My sweet wife had a small plaque which sat on her piano many years ago in our first home. It read,
“Just one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”
Enough said.
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Friday, August 27, 2021
The Daily Scroll
Those who practice sin, evil worship of false gods, meetings and murder in dark secret places, know this...
God sees. If you have a shred of decency, or fear of the consequences of falling into the hands of an angry God, then now is the time to cease and desist from your evil ways. Repent! Repent now! Your time is short. Search your heart. For Jesus is coming! He is coming for His own. Do you belong to Jesus Christ?
Thursday, August 26, 2021
The Daily Scroll
Prayer...” Oh Lord, please protect our children. Bless the mothers who prepare their little ones for kindergarten and school. Answer their Mother’s prayers and keep them safe. We have protected the children of Afghanistan and around the world, so protect ours. Mothers hand their children over the wall to soldiers for protection, maybe to never see them again. We will care for them, so please care for ours in this day of ever increasing danger. Keep them safe and help us raise them in the fear and admonition of your great glory, oh God. Amen.
Wednesday, August 25, 2021
The Daily Scroll
“ Put your brain in neutral, trust in the Lord, and let Him finish His job. You won’t be in the chair forever, but if you squirm, you make His job harder, and it could hurt you worse. Don’t forget that God is your Father. He loves you and will do what is best for you. You might not see it at the time, especially if the circumstances seem impossible, but hold on to His word. He who cannot lie says, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 KJV). Don’t squirm! Gene Markland
Tuesday, August 24, 2021
The Daily Scroll
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one [j]cubit to his [k]stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:25-34
Monday, August 23, 2021
The Daily Scroll
Do Christians Have a Split Personality?
The world has hammered you hard, so when you get back home, everybody had better watch out for your patience is long gone. Sound familiar? We can be one person at church and totally different during the rest of the week if we’re not careful. It’s hard to recognize it in ourselves because we see ourselves as that same good church person all the time, not as a hypocrite. Why do we fail to be the people we think we are? Why do we fail to sustain the personalities we think we have?
The Apostle Paul wrote, “... I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” (Romans 7:18-19 NLT)
We tell ourselves that it’s the circumstances that make the difference. Well, it’s more than the circumstances; it’s our split personality!
The Bible says, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? ...” (1 Corinthians 6:19 NLT)
The temple of God, as described in the Bible, was divided into three distinct areas. The outer court where anyone could enter, the holy place where the priests enter, and the holy of holies where only the high priest was permitted to enter once a year in order to make a sacrifice for all the people. It is the holiest part of the temple, the place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, and the presence of God met and communicated with man. There is a trinity to the temple's design.
Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and there is a trinity to our design as well. We are a spirit, we possess a soul, and live in a body. Our body is like the outer court of the temple. It is there for the entire world to see. It is our connection to the world through our five senses, without which, we could not communicate with the world.
Our soul is like the holy place in the temple. It’s between our spirit and body. It is where our mind, will, and emotions rest. It’s our connection between the spiritual and the physical, heaven and earth.
Our spirit is like the holy of holies, the innermost sacred part of the temple. It’s the place where God dwells, heaven is approached, and where we fellowship with the Lord.
Our spirit, soul, and body are in constant rivalry. We determine in our soul if we are going to be more body-oriented or spirit-oriented. This is the struggle we endure. This is where the split happens. The pull and tug between our fleshly body, which craves the things of the world, and our spirit, which craves the things of God, can become fierce unless we keep our body under control and seek God through our spirit. Our body will rule us unless we die to self and embrace the presence of God through our spirit.
We become born again by asking Jesus Christ to forgive our sins and come into our heart. Our spirit becomes alive to God when this happens and we have a new relationship with Him through our spirit. The split personality we were born with becomes one in Christ, and God accepts us as a temple in which He can dwell, through the Holy Spirit.
The split between the things of heaven and the cares of life will always challenge us, but when we submit to God and keep our flesh, that worldly connection, under subjection, we bring the peace from Sunday into the chaos of Monday and all is right with the world.
Copyright © 2009 Gene Markland, used with permission.
Can God change your life?
God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in
Friday, August 20, 2021
The Daily Scroll
“Precious memories, how they linger, how they ever flood my soul....” A beautiful song that makes some sad and some blessed. The old folks are at home with the Lord, but their memories linger and that is a precious part of life. Embrace it and never forget. Never forget.
Thursday, August 19, 2021
The Daily Scroll
The watchman on the wall faces the inhabitants moving around in the city, going about their lives, living accordingly to their own standards, not God’s. Comfortable in their own self righteousness, not God’s. They’re thinking about their own pleasures, not pleasing God. They listen to the sound of their own lusts, not the still small voice of God. Yet God in His love sends the watchman, to warn of their impending doom, although no one listens, the watchman shouts to the crowd, “Repent! Repent!
If this were a movie, the camera would start with the crowd scene, with the voice of the watchman shouting in the background. Then slowly pan, (that is move) above the heads in the crowd to the wall, then up the wall to the face of the watchman shouting “repent” for a tight shot on his face...His face full of fear and desperation as he warns to no effect. Then the camera slowly widens to show that behind the watchman is a hundred foot tsunami wave about to crush and destroy the city and all of its inhabitants.
REPENT!!!
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
The Daily Scroll “Get Real America!”
