Daily Devotional; formerly Chaplains Corner

[ampaterry]

Thank you, guys -
GREAT ideas, Jack, for situations in which many are sorely tempted to be far less Christian - -

For today:

I enjoyed the old movie The Dirty Dozen. At one point in that movie, they were playing war games, pitting a 'red' army against a 'blue' army. Lee Marvin, playing the Major, had a twelve man group which was going to prove itself by operating as an independent unit and capturing the main HQ of one side. As they crossed from red territory into blue territory, they all took off their red armbands and slipped on blue armbands.
The Referee said "You can't do that!", to which they replied
"Oh it's OK - we are going to change back later!"
The simple act of changing armbands did not really have any effect on who they were.

In a much more serious light, in 1989 the first break in the Iron Curtain occurred and ten thousand East Germans fled to West Germany; some by train or bus but many by car through Austria. In Europe every car has a decal with a letter designating its country of origin: A for Austria, F for France, I for Italy. The letter for West Germany is D and for East Germany DDR. The minute those East Germans crossed into Austria, they stopped and crossed out the first and last letters leaving only D for West Germany, their new home. Of course changing their decal did not have any effect on their citizenship status in either East Germany or West Germany.

Compare these to the experience of being born again. Our conversion is not a simple matter of changing our name from unbeliever to believer or from sinner to saint or from secular to Christian. We do not just change armbands and become something else.
The Word of God tells us that we do not have a name change only, but become NEW CREATURES!

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 (KJV);
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;"

May God bless you, guys!

[ampaterry]

One elder statesman of a Christian church has devoted himself to a fifty-year study of Christian and non-Christian families. He says that in American culture today most young adults following Jesus Christ either come from non-Christian homes where they were converted to Christ in their teenage years through a dynamic youth ministry, or they come from homes where they grew up in love with Jesus because mom and dad were so in love with Jesus that love permeated their lives. It passed through their pores. Very few believers come from homes where there was a kind of indifferent, apathetic commitment to Christ.

This is not my claim. This is the result of this study. It is sobering and thought provoking to suggest that, in American culture, the chances are better for a child growing up in a non-Christian home to become a Christian than for a child growing up in a home that has an indifferent, apathetic commitment to Jesus Christ.

This is yet another example of the reason that Jesus said he would prefer we were cold or hot but not lukewarm!

Scripture speaks of the love for God in a family, and talks of the result of that love as well:
Deuteronomy 6:1-3 (GWT);
"These are the commands, laws, and rules the LORD your God commanded me to teach you. Obey them after you enter the land and take possession of it. As long as you live, you, your children, and your grandchildren must fear the LORD your God. All of you must obey all his laws and commands that I'm giving you, and you will live a long time. Listen, Israel, and be careful to obey these laws. Then things will go well for you and your population will increase in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD God of your ancestors promised you."

Acts 2:39 (KJV);
"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."

May God bless you, guys -

[pipeman525]

Terry this message is so important. Kudos to the families that kept their lives centered in Christ and produced good Christian kids. This message is so important at this time of year when so many measure Christmas by what's under the tree. Maybe parents should read their kids the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke before they read Twas the Nght Before Christmas on Christmas eve. Teach your kids why we are really celebrating and hopefully they will carry it into their own lives as adults.

[Juker]

We know there are exceptions to this rule - I've seen it in families of some relatives - but I couldn't agree more. Family first, and set the example. Far too many parents rely on both teachers and pastors to do their child-rearing for them.

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

[ampaterry]

Thank you for your support, guys!!

I have touched on this thought for today before in here somewhere, but did not develop this thoroughly -

Dwight L. Moody wrote:
“When I was converted, I made this mistake: I thought the battle was already mine, the victory already won, the crown already in my grasp. I thought the old things had passed away, that all things had become new, and that my old corrupt nature, the old life, was gone. But I found out, after serving Christ for a few months, that conversion was only like enlisting in the army--that there was a battle on hand.”

