Day 363 Bible Reading

Revelation 20: 14-15 (ESV)

“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

My pastor said in a sermon recently how confident were we that our name was written in the Book of Life in Revelation. I thought about his question, and my immediate answer was Yes. I don’t know why I thought that, but that was the answer I received. I have a close relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. They have been with me since I was six years old, and although I know that sometimes I was not that close to God, he has always been part of my life. Do I often think I have disappointed God? Yes. Do I doubt God hears me and answers my prayers? All the time. But do I doubt that I have a relationship with God? Never. Wondering whether your name is written in the Book of Life is quite the thought to have on New Year’s Eve of what many are calling will be a tumultuous year of 2024. Will my faith be tested in 2024? Absolutely. Will I waver in obedience to God? Of that there is no doubt. The only thing I can be certain of is I have a relationship with God, and I work on relationship daily. And maybe that’s good enough for me in my mind to be written in the Book of Life. 

Day 362 Bible Reading

Nehemiah 9: 17 (ESV)

“But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.”

I love this passage from Nehemiah 9. It makes me think about all the times I have not listened to God or did wrong things or have not obeyed his commandments. God has always been loving and ready to forgive me. His patience with me seems infinite and he always tells me how much he loves and is proud of me whenever I do something right. Even when I have felt forsaken by God, I’ve come to learn that God has never forsaken men. He is there to always answer my prayers and talk to me about what I have done wrong. God speaks to me with such love in his voice and understanding of who I am, what my needs are, and seems to always know why I do the things I do. There is nothing that compares to the love of God in my life. It’s something I can’t explain because there are no human words for it, and God’s love has to be experienced first hand.

 Day 361 Bible Reading

Psalm 148: 1-6 (ESV)

“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.”

Another beautiful Psalm that praises God. It sounded like a song, so I searched on YouTube for Psalm 148 and found several musical versions of this psalm. This is one is my favorite.

Enjoy!

 Day 360 Bible Reading

Proverbs 31: 10-20 (ESV)

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.’

I love this passage from Proverbs 31. There is so much disinformation on how the Bible’s view of women is demeaning, but this passage from Proverbs 31 proves otherwise. This bible verse contains much praise of an “excellent wife” who is also a smart and responsible woman. The writer of Proverbs 31 lists all the things that a wife does and tells the reader what a great partner in life she will make to a man. This woman is also kind and strong to boot! Of course one has to find this kind of wife, but this Bible verse also provides a road map for a woman to remember to not be ashamed use all the gifts that God has given her to support her husband, her children, and her community.

 Day 359 Bible Reading

Psalm 147: 13-15 (ESV)

“For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat. He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.”

I like this passage from Psalm 147. It reminds me of the blessings of God and what happens when you have them. Every day seems like a miracle and things just seem to go your way. You have a season where everything in your life goes right and the world seems like it is at your feet. But deep in your heart, you know none of it is possible without God in your life. You obeyed everything he wanted you do for many years, and this new life, this new season is your reward. 

Day 358 Bible Reading

Psalm 147: 3 (ESV)

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

I was struck by line 3 from Psalm 147. I have many memories of being brokenhearted and feeling myself held in the palm of God’s hand. God was healing me and binding up my emotional wounds. Sometimes I don’t even know I am brokenhearted, and then I feel myself being held the palm of God’s hand, and I realize that I have been hurt but God has bore the brunt of it because I am safe and protected by him. I felt safe and secure in God’s hands when my mother died, and this feeling lasted for months as my sadness at my mother’s passing was so severe. I often wondered during those months how people bore such grief without a God. That time of grief was so unbearable, and only confidently knowing I was in palm of God’s hand, was I able to survive that period in my life. I also wondered after that, how often God had held me in the palm of hand during my other times of grief. I am sure God did protect me during those times, but my faith was weak, and I rarely acknowledged God’s presence in my life in my youth. But with my stronger faith, I can now openly acknowledge to myself and the world that I feel very privileged and proud that God does hold me in the palm of his hands when I need to be held.

