Grandparents

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Second Timothy 1:5 says, “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”

     I don’t remember my grandparents on my Father’s side of the family, but I do remember grandparents on my mother’s side. Nancy and Ed Vermilyer were often visited and I would spend time with them each summer in a small house in a small town, called Mill Creek,Indiana.  Grandpa certainly taught us hard work with all of the projects he had lined up for us, especially the garden.  The garden had been plowed but the soil needed to be broken up before any seeds could be placed into it.  That was one of our duties where several of us kids would have to pull a a sike tooth drag over the plowed ground.  Grandma taught me how to make pancakes.  It was a recipe that included a mountain, a snow cap and a river all in one bowl.  Add milk, stir and make the pancakes.  She never taught me the Bible but Grandmas are certainly good at that and we have an example even in the New Testament.

     The Apostle Paul met up with young Timothy and decided that he would be a good person to have along on his missionary team.  Timothy eventually became the “bishop” or held elder of the church at Ephesus.  The important  thing  to notice is that both his mother and his grandmother were used to teach Timothy the Scriptures.  Second Timothy 3:15 reminds us, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”  This is where the grandparents come in.  If you are a grandparent, then you certainly will have opportunities to tell your grandchildren about God.  You can tell them the stories from the Bible and help to mold their character when it is still soft enough to do so.  Of course, you need to know the Bible yourself in order to do so.  You can tell them what you do know and if you need help, Child Evangelism has plenty of material  to assist you as you tell your grandchildren about God.  You can also help them by praying wit h them and helping them to pray simple prayers.  Teach them simple prayers and pray  simple prayers with them.  Praise God today for the simple faith of children.  Mold them quickly while there is still time to do so.

salvation

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

       John 3:3 says, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

I am currently living in a dementia wing of an assisted living facility.  As some of my previous devotions have perhaps indicated my concern over the staff of the facility.  I am not referring to their abilities to perform their job, but what will happen to them when the end comes in their lives.  Again, not so much concerned about their latter days in such a facility, but their eternal destiny.  This is a place of nicotine and caffeine.  My life is getting shorter each day.  I don’t know the day of my departure so I keep asking each one of the staff about their eternal destiny.  It isn’t hard to know when you are being patronized with kind words and the real truth, even when they come up with their canned replies to such questions.

Jesus told NIcodemus that he must be born again if he was ever going to have eternal life.  Nicodemus was a Bible scholar.  He was “the” teacher in Israel.  Jesus did not tell him to be baptized, he told him to be born again.   A lot of people need to read this message over and over again to see what Jesus said and what He did not say.  Nicodemus needed to be born of God from above.  Now what on earth does that mean?

First Thessalonians 1:9-10 says, “ For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”  There was a change of direction for the Thessalonians. They turned from their idols and turned to God.  It was a complete change of direction for them.  Their idols were the same difficulties, to say it mildly, as our today.  The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.  Satan has been using it ever since the Garden of Eden, the temptation of Chris and we are even warned about it in First John.    You can’t add Jesus to your lust of the flesh and think you are saved.  It doesn’t work that way.  The Thessalonians had a change of direction.  The Apostle Paul spend some time in blindness while he contemplated what had happened to him while on the road to Damascus to eventually kill more Christians.  Have you had a change of direction in your life?  If not, you certainly need one.  Read the whole Gospel of John and discover the Son of God and what He has for you.  Praise God today for the gift of salvation.

Texting

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Psalm 119:2-3 says, “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.  They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.” 

     Well, at 83 years of age, learned how to text and insert emotions and funny dancing bears and all sorts of sun stuff.  One night, I was texting five different people at the same time.  It was exciting and invigorating to think that I could do such a thing with my fat fingers.  The phone was trying to help me and when I typed “BoJangles” it printed out “Jambalaya.”  .Now my friend is looking for some good Jambalaya for me and I Don't even like Jambalaya.  The thing about texting is that the other person may not be as excited about it and a question may go answered for hours or until they feel like answering it if they want to give you an answer at all.  

