Month: August 2024

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date August 11, 2024

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 11TH 2024, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

I’m in Homestead Florida this morning at the end of my 28TH trip here since buying my retirement home up north in Sebring Florida almost 18 months ago. I’ll be back home in Sebring tonight.

Since the start of April – I’ve been presenting the full transcription of my recent Jude message series consisting of two sermons – “Jude & Judgment” (Verses 1-11), and “Jude & Jury” (Verses 12-25). I preached them to my Homestead Florida church family on November 26TH 2023 and December 03RD 2023 respectively. Links are provided for Parts 1 to 8 of “Jude & Judgment” over on my SERMONS page. (It’s Sermon 56.)

This is Part 9 of 9 of “Jude & Jury”, and this is how I generally close our church services after I preach the sermon. I sometimes mention the Tithes & Offerings plate. I always pray for our church family and our loved ones. Following a few personal notes – I bring the Benediction, and it’s the same exact Benediction that I bring to you at the end of each #SundayScripture.

[CONCLUDE SERMON]

Thank You for your Tithes & Offerings up here in this plate. I don’t get any of this. I actually add to it every week. This goes to pay the bills, and to keep this church operating every day – from A.C. to electric to water to insurance. And it also goes to support ministries.

We lift up our brothers and sisters who are not here with us physically on this day. That includes our Pastor and his family. We pray for their happiness, and their health, and their safety, and their security. We thank God for His hedge of protection surrounding them and us. We pray for members of our church family every day. We pray for our loved ones who do not yet know our God. We pray intentionally. We pray specifically. We pray expecting God to bring forth miracles – big miracles – because that’s what He does.

After Lunch I’m heading back home to Sebring – 182 miles from here. I’ll see you next Sunday at 11. I’ll be here preaching again, and my sermon is titled “Pray & Believe”. And may …

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Go forth. Go in peace. Go with God’s love in your heart.

[END OF SERMON]

My testimony is featured each week here on #SundayScripture – whether it’s part of a sermon, or just me writing about the events of the past week. Hopefully it encourages you and inspires you to seek the Lord, and get closer to Him with each new day.

If you wish to learn more about the God I know then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. The best is yet to come !

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Tags Bible, Blog, Christ, Christian, Church, God, Jesus, Message, Minister, Ministry, Pastor, Preacher, Reverend, Scripture, Sermon, Sunday

Blogging Commerce Driving Food Geography History Nature Shopping Travel

Frostproof Florida

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date August 8, 2024

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 6 weeks ago I embarked on a short road-trip up into the neighboring county to my north – Polk County Florida. (I live about 8 miles from the Highlands / Polk County Line.)

I went to the Eagle Ridge Mall – 31 miles north in Lake Wales. While we have a “dead mall” here in my county (just a few miles south of my neighborhood) – I think that Eagle Ridge Mall is perhaps just a “half-dead mall”. While it’s far from its late-1990s peak – there’s actually life in this mall with lots of little family-owned stores and a surprisingly large and vibrant food court. There are also many different entertainment options open including a Regal Cinemas, a bowling alley, and an arcade. It sure looks like management knows what they are doing to keep the mall open for business – particularly small businesses – during these tumultuous times for shopping malls nationwide.

From the mall I took Chalet Suzanne Road over to Florida State Road 17. (Chalet Suzanne was a popular French restaurant in the area for over 80 years from 1931 to 2014. Famous movie stars dined there. The building is on the U.S. National Register Of Historic Places.)

Florida State Road 17 is also known as Florida Scenic Highway 17 (or The Ridge Scenic Byway) in this area. I enjoyed the ride and its view southward with 24 miles of scenery up and down the rolling hills and around the curves alongside the orange groves, natural lakes, and historic communities. Elevations exceed 300 feet above sea level at its highest point south of the small town of Hillcrest Heights.

The Byway runs parallel to U.S. 27 the entire way, and it was once known as Alternate U.S. 27. It serves as a local bypass to U.S. 27 in both Polk County as well as Highlands County (my home county).

I entered (from the north) – and drove through – Frostproof Florida – for the first time ever. It’s the southeasternmost municipality in Polk County. It was settled during the middle part of the 19TH Century, and it was incorporated in 1921. Previously known as Fort Clinch, Keystone City, and Lakemont – not quite 3,000 residents call Frostproof home. Its population has remained fairly steady since the 1950s.

Frostproof is sandwiched between two natural freshwater lakes – Lake Clinch (1,219 acres) on the west side – and Reedy Lake (3,504 acres) on the east side. It’s low land, and parts of the scenic highway drop to nearly 100 feet above sea level.