Day 357 Bible Reading

Psalm 146: 3-4 (ESV)

“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”

I was struck by this Bible passage when I read from Psalm 146. It made me think of all the people I’ve worked with at corporations where I saw fellow employees put all their trust in their boss. They supported their bosses 100% and were rewarded with promotions if that boss was promoted. But as soon as their boss left the company, their good fortune seemed to leave them. I’ve seen new vice presidents come in and bring their friends and former co-workers to replace the heads of the departments that reported to them. I also think of myself as an example where I put my trust in someone only to be very disappointed. I’m not saying you cannot put your trust in anyone, but like the writer of Psalm 146, I think it would be a mistake to put all your trust in one person. The only person who is 100% deserving of our trust is Jesus Christ. He is there from the beginning of our lives and will be there until the end when we take our final breath. He will never leave us, never depart from us, and always love us.

 Day 356 Bible Reading

Revelation 14: 12

“Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.’

This line from Revelation 14 spoke to me today. While in prayer this year, I heard a message from God to eat like the folks in the Old Testament which would mean to adhere to Kosher laws. My first reaction was like, Okay, no big deal. I can keep Kosher laws. But it was a big deal for me. Keeping  kosher laws meant that I could no longer eat pork, and that meant no bacon. I was kind of bummed out. I love bacon and eat it every weekend. But after much searching, I was able to find beef bacon so I’m back to eating bacon. But no pork also meant no sausage unless it was beef sausage. Not a big deal, until I realized I couldn’t eat salami, meatballs at Italian restaurants since they have sausage, and other dishes that have sausage. Still trying to deal with this one. But with New Year coming up, I find myself bummed out again. I have eaten lobster on New Year’s eve and day for years. But shellfish is not Kosher, so no shrimp either or calamari. I grew up eating shrimp and calamari! Both items are comfort food for me. Keeping Kosher law that God requested of me this year has become an endurance. Giving up these foods I know is a small thing for God to ask of me, but on some level I see as an endurance as well. I think God asked me to keep Kosher law to test my level of obedience. Could I do what God asked me to do? So far I have, but it is hard for me and I have to pray constantly to God for help and advice on what I can and can’t eat.

Day 355 Bible Reading

Psalm 145: 14-15 (ESV)

“The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.”

I like these lines from Psalm 145, but I often wonder about the last phrase of Line 15 – “you give them their food in due season.” I know in my greatest moments of doubt, I wonder does God hear my prayers? Does he understand my misery? Will he ever answer my prayers and give me what I want, especially when it comes to my health. But I am reminded that I am but a very, very tiny part of his kingdom. I have a role to play, and I am most of the time unaware of how my role affects others, how they further the plan he has in my mind for all us. God has his own timing, his own season, his own reasons for how and why he does things. We may only know in hindsight that the timing of when God answered our prayers was perfect and happened at exactly the right time and place. But until the insight of time and hindsight comes, we must have faith that God will respond to our prayers, and whatever the response is, it is always for the best and to fulfill God’s plan for this world.

Day 354 Bible Reading 

Palm 145: 8-13

"The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.” 

The Bible reading for today continued on with more of Psalm 145 and its beautiful praises of God. I used a search engine and found more songs that were based on Psalm 145. I think it would be an interesting survey to find out which is the most used Psalm for songs. Psalm 23 is the most popuar psalm, but I haven’t found any survey of which Psalm has been used the most in modern Christian music. Here’s another song that I like based on Psalm 145. 

Enjoy.

Day 353 Bible Reading

Psalm 145: 1-3 (ESV)

“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”

I love reading the Psalms. So many Christian songs have been made from Psalm verses. It always makes me wonder how they would have sounded during the time of King David or when Jesus was alive. Were they sung to music or spoken out loud like poetry or both.

This is one of my favorite Jesusco (formerly called Worship Mob) songs - Psalm 145 - The Lord is Great | WorshipMob original by G. Hall & Emma Graham. I used to listen to this every morning as part of my prayer time with God.

Enjoy!

Day 352 Bible Reading

Proverbs 30: 24-28 (ESV)

“Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise:
the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer;
the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank;
the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces.”

