LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Underneath are the Everlasting Arms

The eternal God is your refuge, 

and underneath are the everlasting arms....   

Deuteronomy 33:27

What does "underneath are the everlasting arms" mean? Underneath means underneath," said Gerorge Stormont, a Britist pastor who was then in his late 80s. No matter how you are, God will still be there beneath you, to support you and lift you up.
God is underneath your lowest emotions and your darkest night. God will always be underneath your deepest loss. Even underneath your most shameful act, His everlasting arms are there to help you back up on your feet. Whether your most shameful act is something known only between you and God, or it made the front page of the newspaper, God's grace covers the wrong. His forgiveness will make the difference.
The promises of God are not reserved for a handful of saints ready for immediate promotion to heaven. God plays no favorites. Underneath are His everlasting arms. Mark in your Bible that great promise forund in Deuteronomy 33. And put your name on it.

@Tomorrow Begins Today

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: Saying "Thank You"

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe....   

Hebrews 12:28

The American poet Carl Sandburg once said, "When a nation goes down... [or] a society perishes, one factor will always be true. The people forget where they came from. They lose sight of what brought them this far."
When God's people forgot their heritage and the source of their blessing, they also forgot how to say, "Thank you!" God reprimanded them for their failure. "For you are thankless in addition to all your other faults" was the reproof of the Almighty (see Ezekiel 16:43 TLB).
Have you discovered that gratitude, learning to express appreciation by saying "Thank you", is a habit that must be learned? There's something about our natures that makes gratitude difficult to express, but it is a sign of a man who is at peace with himself and his world who conveys appreciation to those who have helped him.
May God deliver us from the sin of thanklessness.
@365 Guidelines for Daily Living

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: Chance of a Nation's Leaders

No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another....   

Psalm 75:6 - 7

What part does chance play when it comes to the establishment and removal of world leaders? Is a man leader only because of his power and charisma, or does God decree who should lead?
Leadership in our world is not a matter of fate but by the will of the Almighty, who raises one up and humbles another (Psalm 76:6-7).
But what are we to say when a wicked individual comes to power and holds the lives of millions of people in his hands?
When situations develop which bring jeopardy and suffering to humanity, God is working His higher purposes. It is a small matter for God to remove those who blaspheme His Name and refuse to do His will.
Those who walk across the stage of world leadership are there only by the grace of God, who raise up one and humbles another.
@365 Guidelines for Daily Living

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: The Clash of Cultures

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord....   

Joshua 24:15

Your family is affected by the culture in which you live and in which your children grow up. At times you can change the backdrop of culture that surround your family by moving, but there are other times when you have to live with it. Nonetheless, there are things you can do to either maximize the impact of culture on your lives or to minimize its influence.
By God's grace, your home can be insulation against some aspects of culture, which you feel is wrong and harmful. You have to decide, and then you have to draw the line and say, "Our family is going to be different!"
Paul wrote the Romans, "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking" (Romans 12:2 TM). If you fail to help create the culture that surrounds your family, the world surrounding you will provide that culture.
"But as for me and my household," said Joshua long ago when he was battling the culture of his age, "we will serve the Lord." He did, and so you and must if yours is to be a godly home and family.
@365 Guidelines for Daily Living

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: The Secret of a Happy Life

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect....   

Romans 12:2 NASB

In her famous classic The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life, Hannah Whitall Smith tells of a skeptic who said to her, "You Christians seem to have a religion that makes you miserable. Yo are like a man with a headache. He does not want to get rid of his head, but it hurts him to keep it. You cannot expect outsiders to seek very earnestly for anything so uncomfortable."
Is God a cosmic kill-joy who has given us a black book full of rules and regulations to keep us out of hell and to take the happiness out of life?
To be a happy Christian is to realize that God can work within us, making our lives the outworking of His Spirit within. We will never be happier than when we are in the center of His will, letting Him work through us to accomplish His purposes.
Are you like the man with a headache? Remember, real happiness comes only by completely doing God's will.
@Today Can Be Different

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: Responsibility

The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity....   

