Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #71

Testimony

Acts 26

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 28-29) "Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?' Paul replied, 'Short time or long--I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.' "

My Thoughts

Paul gave his testimony of how he came to know Christ. This was not the first time he had done so. King Agrippa's response to Paul was interesting. He knew that this was Paul's testimony and that Paul hoped he, and the others listening, would come to know Christ. Your testimony is important as well, even if it is not in any way similar to Paul's testimony.

People often have an easier time believing that something is true when there is testimony from others to go along with it. This is especially true when the claims are hard enough to believe as it is. It can be hard to believe some of the things that God has done because these things usually are not common place. So for people to hear them is great, but if they don't have testimony that someone else, living, has witnessed the same things, they may find it hard to believe.

The testimony that you give of the things that God has done for you and how He has changed your life make it all the more believable to those who hear who don't already believe. Give your testimony faithfully and honestly and don't be discouraged if someone gives you the same response Festus gave to Paul, "You are out of your mind!" You tell them what Paul said, "What I am saying is true and reasonable."

You never know, maybe your testimony is the first anyone has heard of Christ before, in which case, once they hear more, they will be more inclined to at least learn more. If yours is yet another time someone has heard about Christ, maybe yours will be enough for them to make the choice to follow God.

When you give testimony, be sure that it is honest and true. If people don't see that there has actually been any change, or they find out that a part of it was false, then that will most likely ruin all hope for them to commit there lives to Christ. If there is no change in your life from before you became a Christian to after, no one will believe that Christ has actually changed your life.

Be honest and faithful when you give your testimony of how Christ has changed your life. Stand firm when people don't believe you or when people argue with you. You may just be the one to bring someone to a relationship with Christ, whether you know about it or not.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Antichamber Endgame Review

Antichamber was such a great mind-bending experience! It has caused me much stress, frustration and excitement. I loved every minute of my time playing Antichamber, even though some of its puzzles were extremely challenging. I will say that I only looked up three parts because I could not figure it out whatsoever, but I only looked at part of the solution so I could have a starting point and then figured out the rest myself.

The puzzles in Antichamber are fun, extremely rewarding and a great challenge. I absolutely enjoyed playing it, and i think the puzzles are great for making you actually use your brain. A lot of games now don't really allow you to challenge yourself and to grow your brain as much as Antichamber does.

There are still some things within Antichamber that I do not understand and probably never will! I know I have missed a few things as well. I have been to every single room, as far as I know, according to the map, but I have missed one of the posters that has something written on it.

That's another thing, Antichamber has these little posters that have, what I would call, quotes on them. These are used as subtle, and not so subtle, hints and also seem to have a slightly deeper meaning. They aren't just focused on the game itself, but a lot of them can equate to real life. I like that. I love it when a game or a story or a movie etcetera has some part of it that can equate to real life. For me, it makes the experience even better.

All in all, Antichamber was a super great game and awesome experience, I highly recommend playing it, if you haven't already. I will leave my video of the ending down below for you watch if you would like, and If you want to see more videos that I have made, click my name above the video to head over to my channel and don't forget to subscribe while you're there! Just so you know, this video is NOT the last one, there is one more after this where I visit all the rooms that I missed before the ending.

DragoNate

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #70

Comfort

Isaiah 40

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 1) "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." (v. 31) "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

My Thoughts

God is our comforter. When we feel weary or faint, sad or upset, frustrated or disappointed, God is our comforter. He will be there for those whose hope is in Him and we will not grow weary or faint. There isn't anyone who can comfort us like God does, and there certainly isn't any thing that could.

Take for example the loss of a loved one, which, I might add, is never easy. Those whose hope is in God often move past it sooner than those who don't. We never forget our loved ones, but we remember that we will see them again one day in heaven. I hate using the term 'get over' it because it sounds horrible and that is not at all what needs to be done.

You never 'get over' the loss of a loved one. What does happen and what we do need to do in this type of situation is 'move past' it. To move past it means to move on with acceptance of it, but not forget. When you go through a loss of a loved one, it is going to be hard, no matter what. But it does become easier once you're able to move past it. For those whose hope is in God, we know we will see them again if they too hope in the Lord.

A lot of times, those who do not hope in the Lord, they become stuck in a situation such as this. They are stuck because they don't have certainty that they will see them again. It often causes a large amount of stress and they dwell on it for a long period of time. They don't have any comfort in knowing their loved ones will be seen again one day.

No amount of money or possessions or love or anything else could ever replace a significant loss. I turn to God for comfort when I need it because God is the only one who can fill any empty space in my life. If you have an empty space in your life and you are trying everything to fill the void, you will not be satisfied unless you ask Jesus to fill that void. If that is what you need and you know this and you are ready to ask Jesus into your heart, you can do so right now. All you have to do is ask for forgiveness of your sins, thank God for His Son and ask Jesus to come into you heart. Then, receive Him and pray often and read His word the Bible.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #69

Not Our Will, but God's be Done

Luke 22

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 41-44) "He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 'Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.' An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground."

My Thoughts

Jesus came to earth to save the lost. He came for each and every one of us. God gave us His own Son as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Jesus knew that this was he reason He was here and He knew exactly what was going to happen. Jesus still prayed that if there was another way, to let it be so. He went through with the whole thing because of His faith and because of His love for us.

It's a weird thing to think that Jesus would have prayed about something like this. At the same time, it is such an amazing and profound thing as well. This is because Jesus was God in the flesh. He is fully God, but fully human at the same time, and this shows His human aspect greatly.

Of course Jesus wouldn't want to have to go through what He was about to go through, who would? That is why Jesus prayed about this. He was strengthened by an angel because this was God's plan. Jesus was going to defeat death and disarm Satan. There was a price that had to be paid for this to occur, and that price was for us to pay, not Jesus. But Jesus paid the price for us.

Jesus wanted only what His Father in heaven wanted. That is how we should be as well. Yes, of course we can have our own desires, but we should place God's desires and His plan above our own. God's plan will take place, no matter what, no one can stand in His way. If God wants something to happen, it will, whether we like it or not. That doesn't mean that everything that happens is God's doing, some things are just allowed by Him.

Bad things that happen to us like disease, hurt, loss, are not from God. God allows these things to happen, but He does not cause them. His plan is in what comes after they happen. What is bad right now God will use to create good. We just have to trust in Him and allow Him to act.

Often times we don't have the mindset that Jesus had. "Yet not my will, but yours be done." That is how we should think. That is what we should say to God when we ask for things. Ask for what you want to ask for, but remember that it is God's will that is to be done, not our own.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #68

God's Promise of Forgiveness

2 Chronicles 7

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 13 -14) " 'When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

My Thoughts

God has given us a lot of promises and He keeps every single one. This promise in particular is for those of us who are doing wicked evil things and disobeying God. See, no matter what anyone does, whether they worship idols or commit horrible acts, God will still forgive them, if they turn from those evil things and seek His face.

God always hears us when we speak to Him. Even when we aren't speaking to Him, he hears us. Even though He always hears us, He won't necessarily always step in when we want Him to. God has His ways and He won't help us if we don't truly care about Him. He is not some kind of genie, as I have said before, to grant our every wish.

If we only talk to God when we need something or want something, do you think He is actually going to respond? He might the first time or two to see if you get the hint that He is there and that He loves you, but if you continue to disobey and then ask Him for things, He won't respond.

However, if you pray and ask for forgiveness and you are committed to changing your ways, God will respond to you with open arms. God loves each and every one of His children, and His children are all of us.Even when we turn from Him or disobey Him, God loves us. Love does not mean that He won't punish us, in fact He will because He loves us. If and when those who have turned from Him decide to return, God will welcome them back.

Anything that you are doing that you know you need to stop doing, commit yourself to changing. Turn back to God and receive His love and forgiveness and joy and peace and eternal life.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

A Story About My Uncle Endgame Review

Well, A Story About My Uncle is now finished. I am now upset with this fact. I loved this game so much, no matter how mad certain parts made me, and believe me, some parts made me pretty angry! Aside from all that, the game was so much fun to play and the story was amazing.

The ending makes me a bit sad in a can't-go-back kind of way. It's also a bit sad that Uncle Fred is now gone for good, as far as we know, and for the narrator/main character because he never gets to see him again. There is also a bit of happiness at the end. Uncle Fred is where he needs to be, with Maddie and her people, and his nephew has his own daughter and is starting on his own adventure with her.

A Story About My Uncle shows you that life is an adventure in itself, and that is very true. Take advantage of the opportunities that you are given and make the most of life so that you don't have any regrets. I also get from this game that you should never forget where you came from or the people that you've known.

I don't really know what else to say except the whole experience playing through A Story About My Uncle was absolutely amazing. I always wish with things like this that I could go back and experience it again the same way I did the first time, but I know that its not possible. Anyway, I am happy that I got to experience this game in the first place.