It is not so with the Word of God.  Numerous times we find the words, “Thus saith the Lord” or something close to that as God speaks to us.  It  is all there.  You all may know my love for Psalm 119.  It is the longest chapter with 176 verses, 8 verses for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  All but five verses speak about the Word of God in one way or another with such words as Word, Commandment, Testimonies, Statutes, ways and so forth.  There used to be an advertisement for E. F. Hutton than when they spoke, everyone listened.  It was a sales gimmick for selling stocks and bonds.  Everyone would stop what they were doing and listen to the counsel o E. F. Hutton.  Well, it is even more true, or at least should be true of the Word of God.  When the Word of God is read, you it would be very wise to stop what you are doing and listen to what God says.    Some churches still stand when God’s Word is said, others could care less.  It  is interesting to note how long the Israelites stood when Gods Word was read to them b Ezra, for up to six hours.  You see, they had not heard the Word for 70 years and in fact had to have it translated on the spot for them.  You should have a Bible somewhere.  Take it and read it and use it for something moe than keeping memorials of the dead people in your family.  Praise God today that you have His Word and that you don’t have to wait for a text message to remind you that God still loves you.

Double Protection

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     John 10:27-30 says, “ But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:   And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.  I and my Father are one.”  A lot of musicians come to a point in their lives where they have to purchase a good quality, professional instrument.    Heckel Bassoons are up to around $36,000 and a Stradivarius violin, well that could be in the millions of dollars.  If you get the high priced instrument, it usually comes in an expensive case as well.  After all, you need to protect it from the elements and just falling open and having the instrument fall on the pavement.  So, you also purchase a cover for the case which covers the case and the case covers the instrument.  It is double protection.

     The Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross.  He was wrapping His arms around us with eternal protection.  His protection is all that we need in this life and the guarantee of life to come.  But, that’s not all.  We are in the”hand of Christ and no one is able to take us out of that hand and then we find out that all of this is in the Father’s hand.  It is as if we have an eternal double protection.  We know from personal experience that life is filled with problems that come in all shapes and sizes.  We may ask ourselves how we are ever going to make it.  It  is then t hat we, as believers, discover that we are holding on to the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father is holding on to Him.  Hey, i get through today’s difficulties and the problems of tomorrow by His holding on to me.  How often my little hands would fail while holding on to my earthly father’s hand.  Not so today.  Now, my heavenly Father is holding on to me.  We even have double protection during the storms of this life and thee are many.  Praise God today that He holds on to us.

Depression?

 Greetings to  you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

    Lamentations 1:1-2 says,  “How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! 

 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies”. 

     Was Jeremiah having a fit of depression?  I was sitting recently in my usual spot in the hallway running through some of the items on my prayer list.  Right  now, t hat includes many of the staff here at our abode.  Nurses are top on the list and many have gone through or are going through deep water, so to speak.  Things happen in their lives plus having to deal with the likes of me on a day to day basis, 24/7.  I was weeping and one nurse finally asked me what medication I was taking for my depression.  I  told her that I was not depressed but burdened for the staff and that I have been weeping more now than ever before in my life.  I am finding out  that when things break your heart , you weep and it is most ly for people.  Some of my meds may cause mood swings or such but that is not usually the reasons.  It is because of the needs of people.

     Lamentations is an  unusual book, of only 5 chapters, each chapter having a specific number  of verses.  22, 22, 66, 22 and 22.  The first  four chapters are alphabetical which is hard to do, especially for us, but not for the Holy Spirit.  The third chapter is constructed with three verses for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet  at that time.  You can’t see it in the English, but you can see it in Hebrew.  God wanted them to remember what they saw.  Adam Clarke says of the first  verse, “ Sitting down, with the elbow on the knee, and the head supported by the hand, without any company, unless an oppressor near, - all these were signs of mourning and distress.”  Jerusalem was in shambles and it was a sad sight. It could be compared today to Sleppo, or the Ukraine.  All that was beautiful was destroyed and all of the treasures of Solomon had been carried away by conquering nations.  Why?  They had been disobedient to God and judgment finally came.  Right in the middle, we hear the words, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”  Perhaps the tune just went through your head of that great hymn.  God is still faithful to His Word which should be a comfort to us.  In 1947, God made Israel a nation again after 2500 years of captivity.  We are seeing it working out today.  Yes, God is indeed faithful to His Promises, all of them.  Praise God today that He is faithful even when we're not.

