The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
RECOMMENDED READING PSALM 37:1-13 “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.”
COMMENTS: Have you ever wondered by good people endure suffering and tragedy and poverty while evil people seem to be spared while enjoying prosperity often from depriving impoverished people under their control. Why does God let evil people take advantage of good people for as long as He does?
When we look back at history, especially as recorded in scripture, we discovered God’s longsuffering and patience but with limits before judgment came. Judgment would come only after ample warning from prophets and written scripture but also with opportunity to repent and turn back to Him.
Consider the evil Adolf Hitler orchestrated upon the people his armies conquered, especially those of Jewish decent and beliefs. But his end came and defeat and prosecution to those who administered his evil plans. As we look at recorded events of that time, we see a number of key mistakes Hitler made and key wise choices the Allies generals made that turned the tide of World War II when strength of the Axis forces were overwhelming. The Allied forces went into WWII unprepared and weak but with good people working together and Christ followers praying and in key places of leadership and with God’s Holy Spirit leading and intervening directly, the Axis forces were defeated. But consider what the world would be like today if the Axis forces would have defeated the Allied forces? I shutter with thought. I was born in 1951, so would have been born into a world of tyranny and godlessness. I might have grown up in a home without Christ but more likely my parents would have been killed for the faith they already had. My sister may have been left to be raised by another family and I would never had been born. My wife was also born after the war so her fate would likely been mine and her older sisters likely faced fate of my sister since their parents were devout Christians before we were born. BUT GOD’S WILL PREVAILED AND EVIL WAS STOPPED!
Hitler grew up in a Christian family but not a good one. If they would have been faithful, maybe Adolf would have made better choices. But truth is everyone makes their own choices, wise or foolish, and many wayward children do so in midst of Godly parents who have remained faithful to Christ.
Consider those killed during WWII and good impact many of those lives would have made if they had lived. How does God sort all that out? I’m sure glad that isn’t in my responsibilities. But is in God’s responsibilities and abilities. He has that all sorted out. One day we will discover how He did that and will be in awe praising Him.
Truth is the choices we all make has an eternal impact on us but also often on countless numbers of others too.
So how much faith do you have? How much do you trust Him? History proves He is trust worthy and will prevail. He keeps His promises but in His Way and Time. He is returning, satan will be stopped and bound, and the world will be recreated as He intended without sin and death. His faithful will live in and enjoy that world with Him. That is definitely worth looking forward to and planning for. It is also worth following Him to achieve.
We may wonder why He is waiting so long, but consider He may be waiting for some of our family to come to Him for redemption first. When He returns, the opportunity to accept His redemption will end because His time of judgment will begin.
Why do innocent and good people suffer? He reminds us His standard is so far above ours, that no one is innocent and we are all equally guilty and in need of His redemption. His redemption is freely available to all and needed by all. The worst of murderers and rapists and bullies but also to the kindest and gentlest. All fall short of Christ’s example and God’s standard. But God’s mercy allows the Father to see us through Christ’s life instead of ours. Christ’s perfect example instead of ours.
So, we dare not depend on our own conduct or merits for redemption and don’t need to.
Is like saving to buy a dream house costing $200,000. We save for 70 years and have saved $10,000. We are a long way from having enough money but Christ provides the balance and hands us the keys to our new house and says WELCOME HOME GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT.
He knows our weaknesses and is patient with us (Hebrews 4:15). He knows unbelievers’ hearts and is longsuffering toward them, “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9).
When you feel impatient with yourself or with others, remember God’s loving patience with you.
Consider a quote of Joni Earackson Tata, a paraplegic for over 50 years: “No other religion, no other, promises new bodies, hearts, and minds. Only in the gospel of Christ do hurting people find such incredible hope.” Joni Eareckson Tata
AMEN? AMEN!
“Where there is no patience, there is not even a spark of faith. “ John Calvin
If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 269 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/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.
My hope and prayer are, my blog and devotional materials 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
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