Daily Devotional; formerly Chaplains Corner

[cutter]

I truley relish reading these section! Thanks to all that take the time to write!!

GOD bless all!

[BlackEagle]

Originally Posted by ampaterry

Submit to those in authority because they are in power by God's direction -
one side of the issue -
Jews being herded into prison camps -
other side of the issue -
Always a quandry!-

There is a place and time for civil disobedience; lots of discussion and historical examples, and Biblical instruction.

The key to happiness is not trying to make myself happy but in having God's joy from the inside out.

Isaiah 51:11--

Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

Thanks again, Terry,
form the "Amen corner"

[ampaterry]

Thank you, guys!!

For today:

Corrie Ten Boom used to tell the story about a proud woodpecker who was tapping away at a dead tree when the sky unexpectedly turned black and the thunder began to roll. Undaunted, he went right on working. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the old tree, splintering it into hundreds of pieces. Startled but unhurt, the haughty bird flew off, screeching to his feathered friends, "Hey, everyone, look what I did! Look what I did!"

This old woodpecker reminds me of people who think more highly of themselves than they should. Usually they are so busy bragging about their achievements and their greatness that they fail to recognize God as the source of all their abilities. They are suffering from spiritual delusions of grandeur.

Romans 12:1-3 (NCV);
“So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship. Do not change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect. Because God has given me a special gift, I have something to say to everyone among you. Do not think you are better than you are. You must decide what you really are by the amount of faith God has given you.”

Without the Lord no one amounts to anything, and in our own strength we cannot please Him. Do you know anyone like that? Proud of their accomplishments, their jobs, their talents? Are YOU like that? Pride is indeed a sin, especially if the thing you are proud of is something which the Lord should get the credit for, but YOU take the credit instead!

May God bless each one of you -

[BlackEagle]

That reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar's experience in Daniel 4. God elevated him, and he knew it but took the credit for himself and God pulled him up short.

Thanks, Terry.

[ampaterry]

Very true, BlackEagle!

For today, let's think about revival. Christians are always talking about revival. Churches are always talking about revival. When will we SEE revival? R.G. Lee spoke on that subject. He said:
If all the sleeping folk will wake up,
If all the lukewarm folk will fire up,
If all the dishonest folk will confess up,
If all the disgruntled folk will cheer up,
If all the depressed folk will cheer up,
If all the estranged folk will make up,
If all the gossipers will shut up,
If all true soldiers will stand up,
If all the dry bones will shake up,
If all the church members will pray up...
Then we can have a revival!

1 Corinthians 16:13 (NRSV);
“Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.”

1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NRSV);
“Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales. Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

1 Timothy 6:6 (NRSV);
“Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment;”

1 Timothy 6:11-12 (NRSV);
“But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

[BlackEagle]

Aye, Terry.

Revival is founded in prayer.

Every revival that has ever happened has had a solid foundation of prayer. A solid core of people began praying. Then things began happening.

Prayer is what gets people off their backsides. We need to get a solid prayer front activated, mobilised, and running to see a reversal of the intrusions satan has made into this country.

God fights on a different plane than we can see or comprehend.

IMHO, it starts with prayer for this country, to regain lost/forgotten Biblical values and standards of right and wrong.

We also need to confront wrong ideas when they are propagated as being the "normal" way of things.

[ampaterry]

Truth, BlackEagle!
I pray for our nation and the world daily -
And this morning that will be in the pastoral prayer as well -
The time grows short - which fits right in with todays devotional:

There is an ancient story about three demons who were arguing over the best way to destroy the Christian mission in the world. The first demon says, "Let's tell all the Christians there is no heaven. Take away the reward incentive and the mission will collapse." The second demon says, "Let's tell all the Christians there is no hell. Take away the fear of punishment and the mission will collapse." The third demon says, "There is one better way. Let's tell all the Christians that there is no hurry" and all three immediately say, "That's it! All we have to do is tell them there's no hurry and the whole Christian enterprise will collapse."

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 (KJV);
“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”

Ephesians 5:6-17 (KJV);
“Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is”

The way we must live our lives is to make our future plans as if Jesus is not going to return for another two thousand years, in that way we do not risk becoming a burden upon our children or upon society; but to live each day as if Jesus were returning THAT EVENING, in that way we do not risk becoming a burden upon Christ himself.