Thank you Gone North Games for making A Story About My Uncle and I hope that you guys come out with more great games! I've included my final video on A Story About My Uncle below if you would like to watch it. If you enjoy it and want to see more of my videos, click on my name above the video to go to my channel and don't forget to subscribe while you're there!

DragoNate

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #67

Healed by Faith

Mark 5

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 30) "At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, 'Who touched my clothes?' " (v. 34) "He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.' "

My Thoughts

There was a woman who was not well and she touched Jesus' clothes because she had faith saying, "If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed." Jesus asked the crowd who touched Him. He's Jesus! He should have known who touched Him, right? Well, He wasn't asking because He didn't know, He asked because He wanted to make note of her faith.

This woman had just a little bit of faith, and she didn't want it to be known either because she exercised her faith in Jesus secretively. She didn't come forward right away because she was afraid. She was ceremonially unclean because of her condition and it would have been a horrible thing for her to touch a holy person like Jesus as such.

Jesus was happy about her faith, as small as it was, and wanted to make note of it. See, Jesus can use small things and minuscule amounts to do great things and to accomplish much. Nothing is to small for Him to use. Even if you have just a teeny bit of faith, even with doubts, Jesus can use it.

Don't ever be worried that your faith isn't good enough. If you hold onto that small amount of faith, lots can be done. If you hold onto that small bit of faith, Jesus can make it grow so that it is huge and you have an abundance. This woman was healed by her faith from a problem that has only gotten worse no matter how much treatment she got. Imagine what else could be done through faith!

Stay strong in your faith and let it grow ever stronger. God is faithful toward us, so we should be faithful to Him as well.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #66

Friends

3 John

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 13-14) "I have much to write to you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name."

My Thoughts

Friends are important. Friends keep us from being lonely, they are there for each other, they talk and discuss things, and so on. Most of my friends aren't even Christ followers, but there is nothing wrong with that. Christ doesn't want us to keep within ourselves anyway, so it's perfect. For your friends who do follow Christ, pray together. That is such an awesome thing, to talk to God with others!

John wrote to his friend, Gaius, because he wanted to talk with him, tell him things and encourage him. He would also rather talk in person with his friend than write to him. That is always so much nicer, isn't it? When you talk to your friends face to face, it is so much better than talking to them via email, text, or even phoning or writing.

In society today, it is better to talk over phone or by writing if you can't face to face. Emails can be misconstrued, as well as texts because you can't hear tone of voice to determine joking from insult or excitement from anger. Writing is usually clearer because you can understand the tone of the letter by the way in which it was given. Who actually writes letters now anyway? It would be cool to receive a letter from a friend or family member!

The point is, face to face interaction between people is usually better, not only language-wise, but because you can actually see the person. With a screen between you, there is still distance, you can't hug or high-five.

Encourage your friends and talk to them often, try for face to face rather than texting or calling. Especially if there is a problem between you and a friend, it would be better to deal with it face to face then to possibly make the problem worse by misinterpreting written words. I know sometimes you really don't have that option because of one reason or another, but try to keep device communication on the back burner.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #65

Meekness

Zephaniah 3

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 11-12) "On that day you will not be put to shame for all the wrongs you have done to me, because I will remove from this city those who rejoice in their pride. Never again will you haughty on my hill. But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the Lord."

My Thoughts

You have probably heard of being humble before, but have you heard of being meek? Meekness isn't a bad thing when it comes to God, in fact we should be meek before God. It is similar in meaning to humble but a bit different. Meek is a word that is often used in a negative kind of way, like to describe those kids in school who just let others push them around.

Meekness is like humbleness, not elevating ourselves and not boasting. Meekness is like submissiveness, to submit to God and what He wants rather than what we want. Meekness is to be obedient to God. It is not to let God push us around and walk all over us the way people do, but it is to do what God wants us to do because we want and choose to do so.

When we are meek before God, we rely on Him and not ourselves or anything that we have. We abandon our own desires for the sake of Christ and His work. That doesn't mean that we can't ask God for anything that we want or that we can't have things that we want. That just means that we focus on God and His desires rather than on our own.

God always has our best interests at heart, so why would it be a bad thing to do this? If we focus on our own desires and our own selves, we won't get very far. We need to align our hearts and our minds with that of Christ so that we put Him into everything that we do. When we rely on God, amazing things can happen because we are allowing God to act and having faith in Him.

When it comes to God, be meek and humble. Put your trust fully in Him and be obedient to what He wants. Your life will be filled with more joy the more you lean on God.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #64

Don't Hold a Grudge

Esther 3

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 5-6) "When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai's people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai's people, the Jews, Throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes."

