God has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. You are as much alone with him as if you were the only being he had ever created.
CS Lewis, Mere Christianity
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Fatherâs care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So donât be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31NIV
Get ready for goosebumps!
“Through the praise of children and infants     you have established a stronghold against your enemies,     to silence the foe and the avenger.” Psalm 8:2 NIV
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 âLord,â he said, âmy servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.â
7 Jesus said to him, âShall I come and heal him?â
8 The centurion replied, âLord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, âGo,â and he goes; and that one, âCome,â and he comes. I say to my servant, âDo this,â and he does it.â
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, âTruly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.â
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, âGo! Let it be done just as you believed it would.â And his servant was healed at that moment. Matthew 8:5-13 NIV Read full chapter
The centurian came to Jesus:
In humility (“I do not deserve to have you come under my roof)”,
Understanding Jesusâ authority (v.9),
And with âgreat faith.âÂ
May the Lord teach us to approach Him this way when we come to Him with our needs. May we ponder who He is before we begin our prayer.
Note: In Luke’s account, the centurion sends intermediaries. Both Matthew and Luke are correct. In the 1st century, it was understood that when a representative was sent to speak for his master, it was as if the master was speaking himself.
God had a plan to bless the world through the Jews. He sent His son, Jesus, born of a virgin, a young Jewish girl named Mary. (Matthew 1:18)
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devilâs work.” 1 John 3:8 NIV
No wonder Satan hates the Jewish people!
The Lord had said to Abram, âI will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.â Genesis 12:1-3 NIV (emphasis mine)
This is the blessing:
“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 NIV
The Jewish people continue to bless the world even today. Although Jews are a small percentage of the population (0.2%), they have made an astounding number of contributions in the fields of medicine, science, art, and music, for which everyone should be grateful.
Here are just a few:
Jonas Salk (creator of the first polio vaccine)
Albert Sabin (oral polio vaccine)
Galileo (pioneered the use of the telescope for observing the night sky. His discoveries undermined traditional ideas about a perfect and unchanging cosmos with the Earth at its center.)
Elie Wiesel (political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor) authored 57 books)
Albert Einstein
Jerry Lewis (who raised more than 2 billion dollars for his Muscular Dystrophy Association Charity, Jerryâs Kids)
Isaac Singer (inventor of the sewing machine)
(This list could go on and on, but I’ll stop here for the sake of brevity.)
Anti-Semetism
The savage attack on the Jewish people by the evil terrorist group Hamas, unbelievably, launched an anti-Semitic campaign around the world. The pro-Hamas demonstrators, when interviewed, showed little to no knowledge of the history of Judaism or the establishment of the Jewish state.
Ignorance allows dictators and terrorists to pursue their objectives while a properly informed public preserves and protects what is important to a free and civilized society.
If you believe such things are important, offer some gratitude, not hostility, to the Jews.”
When I was a little girl, I had an imaginary friend. His name was Mickit. If I got caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to do, I would say, “Mickit did it!” For example, one day I threw my bracelet out of the car window. Someone said, “Why did you do that?!”
I said, “I didn’t do it! Mickit did it!”
I don’t know how I came up with this. But it seemed like a good idea at the time. So why am I sharing this? Because we all have countless excuses for neglecting our daily Bible reading.
Everything we need to know is right there in God’s Word! It is the most amazing book ever written. The author is God Himself! So, why do people neglect it?
I have to work, get the kids ready for school, study for a test, take the car in for service, etc. There is no end to the possible excuses! But when all is said and done, it was our choice.
Now, there is one caveat to this. This is not an excuse for not reading your Bible, but it will help you understand why you do it.
You have an adversary. His name is Satan. He is a liar and a deceiver. There is nothing he wants more than to render the Church powerless by stealing their only weapon…
“The Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17)
The Psalmist writes,
“I meditate on your precepts     and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees;     I will not neglect your word.” Psalm 119:15-16 NIV
So the next time you think you don’t have time to read your Bible, remember who is telling you this, and why.