Ezekiel 18:20 NASB

Isn't anyone really responsible for anything more? A judge's composure would probably shaken if someone stepped forward and said, "Yes, judge, I did it. I'm responsible. and I accept full responsibility for my actions." But, of course, people who accept responsibility for their actions usually don't end up defending their actions in court.
God says, "The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity" (Ezekiel 18:20 NASB). You are responsible for yourself and the consequences of what you do.
While God says you must take responsibility, He also says, "You can be different! My grace can change your life." Responsibility and redemption are two sides of the same coin. One side reveals your failure; the other shows you the hope that God will change your life. Life can be different.
@Tomorrow Can Be Beautiful

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: The Inward Man

But let be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God....   

1 Peter 3:4 NASB

Your voice, your eyes and your dress are three telltale signs about your life, an outward indication of what you are on the inside.
Your voice, for instance, tells others if you are under stress or at peace with the world. Your eyes gives revealing signs too. When you are under stress, your pupils dilate, and you often glance away. Clothes are signs that tell about you as well. The size of your jewelry or the intensity of the colors you wear often tells much about your personality.
What other see when they look at you is important. But what you are underneath the veneer is far more important. When people take a good look at you, do they see sincerity and genuineness? Are you the kind of a person that causes others to be glad to be with you? Is there a measure of love, joy and peace, long suffering, patience, gentleness and goodness? In short, are you a person who reflects the presence of God because the Holy Spirit dwells within you?
May God help us to make our lives as good within as we want to appear without.
@Today Can Be Different

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's Bible Guide: Loving what God Loves, Hating what God Hates

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is the precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard....   

Psalm 133:1-2

Long ago, the writer of Proverbs gave us a list of what God loves and what He hates. "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him," wrote Solomon. The seventh in the list is "a man who stirs up dissension among his brothers."
It happens in the office, in clubs, in organizations, and certainly in churches and fellowships: a troublemaker spoils the peace and divides the body through inferences, gossips, and innuendoes.
What God hates is not the person who raises his voice in maintaining purity of doctrine, but the person who maliciously and wrongly divides, usually by what he says. Before you say something be sure that your concern is the same thing that concerns God, not simply an extension of your individual, selfish will. Hating what God hates means we strive for peace and oppose pitting brother against brother.
@365 Guidelines for Daily Living

Today's Stars

You could feel rich and happy today, Taurus, as your money expectations are improving rapidly. You are hopeful about what the future holds, and you may see opportunities to increase your riches just over the horizon. Investments and chances at coming into a happy windfall will come to you soon, and if you reach for those chances you will surely have success. Your financial forecast may have been somewhat stormy in recent weeks or months, but it's starting to improve dramatically. Be wise with your money and you'll be able to improve your lifestyle.

Copyright © Daily Horoscope
*****

Today is Wednesday, September 24, 2014 and the WORD for the Day: Wise!

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: Hands that Shed Innocent Blood

When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord....   

2 Samuel 11:26 - 27

Two of the things God hates as stated in Proverbs 6:16 - 19 are "hands that shed innocent blood" and "a heart that devises wicked schemes."
Though Solomon did not mention his father's adulterous affair with his mother in this passage, he must have thought of the consequences that followed: the public humiliation, the death of his brother, and the conflicts that split David's family.
But there is forgiveness and healing for our wrongdoing. As the Psalmist wrote, "If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are feared" (Psalm 130:3-4).
If you see yourself in these wrongs which God hates, confess your wrongdoing, forsake it, and find God's strength to overcome your human weakness. This is what grace is about.
@365 Guidelines for Daily Living

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: The Sin of Pride

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall....   

