Daily Devotional; formerly Chaplains Corner

[jack404]

and here is one of my biggest personal faults

i do act respectfull towards all folks at first , but the last few years when they start spouting BS ( socialist greenies anti Christian or anti gun types ) i wipe em

i surprised myself the other week by driving by one of these clowns when i could see they had 2 flat tyres from a bad pot hole thats well known this way and a good source of income for the tyre shop not that far further along ..

i always stop , but when i saw who it was i drove straight by

thats a worry , we should always help if we can is my understanding , i'm just tired of helping those who want to destroy what we have .. i know its wrong , i dont accept it as ok but i do accept that my attitude is not one of self but one of experience .. i just dunno how wrong that side is , but Pray The Good Lord see's all of me and understands and forgives me for this weakness

Cheers Terry

[ampaterry]

You are right, Jack; we are to always help if we can.
In this life, we are to STRIVE toward perfection.
But in this life, we will never REACH perfection.
Don't be TOO hard on yourself for those times that you fall short of that mark, because until we graduate from this life on earth we will always fall somewhat short - -

[ampaterry]

Today is the start of Ramadan for the Muslims. Like all Muslim dates, it moves earlier by 11 or 12 days each year, so falls throughout the year due to the Muslim calendar being based on the moon instead of the sun. This makes sense, since Islam can be traced back to the moon worship of ancient Arabia at least as far back as 2,000 BC, and the symbol of the moon-God was the crescent moon presently found on all Muslim mosques. The ancient moon god was Hubal, also called Al-ilah, later shortened to Allah.
Ramadan is said to be a time of inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control. It is also a time of fasting. The daily period of fasting starts at the breaking of dawn and ends at the setting of the sun. In between -- that is, during the daylight hours -- Muslims totally abstain from food, drink, smoking, and marital sex. Note that only MARITAL sex is forbidden during the daylight hours; the other types of allowed sex are not mentioned, so during this holy month they can have sex with their wives at night and with slaves and prostitutes during the daytime.
Sheikh Maher Hammoud, a prominent Sunni cleric in Sidon in south Lebanon, says that Ramadan is perceived by all Muslims as "the month of jihad." He then addressed MODERATE Muslims, and said occupation should be met with resistance. "So in Iraq, shooting a US soldier on Iraqi soil might be seen as jihad," he says, "but shooting an American worker, businessman, or journalist - anything other than military - is not jihad. For the most part, I agree with that."
So we civilians are safe from moderate Muslims during Ramadan.
For the most part.

God (Jehovah, YHVH, Yahweh, you know, the REAL God) mentions the worship of the moon:
Deuteronomy 4:14 & 19a (KJV);
And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them . . . .

Notice that God commands to TEACH the proper path to those who would follow other God's.
He does not command us to KILL them.
And therein is one fundamental difference between Islam and Christianity.

May God bless each one of you, guys, and keep you safe from those that believe otherwise - -

[jack404]

sorry running late , bacon and egg BBQ at peace park

yes our faith gives everyone a gazillion chances, i know i've had way more than my fair share , you only get one with islam

if you aint born into it

if you are you have only one way out ( according to them anyway)

Lord ! Raise the blind folds from the decent peoples eyes in islam , there are many , and many would just love to have part of what You have blessed each of us with

Show them there is a way out of hell and into Your loving embrace ,

and give wisdom to those who think Islam is a trendy thing to join ..

We ask this In Jesus's name

Amen

[ampaterry]

Originally Posted by jack404

.
.

Lord ! Raise the blind folds from the decent peoples eyes in islam , there are many , and many would just love to have part of what You have blessed each of us with

Show them there is a way out of hell and into Your loving embrace ,

and give wisdom to those who think Islam is a trendy thing to join ..

We ask this In Jesus's name

Amen

AMEN!!

[Woodnut]

AMEN !! to both of you.

Thanks Terry and Jack.

[RunningOnMT]

Amen!

[jbmid1]

And Amen, from Ramadan central.

[ampaterry]

We read a lot of very neat sayings that are credited to "anonymous". There are some great songs that are written by "anonymous", and even the letters to the editor have some writings that are signed this way. I once read that there is a statue in the Budapest city park dedicated to Anonymous. This statue is not of just any "Anonymous" but a very particular person. Around the twelfth or thirteenth century, a chronicle of Hungarian history was written by a notary of King Bela. Which King Bela is not known, nor is the name of the notary known. It is reckoned that this anonymous was a priest, and so he is pictured in the statue as a hooded monk. His facial features? The sculptor has blurred them in the shadow of the hood.
In Arlington national cemetery, there is a tomb with an eternal flame and a standing guard that is dedicated to the "unknown soldier", where the remains of some unidentified soldiers that died in battle are honored.

It seems that in our society, we place quite a bit of emphasis on those that cannot be identified. I believe it is fitting to honor them in this way, but there was an incident in scripture that points out an area in which it is incorrect to pay homage to one who is not known:
Acts 17:22-28 (KJV);
"Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring."