Those words had an impression upon me, because I felt invincible when I was first saved. I was so elated that I would CHALLENGE Satan to come up against me, mono-e-mono! Then things would happen, temptations would enter my life, I would falter in my Christian walk, and sink into sin. This would make me miserable, and I would repent of the sin, and return to the presence of God. This would make me so elated that I would again challenge Satan to have it out with me - put on the gloves and meet me in the RING! Again, temptation would come, and I would fail once more.
It took several cycles of this before I realized that Satan was answering my challenge every time I made it, and had scored a KO in every battle with me.

You see, Satan does not stand up in front of you and have a fair fight. He is slime, who sneaks up behind you and smacks you with a ball bat before you even know he is in the ring.

Ephesians 6:11-12 (KJV);
"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. "

Romans 7:21-24 (GWT);
"So I've discovered this truth: Evil is present with me even when I want to do what God's standards say is good. I take pleasure in God's standards in my inner being. However, I see a different standard throughout my body. It is at war with the standards my mind sets and tries to take me captive to sin's standards which still exist throughout my body. What a miserable person I am! Who will rescue me from my dying body?"

Who indeed?
Jesus, who is called Christ!

May God bless each one of you as you fight YOUR battles -

[ampaterry]

When I found myself thrust into the pulpit repeatedly, I decided that if I was going to HAVE to preach, I would try to be the best preacher which I could possibly be, and commenced to read books about preaching and preachers. I have learned a lot this way, but in all honesty I do not utilize very much of it. My sermons are seldom three points, for instance, which is considered to be the ideal sermon outline. Oh, I tried to do it by the book to start with, but that has simply fallen by the wayside many years ago. I always have a message prepared in advance of church, but I have discovered this:

The messages which I preach exactly as I had prepared to do them are my worst.

The messages which just 'come to me' in the final hour before church starts, which I scribble out longhand on my carefully prepared notes, are my best.

The message is from God, not from the preacher. The anointing is from God, not from Bible school. The ability to reach the people and turn them back to the lord comes from the Holy Ghost, not from carefully prepared sermon notes.

Spurgeon was scheduled to preach in a great hall in London at which he had never spoken before. He came to the deserted hall very early, and mounted the high pulpit to test the acoustics, as this was before sound systems. He spoke loudly, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." A janitor who was cleaning the balcony of the hall heard this and became converted to Christ as a result. That is anointing!

Acts 16:29-34 (KJV);
"Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house."

May God bless each one of you, guys -

[jack404]

another Smith - Wigglesworth! way to Go Terry !!

i served with one of his decendants and he said simuilar , if he worked hard on stuff , it was him , if it "Came" he knew where it Came from

[ampaterry]

Thank you, Jack!

And today is another Recognized Day here in the USA.


On December 15th of 1789, the Bill of Rights was ratified by three fourths of the states and went into effect.

150 years later, president Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that December 15th of each year was to be recognized as Bill of Rights day.

Nearing the end of WWII, Roosevelt proposed a second Bill of Rights which would include the “right” to a job paying a living wage, the right to a home, medical care, education, and other things.

We can debate how effective a president Roosevelt was, but there is little debate concerning the vast difference between the original Bill of Rights and his proposed second set. The original 10 was a list of specific limitations on the power of the Federal Government, while the proposed set would require a vast increase in that power. It is easy to see how the first set was ratified while the second set did not get support. We want freedom; increasing the size of government works against that concept.

Jesus taught us what true freedom is reached through avoiding sin and following Him:
John 8:34-36 (KJV);
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

And he taught us that knowledge of the truth is the path to freedom:
John 8:32 (KJV);
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

But we should not 'push the envelope', as the saying goes, when exercising our freedom. Just because we are allowed to do something does not mean that we should do it. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians explained this:
1 Corinthians 10:23 (KJV);
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.

The motto of 'moderation in all things' extends even to our freedoms, it seems, doesn't it?

God bless each one of you, guys!

[BlackEagle]

Originally Posted by ampaterry

The messages which I preach exactly as I had prepared to do them are my worst.

The messages which just 'come to me' in the final hour before church starts, which I scribble out longhand on my carefully prepared notes, are my best.

The message is from God, not from the preacher. The anointing is from God, not from Bible school. The ability to reach the people and turn them back to the lord comes from the Holy Ghost, not from carefully prepared sermon notes.

