Saturday, July 4th, 2026. 2:16 AM.
Today is the 185th day of this year. There are 180 days left.
Jacob and Johnny Continue in Conversation
Johnny: “Hey Jacob, since you mentioned the school library and reading books like the Hardy Boys Mystery Stories, I wonder if you’ve read a world-famous book that has someone named Jacob in it.”
Jacob: “What book has someone named Jacob in it ?”
Johnny: “Have you ever read The Bible, Jacob ? Abraham had a son named Isaac. And Issac had a son named Jacob.”
Jacob: “Well, to be honest with you, Johnny, I’ve always read stories in the Fiction category – that way I can always remind myself that – no matter how terrible things may get in the story, I can always calm myself down by remembering that it isn’t real.”
Johnny: “Well, I’d rather think about real things than imaginary things. I guess, I just need Reality in my life – even though Reality sometimes gets very hard. And besides, I happen to be very imaginative; so, by reading about True God’s Reality it helps me keep some kind of balance between my imaginary thoughts and things that are real.”
Jacob: “Maybe if the Bible could be presented to me in a more creative way I might be able to take it, maybe . . .”
Johnny: “What you just said, Jacob, reminded me of something I saw and listened to on YouTube about the Bible. And it is presented in a more gentle and kind way. Maybe it would be just right for you.”
Jacob: “Okay, Johnny. I’m willing to give it a try.”
Johnny: “Here it is, Jacob.”
The B-I-B-L-E
Jacob: “Well, listening to that song was alright; but reading the Bible is something else.”
Johnny: “That’s true, Jacob. And no one can make you read it if you don’t want to read it.”
Jacob: “Can you just tell me about Jacob ? For example: what does his name mean ?”
Johnny: “His name means supplanter.”
Jacob: “What does that word mean, Johnny ?”
Johnny: “I had to look it up in a dictionary – because I didn’t know, either. The word supplant means: “to trip up, cause to stumble… “to supersede (another) esp. by force or treachery” -Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Eleventh Edition.”
Johnny: “Jacob’s name was changed to Israel – which means “God strives.” God changed Jacob. And God can change us, too – if we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ – and – by the grace of God – receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord – through faith in His name. “God made Jesus Lord and Christ – that is, Messiah.”
Jacob: “That’s what I mean, Johnny – see how you’re getting serious ? That’s what I find difficult. It isn’t like those puppets singing sweetly – or like sparrows chirping in the bushes in the month of May – so happy to be alive when the weather is lovely in the middle of Springtime.”
Johnny: “Well, Jacob, just remember you don’t have to read the following if you don’t want to; or, you might read just a little of it – and then stop. Maybe sometime later on you might be willing to read a little more – and only if you want to – of your own free will, Jacob.”
Jacob: “Okay.”
Genesis 25-30 ESV
Genesis 25-30 ESV – Abraham’s Death and His – Bible Gateway
Genesis 31-35 ESV
Genesis 31-35 ESV – Jacob Flees from Laban – Now Jacob – Bible Gateway
Genesis 36-40 ESV
Genesis 36-40 ESV – Esau’s Descendants – These are the – Bible Gateway
Genesis 41-45 ESV
Genesis 41-45 ESV – Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams – Bible Gateway
Genesis 46-50 ESV
Genesis 46-50 ESV – Joseph Brings His Family to Egypt – So – Bible Gateway
The People of God’s Country
Are we the people of God’s Country ?
Is AmericaL the Country of God ?
America plus L
L is for the LORD
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” -Revelation 1: 8. ESV Study Bible.
Revelation 1 ESV
Revelation 1 ESV – Prologue – The revelation of Jesus – Bible Gateway
Are All the Nations on Earth God’s Nations ?
Is AmericaL God’s Blessing to All His Children ?
Do We All
Want to be the sons and the daughters of The True God ?
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” -1 John 5: 20, 21. ESV Study Bible.
1 John 1-5 ESV
1 John 1-5 ESV – The Word of Life – That which was from – Bible Gateway
Do We Want to Belong to Him ?
Are We Willing to receive the grace of God through faith in
The Son of God
And receive his Holy Spirit – the Helper – the Spirit of truth and understanding – Whom the Lord sends into the hearts of each one who truly believes in Hm —
Jesus Christ
He Is Our One True Lord God and Savior and Redeemer.
He is the Way and the Truth and the Life.
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’” -John 14: 6, 7. ESV Study Bible.
John 14-17 ESV
John 14-17 ESV – I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the – Bible Gateway
“No one comes to the Father except through me.” -Jesus Christ the Son of God Most High.
God’s Way Of Salvation (John 3:16)
Gospel Tract – God’s Way of Salvation (John 3:16) – Moments With The Book
“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” -Hebrews 11: 13-16. ESV Study Bible.
Hebrews 11-12 ESV
Hebrews 11-12 ESV – By Faith – Now faith is the assurance – Bible Gateway
Psalms 9-12 ESV
Psalms 9-12 ESV – I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds – Bible Gateway
Mark 16 ESV
Mark 16 ESV – The Resurrection – When the Sabbath was – Bible Gateway
Luke 24 ESV
Luke 24 ESV – The Resurrection – But on the first day – Bible Gateway
Matthew 28 ESV
Matthew 28 ESV – The Resurrection – Now after the – Bible Gateway
John 21 ESV
John 21 ESV – Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples – Bible Gateway
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” -Ephesians 3: 14-21. ESV Study Bible.
Ephesians 1-6. ESV
Ephesians 1-6 ESV – Greeting – Paul, an apostle of Christ – Bible Gateway
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” -Jesus [Revelation 22:12-15. ESV Study Bible].
Revelation 21-22 ESV
Revelation 21-22 ESV – The New Heaven and the New Earth – Then – Bible Gateway
Mark's Imaginings 