This is an interesting passage from Proverbs 30. I see this Bible passage as saying that no matter what your size is or your condition in life, if you have wisdom you can do many and mighty things. I know that I often think I can’t do something because I’m this, that, or the other, and I give up on doing the thing at all. Perhaps God is reminding me that if I pray and follow God’s wisdom, I will be able to do the thing I want to do. Okay, so maybe I can’t be a rock star or professional sports player or whatever, but at least I can become really good at the thing I am trying to do, and God will show me that this experience will teach me lessons I needed to learn to excel in the purpose he has for me.

Bonus Post: Love in the Aftermath - 4-act structure

Since I didn't post yesterday, I wanted to let you see a draft of the 4-act structure for my next novel "Love in the Aftermath." This is very ROUGH draft and not yet completed I create about 15-20 versions of this type of structure before I write. The 4-act structure is like a rough map of my story, which I use as a guide. I almost never stick to my rough map however, because I find that when writing the story you discover new things that will change the structure. Writing is always a work in progress I've discovered, even when you've spent hours on creating the structure. 

Title: Life in the Aftermath

Concept:  The last Lemurian princess is forced to go on the run with a wizard monk to escape the Atlantean prince who wants to wipe out all traces of Lemuria from history.

 Main Conflict:   The new rulers of Atlantis (atlantean prince) want to wipe out all traces of Mu after the war between the Mu and Atlantis. Princess Serri is on the run to hide her family treasures and to survive being killed once the Atlantean prince finds out what she’s done.

Princess Serri OLD WAYS

   1.  Old Identity: Spoiled as the youngest daughter of the king and queen

   2.  Main goal in life is to be married and become a queen

   3.  Flighty and a partier

Princess Serri NEW Ways:  

  1.  New Identity: caring partner to Mojic

  2.  New goal is live in secret and simply

  3.  Mature and accepts responsibility to keep Mu alive through her story

THE 4 ACTS (Acts 1-2 only)

ACT 1: Set up and see the old ways

Opening:  

We see an older Princess Serrula (Serri) writing her life story. She looks bruised and fragile, and winces in pain while writing. We read what she wrote. But she sighs and says what she thought would happen when the war ended between Mu and Atlantis was something completely different.

The Story continues as a flashback to the beginning of the story.

Serri is picking out the fabric for her wedding dress since she expects to be married to the Atlantean prince now that the war is ended. We see her interacting with the Atlantean prince and they seem to get along, but her mother thinks the prince is used to getting his own way and warns Serri. Serri says she can handle him. Her father the king summons her to a family meeting.

Inciting Incident:

Her father tells her he has learned that Atlantis wants to wipe out any trace of Mu. They have started the systematic destruction of anything related to Mu. Her father reminds her that his family has been since its founding the record keeper of Mu history. He was not going to let the Atlantean prince destroy what his family had been collecting since their founding. He tells Serri that she must take the sacred scrolls to the Wizard temple and that they can hide the scrolls away. Serri objects because the prince is here and she wants to spend more time with him, and the king tells her she will when she gets back from the Wizard temple. Serri agrees but she is not happy about it. The king makes her promise that she will make sure the scrolls are hidden away and kept safe. Serri promises.

Serri travels to the Wizard temple and meets Mojic, a young monk who has been tasked with hiding the scrolls. Serri does not like him and Mojic thinks of her as nothing but a spoiled princess.

Turning Point 1: The king’s most trusted servant arrives at the Wizard temple and tells her that the Atlantean prince murdered her parents and her brother when he found out that they wouldn’t tell him where the scrolls were. He called her parents traitors and took over the running of the kingdom.

ACT 2: On the run with Mojic

 The wizards tells Serri that she cannot stay there and must take the sacred scrolls with her and that Mojic will find a place to hide them. The atlantean prince will come after her and kill her and destroy the scrolls.

Serri and Mojic travel together by horse to the next wizard temple. Very few people know about this temple. They arrive at the temple, fighting the whole time, but the wizards have found out that the atlantean prince killed all the wizards and they are afraid that he will travel there. They tell Serri and Mojic that they cannot stay there and must leave. The wizards give them an old map of old wizard hiding places. They do not know which one will be safe and they will need to visit each one to see which one will work.