May God bless each one of you -

[BlackEagle]

Redeeming the time...a phrase that has stayed with me many, many years and has been at the heart of my daily planning.

Today's reminds me of the story Jesus told in Luke 12

37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.

Thanks again, Terry.

[sub-moa]

Excelent posts, always enjoy reading Daily Devotional. Keep up the good work please!

[ampaterry]

Excellent Black Eagle - we must remain vigilent!

Thank you, Sub-moa; your support is greatly appreciated.

For today;

The Procrastinator's Poem is dated by that “filled my pen” line, but it is still very much relevant to today:

I've gone for a drink and sharpened my pencils,
Searched through my desk for forgotten utensils.
I reset my watch, I adjusted my chair,
I've loosened my tie and straightened my hair.
I filled my pen and tested the blotter
And gone for another drink of water
Adjusted the calendar, and I've raised the blind
And I've sorted erasers of all different kinds.
Now down to work I can finally sit,
Oops, too late, it's time to quit.

Proverbs 10:4-5 (KJV);
“He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.”

Proverbs 12:24 (GWT);
“Hard-working hands gain control, but lazy hands do slave labor.”

Proverbs 12:27 (TLB);
“A lazy man won’t even dress the game he gets while hunting, but the diligent man makes good use of everything he finds.”

We have many nice sounding names for various vices. We say someone is positive and assertive instead of saying they are blunt and pushy. They are ambitious and goal oriented instead of self centered and uncaring. They are detail oriented instead of nit-picky. A procrastinator is just a lazy person who is lying to himself or herself. Better is the lazy person who does NOT claim they will do it later, but instead plainly says they will not do it at all! They are at least being honest!

Thank you, guys, and may God bless each one here -

[BlackEagle]

I like Proverbs; it's full of such concise nuggets of wisdom and summaries of character. You've hit one of my favorite books there.

A couple more that are never far from the surface of my mind...

Proverbs 26:14
As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.

Proverbs 22:13
The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”

I think of that every time I see new Health and Safety rules that seem to keep people from working. Key words I see: something might, could happen. Rules for dummies replace common sense.

I was going to procrastinate, but decided to put it off until later. Just couldn't get around to it.

Thanks again, Terry.

[ampaterry]

"There is a lion in the streets" sure keeps a lot of folks inside!

For today, I thought about the "free weekend" we just had for HBO and cinemax - which we do NOT subscribe to. We watched several movies, and cannot help but notice that very often the words we hear do not match the lip movements of the people on the screen; LOTS of dubbing going on to make these movies sort of semi family safe. We buy DVD movies, when we can find a good one. The task of finding a good one, however, is getting more and more difficult! The shelves are filled with comedies with foul language, dramas with foul language, Sci-Fis with foul language, and action films with foul language. I am not an unrealistic person, and if a movie is portraying prisoners, dock workers or soldiers, I don't expect them to restrict their language to “Oh for goodness sakes!”, but the movies today have gone way too far, as has everyday life.

Traveling on a plane next to a salesman, Billy Graham asked him, "Are you paid anything for all the swearing you do?"
"No," was the startled reply, "I do it for nothing."
"Nothing?" cried the famous preacher. "You work cheap! You throw aside your character as a gentleman, inflict pain on your friends, break the Lord's commandments, and endanger your own soul -- and all for nothing! You certainly work cheap -- TOO CHEAP!" Yes, swearing is not only a "cheap" practice in many ways, but it is also a terrible sin which grieves the heart of God!
The Word of God addresses our speech:

James 1:26 (GWT);
“If a person thinks that he is religious but can’t control his tongue, he is fooling himself. That person’s religion is worthless.”

1 Pet 3:10-12 (DNT);
“For he that will love life and see good days, let him cause his tongue to cease from evil and his lips that they speak no guile. And let him avoid evil, and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it; because [the] eyes of [the] Lord [are] on [the] righteous, and his ears towards their supplications; but [the] face of [the] Lord [is] against them that do evil.”

Does God leave any doubt about how we should speak?
None whatsoever.

May God bless you, guys -

[tcox4freedom]

That one hit's close to home Terry.
I've always had trouble controlling my tongue. Combine that with 24/7 pain, long term anger issues and a great deal of stress lately, I do go off at the mouth.

