Monthly Archives: July 2023

Bible Reading Fun Fact Day 3:

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According to the Guinness Book of World Records the Bible is the best selling book of all time.
Statistically speaking, most Americans own Bibles 85% of American homes have Bibles. The average number of Bibles that are in US homes is 4.3 per household. And the popular Bible App YouVersion celebrated 500 million installs on electronic devices
in 2021.
But this does not mean that our nation as a whole is reading the Bible. Research showed that on 2021 only 11 percent of Americans read their Bible daily.

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We have been having a drought in Missouri. My grass in my yard was dying and dry. But the past week we have had rain. This morning I noticed as I went out on my deck to pray how GREEN the yard is. What a difference a few days of rain has made!
Most of us live in a SELF IMPOSED spiritual drought! Our lives are DEAD to God in many ways. He seems distant and so we struggle with fear, anxiety, anger, jealousy, etc. We go from one bad day to the next. Notice I said “SELF IMPOSED”. We have access to the living water of the Word of God! (John 4:10) Yet we refuse to engage with it in our lives!
Psalms 1 states that a person whose life is connected to the Word of God/ the Bible is like a tree that has ample supply of water. That tree is vibrant!
Are you in a spiritual drought and dead inside? Or are you fully alive in God? Check your connection to the living Water of the Word of God!

https://www.statista.com/statistics/299433/bible-readership-in-the-usa/#:~:text=A%20survey%20from%202021%20found,to%2029%20percent%20of%20respondents.

Bible Reading Fun Facts Day 2:

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“Reading the Bible four or more days a week decreases your “odds” of giving in to temptations such as lashing out in anger, gossiping, lying, addictions to drugs, pornography, gambling, etc., significantly decrease.”

Sin destroys! God provided a way for us to live free from sin. The power of His Word in our lives can break any chain the enemy wants to keep us bound with. Jesus Himself said, 

“”Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””John‬ ‭8‬:‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What is truth you may ask? The Word of God.

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” John‬ ‭17‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If you need freedom from the chains of sin, the Word of God is the chain breaker! But we will not be free if we do not engage the Word in our lives regularly. Reading the Word of God, the Bible,and allowing it to work in our lives is imperative not optional if we want to live free and victorious!

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭

Quote from the article “Capturing the Power of Four.” Based on the findings from this study by the Center for Bible Engagement.

https://bttbfiles.com/web/docs/cbe/Scientific_Evidence_for_the_Power_of_4.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0XA7ovQEk8C_XY3sONIt9HWEH8-w0cZO7DwQ_Paw6PL1-ZiDxm4hq40Cc_aem_AY-ePaHaJT1QAze66c_7ObpKLT3-DoNNeUn63n95hfCSyARqscq_wPPF-rghD8ipl6Y&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Bible Reading Fun Facts Day 1:

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Reading the Bible four or more days a week will decrease the impact and power of emotional struggles in your life!

For more than eight years the Center for Bible Engagement has researched the spiritual lives of more than 100,000 people from around the world. Engaging in the Bible most days of the week is critical to grow in the Christian faith.
Their findings include:
Receiving reflecting on and responding to God’s Word four or more times a week decreases a persons “odds” of struggling with issues such as bitterness, critical thinking towards self and others, depression , discouragement, loneliness, and unforgiveness.

“The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭19‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Based on the findings from the study “Understanding the Bible Engagement Challenge: Scientific Evidence for the Power of 4” by the Center for Bible Engagement

https://bttbfiles.com/web/docs/cbe/Scientific_Evidence_for_the_Power_of_4.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2ybX_LGpMZ5fyOadIwUa2u1VqKgxD1Pi3u4CcH9qxjIvFSX8HYfvmVVXs_aem_ATVyHcBRxif3TviDv0WuJF-rIwRulbz-M_z-2qbG_65xxntWD-2LKtYv2iKqXQEtjQM&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

The Jesus Way: Mark 8:1-21

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Jesus once again feeds a large crowd with few loaves of bread and a few small fish. Then He sends the crowd away and gets on a boat. When he gets off the boat the religious leaders, the Pharisees, come to Him demanding a sign.