Pay no homage to any God but Jehovah - Jesus, who we already know.

May God bless each and every one of you - -

[Woodnut]

AMEN! Thanks Terry for a job well done. I for one appreciate your commitment to the position you hold on the forum.

[jack404]

another here ..

[ampaterry]

Guys, your support means a lot to me; thank you!

For today:

As you probably know, we do not have a list of “beliefs” here at my church, Bethany. We have no code of conduct, no dress code, no man-made list of things which you are expected to do. Instead, we rely 100% on the Bible for all our guidance.
I have a problem with those lists of man-made do’s and don’ts which are NOT found in scripture. I have noticed one thing in particular about them, though. The do’s will include all those things which the person who wrote the list usually does, and the don’ts usually list all those activities which the writer of the list does not like doing anyway.
The ability to be objective is a rare thing indeed; we almost always filter the world through a pair of glasses that are our own prescription. As a result, the areas in which we expect others to be consistent are those areas in which we have no trouble with being consistent. If certain sins are no problem for us, we cannot understand how in the world they could be a problem for anyone else. Of course, the sins with which we struggle are sins which require the utmost patience and understanding from our brothers and sisters (either that, or we take the easy way out by simply hiding our sins and praying that no one ever finds them out).
The Word of God gives us complete guidance regarding sin and sinners. Just a few of the verses are:
Proverbs 20:9 (KJV);
"Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?"
Romans 14:13 (GWT);
"So let's stop criticizing each other. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make other Christians have doubts or lose their faith."
Romans 15:1(KJV);
"We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves."
Galatians 6:1(NCV);
"Brothers and sisters, if someone in your group does something wrong, you who are spiritual should go to that person and gently help make him right again. But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin, too."

If we follow the guidance given us in the Word of God, we will find that we don’t need no stinking man made lists!

May the good Lord bless and keep each of you -

[Woodnut]

AMEN!
Thank you Terry, I'm with you on the list's.

[Airdale]

AMEN!

Another spot on Post from the Chaplain.

[Juker]

Biggest amen to date, Terry!

A few years ago we left a church we loved because the legalism among the flock had become overwhelming. We were very involved there, teaching classes and serving in various capacities. A clique was determined that everyone should be like them, instead of like Christ. If you weren't dressed like the Amish, or wore bright colors, or watched this or ate that, you were surely going to hell. And of course, these were the same people who would run you over as soon as they were off church property. We were really torn about leaving, as we adored our pastor, but the atmosphere was so stifling it became a chore to attend services. When we resigned, a senior member sent me a letter saying that by leaving, we had "let Satan into the church". I knew then we'd made the right choice.

[ampaterry]

Today is Coast Guard Day.
The Coast Guard started on August 4th of 1790, when congress authorized the construction of ten cutters to enforce our tariff and trade laws, and fight smuggling. Back then, it was called the Revenue Cutter Service.
In 1871, the Life-Saving Service was created. Their goal was to save the lives of shipwrecked people.
In 1915, these two were merged into a single agency by act of congress, and named the Coast Guard.
From their web-site:
“The Coast Guard is one of the oldest organizations of the federal government and until Congress established the Navy Department in 1798 we served as the nation's only armed force afloat. We protected the nation throughout our long history and served proudly in every one of the nation's conflicts. Our national defense responsibilities remain one of our most important functions even today. In times of peace we operate as part of the Department of Homeland Security, serving as the nation's front-line agency for enforcing the nation's laws at sea, protecting the marine environment and the nation's vast coastline and ports, and saving life. In times of war, or at the direction of the President, we serve under the Navy Department.”

The Word of God tells us:
Genesis 6:13-14(a) (KJV);
"And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood . . . . "

Today, the earth is filled with violence also. And today, just as Noah preserved and protected mankind and beasts through the use of a ship, our coast guard preserves and protects mankind and beasts through the use of many ships.

Lord, put a hedge around all members of the Coast Guard today, and around the members of all our armed services. Protect them in the work they do, Father, and let them know that they are loved and appreciated.

Amen -

I pray that God will bless each one here on this day -

[jack404]

Amen

[ampaterry]

Thank you!

Juker, I sure understand that.

When I first got saved, we were led to a little independent Baptist church which we loved dearly. We attended services every time the doors were open, and I got an excellent grounding in the Word there. There were a FEW little things that were a bit too legalistic for us, but we put up with it for years anyway.
Then one Sunday morning in adult Sunday School class, the teacher read this passage:

Romans 13:1-7 (KJV);
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.
Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good.
But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour."

He followed this reading with the idea that, since God ordained our leaders, a Christian should not campaign for any candidate for office, since he might accidentally be working against the candidate which God had chosen.
After class, I asked the pastor (who always attended adult SS) if he agreed with this, and he said he did not, and planned to have a few words with the teacher.