I've really been praying a lot lately. It seems for years I did real well. But, after my illness & the loss of my ministry & business, I've really gone down hill.

It breaks my heart to lose it in front of my children! They get afraid when daddy gets all mean & scary. So, I really covet they prayers of all who will intercede on my behalf.

-

[BlackEagle]

tcox, been praying off and on for you since you posted something about that a while ago.

Terry, thanks again.

As James says, the tongue is a small part of the body, but like a rudder on a ship it can have great effect on a much larger vessel, or like a small spark can set a whole forest alight.

[dad2thebone]

I owe my life to the lord. 4 weeks ago i had a heart attack. in recovery i left this world 2 times as my wife stood there praying. I came back and i believe with all i am it was the lord who saved me. her prayers and our faith are solid as stone and wont be broken. One of the things i love most about our forum is how many feel the same. Thank you terry for the time you spend with us.

[tcox4freedom]

Originally Posted by BlackEagle

tcox, been praying off and on for you since you posted something about that a while ago.

Terry, thanks again.

As James says, the tongue is a small part of the body, but like a rudder on a ship it can have great effect on a much larger vessel, or like a small spark can set a whole forest alight.

Thanks for your prayers. I have seen some blessings because of it I'm sure. I really am praying that God will once again open the doors for me in ministry.

I find myself really longing for getting back to traveling some while evangelizing & preaching for the Lord. When I look back, I see the only times when I am free from all the pain I experience, is when I'm ministering & praying for others under the anointing of God.

The anointing really does break the yoke of bondage. I really desire to move in the Spirit again for the Lord.

-

[tcox4freedom]

Originally Posted by dad2thebone

I owe my life to the lord. 4 weeks ago i had a heart attack. in recovery i left this world 2 times as my wife stood there praying. I came back and i believe with all i am it was the lord who saved me. her prayers and our faith are solid as stone and wont be broken. One of the things i love most about our forum is how many feel the same. Thank you terry for the time you spend with us.

I'm really glad for you "dad". I remember 11yrs ago when I faced death and God saved me and allowed me to stay with my wife & family. It really does change your "prospective".

-

[ampaterry]

almost everyone has SOME trouble with that one, guys -
When the hot fire of anger rises up our spine and into our brain, the mouth just naturally opens and expells air in the form of things that should not be said -

For today:

Leviticus 16:29-30 (KJV);
“And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.”

In the Hebrew calendar, today is tenth day of the seventh month, known as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Even Jews that do not observe any other Jewish customs will observe this most important holiday of the year.

Today, Jews seek atonement for their sins against God. Sins against their fellow man must be atoned for by seeking reconciliation with them, righting the wrongs committed against them if possible. But those sins must be taken care of before today, for this day is ONLY for atoning for the sins against God. On this day, God's books are closed and judgment is complete for the next year.

Observant Jews will attend synagogue service starting at 8 or 9 AM today and continuing until about 3 PM this afternoon. They usually go home for an afternoon nap following this, and return at 5 or 6 this evening for services which will continue until nightfall. The Shofar is then blown in one long blast, which ends the days observances.
Besides the services, Jews have many other restrictions today. For a full 25 hour period, they will not work, bathe, wash, eat, drink (even water), use cosmetics, deodorants or wear leather shoes. They will also refrain from sexual relations.

Note the difference here between their observances and those of the Muslims on their holiday, who only refrain from relations with their wives, and only during the daylight hours.

As always, these restrictions do not apply to children under 9, women between the onset of labor and three days after childbirth, or anyone else that would suffer a threat to life or health by following them.

Today, wish your Jewish friends an “Easy Fast”, or “May you be sealed for a good year.” Just say it in English; this is a very solemn day for them, and attempting to say these greetings in Hebrew might cause hilarious laughter from them, which would disrupt the proper solemn mood.

May God richly bless each one reading this today -

[Krogen]

Glad you're still here dad2thebone. I think God's telling you He's not done with you yet.

