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June 2022 Archives
Today is Thursday, June 2nd, 2022; Karen's Korner #4674
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"Our bodies have many parts,
but the many parts make up only one body
when they are all put together.
So it is with the 'body' of Christ."
~ I Corinthians 12:12 LAB
Bible Commentary: "Paul (writer) compares the body of Christ to a human body. Each part has a specific function that is necessary to the body as a whole. The parts are different for a purpose, and in their differences they must work together. Christians must avoid two common errors:
1) being too proud of their abilities, or
2) thinking they have nothing to give to the body of believers.
Instead of comparing ourselves to one another, we must use our different gifts, together, to spread the Good News of God's love and saving grace."
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Today is Thursday, June 2nd, 2022; Karen's Korner #4673
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"Our bodies have many parts,
but the many parts make up only one body
when they are all put together.
So it is with the 'body' of Christ."
~ I Corinthians 12:12 LAB
Bible Commentary: "Paul (writer) compares the body of Christ to a human body. Each part has a specific function that is necessary to the body as a whole. The parts are different for a purpose, and in their differences they must work together. Christians must avoid two common errors:
1) being too proud of their abilities, or
2) thinking they have nothing to give to the body of believers.
Instead of comparing ourselves to one another, we must use our different gifts, together, to spread the Good News of God's love and saving grace."
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Today is Friday, June 3rd, 2022; Karen's Korner #4675
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Installment #4 of 7 items which were listed, praying at the National Day of Prayer, held in venues across our country on Thursday, May 5.
Topic: Education
with the theme "We Exalt the Lord Who has established us"; taken from Colossians 2:6,7:
"We Exalt the Lord Who has Established Education:
"Jesus, You are the Teacher and we are Your disciples, Your students. God has established that a wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases power. (Proverbs 24:5) From preschool to the college campus we pray that every student, educator, parent and staff would walk in the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. We know even from babes You have established strength and ordained praise (Psalms 8:2) and we pray that nothing would be done to hinder them from coming to you. (Matthew 19:14) Convict every campus to teach Truth and for all generations to know Your Word and ways."
We Pray for Education."
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Today is Monday, June 6th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4676
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Sometimes the news and current events can discourage us.
But God tells us to 'remember the hope of the resurrection' (1 Thessalonians 4:13 - 18).
Here is a list of the events of Christ's return:
1) Christ will return visibly with a mighty shout.
2) There will be an unmistakable cry from an angel.
3) There will be a trumpet fanfare such as has never been heard.
4) Believers in Christ who are dead will rise from their graves.
5) Believers who are alive will be lifted into the clouds and meet Christ.
Bible Commentary: "Because Jesus Christ came back to life, so will all believers. All Christians, including those living when He returns, will live with Jesus forever. Therefore, we need not despair when loved ones die or world events take a tragic turn. For God will turn our tragedies to triumphs, our poverty to riche, our pain to glory, and our defeat to victory. All believers through history will stand reunited in God's very presence, safe, and secure. As Paul (writer) comforted the Thessalonians with the promise of the resurrection, so we should comfort and reassure one another with this great hope."
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Today is Tuesday, June 7th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4677
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A dose today of "100 Things God Loves About You"; simple reminders for when you need them the most by Tama Fortner.
I looked back and I have used 15 different ones of these for Karen's Korners. It's pretty hard out there and we need to be reminded often about God's love for us. Easy to forget.
#84:
God loves your faithfulness.
"The Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness."
~ I Samuel 26:23
"God knows there are times when you don't understand His way, but He sees you continue to follow Him. He knows there are times when His choice for you make you sad or even angry, but He sees you keep on choosing Him. He knows there are times when you just feel too exhausted to carry on, but He sees you lean into Him and let Him carry you.
"Faithfulness, even when you're confused hurt, and exhausted---that's what God sees. That's what God loves.....because God is forever faithful to you."
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Today is Wednesday, June 8th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4678
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Max Lucado is a prolific writer and pastor. Seems like what he writes is a pretty easy read.
Here is an inspirational writing sent via email a few days ago:
My Ananias
"Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17 NKJV).
"Don’t give up on your Saul. God never sends you where he hasn’t already been.
