Tag: God Our Father

Why Read the Bible?

On By CarmenLeave a comment

With our busy schedules and fast-paced world, it’s vital that we prioritize God and make time to read His message to us through the Bible.

Why?

Because the Bible is God’s inerrant word, His testimony of love for us, His book of promises that hold true, and our guide to living life victoriously.

The Bible unfolds God’s great love for us despite our sin by providing us with redemption through His Son, Jesus Christ.

The following Scripture verses tell us this.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned— Romans 5:8-12

This one man from whom we inherited sin is Adam, God’s first creation of mankind. As descendants of Adam, we all have his sin nature because we live in a fallen world.

Just like Adam, we all are deceived by Satan.

We have the same nature that steers us to do our own thing which we think benefits us opposed to following God and His ways.

Think about this:  Holy God sees and knows our sin against Him; but He because He is love, He provides us a way to be forgiven.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17

This truly is amazing grace!

I wonder how many of us freely and quickly forgive and restore those who have committed sins against us.

I will admit that this is probably the hardest thing for me to do. My sin nature wants to hold a grudge and reminisce the hurt others have caused me. But God does not want me to do this; so, I must surrender to His will and change my way of thinking and acting for my own good.  

Why?

Because God has forgiven me—over and over again.

We should all thank God for His love and grace toward us.

The Bible is factual history and inerrant prophecy.

It is His story—God’s story of His creation which includes Earth and mankind.

God is the author of history since the very beginning and He tells us not only about the past, but also the future.

‘Remember the former things, those of long ago;
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.’ Isaiah 46:9-10

Through His word, God gives us a foundation and principles on which to base our lives.

We read about real-life stories of those who lived before us who followed Him and those who did not. We read about their actions and consequences, both good and bad.

None are without sin, but when we repent, God guides His children to overcome any adversity, wrong attitude, and poor decision.

And there is no fooling God for He knows the hearts minds of us all!

God is so good that He shares what the future holds for mankind on Earth, as well as during Christ’s Millennial Kingdom, and into eternity.

Even though life will change on Earth as we know it (becoming gruesome for a period of time), those of us who are God’s children will make it into eternity to live forever with our Creator and Savior. We will finally live as God originally intended in Adam and Eve’s time in the Garden of Eden—in perfect peace and complete joy, without sorrow and physical pain or physical restrictions.  

We can only gain knowledge and truth if we read God’s word and we are told that we will be blessed if we read it.

God wants only the best for us and wants us to be overcomers.

As stated previously, our heavenly Father knows that we live in a world tainted by Satan’s wiles and temptations.

This is why He gives us a glance into the lives of the many whose names are in the Bible. We learn from them as we read about their trials, their failures, and their victories. And these victories were given to His followers by God Himself!

Our heavenly Father does not change, and He does not show partiality. What He did for His children in the past, He will do for His children today.

God is our provider, protector, and best friend.

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
    will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
    he is my God, and I trust him.
For he will rescue you from every trap
    and protect you from deadly disease.
He will cover you with his feathers.
    He will shelter you with his wings.
    His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Psalm 91:1-4

I believe that God’s word is His book of love written to us. It has stood the test of time over thousands of years and has been proven to be true over and over again.

It is a wealth of knowledge made just for us so that we can

  • believe and understand His love for us
  • receive the gift of eternal life and be restored to Him through His Son Jesus Christ
  • draw near to our Creator and commune with Him
  • believe in and witness His supernatural power
  • know what pleases God and follow His ways
  • hold onto His promises despite the trials we face
  • be encouraged in our daily walk with our Savior Jesus Christ
  • learn from the mistakes of others’ past
  • be thankful for the good in our lives and praise Him
  • know that our struggles never last
  • help others in their time of need

I want to share with you a few tips that have helped me read and better understand the Bible over the years.

Choose a translation (there are many) that you can understand and are comfortable reading. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) and English Standard Version (ESV) are good ones to start with. You may also want to invest in a study Bible which expounds on the text.

Pray and ask God to help you understand what He wants you to learn each day as you read His word.

Set aside a specific time each day or evening just to study God’s word. We are told to meditate on His word day and night. (Joshua 1:8) This means to think about what you read each day for retention.

Keep reading even though you may not understand everything, it’s okay. This is why it’s good to have a study Bible.

Make it a lifelong habit to read the Bible. When you finish one translation, pick up a different one and continue seeking. I’ve read many translations of the Bible over the years, and I learn something new every day.

Apply what you read daily to your thoughts and actions. We should be “doers” of His word for which we are promised to be blessed. (James 1:22-25)

Attend a Bible study with others at church or in a group setting. When we share our understanding and compare notes, we gain even more understanding.   

Use godly resources online to help you and don’t forget to ask God to help you discern which resources to use.

