Daily Devotional; formerly Chaplains Corner

[reflex1]

Originally Posted by Woodnut

AMEN !
Thanks for your daily dedication to the forum and to us as readers of your words.

And God's Word!!!

[jbmid1]

Thanks for the prayers, guys. No news yet, but I will keep you posted.

As for me, I've been moved again for the third time since coming to Iraq. But it's
back to where I started from in January. Grateful to be alive and well after taking
a mortar blast w/in about 50 meters where I was at yesterday. Hit the other side
of a concrete barrier inside the Iraqi compound. The Idiots will only be killing
more of their own countrymen if they keep this up as we continue the turnover.
Funny part is, several Iraqis were in the vicinity of the blast outside smoking. Debris
fell all around them but no one got hurt.

[ampaterry]

jbmid1, glad you received no injury from that! I will add you to the prayer list at church this morning, as well as the lady you asked for prayer for.

[ampaterry]

At Christmas, we bought one of those candles-in-a-jar, which are burned inside of a glass container. We both enjoyed it so much that when it burned out, we bought several other large candles which we placed in the jar with the remnants of the previous candle, which keeps the wax from dripping on the table where it sits. I find the wax fascinating. When cold, it is hard and brittle, but when the candle is lit, the wax melts into a pool of liquid all around the wick. After burning for a few hours, though, the entire candle warms, and the wax that was once hard becomes soft and pliable. You can easily press your finger into it, leaving a mold of your finger tip, or even bend and reshape the warm wax. Put the candle out, though, and very soon the wax becomes cold again. In this state, you can not make indentations in it, nor can you bend or reshape it.
This reminds me of the hearts of people. There are times when they grow warm, and at those times it is possible to make great impressions on them, to straighten out that which is bent, to change their basic makeup from that desired by the world to that desired by God. There are several things that soften people's hearts: the preaching of the Word, sickness, the loss of friends, or any number of life changing events. At those times, they are ready to hear and accept the truth, and believers should be ready and willing to introduce the truth into that prepared mind. Such opportunities are to be seized with urgent eagerness. If you love the Lord Jesus, hasten with the truth before those hearts grow cold and hard once more.
The Word of God tells us:
1 Peter 2:11-12 (NCV);
"Dear friends, you are like foreigners and strangers in this world. I beg you to avoid the evil things your bodies want to do that fight against your soul. People who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you are doing wrong. Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again"

Always be ready with a word of testimony! The opportunity is too often a very brief one.

God bless you, guys -

[Marlin T]

Always be ready with a word of testimony! The opportunity is too often a very brief one.

Somebody was there in a time of need for me and they changed my outlook, thus changing my life.

Thank you Terry.

[ampaterry]

Today is independence day here in the USA. This is the day on which our fore-fathers published the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. This is an excellent document, filled with words that resound over the years of history since this event. It begins:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
Then it proceeds to outline the God given rights of the people, the ways in which the king has reduced those rights, the failed attempts to correct these wrongs and finally the formal declaration of separation from the King's power. This is completely correct in all ways. The complaints are explained, the failure to correct them is outlined, and the declaration is made. Did this bring our freedom? No, it did not. Actually, there was no noticeable difference in life here on July 5th from what it had been on July 3rd. The revolutionary war continued as it had been before the declaration until our nation obtained victory in 1781.
Diplomacy is the civilized way to handle things, but it is usually soldiers that bring victory. God himself promoted the use of armies:
Numbers 1:2-3 (KJV); “Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.”
And He also promotes diplomacy:
Proverbs 15:1 (KJV); “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. “
It behooves us, as Christians, to practice both. Attempt to handle all differences in a peaceful manner, but keep your powder dry.

May God bless each one of us as we continue the fight for Independence.

[ampaterry]

How do you view Women? My dad, God rest his soul, told me repeatedly as I was growing up that women were scheming creatures that were only out for a mans money. I knew better than to ask him why mom married him, since when they got married all he owned was a horse, and had borrowed $20 to get married on. His future income prospects were further limited by his 3rd grade education, so I knew this simply could not have been my mom's motivation.
When I moved away from home, I discovered that there were many different opinions of Women; his misguided ideas were not unique.
The model of woman in tribal patriarchalism is that of a brood mare. In hedonistic naturalism, she is the bunny or plaything. In feminist ideology, she is the self-sufficient career woman. In romanticism, she is the fairy princess or maiden in distress waiting to be rescued.
How are our churches beautified, our sick tended, our poor fed, our children taught and cared for and civilized? How do we males manage to get out of the house wearing matching clothes? Do you think men usually handle these things? Not hardly! Compare the church attendance on Mothers day when MOM gets her wishes with Fathers day when Dad gets HIS wishes. It is the Women that are the church's strong rock. As they were the last at the foot of the cross, so they have become the first at the altar.
What are women REALLY like? In my almost seven decades of life, I have not figured that out yet. I do know one thing, however: Dad was wrong. He saw women only as evil:
Proverbs 6:24-25 (KJV); “To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.”
But he never saw them as virtuous:
Proverbs 31:10-12 (KJV); "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life."
How many of each are there? My experience shows far more of the second than the first, and includes the virtuous one God blessed me with.

