Daily Devotional; formerly Chaplains Corner

[Woodnut]

Amen Terry,
Been to Las Vegas once or twice and know exactly what you mean. Thanks for the scripture.

[pipeman525]

Terry you are right about our city and it's sin. Ten years ago I always thought that if we did not have such a large population of Mormons here this place would have run wilder. Their moral standards and voter statistics kept things in check. Now we have a lot of other churhces that are outgrowing their buildings. When our church moved to a larger building around Easter it seemed cavernous and now it is hard to find a seat. Our city still has a lot of problems but it gives us Christians so many more chances to serve.

[Python]

It only takes being guilty of "one" sin, be it mental or physical, to get a reservation in hell.

[ampaterry]

Pipeman, it sounds like Vegas has improved in the time since I have been there - that is GREAT!! My trip was - shoot, about 15 years ago or so I guess -

I appreciate the support, guys!!

For today:


Judy is always overly concerned about what people think of her. As a good balanced pair, we offset each others traits nicely. In this case, that means that I couldn’t care less about what other people think of me. Of course, she is always reminding me of how something will look, and convincing me to act in a more suitable manner. And for my part, I am always working to get her to not be so effected by the opinions of others.

Abraham Lincoln said “If you’re right – first make sure you are right – and then let nothing stand in your way!” So, the important thing is to know you are doing the RIGHT thing! If you are positive of that, then pay no attention to what others say.

Now, if you are not positive of the rightness of your actions, should you be dissuaded by the voice of one person? Probably not, because if I say it is raining outside, there will be at least ONE person who would disagree; that’s just the way people are. But if you begin to hear the same thing from more than one person – let me modify a modern proverb for that situation:

“If one man calls you a donkey, pay him no mind. If two men call you a donkey, look in a mirror. If three men call you a donkey, go buy a saddle.”

Scripture tells us that we should accept criticism from others with the attitude that they are trying to help us:
Psalms 141:5 (NCV);
"If a good person punished me, that would be kind. If he corrected me, that would be like perfumed oil on my head. I shouldn't refuse it. But I pray against those who do evil."

And it tells us that God is the source of our discipline and correction, and that it is given in love:
Hebrews 12:4-6 (GWT);
"You struggle against sin, but your struggles haven't killed you. You have forgotten the encouraging words that God speaks to you as his children: My child, pay attention when the Lord disciplines you. Don't give up when he corrects you. The Lord disciplines everyone he loves. He severely disciplines everyone he accepts as his child."

May God bless each and every one of you!

[ampaterry]

“In the olden times,” Charles Spurgeon said, “when Oriental despots had things pretty much their own way, they expected all ambassadors from the West to prostrate themselves if they were permitted to appear before his Celestial Brightness, the Brother of the Sun and the Cousin of the Moon. Money- loving traders agreed to this and ate dust with glee while envisioning profitable trading. When England sent her ambassadors abroad, the story was different. These men representing the powerful England stood bolt upright. They were told that they could not be indulged with a vision of the Brother of the Sun and the Cousin of the Moon without going down on their hands and knees. "Very well," said the Englishmen, "we will dispense with the luxury. But tell his Celestial Splendor that it is very likely that his Serenity will hear our cannon at his palace gates before long, and that their booming is not quite so harmless as the cooing of his Sublimity's doves." The ambassadors of the British Crown were no cringing petitioners; the British empire rose in the respect of the Oriental nations as a result of this visit.”

As Christians we are citizens of the Kingdom of God, and while we live we are in this world, which is the devils domain. Daily, we face a world that tells us we must prostrate ourselves to the things of this world! If we wish to get along with the world, we must do as the world does, and act as the world acts. We must believe what the world tells us, and only speak what the world wants to hear. Personally, I couldn't care less what the world thinks. I am out to please God, and Him alone will I serve!

The Word of God tells us that we should not cringe from anything the world brings before us:
Proverbs 28:1 (KJV);
"The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion."

And it tells us that we are to speak openly about the truth of the gospel when dealing with the world:
2 Corinthians 3:12 (KJV);
"Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:"

I believe TFF stands up for what they believe quite well against a world that seems to be circling the drain. May God bless each one of you for that!

[Juker]

Amen, Terry.

[BlackEagle]

Thanks for that, Terry.
As you say, there is a great temptation to follow the route of least resistance, to "go with the flow" and not rock the boat.

For some the decision to obey God rather than to compromise or conform to the world is much more stark. Today there is a minister in one of the middle east countries under sentence of death because he converted to Christianity from Islam and will not recant.

In 1974 my parents were travelling through the middle east and heard about the convert to Christianity who would not recant, and "fell" off a train. In Scotland there was a time called the "Killing Times" during the 1600's when just carrying a Bible was grounds for immediate execution and missing a church service conducted by one of the King's curates was grounds for heavy fines and imprisonment. Many of these "criminals" were exiled to the colonies or to Australia. When I was much younger we visited many of the martyrs' monuments in Scotland and reviewed the stories of these brave men, women and children. It was one of the major influences in my becoming a Christian: these people had something so important to live for they were willing to suffer and even die for it. I wanted something wothwhile to live for. Back then, and today, the people all were saying, "we must obey God, rather than man."

It's the same decision the Christians had to make in Smyrna, Rev. 2:10--"Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." A brief history/culture investigation shows Smyrna was extremely loyal to Rome and all her citizens were required by law to once a year burn a pinch of incense and say "Caesar is Lord". The Christians could not do that and suffered the consequences.

[ampaterry]

Thanks, guys!

And the decision to follow God has even more to it.
We must follow Him in the way He wants us to, and for the right reason as well.

There was a brigade of artillery moving at full gallop over a piece of uneven ground intersected by a ditch full of water when one of the guns got stuck in the ditch. The first gunner, a man of great strength, jumped down into the water and, setting his shoulders to one of the wheels, lifted it out of the mud. He resumed his seat, and the artillery movement continued.
Prince Augustus of Prussia, who came up at the moment, cried, "Bravo, my lad," and tearing off a strip from his sash, gave it to the artilleryman, telling him to fasten it to his sword- belt in remembrance. In the evening, the soldier, when in his barracks, was surprised by receiving a gratuity of 150 golden crowns.

A short time after, another artilleryman, having heard this anecdote, wished in his turn to display his strength. Soon Prince Augustus was at the arsenal of Berlin and ordered a 24- pounder to be mounted on its carriage. This artilleryman immediately ran over and picked up the cannon and set it in place by himself. The prince, however, said "This man is a fool. He has risked his limbs, and wasted his strength without any necessity. Let him be under arrest for three days."

This story gives us a warning against being just a copy-cat. An action may be noble and praiseworthy for one person to do, but be ridiculous for someone else in slightly different circumstances to do.

When you are following God, you must follow GOD, by the leading of the Holy Spirit. That means you do NOT simply look at some noteworthy Christian and attempt to duplicate what they have done.

The Word of God tells us that we are to follow Jesus Christ:
Colossians 3:22-24 (KJV);
"Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."

God bless you, guys, with the sure knowledge of HOW He wishes you to follow him as well as why.

[jack404]

excellent teaching Terry

cheers eh !

[pipeman525]

Great message Terry. It is along the lines of an idea our pastor planted in us about the same thing. He suggests getting up a little earlier than everyone in the house and start your daily prayers while it is still quiet and there are no distractions. Ask God what his plans are for your day and what He needs you to do. They sometimes differ from what you had planned but His way always works out better in the end.

[ampaterry]

Thank you for the support, guys!

Pipeman, I have done that for many years.
One of the first things I do in the morning is let my dog out to do his business.
I rise much before dawn, so it is still dark when I do this.
I step out into the night, look up at the stars overhead, and cannot help but raise my hands to the heavens and give thanks and praise to God for his blessings to me. It is just a natural start for the day.

A later part of my daily routine is a devotional:

Tonight, lots of people will be drinking. Some of those will drive, get in wrecks and be injured. Some will die from those injuries. Some people, therefore, will end their lives due to celebrating the end of a calendar year.

Judy and I will be here at home. If we die today it will be because the Lord deems it, not due to conformity. That makes us oddball, doesn't it? That's OK – we are in GOOD company. Albert Einstein, for instance – and I mean absolutely no disrespect at all, for Albert Einstein is one of my favorite people of all time – but he was not exactly one of the crowd, was he? He always had the wild hair standing up all over his head – he always wore wrinkled clothes that looked like he had slept in them – and probably did. His wife had to keep after him or he would walk outside in the winter without a coat, or in the rain with no umbrella or boots. I believe he is the one that caused the phrase ‘absent minded professor’ to be coined!

It is an undeniable fact that many people who do the right thing are considered on the lunatic fringe for some or all of their lives.

If you stand up to be counted, from time to time you may get knocked down. But remember this: a person flattened by an opponent can get up again. A person flattened by conformity stays down for good.

The Word of God tells us that our courage to stand up has a firm basis:
Deuteronomy 31:6 (KJV);
"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."

We are told that we have a greater power behind us than the power behind the world:
2 Chronicles 32:7 (KJV);
"Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:"

And finally, we are to never fear those that oppose us, in ANYTHING!
Philippians 1:28 (KJV);
"And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God."

May God bless you, guys, with unconformity!!

[BlackEagle]

Thanks for that Terry;
Your thoughts stimulate my thinking.
Makes me think of Romans 12:1-2: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
We are nonconformists to the world, but we become conformed to what God wants us to be.
When the task seems too great, there are many passages that say He is right here with us. I like Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
(Please excuse the KJV--It's what I memorized this in years ago and it sort of sticks with me.)
God is the one who commands us--we have His commission, His warrant, His authority, to be different from the rest of the world. We need to be different in line with Joshua 1:8 and Romans 12:1.

Oh, and Happy New Year to all!!

[ampaterry]

GOOD stuff, BlackEagle -
Exactly correct; conformity to the will of God IS non-conformity to the world.

Today is a recognized day.
And for more than just simply because we designated this the day to change the calendar year on.

Today, the Catholic Church celebrates The Solemnity of Mary Mother of God.

They say in the 4th and 5th centuries debates about the nature of Christ raged in the Church concerning Christ's divine and human natures. At the center of this debate was a title of Mary. Since at least the 3rd century, Christians had referred to Mary as theotokos, meaning "God-bearer." Related to theotokos, Mary was popularly called the mother of God, but the patriarch of Constantinople from 428-431, Nestorius, objected. He suggested that Mary was only the mother of Jesus' human nature, but not his divine nature. Nestorius' ideas (or at least how others perceived his arguments) were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in AD 431, and again at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451. The Church decided that Christ was fully God and fully human, and these natures were united in one person, Jesus Christ. Thus Mary could be called "mother of God" since she gave birth to Jesus who was fully divine as well as human. Since this time, Mary has been frequently honored as the "mother of God" by Catholics, Orthodox, and many Protestants.

The Solemnity of Mary Mother of God falls exactly one week after Christmas, which is a fitting time to honor Mary as Mother of Jesus. When they celebrate the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God they are not only honoring Mary, they say, but Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully human. Calling Mary "mother of God" is the highest honor they feel they can give Mary. Just as Christmas honors Jesus as the "Prince of Peace," the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God honors Mary as the "Queen of Peace" This solemnity, falling on New Year's Day, is also designated the World Day of Peace.

Do I have a problem with this teaching?
Not at all, provided that it is made clear that Mary is MORTAL, and Jesus is DIVINE. If this teaching is used to elevate Mary to the same level as God, then it falls into error.
Meanwhile, let us join our Catholic brothers and sisters in prayer, thank God for his sacrifice for us and ask for the blessing of peace to all mankind.

And a Happy New Year to every one of you -

[pipeman525]

Very interesting bit of history. I had no idea about any of that. At least it gives a meaning to this day besides a bigger number.

[ampaterry]

I found that bit of research to be rather refreshing, pipeman - a bit of significance outside of the norm.

For today:

Many churches have a dress code. Oh, it is not written down in the bylaws, at least not in most cases, but it is indeed there. If you notice that everyone is wearing a tie, then you can rest assured that you will be expected to wear one also.

In the many years I spent in the work force, I was exposed to numerous dress codes. As a Factory Rep. who worked on dirty greasy machinery at customer locations, I was forced to wear a white shirt, tie, and jacket. As an Engineer, the dress code changed with the management; everything from suit only to blue jeans was acceptable at one time or another.