Yom HaZikaron is the day of national remembrance in Israel to commemorate all the soldiers and people who lost their lives during the struggle to defend the State of Israel. On this day we mourn and remember our fallen soldiers and all lives lost by terror. Yom HaZikaron, which goes by the Jewish calendar, begins with a siren at 8:00 in the evening. As soon as the siren is heard, Israeli citizens stop whatever theyâre doing, wherever they are, and stand firm to honor those theyâve lost. People driving on highways stop their cars in the middle of the road to get out and stand in remembrance. A whole office will stop working and a family having dinner will stop eating in order to spend a minute in respectful silence. MORE
170 soldiers have fallen since Israelâs last Memorial Day. Their names are now added to the 25,648 who have fallen since 1860, when Jews left the walls of Jerusalemâs Old City to establish new neighborhoods in the Holy Land.
“America joins the people of Israel in observing Yom HaZikaron â Israelâs Memorial Day â and in honoring the fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism who have given their lives in defense of the Jewish State. May their memories forever be a blessing.” Ambassador Mike Huckabee
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.”
Have you ever been in a discussion (perhaps in a Sunday School class or Bible Study) and you really wanted to add your two cents, but you didn’t know if you should? I often have something to say, but that doesn’t mean I should!
I have searched the Scriptures concerning how to know when I should speak up and when I should stay silent. My conclusion:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: … a time to be silent and a time to speak” Ecclesiastes 3:1 and 7b NIV
When the Jews faced national annihilation, the brave Queen Esther recognized her God-appointed purpose and time to speak. Her cousin Mordecai urged,
âFor if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your fatherâs family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?â Esther 4:12-14 NIV
Esther obeyed, risking her life to save her people. She knew it was âa time to speak,â and she received Godâs abundant blessing.
Proverbs says, “The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, Â Â Â Â and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, Â Â Â Â and discerning if they hold their tongues.” Proverbs 17:27-28 NIV
There are times when we should be silent, and times when we should speak up. We may not know what to do in some situations. There are no easy answers. But God has promised to give us wisdom when we ask Him. So that is what we must do. We rely on God’s wisdom and the Holy Spirit to lead us as we seek guidance from God’s Word.
 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:5-6 NIV
In His wilderness temptation with the devil, Jesus fired Scripture at the devilâbut He only used ammunition from Deuteronomy. The late Dallas Seminary professor Howard Hendricks used to ask his students, “If your spiritual survival depended on how well you knew the Book of Deuteronomy, how long would you last?”
The Holy Spirit will not bring to mind a verse that we have never read. It is up to us to hide the Word in our hearts so the Spirit can use it to help us fight off the attacks of Satan. (From the Jeremiah Study Bible Online Notes)
Dear Friends, If you make it your practice to read the entire Bible, and then read it again and again, you will discover this truth for yourself. You might be surprised to know that it is not difficult to read the entire Bible in one year when you devote 15 to 20 minutes daily. You can find a 1-year plan you like online. This has been the most impactful practice of my life.
“I meditate on your precepts     and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees;     I will not neglect your word. Psalm 119:15-16 NIV (emphasis mine)
âGod treated Jesus as if He had lived my life, that I may be treated as if I had lived His life.â
Harvey Stalker
“âFor God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 AMP
“My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom; Incline your heart to understanding. For if you cry out for insight, And raise your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:1-6 NASB
“The basic meaning of the word wisdom (Heb.hokmah) in the OT is skill. Those who wove the tabernacle tapestries had hokmah (Ex. 35:35). Those who prepared the high priest’s garments had hokmah (Ex. 28:3). Those who piloted ships at sea had hokmah (Ezek. 27:8). In other words, wisdom is a skill given by God to accomplish a task.” Jeremiah Study Bible Notes
Real Christian Women 