The next Sunday, the same teacher read the same passage again and said he had been studying on it, and proclaimed that it is not only a sin for a Christian to campaign for or against a candidate, but it was a sin to vote.
I looked at the pastor and he averted his eyes - but said not one word.
Through his silence, he gave his agreement with this horrid doctrin.
We left church before regular service started, and sought another church to attend.

[Woodnut]

AMEN Terry, Ya'll did the right thing and it shows in your words.

[jbmid1]

Some good lessons here.

I have a concern I'd like to bring to the TFF family for prayer.
One of our Iraqi counterparts has received some death threats via email basically telling him they know where he lives and where he works, they want to kill him and the Americans cen't help. I want to pray that he will be protected and preserved from harm, and if the Lord permits, allowed passage out of the country.

Thanks;

jm

[ampaterry]

Originally Posted by jbmid1

Some good lessons here.

I have a concern I'd like to bring to the TFF family for prayer.
One of our Iraqi counterparts has received some death threats via email basically telling him they know where he lives and where he works, they want to kill him and the Americans cen't help. I want to pray that he will be protected and preserved from harm, and if the Lord permits, allowed passage out of the country.

Thanks;

jm

Heavenly Father, we come to you with a request. We do not know all the particulars of the situation, Lord, but we know that you do because you know all things. We ask for the safety of this man. We ask that those who plot against him would be caught in their own snares. We ask that those who dig a pit before him would find themselves falling into it.
We also ask, Lord, that you would make a way for this man to escape the area he is in so that he can live his life without being in constant danger.
Most of all, Father, we ask that this man would come to know you if he does not, and if he does, we ask that he would draw even closer to you.

And we ask these things in the name of Jesus the Christ, the Lion of Judah.

Amen -

[ampaterry]

I once read about ten things for which you as a parent will never be sorry:

1. For doing your level best even when discouraged.
2. For hearing before judging in family quarrels.
3. For thinking before speaking when emotionally upset.
4. For not harboring unkind thoughts of a talebearer.
5. For being generous to an enemy, perhaps the next door neighbor.
6. For stopping your ears to gossip over the fence.
7. For standing by your principles in dealing with your teenagers.
8. For asking pardon when you are in error, even of your own child.
9. For being square in business dealings with the newsboy.
10. For accepting the stewardship of "another" child.

Researcher Rick Weiss conducted a study of parenting and noted this in Health magazine: Couples with children frequently experience higher levels of frustration and lower levels of happiness. Married mothers tend to be more depressed than their husbands and more depressed than women who have no children.
But, after their children are grown and gone, older parents report higher measures of happiness, satisfaction, self-esteem, purpose, and fulfillment in life than do adults who remain childless.

Proverbs 17:6 (KJV);
"Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers."
Micah 7:6 (KJV); "For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house."

Do you get the impression from those verses that different families are different? Then you understand what I am driving at here; families are what you make them. Children can be a fantastic blessing. They can also be a life destroying curse. Which they are is mainly up to you.

God bless you, Guys -

[Woodnut]

AMEN ! Terry

Your correct in saying your children are of your own molding. I thank God that my girls were raised in the best way that I could possible lead them. It has really paid off. I see so many parents make big mistakes with their families, and it shows in their daily activities.

[jack404]

spot on Terry

God's Word in action and proven again ,

my own joy now , i was a mess when i lost my Mr's , stressing all the time , but needed the bonus's of OS duty extra qualification bonus's etc , so had to spend more time at it all then and away from home , but now , good people resulted , good minds , God loving and patriotic , and thats bloody heart warming like nothing else , and all the times i wad home and those times together , i can pretty much remember every day eh ..

[ampaterry]

Have you had a lot of trouble finding a church to worship in - one that you really like?
I have encountered some problems myself along those lines;
I don't like a church that tows the line with some denominational headquarters somewhere that tells them what they have to believe.
I am suspicious of churches in which the entire congregation dresses exactly like the pastor and his wife.
I also get skittish if they have some snake sized cages located in the sanctuary, and if I walk into one that has a big vat of Kool-aid and lots of paper cups, I will hastily exit.
But that is not the kind of thing I am talking about;
I hear people say that this church is too small, or that one too big.
The pastor talks too far over their heads, or is too common in his language.
The church caters to only the rich, or only to the poor.
I invited a friend to our church once, and he said he never attends small churches. When I asked him why, he explained that it was much easier to not be noticed in a big church. Small churches, he said, always needed volunteers to do something, and there were no crowds to hide in when they were looking for someone.
Another man I know spurned a church because it was all just everyday people, with no businessmen in it's ranks. He wanted to use the church for business networking, as well as worship.
What we need to do is remember these words of Bishop Joseph McKinney: "Anyone can love the ideal church. The challenge is to love the real church."

The Word of God tells us to follow that advice.
Philippians 4:1 (KJV);
"Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved."

1 Thessalonians 2:8 (KJV);
"So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us."

There are churches so wrong headed that you are better off to find a different church. But if your complaint is that you are just not quite satisfied with your church or pastor, there is a much better solution:
Pray for them.
They will get better.

God bless you, guys -