Daily Devotional; formerly Chaplains Corner

[ampaterry]

Since this thread has been a popular one, and will apparently remain a part of this forum, I am pinning it to the top of the forum to make it easier to find.

[jack404]

[lonewolf204]

Amen, Thanks Terry!

[ampaterry]

Today, the Jewish people celebrate the last day of Sukkot, called Hoshana Rabba, which means Great Salvation. Judgement for the year is rendered on Rosh Hashanah, completed on Yom Kippur, and delivered on Hoshana Rabba, today.

Today, they will gather in the synagogue and have prayers and responsive readings from the prayer book. The entire congregation then marches around the Bima (raised area at the front) seven times. Following this, they beat willow branches on the floor five times. There is no blessing recited over this portion since it is merely a custom.

It is customary to stay awake all night (that is last night, as the Jewish day begins at sundown) and recite the Tikkun service, read from Deuteronomy , recite the entire book of Psalms, and through this to join the night and the day through study and prayer.

On this day, festive clothes are worn, some white as on Yom Kippur. They also light the candles which remain from Yom Kippur.
They eat an especially festive meal today, and later on a light snack and special prayer is recited after this last act of dwelling in the booth.

I have always been a little blank on all the ceremony and traditions observed in the Jewish community, especially those with no scriptural reference. But after attending a Jewish service on Yom Kippur, I have to say that these people are some of the warmest and most loving folks I have ever been around. One thing particularly that struck me was the kissing – They greet each other with a kiss at about the frequency that Christians exchange hugs. But the New Testament, OUR book, says:
Romans 16:15-16 (NCV); “Greetings to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and to all God’s people with them. Greet each other with a holy kiss. All of Christ’s churches send greetings to you.”
The Jewish people follow that closer than we do.

Verse 17 addresses well, I believe, those who oppose the Jewish people:
“Brothers and sisters, I ask you to look out for those who cause people to be against each other and who upset other people’s faith. They are against the true teaching you learned, so stay away from them.”

May God bless each and every one of you!

[lonewolf204]

Amen, Thanks Terry!

[Woodnut]

AMEN, Thanks again Terry.

[ampaterry]

Today, in Israel, they celebrate two holidays at once.
First, the holiday of Shemini Atzeret. The name means “eighth day of assembly”, and it is therefore tied to the seven days of Sukkot which ended yesterday. A Rabbinic source says that the seven days of Sukkot are a time of judgment for the entire world, while Shemini Atzeret is a special day of feasting between God and Israel alone. This day marks the first Prayer for Rain of the year. Israel is critically short of water, making this of particular significance.
In the second temple period, this was the day for the ritual cleansing of the Altar, but with the destruction of the temple, it has lost this significance. It has been proposed that this loss of purpose for the day was the basis for celebrating it along with another holiday on this same day.

The second holiday is Simchat Torah, which is celebrated today in Israel, and tomorrow by some non-Israeli Jews. This day, the Joy of the Torah, is when the entire community gathers to come into direct contact with the Torah and to express their joy in having received it. The Torah is removed from the ark and in some congregations it is unrolled and the entire congregation gathers around it to hold a portion of it. The three scrolls of the Torah are carried in a procession around the synagogue. At the completion of the circuit, each scroll is handed to a different person and the circuit is repeated until each scroll has made seven circuits of the synagogue. This “Dancing with the Torah” ceremony is often accompanied by music, and sometimes smaller scrolls are specially created and smaller children are invited to participate.
Today, the final portion of the book of Deuteronomy is read, followed by the beginning of Genesis. This signifies the completion of the last cycle of annual Torah readings, and the beginning of the next cycle.

As Christians, we would do well to demonstrate the love for God's Word that the Jewish people do, as well as a reading of the entire Bible each year -

Psalm 119:105 (KJV); Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

God Bless each one of you -

[Woodnut]

AMEN! Thanks Terry.

[lonewolf204]

Amen, Thanks Terry!