I enjoyed lunch at a popular restaurant on the north side of Frostproof called Frostbite. They serve your typical fast-food items as well as every ice cream dessert imaginable. It’s highly-rated by reviewers on Google. They are open every day from 11 AM to 9 PM. Just find a table, be seated, look over the menus (already on each table), and a member of the wait staff will come to you for your order. I had a wonderful cheeseburger (made to order) and a side of fries to go along with my sweet tea. #Yum

U.S. 27 is really a nice drive between Sebring / Avon Park and Lake Wales and points north and west. I fell in love with the Heartland of Florida because of U.S. 27 and its own unique scenery and history. But Florida Scenic Highway 17 is also a nice drive through a part of the region that seems to be stuck in time from an era long gone by. It’s unspoiled Florida at its most beautiful !

Next #TravelThursday – Will I ever reach my 25TH cruise ? Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Florida, Frostproof, Lake Wales, Polk

Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 390

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date August 5, 2024

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from the previous week. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back over 45 years. Here’s this week’s chart – for the week ending Sunday August 04TH 2024 – the 390TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW	LW	WKS	SONG TITLE	ARTIST / SITE
1	1	15	Somebody Like Me [5TH week @ # 1]	Caleb & John Ft. Cain
2	2	13	Beautiful Life	Pat Barrett
3	5	9	Take You At Your Word	Cody Carnes
4	3	5	Nothin’ Sweeter	TobyMac
5	4	7	Miracle Child	Brandon Lake
6	8	4	Take It All Back	Tauren Wells
7	6	6	Good Day	Forrest Frank
8	7	15	The Prodigal	Josiah Queen
9	9	2	Creed	Shane & Shane
10	10	3	My God Can	Katy Nichole Ft. Naomi Raine

# 1 This Week In:
2023 – “Big God” – Terrian
2022 – “Love Is Everything We Need” – Unspoken
2021 – “Gospel Song” – Rhett Walker
2020 – “No Impossible With You” – I AM THEY
2019 – “Raise A Hallelujah” – Bethel Music
2018 – “Dream Small” – Josh Wilson
2017 – “Wonder” – Hillsong United

TOP 40 OF 400 – It’s Week 390 of this current era of my weekly hit music chart. It’s the longest era after the 14½-year era that ran from 1995 to 2010 and included multiple styles of music from secular pop, rock, hip hop, and rap – to club trance, techno, and house – to Christian pop, rock, and hip hop. Over the past 390 weeks – 361 hits have been blessed. The upper-11% of them will appear this October when I present my Top 40 songs of the first 400 weeks of this chart.

SPOTIFY – You can hear “My Top 10 Hits” anytime simply by accessing my CountUp playlist on Spotify. All 10 hits are there from top to bottom. You can hear them in order from # 1 to # 10, or you can shuffle them. My playlist will be updated every weekend (usually before the actual chart is presented here on Mondays). You can link to it here.

Your likes, follows, and comments are always appreciated. Thank You for being part of my online ministry to share God’s Good News and win souls for Christ through His music. God used loud music on the radio to reach me in August of 2006. I’ve been testifying about Him ever since.

Be blessed my friends ! May our God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Tags Blog, Chart, Christian, God, Jesus, KLOVE, Music, Radio, Spotify, TheJoyFM, WayFM, WGTS, Z883

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date August 4, 2024

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 04TH 2024, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

I’ve begun writing my next sermon on King Solomon. As with all sermons – the Holy Spirit is guiding me as to which direction to go with preaching about the wise King. This may end up becoming a multiple-sermon message series.

[CONTINUE SERMON]

These people are as useless as dried-up springs, or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. They brag about themselves with empty foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires – they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again – they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” (2 Peter 2:17-22)

Strong words there. Strong words from both Peter and Jude. You know false teachers – then and now – they love to target baby Christians – those who have just recently committed themselves to our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Peter refers to these baby Christians as those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. You see – when you know the Truth, and then you reject the Truth by believing and following and idolizing a false teacher – or by being a false teacher yourself – then that’s a far worse situation than when you ignorantly lived in sin – before you were saved and discovered the Truth. That’s like a dog that returns to its vomit.

These false teachers and their followers are doomed forever.

2ND Peter ends kind of like how Jude ends:

You already know these things – dear friends. So be on guard. Then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather – you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to Him – both now and forever ! Amen. (2 Peter 3:17-18)

Beware of false teachers. If you’re ever in doubt – then check with the Truth – the Bible. It’s the only Truth.

And that’s my message for you today.

[TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK]

If you wish to learn more about the God I know then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. The best is yet to come !

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.