God bless you, guys -

[jack404]

Thanks Terry , May The Good Lord Bless you too

[ampaterry]

I managed a huge discussion group in the MSN communities on the topic of Origins. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, students, and at least one college professor all took part there. I had the ONLY such group that had a rule requiring 'civility'. It is a most difficult thing to maintain, but I did my level best to be even handed about it. I started this group based upon civil discussion because I have seen many people come to the usual internet discussion groups in an attempt to learn something, and be ridiculed for their statements, denigrated for their opinions, and called names for their questions. In many instances, these people then just leave the group, and never get the answers to their questions, and never have their own opinions heard. In my group, I insisted that only IDEAS were discussed, and not the people that HOLD those ideas.
Do you remember that chant from childhood: "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?" It simply isn't true.
Everyone has sometimes been hurt by words. We are hurt by lying words. We are hurt by unkind words. We are hurt by angry words. Words absolutely can hurt us.
The Word of God tells us:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV);
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
Colossians 3:12-14 (NCV);
"God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: Show mercy to others, be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Get along with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. Do all these things; but most important, love each other. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity."
Forgive others for the hurtful words they might use – and always guard carefully your own tongue, that you cause no hurt by the ones you use yourself.

May God bless each one of you -

[Woodnut]

AMEN !

Terry I can definately relate to this. I have had a speech problem all my life and words will hurt. You try not show this hurt but it sticks. To forgive one who said these things is a very hard thing to do. Mom always told me to overlook what people said that they only did it to hurt, it was only words and it should not effect the way I felt about them. This is exactly what you have refered to in your words for the day.

Funny how different things hit different people in their own way of life, and things that has happened to them personally.
Thanks Terry Spot on for Me.

[reflex1]

And another great posting - thanks Terry and Amen!

[ampaterry]

Guys, I sure do appreciate the support you are all giving me here; THANK YOU!!

[Juker]

Always a pleasure to see you "rightly dividing the Word of Truth", brother.

[reflex1]

Appears from all the postings thus far that we are 100% behind you Terry - therefore - keep on truckin'!

[ampaterry]

There are some phrases which just naturally lead you into trouble. I have found a list of specific phrases which almost always cause problems for the pastor who uses them. Here they are, as clipped them from Leadership Magazine several years ago:

10. I think I've earned the right to say this.
9. Thank you for the unanimous vote of confidence.
8. We'll incorporate a seeker sensitive approach into our present worship service.
7. In ancient Israel, the people danced before the Lord.
6. Recently, I've been reading about the importance of publicly confessing your own sins, so today ...
5. I'll show the church secretary who's boss around here!
4. I'm sure I can trust you to keep this confidential.
3. Then there are no hard feelings, right?
2. I'm sure Mrs. Jones will agree that she's been our organist long enough.
1. They need to realize this kitchen belongs to everyone.

You must gauge your words carefully in the light of who your audience is. I do NOT mean that off-color language is OK as long as you are outside the church, I mean the meaning of words differs among different people. How will they react to them? The firearms instructor who is directing the shooting range can yell ‘fire’ and get vastly different results than you will get if you shout the same thing in a crowded movie theater.

The Word of God tells us:
Job 13:5 (KJV);
"O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom."
Proverbs 15:2 (KJV);
"The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness."
Proverbs 18:6 (GWT);
"By talking, a fool gets into an argument, and his mouth invites a beating."

God bless you, guys!

[Woodnut]

AMEN ! Terry.

I have let my mouth overload my butt several times.

[ampaterry]

We all have, Carl -
The best description I have heard for it is "Your mouth is writing checks your body can't cash!"

And beyond that, we have the language barrier, too!

Remember Robin Williams in that hilarious movie, "Mom Forever?"
What? Don't remember that one? Well, that's what they call it in Italy, anyway. We know it better as Mrs. Doubtfire.
Some American-made movies and TV shows end up with very different names by the time they reach foreign turf. Often, something gets lost in the translation.
For instance, Baywatch is known as "The Lifeguards of Malibu" in Germany. Meanwhile, Growing Pains is "Our Loud Home" in Germany and "Parents Wear Blue Jeans" in Italy. Here are just a few more:
1) Life, Love, Cows (France) (City Slickers)
2) Field of Wonders (Russia) (Wheel of Fortune)
3) Sensation of Living (Spain) (Beverly Hills 90210)
4) Stone Age Family (Japan) (The Flintstones)
5) Mama, I Missed the Plane (Italy) (Home Alone)

Our ability to communicate with each other was foiled when Man decided to reach heaven by his own efforts, and God confounded our language at Babel as a result. But as with all punishments, God also provided a means to reconcile ourselves with him again.
Mark 16:17 (KJV);
"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;"
Acts 2:4 (GWT);
"All the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak."
1 Corinthians 12:10 (NCV);
"The Spirit gives to another person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy. And he gives to another the ability to know the difference between good and evil spirits. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages and to another the ability to interpret those languages."