Keep in mind that the healings, the miracles Jesus had done, the teachings He spoke were all done in the open. The Pharisees knew about them and yet that was not enough. 

“He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.”” Mark 8:12 NIV

A little later Jesus warns His disciples.

““Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”” Mark 8:15 NIV

Watch out for the influence of the Pharisees and of Herod. Yeast influences. It works it’s way through the flour and effects the way it acts. It causes it to change. The influence of the Pharisees teachings of salvation through works, following the law, and dependence on self was everywhere. Then there was Herod who did whatever he felt like another bad influence. Both groups lived their lives for self and self preservation. That was their example to their world. It is what worked its way into the very fiber of the Jewish culture. That is why the Pharisees wanted “a sign.” Jesus threatened their way by doing things God’s way. He followed the way of grace, forgiveness, love, and mercy. This was not the way of the Pharisees. Jesus challenged their realm of influence.

Our world is no different. When we come face to face with Jesus we must choose. Do we follow His way or do we go our own way as the Pharisees and Herod did? Who is your influence over your life yourself and your ways or Jesus and His way?

May we choose the Jesus Way!!

I want to encourage you to listen to this song. More than once. Close your eyes and contemplate what it means to choose the Jesus way.

Yuck in Your Well : Mark 7:1-23

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What is coming up in your heart’s bucket?

The religious people of Jesus time were upset because His disciples weren’t following their man made religious rules. They had a lot of them: certain ways to wash your hands, certain things to eat, how to give gifts to others and classify their gifts.

Jesus told them:

“Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”” Mark 7:13 NIV

It wasn’t their observance of man made laws that God looked at. God looked at what came forth from their hearts.

I’ve heard it said that our hearts are like a well with a bucket. What is deep down inside of that well is what will come up out of that well and that bucketful of good or of “yuck” will splash all over us and the people we are around.

Here’s how Jesus put it:

“He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”” Mark 7:20-23 NIV

The question is, “What is inside of your well?” Are you full of anger, pride, bitterness, evil thoughts? That is the “yuck”of sin that will come up in your bucket. Make no mistake it will splash on everyone around you.

Or is your well in your heart full of Jesus? His Love, His Joy, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, Self-control….? That will come up in your bucket and it will splash on and be the influence of all those around you: your husband, your kids, your friends, your coworkers, your family. It will be refreshing to be near you as you pour out the Good God has put in you!

If it is “yuck” that comes up there is a solution to that, Jesus! Tell Him what is in your heart, ask Him to forgive you and change you. Ask Him to fill you with His good stuff, His love. He is in the business of cleaning out yucky wells, or evil hearts and making them new. That is good news!

Where is My Faith Placed? Is He King? – Mark 6:1-28

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This morning as I have been praying I was thinking about how God has changed my heart. When I read our passage today there were a couple of things that stuck out to me that I could have related to when I lived with a heart that was divided and not fully given to Jesus.

One… the unbelief of Jesus’s home town. They heard Jesus speak and they were amazed, but they couldn’t get over the fact that they had watched Him grow up. They lacked faith and wouldn’t believe. I’ve thought I had Jesus figured out and I wanted Him to fit into my image of Him. But He is God and He is beyond what I want to make Him into. That is why I need to totally submit myself to Him, totally obey Him, and totally depend on Him.

Two… King Herod thought Jesus was John the Baptist, who he ordered killed, raised from the dead. He was intimidated by the thought. Jesus didn’t fit into Herod’s lifestyle. Herod was used to having his own way. When you are king and you are faced with the King of Kings you have a choice get rid of that king or submit to Him. I have been “King” of my heart. If it had a throne in it, I was sitting on it. But there can only be one King on the throne, me or Jesus. I cannot make Jesus fit into my lifestyle. I have to fit into His ways through giving my whole heart to Him. That is the only way to be at peace when you see Jesus before you.

May we live with Jesus as King of our hearts and faith fully in Him!

One in a Billion Yet He Sees Me: Mark 5:21-43

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““You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus was surrounded by crowds of people, but He still saw the needs of the one. One man in a crowd needed Jesus to heal his dying daughter. Jesus’s response is to head towards that man’s, Jairus, home to pray for his little girl.

