June 17 & 18, 2023
 June 17 – Daily Reading – 1 Chron. 12-14 / John 19:1-30
 June 18 – NO READING

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Chronicles 14:12 And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Have you seen some of the new artificial plants today. I mean, you must get really close, and sometimes even touch them to find out if they are real or fake. There are a lot of really good imitations of things today that will fool you. There are imitation security cameras that are not real but have blinking red lights on them to look real. Merchant in the food industry display imitation food items that look real but are made of non-perishable materials. Some imitations are even better than the original. There is a fabric called Faux leather that many times looks and feels very much like real leather. However, it is a breathable fabric that does not get hot or cold as the temperature changes and is said to outlast leather for wear.

 

        Sometimes imitations may be better than the original, but not when it applies to God. In 1 Chronicles 14:12 it says, “And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.” It should have been obvious that these were artificial, fake gods. For one thing it says they left their gods behind. Who wants a god that can be left behind? Then, just as obvious is the fact that these artificial gods they left behind, also forsook them as they ran off. It is just as well. These phonies obviously did them no good when faced with the one real true GOD. These are obviously artificial gods. The sad truth is, later they ran back to them again.  

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        I like what it says in Hebrews 13:5 about our God when it says, “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” I cannot run away from Him, and He has promised not to ever leave me. That is my God.

 

Doesn’t that just bring peace to your heart to know?

 

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

        When given a choice in life, it is said you have alternatives. However, when it comes to a Savior and Lord, the one true God is our ONLY ALTERNATIVE. As we saw this week in:

 ● Original Ancestry.God
 ● Orderly Accounting
 ● Ordained Arrangement
 ● Outright Amazing
 ● Obtaining Answers
 ● Obviously Artificial

      The one Creator God is truly our ONLY ALTERNATIVE in life. Choosing anything else as your god, is having no god at all.

       Enjoy today with your church and hear what God has prepared in the heart of His man for you this week.

   See you tomorrow.  

 

 SUNDAYS:

       Today we suggest you read and study whatever the Lord has laid on your Pastors heart. Whatever scripture he uses for today’s messages were given to him by God for your specific needs.

June 19, 2023	1 Chron. 15-16	John 19:31-42
June 20, 2023	1 Chron. 17-19	John 20
June 21, 2023	1 Chron. 20-22	John 21
June 22, 2023	1 Chron. 23-25	Acts 1
June 23, 2023	1 Chron. 26-27	Acts 2:1-36
June 24, 2023	1 Chron. 28-29	Acts 2:37-47
June 25, 2023	No Passages Assigned

Only Alternative

 

  June 16, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Chron. 10-11 / John 18:19-40

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Chronicles 10:13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        In grade school we would have to raise our hand if we had a question, or if the teacher asked a question, and we knew the answer. Even today at times while preaching, I will see someone raise their hand and wonder, “do they have a question?” I remember one time in school raising my hand to ask a question. When the teacher called on me and I asked the question, her answer was, “young man, it is evident you did not read your lesson. Had you read your lesson you would have known that the answer to that question is in the book.” She was right, I had not read my lesson.

 

        Our verse today says that Saul died for his sinfulness against the Lord. It even is more specific when it says, “even against the word of the LORD.” Being King, it was required that he would have read and known the laws of God recorded for all of Israel by Moses. It was not that he did not read the lesson as I had not done. It was that he read the scrolls and then did what he wanted, rather than what God had said. He even went one step further. Not only did he not obey what God had already said, he also did not seek God’s advice when he was in trouble. Instead he did exactly what God had commanded they not do. The answer he received was in the lesson he had read. God had warned, if they disobeyed His law, there was a price to pay. It may not be the answer he wanted, but he did obtain the answer. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        The Bible contains many lessons for our lives that we would do well to read. We cannot blame God when we obtain an answer we do not like if we failed to read the lessons. Just like my teacher said, the answers are in the book!

 

Are we reading and heeding God’s lessons for life?