The day will come when all the believers from all over the earth will be able to understand each other perfectly. Until then, we just do our best not to ACCIDENTALLY tick someone off -

We had an Engineer from India that was a great guy, if a mediocre Engineer, and one day when the project was going well, I gave him a thumbs up.
He looked troubled, I asked him why, and he explained that to a mid-Eastern person, extending the thumb up like that meant what we mean when we extend our middle finger up.

The Tower of Babble continues to plague us -

God bless you, guys!

[Woodnut]

AMEN !

Thanks Terry for another great teaching. I do so much admire you, for your dedication.

[ampaterry]

I read this story somewhere many years ago, and thought it had a great message:

A devout Christian who had a cat used to spend several minutes each day at prayer and meditation in his bedroom. He read a portion of Scripture and a devotional book, followed by a period of silent meditation and prayer. As time went on his prayers became longer and more intense.
He came to cherish this quiet time in his bedroom, but his cat came to like it, too. She would cozy up to him, purr loudly, and rub her furry body against him. This interrupted the man's prayer time, so he put a collar around the cat's neck and tied her to the bedpost whenever he wanted to be undisturbed while at prayer. This didn't seem to upset the cat, and it meant that the man could meditate without interruption.
Over the years, the daughter of this devout Christian had noted how much his devotional time had meant to him. When she began to establish some routines and patterns with her own family, she decided she should do as her father had done. Dutifully she, too, tied her cat to the bedpost and then proceeded to her devotions. But time moved faster in her generation and she couldn't spend as much time at prayer as did her father.
The day came when her son grew up and wanted to make sure that he preserved some of the family traditions which had meant so much to his mother and his grandfather. But the pace of life had quickened all the more and there simply was no time for such elaborate devotional proceedings. So he eliminated the time for meditation, Bible reading, and prayer. But in order to carry on the religious tradition, each day while he was dressing he tied the family cat to the bedpost. Thus forms become more important than the faith they are meant to convey.
It is not the FORM or the CEREMONY that matters. This is explained in the Word of God:
Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV);
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

take care, my friends, in whatever worship routines you develop; make sure you are communicating with God, and not just tying a cat to the bedpost.

May God bless each of you on this day -

[cutter]

AMEN!!! Thanks Terry!!! Very true words as always.

[ampaterry]

Yesterday I spoke of the danger of Traditions. But, as with all things we Christians deal with, we must guard against OVERDOING the avoidance of traditions. Since the calendar has been redone several times, it is now impossible to determine the exact date of Jesus birth. Should we, therefore, REFUSE to celebrate it at the traditional time, as some Christian denominations do? As Paul would say; God Forbid! Jaroslav Pelikan put it this way:
Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. Tradition lives in conversation with the past, while remembering we are where and when we are and that it is we who have to decide. Traditionalism supposes that nothing should ever be done for the first time, so all that is needed to solve any problem is to arrive at the supposedly unanimous testimony of this homogenized tradition.”
The Word of God tells us:
Mark 7:8 (KJV);
"For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do."
Colossians 2:8-9 (KJV);
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
Titus 1:14-16 (KJV);
"Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."

We must recognize the traditions of the past, remember them, and to some extent honor them, while at the same time we must guard against being enslaved by them into rote repetition without meaning –
We should all honor tradition, while avoiding traditionalism.

God bless each one of you here -

[Woodnut]

AMEN !
Thanks Terry.

[ampaterry]

One of the many things we all agree on here in this forum is our love of liberty. We value FREEDOM above almost everything else in this life. There are some who view religion as restricting; a list of DO THIS and DON'T DO THAT which they feel hampers their liberty. To them I say the Spirit of God is always, without fail, the spirit of liberty. The spirit of bondage is the spirit that is not of God. The spirit of oppression and depression are not from God. The Spirit of God convicts clearly and with passion, but He is always the Spirit of liberty. God who made the birds never made birdcages. It is men who make birdcages, and after a while we become cramped and can do nothing but chirp at what we see going on around us, and stand on one leg. When we get out into God's great free life, we discover the way God meant us to live "the glorious liberty of the children of God."

The Word of God tells us when we accept him, it is as if we were released from prison:
Isaiah 61:1 (KJV);
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;"

And it tells us that the law requiring death for sin is superseded by the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ:
Romans 8:2 (KJV);
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

And, finally, we are told that this spirit which brings us liberty is GOD:
2 Corinthians 3:17 (KJV);
"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

Are you in bondage today, brother? Is your spirit tied up in chains, sister? Jesus has already written your pardon; he only waits for you to reach out your hand to receive it.

I will talk to you again tomorrow - and may God RICHLY bless you.

[reflex1]

Amen and thank you Terry - He certainly does all that is in the Bible if we will just let Him!

[Woodnut]

AMEN !
Thanks again Terry