“When He had by Himself purged our sins, [He] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3
Recommended Reading: ACTS 4:10-14 “ 10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.”
COMMENTS: We live in a world that calls itself “tolerant” and compromising but becoming very intolerant of individuals and businesses and churches that set a moral or conduct standard based on scripture. The idea that there is “Only One way” to a destination or goal is becoming “intolerant” and worthy of severe punishment in increasing circles of authority. Yet Jesus Himself said “6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him and have seen him.” John 14:6-7.
The message of forgiveness and eternal life through Christ alone is dominant in the New Testament scripture. Christ exampled and taught inclusion of all who came to Him seeking forgiveness for sin. He showed love and compassion to even those who rejected and killed Him but without accepting their beliefs. He prayed “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. Stephen, the first Christian martyr prayed that same prayer as he was stoned to death without compromising or diminishing the message that Christ is the only way to salvation.
The world confuses believing only one answer is being intolerant or prejudicial but what if our GPS or road map showed all roads going to a specific destination? What if we accepted all answers to the math problem 2+2=? Is it being intolerant to say 2+2=4 and accept no other answers? Is it intolerant to accept only maps that show the correct road going to a destination? So why would be accept anything less in determining the way to heaven and to God? Then again, why would we accept there is only one God as creator and redeemer? BECAUSE THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS! So why do we think our Christian faith and our Bible is the only accurate and true scripture? Why not the Koran or other religion “holy book”? Is it not just our opinion or background and upbringing that causes us to believe our Bible is any better or more accurate than any other? How can we know or be certain that our Bible is the only accurate and true scripture and our God is the only true God and Christ is the only way to salvation and to heaven?
There have been countless genuine atheists and followers of other religions who read the Bible in an attempt to discover and proof it not genuine but concluded it to be God’s true Word and God to be the one and only true God, resulting in readers coming to faith as well. Lee Strobel is on of those atheists who was converted by reading and studying the Bible.
If you are experiencing doubts or are convinced Christianity is not better or truer than any other religion, I invite you to read the Bible and let it prove itself to you. The Bible calls it self God’s living word.
Jesus claimed to be much more than a prophet of God. He claimed to be God Himself coming to earth to become our human sin sacrifice so His requirement for sacrifice for our sins was paid by Himself instead of by us. He is either who He says He is, which means our Bible is true; or He is a liar and very dangerous. As for me and my house, we believe and accept He is God’s Son and Christ, the only way to the Father’s forgiveness and heaven, and the Bible is true. I invite you to read the Bible and take the journey to your own conclusion.
But if you believe Jesus is the Christ and the Bible is true but have become indifferent towards Him because of busy schedules and other pursuits, I encourage you to set aside some time and read the Bible and let it speak to you too. We reject Him with our neglect as well as with our unbelief. We receive Him by faith when we come to Him with open ears and hearts. There is no guarantee we will live to see old age and God doesn’t owe us another day of life. If hell is as bad as the Bible describes, we dare not risk our eternal future on just a hope we won’t end up there. If heaven is as wonderful as the Bible describes, we dare not risk missing going there on just a hope we are good enough to go there. The Bible tells us no one is good enough and only by receiving Christ’s sacrifice for our forgiveness will we become worthy of heaven. Why risk facing God unprepared when accepting Christ provides what He requires. The price to enter heaven costs us little but cost Him greatly. “Free justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. “ Sinclair Ferguson
If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 170 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 