My Thoughts

Okay, hands up, who knows what holding a grudge against someone does? Good, I see most of you do! Yes, that's right, holding a grudge causes grief and stress because not only does it keep negative feelings bottled up inside, but it keeps the embers smoldering. You could start to harbor bad thoughts about how you would exact revenge. That's exactly what Haman did.

Haman let his position go to his head and he became very egotistic, if he wasn't already. When Mordecai wouldn't kneel to Haman, Haman lost it. He took it personally and held a grudge against Mordecai, and that grudge spread to all of Mordecai's people. That's pretty extreme, don't you think? Now, what was the reason Mordecai wouldn't kneel to Haman? It was because he would bow to none but the Lord God Almighty.

Haman's rage was so great, that he sought to kill Mordecai and all his people. He actually was able to get a plan up and running to do so. Little did Haman know that Esther was a Jew and Mordecai her cousin. That's another reading though. The point of this reading is to not hold a grudge because of how bad it can become if you allow it.

When you hold a grudge against one person, it is likely that eventually you will hate everyone associated with them, or you start trying to pit them against your target. Either way, it ends badly and it is not worth it. It is far healthier and better all around to just forgive them and move on. Don't let hate consume you.

When someone hurts you in any way, take what time you need to recover and give it to God. Forgive them and then move on. Don't harbor negative feelings, it will only make things worse for yourself and eventually others.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Month #2 of Daily Bible Readings

Month #1 of Daily Bible Readings

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #63

Mercy

Matthew 18

I pray blessings on you as you read

(v. 21-22) "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

My Thoughts

The parable of the lost sheep that Jesus tells in Matthew 18 shows His love and His mercy. He would be happier about the one who is found than the 99 who are already safe and He would leave all of them to find the one who is lost. I want to focus on Jesus' parable of the unmerciful servant.

It's obvious what that parable is about but that is only the title. The master had mercy on his servant who owed him ten thousand talents, which would be millions of dollars equivalent for us! That is a huge debt! When the servant begged him to give him time and he would pay it all back, the master cancelled his debt! He cancelled it entirely and sent him on his way. How amazing is that?

A fellow servant owed this servant, whose debt was cancelled, one hundred denarii, which in our equivalent, would be a few dollars. This servant also begged for time, but the one he owed refused and had him thrown into prison. How dare he?! He just had a debt of millions cancelled because his master took pity on him, and he couldn't forgive a few dollars?

The mercy of the master is like that of God, in fact, God is that master. I won't say that God will have that great mercy on us because He already has. He has already forgiven our great debt of sin and because He has forgiven us, so should we forgive those who sin against us.

Jesus answers Peter saying to forgive our brother who sins against us seventy-seven times. That's an odd number, huh? I mean, who is going to keep track of how many times a person hurts them, up to seventy-seven times? That just doesn't make sense. When it gets to seventy-eight, you're going to say, "Nope, sorry, you've used all seventy-seven chances you had." Ridiculous, right? Well, that's the point. Jesus didn't give that number as a literal thing, that we must keep track up to because no one would actually do that. He said that because no one would do that.

You'd eventually lose count one way or another, so what Jesus really means is that there is no set number of times that we should forgive someone. We should always forgive them. If God had given us seventy-seven chances, pretty well all of us would have already used up all of them, and then some. God doesn't keep track of how many times, He looks at our hearts. He has such great mercy on us, so should we not have such great mercy on our fellows?

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #62

Courage

Luke 1

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 30-35) "But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.' 'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." (v. 38) " 'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May it be to me as you have said.' Then the angel left her.

My Thoughts

There have been many great heroes throughout history and many people recognized and remembered for a wide range of things. You hear about the courage of different people. If anyone had courage, it was Mary. Mary had great courage to say that she was willing to bear God's Son, considering she was a virgin who wasn't even married yet, but only engaged. Can you imagine what her fiancé, Joseph, would be thinking? Not to mention her friends, family, and Joseph's family?

Not only did Mary have great courage to do this, but Joseph did too. He was her fiancé, he was going to have a hard time with people's reactions as well because it wasn't going to be his child. He had a lot of courage to stick by Mary and faith to trust in God. That's another thing, Mary had faith too. This wasn't going to be an easy thing for either of them, but they trusted and relied on God through it all.

The courage that these two had persisted, not worrying or even caring about what others said or did or thought. That is how we should be. We should have such great courage to do God's will, to follow Him, that no one'swords, thoughts or actions could deter us from doing so. God could accomplish so much in and through us! That is how I want to be.

