Refreshing Daily

in God’s Word
Emphasis on

In the…
“What It’s
Worth
Department”

August 2019
 IN THE “WHAT IT’S WORTH
DEPARTMENT”
Over the years, I have developed a way of
dealing with situations which occasionally arise
where I will give a little advice on a matter. I
always open by saying, “Let me give you
something to think about in the ‘what it’s worth
department.’”
So this month’s devotion is just my kindly
advice in some areas of the “what it’s worth
department.”
 Facing Adversity
August 1

 Bible Reading: II Corinthians 11:21-28

 Key Verse: Verse 21– “I speak as concerning
reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit
whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am
bold also.”
Key Words: I speak as concerning reproach

Adversity can be defined in one word: trouble. It can

be physical trouble, financial trouble, and/or emotional
trouble. All of us have and will again face adversity. We will
handle it in one of two ways. We will run from it and not grow
stronger spiritually, or we will face it and grow thereby.
Growing up I was taught not to run from trouble or
those who caused it. I was taught not to give in to it but to
face it as a challenge. My dad used to say, “It is better to have
a bloody nose than a bruised ego.”
The purpose of this article is not to offend anyone but
rather to challenge everyone.
In Max Weaver’s valedictorian address he talked about
some who were leaving the school because of “people” who
weren’t doing right and he went on to say (in my words), “You
can’t run from people problems, you have to man up (or
woman up) and face them, because where there are people,
there is adversity.”
A motto that I was raised by was “a winner never quits
and a quitter never wins.”
Biologists recognize a principle at work among plants
and animals. This natural wonder is called “the adversity
principle.” As strange as it seems, habitual well-being is not
advantageous to a species. An existence without challenge
takes its toll on virtually every living thing. This may explain
the astonishing results of a recent survey where 87 percent of
the people surveyed said that adversity caused them to find a
more positive meaning in life. “Jesus said, In the world you
will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world” (John 16:33). Ironically, adversity can be
therapeutic.
 I fear today that we are raising a generation of tattle
tails that turn their challenges over to others rather than
confronting them.
Nate Oates, the new basketball coach for the
University of Alabama, was asked about the number of players
leaving the program. He said, “If you’ll look at those who left,
they have been in other programs. These young men have
never learned to face the challenge of adversity and, in all
likelihood, will run from their challenges most of their lives.”

What to do:
✞Remember, if the good guys refuse to stand then the
bad guys will take over.

********************

The Pessimist
August 2

 Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 2:4-11

 Key Verse: Verse 11- “Then I looked on all the works
that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I
had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and
vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the
sun.”
Key Words: there was no profit under the sun

Solomon gives us a pretty clear picture of a pessimist.

The pessimist is defined as a person who habitually
sees and attempts to find the worst of everything. Thomas, a
disciple of Jesus, no doubt had a pessimistic attitude. We
read in John 11:16, “Then said Thomas, which is called
Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may
die with him.” Thomas was speaking of going with Jesus to
Bethany to check on Lazarus. It is also pessimistic Thomas
that we read about in John 20:25b, “Except I shall see in his
hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of
the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
The pessimist is hard to deal with and can drag others
down into a pit of despair with them.
I read a story about two duck hunters who were known
for their contrasting outlooks on life. One day one of the duck
hunters invited the pessimist to go duck hunting with him.
They sat in the boat, hidden in the duck blind. In came the
ducks. Both men fired and several ducks fell into the water.
“Go get ‘em!” ordered the owner with a gleam in his eye. The
dog leaped out of the boat, walked on the water, and picked
up the birds one by one. “Well, what do you think of that?”
Unsmiling, the pessimist answered, “He can’t swim, can he?”
I used to know a pessimist whose favorite saying was,
“If you think the problem is bad now, just wait until you solve
it.”
As always, thanks for reading; unless, of course, you
are a pessimist…because you have already found all kind of
fault with this devotion.

What to do:
✞Don’t let the pessimist drag you down into the pits
of despair with them.

********************

Complaining
August 3

 Bible Reading: Psalm 77

 Key Verse: Verse 3– “I remembered God, and was
troubled: I complained, and my spirit was
overwhelmed. Selah.”
Key Words: I complained and my spirit was
overwhelmed
 Complaining can consume you if you’re not careful.
All you see are the things you think are wrong; and seldom, if
ever, do you see anything good.
In Psalm 77 the psalmist, because of his complaining
spirit, lists for us all the things he saw as a “problem” and
complained about them.
I. God was a problem. I remembered
God and was “troubled” (stirred up
emotionally). Psalm 77:3a
II. Complaining consumed the psalmist
so he couldn’t or wouldn’t sleep (verse 4).
III. He complained because things
weren’t like they used to be (verse 5).
IV. A complaining spirit can’t “find” the
Lord (verse 2).
V. A complaining spirit refuses to find
good (verse 2).
Charles Spurgeon once said, in part: “A heavy wagon
was being dragged along a country lane by a team of oxen.
The axles groaned and creaked terribly, when the oxen
turning around thus addressed the wheels, ‘Hey there, why do
you make so much noise? We bear all the labor, and we – not
you – ought to cry out!’ Those who complain first in our
ministries are those who are determined to find fault. The gift
of grumbling is largely dispensed among those who have no
other talents.”
I have a saying that goes, “I can’t hear your complaints
because I’ve never heard your praises.”

