NOVEMBER 2022:                                                                                                                                                         11/1/2022    When in Pain                    1

“Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.”   Psalm 119:49-50    COMMENTS:  Pain is a friend God intended to protect us and help us avoid or escape dangers and harmful things.  Some who can not feel pain are at risk of harm without being aware of approaching harm.  Bodies scared with burn marks are evident in those so suffering.  Pain is not pleasant but God gives us valuable words of encouragement when enduring pain.   He promises never to leave us or forsake us.  He shows us with His own life how to live well and endure pain and hardship and suffering and with purpose. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid’” (John 14:27). So what is  the purpose of pain?  To deter us from go down a path of danger and harm. To alert us of a body  ailment needing medical attention. To seek help and council when facing tasks and choices necessary with needed preparation and resources. To tap into hidden inner strength that only God can provide and help you use and grown in strength and fellowship with Him as a result. The fourth purpose is likely the most important because it nurtures the relationship we have with God and He with us and lays a foundation needed for future work and fellowship with Him and with each other.  For eternal purpose. Meditate on today’s verse. Think of God’s promises you know from Scripture. How do they preserve your life, especially when you are suffering physical or emotional pain? Lord Jesus, thank you for giving me your peace when I hurt. Bless you for the hope and comfort I always find in you. Every single one of your promises preserves my life; I could not survive without your precious Word sustaining me every moment.

                                             

11/2/2022                                                  FOCUS ON SERVICE                                               2

“But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.”
Luke 10:40
COMMENTS:
Everywhere you look in the Bible, the ministry of service is lauded. Even Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). The heart of humility is found in sacrificial service, and great leaders are made great through their tireless aid on behalf of others. Martha was on the right path, even with her “much serving,” as the King James Version puts it. We can never do enough in God’s kingdom, and Martha is not to be chided for rolling up her sleeves to prepare a meal for such an honored guest as the Lord Jesus The problem was Martha’s focus. Today’s verse tells us she “was distracted by all the preparations.” It wasn’t that she was too busy or planned too many things on the menu; hustle and bustle and vigorous activity weren’t the culprit. Martha simply allowed those things to distract her from her focus—the Savior. She lost joy in her labor, gladness in ministering to her Lord, and delight in exercising her gift for the good of the group. A complaining spirit took over as she focused on her sister, Mary, along with all the pots and pans. It requires great spiritual discipline, as well as a consuming adoration for the Savior to not become encumbered by the hard work of energetic service. Great Christians of the past—and many in the present—have worn their fingers to the bone in the advancement of Christ’s kingdom while maintaining a tranquil spirit and an unyielding focus on Christ. Don’t shrink from serving the Lord today; just be certain to keep Jesus and his glory as your goal. Lord Jesus, may your Spirit convict me if I become sidetracked by the demands of my Christian service, whether at home, work, or at my church. May you and your glory always be my focus.

11/3/2022                                GOD REPENTING?                                                                      3

“So the Lord relented.”

Amos 7:3

COMMENTS:

God was so exasperated with the rebellion of Israel, that he was just about ready to devastate the nation’s crops with a swarm of locusts. When you read the book of Amos, God appears to come across as impatient and hotheaded. But just when you hear the swarming in the distance, he seems to cave in and have a change of heart. How can this be? He’s God. Did God repent in the sense of deciding one thing yesterday and another, today? No, for he knows everything from the beginning, including how he would act in all future situations. Did he have a change of opinion? No, it’s almost blasphemous to speak of God having an “opinion” about anything; it implies that the Lord makes judgment calls without knowing all the facts, or that his preferences are mere tastes or whims with no reference to what is pure and right. So how can God “repent?” As humans change, God shows them different “sides” of his character fitting with their behavior. His wrath shows itself when people rebel, his kindness when they turn again—kindness that he had all along. It may appear to us that he has repented—and the Bible may use that language so we can grasp the idea—but he has not repented or reconsidered. Professor A. A. Hodge said, “When [God] is said to…be grieved, or to be jealous, it is only meant that he acts towards us as a man would when agitated by such passions.” God graciously condescends to accommodate himself to our finite and often one-dimensional world. He uses human metaphors so that we might understand as best as we can. How gracious of him! God is bending over backward to give expression to his great love and passion for you. No matter how many mistakes you make, God will never change his mind about calling you his child. Lord God, I thank you that you only “borrow” human metaphors. Thank you for never changing your mind about me.

11/4/2022                                                    LAYERS OF LOVE                                                  4

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  Romans 5:5

Recommended Reading: Matthew 25:37-40

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

COMMENTS:   Love comes in layers. The intimate love of a married couple is very exclusive. The love we have for our children is intense. We have friends we love on a different level, and there’s a special bond of love that unites followers of Christ. And yet, even with all those love layers extending from us, there is still enough love within us—thanks to the Holy Spirit!—to love the whole world.

That’s why the Bible tells us to entertain strangers (Hebrews 13:2), to have pity on the poor (Proverbs 19:17), to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), to visit orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27), to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us (Luke 6:27), to support the weak (Acts 20:35), and to “be kindly affectionate to one another” (Romans 12:10).

Love is demonstrated not just through words, but through actions. Be intentional in loving others, and God will reward you for your faithful obedience to His command.

“True love is an act of the will—a conscious decision to do what is best for the other person instead of ourselves.”  Billy Graham

11/5/2022                                       A WSLL OF HOSTILITY                                    5

“For [Christ] himself is our peace…and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing the law with its commandments and regulations…to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”

Ephesians 2:14-16

COMMENTS:

A mission group that included Joni Eareckson Tata went to Bosnia.  Bosnia is a splintered country, with towns separated by barbed wire and land mines. A million-and-a-half Muslims live in Bosnia, and only 500 or so Christians. Ministry here was not going to be easy. At a hospital, Muslim doctors were skeptical, but quickly warmed as the group discussed rehabilitation philosophy and laughed over the tactics of politicians. Departing, they were invited to return with wheelchairs. Walls of hostility were beginning to come down. Dario was a young Bosnian-Croat soldier assigned as the group’s driver. He shared his experiences as a commander during the war: three years of killing, carnage, and plunder. Land mines exploded at his feet by day and in his head at night. His private horror was unspeakable. On the last day, Dario tucked a letter in the side of Joni’s wheelchair. On the plane, she said she  unfolded it and read the following words: “I asked a German missionary if God can forgive even big sins like mine. He answered that Jesus pays some 2,000 years ago ALL the sins from this world. That night I fall upon my knees, begging from God to forgive me and change my life. When I wake up next morning, I felt very strange deep peace and joy inside me. I wanted to share that joy with Jesus with others.” Christ is the only solution for the Jew and Gentile, Muslim and Christian. He is the only solution for all mankind—including for you! What steps can you take to overcome any walls of hostility in your life? “Lord, may I be an instrument of your peace, gracing every circumstance with a spirit of unity… for then your blessing will rest upon me.”

11/6/2022                                            TRUTH BE TOLD                                     6

John 8:31-32 – So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” COMMENTS:                                                                                                             Our text today is a message that has brought comfort to untold millions of people, but let’s be clear about this: the truth that makes people free is the truth of Christ. This is not just the truth about Christ. It is the truth that is in Christ, the truth that is Christ Himself. “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” (John 14:6b). Jesus said this, and He meant exactly that. Part of Christ’s statement about truth is sometimes found inscribed above library doorways or on the gates of institutions of higher learning: “The Truth Will Set You Free” (John 8:32b). Taken out of context, this line might seem to say that any kind of truth about anything at all will help set people free. People would like to believe that. They would like to think that man’s search for knowledge, which has made tremendous strides forward in so many areas, will eventually free mankind from all error, all pride and prejudice, and everything else that has undermined human existence for millennia. Christ calls us everywhere to freedom. He offers this freedom, this genuine liberty, from the slavery to conform and from the nagging fears which are so much a part of modern life. When Christ sets a person free, buck-passing and excuses go out the window. When Christ sets us free, we are free to live as we were intended to live. “So, if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). The disciples of Christ were ordinary folk, like you and me. They were not educated in the formal sense of the word, but they were intelligent. They saw Christ and recognized Him for what He was: the Son of God and the Savior of the world. And then they show how intelligent they really were: they followed Him and they became His disciples. They continued in His Word and understood it as truth, that truth which alone can make you and me free from everything that holds us down and condemns us. We have the Word of Christ that all of this is true. It was Christ Himself who said to Nicodemus one night: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This promise of life, true and real life, free as life was meant to be, is for all people everywhere. That is why we proclaim it each week here in the United States and around the world, to anyone and everyone who will listen. This is why we proclaim it to you today.