Serri and Mojic constantly fight about which temple to go to, and when Serri picks one and they go there, they find out that the house has been destroyed.

Next Mojic picks one, and when they visit the house, it seems to be a good place, but a wizard comes and tells them that the Atlantean prince tortured one of the wizards and was told them two of the most obvious locations where they could be found. So they flee again.

Turning point 2: They decide to pick the next place together, and they get there and it seems ideal, but they are spotted because Serri doesn’t want to disguise herself and they are forced to leave when they find out there is a reward for her capture.

 Day 351 Bible Reading

I don’t’ have any favorite Bible passage from today’s readings. We read Ezra 1 and 2, Revelation 8, and more of Psalm 144. But when I read Revelation 8, I was reminded of how many doomsday prophecies there have been over the years, and how there are people of every generation trying to tie what is happening in the world to Revelation 8. I’ve seen it in movies and have read what the fulfillment of this book would look like if they had happened. The language in Revelation 8 is very dire and beautiful at the same time. Are we in end times? I’m not sure. Should we be concerned about end time prophecies? Absolutely! I think as long as we have daily conversations with God, he will help us discern what is happened in the world and what needs to be done.

 Day 350 Bible Reading

Psalm 144: 1-2

“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.”

I love these two lines from Psalm 144. I feel sometimes that I am a solder for God, a warrior he can put to use in these uncertain times. God is training me for war, but he is also my rock, my fortress, my love, my shield, and my deliverer. I can see reading this psalm when facing a difficult situation in life where you have to fight.

No Bible reading reflection today. I read Malachi, Revelations 6, and Psalm 143 but nothing really stood out for me. 

I did however hear a sermon today where the pastor said that the believer’s responsibility is obedience to God and God’s responsibility is to the outcome. This is a hard one for me because I was taught to be responsible for the outcome of my actions. But if I want to truly rely on God then I have to surrender control over what actions I take, so I can be instrument for God and he can use me however he sees fit. I might not know the game plan of what he’s trying to do in the world, but I can let myself be used to fulfill his plan. I have such a hard time with the surrender part, but I think I am starting to see that maybe surrender will make my life easier because I know I can control my actions. What makes life so frustrating for me is I cannot control anything else. But if I surrender to God, perhaps I can let go of the frustrations in my life because it’s not my responsibility to control anything other than my own actions. 

Day 348 Bible Reading 

Revelation 5: 9 (ESV) 

“...Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 

When I read this line from Revelation 5, it made me tear up. The subject of the line is the person who opened the scroll that was sealed with seven seals, who is “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.” There are several references in the Old Testament to the lamb that is slain for offering to God, and I always think of Jesus Christ when I see the word “lamb”. The writer of Revelation never says it is Jesus Christ who has opened the scrolls, but for me the similarities are unmistakable. 

Christ was slain and by his blood, we have been saved from the sins of our ancestors and are now part of his new kingdom. As followers of Christ, we are also priests for God. We need to take a priestly role in all of our relationships. Are we leading people to God by our behavior or leading people away from God? 

 I was thinking I might not have the right interpretation of this line, so I searched to see what others have said about this line from Revelation. It was comforting to know that they also saw the Lamb as Christ. I know you can’t always follow your heart, but whenever I read a line in the Bible that in any way references Christ’s crucifixion it makes me cry.

 Day 347 Bible Reading

Revelation 4: 11 (ESV)

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

When I think of the Book of Revelations, I usually think of the prophecies of how Jesus will return to the world. This line from Revelation 4 reminds me that there is also beautiful poetry in this book. Others have had this thought as well because I found a beautiful song based on Revelations 4. When I listened to the song, I knew I had heard it before. “Revelation Song” written by Jennie Lee Riddle is so amazing. Other singers and groups have covered this song, but I love Jennie’s version because she wrote the song.

For your listening pleasure -

 Day 346 Bible Reading (ESV) 

Esther 4: 14

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

I love this line from Esther 3! Mordecai is speaking to his sister Esther and tells her that if she keeps silent, God will send help from another person, but she will perish. But perhaps you have become queen of the land so you can help the Jews escape death.

I know sometimes when I think about doing something, the thought always occurs to me that I do nothing then someone else will surely say or something. But then guilt washes over me and I think, is that bad karma if I do nothing? Will is perish for not taking action or speaking? Then another thought comes into my head that says “maybe I was put into the position precisely because I was meant to do something about it. I have all this power and maybe I can put the power to good use.

It's such an interesting line “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” I don’t think we can really know what our role is in life. We need to pray to God and wait for him to let us know or send a sign to guide our way. It is seductive to think I was born to be do something, but I think until one checks in with God, one has to cautious and always try to discern what role God wants us play in this world.

 Day 345 Bible Reading

I don’t have a specific bible passage today that struck me today, so I want to write about the Book of Esther since we started reading it today. There is no mention of God or God’s covenant in the Book of Esther, but it seems clear from the reading that the characters in the book never forgot about the Covenant God made with Moses and his people. Even though the characters in this story have been in exile from Jerusalem, they have held on to their faith and the expectation that God is watching over them and will rescue his people from harm.

Their faith is strong, and I envy their unwavering faith in God’s protection over their lives. The Book of Esther reminds me that to truly have faith in God, one must always expect and depend on God’s intervention in our lives. The Book of Esther seems to be an example of people with true faith in God.

Day 344 Bible Reading

Proverbs 30: 5 (ESV)

“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”

I like this line from Proverbs 30. I know from experience that whenever I think I have heard the word of God coming through in my prayers, whatever has said has always come true. Maybe not necessarily in the way I thought it would come true, but whatever was told me would come true nonetheless.

God also provides a shield that defends me and makes me feel protected and loved. When I feel depressed and low, I feel God’s love surrounding me and I am being held in God’s hands because I am so fragile and he has to hold on to so I don’t fall apart. It’s an amazing feeling of being loved by God. I’m not sure if others feel that way about God during the low points of their lives, but it’s the way I feel.

Day 343 Bible Reading 

Zechariah 9: 9 

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 

I love this line from Zechariah 9 since it reminds me of Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on a donkey. Would someone who was familiar with Zechariah have caught the significance of Jesus arriving on a donkey like a king from the Old Testament? It makes me wonder if they saw the similarity when it first happened, or later when they were remembering the event.

Day 342 Bible Reading

Jude 1: 9 (ESV)

But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

This line from Jude 1 stood out for me today. I believe God is telling us that he is the ultimate judge of people. We cannot truthfully judge right from wrong and must rely on God to be the ultimate judge of what is people’s hearts. I know that I have often judged harshly the behavior of others in the past, but through prayer, I have come to see that I can only see their actions but not the truth of why a person did what they did. It is hard, but I am trying to have more compassion for people by telling myself that God will judge them. 

 Day 341 Bible Reading

Psalm 139: 16

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”

What struck about this line from Psalm 139 is how God has a plan for our lives even before we took form. He saw the plan he had for every day of our lives before they even happened. I think there is such a thing as free will because God lays out his plan before us, and yet he loves us so much that he still gives us a choice. We can choose at every moment whether to follow God’s plan for our life. I personally think God is the best game maker and strategist, who has mapped our every choice we could make and he also has a plan for every choice we might make. So no matter what choice we make, God has a plan for that choice. But I also think God had preferred choices for us, choices that will make up happy, and that if we make a wrong choice God has a plan to put us back on the right track.

I love the movie franchise “Final Destination”. It came up on my Max channel as a movie to watch before it disappears, so I watched it. I love how the writers of this movie came up with all the little ways that death eventually found the kids who cheated death, and the theory from the undertaker that death has a design.

It made me wonder if everything in life has a design, and we can either cheat the design or just go along with it. For example, I’m not feeling very well today. I’ve been on an eating junk food binge since Thanksgiving. I let myself eat whatever I wanted on Turkey day, and it’s been hard to get back on track with my very healthy way of eating.