What to do:
✞Today be an encouragement to someone.
 Violence
August 4

 Bible Reading: Ezekiel 7:10-15

 Key Verse: Verse 11 – Violence is risen up into a rod of
wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their
multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be
wailing for them.”
Key Words: Violence

Violence on this earth is nothing new. Adam and Eve

had a son, Cain, who was a violent man. We are told in
Genesis 4:8 that Cain slew his brother Abel. That’s pretty
violent stuff. In Genesis 6:11, we read, “…the earth also was
corrupt before God and the earth was filled with
violence.” Again we read in Genesis 6:13, “…the earth is filled
with violence.”
Today we experience violence in our schools with
innocent children being killed with firearms. Other acts of
violence take place with bombs, and still others with trucks
running over people. But the question is why? Why are
people violent? Is it because they are mentally ill as the news
media would have us think?
As you study the word “violence” in the Bible, you
constantly run across the word “wicked” or “wickedness.” It
seems to be a constant association between the wicked man
and violence. Indeed, it is almost always a man’s wickedness
that causes him to be violent.
Psalm 11:5—“The LORD trieth the
righteous: but the wicked and him that
loveth violence his soul hateth.”
Psalm 58:2—“Yea, in heart ye work
wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your
hands in the earth.”
Proverbs 4:17—“For they eat the bread of
wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.”
Proverbs 10:11—“The mouth of a righteous
man is a well of life: but violence covereth the
mouth of the wicked.”
 So if wickedness is a root of violence, what then is
wickedness? The word means “to commit acts of injustice
because of your misery and unhappiness.” It appears as
though those who commit acts of violence do so because they
want you to experience the same misery and unhappiness that
they are experiencing.
If that is the case, then we can ban guns from the face
of the earth, but that will never stop the violent from their
violence. They will find a way to inflict injustice upon others
so they too can feel the misery and unhappiness that the
violent person feels. How sad!
So—what is the answer? Since violence has always
been on the earth, we are not likely to stop it. Making laws to
do away with certain guns does not work. England has a “no
gun law” yet experienced more violence in the last year than
America. Passing laws to abolish weapons will never work.
There are traffic laws people break daily. There are laws
against stealing, but thieves still steal. There are laws against
spousal abuse, but spouses are abused daily. Laws were never
intended to stop sin, but to reveal it (Romans 7:7).

What to do:
✞Put safety measures in place to protect our families
and our students, and then rely upon the Lord—
Proverbs 21:31, “The house is prepared against the day
of battle: but safety is of the Lord.”

********************

The Importance of Truth

August 5

 Bible Reading: John 8:21-32

 Key Verse: Verse 32 – “And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free.”
Key Words: the truth shall make you free
 It's amazing. People want objective standards when it
comes to everything else, but not for how to live their life. But
suppose you went to the doctor and he was getting ready to
perform an operation and he said, “Now, I think this is where
I need to cut. Other doctors have ideas of where to cut, but
this is what I think. Let's just check it out and see if I cut
right.” Is that the doctor whom you want?
Suppose you went to a pharmacist and he said, “Well, I
think this is the medicine you should take. Now, the
pharmacist down the street has another view, but this is what
I think. Why don't you try it?”
Suppose you got on a plane and the pilot said, “Now, I
think this is the button I'm supposed to push. Now, my
engineer over here thinks I ought to push this button. My
copilot over here thinks I should push that button. The flight
attendant thinks I should push this other button. Well...let's
try this button and see if it gets us off the ground.”
No! At the doctor's office, you want truth. At the
pharmacist's, you want truth. In the airplane, you sure enough
want truth. You don't want a pilot saying, “I think,” or a
doctor saying, “I think,” or a pharmacist saying, “I think.”
You're going to sue him if he thinks wrong. You want him to
think right.
Well now, if you can respect the truth of a doctor and
the truth of a pharmacist, and you can respect the truth of a
pilot, how come God can't be trusted? He's truth – an absolute
standard of reality found in the Word of God.
He who rejects the truth lives a lie.

