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Genesis Chapter 51 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth:4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.12 And Cainan lived seventy years and begat Mahalaleel:13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech.26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.Support the show

Hebrews 11:1Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Support the show

Live every day with intention!  Tomorrow is not promised!Support the show

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What is Jesus saying in John 15:1-6 when He refers to branches being taken away?=========John 15:1-6   King James Version (KJV)=========1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

The verses for today are a warning for us as well as a great hope.  The Chaldeans here are described as a lawless people who do not care about the weak nor the poor.  They are probably happy in their day to day lives taking care of themselves and their families.  Working and living their lives with no concern for those around them on whom their ease heavily sits.  Can this be said of us?  Are we enjoying our lives while intentionally ignoring those who make our lives possible?  Do we intentionally look away from them, so as to not be reminded of their existence?  Let us look inwardly at our own hearts and be sure we’re not exhibiting some of the same characteristics that the Chaldeans are forever known for.  Happily, we have the examples given here today and we know how that worked out for them.  Which leaves us no excuse for not changing course, moving closer to God, getting more in line with what God has for us and improving our lives.6   Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! 7   Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8   Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. 9   Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! 10  Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. 11  For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. 12  Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! 13  Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? 14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.Support the show

The verses today are are addressed to leaders and to the Christians who are under their leaders’ influence.  In both cases, they know what God expects of them.Micah is talking to God’s people who should know better.  Support the show

The verses for today are: straightforward and plain spoken.These two verses leave very little room for misunderstanding.  And yet, so many of us do not understand it.  Or at least we do not live our lives as though we understand it.For example, the sinner's prayer.  Is it a good phenomenon?  Is it true?  Many churches around the world have a version of the sinner's prayer.  In my life; it seems as though Billy Graham's version is the most famous:"Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen"How many people have said this prayer?  I said a version of it when I was very young.  My mother sent me up to the front of the aisle, I don't remember what she said or what the preacher said to me.  I just remember being scared and not wanting to be there.  Was I saved that day?  Did the angels smile and write my name down in the Lamb's book of life?  I don't think so.  I imagine the angels smiled at my Mom for trying, but my write my name down?  No.  Why not?Support the show

God commands us to not worry and to not stress. Given the broken world we live in, how is this possible?  We see people dying, losing their homes, losing their jobs while many others live quiet lives of unhappiness and desperation until they die and are placed in lonesome graves where they will be forgotten and removed as soon as enough time has gone by.Our world is broken, and we have to make our way through it as best we can.  No one gets out of here alive.  And God commands us to not worry and be happy?  How?  And what does this have to do with soup?This will be a good one.  Let’s get right to it.Support the show

In our scriptures for today, we see God's people in exile in Babylonia.  Their holy city has been ravaged and their lives have been turned upside down and inside out.  They are in a foreign land surrounded by other gods and have begun to wonder if God, the one true God, still remembers them or cares about them.  And if He does remember them, and care about them, is He able to take care of them?  Is He able to protect them?  After years of existing in this situation, the people have decided that it's just not their fault.  They are being punished for the sins of their forefathers.  The popular saying of that time was "The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge." meaning that the current uncomfortable situation they are in, is their father's fault and they are blameless.  God is being unfair because it's just not their fault.But is it?  Is God being unfair in punishing these innocent. blameless exiles?  Well, let's get right to it!Support the show

Our verses for today are from the period of about 586 BC to 538 BC, about 50 years.  During this time Israel is under the rule of the Babylonians, and the people are suffering greatly.  Their leaders have been largely executed, publicly executed.  Their children have been forced into slave labor, they are being abused sexually, and are being starved, starved to the point that they resorted to cannibalism.For many years they were warned that God would judge them for their disobedience. but they ignored the many warnings.  Like a child with a loving father who does not want to punish his child, they mistook God's continued patience to mean that they would never be punished.  God gave them many warnings over many years but at a certain point, the time for patience ended, and the time for punishment began.How did the Israelites react to being punished?  How do we react when God punishes us?  How should we?Support the show