[ampaterry]

At the courthouse in Nauvoo IL, Joseph Smith, the prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon), was killed while in jail by an angry mob. Where he laid after being shot, the blood soaked into the floor. The Mormon church has purchased the area now, and conducts tours of this historic Mormon site. Some years ago, they had a piece of glass installed over the bloodstain on the floor, to preserve it. Some people claimed that they were worshiping the blood of Smith, however, so they removed the glass, and the stain is no longer visible on the old wooden floor.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with the Mormon belief system, you must admit they certainly made a correct decision in that case! We must refrain from any appearance of worshiping or even placing great emphasis on artifacts such as that.

Several groups do not feel this way. For instance, there is a monastery that carefully guards a piece of timber which it claims came from the ark of Noah. After the Crusades, Western Europe received a number of supposed holy relics, including a tooth of Goliath, a tip of the devil's tail, and a bottle that held the breath of Christ.

What do such things mean? Nothing! It is not the relics of Noah's life that make them real, but the word of God that recorded them! It is not the artifacts of Jesus Christ, whether that is a shroud or a bottle of his breath, but it is the spiritual presence of Christ in the life of a believer that counts.

Jesus tells us:
John 15:4-7 (KJV);
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."

Receive Jesus into your life, and you will have no need of anything else to strengthen your faith!

I will be off-line for the weekend, guys - I wish you all a very pleasant weekend, and I will talk to you again on Monday.

[Big ugly]

Thanx for the message Terry, And have a good weekend.

[reflex1]

You deserve the break Terry - thanks and God Bless!

[lonewolf204]

Amen, Thanks Terry! I hope you have a great weekend!

[ampaterry]

Thank you, guys, for those well-wishes! We did, indeed, have a GREAT time!!
We ran around the woods, we sat and talked, we had a weenie roast, we had a great pot-luck dinner, And on the way home yesterday, we stopped at the Golden Corral in Cookeville, TN for a late breakfast.
They had STEAK on the bar.
I am afraid to step on a scale this morning - - -

For today:

Judy and I are Grandparents and great-grandparents. If you are not there yet, I highly recommend the office! When your kids acted up, or messed up, you had to deal with it. When the Grandkids act up, you can blame it on their parents, and you can just send them home for them to deal with!

We all work not to spoil our children, even though it is very difficult not to, when your children are like ours and just happen to be the best looking, best behaved and smartest kids around. We work not to spoil them because we know that discipline is up to US!

Scripture tells us:
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV);
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

And we work hard at that, because this is our job, as parents.
But as Grandparents? Not our job! Not spoiling them is their parents job, not ours! In spite of the claims made, it does not 'take a village to raise a child', but only requires parents! So, as grandparents, we are free to spoil them rotten if that is our desire. If the result of this is that they start to get whiny about everything - send them home to mom and dad.
These are the reasons that many kids have fonder memories of their grandparents than of their parents.

Now, what is the Christian application here? As Christians, many of us want not so much a Father in heaven as a grandfather in heaven! a friendly smiling benevolence character who enjoys seeing young people enjoying themselves, and never ever gives discipline. One whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, "a good time was had by all."

The Word of God tells us who is in charge here:
Romans 9:19-21 (KJV);
"Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"


May God bless you, guys -

[reflex1]

Thanks again Terry and glad you arrived home safely (but larger) after your great weekend!

[lonewolf204]

Amen, Thanks Terry!

[jack404]

greatest gift i ever got , grand children , and now they are growing i can see the effort put into their parents was well worth it .. which is a triple bonus to me ..

cheers Terry ..

[ampaterry]

This is adapted from a devotional written by Juan Carlos Ortiz.

Have you ever watched a trapeze act? They are absolutely amazing. The action can be breathtaking. We are awed at the physical strength and timing. We gasp at near-misses. In most cases, there is a net underneath. If they fall they land in the net, jump up and get right back on the trapeze.

We should realize that the Christian life is a lot like one of those shows. The worldly people around us should look at the way we live and be in awe of our avoidance of that which is evil. They should gasp as we do that which is right, even when the consequences of that are devastating to us. The whole world should be able to watch and say, "Look how they live, how they love one another. Look how well the husbands treat their wives. And aren't they the best workers in the factories and offices, the best neighbors, the best students?" That is to live on the trapeze, being a show to the world.
But what happens when we slip, as all on the trapeze do at some time or other? The net is right there beneath us. The blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, has provided forgiveness for all our failures. Both the net and the ability to stay on the trapeze are works of God's grace. Of course, we cannot be continually sleeping on the net. If that is the case, we cease to be a witness to the world - no audience would be interested in such a trapeze exhibition!