11/7/2022                                 FOR ALL THE SAINTS                                    7

“But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day: The saints triumphant rise in bright array; The King of Glory passes on His way. Alleluia! Alleluia! “From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast, Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia! Alleluia!” “Look!” our hymn calls out, “there breaks a yet more glorious day.” A more glorious day? What glorious day came before this even more glorious day still to come? Earlier verses of the same hymn celebrate the saints on earth who are still engaged in warfare against sin and Satan. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they fought long and hard, but the day came when their Lord and Captain called them home to Himself. They enjoyed “the golden evening” of rest in the “sweet calm of paradise the blest.” That blessed rest, won by Jesus through His death and resurrection, marked a glorious day for each and every saint who was called home. That peaceful rest would seem to be reward enough, but something “more glorious” is going to happen. On a more glorious day, the King of Glory will pass by and the saints whose bodies have been laid to rest will “rise in bright array.” The hymn echoes the words of the apostle Paul as he describes Jesus’ return on the Last Day: “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven … and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). As Jesus, the King of Glory, passes on His way, the triumphant saints will rise from death as their Savior had risen. The saints still living on that great day will, with the rising saints, be clothed in the bright array of immortality. On that more glorious day the “countless host,” the “great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Revelation 7:9b), will stream through heaven’s gates of pearl and offer eternal praise to the God who saved them. After describing that more glorious day, Paul reminds us, “Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18). As we face warfare in this earthly life, fighting against temptation, illness, strife, personal loss, and even death itself, we do not look back in time to some imagined golden era or to “better days” we might once have known. We set our sights firmly on that more glorious day that lies ahead for us. The King of Glory is coming, and when He descends from heaven on the day of His return, we will be raised in glory and dressed in bright array to share in His eternal victory. When the battle is long and difficult, those are the words we must use to encourage one another. We turn our hearts and minds to the hope and promise of that “yet more glorious day.” Come, Lord Jesus! WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, I long for the day of Your return. Help me to encourage others in this blessed hope. Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.

11/8/2022                                THE MIND OF CHRIST MY SAVIOR                           8

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 2:5 (KJV)

COMMENTS: What does it mean to have the mind of Christ in us and how do we achieve that goal, especially sustain that?  Well, is this the same as God speaking to us in a dream or in a moment during prayer time or when reading the bible?  I think the answer is yes but I also think scripture is telling us we can reach a level of fellowship that results in communicating with the Father much more frequently and during our day of work and interacting and not just when reading the Bible or in our private place praying. That is something we witness in scripture when David prayed or Daniel prayed as examples.  Barriers to reaching this goal are many: secret sin, neglect of fellowship with God, life distraction taking more focus and leaving less focus to being in continuous communion with God, waiting on God and seeking guidance of the Holy Spirit regularly and frequently. Singing familiar hymns and edifying contemporary sons are a good way of keeping our mind in line with God so we can listen for and hear God’s soft but profound voice.

11/9/2022                        JESUS UPHOLDS EVERYTHING                             9

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

Hebrews 1:3

COMMENTS:

Hebrews 1 verse 3 makes an astounding claim. It says that “[Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and (get this), he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Like, right now, this instant, Jesus is keeping the stars, sun, and all the galaxies in place; he’s making sure the molecules that make up mountains, birds, and beasts don’t disintegrate, don’t go spinning off. And if that weren’t enough, even as he was being crucified, Jesus was holding together the very muscles, sinews, tendons, and nerves in the hands of those brutal soldiers who drove in the nails. Jesus “willed” that his executioners keep living. That is astounding! What mercy! And he went through all that… to prove his love to you and me. What an insight into your astounding Savior!

11/10/2022                                                               THE RIGHT ROAD                                                       10

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 2:3-5

COMMENTS:

Christ is the ultimate example of selfless humility, and we are never more like him than when we demonstrate this godly quality. The quickest and surest path to humility is to follow the advice of today’s verse: “consider others better than yourself.” I have seen my husband Ken time and again looking out for my interests before his own. It’s not the big things like getting up at 3:00 a.m. to turn me; it’s the little things. Making sure my wheelchair batteries get charged every night, that the coffee is prepared for the morning, and that I have plenty of soy milk for my special drink each day. When I notice that he’s placed a full box of tissue on the counter, I smile. It’s that quality of humble service I appreciate most about him (and it’s what energizes my love and respect for him).                                               When does humility happen? When you get in a conversation and do more listening than talking. Humility is cultivated when you push others in the spotlight. When you put a lid on your itchiness to take credit for a positive outcome. When you work behind the scenes to ensure the success of the other, to promote their interests, or to make certain they get recognition for a project (especially if you contributed significantly to that project). A sure path to humility is to not quickly raise your hand in Bible class when you know the answer (especially if you’ve already given answers). Plan a way to “look out for the interests of others” today. Jesus, thank you for reminding me to make my neighbor’s case my own. Help me not to focus on humility but only my friend and my Christian service to him.

11/11/2022                                                  The Devil Is Real                                                           3
…that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.  Revelation 12:9

2 Corinthians 2:1-11 “
¹ So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. ² For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? ³ I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. ⁴ For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.⁵ If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. ⁶ The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. ⁷ Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. ¹⁰ Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, ¹¹ in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”

COMMENTS:  Don’t you wonder sometimes why it is so easy to sin and so hard to live righteously?  Why is living Christ-like so foreign to our human inclinations?  If we reflect on our lives and lives of those around us we see areas we are strong and do better while we see others with different strengths and weaknesses.  Do you wonder why someone else struggles with a particular weakness you haven’t had issues with while they seem to do well in an area you have weakness with?  Doesn’t satan have a way of tripping us with our weakness and seldom with our strengths.  Where he does trip us is thinking our strengths make us better than others with weakness in those same areas or tempting us to ignore our weak areas thinking they are justified or somehow balanced by our strengths.  All we have to do is look at Christ’s example as well as His standard for righteous living in order to see just how far short we are still living.  Yes we all need His mercy and help to overcome weakness and sin and to receive forgiveness. I John 2:1-6: “1 I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone who pleads with the Father on our behalf – Jesus Christ, the righteous one. 2 And Christ himself is the means by which our sins are forgiven, and not our sins only, but also the sins of everyone. 3 If we obey God’s commands, then we are sure that we know him. 4 If we say that we know him, but do not obey his commands, we are liars and there is no truth in us. 5 But if we obey his word, we are the ones whose love for God has really been made perfect. This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God: 6 if we say that we remain in union with God, we should live just as Jesus Christ did.”  Is it possible to live a sinless life.  If we use God’s standard I really don’t think so in this life because His standard of perfection is above what we can comprehend.  Is it possible to overcome our greatest weaknesses?  Absolutely!  God knows we can’t be as perfect as He, but wants us to walk towards that goal with Him and away from the path of destruction and sin satan has us on.  If we turn around we see a new goal but are not at that goal.  We move away from old destination and towards the new destination.  

