Revelation 4:11 (NLT).,.

FROM TODAY'S READING (7/22/2014)...

"The admirable arrangement and harmony of the universe could only have come from the plan of an omniscient and omnipotent Being."

- Isaac Newton

Revelation 4:11 (NLT) “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” 

Colossians 1:15-17 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (7/21/2014...

"My Lord and my Creator! I would like to proclaim the magnificence of your works to men to the extent that my limited intelligence can understand."

- Johannes Kepler

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. 

Philippians 1:27 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (7/18/2014)...

If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world. 

- Vance Havner

Philippians 1:27 (NLT) Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. 

Genesis 18:16, 20-23 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (7/17/2014)...

Abraham knew more about Sodom than Lot did - and Lot was living in Sodom.

- Warren Wiersbe

Genesis 18:16, 20-23 (NLT) Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way...

So the LORD told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.” The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham. Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked?...

2 Peter 2:6-10 (NLT) Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling. 

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

FROM TODAY'S READING (7/16/2014)...

This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering that I have seen. It's an explanation other people will understand. 

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. 

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists." 

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer. 

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things." 

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and un-kept. 

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist." 

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!" 

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside." 

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me." 

"Exactly!"- affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

- unknown

John 3:16-17 (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. 

Galatians 6:9-10 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (7/15/2014)...

"You are doing so good this week."

"It's only the first day."

- One camp (BYC) counselor to another

Galatians 6:9-10 (NLT) So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. 

1 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (7/14/2014)...

"Examine Your Selfie."

- church sign

1 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT) Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.