 

 

  June 15, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Chron. 8-9 / John 18:1-18

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Chronicles 9:1 So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        I have a few things in storage that belonged to my parents. When my mother passed away my sister and I went through all her belongings and kept a few things of our parents that each of us wanted. It was amazing to see some of the things my mom had kept over the years. Being an adopted child, who later in life found her birth mother, she had things from both her adopted family, and her birth mother’s family. Sometimes, when going through her old pictures, I did not know which family was which. She also had notes written to her simply signed, mom. I did not know which mom had written them. She knew, but she took that information with her when she passed.

        While reading 1 Chronicles 9:1, you must admit, keeping all those records, for all those years, was outright amazing. It may be difficult to read the first eight chapters of this book, but you do realize, not everyone’s name who ever lived is written in these few chapters. (I heard a collective sigh and amen right there.) Yet, it is amazing these records survived all those years. Someone maintained them when the kingdoms divided. Then each of these kingdoms, taken at two different times, to two different regions, also preserved the records. Amazing? Actually, God did that. Ps. 12:6a & 7 says, “The words of the LORD are pure…” “Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.“ 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        God’s Word is accurate. We can rely on not just the genealogies being correct, but every single word written in the Bible as true. To have the literal Word of God preserved and in our hands is, “Outright Amazing.”

Do we cherish this Bible like we ought to?

  June 14, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Chron. 6-7 / John 17

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Chronicles 6:31 And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Oh, how I love music. I like a lot of different types of music. When I was younger, I had the opportunity to go to Stratford Canada to the annual Shakespeare Festival. I heard some wonderful Opra singing there. I have gone to hear a few very popular Country singers at the local County Fairs. I went to my granddaughter’s sixth grade school music presentation and, I might be a little biased, but I think she sounded best in that chorus of about 100 children. (I was only sitting about a football field’s length away, so you know I could pick her out.) However, the music that stirs my soul most since I accepted Christ as Saviour, are Christian songs and hymns.

 

        All through scripture we find places where God has ordained music to be a part of our lives. Even in today’s reading of 1 Chronicles 6 we see how David put certain people over the ministry of music in the House of the Lord. Some of the names mentioned in this chapter are men who also wrote portions of the book called Psalms, which is a book of songs. Men such as Asaph wrote Psalm 73-83. Heman penned Psalm 88, and Ethan authored Psalm 89. Music is a huge part of our Christian life. Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16 both speak of believers singing to ourselves and one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with grace, and making melody in our heart. The right types of Godly music is an ordained arrangement sent from heaven above. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        I normally sign things with my life verse. Hebrews 2:12 “Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.” This is a repeat of Ps. 22:22. Christian friend, lift up your voice and sing.

Does Godly music move you?

 

 

  June 13, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Chron. 3-5 / John 16:16-33

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Chronicles 5:17 All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        If you were to walk into my office on most any given day you will find a pile of papers here, another pile of assorted materials there, here a pile there a pile. You might think to yourself, what a mess. (Quite honestly, I see it that way too at times.) However, for the most part, I know what is in each pile. The one pile is research for sermons I am working on, another is materials for retreats and outing I schedule each year, and so on. I know it must look like chaos to most, but it is my organized chaos, and it works for me.

        When we think of the children of Israel broken into two groups, the northern tribes called Israel, and southern tribes called Judah, finding a way to recall all the heritage and genealogy may seem somewhat like organized chaos as well. However, way before these people knew they were going to compile this information, God knew. Jotham, King of Judah had a very long reign compared to many others. God kept them from wars and troubles during this time and it was a great time to take an account of all the people of Judah. Similarly, Jeroboam, King of Israel, as a controlling dictator, would want to know who was in his camp. Neither of these men knew at the time that God was using them to keep accurate records. Records of history that would be used later as verification of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords birthright to the throne. However, in the midst of this organized chaos, God had orderly accounting of every detail. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        When life seems out of sorts and it feels like no one cares, remember, God keeps great records and knows every detail of your life. Matt. 10:30 says, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” God is monitoring the details. 

Does knowing God cares bring you comfort?