So if I look at everything that led me to not feeling good today, the design of it all, it all started on Thanksgiving. Well, if I’m honest, t started with my September vacation. I went on vacation after Labor Day, and it was hard to keep to my normally healthy way of eating. I wasn’t at home, and I was at a conference. And when I’m on vacation, I like to indulge and take a break from my normal way of life.

So I gained 5 pounds that week. I was just beginning to lose it, when I went on my yearly camping trip in October. Camping for me is the worst place to stick to my healthy eating habits. I go camping with a group of friends, and two of our camping meals are potluck meals. And I have this thing with potlucks that I let myself eat whatever I want because it’s fun to taste the food that people cook and bring to that event. Plus, it’s a social occasion and it’s fun to eat all the food and then talk to people about all the dishes that were good to eat.

So that became another 5 pounds that I gained. Surprisingly, I managed to lose the camping weight gain very easily, but not the original 5 pounds from my September vacation. And then Thanksgiving rolled around. And then I’m like, okay, Christmas is coming up, and I’m not going to watch what I eat at all. I’ll deal with it in the new year because there are parties to go to from now until the end of the year.

Today was a party day. Went out with friends to eat and we did a cookie potluck, where everyone brings cookies to share. And I let myself taste all the cookies. BIG MISTAKE! And I’m paying for it now because I so do not feel good. Too much sugar at one time and a tasty but carbo-loaded meal.

I’m thinking about the design of it all, and a video pops up in my Youtube feed about an astronaut talking about his nutrition. It was like a sign. d a sign this morning, so I watched it. The astronaut said his nutritionist told him that the difference between two football teams who are tied at the end of the game, comes down to nutrition. Because when you’ve pushed yourself that hard for the whole game, and you now need a little more just to win the game, it’s your nutrition that is going to determine how well you play during those extra minutes.

So the design of my day, the design of my life since September has not been that great and now I feel horrible. If I had kept my good nutrition in place since September, I know I would be feeling very good right now. Instead, I feel like crap and semi-nauseous.

If there is a design to my life, the lesson is I have to design it better if I want to feel good and accomplish the things I want to do.

 Day 340 Bible Reading

Proverbs 29: 25

“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”

This line from Proverbs 29 struck me as very profound. Is fear a snare? Sometimes it appears to be. Fear of whatever can you lead some very interesting and sometimes dark paths. One begins to imagine one scenario and then another until it becomes a continuous fear loop. Perhaps some of the scenarios to be fearful of are justified, but other scenarios seem to stem from one’s imagination or often borrowed from other past traumas that have nothing to do with the present fear. Fear truly sems like a snare swing you from fear to fear without rhyme or reason.

But if you trust God, then he’s like that brilliant award winning movie/theater director on the live stage that is your life who yells “CUT”. God then comes over to talks to you and says “What was that about? What made you go there? Does that action have anything to do with the person you are now?” So instead of swinging dangerously from fear scenario to fear scenario, where you could fall into depression, anxiety, addictive impulses, etc; you stop and think “God is right. Let me rethink my fear scenario exploration.” And you remember that God loves you because you are amazing person, you are a child of God, and with him, you can conquer your fear and the world.

Day 339 Bible Reading

1 John 5: 4

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

I love this line from 1 John 5. We are all born of God, but it is faith that helps up to overcome the world. When I look at how I have overcome any challenge in my life, I always needed faith to do it. Sometimes it was a little faith, but other times I needed as much faith as I could muster to overcome the difficult challenges in my life. And Jesus was my role model for faith. Jesus had so much faith in himself and his disciples. He never gave up. He kept on going even though there wasn’t any physical evidence to back him up. His faith never wavered.

 Day 338 Bible Reading

I John 4: 7

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”

I have heard this line from 1 John 4 many times, but today it struck me because as a believer in Christ God is our role model for how to love. We read of many examples in the Bible of how God loves his people, even though they often disobeyed him and did not follow his laws. God’s nature in the Bible is shown to be forgiving and generous. He sees our faults, but in the end he still loves us anyway. God seems to let his people do what they want, so they have free will to follow their desires. He then watches his people to see what we will do with our free will and free choices. Like a good parent or a good marriage partner, God’s love never wavers even when we make mistakes and make bad choices.

