September 19

When furnishing the kitchen of my second home, I chose not the purchase all new items; instead, I went to Salvation Army and got small appliances, cooking utensils, and other needed accessories. However, you don’t realize what you are missing until you need it, or in this case, want. I’ve enjoyed eating a cheesy, garlicky waffle to break my fast lately; it’s delicious and crispy. Trying to make the concoction as a pancake just isn’t as good. So yesterday, I took a trip to Salvation Army to see if they had a waffle iron, and to my surprise, they did, but they had it marked too high, an amount that I could get a new one! After finding a few other things, I headed to the checkout with the waffle iron in tow, to see if I could get it marked down; thankfully, they want to sell it as much as I want to buy it, and he agreed to mark it down, and I went home with my new, but slightly used appliance. 

The waffle I make has no grain in it; if you’re thinking, “how can she be off sugar and eat a waffle?” The answer is that it’s possible, but not ordinary; it’s more of a savory option. I consider it to be a bread replacement. 

As a teacher, I’m teaching what I’ve learned from the master. I give you tidbits of information that make it easier to understand the lesson, but I’m not the Master; I’m more like the moon or a star.

“The moon and the stars are lost when the sun rises.” Matthew Henry. 

Remember my waffle; it’s merely a bread replacement, not “the Bread!” As a teacher, I’m more like the Salvation Army, discounted, but still good, but not brand new like Jesus! If you want to know Jesus intimately, follow his footsteps through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. He is the Bread of life!

"Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."  John 6:35

September 18

Have you ever asked God to enlighten you on the scripture you are reading? If you ask, he will give you wisdom concerning his word. I began reading the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament a couple of days ago, but today I asked for the Holy Spirit to shed some new light onto what I was reading, and you know what? He did! I only read a small section of chapter four about the temptation of Jesus, but I also read the account in Luke to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Since Jesus hadn’t eaten in forty days, his brain was utterly cleansed, not to forget that he had just been baptized by John forty days earlier, so if there were any impurities within him, (Jesus was perfect, so I doubt there were), his baptism and fasting would have cleansed him to begin fresh for his ministry. 

When the devil began tempting him, he combated every scripture taken out of context by using scripture in context. You must be on your game and know the Bible, so when scripture is misquoted or taken out of context, you know how to answer it or refute it. When the devil begins to lie to you, as he lied to Jesus, be ready, but if you get weary of dealing with Satan, just tell him to “Be gone” just as Jesus did.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. Matthew 4:8-11

September 17

The Feast of Trumpets begins tomorrow evening. It is thought to be a memorial of the day that the Israelites were called to Mt. Sinai to enter into a covenant with God. That day the trumpet sound was loud and began at sunrise and continued until sunset. Some think since it represents the beginning of the Jewish new year that it may be the anniversary of the creation of the world. It seems reasonable to believe that, being it is an institution of God. 

We are children of the New Covenant, which was celebrated by the disciples and instituted by Jesus at what we call The Last Supper. We remember this day by the breaking of bread, which represents Jesus’s body and dipping it in wine, which represents his blood. This covenant with Jesus atones our sins. This institution may be why we, as Christians, do not celebrate God’s appointed feasts. I know most of us are not Jews, but if the feasts were important to Jesus, then they should be important to us; he celebrated them. At the very least, we should acknowledge them and acknowledge him for creating them. 

Do your best to celebrate God’s appointed feast. I was never taught about them in church and only learned of them by reading my Bible. Do not neglect reading the scriptures; if you do, everything you are taught about Jesus will be the product of your culture rather than scripturally correct.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the LORD.” Leviticus 23:23-25