11/12/2022                                                 Defeating Temptation                                       12
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  James 4:7

Matthew 4:1-11 “4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted^[a] by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’^[b]”⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:“‘He will command his angels concerning you,    and they will lift you up in their hands,    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^[c]”⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[d]”⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’^[e]”¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”

COMMENTS:  For us to realize that Jesus was tempted, and have recorded in Matthew 4 an example of His temptations and how He dealt with it is helpful for several reasons.  1. For us to know Jesus was tempted also means we should expect to be tempted as well and at least as often. 2. If Jesus needed to use scripture and direct access to God the Father, how much more do we in order to defeat temptation.   3. Jesus expressed confidence God the Father was near and had an overwhelming multitude of angels available to Him (and to us) to empower to defeat satan’s deceptive temptations.  4. When we look at attractiveness of temptation objectively, we realize just how short lived and little value if offers and satan is offering.  5. Satan can’t make us do anything and the power he has over us is no more than what power we give him by listening to him.  6. You and I are not strong enough to battle satan, but when we arm ourselves us with the same tools Christ did, he is powerless.  Likewise, when we sense a temptation, we need to flee to His side for help and strength.  Don’t assume we can do it alone, because we can’t.  7.  Jesus was drained after his battle with satan, but angels came to minister to and strengthen Him.  How much more do we need strengthened.  8.  Satan came to Christ when He was the weakest – after fasting for 40 days but also after 40 days with the Father.  Satan thought a weak body made Him vulnerable.  But Christ was strong from being in quiet close fellowship with the Father for 40 days.  So satan was outsmarted – he couldn’t comprehend fellowship with the Father compensating for lack of food.  Stop and reflect and lets consider what that tells us…   If we were to face temptation after fasting for 40 days, I would dare say we would be too weak to resist – especially temptations that would involve food.  Satan tempted Christ where He had human weakness, and lack of food was at the top of the list at that point.  If we see a particular weakness in our lives or character, how much better it would be if we would deal with it in prayer and fellowship with Him before satan had opportunity to bombard us with temptations related to that weakness.  Battling offensively instead of just defensively, right?  I’m going to reflect on that and would encourage you too.
11/13/2022                                                 Elephant Tracks                                      13      ¹⁷ I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. ¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. ¹⁹ Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.²¹ Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason andSosipater, my fellow Jews.²² I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.²³ Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. ^[24] [a]25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, ²⁶ but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from^[b] faith— ²⁷ to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen. Romans 16:17-27

COMMENTS:  We all ideally desire to do God’s will but all too often fall prey to our own selfish desires and weaknesses or are distracted by satan’s snares and threats.  The above story of the charging elephant reminds us the best place we can be is in God’s will but also just how vulnerable we are too.  Making choices, some wise and some foolish, are inevitable.  We are not wise and insightful enough to consistently make wise choices.  Hopefully with years of experience we are better equipped to make wise choices more often as well as give wise advice to others.  However, the truth is only God has the ability and passion to consistently made and guide us to make wise choices all the time.  Stating true and focused on Him and willing to follow His lead is secret to getting on and staying on His wisest path.  Some like Joseph and Daniel and Noah consistently set themselves and stayed on that wisest path even in the face of gravest dangers and temptations.  Their secret was staying in close fellowship and worship of God – keeping their eyes on Him.  Men like David and Solomon and Samson, for example strayed when they took their eyes off Him and started relying on their own wisdom and discernment.  What pain they caused themselves and even those they cared for because of the poor choices they made on their own. How much better it would have been for them and others if they had remained as true as Daniel and Joseph.  Likewise, the stories of Daniel, his visions, and Joseph and his visions and help for Egyptians an his father’s family would have turned out quite different if Joseph had taken his eyes of God and yielded to the temptations and directions their hearts were pointing them too.  They had to say no to their human passions and wisdom and yes to what God directed.  Their lessons are a reminder to us how important keeping our eyes on Christ and following His direction is.  I believe we are living in days or months before His return so we have precious little time to do His will and little time to repent and recover if we don’t.  I see some in my own family, as well as dear friends, suffering from poor choices and some are still continuing to make those poor choices – causing even more hardship.  We can’t make their choices for them…
11/14/2022                                        Tough Questions with RC Sproul                                14      Is the Christian faith really rational?

By all means! It is intensely rational. Now, I’ve had the question asked of me, “Is it true that you are a Christian rationalist?” I said, “By no means! That’s a contradiction in terms. A rationalist is somebody who embraces a philosophy that sets itself over and against Christianity.” And so, while a true Christian is not a rationalist, the Christian faith is certainly rational.  Is Christianity coherent? Is it intelligible? Does it makes sense? Does it fit together in a consistent pattern of truth, or is it the opposite of rational—is it irrational? Does it indulge in superstition and embrace Christians who believe that Christianity is manifestly irrational? I think that’s a great tragedy. The God of Christianity addresses people’s minds. He speaks to us. We have a Book that is written for our understanding. When I say that Christianity is rational, I do not mean that the truth of Christianity in all of its majesty can be deduced from a few logical principles by a speculative philosopher. There is much information about the nature of God that we can find only because God himself chooses to reveal it to us. He reveals these things through his prophets, through history, through the Bible, and through his only begotten Son, Jesus. But what he reveals is intelligible; we can understand it with our intellect. He doesn’t ask us to throw away our minds in order to become Christians. There are people who think that to become a Christian, one must leave one’s brain somewhere in the parking lot. The only leap that the New Testament calls us to make is not into the darkness but out of the darkness into the light, into that which we can indeed understand. That is not to say that everything the Christian faith speaks of is manifestly clear with respect to rational categories. I can’t understand, for example, how a person can have a divine nature and a human nature at the same time, which is what we believe about Jesus. That’s a mystery—but mysterious is not the same as irrational. Mystery doesn’t apply only to religion. I don’t understand the ultimate force of gravity. These things are mysterious to us, but they’re not irrational. It’s one thing to say, “I don’t understand from my finite mind how these things work out,” and it’s another thing to say, “They’re blatantly contradictory and irrational, but I’m going to believe them anyway.” That’s not what Christianity does. Christianity says that there are mysteries, but those mysteries cannot be articulated in terms of the irrational; if that were so, then we have moved away from Christian truth.

COMMENTS:  Being rational is to make choices based on truth.  Rationalization is to justify our actions based on our sinful appetites and motives.  Rationalization is a way of justifying irrational behavior.  Being rational is making wise choices based on facts and truth.  That is why following Christ and His direction is rational and not irrational.  Yet we are living in a world where Christian faith is judged to be irrational.  If we are indeed living in the end times, as I believe we are, then we will continue to see the increasing unpopularity of Christian faith and persecution of those who call themselves Christian and put their trust and faith in Christ.    “As for me and my house, we will follow the Lord”  Joshua 24:15.  Joshua made that choice and urged Israel to do the same.  They  encountered God’s blessings when they did so, and suffered greatly when they didn’t.   God is the same and requires the same obedience, so why should we expect the same blessings or consequences as they?  As we approach the rapture, let’s resolve to make Joshua’s choice ours as well…  Our eternity and our family’s eternity rest on that choice as well as the impact we will have on those around us in remaining days we will live .  I’ve said it before, 50 years from now what will be the most important and what will have a lasting impact will be that choice and how well we followed that choice.  Let’s renew our pledge to follow that choice and seek His help remaining true to that choice in days and months and, maybe years ahead….    

11/15/2022                   C.S. Lewis Daily – Today’s Reading                                     15          I have heard some people complain that if Jesus was God as well as man, then His sufferings and death lose all value in their eyes, ‘because it must have been so easy for Him’. Others may (very rightly) rebuke the ingratitude and ungraciousness of this objection; what staggers me is the misunderstanding it betrays. In one sense, of course, those who make it are right. They have even understated their own case. The perfect submission, the perfect suffering, the perfect death were not only easier to Jesus because He was God, but were possible only because He was God. But surely that is a very odd reason for not accepting them? The teacher is able to form the letters for the child because the teacher is grown-up and knows how to write. That, of course, makes it easier for the teacher; and only because it is easier for him can he help the child. If it rejected him because ‘it’s easy for grown-ups’ and waited to learn writing from another child who could not write itself (and so had no ‘unfair’ advantage), it would not get on very quickly. If I am drowning in a rapid river, a man who still has one foot on the bank may give me a hand which saves my life. Ought I to shout back (between my gasps) ‘No, it’s not fair! You have an advantage! You’re keeping one foot on the bank’? That advantage—call it ‘unfair’ if you like—is the only reason why he can be of any use to me. To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself? From Mere Christianity Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis                Mere Christianity. Copyright © 1952, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Copyright renewed © 1980, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. A Year With C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works. Copyright © 2003 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

