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God is always with me.

I have been through turning points in my life--times in which I overcame fear, changed my way of thinking, or found inner reserves of courage and strength. As I look back on these times, I realize I was never alone; God was with me as a guiding hand, a comforting presence and a strengthening power. This gives me comfort and peace.

I give thanks for the turning points in my life, for through them, I have emerged stronger and wiser. I have been blessed with new ideas and attitudes, new ways of seeing the world around me and the people in it. What a blessing to know that God is with me in these moments and in every moment of my life!

You have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.--Colossians 3:9-10

1 Corinthians 9:1-27 "Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not..." NIV - Online Bible Study

1 Corinthians 9:1-27 "Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not..." NIV - Online Bible Study

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

The Rights of an Apostle

¹ Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? ² Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. ³ This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. ⁴ Don't we have the right to food and drink? ⁵ Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas ? ⁶ Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living? ⁷ Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? ⁸ Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? ⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned? ¹⁰ Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. ¹¹ If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? ¹² If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. ¹³ Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. ¹⁵ But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. ¹⁶ Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! ¹⁷ If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. ¹⁸ What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it. ¹⁹ Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹ To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³ I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. ²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ²⁷ No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

2 Kings 1:1-18

The LORD's Judgment on Ahaziah

¹ After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel. ² Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, "Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury." ³ But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' ⁴ Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!' " So Elijah went. ⁵ When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, "Why have you come back?" ⁶ "A man came to meet us," they replied. "And he said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending men to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" ' " ⁷ The king asked them, "What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?" ⁸ They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist." The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite." ⁹ Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down!' " ¹⁰ Elijah answered the captain, "If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men. ¹¹ At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, "Man of God, this is what the king says, 'Come down at once!' " ¹² "If I am a man of God," Elijah replied, "may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. ¹³ So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. "Man of God," he begged, "please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! ¹⁴ See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!" ¹⁵ The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king. ¹⁶ He told the king, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" ¹⁷ So he died, according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. ¹⁸ As for all the other events of Ahaziah's reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

2 Kings 2:1-25

¹ When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. ³ The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it." ⁴ Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. ⁵ The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it." ⁶ Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on. ⁷ Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. ⁸ Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. ⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied. ¹⁰ "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours--otherwise not." ¹¹ As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. ¹² Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. ¹³ He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. ¹⁵ The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, "The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha." And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. ¹⁶ "Look," they said, "we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley." "No," Elisha replied, "do not send them." ¹⁷ But they persisted until he was too ashamed to refuse. So he said, "Send them." And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. ¹⁸ When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"

Healing of the Water

¹⁹ The men of the city said to Elisha, "Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive." ²⁰ "Bring me a new bowl," he said, "and put salt in it." So they brought it to him. ²¹ Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, "This is what the LORD says: 'I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.' " ²² And the water has remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken. ²³ From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" ²⁴ He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. ²⁵ And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

Amos 7:1-17

Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

¹ This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king's share had been harvested and just as the second crop was coming up. ² When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, "Sovereign LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!" ³ So the LORD relented. "This will not happen," the LORD said. ⁴ This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. ⁵ Then I cried out, "Sovereign LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!" ⁶ So the LORD relented. "This will not happen either," the Sovereign LORD said. ⁷ This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. ⁸ And the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Amos?" "A plumb line," I replied. Then the Lord said, "Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. ⁹ "The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam."

Amos and Amaziah

¹⁰ Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: "Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. ¹¹ For this is what Amos is saying: " 'Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.' " ¹² Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. ¹³ Don't prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom." ¹⁴ Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. ¹⁵ But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' ¹⁶ Now then, hear the word of the LORD. You say, " 'Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the house of Isaac.' ¹⁷ "Therefore this is what the LORD says: " 'Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will certainly go into exile, away from their native land.'

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RESILIENCE

I have the resolve and resilience to do what is mine to do.

Although difficult circumstances come my way from time to time, I know better than to let outer situations get the best of me. I remember that wherever I am, God is and always will be.

A child learning to walk will fall on occasion, but he will also get up and try again. The child gets stronger and steadier with every try, and eventually walks without effort. Like that child, I have an inner resilience. If I stumble occasionally, I learn and grow from any seeming mistakes or missteps.

I have the inner strength to bounce back from any challenge. Knowing this, I move through my day with confidence and flexibility. I have the inner resolve and resilience to do whatever is mine to do.

Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.--1 Corinthians 16:13

Jesus

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1 Corinthians 8:1-13 "Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know..." KJV - Online Bible Study

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 "Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know..." KJV - Online Bible Study Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up , but charity edifieth . ² And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know . ³ But if any man love God, the same is known of him. ⁴ As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. ⁵ For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) ⁶ But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. ⁷ Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled . ⁸ But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat , are we the better ; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse . ⁹ But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak . ¹⁰ For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; ¹¹ And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish , for whom Christ died ? ¹² But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. ¹³ Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend , I will eat no flesh while the world standeth , lest I make my brother to offend .

1 Kings 22:1-53

¹ And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. ² And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. ³ And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still , and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? ⁴ And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead ? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. ⁵ And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire , I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. ⁶ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together , about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear ? And they said , Go up ; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. ⁷ And Jehoshaphat said , Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? ⁸ And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said , Let not the king say so. ⁹ Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said , Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. ¹⁰ And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. ¹¹ And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said , Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. ¹² And all the prophets prophesied so, saying , Go up to Ramothgilead , and prosper : for the LORD shall deliver it into the king's hand. ¹³ And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying , Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. ¹⁴ And Micaiah said , As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak . ¹⁵ So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear ? And he answered him, Go , and prosper : for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. ¹⁶ And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? ¹⁷ And he said , I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd : and the LORD said , These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. ¹⁸ And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? ¹⁹ And he said , Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. ²⁰ And the LORD said , Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead ? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. ²¹ And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said , I will persuade him. ²² And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said , I will go forth , and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said , Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth , and do so. ²³ Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. ²⁴ But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near , and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said , Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? ²⁵ And Micaiah said , Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. ²⁶ And the king of Israel said , Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; ²⁷ And say , Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison , and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. ²⁸ And Micaiah said , If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said , Hearken , O people, every one of you. ²⁹ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead . ³⁰ And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. ³¹ But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying , Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. ³² And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said , Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out . ³³ And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. ³⁴ And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded . ³⁵ And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. ³⁶ And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying , Every man to his city, and every man to his own country. ³⁷ So the king died , and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸ And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake . ³⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did , and the ivory house which he made , and all the cities that he built , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ⁴⁰ So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. ⁴¹ And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. ⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign ; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ⁴³ And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away ; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. ⁴⁴ And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. ⁴⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed , and how he warred , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ⁴⁶ And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. ⁴⁷ There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king. ⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber. ⁴⁹ Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. ⁵⁰ And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. ⁵¹ Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. ⁵² And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin : ⁵³ For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done .

Amos 6:1-14

¹ Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came ! ² Pass ye unto Calneh, and see ; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great : then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? ³ Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near ; ⁴ That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; ⁵ That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; ⁶ That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. ⁷ Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive , and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed . ⁸ The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. ⁹ And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die . ¹⁰ And a man's uncle shall take him up , and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say , No. Then shall he say , Hold thy tongue : for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD. ¹¹ For, behold, the LORD commandeth , and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts. ¹² Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: ¹³ Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say , Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? ¹⁴ But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

The King James Version is in the public domain.