Devotionals from Dad

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I am not really a big fan of the annual Christmas movies, but I do like the old Dr. Seuss movie, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.” Have you ever stopped to wonder what the world would be like if Jesus Christ had never been born? Obviously there is the fact that there would be no Christmas, but what I am really asking is how would the world we live in today be different if Jesus Christ had never been born? First, the Christian faith would not exist today. This may not initially sound like a big deal when there are countless other religious faiths in the world today, what harm could come from one less religion. However, if you stop and think deeply about all the things that have been inspired by the Christian faith the world be be a far different place now if Jesus Christ and never been born.

The positive impact Jesus Christ and the Christian Church has made on the world can be found in nearly every conceivable area: morality, health, sex, hospitals, art, music, charity, economics, government, science, education and even the founding of America. Even with imperfect people, Christianity has had a much more positive impact on the world than any other religion. Jesus Christ has changed virtually every aspect of human life - and most people don't even know it. Despite its humble origins, the Church has made more changes on earth for good than any other movement or force in history. Here is an overview of some of the positive contributions Christianity has made through the centuries, taken from a book entitled, “What if Jesus had never been born” written by D. James Kennedy:

• Many of the world's greatest universities were started by Christians for Christian purposes.
• Government, particularly as it is America.
• The elevation of women.
• Benevolence and charity; the good Samaritan ethic.
• The condemnation of adultery, homosexuality, and other sexual perversions. Which has helped to preserve the human race, and it has spared many from heartaches. 
• The high regard for human life. 
• The codifying and setting to writing many of the world's languages. 
• Greater development of art and music. The inspiration for the world's greatest works of art. 
• Countless changed lives transformed from liabilities into assets to society because of the gospel.
• And let us not forget the eternal salvation of countless souls!

The last one mentioned, the salvation of souls, is the primary goal of Christianity. All the other benefits listed are basically just by-products of what Christian faith has brought when applied to daily living. Prior to the coming of Christ, human life on this planet was exceedingly cheap. Life was expendable prior to Christianity's influence. Even today, in parts of the world where the gospel of Christ has not penetrated, life is exceedingly cheap. But Jesus Christ ... gave mankind a new perspective on the value of human life. Christ's influence on the world is immeasurable!

 Isiah 9:6 NIV For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. 

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Are you a Genius or a Fool

Much of the world thinks that Christians are fools. Some the greatest scientist just can't comprehend how and an all powerful heavenly being could have spoken the world, the universe and all the life contained within it into existence. They would rather believe that everything came into being when two rocks accidentally collided into each other in outer space, creating all the different components needed to create life. Even if I believed the “Big Bang Theory,” and I don't..., scientist don't consider the fact that someone had to create outer space and the two comets or asteroids that collided into each other to kick off the “Big Bang Theory!” 

The bible is filled full of examples of when God used people to do something that seemed foolish to the world, but when it happened they looked like geniuses. One of the greatest examples is the story of Noah and the Ark. The entire population of world had become evil and wicked and God decided to bring a flood to the earth to destroy everyone but Noah and his family. God told Noah to prepare an ark big enough to hold one male and one female from every kind of animal and creature. Noah was building this giant boat in the middle of a dessert where boats were unheard of. The bible tell us that the people of the world thought Noah was a crazy fool. The bible says, that until the very day the flood came, they were eating and drinking, they were deaf and blind to all divine warnings. They were not convinced of their foolishness and the genius of Noah until it was too late. All the inhabitants, that were in the world, except those in the ark, died. When the flood came the world realized Noah's genius!

Another great example of a time the world thought Christians were fools is the story of the battle of Jericho. God instructed Joshua with an unusual strategy for the battle of Jericho. He told Joshua to have his army march around the city once a day for six straight days. While marching, the soldiers played their trumpets as the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant around the city of Jericho. I can only imagine how the people inside the fortified walls of the city of Jericho must have laughed at the Israelites as they marched and played there trumpets. The people of Jericho must had said your foolishness doesn't scare us! On the seventh day, the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho seven times. Joshua told them, everyone in the city must be slain, except Rahab and her family. At Joshua's order, the men produced a powerful roar, and Jericho's walls miraculously fell down. The Israelite army raced in quickly conquering the city. The army of the Israelites suddenly looked liked Geniuses when the walls of Jericho came tumbling down.

Proverbs 28:26 ESV Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered. 

Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the Lord. Than to put confidence in man. 

No matter how well thought out man's plans may seem or how foolish and crazy God's plans for you may seem, our vision is limited. God has a higher heavenly perspective and can see the beginning and the end. All man can see is what is what is right in front of him.

Proverbs 3: 5-6 NKJV Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 

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Church Speak

Our father who art in heaven hallowed by thy name! Have you ever been in a church service, heard scripture read, and then wasn't really sure what it was that was said? Who really speaks in King James anyway? I don't address my family or friends by using phrases like, “What art thou doing this day?” Does it make you anxious to think you might be asked to read scripture or to pray publicly because your afraid you might not use the proper, “Church Speak?” I once had a foreign exchange student from Siberia Russia. She lived with us for a year. She had 4 years of schooling in English and when she arrived she was able to communicate with us okay unless I used some of my country redneck vocabulary. However, when she attended church with us she frequently had this blank stare on her face and had to ask me what was meant by what we said. Simply stated she didn't understand our “Church Speak!”

So this leads me to ask the question, “How should we talk with God?” Are your prayers more holy or more reverent if you pray in King James? Absolutely not!!! In Psalm 142 David is at a very low point in his life. Saul has decided the David is public enemy number one and he was using all his kingdoms resources to hunt him down and kill David. David was without home, without safety and with a bunch of outcasts in a remote cave, among his worst enemies, the Philistines. To say that things were bleak is an understatement. So how did David pray? Here is his pray from Psalm 142: 1-7

Psalm 142: 1-7 NIV I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watches over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

If you listen closely to David's prayer you see it is brutely honest. David pours out his complaints and tells God all his troubles. He tells God, no one cares for him and he has no place left to hide. David says no one cares for his life and he cries out to God and says, “Listen to me God, I am in desperate need! I can tell you from my own personal experiences the times I felt closest to God as if he was right beside me listening to my every word were when I could barely speak intelligible. After each of my 2 sons died, the funerals were over and I was alone, I cried out to God using words that were not much more than grunts and groans, between breathes, as tears streamed down my face and my nose ran uncontrollably. I also had moments like this when my nephew Clinton was killed in a car accident.

Romans 8:26-27 NIV In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. 

So pray with all your heart and soul! Don't be afraid to tell God what is on your heart and mind because He already knows anyway. Our heavenly Father would rather hear your honest, wordless groans, then some wordy King James prayer!

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Have you ever wondered where the phrase, “The Lord works in mysterious ways,” comes from? The actual phrase first appeared in hymn entitled “Conflict: Light Shining out of Darkness.” The lyrics of the hymn were written by William Cowper in 1773, just before the onset of  a depressive illness during which he attempted suicide by drowning. The first verse of the hymn says, “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.” 

In my humble opinion, one of the most mysterious stories in the bible is the story of Joseph. Joseph was the most loved son of his father. He was given the famous robe of many colors. When Joseph reported having dreams of his brothers, bowing before him, their jealousy of grew into hatred, evil intent and evil actions. His brothers sold him into slavery to a traveling caravan who took him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard. Next Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph. Joseph repelled her attempt to lure him into her bed, she grabbed him by his coat. She pulled on his coat, saying, Lie with me. Joseph ran out and left his garment in her hand. Citing his garment as evidence, Potiphar's wife falsely accused Joseph of having assaulted her, and he was sent to prison. Joseph went from beloved son,... to slave,... to prisoner!

While Joseph was in jail he managed to gain favor with the jailer and with Potiphar. With God's help, Joseph interprets the dreams of two prisoners, predicting that one of them will be reinstated but the other put to death. Joseph languished in jail for 2 years before the Pharaoh experiences a disturbing dream. Potiphar then tells the Pharaoh of Joseph's prophetic gifts. Joseph then interprets the dreams of the Pharaoh, which anticipate seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh recognizes Joseph's God-given ability and makes him the chief administrator of Egypt. 

The famine predicted by Joseph forces his father to send his sons to buy grain from the Egyptians. When Joseph finally encounters his brothers again, he deliberately conceals his identity. Joseph knows that he has changed considerably since his brothers sold him into slavery. Finally reveals that he is their brother. Joseph explains to them that they need not feel guilty for betraying him as it was God's plan for him to be in Egypt to preserve his family. Isn't it mysterious that Joseph didn't see his prophetic dream fulfilled until years later when he prophetically interprets the dream of Pharaoh.

Isaiah 55: 8-9 NKJV “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Despite being sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph remained faithful and trusted in God to deliver him from tribulation. This story shows how God's plan may not be obvious to our limited perspective. We should be inspired by the story of Joseph It should give us faiththat God will deliver us. 

Romans 8:28 NKJV And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose

Romans 8:18 NKJV For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

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Is it possible to achieve a trouble free life? If you believe the old jingle from the Roto-Rooter commercials all you have to do is: “Call Roto-Rooter, that's the name and away go troubles do the drain!”... So is there such a thing as a trouble free, trail free life? Well I hate to disappoint you but if your searching for the answers to all your problems, your going to be sadly disappointed! If anyone tells you that they have a system for living the fairy tale happily ever after life... beware!!!

There are those that claim that becoming a Christian will erases all your problems; that it will lead to earthly wealth and success. This is not true!!! Becoming a believer in Christ is a wonderful new beginning, but it isn’t the end of pain or problems. Matter of fact it is the opposite, it is the beginning of facing up to them. Being a Christian involves a lifetime of hard work, dedicated study and difficult decisions. Christianity is not an insurance policy against life’s ills and troubles; it is about glorifying God in the midst of them. 

In Mark chapter 4 Jesus was with the disciples and had been preaching to a crowd using parables. At the end of the day he told the disciples, “Let's go over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and they got in the boat and left the crowd behind.”

I am confident that my all knowing, all seeing, omnipotent heavenly Father, knew there would be a violent storm as they crossed the sea.... Even knowing, there was an approaching storm, he was able to lay down and take a nap... if it had not been for the panicked disciples screaming out, “Teacher, don't you care if we drown? Wake up and help us get to the other side before we sink!” Jesus may well have slept through the storm! God may not take away trials or even make detours for us, but He strengthens us through them. This becomes part of our testimony to the unbelieving world—and it has the ability to point others to the Savior. 

Living the Christian life is serious business. If we have our eyes upon ourselves, our problems, and our pain, like the disciples did when crossing the Sea of Galilee, we won't be able to see anything but our impending doom, the surrounding storms of our lives. However, if we keep our eyes focused on the Jesus Christ the one that can calm the storms. We can have the assurance that even in the midst of the storm, the trials and troubles of this life, we will make it to the other side because he is with us every step of the way!

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The prevailing religious philosophy of the world today is one of tolerance and coexistence. We’ve all seen the popular “coexist” bumper stickers. The idea is that we are all basically good people trying to figure out God in our own way and the worst thing anyone could do is claim that, their way to God is the right way or only way. 

So how do we as Christians convince those we love that we are not intolerant for not approving of their beliefs and their lifestyle choices,... without coming across as the intolerant Christians that they believe we are? The Bible is clear that God doesn’t show any favoritism when it comes to His love and salvation. Likewise, Christians should never show any favoritism toward others. Christians are called to demonstrate genuine love and respect towards all people.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 NIV For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Proverbs 14:12 NIV There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

Matthew 7:13-14 NIV Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
 
The Bible is very clear... Christianity is very exclusive in one way. The way to experience salvation, the way to heaven is exclusive. While God loves and invites all people to salvation, it is only experienced by those who put their faith in Jesus. It doesn’t matter how nice of a person you are or how sincerely you follow your own way, there is only one way to salvation, faith in Jesus Christ!!!