I once read about a cool dress code in South Padre Island, a resort area just off the coast of Texas:
No ties allowed!
No joke. The first time you're caught wearing a tie, they give you a warning. But if they catch you again, they'll fine you, take your tie away and destroy it! The dress code says "The very appearance of a tie causes a discordant note for our visitors." Sounds like my kind of place!

God tells us of his contempt for fancy dress:
Isaiah 3:16-24 (KJV);
"Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, The rings, and nose jewels, The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils. And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty."

God couldn't care less what we have on the outside; he cares about what is on the inside.

May God bless you, guys -

[BlackEagle]

Amen and thanks for that, Terry.

It brought to mind what happened when God gave Samuel the task of finding Saul's successor and he was checking out Jesse's sons. God gave Samuel his criteria in 1 Samuel 16:7: But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

That's something to remember when considering who shold be the next President.

[ampaterry]

Wise words, BlackEagle -

Alas, many will look no deeper than the color of his skin - -

For today -

I make no secret of my utter contempt for the American Red Cross, which includes their politically correct subgroup ‘The Red Crescent’ which has eliminated ‘cross’ from their offices in some countries that find the cross to be offensive. This contempt is based upon several incidents in which this supposed ‘charity’ has sold items to the victims in disaster areas, or to newly released POW’s in the service.
I also make no secret of my displeasure with the Ford Motor Company. I was very happy with Ford products until we bought our first brand new one; a 1972 Ford F-100 pick up, which strained our budget to the maximum to pay for. This vehicle developed far too many problems to list here while still under warranty, and was completely rusted through scrap metal with only 65,000 miles on it when we finally got rid of it. Anyone can make a lemon, but Ford refused to stand behind their product and make it right, and we were NOT in any position to hire an attorney.

According to a study by the Research Institute, here's what businesses can expect from dissatisfied customers:

They will hear nothing from 96 percent of customers who receive rude or discourteous service. Each of these dissatisfied customers will tell his or her story to an average of nine other people.

Of those 4 percent who do voice their dissatisfaction, between 54 and 70 percent will use the organization's services again if the complaint is resolved. That percentage goes as high as 95 percent if the complaint is resolved quickly.

Sixty-eight percent of those who sever the relationship with the service organization do so because of the organization's indifference.

The Word of God tells us to deal with people honorably:
1 Peter 3:8-9 (KJV);
"Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing."

May God bless each one of you -

[pipeman525]

Man you struck a nerve on that one with the Red Cross. I remember the story my dad told me about them during WW2. I guess our troops were told to leave their money at home before shipping off to England. When they arrived the Red Cross was charging them for coffee and donuts. Those that obeyed instructions were trying to get a loan from those who brought money. That was wrong no matter how you look at it.

[ampaterry]

Pipeman, there were a LOT of stories from WWII vets about this.
For DECADES, the Red Cross denied these allegations, in effect calling all those servicemen liars.
Then, much more recently, they stopped denying it. Now, they claim that the British relief agencies did not have as much funding as the American agencies, so were forced to charge the GI's for coffee and donuts, and requested that the US do likewise to keep them from looking bad. Supposedly, they have a directive from an upper-echelon military officer telling them to charge.

They continue to deny it in more recent events like the Alask flood, the Elaska Earthquake, Katrina, etc., yet there is a lot of first-hand testimony to the fact that they continue this practice today.

[jack404]

not to mention passing info on aid convoys to terror groups ( red cresent wikileaks leaked radio intercept transcripts between Red Cres. boss and aziz omahni the regional head of Al queda in pakistan ) 14 troops dead in that one

[Python]

Originally Posted by BlackEagle

For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

That's something to remember when considering who shold be the next President.

You can consider it all you want, it will accomplish nothing. The total depravity of man is seen throughout the Bible. Mans heart is "deceitful and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9), and the thoughts of his heart are "continually evil" (Genesis 6:5), "there is none who does good, no not one (Romans 3:12). You'll just have to go by their record and hope for the best.

