Month: February 2017

Where there is no vision, the people are uncontrolled; but he who keeps the law will be happy.

– Proverbs 29:18 (Bible in Basic English)

To give your life proper direction you should have a vision (from God obviously) so that you don’t just run wild doing everything except that which God wants you to do in the first place.  Even big secular non-Christian companies have a “mission statement.”  Seek the Holy Spirit today to make the vision for your life clear so that you are always working toward that ultimate goal and not wasting your time doing worthless things.

Purify me from sin with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

– Psalm 51:7 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

When I first read this verse years ago I just didn’t get it.  How are the branches of a hyssop plant supposed to clean sin?  Remember the night the children of Israel were about to delivered from Egypt and the death angel took all the first born?  The exception was he was not allowed to touch those who were in houses that had the lamb’s blood on the door posts spread on them by…say it with me…HYSSOP!  Now it’s not the hyssop plant that cleans sin but the BLOOD that that is applied with it.  Thank you Jesus for your Blood!  What can make me white as snow?  Nothing but the Blood!

That day they offered many sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them reason to rejoice. The women and children rejoiced as well. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard from far away.

– Nehemiah 12:39 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

Can you imagine this happening today?  Why not!?  The praise of God was SO LOUD that it can be heard in the surrounding towns!  So yes God really does like loud praise!  (And of course the devil hates it!  Hah hah)

He that shall overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

– Revelation 3:5 (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Wait a minute!  Hold the phone!  You mean to tell me that one day Jesus is going to say something like, “Hey Father, and you angels too…let me tell you about Rick Costa {insert your own name here}”  I don’t know about you my friend but the thought of that blows me away.  That the Creator of everything that exists will mention me BY NAME to His creation?  Wow.

Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God. Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest. If you plant in the soil of your corrupt nature, you will harvest destruction. But if you plant in the soil of your spiritual nature, you will harvest everlasting life.

– Galatians 6:7-8 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

If you invest your time in the foolishness of this world you will hurt your spiritual growth in God. Instead build yourself up in His Word, in prayer and in fellowship with your brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Everything written long ago was written to teach us so that we would have confidence through the endurance and encouragement which the Scriptures give us.

– Romans 15:4 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

One of the great things about reading the Bible is you find out that all of God’s people from throughout time go through the same types of things that we do and if they can make it, so can you!

But, in reality, Christ *has* risen from among the dead, being the first to do so of those who are asleep. For seeing that death came through man, through man comes also the resurrection of the dead. For just as through Adam all die, so also through Christ all will be made alive again. But this will happen to each in the right order–Christ having been the first to rise, and afterwards Christ’s people rising at His return.
– 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (Weymouth New Testament)

Not only did Jesus rise from the dead but because He did, so will we! Hallelujah!

Just as Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
– Matthew 12:40 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

It may look like something happened to put a stop to the plan of God in your life but keep the faith…it might just be put on hold so He can accomplish something else in the meantime.