As they walk through the crowd where people were pressing up against Jesus on all sides, one woman was healed in a very personal way. Jesus stopped to address her individually.

You and I are only one in 8 billion on this planet. There are so many others pressing in around Jesus. Yet He stops for the one, you/ me.

So many around us but He comes to our home of our hearts and raises the dead within us.

Jesus is personal. He is for each of us one on one. He wants intimate relationship with each of us. He went to the cross, died and rose again to extend the invitation for us to come. Will we respond to His invitation for our time to be one on one with Him?

Free and In My Right Mind! Mark 5:1-10

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I love this account of Jesus setting the man free from many demons that tormented him. This man lived away from his family in a graveyard and was deeply tormented. The people tried to subdue him but he broke the chains they used and was violent.

But NO Mental torment by the demonic is too big for Jesus. With a word Jesus cast them out. This is what I love about the story: 

“When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.” Mark 5:15 NIV

This man had a reputation for being CRAZY! But when Jesus stepped in he was freed from the demonic spirits that tormented him. He was in his right mind!

Around three years ago I was living a life tormented by anxiety and fear. I had been for years. I tried everything I could think of to fix it until I came to the end of me and my ways letting God do it. Jesus stepped in and He has set me free! Although I haven’t ran around a graveyard naked and cut myself with stones like this man(For that we can all thank God), I know what it felt like to have my mind out of control. Now I testify to you I know what it is like to sit at the feet of Jesus free from that torment and in my right mind! Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He still changes us and sets us free from torment when we come to Him!

That is Good News!!!

“Hell lost another one! I am free!!”

Reflections on Mark 4:1-20: What Kind of Soil are You?

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“Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus often taught lessons by using parables, or short story illustrations. In this parable Jesus compares our hearts to soil and God’s Word to seed. He said there are different soils where seed can fall. Or there are different types of hearts that God’s word can come to. There is the soil on the path, hard and stony, as soon as seed falls on it birds come and eat it. It never takes root, or the enemy, Satan steals it away. There’s the soil in the rocky places where the seed falls. The word is received, but doesn’t take root. The soil in the thorny places where the word falls, but it is choked out by the cares of the world and desires for other things. That seed never produces fruit. Then there’s the good soil that is very productive.

The question is what kind of soil is your heart? How do you receive the word of God? In my life, my heart has often been the soil of the the thorny place. I’ve often let the cares of the world and desires to do things my way choke out what God wanted to have grow inside of me.

May our prayers be for our hearts to be good soil. Always receiving His Word, and letting it grow producing all the good God desires in our lives. That kind of soil only comes when we give our hearts to God entirely, totally, and completely!

Reflections on Mark: Mark 3:20-35 Liar, Lunatic, or Lord

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Following Jesus is not a popular thing to do. The world will tell you things like, “Christianity is too judgmental.” “Jesus was just a good man.” “Jesus’s ways are old fashioned. Out of date.”

In Jesus day, the world around Him did not accept Him either. The religious leaders tried to explain away His miracles by saying, “He is demon possessed.” His family said, “He is out of His mind.” But Jesus’s answer to their accusations was simple.

“How can Satan drive out Satan?” Mark 3:23 NIV

In other words, “You’ve seen me cast out demons. Can Satan cast out himself? Can Satan bring evil, do the Good I’ve done?”

C.S. Lewis said this of Jesus: “Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.” We all stand at that crossroads of decision in our own life. What will we say about Jesus and His role in our lives?

Jesus makes one more statement in this chapter speaking of our relationship to Him. He came to our world to hold out the invitation to relationship to God. Our choice is to accept that invitation, follow Him and do His will. Here is what happened:

“Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”” Mark 3:31-35 NIV

Where do you land in relating to Jesus? Have you judged Him as our world has, “out of date”, “too judgmental ”, “just a good man” I.e. a liar and lunatic? Or is He Lord? And are you obeying Him doing His will? The one who does God’s will is a part of His family! There is no better place to be, a part of the Family of God! May we choose to live with Jesus as our LORD!