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May the Lord draw you to Him today. He is the only Way to have peace and purpose.
- dr joe
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Food for Thought...
I believe our nation is headed for very hard, even disastrous times. I do not believe politics will fix our economy - it's too far gone - too much debt to ever pay back. We depend completely on our fragile technological infrastructure for food, water, shelter, transportation, and entertainment. Any number of events could cause a sudden collapse of our system e.g., electric grid collapse from terrorism, natural event like solar flare, simple breakdown from lack of modernization, or Israel attacks Iran and the price of oil skyrockets, or China stops buying our treasury bonds. I am feeling called to prepare for such disaster by working to be less dependent and more self-sufficient. If you have interest in or questions about this line of thinking, please e-mail me by replying to this e-mail. Below are some of my favorite links:
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Matthew 11:25
25 At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Jesus mentioned two kinds of people in his prayer: the "wise and clever," arrogant in their own knowledge; and the "childlike," humbly open to receive the truth of God's Word. Are you wise in your own eyes, or do you seek the truth in childlike faith, realizing that only God holds all the answers. There is a blindness that we all have to God until we allow Him to open our eyes. For 32 years of my life I didn't get it and simply assumed there must be some scientific explanation for the origin of Life and all its mysteries. Now it seems amazing to me that any scientist, especially a medical doctor, could possibly believe that all of the universe is some accident of nature. I do believe in the Big Bang Theory. God said, "Let there be light!" and BANG, there was LIGHT!
Verse and commentary above is copied from the Life Application Study Bible Reading Plan on YouVersion. Check it out at: http://www.youversion.com/ .
Any Dr JOE comments will be in BLUE :0)
Acts 9:19-31
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" 22
Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. Only Jesus can truly transform a person.
23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25
But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. The Christian life is never boring! God does miracles in all different ways. Sometimes he inspires us to use our own ingenuity. Is this where they got the idea for hanging baskets? :0)
26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews (Greek Jews), but they tried to kill him. How powerful is Jesus? If people tried to kill you when you spoke about someone, would you still go out of your way to put yourself in danger? Saul was literally knocked off his high horse by Jesus and recognized that He is truly all that matters in life. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria
enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. Should we fear God? How? I know I don't "fear" Him enough. I think of it this way. If I don't respect my earthly father because I think he is weak or doesn't care about me or doesn't watch me, then I'll do whatever I want without fear of consequences. ( I am who I am because God gave me an earthly father who was none of those things.) I need to respect God enough to let Him be in charge of my life. I need to remember that He is perfect Love but also perfect Justice.
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Questions?
Please email me with any questions about today's scripture message or anything related to the Bible or Christianity.
I might not know the answer but I'll try real hard to find it.
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