John 14:6 NIV Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

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I am real confident that everyone, no matter who you are, everyone deals with some worry and anxiety, sometimes even on a daily basis. Why is it that 3 o'clock in the morning is the time when you are awoken by some dream, some fear or anxiety. You body sometimes wakes you like you have just been struck by a bolt of lightening. Then you mind starts playing the “What if” game. You know what I am talking about, you start thinking “OH NO!” what if this happens or what if that happens and then all of the sudden you find yourself in the grips of crippling worry and anxiety!

Technology has enabled us to have electronic devices in the palm of our hands, cell phones. They connect us with the world. Your cell phone brings you news instantly. You go to your favorite news feed and you read about how there is a threat of war with Afghanistan, there was a shooter in a shopping mall that shot into a crowd and killed a group of people, there are missionaries and with their families in Hati that were kidnapped and being held for ransom, and let us not forget about the daily threat of the Covid 19 pandemic. Then add to this list worries, the personal things you worry about such as learning someone you love has cancer and might die, or a friend of your child in school was in a bad car wreck and is in intensive care in the hospital.

In this episode we will learn what the bible has to say about worry, fear and anxiety!!!

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Hunger. You hear about it all the time. There are millions of people around the world who don't eat on a daily basis. There are numerous organizations out there whose sole mission is to help stamp out hunger. This is great and the efforts of those who try to feed those in need of food should be appreciated. However, the same effort that we give to feeding the physical body, should also be given to stimulating and feeding spiritual hunger.

According to the dictionary hunger is defined as strong desire or need for food; the discomfort, weakness, or pain caused by a prolonged lack of food or a strong desire or craving. Your body is designed so that when it needs energy, nutrients, or fluids it sends signals to your brain which alert you to eat or drink something. The longer you go without nourishment, the weaker your body becomes. However, once you find food, you consume it and you are no longer hungry and the body becomes satisfied until the next hunger episode hits. So you are continuously driven to consume food to satisfy your body's needs.

When we look at spiritual hunger, something different occurs. The longer you go without spiritual nourishment, the less hungry you become. When we start to read our bible and learn more about Jesus, the more our appetite for a closer walk with Him grows. The more you know about God the more you want to know. So in order to be spiritually hungry you need to eat or take in more of God's word. 

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Do You Rob or Steal from God?

Have you ever stolen from God? I know what your thinking first, “I didn't fell off the turnip truck just yesterday. I know better than to steal from God!” Second, “You are talking about the Omnipresent, All Powerful God, how in the world could I steal from God?” Well let me explain.

So, let’s start with the basics of tithing. What is tithing anyway? A tithe is a portion, 10% of your income, given as an offering to your local church to bring Glory to God. Fun fact: The word tithe literally means, a tenth in Hebrew. 

Leviticus 27:30 (TLB) says, “A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, is the Lord’s, and is holy.” 

Proverbs 3:9 (NIV) says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.”

I am certain this is not the first time you have heard someone explain what tithing is all about. However I want to suggest that if you only tithe from your financial resources you may be robbing or stealing from God. First you must realize that everything you have is given to you from God.

Romans 11:36 NLT For everything comes from Him and exists by His power and is intended for His glory. All glory to Him forever! Amen.

So if everything comes from God and is intended for his Glory, shouldn't we also be tithing our time as well as our financial resources? 

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If you decided that your out of shape physically and needed to loose a few pounds what would you do? First you would likely change your diet and start eating healthy food and smaller portions, the sweets would definitely be gone. Next you might get a membership to a local gym and get together with someone that leads a fitness class. Likely you would go to the gym at least 3 times a week maybe more. I am certain that a portion of everyday would be dedicated to improving your physical fitness. So my question to you is if physically fitness can only be achieved by devoting a portion of everyday to achieve your goal, why do we think we can be spiritually fit by attending church for a couple hours once a week? The journey to spiritual fitness is a marathon, not a sprint. 

In this episode I will give you five ways that you can improve your spiritual fitness. 

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