Proverbs 16:18

No individual makes it to the top on his own. Yet the person whose heart is lifted in pride takes credit for what he or she hoes not deserve. One of the strange things about this malady is that those who are most infected with it recognize it the least.
Someone has said that pride comes in three forms: pride of race, pride of face, and pride of grace. Pride of race deals with the feeling of genetic superiority, something we are either born with or quickly acquire from our parents and peers. Pride of face deals with arrogance. Pride of grace is the mistaken belief that you are more spiritual than others.
Of one thing we are sure: God hates pride - perhaps more than any other flaw of character. Scripture is right:"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).
@365 Guidelines for Daily Living

Today's Stars

W hen things are going wrong in your own world, or when you are feeling less than your best, you may tend to see other people in a less than flattering light as well. You may have recently reached a conclusion about someone, or come to some kind of judgment that you may not see as unfair - but it may indeed be unfair, Taurus. Allow yourself some time to recover from whatever may be dragging you down, and look again at a certain person. When you're feeling better, you may feel better about this person as well.

Copyright © Daily Horoscope
*****

Today is Monday, September 22, 2014 and the WORD for the Day: Pride !

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: Six Things the Lord Hates
There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him....   

Proverbs 6:16

Centuries ago, Solomon reflected on the failure of humanity when he wrote that God hates seven things: "Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers" (Proverbs 6:17-19).
What man hates and what God hates are not always the same. We hate to lose; God hates it when men win by dishonesty. We love to be included: God hates it when men are discriminated against and turned away. We bend the the truth to make ourselves look good; God hates it when we are dishonest.
God not only hates these seven negative qualities of human behavior, Solomon says they are detestable to Him. Sins such as murder, theft and war don't make the list. The seven deadly sins are flaws of character more than behavior. Why? Every wrongdoing begins with a thought.
Let those seven be a checklist, and examine yourself if your life measures up to God's standard.
@365 Guidelines for Daily Living

Today's Stars

Choosing simplicity today is important to your success and your well-being. Someone may try to draw you into an argument, or complicate something that really shouldn't be complicated. It may be tempting to follow that path because it's intriguing and because someone is challenging you, but don't fall for it, Taurus. If you get caught up in complexity or conflict in any way, it will draw strength away from you when you need it 
Copyright © Daily Horoscope
*****

Today is Sunday, September 21, 2014 and the WORD for the Day: Simplicity!

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: Happiness

I have come that they may have life and have it to the full ....   

John 10:10

How do you find happiness? The truth is, happiness is not dependent on situations but upon your ability to cope with circumstances in life. And for this, you need God's help. He is the One who can give us the power we need to live above our circumstances.
In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul says we can be more than conquerors. He lists some of the circumstances he faced: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril and the sword - not the sort of things connected with happiness.
Yet a conqueror is one who knows how it is to go through the heat of battle, to suffer and do without if he has to, so he can win in the end. Because Paul had Jesus Christ in his life, he had the supreme resource he needed to be a conqueror.
If you have been trying to find happiness through your own efforts, may I recommend Christ to you? Jesus said, "I have come that may have life and have it to the full." Trust in Jesus Christ, and life in its fullest will begin for you.
@Today Can Be the Best Day of Your Life

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: God Can be Known

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water....   

Psalm 63:1

One paradox of the Christian faith is that God is so different from us, yet He is interested in us. The differences are obvious. God never grows weary or becomes discouraged. He never worries about today's news or tomorrow's what-ifs. Although God is so much greater than we are, He is knowable.
Some do not know Him because they do not search for Him for the same reason that a thief doesn't look for a policeman - they don't want to be called to account for their actions. Others do not really know God because they are more interested in the pursuit of truth than in Truth itself. Paul Little, the late director of InterVarsity, wrote, "I am disturbed by an attitude that I sometimes discover among Christians as well as non-Christians: the suggestion that the pursuit of truth is all that really counts. People do not really want any answers because that would end their game. For them, the pursuit of truth is everything."
Yet, God is knowable, and the greater one knows God, the greater is one's desire to know Him better. He is the answer to man's searching heart.
@Today Can Be Different

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: Build 'Em Up in a World that Tears 'Em Down

May the God who gives you endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus....   

Romans 15:5

Everybody needs encouragement. You can develop the art of encouragement by practicing the following:

1. Focus on a positive aspect of a person, and say it. Your comments should focus upon something positive, leave out negative observations. Mixed messages like, "Your sales were pretty good this month, but if you had taken my advice, they would have been better," don't qualify as an encouragement.
2. Be sincere in what you say. Encouragement is not flattery; it is a decision to say something good that is true. A phone call, a note, a few words in passing - these do a lot to boost others in a world that puts people down.
3. Cultivate encouragement as a habit. One of the reasons we give so little of encouragement is that our old nature tends to make us look for the flaws and failures of others. In building each other up, we build up ourselves as well.

@Tomorrow Can Be Beautiful

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: How to be an Encourager
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, jus as in fact you are doing....   

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Encouragement, says Doug Fields, "is a constant yes in a world that says no." Are you interested in being an encourager? There are roadblocks to be dealt with the following:

1. Insecurity has to overcome before you can be an encourager. Make a statement of encouragement that is positive, straightforward and without judgment.
2. Inability must be dealt with. If you grew up in a home where nobody ever complimented anybody, as an adult, you will tend to do the same thing. Encouragement is a decision, a choice that you make.
3. Ignorance has to go. Your encouragement may well be the difference between success and failure in the life of your spouse or friend. If you want to be an encourage, begin noticing what people do well, and tell them.
4. Selfishness must be overcome. Ego attempts to build yourself up by tearing down someone else, but encouragement builds the other up, which shows true greatness in your life.
5. Apathy needs to be confronted. The time to encourage someone is now.

@Today Can Be the Best Day of Your Life

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: When You are Frustrated

How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver....   

Proverbs 16:16 NASB

Did you ever think that spiritual giants never get frustrated? Take Daniel, for instance. Don't you think he was frustrated when he ended up in the lion's den? The devil must have said, "See, buddy, what serving God gets you into?"

One of the natural responses to frustration is anger. Yet anger is seldom the right solution to frustration for it always takes its toll on relationships.

Another response is flight -- you can quit. You can juts walk right out. Essentially that's what Jonah did when God told him to go to Nineveh with His message. Jonah didn't want to go. His frustration turned to anger. He couldn't fight God so he ran away.

When we're frustrated, we tend to think that we're on our own, that God is either disinterested or too busy to care. That's not true. Jesus Christ lived in a world of frustration. His disciples walked out and left Him in His hour of greatest need. He does know and He cares. That's good news!

@Today Can Be Different

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Bible Guide: Waiting

The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord..   

Lamentations 3:25 - 26 KJV

We are easily convinced that doing anything is better than doing nothing. Waiting seems to be contrary to progress. 
Waiting, however, is not doing nothing. It is a kind of action that prepares us for the right choice in the future. It means finding God’s timing and avoiding tragic mistakes. “There is an appointed time for everything,” wrote Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. Waiting is never easy, but as Martin Luther wrote, “He who waits on God wastes no time.”
When God’s people were overthrown by the forces of Babylon, many thought that God had forsaken them. Yet God said, “I know the the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
God has a plan for you too. Waiting for God is not wasted time. Rather, it will bring your restless heart into conformity with Divine and prepares you for what He has ahead.
What’s your hurry?
@365 Guidelines for Daily Living

LEDO - Live Everyday Die Once

LEDO is a journal of my extraordinary experiences...... to remind me that each new day is a chance to explore new things, to enjoy life, and to thank God! I always believe that we live everyday and we die once!

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Today's Inspiration: God Has a Plan

For I know the plans I have for you... plans to prosper you... to give you a future and hope...   Jeremiah 29:11

God has a plan, but chance has no part in it. Take, for example, planet Earth - this sphere spins on its axis at a speed of 1,000 miles per hour and hurtles through space at 27,000 miles per hour. If our planet were closer to the sun, we could not stand the heat; if it were further away, we could not stand the cold.
Understanding God's plan for nature helps me realize that He has a plan for my life as well. You might be thinking, "You don't know how messed up my life is! How could God possibly have a plan for my life?"
You may have heard this before: "Man's extremity is God's opportunity!" What you see as chaos, God views as an opportunity!" You, my friend, are of greater value than the stars in heaven.
Are you discouraged? Then listen to the still voice of God saying, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"
@ Today Can Be the Best Day of Your Life