[ampaterry]

Jack, I have a website dedicated to anti-redcross stuff:
www.noredcross.homestead.com
Is there any documentation anywhere about this incident? I would LOVE to add it to that site!


Today, I want to share one of Woodrow Kroll's short radio devotionals he calls "The Bible Minute". He calls this one Mustard Seed Faith, which we have discussed here before:

“In our society we equate "big" with "good."
“Yes siree, I've got the biggest ranch in Texas!
“Mommy, Mommy, I got a big part in the school play!
“Be sure to stop at Astro Burgers. Three pounds of beef in every burger!
“Jesus says that "good" can come in small sizes. Christ told His disciples in Matthew 17:20, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." The mustard seed was one of the smallest seeds that people knew about in Jesus' day, but it had the potential to grow into a bush the size of a tree.
“Maybe today you feel your faith is too small and can't be used by God. That's OK. If you spend time daily in His Word, you'll find your "small faith" will increase dramatically. Read the Bible and build your faith. It has real answers for real life.”

Brother Kroll brings out many truths from scripture, and his devotionals are short enough that almost no one will change the station during them. As a result, people HEAR them, where they would loose interest in anything longer. As a result, he reaches people that are not being reached otherwise. We, especially some long winded preachers, could learn something from this. If you talk so long that people stop listening, you are wasting not only their time, but yours as well.

Back when I was a pig headed atheist (as opposed to my present pig-headed Christian self), it was beyond me to listen to a long sermon. People that preached and preached at me had ZERO effect except to cause me to be irritated with them. Who did I listen to? A word here from a Mormon missionary. A sentence there from my wife. A five minute read of a Chick Tract. And when the bottom dropped out of my life, it was THOSE that I remembered, and Jesus Christ that I turned to.

If you want to be HEARD, keep it short and sweet, or keep it short and hard, but keep it SHORT!

May God bless you, guys -

[jack404]

wikileaks 16 involving red cresent , i'll burn the loit to DVD ( 13 DVD's total i think) and send them to you )

and i'm similar i like my "simple faith" ( even though i'm told its too simple by many )

Jesus Died for me , that opened a door for me to get to heaven , IF i choose to accept it , my choice is decide by my actions and sincerity of actions , and not the outcome of actions ( cause i goof and not everything i do is perfect ) but he knows my heart and if i'm doing my goofy best and not scamming , He'll Honour his side .. full stop

but if i think i'll be forgiven and act thinking that .. all bets are off ..

too simple? i think he meant it to be that way

[ampaterry]

Jack, let me know the cost of this, and THANK YOU!!

For today:

In the novel Presumed Innocent, a prosecuting attorney named Rusty is explaining his approach to the jury when he is in court. He says:
"This is how I always start:
'I am the prosecutor.
'I represent the state. I am here to present to you the evidence of a crime. Together you will weigh the evidence. You will deliberate upon it. You will decide if it proves the defendant's guilt.
'This man--' and here I point ...
If you don't have the courage to point ... you can't expect them to have the courage to convict. And so I point. I extend my hand across the courtroom. I hold one finger straight. I seek the defendant's eye. I say:
'This man has been accused..."

This principle holds true in all of life. People need leaders to galvanize their courage. People need leaders to point, to take a stand, to say what they believe. The problem with America today is that such leaders have a hard time getting elected. Each time they point out the truth, they loose the vote of some little splinter group, and eventually the point is reached where all of these little groups end up costing them the election.

The Word of God speaks of our leadership:
Romans 13:3-7 (GWT);
"People who do what is right don't have to be afraid of the government. But people who do what is wrong should be afraid of it. Would you like to live without being afraid of the government? Do what is right, and it will praise you. The government is God's servant working for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid. The government has the right to carry out the death sentence. It is God's servant, an avenger to execute God's anger on anyone who does what is wrong. Therefore, it is necessary for you to obey, not only because you're afraid of God's anger but also because of your own conscience.
That is also why you pay your taxes. People in the government are God's servants while they do the work he has given them. Pay everyone whatever you owe them. If you owe taxes, pay them. If you owe tolls, pay them. If you owe someone respect, respect that person. If you owe someone honor, honor that person."

May God bless each and every one of you -

[jack404]

no fee, i get a heap Via you and Thank You for it all