Tag: God’s Word

Christian

It’s a Jungle Out There! Are You On the Right Path?

Cindy Dawson

A missionary arrived in a foreign land and was trusting a ‘guide’ to get him to his final destination. As the guide continued to wack away at all the underbrush, the missionary finally asked, “Where are we? Where are you taking me? Where is the path?” The guide simply turned to him and said, “I am the path.”

And so it is with God…He truly is our Path.

I read this story in Dori Drabek’s blog, Celebrate His Love. It reminds me of the Scripture that says,

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105 NASB

We are all following a path somewhere. It may be a path to wealth, popularity, knowledge, or something else. But if God’s Word (the Bible) is guiding our path, we can be sure of this:

  1. We will be blessed. Psalm 119:1-2
  2. We will have wisdom, insight, and understanding. Psalm 119:98-100
  3. We will know the truth. Psalm 119:160 and John 8:31-32
  4. We will have peace. Psalm 119:165

These are just a few of the promises to those who love God’s Word.

“These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” Isaiah 66:2 NIV

We must not rely on books about the Bible instead of studying the Bible itself. Or perhaps we think listening to TV preachers can replace Bible study. I know there are excellent Christian books out there, but unfortunately, many best-sellers are not sound. And many popular preachers do not present sound theology.

There is another problem, too. Many new Christians are led astray by false teaching in their eagerness to learn all they can about their new life in Christ. Those who write or recommend these books should consider the words of Jesus.

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.” Mark 9:42 NIV

If that doesn’t make you want to be discerning, I don’t know what will!

Every word about God or that supposedly comes from God must be carefully tested and examined in light of the Bible.”

Tim Challies

One of the wisest things I ever did was to read the Bible in a year. This was an idea presented to my church by our pastor in 2018. I highly recommend it!

You can do this easily right from your cell phone with the Bible App, YouVersion. Most of the time, I read my actual Bible and use the app to check off the chapters as I read them. Occasionally, I listen to the chapters read aloud from the app. And sometimes, I read right on my phone.

Many different Bible reading plans are available in the translation you prefer. My favorite plans are: “as it happened” – a one-year chronological walk through the Bible and “NT in a Year” from the Bible Project. I am reading them both right now.

I have to confess, I’m 6 days behind schedule but hopefully, I will catch up. But even if it takes me longer than a year, I still will have read the whole Bible (and the NT twice)! It has been easier than you would think. I hope you will join me and read the Bible in a year.

It is only through knowing God’s Word that we can be sure we are on the right path.

“I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from The Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book.”

Abraham Lincoln

With Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

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Christian, women

Quote of the Week, 2/23/22

Cindy Dawson

“Unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.”

Peter Marshall (1949). “Prayers Offered by the Chaplain, the Rev. Peter Marshall, D.D.: At the Opening of the Daily Sessions of the Senate of the United States During the Eightieth and Eighty-first Congress 1947-1949”

With Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

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Christian, women

Tuesday’s Verse, 2/15/22

Cindy Dawson

 “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 NIV Read full chapter

Lord, We pray for discernment as we learn your ways. May your Word always guide us and keep us on the narrow path. Thank you for giving us your Word. Your Word is Truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

With Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

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Christian, women

Friday’s Verse, 1/21/22

Cindy Dawson

“The Lord announces the word,
    and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng…” Psalm 68:11 NIV Read full chapter

With Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

Photo by Fa Barboza on Unsplash

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Christian, women

Verses for Meditation, 11/4/21

Cindy Dawson

“Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.” Psalm 1: 1-3 NIV Read full chapter

With Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

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Christian, women

Tuesday’s Verse, 10/19/21

Cindy Dawson

“so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 NIV Read full chapter

With Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

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Christian

To Be a Woman After God’s Own Heart

Cindy Dawson

“I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” Acts 13:22

The key to being a man or woman “after God’s own heart” is to be surrendered to His will and to put your trust in Him alone.

Stand outside tonight and ponder the stars. Those stars were scattered across the sky by God’s mighty hand. They are so far away that even though many of them are larger than the sun, they look like tiny points of light.

Did you know that our galaxy, the Milky Way, has approximately 100 billion stars? But the Milky Way is not the only galaxy in the universe… There are about 10 billion galaxies in the observable universe!¹

Just imagine the enormity of what we can’t even see! Our God is a mighty God. This is the God that we know and trust!