"My favorite Ananias-type story involves a couple of college roommates. The Ananias of the pair was a tolerant soul. He tolerated his friend’s late-night drunkenness, midnight throw-ups, and all-day sleep-ins. He hung with his personal Saul, seeming to think that something good could happen if the guy could pull his life together.
"I distinctly remember Jesus knocking me off my perch and flipping on the light. It took four semesters, but Steve’s example and Jesus’ message finally got through. So if this story lifts your spirit, you might thank God for my Ananias, my dear friend Steve Green."
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Today is Thursday, June 9th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4679
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"It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest."
~ Psalm 127:2 LAB
* Bible Commentary: "God is not against human effort. Hard work honors God. But working to the exclusion of rest or neglecting family may be a cover-up for an inability to trust God to provide for our needs. We all need adequate rest and times of spiritual refreshment. On the other hand, this verse is not an excuse to be lazy. Be careful to maintain a balance; work hard while trusting God, and also rest while trusting Him."
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Today is Friday, June 10th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4680
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Installment #5 of 7 from National Day of Prayer with seven specific topics. General topic was "Exalt the Lord Who has established us" (Colossians 2:6,7)
This one is praying for the MILITARY.
"We Exalt the Lord Who has Established the Military.
The Lord has established His throne in the heavens. And His sovereignty rules over all. God alone commands Heaven's army, His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word! May our military, like all His hosts, bless the Lord as they serve Him; and do His will. (Psalm 103) May our military leaders all know, 'by wise guidance you will wage war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.' (Proverbs 24:6) We pray that our military would dwell in the shelter of the Most High and abide in the shadow of the Almighty - always keeping alert as they serve and preserve freedom. (Psalm 91:1) Lord You will establish peace for us, and Your peace You have given us (Isaiah 26:12; John 14:27)
We Pray for the Military."
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Today is Monday, June 13th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4681
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A friend of mine who is moving through her 70s told me recently that she has said this little prayer every morning when she first gets for the past sixty plus years:
"Good morning, my Lord!
Thanks for the glory of the Son
And thank You for the health I have
to get my duties done!"
In the evening as she lays her head on her pillow, she repeats:
"Good night, my Lord!
Thanks for the glory of the Son
And thank You for the health You have given
today to get my duties done!"
In the past months, I am sure those words have taken on new meaning to her - being diagnosed with cancer and as she has taken treatments to fight the disease.
And even more in the last week or two, as she learns the cancer has returned. With it comes more doctor appointments and plans for treatment.
The best part of our faith in God is that He never changes. And we can trust Him! Praise God!!
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Today is Tuesday, June 14th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4682
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Another dose from "100 Things God Loves About You"; simple reminders for when you need them most. By Tama Fortner
Installment #86:
God Loves The Way You Think.
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable---if anything is excellent or praiseworthy----think about such things."
~ Philippians 4:8
"Turn on the television. Scan the movie ads. Pick up a newspaper. What do you see? The Devil doing his best to steal, kill, and destroy and to fill your minds with thoughts of malice, jealousy, anger, and just pain ole evil.
"But you stop the roaring lion in his tracks. How? By changing the channel. By seeking out movies that echo God's love. By turning to the back of the newspaper to find the buried stories of hope and courage. So while the Devil may try to hijack your thoughts with the filth of the world, you choose to think differently. You choose to think of God---and He loves the way you think."
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Today is Wednesday, June 15th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4683
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"For God took the sinless Christ
and poured into Him our sins.
Then, in exchange He poured
God's goodness into us!"
~ 2 Corinthians 5:21 LAB
* Bible Commentary: "When we trust in Christ, we make a trade---our sine for His goodness. Our sin was poured into Christ at His crucifixion. His righteousness is poured into us at our conversion. This is what Christians mean by Christ's atonement for sin. In the world, bartering works only when two people exchange goods of relatively equal value. But God offers to trade righteousness for sin----something of immeasurable worth for something worthless. How grateful we should be for His goodness to us."
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Today is Thursday, June 16th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4684
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"Are you are whiner or a shiner?"
That was the question posed by our Bible study leader yesterday. And the topic for our morning's discussion.
Even if we tend to be 'shiners', it is pretty easy to slip in to the 'whiner' category with all the media that surrounds us. All the time.
