Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. Hebrews 2:1
RECOMMENDED READING: Proverbs 3:13-27 “13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.19 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.26 For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it..”
COMMENTS: We live in a time of rapid change that has been so for a number of generations, but even more significant today. Modern innovations and inventions have impacted us like no other time in history. Travel and communication capability are beyond the imagination of kings and science fiction novelists living in the 1800’s. But not all is better. Moral standards and world views have shifted from a Christian standard based on the 10 commandments and the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) to a world view of “do your own thing”. The term doctrinal shift refers to a sense of right and wrong and society laws based on the Bible and 10 commandments God gave Moses and Israel. Even atheists or followers of other religions accepted and respected the 10 commandments wither they obeyed them or not. Today the doctrinal shift has moved far enough that much of society has accept the belief there is no right or wrong and tolerance, as defined as accepting all faiths and belief systems except Christianity and its moral standards.
God has not changed nor has He changed or diminished His standards. His requirement for eternal life is still perfection in conduct. Since we are not able to meet that standard, He paid price of redemption for us on the cross. He provides a constant relationship and help so we can progress toward the standard, but the standard has not changed. The solution is not ignoring or denying that standard, but to embrace the creator of that standard and His plan of redemption. Recognizing and dealing with sin is not being intolerant any more than recognizing illness and treating it and providing healing. Sin ultimately causes death just like cancer and other dangerous illnesses do. To deny sin or disease is not being kind to individual infected by it.
We are told that in the last days before Christ’s return society will call evil good and good evil. Men will follow their own sinful lusts and passions and ignore or deny value and need for God. They will persecute and condemn those who follow Christ or teach His Gospel. So, which is better, to be judged and condemned by man or judged and condemned by God? 100 years from now what will be results of that choice? I dare say it won’t matter what society or others think but will vitally matter what God thinks. We can not choose consequences of our choices. Only God can do that! Satan’s deceptions promise happiness and wealth and popularity but never deliver. God doesn’t promise wealth and popularity and even health while in this world but promised all and so much more for eternity in the next life. He also promises to be with us forever in a home He is preparing for us and for all who follow and trust Him.
Christ’s Gospel and His Word offer God’s perfect standard that does not change. A standard of life and conduct that is a safe anchor we can depend on to hold and keep us safe from the storms and currents of temptation and deception that can pull us off course. Holding us safe instead of allowing us to drift away from shore into deep dangerous waters. Imagine being in a small boat without any way to steer or move boat. Without an anchor, the open tide and current will move the boat away from shore and out to sea. If we were napping we would not notice and waken to find we were at mercy of any storm or shark determined to destroy us. God does not give us laws and boundaries to spoil our fun or make us miserable but to protect and help us, because He loves us. A good parent does so for his children. His boundaries provide protection from same dangers today, which are just as real and dangerous today as they were for past generations. Those who follow Christ will be glad 100 years from now. Those who don’t will spend eternity regretting they did not. No one can be good enough or do enough good to compensate for past sins. Only Christ’s redemptive sacrifice can redeem us from judgment and only if we accept His redemptive gift of salvation.
We prevent personal doctrinal drift by Bible study, fellowship, prayer, worship, and “earnest heed” to matters of the faith. Send the roots of your faith deeply into Christ to avoid drifting from Him so the storms and lures of life will not uproot or topple us during life’s storms like a tree without deep roots.
“Faith cannot stand, unless it is founded on the promises of God.” John Calvin
If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 171 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 