I think often of what other people think, though I have started to think about that less and less. It is hard for me. I don't necessarily worry about it, just think about it. I want to get away from even that and only think about what God thinks and how He feels about what it is I do. That takes courage.

Have courage, friends. Whatever you do, have courage to do it. Courage will help you to persist when things seem bleak, tough, impossible, or when you are facing opposition. Link, from Legend of Zelda, has the Triforce of Courage. He goes on his adventures and prevails because of that courage. He doesn't need the power, that Ganon has because his courage overcomes Ganon's abuse of power.

Be courageous to do the things that seem impossible. Faith and courage from God will help you to persevere and prevail.

Previous PostNext Post

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #61

Stubbornness

Hosea 4

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 16) "The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. How then can God pasture them like lambs in a meadow?"

My Thoughts

Well, this is different, only one verse today, and a short one at that. Hey, it doesn't always take a lot to get a point across, it can be very little! So stubbornness. You're not stubborn, are you? Not always at least, right? I know I can be at times. Being stubborn means that you won't change your attitude or position or ways, despite there being good reason to do so.

Sometimes stubbornness can be a good thing, if you are not willing to change your position, attitude or ways because to you have good reason not to. I think that a person who did not want to get a chip implanted in their dog would be considered stubborn. I would be one of those people. The reason I would give is simply that I don't personally agree with doing so because if God had wanted that to be, He would have made it so from the start. That's what I think, but that is also just an example.

That example and anything similar are kind of what stubbornness is like. There are, probably, pros and cons for each side, both being good arguments. Neither side is necessarily right or wrong, solely from an objective point of view. That is not always how it is, however. There are many situations where you cannot be stubborn about it because if you are, you miss out on something great or you suffer the consequences.

Smoking would be an example where you would suffer the consequences, which would be damaging to your health. Disobeying God is an example where being stubborn about and not changing your ways will cause you to miss out on God's blessings and greatness that He has for you. This is what the second part of the verse means. For God to pasture us like lambs in a meadow means for Him to bless us. He can't bless us if we choose not to listen to Him, the same way a (good) parent won't reward their child for bad behavior.

God has so much good planned for each of you and myself, but we will miss out on it if we disobey Him. Don't be stubborn about certain things. Stubbornness I would call beliefs and values when you are holding on to your position on something because of good reason to do so. Otherwise, the word stubborn has a negative connotation. So don't be stubborn. Allow God to bless you in the ways that He wants to, obey Him faithfully and you will be blessed. You are blessed just because you have accepted the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Previous PostNext Post

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #60

Fear God

Isaiah 8

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 12-13) " 'Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy, do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread."

My Thoughts

Well, now that's strange, isn't it? We are to fear God and to dread God? That's what God himself told Isaiah. I'm sure you have probably heard this before, to fear God, haven't you? Let me tell you, the fear that we are to have for God is not at all the same fear that some people have of spiders or deep water or tight spaces. It is actually a good kind of fear.

Good kind of fear? Well, yes, there is a such thing as a healthy fear. It would probably be better known as rational fear and the unhealthy fear is known as irrational fear. I am going to stick with the terms healthy and unhealthy for this though. So, examples of a healthy fear may include a fear of heights. The reason why is that then, you won't be as inclined to go near high edges where you could fall off and die or become seriously injured. An unhealthy fear would be a fear of books or some other such silliness.

These two examples, as well as pretty much any example you could think of, are not set in stone. You can overcome a fear of heights without it necessarily becoming any more dangerous. You can also have an extreme fear of heights that would prevent you from taking the stairs, which would then be unhealthy. A fear of books may be a healthy fear, if there is a reason for it. Say a child, from the time they were born, only ever got their fingers slammed in books, and never knew anything else of them. That child would be conditioned to associate books with their fingers being slammed in it. As horrible as that would be, it would be a good reason to be afraid.

Maybe the term 'healthy' doesn't really apply to the second one, but it would be justified. It's probably still unhealthy, but understandable. The fear we are to have of God is a healthy fear. It is more like a respect than actually being afraid of God. We are to fear His power, yes, because God's power is unlimited. I've said before, and it is in the Bible, that God has the power to create life, take it and to restore it, all in an instant. If that is not terrifying, I don't know what is.

So when God says that we should fear Him, He is not saying that we should associate our emotion of fear to Him, but that we should respect and realize that God can do literally anything, even things we cannot possibly imagine. Our God is a loving God, but that doesn't mean that He is ignorant or flippant; He will punish sin. Don't go around being fearful of God, but rather, understand and realize that He is capable of anything, and respect that acknowledge that.

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!