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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday September 13TH 2026, 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.

Volume 9, Number 29, Edition 429
“20 Years Of Salvation – Part 5”

Let’s continue my story:

You know – for many of our neighbors out there – they love God, but they don’t care too much for His followers – because of past encounters – because of past experiences – sometimes from inside the church.

It’s up to us – those of us who know God and are close to Him – to share what we know about Him to others – when asked – when opportunities present themselves. And if someone comes up to us, and wants to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord + Savior, and they want to know how to do so – then we must be ready to explain it. We must always be ready to lead our neighbor to Jesus Christ.

Here’s one thing you can do for your neighbor at any place – at any time. Have him or her say this out loud:

“Oh God. I’m a sinner. I’m sorry for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask that You forgive me for my sins. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins, and that you rose again so that I may live. I receive You Jesus as my Lord and as my Savior. From this moment on I want to believe in You. I want to follow You. I want to trust You. I want to serve You in the fellowship of Your church. I want to love You more than any one and more than any thing in this world. In Your loving name I pray this to You Lord Jesus. AMEN.”

That’s the salvation prayer – or the sinners’ prayer. That’s my version of it. I encourage you to write that down or take a picture of it and keep it handy – so that you can share it with someone when you need to. Anyone can say it – at any time. You can reaffirm your faith in Christ by saying it. Just make sure that when you say it – you mean it – in your heart.

If you share it with a family member, or a friend, or a coworker, or a neighbor – then be there for him or her. Be a witness for him or her. Know that you may have led him or her to our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. It’s another life saved. It’s another miracle from our God. And our God – He must always get all of the Glory.

And that’s my salvation story. Thank You for reading it over these past 5 weeks. I hope that you’ll find the time to talk to our God often – up on the hilltops and down in the valleys – when the going is great – and when it’s not so great. Know that our God is always with you in everything you do and everywhere you go. Talk to Him, and thank Him for everything that He has done for you. For the best is yet to come.

This may be the end of a 5-week arc here on #SundayScripture, but it’s certainly not the end of my salvation story. It continues on eternally.

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday September 06TH 2026, 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.

Volume 9, Number 28, Edition 428
“20 Years Of Salvation – Part 4”

No 20TH anniversary celebration of this fantastic journey would’ve been complete without a trip back to where it all started – Homestead Florida. I spent 3 days and 2 nights there last weekend.

On Friday I enjoyed both lunch and dinner at Longhorn and Outback respectively. At each place I reminisced about the past and shared the current and future with a different former coworker friend. In-between the two meals I visited the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center inside Everglades National Park – a place where I volunteered as a museum docent for the very first time a decade earlier (2015-2017). I also visited (for the very first time) the Historic Homestead Town Hall Museum in downtown Homestead. I thoroughly enjoyed my docent-led guided tour of the place, as well as our friendly conversation about our respective museums and lives in Homestead.

On Saturday I visited my longtime traditional shopping mall of 35 years (Southland Mall in Cutler Bay), and then that evening I enjoyed a spaghetti dinner fundraiser in the fellowship hall at my longtime second church (2015-2024).

On Sunday I watched as my former Pastor preached one of his classic topical long-winded 65-minute sermons. (I preached differently than him, and he appreciated that.) Afterwards 6 of us (including Pastor and his wife) enjoyed lunch together at Texas Roadhouse.

It was a wonderful weekend back in Homestead. I got to drive through torrential downpours, flooded roadways, and bumper-to-bumper traffic jams in-between all of the fun.

Last #SundayScripture I wrote about my current church here in Sebring Florida – Highlands Community Church. Today is my 3RD anniversary there. I’ll be leading Communion this morning.

Let’s continue my story:

I was rescued and saved by God during the week of August 20TH 2006. Gradually – as I got closer to Christ and I learned more about Him and His ways – and I matured on my journey – I realized that salvation was not that single event that happened on that day when I turned that radio dial and started hearing songs about God. Salvation is not a single event. Salvation is an ongoing event. My salvation started back then on that otherwise mundane morning during my drive to work. And salvation continues to this day. And salvation will continue tomorrow. The salvation that we know now will continue until the ultimate salvation on the last day.

You know lives are being saved all around the world – one life at a time. When one of God’s children turns from the darkness – and moves towards the light – that’s another miracle. He or she was facing the devil, but now – he or she is facing the Savior of the world.

Sometimes it happens solitary – with nobody else assisting. God intervenes, and He reaches out to the lost soul in the pit of despair – out of the mud and the mire.

But I think that most of the time a life is saved because one of God’s Messengers – one of His royal priests – evangelized. When you evangelize – you spread or preach the Gospel that you know. You bring God’s Good News. And God commands all of us to do just that.

(I’ll continue this story – next #SundayScripture.)

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 30TH 2026, 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.

Volume 9, Number 27, Edition 427
“20 Years Of Salvation – Part 3”

This morning I’m waking up in Homestead Florida – the place where I was saved exactly 20 years ago. I’ve been here since Friday morning – spending quality time with former longtime coworkers over meals – and church brothers and sisters over more meals.

Last #SundayScripture I wrote about my first church of 8 years in the movie theatre – just a half-mile down the road from my hotel this weekend. That theatre incidentally went out-of-business in October 2019 after 13½ years. The last movie I ever saw there was a month earlier in September. I saw the faith-based movie “Overcomer” (a Kendrick Brothers Production).

The former movie theatre is now a converted medical facility.

I wrote about my second church in Homestead – the one that I’ll be heading to this morning. I also mentioned my first church in Sebring.

Let’s continue my story:

Highlands Community Church is my fourth church overall over the past 19½ years – and my second church in Sebring. My first Sunday at my current church was Labor Day Sunday in September of 2023. (My 3RD anniversary is next Sunday.)

I love my church family, and my Senior Pastor Tim is a great Pastor and friend. I started watching him and the Praise & Worship band for a couple of months on YouTube before I ever set foot into the building. I knew what to expect before I got there; although, I did not know that on that first morning I would meet a couple who lived in Homestead for many years before moving to Sebring. They knew my former Pastor, his wife and family, and a few church members.

I plan to be there indefinitely. As far as I’m concerned – it’s my forever church, and Sebring is my forever home.

I’m so glad that God guided and directed me to each of my four church families since that first Sunday in January of 2007.

You know nobody invited me to any of the four churches. I arrived. I walked in through the front door. I appeared. There I was – on a Sunday morning. Thanks be to God.

My story is an anomaly. For most of you – you were invited to a church by an already existing member of that church family – perhaps by a neighbor or coworker. For many of you – you were rescued and saved by God when you were a teenager, or maybe even into your 20s.

I was middle-aged when God rescued and saved me at age 39. I didn’t know Him before then.

I love to share my salvation story with anyone who will listen – one-on-one, in a group setting, inside, outside, online, offline, anywhere, and everywhere. “For where two or three gather in My name – there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20 NIV)

My salvation started unexpectedly – without notice – out of nowhere – unscheduled – during that week of August 20TH 2006. Nobody led me to God. Nobody bought me a Bible. Nobody invited me to church. Nobody asked me to go to a revival or a crusade.

Before that August morning – I had no idea what salvation was. I didn’t know what “being saved” meant. An old life versus a new life meant nothing to me. I didn’t know God. But God. He knew me. He knew me before I was born to my parents. But I didn’t know Him. I met Him in 2006 – when I invited Him closer to me – when I invited Him into my heart – when I asked Him to take over my life. I was dead to my old life. I was born to this new life.

Meeting God and allowing Him to enter my heart – that was the most important event of my life. Nothing else comes close to that. Nothing ever will. My life was changed forever.

All praise to God – the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again – because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you – pure and undefiled – beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith – God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation – which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. (1 Peter 1:3-5 NLT)

(I’ll continue this story – next #SundayScripture.)

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 23RD 2026, 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.

Volume 9, Number 26, Edition 426
“20 Years Of Salvation – Part 2”

This past week I observed and celebrated the 20TH anniversary of the start of my salvation which occurred at dawn during the 3RD week of August of 2006 on North Canal Drive (SW 328TH Street) in Homestead Florida.

Last #SundayScripture I began sharing my testimony about my first 5 months of salvation – leading-up to that rock and roll concert on a Saturday night at Life Pointe Church. This week my story continues:

So as I ended last week’s edition – I wrote that it was announced that the church building that we were in was not where Sunday morning service occurred. Sunday morning service was actually held a couple of miles away inside the new movie theatre. That would be Flagship Cinemas – Homestead’s only theatre at the time. It was built in 2005 into 2006, and it opened in April 2006. It was modern and state-of-the-art at the time. It was our first theatre since the previous one was smashed into pieces by Hurricane Andrew 13½ years earlier. (The 34TH anniversary of Hurricane Andrew’s landfall across Homestead Florida is tonight.)

I see a lot of movies at the theatre – generally between 20 and 30 a year. Occasionally I went to that theatre early on Sunday afternoons. At first I couldn’t figure out why there were so many people at the theatre (that early), and most of them were leaving and not arriving. I eventually realized that they were church people. A church service was being held at the theatre before the movies started, and they were letting out as I was arriving to see an early movie. I thought that a church service at the theatre was quite odd, but then I thought of church people as quite odd.

Well guess what ? I entered that theatre the very next morning after the rock concert inside the traditional (and original) church building. I walked in at around 9:45 AM on that Sunday January 21ST 2007 (another date that I’ll never forget). I was greeted and hugged by complete strangers at the front doors. A smiling lady – Anne – soon introduced herself to me, and I introduced myself to her. She was in charge of Hospitality. We’ve been friends ever since that very first morning.

She led me down the hallway to the specific theatre where service was held starting at 10 AM. I was greeted again at that door. I walked in. I found a seat. And I attended my very first church service in 30 years – ever since I was a little kid in Catholic School.

Within the first 10 minutes of the service – I knew that I would be back again the next Sunday morning. I’ve been part of a church family ever since.

I was part of that first church family for the next 8 years – until 2015. And then I moved to another church about a mile away, and I was part of that second church family for the next 9 years – until 2024. I served as an Assistant Pastor at that church. I opened and closed every service. I led Communion on the first Sunday of every month, and I was honored to preach over 60 sermons there. I was part of the Praise + Worship team during my final few years – singing the same songs on stage that I was singing along to at home and in my car.

I moved to Sebring Florida in March of 2023 – almost a full year before I retired from the Air Force down in Homestead. I commuted back-and-forth between Sebring and Homestead – not every day – but about every week or two. I actually worked from home – my new home in Sebring – during my final year of employment. For my entire 39-year career with the Air Force – I held a desk job in an office working with numbers and money. I was able to do my job in an efficient manner remotely.

My third church overall was my first church here in Sebring, and it was not my current church. It was another church down the road. It wasn’t a good fit for me, so I eventually started looking elsewhere.

(I’ll continue this story – next #SundayScripture.)

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp