Be Ready Ministries (The Rain, The Tower)

Marriage, part 2

Cornerstone Community Church

What is a Biblical marriage?

Cornerstone Community Church

Some links that may help understand a difficult subject of Scripture.

For a sermon on Romans 9 that speaks of God choosing individuals to salvation, see https://cccjackson.org/sermons/is-god-just-in-his-actions. For three lessons on the providence of God, see (1) https://cccjackson.org/lessons/god-s-providence-part-1, (2) https://cccjackson.org/lessons/god-s-providence-part-2, and (3) https://cccjackson.org/lessons/god-s-providence-part-3. For two lessons on election specifically, see (1) https://cccjackson.org/lessons/election-part-1 and (2) https://cccjackson.org/lessons/election-part-2.

Cornerstone Community Church

How important is it for each of us to read our Bibles and to share God’s Word with others? A survey was conducted with 80,000 Christians regarding how many times per week they read their Bible.

The results revealed some interesting data:

1. If a Christian read the Bible once per week it made virtually no difference as compared to someone who never read the Bible.
2. Reading twice a week made a negligible difference.
3. Three times a week made a little bit of a difference.
4. At four times per week, or more, there was a major jump in the transformation of people’s lives:
a. Loneliness dropped by 30 percent
b. Anger dropped by 32 percent
c. Bitterness in relationship dropped by 40 percent
d. Alcoholism dropped by 57 percent
e. Feeling spiritually stagnant dropped by 50 percent
f. Viewing po*******hy dropped by 61 percent
g. Sharing faith increased by 200 percent

When was the last time you read the Bible? The Bible is the only absolute truth we can turn to in our present culture. John 8:31-32 quotes Jesus as saying, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

Chris Skates has a new book being released today. It is a story very personal to Chris since it about his grandfather (pops) and the encounters Agent Miller had with the moonshine industry in the forties. It is a hard book to put down once you start riding with Agent Miller as he enforces the law regarding moonshine manufacturing. I encourage you to order a copy today.

Moonshine Over Georgia Moonshine Over Georgia

Many are considering New Year's resolutions. One consideration is to spend more time reading Scripture. I struggled to read through the Bible the first time. I have since read through it several times. I have also spent several hours in studying Scripture. I know many want to read through the Bible in a year. That did not work for me. I was more focused on reading than studying or understanding what I was reading. I finally found the best way for me to read through the Bible.

1. Start in Matthew, and yes, read the genealogies. They are important.
2. Focus on reading one chapter per day at a minimum. One can read more if time allows. However, reading just one chapter allows one to meditate and absorb what has been read.
3. Once the New Testament has been read, then start with the Old Testament in Genesis. The Old Testament starts with 17 books of history, followed by 5 books of testimonies, and finalized by 17 books of God's commentary on the history.

I recommend either reading through the English Standard Version Study Bible or, the Holman Christian Standard Study Bible. The notes in each Bible are helpful for understanding difficult passages.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. It has been 17 years since we first published The Rain. We appreciate all the feedback we have received and more importantly, we appreciate the lives that have been touched and changed from reading The Rain. Thank you.