Day 197 Bible Readings – Amos 3: 7-8 (ESV)

Amos 3 & 4, Romans 3: 9-31, Psalm 109: 21-31

Amos 3: 7-8 (ESV)

“For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?”

In verses 7 through 8 from Amos 3, the minor prophet Amos tells us Father-God reveals some of his secrets to the prophets who have no choice but spread the words of the Lord. Amos was a shepherd and fig tree farmer, so he wasn’t a career prophet. The Lord called on Amos to deliver the message of his judgement and their coming exile to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. But in this prophecy of strong discipline, woven throughout the message is a call for the people to return to Father-God so they can be restored. In the end, Amos tells us that God is merciful and will one day rescue his people from exile and hints at the coming of Jesus Christ.

There were many prophets in the Old Testament, some minor and some major, but their mission was to reveal the secrets of Father-God’s plan for his people and call people back to the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes prophecy as a gift of the Holy Spirit, suggesting the presence of prophets today. One prophet and evangelist that I have been listening to is Ted Shuttlesworth, who has been working as Pentecostal minister for over 40 years. Pastor Ted primarily holds Faith and Healing crusades, but he sometimes prophesies in interviews and during his crusades.  appreciate that Pastor Ted carefully considers and prays over any prophetic message he receives from God. When he shares a prophetic message, I pay close attention, as it may be guidance from God about the future or a call to repentance. If want to check out Pastor Ted, check out his website- Faith Alive or watch him YouTube - Ted Shuttlesworth- Faith Alive, where you can decide for yourself if he is a modern-day prophet of the Lord. I like listening to prophets of the Lord because they confirm to me that Father-God is looking out for his people, and his mercy and blessings are still available to us if we pray to him.

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on these Bible verses and you want to experience the mercy and blessing that faith in Jesus Christ can bring to your life, please pray this prayer out loud:

Heavenly Father, I admit that I’ve sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart you raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I‘ve received forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. I am saved in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of God! Do yourself a favor and find and join a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can hear the words of Father-God preached and experience signs, wonders, and miracles in your life.

Day 196 Bible Readings – Romans 2: 25 (ESV)

Amos 1-2, Romans 2: 17-29, Romans 3: 1-8, Psalm 109: 1-20

Romans 2: 25 (ESV)

“For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.”

Paul, in verse 25 from Romans 2, uses the example of circumcision to talk about how our faith must be demonstrated in our actions and not just by our rituals and external symbols. As part of the covenant with Abraham, Father-God required the physical sign of circumcision for the Jewish people. This act symbolized not only a commitment to the Father-God’s covenant, but also to his commandments and laws. However, Paul emphasizes that circumcision was only an outward sign of obedience. When you do not have commitment and inner obedience and you break the laws and commandments, then you lose the value of the circumcision. You cannot rely only on physical signs and performing rituals to show your commitment to Father-God. Your faith must be reflected in your actions and obedience to Father-God. To put it simply, if you really loved Father-God that much wouldn’t want to do everything to please him and follow the things he wants you to do. And the things the Lord wants you to do is to follow the laws and commandments set forth in the Bible. Jesus Christ simplified following the laws and commandments in the Bible when he said, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 26: 37)

This year, I lived the example of verse 25 from Romans 2 when I realized I was praising myself for being devoted simply because I attended church four times a week. I went to the Sunday and midweek services, and I participated in two prayer groups that met at church. I was happy for awhile in my rituals, but then I started to feel a sense of unhappiness. One day during prayer, I felt the Holy Spirit convicting me that I had hatred in my heart for people who are doing wrong in the world. Holy Spirit guided me to repent to Father-God for my hatred and ask him to change my hatred to disagreement. I can disagree with the actions of people who do wrong things, but I cannot hate them. I also needed to pray for Father-God to send the Holy Spirit into the lives of these people so they can come to know and love Jesus Christ. I now have inner and outward signs of my faith in life.

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on this Bible verse and you want to experience what faith in Jesus Christ can bring to your life, please pray this prayer out loud:

 Heavenly Father, I admit that I’ve sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart you raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I‘ve received forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. I am saved in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of God! Do yourself a favor and find and join a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can hear the words of Father-God preached and experience signs, wonders, and miracles in your life.

Day 195 Bible Readings – Romans 2: 6-8 (ESV)

Jonah 1-4, Romans 2: 1-16, Psalm 108: 6-13

Romans 2: 6-8 (ESV)

“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”

In verses 6 through 8 from Romans 2, Paul tells us that Father-God will judge each of us on our works because actions reflect your faith and character. To those people who demonstrate their faith by doing good works and seek to glory and honor Father-God, he will give eternal life. But for those people who focus on satisfying their own desires and ambitions and do not obey Father-God’s will and truth, they will experience his wrath. Paul’s advice tells us that we need to understand the consequences of our choices and actions. If we live our life to honor and glorify Father-God and our actions reflect our faith we will have eternal life. But if we choose temporary pleasures, live to satisfy our personal ambitions, and engage in actions that are contrary to Father-God’s words, then we will experience his judgement and his wrath. When I look over my life and the times my actions did not reflect my faith, I know I suffered from the consequences of my choices and did not feel any blessings from the Lord. But in the times in my life when my actions reflected my faith and I tried to honor and glorify Father-God, I experienced blessings and miracles from Father-God in my life and more inner peace and calmness in my life.

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on these Bible verses and you’d like to experience the blessings and peace in your life that faith in Jesus Christ can bring, please pray this prayer out loud:

Heavenly Father, I admit that I’ve sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart you raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I‘ve received forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. I am saved in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of God! Do yourself a favor and find and join a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can hear the words of Father-God preached and experience blessings and peace in your life.

Day 194 Bible Readings – Romans 1: 24-25 (ESV)

2 Kings 24: 8-20, 2 Kings 25, Romans 1: 18-32, Psalm 108: 1-5

Romans 1: 24-25 (ESV)

“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

In verses 24 and 25, Paul writes about what happens to people when they reject Father-God’s truth. Father-God respects human free will and passes judgement, by letting people explore and experience the consequences of their choices. Since we are made in Father-God’s image, “imago Dei”, when people reject him by dishonoring their bodies. Father-God gave us bodies so we can have an in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit and when we dishonor the body, the Holy Spirit cannot dwell within us giving us guidance. When people reject Father-God, they will begin to service other gods or anything that takes the place of Father-God in our lives. If we observe the people around us who do not believe in Jesus Christ, we can see that they choose to stop honoring their bodies and eventually suffer the consequences of their choices. When the people around us reject Christ, we see that they will worship other gods and end up being rich in whatever they worship but still unhappy. Watching the people in our lives who do not love Christ can sometimes be like watching a train wreck in slow motion; they will crash eventually. These verses teach us that as believers in Christ, we need to guard against prioritizing Father-God over everything in our life. That we must honor our bodies so the Holy Spirit can dwell within us and give us guidance. And we must always look at our hearts because the rejection of Father-God comes when we give into the desires of heart and act on them. I’ve experienced placing something else besides Father-God as a priority in my life and then faced the consequences of that choice, which was misery and unhappiness. It took me many years, but I’ve come to realize that I have the blessing of Father-God when he is the priority in my life.

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on these Bible verses and you’d like to experience the blessings that faith in Jesus can bring you, please pray this prayer out loud:

Heavenly Father, I admit that I’ve sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart you raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I‘ve received forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. I am saved in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of God! Do yourself a favor and find and join a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can hear the words of Father-God preached and experience his blessings in your life.