 COMMENTS:  Reflect with me the words and arguments CS Lewis shares with us this morning.  Scripture tells us Christ was both human and divine but that He shed His divine power so He would have to rely on the Father as we do for His strength and guidance.  We can’t comprehend nor explain what that means but the fellowship and constant relationship He had with the Father enabled Him to do supernatural things we are not capable of and maintain a perfect life we are not able to live either.  Yet His example shows us we can live far more perfect and be empowered to do more miracles than we currently are if grow closer to Him.  Yet our motivation is not to do great things but in order to worship and praise and love Him more.   Our life and purpose lies in our relationship and fellowship with Him.  If Christ did have a safety line between Him and the Father so He could pull us to safety, is that any more reason to criticize than for a rescue worker to have a safety line when pulls us to safety?  He is no less a hero.  Christ’s safety line was His perfect relationship with the Father and perfect life He lived and sacrifice and made for us.   The puzzling thing is if He was indeed tempted, was it possible for Him to sin?  If He is God, was it possible for Him to sin?  That is a theological question I would not trust anyone to be capable to give the correct answer because we simply don’t know and understand God sufficiently.  I think part of the answer lies in fact that Christ was both fully human and fully divine.  The human part of Him was capable of sinning but refused to yield.  I think the truth of that gives us great encouragement in knowing He chose to be faithful out of love for the Father and sufficient love for us to know that was essential to be qualified to pay our sin’s price.   He chose to live a perfect life while on earth because of His love for the Father but also because of His great love for us.  Let’s reflect but leave it at that…

11/16/2022                                                              Avoid This Spirit                                        16
And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 1 John 4:3

1 John 2:15-19 “¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father^[a] is not in them. ¹⁶ For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.¹⁸ Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

COMMENTS:  Stop and think how much we want and work so hard for what will last more than a few days or years.   That better car or house or bank account.  The list goes on.  When we were children we couldn’t wait for Christmas anticipating what presents we would get.  Do you remember feeling disappointed the next day or even later Christmas afternoon because the excitement was over and there were no more surprises?  Even if we got the present we were hoping for, there was a sense of disappointment later on.  Isn’t that also true when we reach our material or professional goals too?  Once we get them, there is a sense there needs to be something more.  That trap is what drives us to want and work to get more, thinking more will satisfy the longing of our souls.  Even the desire for security never seems to be satisfied no matter how much money or materials things we acquire.  Even the longing for a spouse and children, in and of themselves, doesn’t fully satisfy either.  The bible, including this morning’s scripture from I John 2, tells us not to trust the desire for things we see or want with our bodies – they will not satisfy or last.  Likewise, this scripture also warns us not to fall prey to sin because it will not satisfy or fulfil what we are seeking either.  The dangers of sin include never satisfying the need or desire wanted and causes damage and destruction not intended except by satan himself. You and I are easily deceived and distracted as well by satan.  Scripture repeatedly warns us against listening to satan’s deception and to discern and reject anyone or anything that does not recognize or honor Christ and life He exampled for us.  We are also reminded and encouraged that His Spirit is always with us to encourage and strengthen and empower us to reject and resist satan’s deceptions and temptations as well as others who intentionally or unintentionally are tempting or distracting us from following Him.  Today is a day of worship, wrapping gift boxes at church for Samaritan’s Purse, and bible study – a good day!!  Lily spent the night with us and is looking forward to giving her old bike today, after wrapping Samaritan Purse boxes, to Sidney Richards – a younger girl in our church.  Should be fun for them and us… 
11/17/2022                                               Ready to Speak                                   17
I Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” 

COMMENTS:  You and I have no idea what God’s dreams are for our lives.  Billy Graham lived 99 years and lived to witness countless millions come to Christ as a result of his ministry and organization.  To also witness his son, Franklin, not only take over the ministry but add to it with “Samaritan’s Purse” which delivers shoe box gifts to children globally with opportunity to know and accept Christ.  This year they will deliver the 200 millionth shoe box.

I’ve been watching a number of documentaries of Billy’s life.  He dreamed of being a major league baseball player and likely could have been.   However, when he encountered Christ at a Mordecai Ham tent revival in his home town, his dream and passion changed.  He embraced a passion to share God’s message of mercy and forgiveness.  He was told he would never be a good preacher, but God had different plans.

Billy’s wife Ruth thought she would be a missionary and never marry.  But God had different plans for both of them and God brought them together to do a work that changed the world. God opened doors for him to evangelize in Russia and East Germany just a few years before the Berlin wall fell.  A documentary Sir Robert Frost hosted revealed the revivals Billy lead in East Germany made a significant impact on it’s people and Communist government that resulted in breakdown of the Berlin wall.  God then opened the door to a great work in China, positively impacted by Ruth’s early life work there and work of her father as a missionary doctor many years before.  Why is God allowing Billy to continue to live beyond the energetic and fruitful years of his youth?  Billy was a very humble but powerful evangelist, always pointing the credit and glory to God and away from himself.  As we grow closer to Christ, the more like Him we become.  Billy Graham, like Daniel, is a wonderful example for us.  As I wonder why God has allowed him to live to be 99, beyond the years of vitality to preach, I can’t help but wonder if He is allowing Billy to make sure his legacy was preserved.

We don’t know how many years or quality of the years God gifts to us, but has purpose for us.  Yesterday, Arlene and I had a special opportunity to speak to a group of 300+ Health Care students and professors at Slippery Rock UIniversity. Connection came through a professional relationship and friendship our daughter had with a supervisor  who later accepted a position as assistant professor of OT at SRU.    As a Parkinson patient, they sought to learn what it is like to have Parkinson’s Disease and impact of treatment and therapy and exercises and medication used to treat Parkinson’s symptoms.

I also used opportunity to encourage students to treat all three areas “Body – Mind – Soul”  and show the impact of hope and peace that comes from a relationship with Christ and impact of a loving family and friends

11/18/2022                             Seasonal Changes: People                                     18
Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go. Proverbs 22:24

Romans 12:16  “¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^[a] Do not be conceited.”

COMMENTS:  I’ve heard it said “You are who you associate with.”  Today’s lesson tells us to avoid angry people and get close to humble God loving Christian people. Angry people do not act logically or wisely and tend to do and say things that spawn anger and consequences that make circumstances worse, consequences that likely causes the more anger to come to the surface.   Anger that was already there but prior to stimulus was dormant.  Angry behavior spawns angry behavior but peaceful loving responses also spawn peace and compassion.  So how do we ministry and offer help to those who are angry and acting in a harmful manner?  Our response should be showered in prayer seeking God’s wisdom and council.  Likewise, seeking help so not responding alone is also wise.  Police officers learn to seek backup when responding to disturbances.  Our backup is the Holy Spirit but also should include others we trust and who are like minded in seeking the Holy Spirit’s help.  Being available to and ministering to others is not the same as friendships with them.  Being a friend is not the same as having a friendship. Friendship means bonding in a way to support and build up each other.  Think of those who build you up who build up you and compare those relationship with those who are or have remained “a mission field” to.  Our level of prayer needed is different and our source of strength needs to come outside that relationship.  Good friendships support and strengthen all included.  The best friendships draw all closer to Christ and His example, not pulling one or all away from Christ.  We can’t help others if our relationship with Christ is compromised and we become weak.  Safety procedures on airplanes dictate to put on our oxygen mask before helping others put theirs on.  That is so we can devote our full attention and strength to helping others.  Such is true of our ability to ministry to others-helping them on life’s ways.
11/19/2022                                           C.S. Lewis Daily – Today’s Reading                                              19 ‘Niceness’—wholesome, integrated personality—is an excellent thing. We must try by every medical, educational, economic, and political means in our power to produce a world where as many people as possible grow up ‘nice’; just as we must try to produce a world where all have plenty to eat. But we must not suppose that even if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world—and might even be more difficult to save. For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to pro- duce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has got its wings, it will soar over fences which could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural horse at its own game. But there may be a period, while the wings are just beginning to grow, when it cannot do so: and at that stage the lumps on the shoulders—no one could tell by looking at them that they are going to be wings—may even give it an awkward appearance. From Mere Christianity Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity. Copyright © 1952, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Copyright renewed © 1980, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. A Year With C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works. Copyright © 2003 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

COMMENTS:  I don’t know about you but historically I would do, not do, about anything to avoid conflict.  Confronting people was to be avoided at all cost.  I remember, as a PPR chairman, knowing about issues within the church and would avoid them or hope they would go away or that adult mature Christians at the source of conflict would be spiritual and mature enough to work out their differences is a positive and healing way.  When they didn’t and when I then got involved, with help and council of church DS (district superintendent), result was a lot more painful and ended up with either pastor or one or more of the church people leaving by their choice.  I have seen similar conflicts at work, but in every instance people would learn to get along, like it or not, because they had to in order to keep their jobs and get the work done.  However, I have yet to see that happen in my local church.  Peace would only come when one or more left the church and went elsewhere.  That was because path of least resistance was to leave and not to forgive. Consequence was church shrank and became much weaker.  Even in stances of much effort and involvement of DS in guiding church and individuals, results were the same because those involved could not truly forgive.  Families, unfortunately, all too often go down that same path – causing broken marriages and alienated children with permanent damage.  Oh how much different the results could be if we simply submit to Christ and receive His mercy and truly forgive each other.  Our pride and desire to always be right so get in the way of God’s blessings and living victorious Christian lives. Those of us who have been married more than 10 years (Arlene and I for 36+ yrs.) certainly have learned how important it is to forgive each other but also realizing how important it is to recognize and seek forgiveness.  Our relationship is far more important than our pride or desire to be right.  Yet we have to realize we can’t make decisions for others.  As parents and grandparents we get a real sense of how true that is – to see those we love suffering consequence for poor choices and sin is heartbreaking.  Yet suffering for our sins, but especially innocent suffering for other’s sins, brings:     1. Opportunities to be truly depending on God.  2. Opportunities to grow and mature spiritually.   3. Opportunities to show consistent integrity in all situations.  4. Opportunity to submit  with dependency totally on Christ.  5.  Opportunity to prepare our hearts for new and vital ministry.  Let’s pray that God will use current and future problems for these purposes and benefits even if suffering and peace and comfort are sacrificed for a time. There is something far more important at stake!  Our relationship with each other and our eternal relationship with Him…

11/20/2022                                                       Devilish Crime                                                   20 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.                 Ephesians 6:11

Revelation 12:10-12  “¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power    and the kingdom of our God,    and the authority of his Messiah.For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,    who accuses them before our God day and night,    has been hurled down.¹¹ They triumphed over him    by the blood of the Lamb    and by the word of their testimony;they did not love their lives so much    as to shrink from death.¹² Therefore rejoice, you heavens    and you who dwell in them!But woe to the earth and the sea,   because the devil has gone down to you!He is filled with fury,    because he knows that his time is short.”

COMMENTS:  I have heard the arguments that “why would a loving God judge?” or “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” or “How could God allow all the evil and disasters happen when He can prevent them?” or “ Why didn’t God answer our prayers and heal our loved one of his cancer?”.  We witnessed a wonderful healing of a 2 yr old boy, Levi, of cancer.  His trusting faith and the energy and good nature he demonstrated thru his chemo treatments and is a witness to his family and church. Yet others, like my sister, had great faith but still died of cancer at 50.  You and I can’t entirely answer these questions because we do not fully understand God, nor can we nor we see the cause and effect on the future.  All we have is scripture, testimony of those before us, and confirmation of our own experiences as well as God’s spirit speaking in us to guide us towards the answer(s) that He intends for us.  God has healed countless before us and will continue to do so.  However, He sometimes withholds answers, including healings, for a time as well as sometimes til death. Even Lazareth, who was raised from the dead, died again.  The truth is who else will we trust and what other answer can we put our eternal future into?  God is faithful if we just look around.  What if the earth changed it’s rotation slightly or the sun grew slightly hotter or cooler or moved slightly to or away from earth?  What if the leaves stopped making oxygen or taking CO2.  There are millions of ways God faithfully does miracles for us to sustain our lives, yet we complain if He withholds or delays one.  Just look around, He is faithful and worthy of our trust and praise and worship and obedience!  Satan will deceive us by feeding our selfish sinful nature with the sole purpose of destroying us.   We have two choices, which one will you and I make?? Keep our eyes on Him, so we will see God’s hand and see thru satan’s deceptions.

11/21/2022                            Taking the Long View                                                        21
 Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  Revelation 20:4

Revelation 13:16-18  “¹⁶ It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. ¹⁸ This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.^[a] That number is 666.”

COMMENTS:  I am becoming more convinced Christ will return to rapture us within next two years.  That is a bold statement and, when studied prophecy as a young man, was convinced that would happen long before I would be old enough to retire. Well, I’ve been retired 2 years.  Yet the world’s condition has changed and is much worse than 40 years ago.  Instead of threat being focused on Russia, it is now ISLAM and ISSIS. Circumstances that would result in US being impotent to be involved in Armageddon and why China and Russia would attack Israel are starting to become clearer.  I am also less inclined to travel outside US than 40 years ago because of the dangers radicals pose worldwide.  So, that is leading me to more focused in prayer seeking how God wants me to spend the remaining time/resources I have whether it be 2 years or 25 years.  There is a reason why God keeps the date of His return a secret and why we are told not to believe those who speculate by setting dates.  Yet we are told in Mtt 24 to be ready and look for increasing evidence around us that end is near.  Being ready means being faithful and using our time and resources wisely.  That is what I’m looking to do and encourage you to seek God’s guidance as well.  After all, if it be near or be far, doing so is the best for us anyway, right?  God knows the future and is not surprised by how events are unfolding.  He has already been there and knows what to do.  However, I also believe He is sending us warnings so we will also be prepared.  Yet, I  believe He does and will present these warnings in a way that only those seeking Him and desiring to be faithful will recognize and respond.

11/21/2022                             Picture of Sin                                                                21   Take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23

Psalm 51:7-13  “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.⁹ Hide your face from my sins    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence    or take your Holy Spirit from me.¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,    so that sinners will turn back to you.”

COMMENTS:  To be a Christian and know we are forgiven is a source of Joy and confidence and hope nothing or no-one else can provide.  If you’ve experienced God’s forgiving grace, you know what that feels like.  To sustain that experience over a lifetime is both possible and has been achieved my millions before us.  How did they do it and how can we?  Well, if we are honest, we have to recognize the countless times we have failed and sinned after receiving Christ’ s mercy.  That is based on our flawed understanding of right and wrong let alone the infinitely higher and more perfect standard God has.  That doesn’t leave us much hope, does it?  Well, the Psalms is filled with expressions of hope and joy as well as despair and fear so we are not alone in our fickled emotions.  So what are we to do?  Well, scripture, including Psalms, tells us those who are consistently living a righteous joyful Christian life do so by keeping their minds and eyes on Him.  They do this by frequent and consistent time with Him in prayer and study of scripture and association with others like minded. However, their comments are the closer they get to Him, the more like Him they live but the more perfect they notice His really is and how far about their level of perfection He really is.  So, that means we can’t achieve His level of perfection but He accepts us at the level we are.  So why strive to be more like Him if we can never achieve it?  Well, because it is a better life here and is what He has asked us to do.  As imperfect as we are and will continue to be in this world, the benefits to us and to others will far outweigh what would be without being in fellowship and striving to be like Him.  After all, at least that will be practice for heaven, right?  Let’s be glad we don’t have to earn or achieve perfection before we qualify for heaven.  We just need to accept His mercy and let go of our sinful selfish past and start reaching out to Him.  He will do the rest..

11/22/2022                                      A Dark World                                                     22.  “¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”^[a] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky ¹⁶ as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. ¹⁷ But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. ¹⁸ So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.” Philippians 2:14-18 

COMMENTS:  What will you and I be remembered for?  What legacy will we leave and what influence will last?   I’m afraid most of the time and effort and money we spend is invested in things that won’t last.  Yet, time with family and friends and church and community are what mean the most.  Think about influence others have had on your life and what they did that impacted you. Chances are it wasn’t what they bought for you or even what places they took you, although we have lasting memories of places we went with those we cared for and loved.  What has greatest impact is time and love others have invested in us.  Scripture tells us to invest our time and resources in things that will last eternity.  Such things are a love and faith in Christ and reflecting His love and mercy to others.   It has been said, at the end of our lives we will not regret not making more money or having more power or better job or better house or car.  What we will regret is not spending more time with family and others we care about and developing a closer relationship with them.  However, what will be regretted most is not developing a close relationship with Christ and following His council and Will.  Those who have still will regret not getting even closer but has the peace and satisfaction of knowing Christ has and will fill in the gaps left in those relationships – especially the relationship with Him.  You and I don’t know how much more time we have but know each day we have one day less.  No one can buy more time but realize how precious it is especially knowing time left is short.  The great thing is knowing we have an eternity with Him and with loved ones who accepted Him to fellowship and spend time with.  Leaving a legacy that will lead others to Christ, especially our family and friends, is what is the most important.  Being a reflective example of Christ is what is most important to be remembered and is the legacy that will continue to impact and make an eternal difference long after we are gone.  As I reflect and seek how God wants me to use my time, I pray you will do so as well.   I’m sure He will show us much still to do.