How can we know what God wants us to do? How can His plan be carried out if we don’t know what it is?

We must trust the Lord, study the Word ,and spend time in prayer. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

God reminds me that “we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3) Sheep aren’t that smart.  They need endless attention and oversight. They are unable to take care of themselves. They need a shepherd. It’s not by accident that Scripture compares us to sheep.

David was a shepherd boy. He learned about God as he cared for his flocks. He knew everything about the relationship between the shepherd and his sheep. He writes, “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

The sheep know the shepherd’s voice. Jesus said, “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” John 10:2-5

As we spend time in the Word and in prayer, He leads us.

Jesus declared, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)

If we are surrendered to the Lord, if our heart seeks after Him, we are doing our part. God will carry out His plan. He will do it. He will make that happen. He is the Good Shepherd. He has promised to lead us and we can trust Him.

With Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

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This is a repost from 2020.

References: 1 https://scienceline.ucsb.edu/index.html

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Christian, women

Sunday’s Memory Verse, 9/26/21

Cindy Dawson

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
    a light on my path. Psalm 119:105 NIV Read full chapter

With Love, Cindy

Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

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Sunday’s Memory Verse, 9/19/21

Cindy Dawson

“If your law had not been my delight,
    I would have perished in my affliction.” Psalm 119:92 NIV Read full chapter

With Love, Cindy

Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

Photo by Fuu J on Unsplash

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Why What You Believe Matters

Cindy Dawson

What you believe will dramatically affect your life forever and those around you, too. As human beings, we like to go along with the crowd and just get along with everyone. We tend to believe what the people around us believe and that can be good, or bad.

Take, for example, a student who is surrounded by highly intelligent professors who are atheists. He might become an atheist, too. Why? Because intelligence is impressive and subconsciously he thinks that to believe in God would make him look less intelligent, so he doesn’t even search out the truth. Instead, he believes what is most comfortable.

In the same way, Christians might believe what those around them believe, even when it isn’t Biblically correct.

Why? Because religious beliefs that conform to cultural norms make life easier. In the Apostle Paul’s day, Judaism pressured Christians to conform to the law. Today, political correctness pressures us to conform to secular thought.

For example, some say, “I believe people of all faiths worship the same God.”

That sounds nice, and is very ecumenical, but it isn’t true. And truth is important because people’s eternity depends on it.

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Another example is abortion. Being pro-life is unpopular in many circles. (Just ask a politician.) To say, “I think it’s a woman’s choice” may get you off the hook. It’s the easy way out. But is it true? If we don’t do it, but we condone it, are we still innocent?

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. Psalm 139:13&15 NLT

There are preachers today who teach false doctrines and many people follow them. The Bible warns us over and over about it. (If you don’t believe me, search the Scriptures for yourself.) My intention is not to tell you what is false and what is true, but to highlight the need to carefully and prayerfully examine what we hear to see if it’s true.

The Apostle Paul chided the Church at Corinth:

“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.  I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.”   I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.” 2 Corinthians 11:3-6

Paul insinuates that these false teachers were trained speakers. (Probably very entertaining and popular!) Are we drawn to a preacher by his charisma and personality?

Loving the truth is vital to living a life that brings glory to God. Therefore the importance of studying God’s Word and knowing it well cannot be overstated. If we serve a “Jesus” that we have designed to fit our wants and needs, one who serves our purposes and selfish ambitions, that is idolatry. That is another “Jesus”, not the one who said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”

“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11

If a “Jesus” was preached that appealed to human greed, would I blindly accept it?

If a “Jesus” was preached that appealed to my pride and self-interests, would I blindly accept it?

If a “Jesus” was preached that appealed to my fleshly desires, would I blindly accept it?

Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Matthew 7:13-15

The more I study God’s Word, the more I understand that this life is but a whisper. It’s not about me, it’s about the Savior. My purpose is to bring glory to God. The message is simple. It’s not about new revelations and hidden symbolic meanings to make our life here on Earth free of trials and hardships. Jesus sumed up the message of God’s Word like this:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (and) Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:28-31

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts with you, today. Comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

All Scriptures are NIV unless otherwise noted.

With Love,

Cindy

My Journey Unscripted

Click this link to learn more about Jesus: Who Is Jesus?

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