 Day 337 Bible Reading

1 John 4: 2-3

“By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.”

I like this passage from 1 John 4 because I am sometimes reminded that the friends whom I can rely on the most have the same love of Christ that I have. There always seems to be a sympatico between myself and another person who believes in Christ. We speak the same the same language, have the same values, and look at life in similar ways. I do have friends who do not follow Christ, but our friendship does not seem to go as deep as with my friends who do believe in Jesus Christ. Belief in Jesus Christ adds a very deep and profound layer to any friendship and maybe it has something to do with the Bible passage from Matthew 18:20; “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” When there is a friendship between two believers of Christ, he is always there between them.

 Day 336 Bible Reading

1 John 3: 17-18 (ESV)

“But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

I like this passage from 1 John 3 because it says to the believer that actions speak louder than words, and if we have Christ in our heart then our behavior must reflect the presence of God within us. But we must constantly pray to God about actions to make sure they are correct, because we are asked to love in truth. To love in truth means that our actions must also reflect the truth of the situation we are in at every given moment. Because in some cases, to give to someone om need might not be the right thing to do because that person needs to hear the truth. An example of this might be when we don’t want to lend someone money because that money is being used for an addiction. The way to love the person who is an addict is to tell them the truth that the person needs help to get over the addiction and not money to fuel the addiction. So prayer to God for every action must always be a part of our lives, because only God will know that right kind of “love’ an individual person needs.

 Day 335 Bible Reading

1 John 3: 6 and 9 (ESV)

“No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.”

“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.”

What struck me about these two lines from 1 John 3 is the word “abide”. From the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “abide” has these meanings:

As an Intransitive verb (no direct object needed

 -      to remain stable or fixed in a state

 -   to continue in a place - SOJOURN

Using these definitions, the lines would read “No one who [is fixed] on God can keep on sinning” and “For God’s seed is [stable] in a believer, and they cannot keep on sinning because they have been born of God.”

I like the idea that as a believer “God’s seed” is stable and fixed on me, so even when I sin or dwell in darkness, God will help me to come to the light. But as a believer, I have to do my part and be “fixed” on God by reading his words and the Bible, by meditating and praying to him, and keeping him always at the forefront of my mind in all my decisions. The seed of God is within me to help me, but like any plant that seed needs to be watered to grow and thrive.

Tentative ending for my next novel

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Day 334 Bible Reading

1 John 1: 5-6

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

1 John 2: 9-11

“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

These two passages from 1 John 1 and 2 caught my eye today. “God is light” and with him, we live in the light. Living in the “light” means for me that I do not get caught up in the “dark” emotions and thoughts of depression, envy, anger, paranoia, etc. But sometimes I do walk in darkness, and I feel that it cannot be helped because this is life and “stuff” happens.

But then I feel the whisper of the Holy Spirit in my ear saying “Look up, there is a light to guide your way. Jesus is there to light your way out of the darkness.” The blinders are then dropped from my eyes, and the dark tunnel that I dove into head first doesn’t seem so dark. I slowly climb my way out of the darkness, I see solutions I wouldn’t have seen in the darkness, a different way of looking at things, and gratitude appears like steps that I can climb out of the darkness and into the light. Having faith is like having an emergency light that you can turn on to find your way out of the darkness, if you remember that you have that light. And even if you forget, Holy Spirit is always there to remind you, that Jesus Christ is the light you need to find your way out of the darkness. 

 Day 333 Bible Reading

Psalm 135: 15-18 (ESV)

“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths.

Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.”

I love this passage from Psalm 135 as it gives us such a poetic description of money, which was silver and gold at the time this Psalm was written. We sometime worship money as idols, and treat them like they are like people, but they aren’t. But what is very interesting is how the Psalmist says that those who make “money” and those who trust in “money” become like them. So nations and people cannot speak, do not see, do not hear, nor are they alive. Does this sound like people and nations you know? I know when I’ve become obsessed with money, I did so the exclusion of all else. I thought I was living, but I think deep down inside I knew I was literally dead. Money never made me happy for long, and I found that out the hard way. I have only found lasting happiness in my faith and Jesus Christ.