The Word of God explains how we are to be a living witness:
Titus 2:7 (KJV); "In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,"

It tells us where we are to be such a witness:
1 Thessalonians 1:8 (KJV); "For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing."

And it tells us the result of this witness:
Matthew 5:16 (KJV); "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

May God bless each and every one of you -

[jack404]

he the gent in the Crystal church ?

got the big convert church ? ( from islam ?)

i've heard some of his "talks" on the Radio here ( 2CBA Christian Broadcasting Australia )

apparently he's added a arabic service sundays and now looking to build a church for them alone , i'm praying for that guy .. we need to do similar here , FAST!!!!

[ampaterry]

Judy and I both really enjoyed the movie “Sea Biscuit”. We also loved “hidalgo”. Both involved races, but different kinds! Sea Biscuit was a race horse on the tracks here in the US, while Hidalgo involved the greatest long distance running horse that ever lived in a race across the desert against Arabians. In both of these types of races, there is a lot of strategy involved, in that it is necessary to plan the expenditure of energy in such a way that there is some left to finish the race, not just to start it well.

Have you ever heard world-class runners speak of having what they call a "kick?" That is the technical runner's term that means when they get to that last one hundred yards or so, the runner can still sprint. No matter how much he's run before, he can sprint that last leg to the finish line and win that race.

Race car drivers do the same thing; although the cars do not get tired, they must judge well the condition of tires, the remaining fuel, and the physical limits of the engine and all other mechanical parts of the vehicle; they must preserve enough to run across the finish line, not coast to a stop as the others race past.

This same psychology applies to the Christian walk as well! It is not so important to start our Christian walk well as it is to finish it well! God wants you to have a “kick”. No matter what your circumstance, God wants you to finish strong.

Galatians 6:9 (KJV);
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Hebrews 12:1-2 (KJV);
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."

May God bless you, guys!

[ampaterry]

Originally Posted by jack404

he the gent in the Crystal church ?

got the big convert church ? ( from islam ?)

i've heard some of his "talks" on the Radio here ( 2CBA Christian Broadcasting Australia )

apparently he's added a arabic service sundays and now looking to build a church for them alone , i'm praying for that guy .. we need to do similar here , FAST!!!!

He is with Crystal Cathedral -
This is him:
http://shepherduniversity.edu/index....=289&Itemid=58

[reflex1]

Amen Terry - we must run our race one day at a time!

[lonewolf204]

Amen, Thanks Terry!

[jack404]

Cheers Terry !!

[ampaterry]

Guys, I sure appreciate that support!

For today:

How often do we see those self aggrandizing professors of their faith loudly proclaiming their ‘Christianity’ to the world around them? I had a boss once that was called for Jury duty, and one of the attorneys asked him if he could look at the case with impartiality in spite of the news reports on it. His answer was an indignant “I am a Christian, sir!” Apparently, he felt that Christians were incapable of bias, and by claiming to be one, he was absolving himself of any such suspicion.

When you know who you are, you don't have to impress anyone. The basis of knowledge is knowing what questions to ask.

When Jesus was taken before the high priest, who asked, "What do you have to say for yourself?" Jesus was silent. This was the wrong question.

When the high priest then asked Him if He was the Son of God, Jesus said, "I am." This was the right question.

Before Pilate, who asked, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus replied, "Yes, it is as you say." This was another right question.

In the Luke account, Herod asked Jesus question after question, but there was no reply. These were all the wrong questions.

When you have discovered your identity, you need to say little else. Toyohiko Kagawa, the Japanese Christian who spent his life working with and for the poor, was speaking at Princeton. When he finished his talk, one student said to another, "He didn't say much, did he?"
A woman sitting nearby leaned over and murmured, "When you're hanging on a cross, you don't have to say anything."

Jesus tells us in the Bible that the answers we give, and the statements we make, show our real nature:

Mark 7:15-16 (KJV);
"There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."

May God richly bless each one of you -