I have learned from reading and studying the Bible that when a nation, particularly God’s chosen people, people whom are called by His name, turn from Him, and the true love, worship, and respect of Him, they become weak. Yes God does bring judgement, but most of the ills that befall such a nation are self inflicted wounds. Such people worship their bellies more than they worship God. They lose their morals, their dignity, and believe in their own self righteousness. Poor people...given everything and wasting it on sinful pleasures. Poor people...who blind themselves with the very treasures that they hold so dear, like taking diamonds and gouging their eyes out. Oh, they have their treasures but because they have blinded themselves, they fail to see what lies just beyond... But we’re too big, too strong to fail they say...just before the devourer attacks. Oh yes! The attack is coming and such a nation always...always...brings it on themselves.
America, if there was ever a time to pray, to repent, to revisit our core beliefs it is now. We have been lulled into complacency and believed a lie. Has evil overtaken us? Look around. Another thing I have learned from the Bible is that God is a God of second chances. He forgives, restores, and heals. If we turn to Him with a humble heart, He will do just that. America, we will either learn from the past or be doomed to repeat it. Shake yourself, think! What has brought us here? What is causing us to reap the judgement which is befalling us? Oh... we need God! And we need Him now!
Friday, August 13, 2021
The Daily Scroll
The lord is from everlasting to everlasting...
He has always been and will always be...
He currently exists in the past, present, and future all at the same time...
Who can comprehend the Lord?
Who can comprehend the power of His might?
Only He.
God is love. All the attributes of His existence are embodied in His love. So when the God of forever casts His love on mankind, on you, by giving us His Son Jesus Christ, we are the recipients of the greatest love that has ever existed in the past, present, and future! With this understanding who could not worship God the Father, His Son Jesus, and the precious Holy Spirit whom they have given us. Who could not love Them? (John 3:16)
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Monday, August 9, 2021
The Daily Scroll
“The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
Friday, August 6, 2021
The Daily Scroll
The Peace Strangler
Mary was a struggling young businesswoman who was brought up in a Christian home and had a deep faith in the Lord. She began to feel an emptiness and loss of connection between her, her church, and her Lord. She struggled for months and could not find an answer to what seemed like a tall brick wall between her and God. Maybe she was too busy. Maybe her life was too hectic and the stress of her job requirements, competition, late hours at the office, and social activities were just getting to be too much.
So, she decided to take a break. She would go visit her Grandmother in the mountains of Tennessee in a little town near Gatlinburg, away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Besides, she was due a vacation anyway.
She loaded up her car and drove to Tennessee. It was good to see her Grandmother and Grandad again, to sit on the front porch on that old porch swing and enjoy the hills, trees, blue sky and peace that nature brings. The second day of her visit, her Grandmother sat beside her on that porch swing, patted her lightly on the hand and said, “Dear, what is it that is bothering you?”
“I don't know Grandmother," She replied. “I feel empty. And the closeness I used to feel with the Lord just isn't there anymore like it used to be. There is no time for anything for myself and I don't know what to do about it. How did this happen?"
Her Grandmother looked out and surveyed the surrounding countryside, took a sip of her steaming hot coffee and said, “It's very simple, dear. You’re too busy. That old enemy, the devil, has used his strategy on you.”
“What are you saying? I'm living right. I'm not out sinning and carrying on.”
“I didn't say you were, honey. That's not the strategy of the strangler of peace. His strategy is much more subtle. More sneaky, but very devastating. Devastating to your life, your peace, and ultimately to your soul."
"You see, we live in a world of noise," she continued. "Our televisions take up half a wall in our homes and broadcast 24/7. If we're awake, and even in our sleep, they broadcast into our ears, through our minds, and into our hearts. What are we allowing to stream into our consciousness? In our cars, we have AM and FM radio, CDs, iPads, and various other devices — and now, satellite radio. Noise inescapable. How wonderful and marvelous are all these devices bringing streams of noise which enter into our ears, through our minds, and into our hearts. And just in case we might have a peaceful moment as we walk from our home to our car, we have another miracle device which masquerades as a telephone that we plug directly into our ears, sending noise straight through our minds, and into our hearts. And yet we cry, Why can't I have any peace in my life? Why can't I ever hear from the Lord? The answer is simple ... noise. The cares of this life. Remember what the Apostle Paul wrote,
'Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.' (Romans 8:5 NIV)
Dear, I would like to introduce to you an old concept that is foreign in our world today, a concept which many people can't conceive of. That concept is silence. Yes, silence. There is a reason why Jesus made the statement,
'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.' (Matthew 11:15)
How can we ever expect to have peace or hear from the Lord if we constantly dunk our heads into the cauldron of noise, that cauldron of news, weather, sports, and music? Now, make no mistake, I love all those things as much as you do but sometimes we've got to take a break, pull our heads out of the noise, and be still. Be still And listen. Listen to the silence which is available to He who has ears to hear.
Try to sit still in total silence for 10 minutes. Just listen to the silence. Do you want to have peace? Do you want to hear from the Lord? Here is your starting point. Now I’m going to leave you and go inside for a while but you sit here and just listen with your ears to the silence around you and the Lord’s spirit within you. And be at peace.”
Mary found her peace, and a new and vibrant relationship with her Lord, right there on the old porch swing at her Grandmother’s house.
Now, dear reader, sit in silence for 10 minutes.
Thursday, August 5, 2021
The Daily Scroll
“Your prophets have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They did not save you from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope.” (Lamentations 2:14)
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
The Daily Scroll
“ For all these things I weep; tears flow down my cheeks. No one is here to comfort me; any who might encourage me are far away.” (Lamentations 1:16)
The Prophet Jeremiah wept as he saw his country destroyed because of it’s great sin. Look around...will we soon be weeping as well? Lift up your heads, for your redeemer reigns and will come.
Monday, August 2, 2021
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