[BlackEagle]

Thanks, Terry. And as you have said (I think) elsewhere, Yom Kippur was looking forward to the real day of attonement, when Christ atoned for our sins on the Cross. The Old Testament Christians looked forward to that date, we look back.

dad2thebone, what Krogen said, +1.

tcox, will keep this in mind as I pray that God would build His message into your life and give you the words and oportunity to express it. He says be faithful in the small things and He will give us bigger things. The aching body brought to mind Psalm 32:3.

[tcox4freedom]

Thanks BE
Psalm 32:3-4 is where I've been for almost 12yrs now and I am really ready for something else.

Psalm 32:3-5 (KJV)
3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

I have acknowledged my sins unto the Lord and am waiting for direction.

5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

-

[dad2thebone]

Thanks guys . My faith has become stronger and so has my wife's . I do believe and im passing it on to anybody i know. Some friends who were on the wall about it are beginning to bend towards how i feel too!

[ampaterry]

This is written by James Herriot, the highly successful author:

I wrote my books because of a compulsion to make some record of a fascinating era in veterinary practice. I wanted to tell people what it was like to be an animal doctor in the days before penicillin and about the things which made me laugh on my daily rounds, working in conditions which now seem primitive.
This compulsion, however, took a long time to assume any practical form. I seemed to sublimate it by recounting the daily happenings to my wife, finishing invariably with the remark, "I'll put that in my book."
There is no doubt this situation would have gone on forever if my wife, at the end of one of my recitals, had not remarked, "Jim, you are never going to write a book." She said it kindly but, nevertheless, I was aghast.
"Whatever do you mean?" I said.
"Well," she replied, "You have been talking about this book for twenty-five years. Remember we celebrated our silver wedding last week?
I tried to point out that I was not an impulsive type and always liked to take a little time to think things over, but women can be very unreasonable.
She smiled at me. "Don't take it to heart, Jim. You are only one of thousands of people who think they are going to write a book, but they never do it."
"But I will, I will," I protested indignantly.
She smiled again with a touch of sadness. "You must realize that it is impossible. Old vets of fifty don't suddenly start writing books."
That did it. I went straight out, bought a lot of paper and got down to the job.

Proverbs 6:6-11(NLT);
“Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? I want you to learn this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.”

May God bless each one of you, responding to your prayers and meeting your needs -

[ampaterry]

Today is Native American Day, American Indian Day Or Indigenous Peoples Day. Starting in 1916, there have been several state and national efforts to designate one day to recognize the contributions made by the first inhabitants of North America. At this point in history, Tennessee has designated the the fourth Friday in September as American Indian Day. California has this day as Native American Day, and finally in 2007 the Fed. Named this day as Native American Day as well.

Some state and local areas celebrate this day on Columbus Day, as a sort of protest against recognizing Columbus while ignoring the people that were here before he arrived. But we now have a separate national Native American Day. Actually, this makes sense to me. I was 19 years old when I first sampled Pizza. I was in Florida during the Cuban Missile crisis in 1962, and a small Navy club there served it. Would it be right for me to declare that date to be “Pizza discovery day?” That was MY first, but Pizza existed long before that, and lots of people had eaten it by then!

We need to recognize that by the time we Europeans arrived here this continent had been completely settled from Atlantic to Pacific, from the Gulf of Mexico to the northern arctic regions, and the people who had settled it had a quite advanced civilization in place which our ancestors, for the most part, destroyed. They gave us help in many areas which made it possible for us to settle here, and we repaid them by hundreds of years of mistreatment, degradation, extermination, and genocide. We took their land, their heritage and their lives.

And when did we, as a nation, set aside a national day to recognize these people?

In 2008.

Lord, forgive us for our treatment of these people.
Bless them, father, and strengthen them as they work to regain and preserve the rich cultural heritage which we took from them.
And help us, Lord, to continue to work together toward this end, which will be of great benefit to all of us living here.

Amen -

[BlackEagle]

Yesterday...my sister lives a few miles from James Herriot's stomping grounds; drives through his village on a regular basis.

I want to do some writing about some of dad's exploits, but spend too much time on TFF. Will get priorities straight sometime.

Native American...too PC for me. I still prefer American Indian, and highly respect their attitude toward their environment and everything else. I have relatives who were missionaries to the indians; and the indians benefited from their help... But, as you say, our ancestors benefited from their expertise. The first settlers would never have lasted had it not been for the help of the indians.

Thanks, Terry.