May God bless each one of you, guys -

Amen. Thanks Terry
I also take time to prepare a message; it starts with a personal study of the passage, with application to my life. I have found that a "message prepared in the mind reaches a mind, a message prepared in a heart reaches a heart, and a message prepared in a life reaches a life". I'll include some study of the original language (Greek or Hebrew) because that frequently brings out some extra depth of meaning for me and my life, and also for the lives of the listeners. But as you say, the best of the message is what God gives me, sometimes right on the spot, and sometimes through the preparation.

I pray Psalm 19:14, and Psalm 45:1 "My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer." I am asking God to make my mouth like an artesian well of His truth as I speak with His people.

[ampaterry]

Very well put, Blackeagle, and may God bless you in your ministry!

For today:

It is raining here this morning, which will cause the front pasture spring to flow again. This is a HUGE spring that pumps several thousands of gallons per minute when it is flowing, but more than half the time it does not flow. We have several springs here on our farm. Some are like this one, flowing only in wet-weather, and some run all the time. None of these springs has a name; they are simply not considered important enough to have one. They run into Dry Branch, which only a few local people are aware of at all. Dry Branch flows into Yellow Creek, which is more widely known for some distance around. Yellow Creek, in turn, empties into the Cumberland River, which is noted on any reasonable map of this section of the country, and the waters of the Cumberland eventually empty into the Mississippi, which is well known the world over.

Big rivers gain more attention than the little streams that create them. Everyone knows the names of the great rivers of the world, but no one can name the tiny tributaries of them - which often are like the springs on our farm - they are unknown and nameless, not even noticed except on an individual basis by those that live near them.

Now - if the springs on our farm dry up, no one will notice any change in the Mississippi. However, without the tributaries there would be no river. It must be remembered, too, that the smaller streams, while less well known, are purer and are found on a higher elevation.

Some of our lives are tributary lives. Without all of the little tributaries, there would be no great rivers. It is our role to provide the pure water from the higher elevation that enables another to be a mighty river of power and influence.

The Word of God explains that we all contribute:
Romans 12:4-8 (KJV);
"For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness."

Keep your springs flowing, guys. It may be that NO ONE will mention it to you, but each one is vital to the overall picture of God's plan for us - -

[jack404]

Originally Posted by BlackEagle

Amen. Thanks Terry

I pray Psalm 19:14, and Psalm 45:1 "My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer." I am asking God to make my mouth like an artesian well of His truth as I speak with His people.

Cheers for that Black Eagle !!

and cheers Terry

[jwrauch]

Awesome thread ! I need to stop by more often. Thanks guys ! JR

[ampaterry]

Thank you, guys, for the support!


Today is Pan American Aviation Day, a day set aside to recognize the advances in aviation in improving communication among the nations of the West.

Today is also Wright Brothers Day, a day to honor these pioneers in flight. Congress, by a joint resolution, approved on December 17, 1963 the designation of December 17 of each year as "Wright Brothers Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation inviting the people of the United States to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

At the time of the Wright Brothers work, there were some objections to what they were doing which were based upon religious beliefs. Some said “If God intended us to fly, we would have been born with wings!”

Now, I personally will never board a commercial airline again – but this has nothing to do with my Christian belief! It is a result of one specific incident at the Nashville Airport when one of the major airlines lost a plane. For HOURS, they had no idea where it was. And that plane was the one my wife was on, returning from Florida where she had been spending time with her father as he neared the end of his life. My only thought was that the plane had crashed, and it was one of the most frightening experiences of my life. Hey, for a major airline to lose your luggage is bad enough, but when they lose the whole darned aircraft, my flying days are through.

But putting that aside, I love to fly. There are few sensations as great as feeling yourself lift off from the earth and enter the domain of birds and angels. I have and will continue to fly in small, private craft whenever the opportunity presents itself!

Religious objections to flight? You might as well have religious objections to traveling on the water (God did not give us fins), electronic communication (God did not give us cell phones), or any other modern advancements. God, in his wisdom, gave us a BRAIN, and it is up to us how we utilize that organ. We can invent wondrous things, or terrible things, it is up to us. It is all part of that 'free will' thing – which God DID give us.

Today, let us think of the advantages we enjoy from aviation, and the specific debt we owe the Wright Brothers for this.

And let us thank God for giving us the ability to achieve such things.