One of the Bible verses the gal used was Philippians 2, verses 14 & 15. From my Life Application Bible:
"In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of people who are crooked and stubborn. Shine out among them like beacon lights,"
And the commentary on those two verses says,
"Our lives should be characterized by purity, patience, and peacefulness, so that we will shine out 'like beacon lights'. A transformed life is an effective witness to the power of God's Word. Are our lights shining brightly, or are they clouded by complaints and arguing? We are to be clear, radiant lights shining out for God."
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Today is Friday, June 17th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4685
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Installment #6 of 7 from the National Day of Prayer with this year's topic ""Exalt the Lord Who has Established Us" (Colossians 2:6,7).
The topic: GOVERNMENT.
"We Exalt the Lord Who has Established the Government:
"America was imagined in Your righteousness; with vision of freedom and justice You established us. Lord, in obedience to You we pray for all who are in authority and that they will come to knowledge of truth and be saved. (1 Timothy 2:2) Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. (Romans 13:1) We pray that our laws would honor and exalt You. Let justice flow from our courts, in every individual, and sector of society as we claim and cling to Your promise of Your throne Jesus. 'There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace.....to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore....' (Isaiah 9:7)
We Pray for the Government."
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Today is Monday, June 20th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4686
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In a world filled with anger, bitterness, hate, and evil, it is sometimes hard to remember who we are and Whose we are!
Item #1 from the book "100 Things God Loves About You"; simple reminders for when you need them the most by Tama Fortner:
God loves your story.
"All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be."
~ Psalm 139:16
"You have an amazing story. How can you be sure? Because it was written by Yahweh, the Lord God Himself, before you were even born. He knew every twist of the plot and every unexpected turn. Every joy, every sorrow. Wherever you go, He has already been. He will walk before you and with you as Lord and Guide and Friend. And when you entrust your story to Him, He promises you the best of endings---a happily, heavenly, forever after.
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Today is Tuesday, June 21st, 2022; Karen's Korner #4687
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The Bible is filled with stories of people who do the wrong things, have bad things done to them, say or think the wrong ways.
But not God, those same pages in His Book just ooze with His Love for us!
Why? I don't know, but we get it, as His Children! Our job? Is to believe it and accept it!
"And He knows
the number of hairs on your head!
Never fear,
you are far more valuable to Him
than a whole flock of sparrows."
~ Luke 12:7 LAB
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Bible Commentary: "Our true value is God's estimate of our worth, not our peers. Other people evaluate and categorize us according to how we perform, what we achieve, and how we look. But God's love gives us the real basis for our worth------we belong to Him.
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Today is Wednesday, June 22nd, 2022; Karen's Korner #4688
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Today's writing from "365 Days of Prayer for Women" (and men?) By Stephanie Sample.
NEVER TOO BIG
"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."
~ Matthew 17:20 NLT
"Lord God, mover of mountains, I'm standing at the bottom of one right now. I know I believe you can, but I'm not sure I believe you will. It seems too big, the kind of thing you did ages ago, but not today. It feels like the kind of miracle you'd work for someone with more faith, or someone who has done more for you. Help me with my unbelief, Lord! Move this mountain, God! Fill me with confident hope,. Take this little mustard seen and water it. Let it grow in the certainty---huge and full---that even today, in the name of Jesus, you can and you do and you will."
What mountains do you need faith to remove?
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Today is Thursday, June 23rd, 2022; Karen's Korner #4689
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We are all aware of leaders, countries, and nations on several continents who are corrupt and cruel to some of their people.
God wants us to pray for them and us. He knows. He listens. He acts. Sometimes not in our time frame.
"For the needs of the needy shall not be ignored forever; the hopes of the poor shall not always be crushed.
"O Lord, arise and judge and punish the nations; don't let them defy you!"
~ Psalm 9:18 & 19 LAB
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Bible Commentary: "The world may ignore the plight of the needy, crushing any earthly hope they may have. But, God, the champion of the weak and needy, promises that this will not be the case forever. The wicked nations who forget the Lord and refuse to help their people will be judged by God. He knows our needs, he knows our tendency to despair, and he has given us the promise that he himself will care for us. Even when others forget, he will remember."
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Today is Friday, June 24th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4690
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The last of seven topics prayed for at this year's National Day of Prayer, events held across our country the first Thursday in May.
Overall topic: 'Exalt the Lord Who has Established Us" (Colossians 2:6 & 7).
ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA
"We Exalt the Lord Who has Established Arts, Entertainment and Media:
"Lord, You poured out Your beauty and complexity in Your creation. You establish our talents for Your testimony; our gifts for Your glory on stage, sets, and screens. (James 1:17; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11) We pray that the arts would exalt You and reflect the majesty of our Creator; never worshiping creation or that made by our hands; (Deuteronomy 4:15-20) that music and museums would be filled with Your praise, and that media would speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15) Let those who dance worship You as King David did, expressing praise and overflowing with gratitude. (2 Samuel 6:14)
"We Pray for Arts, Entertainment, and Media."
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Today is Monday, June 27th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4691
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This is Anne Graham Lotz inspirational email in my inbox yesterday. She talks about 'worry'. Whether we tend to be worriers or not, we have enough technology and media coming our way to cause us somethings for which to 'fear' Here is her antidote.
The God of All Comfort
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...who comforts us inn all our tribulation."
~ 2 Corinthians 1:3 - 4 NKJV
"Medical studies have proven that worry attacks the central nervous system, the circulatory system, and the digestive system of our bodies. Charles Mayo, of the Mayo Clinic, said, 'You can worry yourself to death, but you cannot worry yourself to a longer life.'
"Noah was exposed to such frightening experiences he could have worried himself to death; after all, he survived the equivalent of a nuclear holocaust. While Sunday school stories conjure up in our minds the picture of Noah as a quaint, folksy, old zookeeper with a plump, rosy-checked wife, he was in fact a very strong, courageous man of character and faith who could have been tremendously traumatized by the most violent catastrophe in history.
"Surely Noah knew the paralysis of fear and the total paranoia of worry. But he also knew by experience that the God of the storm is also the God of all comfort, able to calm his fears as he kept his faith in God and his focus on God."
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God, help us to be like Noah. Help us to keep our focus on You and not the problems of this life swirling all around us. When we focus on anything but You, we worry. You are the God of all comfort and we worship You. Thank You for loving us and taking care of us. Amen.
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Today is Tuesday, June 28th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4692
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Number 30 of "100 Things God Loves About You"; simple reminders for when you need them most by Tama Fortner.
God loves your 'Good mornings."
"In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly."
~ Psalms 5:3
"With a yawn and a stretch, your eyes peek over the edge of the blanket just as the morning sun peeps over the horizon. Maybe you're bright and eager and bouncing out of bed. Or maybe you're mumbly and grumbly and pulling the covers back over your head.
"Either way, don't forget the very best way to start your day is by saying 'Good morning!' to the One who made it. Because the One who tells the sun to rise just loves to hear your voice first thing in the morning."
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Today is Wednesday, June 29th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4693
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My Bible is pretty well used up and marked up. I like to mark significant thoughts in the margins. Today's Karen's Korner's verse says near it, "a favorite of our minister' - September 1985 (our minister at the time).
"And it is He who will supply all your needs
from His riches in glory,
because of what Christ Jesus has
done for us."
~ Philippians 4:19 LAB
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Bible Commentary: "We can trust that God will always meet our needs, but we must remember that He may not supply them all in this life. Christians suffer and die (tradition says Paul himself was beheaded), and God does not always intervene to spare them. In the new earth, however, when sin has been permanently destroyed our wants and needs will be abundantly supplied for eternity." *****
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Today is Thursday, June 30th, 2022; Karen's Korner #4694
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For a good number of years, I have had a flip calendar on one of my stands by Mother Teresa titled "Heart of Joy". Do I read it every day? No. But occasionally i pick it up and read several of her entries.
Her wisdom reaches on beyond her lifetime. Here are a couple of morsels to start the day:
"This is the only condition that
Christ really places on us:
'Love one another as I have loved you.'
And we know very well how much he has
loved us! He died for us!
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""We must convert our love
for Christ into deeds,
must express Christian love
in concrete loving ways."
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"Let's give thanks to God,
we who belong to him in a special way.
He has created us for greater things; to love
and to be love; to be holy as he is holy."
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"Sacrifice, to be real, must cost:
it must hurt; it must empty us of self."
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"Find Jesus,
and you will find peace."
*
*Jesus must be brought to every
man and woman. Jesus is the only answer."
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