May you be blessed as you dive into the truth of God’s word and may it transform us all to be just like Jesus!

I would like to share one of my all-time favorite songs that praises God. I hope it will warm your heart and move you to praise God also. 

If you want to have a relationship with God and are not sure how or where to start, see my previous posts Relationship with God and Relationship with God – Part 2.

Another Day, Another Miracle!

On By CarmenLeave a comment

Hello and Blessings to all!

I was planning to write about the Proverbs 31 woman this week, but I am happily compelled to share another miracle I witnessed a few days ago.

This was the impetus for starting this blog—to write to you about how very good God is!

So, I must share these occurrences when they happen to give glory and praise to our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ and to encourage you to continue in your faith.

Last Monday, President’s Day, a few members of our family decided to go hiking and we took our dogs along. One is a golden retriever named Bella, and the other is a miniature schnauzer named Lulu.

Bella is our beautiful 8-year-old sweetheart. Lulu is about five months old, new to the family, and we absolutely adore her. She is our grandchildren’s first dog, so she is very special because they have been wanting a dog for a few years.

After we returned home from hiking, I was warming up some soup in the kitchen, and all of a sudden, I heard a commotion going on in our breakfast room. My husband and stepdaughter were frantically trying to free Lulu from Bella.

This was a freak accident—the dogs were playing as they usually do in a friendly manner, but somehow Lulu’s collar got stuck on one of Bella’s lower canines.

I suppose they noticed it when neither Bella nor Lulu could break free, and poor little Lulu was dangling from Bella’s mouth. They tried and tried to free Lulu but couldn’t and were beginning to panic.

I ran to try to help, but none of us could free her and time was running out. Lulu was fighting for her life and bit all of us as we were trying to help her.

I heard my Bella yelp in pain, and at this point my husband focused on keeping Bella calm and still while my stepdaughter and I worked to free Lulu.  

I ran to get the scissors to try to cut little Lulu’s collar, but I couldn’t get my finger under the collar to cut it. The collar was so tight it was strangling her.

NOTHING was working!

We saw Lulu go limp and my stepdaughter started crying, “Lulu! Lulu! Please don’t die, Lulu!”

Then I cried out, “LORD Jesus, please help us!”

Suddenly my stepdaughter decided to lift Lulu’s limp body up and was able to break her free from Bella’s tooth. I worked quickly to cut her collar, hoping for the best.

She laid little Lulu down and she was not responding, her body was limp, and her tongue was blue just hanging out of her mouth. The poor baby had defecated on one of our phones and it was all over the floor and us.

No doubt, little Lulu was dead, but I kept saying, “LORD Jesus, please help us, please help us!”

I heard my stepdaughter say, “now mouth to mouth!” So, she opened Lulu’s mouth and started breathing into her as we both worked to pump her heart. I could tell my stepdaughter was losing hope, so I started giving mouth to mouth to keep the momentum going and to give her a break.

Suddenly, Lulu opened her eyes!

I grabbed her and held her upright and started shaking her gently to help her breathe. Then I felt her heart starting to beat again—we were so relieved!

The poor puppy was dazed and just stared at me for a while.

Our grandchildren were in the foyer of our home, scared for their puppy, while we were trying to save her, but immediately came running over when we said, “she’s breathing, she’s alive!”

THANK YOU, LORD JESUS!

To YOU be all the glory!

We witnessed a miracle in our home before our very eyes!

The three of us (my husband, stepdaughter, and I) agreed without hesitation that little Lulu was dead.

We are not overly emotional or tale-telling people, but more reserved in our personalities and behavior.

Jesus went to the extreme to show me once more that He cares about us and what we care about. He knew our hearts would be broken if we lost little Lulu so tragically.

I believe He did this to also show some that day who may not believe in Him that He is indeed alive and powerful as our LORD and Savior.

In the Bible, Jesus tells us to believe in Him and to have faith in Him. He healed many sick people and even brought some back to life.

Below is the story of Jesus bringing his friend Lazarus back to life.

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.…So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”…he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”…Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days….So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him….Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit…. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”…It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

John 11:1-44

Not long after Jesus restored life to his friend Lazarus, He Himself was resurrected from the grave three days after willingly dying for ours sins.

Resurrection power belongs to Him and God our Father alone!

Jesus is still raising the dead to life today!

If we will believe IN Him and believe that He CAN raise the dead, He will show us His power and perform a miracle before our very eyes!

In fact, I started writing this blog because of the miracle healing he did for my oldest brother. He brought him back from the dead also. See my first blog, God Still Performs Miracles.

I share this with you because I want to share good news.

Jesus is the Good News in our lives now and into eternity!

If you haven’t already, I pray you place your trust in Him and let Him show you his miracle working power.

Below is one of my favorite Christian songs that I hope will put a smile on your face and help you to believe in his power.

“Rattle!” – Elevation Worship