11/23/2022                                Seated With Christ                                                    23
“ If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? ² Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? ³ Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! ⁴ Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? ⁵ I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? ⁶ But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!

⁷ The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? ⁸ Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. ⁹ Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men^[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”  1 Corinthians 6:1-11

COMMENTS:  What our jobs will be in heaven is a mystery.  We won’t be sitting around playing harps, as old movies and cartoons depict.  We are told we will be active and busy.  What type of decisions will we be judging?  Well, judges can make decisions over more than resolution of conflict or injustice.  The type of decisions and choices we will be asked to make is not known but will be significant and meaningful.  Christ will be ruling the world for 1000 years between His return to set up His kingdom and the second resurrection to judge satan and all who followed Him.  During that 1000 years, as Revelation tells us, there will not be sin nor evil in the world but will be children born during that time that will have opportunity, when satan is released for a short season at end, to tempt them to follow him or choose Christ.  We will have opportunity to teach and guide them during that 1000 years so they will choose wisely.  Yet some won’t and will be judged along with all others not resurrected when Christ first returned to set up His kingdom.  I’m sure we all are envisioning what that looks like and what will be like, but I’m equally sure we will all be surprised but none of us will be disappointed with God’s fulfilled plan.  Our jobs will be fulfilling and exciting and enjoyable for us.  They will be jobs we are designed and longing to do, but none the less jobs with a purpose doing work that needs to be done.  It will not be busy work or work just to fill time.   What that will be or how that will look or feel is as much my guess as yours.  I think we both will be surprised when we find out.  As my parents and aunt, and other Christians I knew, grew older and closer to death their thoughts about and anticipation of heaven increased as did their excitement.  I was amazed of that and was awed by their faith.  Yet as the years pass and I realize my time is growing closer, I too am finding myself thinking about with excitement and anticipation heaven too.  My Savior is becoming closer and more real.  These are indeed the best years of my life.  How about yours?   I pray they are too no matter the circumstances and pray you will let Him draw you to the same conclusion too.

11/24/2022                                              Universal Praise                                           24
Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne. Revelation 5:13

Praise the Lord.^[a]Praise the Lord from the heavens;    praise him in the heights above.² Praise him, all his angels;    praise him, all his heavenly hosts.³ Praise him, sun and moon;    praise him, all you shining stars.⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens
    and you waters above the skies.⁵ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for at his command they were created,⁶ and he established them for ever and ever—    he issued a decree that will never pass away.⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,⁸ lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
    stormy winds that do his bidding,⁹ you mountains and all hills,    fruit trees and all cedars,¹⁰ wild animals and all cattle,    small creatures and flying birds,¹¹ kings of the earth and all nations,    you princes and all rulers on earth,¹² young men and women,    old men and children.¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord,    for his name alone is exalted;    his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.¹⁴ And he has raised up for his people a horn,^[b]    the praise of all his faithful servants,    of Israel, the people close to his heart.Praise the Lord.Psalm 148

COMMENTS:  Praise and worship always come with more passion and joy when driven out of a grateful heart.  We have so much to be grateful for: living in a free and prosperious country, freedom to worship and serve God, our families and church, our friends and neighbors, source of income and home, but most of all knowing and loving our God who is merciful and passionately desires a daily relationship with us.  To know and serve a God who is perfect and loving and all powerful but able and willing to meet us and have a relationship with each of us one on one.  We often think we won’t bother God with little issues, just big ones.  We miss out on so much help.  God can do more than one thing at a time, so isn’t distracted from bigger issues when He focus’s on ours.  Likewise, even though we are unworthy of His love and attention, He desires that so we loose that relationship by withholding our conversation with Him.  Praise comes from seeing God’s hand at work as well as seeing His handy work all around us.  Let’s take this week of Thanksgiving to take time to notice all He has and continues to do and give Him thanks.  As far as hardships and even crisis in our lives, God uses them to help us focus on Him.  After all, is it better to be in crisis with Him next to us helping us or to be in comfort and prosperity without Him?  Well, I know we would rather be in comfort with Him, but our humanity tempts us to ignore Him when in comfort.  Consider He doesn’t bring but does allow satan to bring some hardship our way with purpose of drawing us closer to Him.  Satan means it for harm but God redesigned it for great good.  Look at all the examples in scripture of that.  Joseph was sold a slave to Egypt, put in prison for a crime he didn’t do.  But God used that time to draw Joseph closer in relationship to Him so he would be able to guide Egypt to God and Israel to food and Him as well.  Joseph did far more good out of his hardship than he could have otherwise with his family.  But he gained his family and a closer relationship with God than he otherwise likely would likely have had.  Let’s take time to notice how God uses maybe less dramatic ways of guiding us as well…

11/25/2022                                           Seasonal Changes: Places                             25
From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem . . . . Matthew 16:21

“1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ² “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”³ But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” Jonah 1:1-3

COMMENTS:    Jonah was a man who simply did not want to do what God wanted him to do.  His love and fellowship with God was not the issue.  He hated the Assyrians and especially Ninevah, capital of that empire because of the pagan brutality they put on Jonah’s family and countrymen when they invaded Israel.  Yet God was asking him to go teach the Ninevites about Him.  He refused because he was afraid they would repent.  In contrast we often refuse because we are afraid they will reject the message and us.  Yet if we are honest, we have to admit there have been times and individuals we were so angry with we couldn’t find the capacity within us to forgive them.  Hopefully in time we learned to do so.  I have experienced that.  Most situations were due to unfair or mean treatment of others but sometimes was due to way I was treated.  Yet it took awhile for me to “cool down” enough so  I could.  In those situations I had learned it is best to avoid them until I allowed God to work thru my anger and enabled me to think and talk and forgive more rationally.  In nearly all those situations I discovered misunderstanding was the cause instead of a deliberate evil intent, which made forgiving much easier for me.  It is easier to forgive weakness or immaturity than to forgive deliberate evil intent, which is rare in personal experiences but all too common in world events. For whatever the reason, satan does have deliberate evil intent, which is to put us at odds with each other and respond evil for evil.  Forgiveness breaks that cycle and opens doors for God to perform miracles and heal relationships both with each other and with Him.  Jonah learned God loved the Ninevites as much as He loved Jews.  That was hard for Jonah, a devout Jew, to accept.  We need to reflect and learn God loves those we dislike as much as He loves us.  Reflect and see what God is teaching you from this story, as am I.  If God won’t write anyone off, including us, why dare we?

11/26/2022                                       Being Narrow-Minded                                          26
⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.                     .  2 Timothy 4:6-8

COMMENTS:  Have you ever believed things that simply weren’t true and didn’t believe things that are true?  The way we thought and felt and believed deceived us but seemed genuine at the time.  To change our minds, we needed proof.  So we shouldn’t be judgmental or surprised when others doubt our faith or the God we serve.  Does our lives prove the truth of Him and His gospel?  Reflect on what convinced us He is real and scripture is true?  Christianity was spread under preaching and teaching of the disciples and His followers, but it exploded when His followers suffered and died (were martyred) for their faith.  The truth of the Gospel and the change it makes in the lives of those who believe was proved with their sacrifice.  They died with genuine peace and joy and hope that others did not have who were living in prosperity and comfort.  Truth has a way of evenetually winning out over lies.  Today’s mentality is to accept all inclusive lies rather than “narrow minded” truth.  Of course, most will convince themselves what they believe is truth, not lies.  Satan has gained great skills convincing people his lies are truth and even their own ideas.  Yet truth has always been exclusive of lies no matter what subject we consider.  Gravity pulls everything on earth to it’s surface no matter how hard we try to resist or ignore or deny it.  Truth has a way of excluding and overcoming lies.  We naturally will sift out and reject what we consider to be lies and accept what we conclude is truth.  To do so needs to be done very carefully.  When it comes to our eternal future and influence on others we may have, we must choose very carefully what we consider true and what we consider lies.  What risks do we pose on ourselves and those we love if we do not choose wisely and direct our lives towards a wise choice?  Reflect during this Thanksgiving week on the choices we have made and conclude if they have been wise or a foolish choices.  Who are you worshipping and serving?  If doesn’t include the risen Christ, please consider all His is and has done and consider another choice.  If you have chosen Him, reflect on how well you had lived showing that choice to Him and to others.   Maybe we should decide to become less “bashful” and more confident in showing the choice we’ve made.  Let’s start when we gather for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow and boldly give Him thanks and praise before we consume that large dinner with family and/or friends.