May God bless each one of you -

[pipeman525]

Terry thanks for bringing this day to light. So many don't know or forget this day.

"Once you have tasted flight, forever will you look skyward. For there you have been, and there you will always long to be."
- Leonardo daVinci

This one I got from a young friend who has a grandfather that gives rides in his Mustang and still races at Reno. I have told my daughter to remember this jut in case.....

Flight is freedom in its purest form,
To dance with the clouds which follow a storm;

To roll and glide, to wheel and spin,
To feel the joy that swells within;

To leave the earth with its troubles and fly,
And know the warmth of a clear spring sky;

Then back to earth at the end of a day,
Released from the tensions which melted away.

Should my end come while I am in flight,
Whether brightest day or darkest night;

Spare me your pity and shrug off the pain,
Secure in the knowledge that I'd do it again;

For each of us is created to die,
And within me I know,
I was born to fly.

— Gary Claud Stokor

[Juker]

And we must include "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., an American flying in the RCAF before America entered WWII.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

[ampaterry]

What a GREAT poem!
It will become a favorite of mine, along with High Flight:

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr

[ampaterry]

Great minds, they say - -

This is just TOO coincidental to not leave it just as-is.

[Juker]

LOL! Oh yes, indeed!

[Airdale]

Flying has been part of my life since my youngest days.
My Dad had a Piper Cub when I was a kid.
I air crewed in the Navy. Toyed with buying an ultrlight.

But the absolute greatest flying I ever experienced was a flight in a Glider on my bucket trip. In a sleepy rural area just out of San Diego is Warner Springs. There you will find a airport where Sky Sailing inc. Operates. I took the flight I had always dreamed of. My Pilot, "flyin Ryan", was a bigger than life kind of guy and absolutey refused to let me be a passenger. Except for take off and landing the stick was mine. I thought he was holding the stick also until I realized both of his hands were on my shoulders

If you ever want to experience the ultimate in flight take a glider ride. If you are anywhere near San Diego go to Warner Springs and ask for "Flyin Ryan" to be your instructor.

This is a pic from their web site with Ryan in the front seat. I sat in the front seat on my flight. The plane is the one I flew in. I can't find my pictures of the flight.

[pipeman525]

Originally Posted by ampaterry

Great minds, they say - -

This is just TOO coincidental to not leave it just as-is.

Agreed

[jack404]

cheers to you all , building a plane here now ( now i have the shed for it ..) ultra lights only though ..

[Airdale]

Jack,

Be sure to keep us posted on your ultra light progress. I considered a trike w/Rotax power for awhile.

[jack404]

i'll make a post in general , cheers

[ampaterry]

The parable of the vineyard workers (Matt. 20) offends our sense of fairness. Here it is in the New Century Version:
Matthew 20:1-13;
"The kingdom of heaven is like a person who owned some land. One morning, he went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. The man agreed to pay the workers one coin for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work. About nine o'clock the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there, doing nothing. So he said to them, 'If you go and work in my vineyard, I will pay you what your work is worth.' So they went to work in the vineyard. The man went out again about twelve o'clock and three o'clock and did the same thing. About five o'clock the man went to the marketplace again and saw others standing there.
He asked them, 'Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?'

They answered, 'No one gave us a job.'

The man said to them, 'Then you can go and work in my vineyard.'

"At the end of the day, the owner of the vineyard said to the boss of all the workers, 'Call the workers and pay them. Start with the last people I hired and end with those I hired first.'

"When the workers who were hired at five o'clock came to get their pay, each received one coin. When the workers who were hired first came to get their pay, they thought they would be paid more than the others. But each one of them also received one coin.”

We need to put this lesson into it’s proper perspective.
Do you expect the young ones in your family to receive inferior food to the older ones, because of the fact that the older ones do more work?
Of course not!
And we are all in the family of God, aren’t we?
We should be less concerned with who is getting the greatest rewards here on earth and who is doing less work, and be more concerned with that glorious reward we are to receive, and that work we are doing!

Never compare yourself to someone else; instead, compare yourself TODAY with yourself YESTERDAY; only in that way will you work for improvement.

May God bless each one of you in your work, guys -

[jack404]

great message Terry .. cheers !