September 16

I miss sugar. I quit eating it a couple of years ago to help me lose weight, but now I do it for my health. Think about it, if sugar can rot out a hard surface like your teeth, what is it doing to your soft tissue? I believe it’s like a drug addiction and nearly impossible to quit. Try and quit; I’ll bet you can’t. It takes determination, motivation, and you have to take control over your will; and that is the key! And another thing, the idea that you need to eat first thing in the morning to be healthy is just a lie. My last meal of the day is usually around 5:30 pm, and I don’t eat again until 11:00 am, and only an occasional snack. However, my meals are full-blown, high protein with plenty of necessary fat, to help me stay satisfied. Fasting for around 18 hours gives my brain time to clean up. I no longer have the ups and downs in my weight and have maintained the same size for more than a year and a half! I have more energy as a 55-year-old than I can remember of my entire life. It is the same will power that it takes to be consistently in God’s Word. You must be determined and motivated to get your spiritual health in check. You can’t do it alone, you need the Holy Spirit for both your spiritual health and bodily health, but you also have to take control over your will. The most important food you can eat is scripture; when you eat it, you will be satisfied!

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:25-27

September 15

We are not of this world. We changed the moment we accepted Jesus as our Savior. We died to this world and were given a new life filled with the Holy Spirit; this makes us different than others. If we don’t see eye-to-eye on issues, it’s because they are dead and still live in the flesh; we crucified our flesh, and live by the Spirit as ambassadors for Jesus. We are set apart from the rest, so we should not be living like the unsaved. 

The Lord placed a burden on my heart for those who struggle with strongholds, such as fear, unbelief, trauma, and rejection. Sometimes these things aren’t easily overcome, but if you set your mind to do it, and genuinely want relief from such burdens, you will work on getting past them. It’s not something you do alone; you must seek God and accept the assistance of the Holy Spirit; listen and follow his instructions. One caveat, you must be saved! Without Jesus, freedom is impossible, and your efforts will fall flat. When you’ve accepted Jesus, you turn away from your old habits and sins, and you start living a new life for him. If this change hasn’t taken place, you’re probably not saved and need to ask him to forgive you and to give you a new life devoted to him. 

I write this post to “The followers of Christ” as a way to draw attention to anyone who considers themselves saved, to help them turn and indeed follow him, knowing full well that many who identify as a Christian are not truly saved. Check your heart today, leave the past behind, and start fresh with Jesus as your Savior.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

September 14

People don’t want to believe in God’s wrath, but I assure you, it still exists in our New Testament times. Those of us who trust in Jesus have no worries because he has saved us. However, the world is full of evil, and disaster will come upon them for denying the power of God. When you read about the Old Testament disasters, you get a clear view of how powerful God is; he doesn’t play games. If you deny him, as many do today, he will impose his strength upon you, and you will either believe in him, or you will spend your eternity in hell. His wrath is not only for our afterlife, but it is in the here, and now, though many will say the power of weather has nothing to do with God and that it’s just a natural occurrence, I will say they are wrong! God uses earthquakes, storms, rains, fire, hail, plagues, insects, and other “natural disasters” as lessons to teach us to trust in him alone. Many things are out of our control that we must expect him to handle. We get into trouble when we try to control our situation when we alone have no source of power outside of God. If you are struggling today, look to God as your source; he is mighty. If he can control the weather conditions, you can bet your life; he can handle the trouble in your situation.

I said, ‘Surely you will fear me; you will accept correction. Then your dwelling would not be cut off according to all that I have appointed against you.’ But all the more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt. “Therefore wait for me,” declares the LORD, “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. Zephaniah 3:7-8

September 13

Are you fed-up yet? I am! I’m blazing through the minor prophets and nearing the end of the Old Testament, but today I’m lingering in Habakkuk. Though many of the Old Testament prophecies seem to resemble the issues we are dealing with today, Habakkuk seems to be mirroring it. The rioting and looting that are taking place before our eyes, the drunkenness, and idol worship, seem to mimic the Bible prophecy of old. Pay close attention; evil people govern these cities. Eventually, God will require payment from those who build up their wealth on the backs of the ordinary citizens and allow them to rot in the squalor of a downtrodden city. Doesn’t this sound familiar?

“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm! You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life. Habakkuk 2:9-10

The mayors and governors protect their properties with the taxpayer’s money and let the rest of the city become ravaged by vandals! Their day of justice will come! If you have a chance, go and read Habakkuk. It’s only three chapters and well worth the read.