 

Recently my wife (Jerral) reported she had figured out the solution to our pricy malfunctioning bread-burner. Simply gently hold down the lever and it will engage…every single time. Yeah, right. Oh, wait…yes, (gulp/red face) you are right. Good grief!!  

Thanksgiving. A good time to pause, relax, reflect, and refocus before reengaging. Happy Thanksgiving.

Rocky


Proverbs‬ ‭15:22‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.

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Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.




Friday, November 19, 2021

Matthew 5:13-16 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (11/19/2021)…

“We should not ask, ‘What is wrong with the world?’ for that diagnosis has already been given. Rather, we should ask, ‘What has happened to the salt and light?’”

John Stott (1921-2011)

Theologian


Matthew‬ ‭5:13-16‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

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Ephesians‬ ‭5:8-14‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. 

Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

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Photo by Matt Hatchett from Pexels

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (11/18/2021

“Heaven is not here, it's There. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for.”

Elizabeth Elliot (1926-2015)


Colossians‬ ‭3:1-4‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) 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 honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

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Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Colossians 1:11-12 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (11/17/2021)…

“Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.”

G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)


Colossians‬ ‭1:11-12‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.


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Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Luke 19:10 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (11/16/2021)…

“If you are lost Jesus is your greatest need. If you are found Jesus is your greatest message.”

Pastor Ashley Moore

Upstate Church, Mauldin SC


Luke‬ ‭19:10‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.


John‬ ‭3:16-17, 36‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him…And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.

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Romans‬ ‭10:13-15‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”



"054-lost-n-found-screen" by jeffmikels is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Monday, November 15, 2021

Isaiah 64:8 (NLT)

FROM TODAYS’S READING (11/15/2021)…

“When storms come your way, just remember you know the Master of the wind. When sickness finds you, remind yourself you know the Great Physician. When your heart gets broken, just say ‘I know the Potter.’ It doesn’t matter what we face or go through. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is everything we need. Amen.”

ANON


Isaiah‬ ‭64:8‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.

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Photo by Regiane Tosatti from Pexels

Friday, November 12, 2021

Romans 5:6-8 (NLT)

FROM TODAYS’S READING (11/12/2021)…

“If you knew that only a few would care that you came, would you still come? If you knew that those you loved would laugh in your face, would you still care? If you knew that the tongues you made would mock you, the mouths you made would spit at you, the hands you made would crucify you, would you still make them? Christ did.”

Max Lucado


Romans‬ ‭5:6-8 ‭(NLT‬‬) When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 


Isaiah‬ ‭53:3-9‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. 

He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.


Image: CC pxhere.com

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Psalm 119:105 (NLT)

FROM TODAYS’S READING (11/10/2021)…

“A lamp, a lantern, a step with God. That is how we’re supposed to live. And yes, there are days when I want it to be more, but…I thank him that we have this, that we have the next step, that we know what to do in the midst of suffering, that we know what to do when when the bottom falls out. Maybe not for the next year of our lives, but for the next step. He gives us that.”

Jennie Allen

IF: Gathering


Psalms‬ ‭119:105‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. 

Photo by Dmitriy Ganin from Pexels

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

2 Timothy 3:15-17 (NLT)

FROM TODAYS’S READING (11/9/2021)…

“The purpose of the Bible was not to increase our knowledge. The purpose of the Bible was to change our lives, to build our character, to make us more like Christ so that we become equipped to serve God in the purposes he has for our lives.”

Pastor Rick Warren


2 Timothy‬ ‭3:15-17‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

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Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels

Monday, November 8, 2021

Romans 1:20 (NLT)

FROM TODAYS’S READING (11/8/2021)…

“Today people still look to things in the creation to give them what only the true Creator God can give them. Yet it is the creation itself that bears witness to the only true God.”

Paul A. Bartz


Romans‬ ‭1:20‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

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Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Friday, November 5, 2021

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NLT)

FROM TODAYS’S READING (11/5/2021)…

"If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have told me a faster horse." 

Henry Ford (1863-1947)


Ecclesiastes‬ ‭9:10‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

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Colossians‬ ‭3:23-24‬ ‭(NIV‬‬) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:23-24‬ ‭(NIV‬‬)


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Thursday, November 4, 2021

Proverbs 13:13 (NLT)

FROM TODAYS’S READING (11/4/2021)…

“Better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb than in the middle of some ladder you don’t, right?”

Dave Eggers


Proverbs‬ ‭12:15‬ (‭NLT‬) Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.

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Proverbs‬ ‭13:13‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) People who despise advice are asking for trouble; those who respect a command will succeed.

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Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)


Photo by Pille Kirsi from Pexels

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Philippians 4:5-8 (NLT)

FROM TODAYS’S READING (11/3/2021)…

“Peace is not a physical location, it is a spiritual situation. The situation you live in doesn’t have to live in you. Peace doesn’t mean you don’t have problems, it means problems don’t have you.”

Cecilia Chan


Philippians‬ ‭4:5-8‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:5-8‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)


Photo by Leah Kelley from Pexels

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

2 Thessalonians 3:17, 18 (NLT)

FROM TODAYS’S READING (11/2/2021)…

“Peace is not cessation from persecution, but is the calm of heart that comes from faith in God and that is independent of circumstances.”

Wm MacDonald


‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭3:16, 18‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all….May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

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Monday, November 1, 2021

Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (11/1/2021)…

“Remember, man does not live on bread alone: sometimes he needs a little buttering up.”

John C. Maxwell


1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:11‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

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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.


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