Today, we the church have found ourselves in a place we never thought we would be in.  At least not in the United States of America.  In 2019, we were able to freely gather together as Christians and worship God in peace and happiness.  I felt, even then, that we were a little complacent in this and were taking it for granted.  After all, there are many places in the world where Christians are persecuted and even murdered for practicing or even voicing their faith.  We have been aware of it but untouched by it.  Even during slavery and Jim Crow, African Americans were able to freely attend church.But somewhere along the way, complacency began to slowly turn into a slight fear.  Churches began to be targeted for theft, attacks, and even murder.  As churches started to turn their shoulders toward God and their faces toward the world, the world stopped respecting the church and stopped fearing God.And now we have Covid-19.  Many churches are unable to hold services, whether directly because of Covid-19 or because of government restrictions.  Funerals are even affected.  A member of my church family just died and was unable to have a proper funeral service.  This was almost unimaginable just two years ago.But there is good news.  As the false churches fall away and the false Christians bow to the soft pressure of excuses, the real church and the true Christians are highlighted.  As many sit down, the few who remain standing are more easily seen.So we are in a situation.  But we have the power of who we are in Christ and in who our Father is.  What should we do?  Well ... let's get right to it!Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEInstacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Most of us are familiar with the Passover story.  The story of Jesus Christ's prayer in the garden, His betrayal. His torture and execution and His triumph over death when He rose from the grave on that Sunday. We generally refer to this celebratory time as Easter.  And we celebrate it each year, which is fine but we generally end our celebration there.  Did Jesus step out of His grave, say hello to His friends and then go home to wait for us all to catch up with Him?  If you took our celebrations for an indication you might think so. But Jesus was quite busy after His resurrection.  So what did He do?Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEInstacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

The verses for today are: instructive.I ran into a friend of mine the other day, her name is Jerri.  She is a member of Bethel United Methodist Church.  We talked a bit and she started telling me about the eight words they are discussing in her church group.  The words to look out for are Envy, Covetousness, Pride, and Anger.  She told me that they were chosen because envy leads to covetousness.  Covetousness leads to pride and pride leads to anger.  And of course anger leads to all kinds of bad things.  I like the way she laid that out because it helps you to stop moving in the direction of anger, and other bad things, before you get too close to them.She also had a list of good words.  They were humility, patience, meekness and surrender.  All good words and good words to meditate on.Our talk got me thinking though, what are the words that Jesus would have us meditate on?  I did find some but were they the same as the words Jerri gave me?  There's only one way to find out.  Let's get right to it!Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Our verses for today are also some of the most horrifying verses in the Bible.  Especially as a parent, it is difficult for me to put myself in Abraham's place of being obedient when God has commanded him to sacrifice, also known as murder, his only son.We can admire Abraham in that he was obedient to God and we can take hope from his experience in that God did not actually want Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, God was giving us an example of true faith and obedience.  God was giving us an example of how He will provide what we need if we put our faith and trust in Him.But what about that ram, where did it come from?  How did it get in that bush?  Today, let's look at the ram and the bush and see what we can learn from them.Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Our verses today are said to have been written by Jeremiah who is often referred to as the weeping prophet.  And he does cry quite a bit in our scriptures today.  He seems to have lost all hope in his life ever getting better or improving in any way.  He even says that he has forgotten prosperity.  Have you felt this way in your life?  Many people feel this way today as we are going through a worldwide pandemic and our lives have been upended and forever changed in ways we could not have imagined.What should we do when we find ourselves in such a bad, hopeless situation.  What did Jeremiah do?Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

In this new year; I have decided to update my podcast.This podcast was born out of a desire to help my church continue to study their Sunday School lessons despite not being able to attend Sunday School.  Over the months since that time, my church, and many others, have adapted to this pandemic and are now having regular Sunday School services and even Wednesday night Bible Study.  I know of a number of people who are now studying the Word of God and hearing the Word of God more than they had been prior to the pandemic. God has a way of making any situation work out for the good for those who love Him and seek Him.  ( Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. )So let’s talk about that for a few minutes.  How is the church doing in all this?  What is God doing?  And what will our response be? Support the show

In our scriptures for today, we see Jesus going about the Galilee area doing good.  Now when we discuss Jesus going about and doing good, what image comes to mind?  Are you visualizing a sandal wearing Jesus in a brown robe followed by 12 men wearing a similar outfit?  That’s what most of us think of.  The problem with this is that that is an incomplete picture.  Jesus traveled with his 12 disciples, yes, that’s true.  But they were only His “core” group.  He also traveled with other people.  And in that group of “other people” were women.  Many of whom we know nothing about but we do have a little information about some of these ladies.Our scriptures for today involve several of them.Support the show