11/27/2022                         The Judge of All the Earth                                                     27
True and righteous are His judgments.   Revelation 19:2

 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,^[a] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. ⁴ Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

⁵ All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. ⁶ God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you ⁷ and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. ⁸ He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might ¹⁰ on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you” 2 Thessalonians1:3-10

COMMENTS:  To know God is to trust Him!   Yes, we often wonder why He permits evil and disaster and suffering in the world.  However, we need to realize the source of that evil, which is not Him but satan.  Satan intends evil to do us harm, not good.  His mission is to cause us pain and ultimately destroy us.  He is limited in what he can do by God, as he was during Job’s trials.  Yet God does give him a short chain to cause us pain and suffering.  So why does God allow that and to what extend and to whom is a mystery.  We see story after story in history and scripture to assure us He is in control and does limit evil but uses it to actually do good and strengthen those who put their trust in Him.  However, a time is coming when He will render judgment and punishment to satan and those who follow him.  If we honestly reflect on our nature and others, we recognize good times and material prosperity tends to make us self reliant and not reliant on Christ.  Difficult – trying – dangerous times tend to force us to look to Him for help and become reliant on Him.  So what ends up being the greater blessing?  Is it better to go thru times of pain or disease or hardship with Him or to enjoy peaceful prosperous times without Him?  You and I know the answer, it is better to go thru even the worst of times with Him.  So the real question is, will we truly trust Him with our lives, our families, with our future, with when and how He will administer justice to satan and those who follow his evil work?  If we do trust Him, we must put and keep our eyes on Him no matter what comes our way.  We must do that the day we make that chocie, but each day we will need to renew that commitment in order to sustain that choice and in order to successfully keep our eyes on Him.  Let’s start today still reflecting on yesterday’s Thanksgiving meal and family gatherings and on all we do have to be thankful for, while preparing for the Christmas season and all the work and preparation and spending but also praise and worship that will mean in coming weeks.

11/28/2022                                                        The Great White Throne                             28
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened.
¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.                         Revelation 20:11-15

COMMENTS:  Have you ever waited for something a long ways in the future?  As a child, it was Christmas or the last day of school.  As an adolescent, it might be getting a job or your wedding day.  As an adult it might be your retirement day.  Those days seem a long way off, an eternity.  If we are looking to a day we are dreading, like the first day of school, time seems to fly to that day.  Summers seemed so much shorter than first 3 months of school as a child, didn’t they?  But as someone who has anticipated and lived those days, I have to say even the most distant ones, like retirement day, came much quicker than I anticipated they would. The day of judgment referred to in Revelation 20, seems to be an eternity away.  It will be at the end of the Millennium period or 1000 years after end of Tribulation period.  So the soonest it could come would be 1007 years from today if Christ returned to rapture us home today.  However, in light of eternity that time will pass all too quickly.  To think we have plenty of time left to get right with God so can enjoy sin for awhile longer is a dangerous path to be on.  It is one most of the world’s people are on.  If you know Christ, look back at how long you rejected Him and how much more positive and better your life is since. If you have not, what do you have to loose but a destiny of future judgment and regrets and making more regrets in meantime.  God is available to forgive and help at no cost to us.  What a deal!!!

11/29/2022                                                Negating the Word of God                                   29
Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.  2 Thessalonians 2:15

“ The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ² and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. ⁴ When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.^[a])⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”⁶ He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,    but their hearts are far from me.⁷ They worship me in vain    their teachings are merely human rules.’^[b]8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”⁹ And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe^[c] your own traditions! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’^[d] and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^[e] 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— ¹² then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”” Mark 7:1-13

COMMENTS:  How often have you gone to church and come home feeling no closer to  God than before you went.  Other times your response was quite different and you were strengthened.  What was different?  Sometimes a moving sermon or a hymn or a prayer makes the difference.  Something persuaded us to open our hearts and worship Him.  Can you also think of a time you prayed and prepared yourself before going to church and whole worship experience was so much more moving?  It wasn’t an especially moving sermon.  What was different was you!  You prepared yourself before going to worship.  We dress up to meet someone of importance and maybe do some homework so can carry on an intelligent conversation with him.  Should it be any different when we meet God?  Sure we can pray and worship Him any time we want without appointment.  Maybe He is too accessible to us.  Would you rather we would have to make an appointment years ahead before we could pray or worship Him?  Would that be better?  God forbid!!  So let’s not let that excuse keep us from a meaningful relationship and worship time with Him.  The problem is not Him but us being unprepared to meet Him.  That preparation is for our hearts as Jesus shared in today’s scripture.  Doing everything right but with an unrepentant heart is meaningless.  We all need grateful and penitent hearts when we approach Christ.  He is worthy and we are not!!  To get into a practice of gratitude and humility brings healing to our souls and an open door to meaningful worship and relationship with Him.   Hard to believe, but tomorrow begins the Advent season.  Christmas seems  to be coming upon us so quickly this year.  Hard to believe Thanksgiving 2022 is now in the history books.  If we are not careful, Christmas will be too before we are properly prepared to enjoy it.  So let’s take time to reflect and worship the One who came on Christmas with sole purpose to be our sacrifice so we can have an eternal relationship with God the Father. 

11/30/2022                                                              Saved to Serve                                        30
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but “through love serve one another.   Galatians 5:13

⁴¹ When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””  Mark 10:41-45

COMMENTS:  Life is often gaged by our title.  That can be a job title or rank.   It can be gaged by the salary we make or the place we live or who we are married to.  It may even be gaged by what church we attend and how large it is.  Women tend to gage themselves by the relationships they have but men tend to gage themselves by what they do. The disciples were no different than men of today’s generation.  They wanted to know what title or status or job they would have in Jesus’ kingdom.  They felt, since Jesus chose them, that they would be in key leadership positions next to him.  Yet even that wasn’t enough.  They wanted to know which of them would be over the others.  We are studying the beatitudes in Matthew 5 during Sunday school.  The sermon on the mount, and the beatitudes especially reflect Jesus’ character as well as specific guidance how how we are to work towards reflecting His characteristics in our character.  Today’s scripture also reflects His instruction to have a servant’s heart more focused on ministry to others than to meet our own needs and achieve our own goals.  We are not to define ourselves by the job or status we have even in Christ’s circle.  We are defined simply and only by Him.  The work we do and any honor or recognition we gain go exclusively to Him as our act of worship and as a response of love to His love to us.  Today finished November’s journal and Thanksgiving week.  I have included a brief narrative from Focus on the Family telling the story of Squanto (a native American Indian and how God used him to save the Pilgrims leading up to the first American Thanksgiving celebration.  I’ll include it in my file folder as well as include on email distribution this month.  Well,  Advent begins today.  We will be lighting the first advent candle at worship this morning.  The Christmas banner is hung and the advent wreath is in place on church sanctuary piano.  After worship, a few of us will be placing the large ceramic nativity set on a table behind the pulpit in the choir loft next to church organ. Church Council decided not to place a Christmas tree in sanctuary this year, mostly because number attending is less and fewer to decorate.  Justification was to only place items that reflected the most important meaning, which supports Christ’s birth.  The Christmas tree does have meaning supporting Christ’s birth, but manger scene has most obvious and earliest meaning.  As you progress through the Christmas season, be reminded often of the purpose of this time and take time to stop and worship/praise Christ and give Him the Christmas present He holds most precious, time with you.

