hope in a tree

For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will grow again, and that its branches will not stop growing.

- Job 14:7 (NLV)

 

The last few months have been rough for my friends and family.
We have had some very crazy things happening, things that have cut us down pretty far.
There are days that some of us have nearly (or completely) lost hope. 
I have a friend that is attending a Bible study on Job, Finding the Joy in Job, and from what little she told me, it seems like a good study.
Of all the people who have had bad luck, Job certainly had more than his share, but he never lost hope.
There is an old saying about when you hit rock bottom the only place to go is up.
It's a great saying if you don’t get trampled on the bottom! 
But this verse . . . this verse should remind us that as children of God, we have hope.
We are like a tree, we can get cut down, we can lose branches in the wind. 
But if we have God, we have hope, and we will grow again. 

   

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

luck of the draw

Here’s something else I’ve seen on this earth. Races aren’t always won by those who run fast. Battles aren’t always won by those who are strong. Wise people don’t always have plenty of food. Clever people aren’t always wealthy. Those who have learned a lot aren’t always successful. God controls the timing of every event. He also controls how things turn out.

- Ecclesiastes 9:11 (NIRV)

 

King Solomon was known for his wisdom, but the story of his life reveals that he was also a great fool.
His years of ruling included the most prosperous years that Israel had known. 

But King Solomon loved building fancy things and foreign women, to the point of building great temples to the gods that were important to his wives.
His frivolousness resulted in years of oppression of his people and idolatry. 
King Solomon was wise, but wisdom only helps us if we use it.   

I like the Message translation of this verse: I took another walk around the neighborhood and realized that on this earth as it is— The race is not always to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor satisfaction to the wise, Nor riches to the smart, Nor grace to the learned. Sooner or later bad luck hits us all.

You might be the fastest or the strongest, but you aren’t always going to win.
We might be smart and clever, but we may be lacking in some of the things that are more important than money or property.

We could work our entire lives to set ourselves up for success, and in one moment it can all be taken away.
Natural disasters, evil people, unexpected bad luck, we all have it. 
Wisdom is good to have, but it also matters that God controls the timing of every event and how everything turns out.

We will all have bad luck at some point - just don’t turn from God when it does.
The luck of the draw is one thing, but God is consistent. 

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

 

what comes around

In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets.

- Matthew 7:12 (NET)   

 

The golden rule: treat others as you want to be treated; the platinum rule: treat others better than you want to be treated.
Why do we have to be nice to people at all? 

Because God said so, and what comes around goes around.
In today’s world everyone is worried about what others think, there are media influencers, celebrity spokespersons, everywhere around us there is someone telling us how to look, think and act.
We are judged by the car we drive, the job we have, the money we spend. 
Stop! 
It doesn’t matter. 
What matters the most is kindness; it costs nothing to be kind to people. 
People see and hear the way you treat others, especially when you are not being kind.
Others make excuses for those people by saying they are just “direct”, but sometimes they are not being direct, but using their positions to allow them to bully others.
Don’t be that person.  
Be compassionate, even if others are not compassionate toward us.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

40 years

The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise.

- Proverbs 23:24 (NLT)

 

The number 40 appears in the Bible over 150 times between the Old and the New Testaments.
It is often associated with periods of testing, trial, and preparation, but can also represent new life, new growth, and transformation, or even symbolize the completion of God’s purpose.
God said it would rain for 40 days and 40 nights, Goliath taunted the Israelites for 40 days.
Moses prepared for 40 years, and Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. 
Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, and there were 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension.

This year, 40 has a different significance for me, it has been 40 years since my dad passed away.
I chose this verse today because I hope that my dad sees that he raised a godly daughter, and I hope that he is proud of me.
I would assume that fathers, like mothers, strive to raise their children to be good and productive members of society.
We are told in the Bible that God finds great pleasure in His children, especially those who follow His word.
I wasn’t the best or the easiest kid to raise, but I think that both my dad and my heavenly Father are happy with what I have done with my life in the last 40 years.
I miss my dad, and I hope to see him again someday. 
   

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

 

rocks

He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.

- Deuteronomy 32:4 (NKJV)

 

I believe that every child in the world at some point in their life collects rocks.
They are great for craft projects, weights, all kinds of things. 
Some are pretty, some are shaped in cool ways, some are sharp, some are smooth, you never know what you are going to find when you go on a rock hunting excursion.
Wouldn’t it be cool to find a rock that is perfect? 
A rock that is immovable? 

A rock that will never fail in what you need it to do or be?
There is such a rock, that rock is God. 
God is the rock, he is unchanging, immovable, the foundation of all integrity and justice.
God’s work is perfect, He is faithful to His word, and He keeps His promises. 
He is honest, fair, and true. 
He is the rock on which I build my faith, there is no other rock as strong. 

Finding Him is the best rock hunting adventure you could take.

   

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

 

what you’ve got

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

- 1 John 5:12 (NKJV)

Back in 1993, the advertising agency of Goodby Silverstein & Partners launched a campaign for the California Milk Processor Board “Got Milk?”.
This slogan permeated billboards, magazines, and television for twenty-one years, it is number 5 on the top 50 best slogans of all time.
The oldest slogan still in use according to most sources is – wait for it – “In God We Trust”.
That is pretty fitting for the verse today, don’t you think? 
What does it mean? 
Well, it means that we can’t find eternal life through any other way but through Jesus.
We can’t give our way to heaven.

We can’t build any mode of transportation that will take us to heaven.
There is nothing that a human can do, good works, scientifically, or anything else that is going to give us eternal life, there is no fountain of youth.
There is only one way. 
Salvation comes through faith in Jesus. 
Got God? 

   

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

I’m not gonna lie

 I am writing the truth. God knows I am not lying.

- Galatians 1:20 (NLV)

 

“I’m not gonna lie.”
This is one of those slang expressions that became a common part of everyday language used often on social media to preface an honest albeit sometimes critical opinion or observation.
Quite often the words that follow that statement do more damage than good.
“I’m not gonna lie, it hurt my feelings when you . . .” 
“I’m not gonna lie, that outfit does not look good . . “
Can you imagine the response the Galatians would have had if Paul had written “I’m not gonna lie” when there were so many people that were still questioning his words?
Paul felt moved to ensure that the Galatians of his commitment to telling the truth, defending his authority as an apostle against those who questioned how he received the gospel.

It's a shame that there are still people who don’t believe one word of the Bible.
When we tell others about Jesus, we probably shouldn’t say “I’m not gonna lie” because that kind of lends to the belief that everything else we have said is untrue.
We shouldn’t ever lie, but that is a totally different topic. 
Paul wrote the truth. 
He was a changed man because of Christ Jesus, and we can be changed too, we just need to know the truth.
The truth is the Good New is from God Himself, that there is salvation in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
   

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible