But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”Acts 5:29
RECOMMENDED READING: Acts 4:19-20 “19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
COMMENTS: The English Parliament gave protestant Christians, practicing Baptists, Puritans, and Congregationalists, permission to worship as their conscience dictates instead of as the Church of England required. Parliament did so by enacting the Toleration Act of 1689. Up to that point to do so resulted in imprisonment. Persecution from church leadership long and far strayed from Christ followers along with deep influence and control in government Consider Christ followers who did not submit to their control as heretics. That period for Christians was much like first century AD. Many Christians fled to the colonies and were instrumental in establishing the government and guiding laws we enjoy in America and have enjoyed for over 200 years. Their insights and influence could have transformed the Church of England and leadership in government but they were not open to listen. Their repentance would come with bloodshed and by being humbled by war years later. God’s Will is not optional. It will be implemented either peacefully by our repentance and obedience or by our defeat and surrender or even by eliminating us. The damage and impact on us is dependent on our response but God’s Will, will be done. It will either transport us or drive over us like a steam roller. We either can move ahead in the passenger seat with Christ driving or be run over by it. The choice is ours.
Why are we so timid in sharing our faith? Well, it may be in part because we are unprepared as to what to say. We’ve taken God so much for granted and have gone so long without noticing and reflecting and praising Him for miracles He shows and showers us with each day. We don’t stop to notice a beautiful sunrise or sunset or a rainbow. We fail to stop and enjoy the flowers or smell of fresh mowed grass. We f ail to see the sun coming up each morning as a redemptive sign of a new day with fresh opportunities. We fail to praise Him for shelter and employment and family and support of church and friends. We fail to praise Him in recovery from illness or help during crisis.
Praise uplifts and encourages us but also prepares us to reflect that encouragement to others. The world is moving from tolerance to intolerance to Christians practicing their faith. There will come a day when sharing the Good News will once again land us in jail or worse. Such persecution is already a reality in much of the world, especially in Islam control countries. An increasing desire to quiet Christians in the free world is becoming more evident. We should prepare and expect that to continue, but we should expect God to bless us with hearts eager to receive our message too. After all, we are on the winning side. Christ is our defender and will not be defeated or outmaneuvered. Scripture tells us of a coming time of great tribulation – severe persecution of Christians and great judgment and torment on those who reject Christ. Christ is coming to remove the faithful but those saved during that time of judgment, who refuse to receive the antichrist’s mark on their hand or forehead, will remain to face martyrdom at the hand of antichrist and his followers. The little and mild persecution we face now shouldn’t discourage us. To realize what Christians will face should humble and maybe shame us to not to be discouraged or have a “pity party” when others make fund or criticize us for taking a stand for Christ. HE IS WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE AND WORSHIP BUT ALSO SO WORTHY OF OUR OBEDIENCE AND SERVICE. AMEN!!
Tolerance is not forcing everyone to agree with all religion’s doctrines and teachings. Tolerance is not allowing all faiths to teach and enforce their laws while denying Christians to do the same. Likewise, if other religions are permitted to share their religious beliefs, then tolerance would also give opportunity for Christians to do the same. To refuse one would require refusing the other.
Well, fact is we are not promised fairness but we are promised His Help and assurance of a safe destination. Others may not be open to hear it, but when they see hope that assurance gives us, we then have a powerful and effective witness others can’t deny.
Persecution is like the goldsmith’s hallmark on real silver and gold; it is one of the marks of a converted man. J. C. Ryle
If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 116 blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present.
You may also access my facebook page and request to be my friend and automatically receive my daily journal publications daily. My facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Don1951
My hope and prayer is, they will become a source of encouragement and tools in ministry for you.
Published by donsdevotions
Don McDaniel - Who am I?
Hello everyone and welcome to my devotional journal blog. In order to get acquainted and help you get to know me a bit better before considering following my blog, let me give you some background. I am a 74-year-old male and a retired engineer. I worked for a major supplier of underground mining equipment for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2012. Arlene and I have been happily married since April 1978 and have two grown – married children, one granddaughter and 2 step grandsons. I joined the local United Methodist church at age 12 after accepting Christ as my Savior at age 10 during revival services in that same church in 1961, so I have been a “Born Again” Christian all my teen years and adult life. Christ has helped and guided me all that time. He guided me in choosing my wife and life’s career. My life journey has included regrets and failures, but God has picked me up and protected and spared me from life threatening consequences and dangers more times than I can recall or count. But many I do recall and encourage and motivate me to trust and follow Christ with more passion than ever.
Christmas 2011 our daughter gave Arlene and I each a devotional journal. Journals were books with devotion for each day and space to give personal impressions and thoughts related to each devotion. Her desire was to have a lasting legacy she could refer back to and share with her children and grandchildren especially after we are gone. I was touched by that gesture. My parents and Arlene’s were devout Christians, so we would have greatly treasured having that from them, so we felt a sense of urgency to honor her request. I finished my journal first and returned it to our daughter the following Christmas. I’m glad I did it then because Parkinson’s has caused my hand writing to deteriorate since then. The exercise was such a blessing for me. Discipline of keeping journal helped me gain a deeper walk with Christ and greater discipline in honoring my time of prayer and devotion with Him each day. So, I decided to continue the practice but since I could not find a paper journal I liked, I decided to create my own. I had already been receiving electronic devotions by email every day from several sources, my favorite being “Turning Point” from Dr. David Jeremiah. What I decided to do was to include devotional scripture but add my own thoughts and comments only so there would be no issue of copyright infringement. Creating and maintaining journal by computer also addressed my deteriorating handwriting ability. I started an electronic devotion journal January 1, 2013 and have been faithful to that practice every day since. I prayed about method and level of distribution. My initial intent was to only share it with my two children by email, but quickly discovered others in my family, my church, and friends from work (both retired and still working) who knew me and wanted to be included in distribution when they learned what I was doing. I now distribute by email my daily journal at the beginning of each month to over 150 friends and relatives. God has richly blessed and encouraged me.
I am concerned with the state of our church and nation, and world for that matter, believing we are living in the end times the prophets of old and Christ have talked about in scripture, so time is short. I desire to be true to my Savior and a witness to help others come to a saving knowledge of Him and equipped to share His Good News too. If my journal can encourage and help others, I believe God wants me to share it. I struggled, for a time at first, because I know many others keep similar journals but only for their own edification and do not want to share them because they are private.
However, Christ has stirred my heart to share it as a witness tool.
Our son and daughter have a long-time friend who grew up with them who we also befriended nearly 25 years ago. He had a lot of family problems, so would gravitate to our family as a refuge and eventually thought of us as his adopted parents and he as our adopted son. We lost contact with him for some time when he grew up and left home. He traveled around the U.S. and eventually ended up in Ukraine where he resided for next 10 years. He had to return to the US to renew his visa and took opportunity to recommend I begin a blog of my devotions and helped me set it up. He is also an active blogger and has been an email subscriber to my journal for several months, so he has been suggesting I expand my distribution by starting a blog to get broader exposure. After reflection and prayer, I concluded God was in this, so he is helping me set up my blog site. This brief autobiography is my first entry.
He returned to Ukraine, then resided there until circumstanced made him decide to move back to US with his young son. This biography was my first post February 29, 2016 .
I have published 600 posts from 2016-2023 automatically sent to all my Facebook friends, published on WordPress to be accessible to anyone curious or seeking a deeper walk with God. I decided to take a sebatical to prepare for a new chapter. In 2014 I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease which affects patient ability to walk, drive, do physical work, and eventually talk. By mid 2023 it became evident our home for last 42 years (previously owned by my parents for previous 44 years and by my mother's grandparents for 39 years before that) would eventually not meet my needs so we decided to sell it and move into 1st floor of a duplex we also owned that was the town school from 1855-1913. Likewise, the property was requiring more maintenance that I was no longer able to keep up with. 2023 involved selling our home and moving into apartment next door and then in early 2025 an opportunity to move closer to our daughter and granddaughter in Kentucky which was completed in May 2025. For a number of months I have been seeking direction seeking God's direction and timing to return to blogging as my journey with Parkinson's continues to unfold with God's guiding hand in mine.
I hope and pray my devotions will continue to be a blessing for you. God certainly has become closer and more real to me since started this blog in 2016. I have spent time with Him studying scripture and praying and listening and writing this journal. I will continue seeking God’s help and will welcome your input to make this site as meaningful as I can and true to God, who is motivating me to create and maintain it. I will also welcome input in order to make format more meaningful going forward.
Don & Arlene McDaniel
In His Service,
Email: mcdanieldonald769@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Don1951
If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 600+ blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present (https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/link-to-dons-devotional-journal-entries-2013/ )
You may also access my Facebook page and request to be my friend and automatically receive my daily journal publications daily. My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Dondevotionals/ Many thanks to a pastor and dear brother in Christ in Nepal who set up the above Facebook page to help and encourage and give opportunity for more to explore and use my devotional blog materials. View all posts by donsdevotions
donsdevotions 