Get Up With God
highly caffeinated bible doses to help start your day off right

If I have one regret in life, it’s that I spent way too much of it trying to live 100% independent from God. After decades of dead ends, I finally realized that the Creator of the Universe might just be smarter than me and that depending 100% on Him is the only way out.

Here are some great “in dependence” verses worthy of celebrating today:

• Apart from me, you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)
• My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my fortress. (Psalm 62:7)
• Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)
• Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is the rock eternal. (Isaiah 26:4)

LIVE IN DEPENDENCE ON GOD

You won’t find the word “fireworks” in most Bible dictionaries. But I believe that Jesus had plenty to say about the subject. A few examples:

You are THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. (Matthew 5:14)

GET FIRED UP — don’t hide it from the world. (Matthew 5:15)

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE – so that others can see God working through you and praise Him. (Matthew 5:16)

This world can be awfully dark. Light it up with God’s love. As you head into this Fourth of July weekend . . . 

BE A SPARKLER FOR GOD

Honor your father and mother — which is the first commandment with a promise — that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. (Ephesians 6:2)

Hug your mom today. Call your dad. Hug your dad tomorrow. Call your mom. Repeat.

Treat your parents with honor and respect. Spend time with them. Listen to them. Love them.

Note that there’s no asterisk or legal disclaimer indicating that this commandment ceases to apply once the child hits 18. It’s a life-long commitment. So, whether you’re 7 or 57 . . .

HONOR
YOUR
PARENTS
TODAY

Unplug. Unwind. Un-whatever-it-is-you’re-doing.

Spend the next few moments with our Great Shepherd pondering what is perhaps the world’s most beloved psalm. Let each word seep deep into your soul, fill your mind and quiet your heart.

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

(Psalm 23)

I stumbled upon a web site the other day that’s devoted entirely to random top ten lists. There’s everything from the Top Ten Worst Songs of All Time to the Top Ten “Chick Flicks” Guys Actually Like to the Top Ten Things To Do With Empty Spam Cans.

The one thing the site seemed to lack is anything remotely spiritual. While all scripture is God-breathed and helpful for instruction, I thought it might be interesting to submit a list of my top ten favorite Bible verses. Click here to see the list.

Narrowing my list (which initially had waaaaaaay more than 100 on it) to a mere ten was virtually impossible. For that reason, below is a list of my 25 favorite verses. For your reading pleasure, I also created a permanent page at the upper right of the site with my 100 favorites. That should keep you busy for awhile.

What are your favorite verses? Send ‘em to getupwithgod1@yahoo.com.

Without further ado, here are my . . .

TOP 25 ALL-TIME-DESERT-ISLAND-MEMORIZE-THEM-RIGHT-NOW-AND-THEY-JUST-MIGHT-CHANGE-YOUR-LIFE BIBLE VERSES

1. God is love. (1 John 4:8)
2. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:36-37)
3. Pray continually. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
4. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)
5. In all things God works for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:28)
6. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)
7. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)
8. If you confess with you mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
9. And this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16)
10. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
11. I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
12. If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
13. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
14. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)
15. Seek first his kingdom and righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)
16. Speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:16)
17. Encourage one another daily. (Hebrews 3:13)
18. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. (Colossians 3:23)
19. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)
20. Godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6)
21. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
22. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:17-18)
23. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-30)
24. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
25. Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)

Here’s this week’s proverb. Read it. Memorize it. Live it.

He who works his land will have abundant food,
but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.
(Proverbs 28:19)

Ever get a bit stuck on exactly what to pray for other believers? Here’s a great little prayer from the Apostle Paul for such occasions . . .

And this is my prayer:
that your love may abound more and more
in knowledge and depth of insight,
so that you may able to discern what is best
and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ –
to the glory and praise of God.
(Philippians 1:9-11)

RIP Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Jeff Goldblum.

News outlets all over the world ran stories on Thursday describing the tragic deaths of all three celebrities. People mourned. Tributes were paid.

One small problem: Jeff Goldblum isn’t dead.

Apparently, there’s a web site dedicated to spreading fake celebrity gossip. All you have to do is type in a celebrity name and — voila — out pops a real-looking story. Someone typed in “Jeff Goldblum” and within minutes major news outlets were reporting that the actor had fallen to his death in New Zealand while filming his latest movie. By 11:00 a.m.,”Jeff Goldblum dead” was the third most popular Google search term (the other nine were about Jackson’s death).

Imagine for a moment how Mr. Goldblum’s friends and family felt. Few apologies were issued. The hoax web site is still up and running.

As I surfed the TV and Internet that night, one simple fact struck me: our culture is absolutely addicted to gossip. Speculation ran rampant about Michael Jackson’s final hours, potential drug abuse and possible anorexia. The airwaves were flooded with endless replays of the most sordid stories and images from his life. I found myself sitting there, taking it all in and — strangely — wanting more.

Eventually, I forced myself to unplug and grabbed my Bible to see exactly what it says about gossip. It’s pretty simple: Avoid it like the plague.

Here’s a sampling of what I found:

• The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts. (Proverbs 18:8)
• They have become full of every wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips. (Romans 1:29)
• A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much. (Proverbs 20:19)
• Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down. (Proverbs 26:20)
• A gossip separates close friends. (Proverbs 16:28b)
• They get into the habit of being idle and going from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also become gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. (1 Timothy 5:13)

So, what’s the antidote? If you struggle with gossip like me, ask God to fill your mind and mouth with better things. Here are two great verses:

• 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)
• Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

FOR WIDE IS THE GATE
but small is the gate
AND BROAD IS THE ROAD
and narrow the road
THAT LEADS TO DESTRUCTION
that leads to life
AND MANY ENTER THROUGH IT
and only a few find it

matthew 7:13-14

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40)

According to the latest report from the United Nations, one billion people are starving right now.

Do something.

• Pray.
• Sell some of your stuff and give the money away.
• Get involved in your community by helping out in a local homeless shelter or food pantry.
• Instead of ignoring beggars on the street, take ‘em to Subway and buy ‘em a meal.
• Visit foodforthepoor.org, where for $36 you can feed a hungry child for a year.
• Go to worldvision.org, where you can donate goats, chickens and cows to starving families.
• Share food, clean water and the Gospel by sponsoring a child through Compassion International.
• Check out bloodwatermission.com, where you can help build sustainable wells in sub-Saharan Africa.

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:17-18)