12/1/2022                                                                         HOPE                                                         1    A READING FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT                                                                                                          For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.  – Isaiah 9:6-7                                                                                          In the Old Testament, some of the prophecies about Christ are mysterious statements. They were so bold and so large that they were treasured through the generations until they were fulfilled and finally understood. Isaiah’s oracle about a son who would be born–Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, and all the rest–was one of those landmark prophecies. In that moment of inspiration, Isaiah revealed Jesus would be Mighty God.  After Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension, his followers would piece together what he said and did, and they would conclude that Jesus really was one with God the Father in a way that is appropriate to call him divine. The doctrine of the Trinity would be defined later, but in Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming one are the seeds of this truth.  In the Jewish tradition, nothing was more important than belief in the “oneness” of God. Not two gods, not a thousand gods, but one and only one God. So what could happen when, in Bethlehem, Magi from the east came bearing gifts fit for a king but also worshipped him? Why did Jesus allow fishermen in a boat to worship him after he calmed a storm? Or what about Mary falling at Jesus’ feet and worshiping him there in the garden after his resurrection? Or the disciple Thomas falling at his feet and saying, “My Lord and my God”?  Nobody at the start of Jesus’ life, nor during his adult ministry, even hinted at anything suggesting there is more than one God. But because of who God is; because God is higher than human comprehension; because God said “us” from the very beginning: “Let us make man in our image” (Gen. 1:26); and because the coming one would be called Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt. 1:22-23), we can believe that Christmas represents the true entry of God into human affairs. The same God who created humanity also took humanity on himself when it suited his purposes-to save that same humanity. The God who created the world entered it through a human birth in the town of Bethlehem.  Not any kind of god would do that. Only the One, true, Mighty God.  Prayer for today: Lord, thank you for the hope and expectation that came through the words of the prophets. We believe you are mighty. We believe you can do whatever you wish. We believe you came in the flesh in Jesus.  THE BROOK NETWORK.  Advent Devotional 11/28/14   COMMENTS:   I added this first Advent reading to complete this month’s journal in preparation for Christmas season and next month’s journal entries.  God’s blessings and pray I will be able to share this journal with you next month – Christmas month…

                                                        
As previously, below is the Gideon Bible Reference I have been included in monthly devotions for some time.  I decided to continue including this for benefit of new readers and to continue to make it accessible to any and all who read and share this journal.  I encourage you to use and share as God directs.  If you wish to contact me or access more devotions, below is link to access.   

In His Service,

Don McDaniel

Email: dmcdaniel12@zoominternet.net

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Don1951

If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 650 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.

My hope and prayer are, my blog and devotional materials will become a source of encouragement

GIDEON BIBLE REFERENCE SCRIPTURES:

GIDEON BIBLE REFERENCE SCRIPTURES:
HELP IN TIME OF NEED:
 The way of salvation: John 14:6, Acts 16.32, Romans 10:9
 Comfort in time of loneliness: Psalm 23, Isaiah 41:10, Hebrews 13:5-6
 Comfort in time of sorrow 2 Cor. 1:3-5, Romans 8:26-28
 Relief in time of suffering 2 Cor. 12:8-10, Hebrews 12:3-13
 Guidance in time of decision James 1:5-6, Proverbs 3:5-6
 Protection in time of danger Psalm 91, Psalm 121
 Courage in time of fear Hebrews 13:5-6, Ephesians 6:10-18
 Peace in time of turmoil Isaiah 26:3-4, Philippians 4:6-7
 Rest in time of weariness Matthew 11:28-29, Psalm 23
 Strength in time of temptation James 1:12-16, 1Cor. 10:6-13
 Warning in time of indifference Gal. 5:19-21, Hebrews 10:26-31
 Forgiveness in time of conviction Isaiah 1:18, 1Jn, 1:7-8
SUGGESTED READINGS (HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS):
 The creation Genesis 1-2
 The fall of man Gen 3
 The flood of Noah Gen 6-9
 The call of Abraham Gen 12:1-9
 Deliverance of Israel from Egypt Exodus 11-14
 Dedication of the temple 2 Chronicles 5-7
 The Babylonian Captivity of Israel 2 Chr. 36
 Revival of Israel after captivity Nehemiah 8-9
 Promises of the coming Messiah Isaiah 9:2-7, Ps22, Is.53
 The Birth of Christ Mtt1:18-2:23, Lk1:26-2:40
 The Triumphal Entry Lk19:28-44
 The last supper Mk14:2-26
 The Garden of Gathsemane Mtt. 26:36-46
 The Betreyal of Jesus Mtt. 26-47-56
 The arrest and trial of Jesus Jn 18:12-19:16
 The death of Christ Lk 23:26-56, Jn19:16-42
 The resurrection of Christ Lk24, Jn20
 The ascension of Christ Acts 1:1-12
 The coming of the Holy Spirit Acts2:1-21
 The conversion of Paul Acts 9:1-31
 The heroes of Faith Hebrews 11
SUGGESTED READINGS (SPIRITUAL STANDARDS)
 The 10 commandments Exodus 20:1-17
 The sermon on the mount Mtt 5-7
 The golden rule Mtt7:12
 The greatest commandment Mtt 22:36-40
 The righteousness of Faith Romans 3:19-28
 The Royal Law James 2:8, Romans 13:8-10
 Christ’s New Commandment John 13:34-35
 Christian love 1 Cor. 13
DYNAMIC DOCTRINES
 God’s greatness and man’s weakness Isaiah 40
 The two fold Revelation of God Psalm 19
 Man’s universal guilt Rom 1:18-2:16
 Atonement Leviticus 16, Romans 5
 The new birth John 3
 Justification by Faith Eph 2:1-10, Gal 2:16-21
 Christ, the Good Shepherd Ps 23, John 10:1-18
 Christ’s intercession for His Own Jn 17, Heb 7:25
 The High Priestly Work of Christ Heb. 7:25, Heb. 4:14-16
 Christ’s Humiliation and Exhaltation Philippians 2:5-11
 Resurrection of the Christian Dead 1 Cor. 16, 1Thess. 4:13-18
 The second coming of Christ Mtt 24, 2 Thess. 1:7-2:12
 The Last Judgment Rev. 20:10-15
 The New Heaven and New Earth Rev. 21-22
PRACTICAL PRECEPTS:
 Christian Home relationships Eph. 5:22-6:4
 A model wife and mother Prov. 31:10-31
 Marriage and divorce Mtt 19:3-9, Malachi 2:14-16
 The sin of adultery Prov. 6:23-33
 The prodigal son Luke 15:11-32
 Employer-employee relationships Col 3:22-4:1
 Business and prof. principles Ps15, Prov. 3:1-12
 Seperation of worldliness 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1, 1 Jn 2:15-17
 Decisions of doubtful things Rom.14
 Christian fruitfulness Jn15
 Heavenly wisdom James 3:14-18
 Christian responsibilities Rom. 12-13
 Christian stewardship 2 Cor. 8-9
 Christian witnessing Mtt 28:18-20, Jm17:18-20
 Prevailing prayer Mtt 6:5-15, Philippians 4:6-7
 Heavenly priorities Mtt 6:25-33
 Brevity of man’s days Ps 90
 The causes of war James 4:1-4
 The value of the soul Mk. 8:36-37
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT:
 ITSELF: 2 Tim. 3:15-16 , Psalm 19:7
 GOD: Psalm 99:9, 1 Tim.1:17, Isaiah 45:21-22
 MAN: Gen. 1:27, Gen 2:7, Isaiah 43:7
 HEAVEN: Rev.21:3-4, 21:27
 SIN: Romans 5:12, Isaiah 59:2, Romans 3:23
 HELL: 2 Thess 1:8-9, Rev. 20:15
 CHRIST –HIS ADVENT Micah 5:2, Mtt.1:21-23, Lk 2:10-11
 CHRIST – HIS PERSON John 10:30, 14:6
 CHRIST –HIS WORK Lk. 22:19-20, 1 Peter 2:24, Col.1:14, Isaiah 53:5-6
 CHRIST-HIS RESURRECTION Lk. 24:36,39, 1 Cor. 15:3-4
 FAITH Acts 20:20-21, Heb. 11:6, Eph. 2:8