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Proverbs 3:24 says, “When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.” 

    Sometimes real smart people do dumb things.  My Mother once said of a certain smart individual, “They don’t have sense to get out of the rain.”  Her observation of them was that they are gifted with intelligence yet lack “wisdom.”    I am finding it difficult to determine who is speaking the truth and who is speaking jus with kind words to make me feel good.  I had to take a lot of learning courses while working at Out Lady of the Valley and one of them touched on what is called “Elder Abuse.”  It was not referring to beating up an old person, or trying to get the upper hand over them, but speech.  For some reason, t here are those who like to call you  “Sweetie,” “darlin” or some other term jus to make you feel good.  Well, it doesn’t.  I got  a little angry the other day and wrote on a post-it note, “My Name is “DAN.”  I stuck it on the door but  it got  blown off and ended up on the floor down the hall.  Being a little frustrated, I found that I had to call upon the Word of God to get to sleep.

    One of my pastos always seem to end his evening prayers with a request for “sweet sleep.”  To wake up in the morning refreshed from the previous day’s activities,   Our minds keep going over the days demanding events making  us seem to be wide awake and difficult to go to sleep.  So, I begin saying in my mind every verse of Scripture that I can.  Some may not be perfect, but I say them anyway.  No matte how hurt you were when you went to bed, “John 3:16” is a comfort.  Then I go t through the “Romans Road” and then promises from Philippians and Ephesians and Galatians and Second Corinthians.  Somewhere amidst the recitation of Scripture, I fall asleep and it is “sweet  sleep.”  When you fall asleep thinking about God and His Word, you will be surprised at the discovery of sweet sleep.  These opening chapters of Proverbs speak much about “wisdom.”  James says that wisdom actually comes from God.  We can ask ourselves, “Where am I in regard to wisdom?”  If you are falling asleep with tears because of events or relationships, then start focusing more on God’s Word.  That doesn’t refer to what others are saying, b utg what God has already said in His Word.  He said He will never leave you nor forsake you.  He said He is coming back.  He said He will supply your need.  You will then have sweet sleep.  Praise God for His protection and rest.

Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Proverbs 3:24 says, “When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.” 

    Sometimes real smart people do dumb things.  My Mother once said of a certain smart individual, “They don’t have sense to get out of the rain.”  Her observation of them was that they are gifted with intelligence yet lack “wisdom.”    I am finding it difficult to determine who is speaking the truth and who is speaking jus with kind words to make me feel good.  I had to take a lot of learning courses while working at Out Lady of the Valley and one of them touched on what is called “Elder Abuse.”  It was not referring to beating up an old person, or trying to get the upper hand over them, but speech.  For some reason, t here are those who like to call you  “Sweetie,” “darlin” or some other term jus to make you feel good.  Well, it doesn’t.  I got  a little angry the other day and wrote on a post-it note, “My Name is “DAN.”  I stuck it on the door but  it got  blown off and ended up on the floor down the hall.  Being a little frustrated, I found that I had to call upon the Word of God to get to sleep.

    One of my pastos always seem to end his evening prayers with a request for “sweet sleep.”  To wake up in the morning refreshed from the previous day’s activities,   Our minds keep going over the days demanding events making  us seem to be wide awake and difficult to go to sleep.  So, I begin saying in my mind every verse of Scripture that I can.  Some may not be perfect, but I say them anyway.  No matte how hurt you were when you went to bed, “John 3:16” is a comfort.  Then I go t through the “Romans Road” and then promises from Philippians and Ephesians and Galatians and Second Corinthians.  Somewhere amidst the recitation of Scripture, I fall asleep and it is “sweet  sleep.”  When you fall asleep thinking about God and His Word, you will be surprised at the discovery of sweet sleep.  These opening chapters of Proverbs speak much about “wisdom.”  James says that wisdom actually comes from God.  We can ask ourselves, “Where am I in regard to wisdom?”  If you are falling asleep with tears because of events or relationships, then start focusing more on God’s Word.  That doesn’t refer to what others are saying, b utg what God has already said in His Word.  He said He will never leave you nor forsake you.  He said He is coming back.  He said He will supply your need.  You will then have sweet sleep.  Praise God for His protection and rest.