What to do:
✞Remember, the truth will never hurt you, unless of
course, it should.
 The Spiritual Warfare of
Depression
August 6

 Bible Reading: Psalm 77

 Key Verse: Verse 3 - “I remembered God, and was
troubled: I complained, and my spirit was
overwhelmed. Selah.”
Key Words: my spirit was overwhelmed

Psalm 77:22, “In the day of my trouble I sought the

Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul
refused to be comforted.” Mark the words: “my soul refused
to be comforted.”
The events that led to the psalmist David writing this
77th Psalm is uncertain. It could have been written after the
death of one of his sons: Amnon, Absalom, or even his baby
boy birthed by Bathsheba. The event of this writing could be
while David was being pursued by Saul; but, in all likelihood,
the psalm was written during the time of Absalom’s and
Ahithophel’s rebellion against David. Whatever the occasion
for the writing of the psalm, it’s easy to tell that David is
battling with depression.
 His soul is in turmoil (verse 2).
 He had a complaining spirit (verse 3).
 Evidently, he had sinned against God
(verses 3 and 7).
 He can’t sleep or speak (verse 4).
 David calls his depression an infirmity
(verse 10). (Infirmity means an illness caused
by grieving.)
But the good news is that David overcame his
depression. Verses 11 through 20 tell us how this was
accomplished.

 He focused on God’s goodness (verses 10b

through 12a).
  He talked about God’s goodness (verses
12b, 14 through 20).
 He went to “church” (verse 13).
There are three things I tell people who are going
through the spiritual warfare of depression. First of all, spend
time each day, particularly first thing in the morning and the
last thing at night, in God’s Word. Secondly, invest your life
in others, particularly the elderly or those who are ill. Last of
all, run to the house of God, not from the house of God; and
may God grant you victory over your depression.

What to do:
✞Being down in spirit only becomes a real problem
when we don’t want to get “up.”

********************

I Have Failed
August 7

 Bible Reading: Joshua 7:1-9

 Key Verse: Verse 7 – “And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord
GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people
over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the
Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been
content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!”
Key Words: Alas O Lord

No doubt Joshua felt as if God had forsaken him and

that he had failed.
I truly do not know of any persons that at some point
in his ministry did not feel as though he was failing.
W. A. Criswell was perhaps the best-known pastor in
the world during his long tenure at the First Baptist Church of
Dallas, Texas. His sermons, personal efforts, and multiple
books have been the means of winning untold numbers to
Christ.
 But in Criswell’s biography, author Billy Keith tells an
interesting story about the man who led Criswell to the Lord.
It was when W. A. was ten years old, and Rev. John Hicks
came to his small Texas town to conduct a revival meeting.
Hicks stayed in the Criswell home during his two-week
campaign. Young W. A. was greatly taken with John Hicks,
and one day he asked permission to leave school to attend the
10 o’clock service at the church. Entering the chapel, he sat
directly behind his mother and drank in every word that Hicks
spoke. When Hicks gave the invitation, the lad went forward
and, with tears, took Jesus Christ as his Savior.
Years later, when Criswell was a world-renowned
pastor, he recounted his conversion to a friend of his, Wallace
Basset.
“Would you repeat that, W. A.?” Basset asked.
He repeated the story.
“I just can’t imagine that,” Basset said. “Johnny Hicks
was a dear friend of mine, and he was here in Baylor Hospital
in his last illness of which he died. I went often to see Johnny
and one day as I sat beside him, he said, ‘Wallace, my life is
over, my preaching days are done, and I’ve never done
anything for Jesus. I’ve failed, Wallace, I’ve failed.’ ”
Those were the last words the old preacher ever spoke.
He didn’t realize how successful he had been in just that one
conversion.
Many today do feel as though they have failed in their
ministry. But the key is to keep on, never stop and leave the
judgment of success or failure in the hands of God.

What to do:
✞Do your best for God’s glory. Remember, Jeremiah
never had a single convert.
 Respect, Honor, Dignity
August 8

 Bible Reading: Exodus 20:1-17

 Key Verse: Verse 12 – “Honour thy father and thy
mother: that thy days may be long upon the land
which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
Key Words: Honour thy father

The first commandment God gives in relation to our

fellow man is to honor our father (and our mother). It is the
first commandment to carry a promise with it (Ephesians
6:2). There are no conditions attached. It’s plain and simple:
honor thy father [and mother].
Once there was a little old man. His eyes blinked and
his hands trembled; when he ate he clattered the silverware
distressingly, missed his mouth with the spoon as often as
not, and dribbled a bit of his food on the tablecloth. Now he
lived with his married son, having nowhere else to live, and
his son’s wife didn’t like the arrangement.
“I can’t have this,” she said. “It interferes with my right
to happiness.” So she and her husband took the old man
gently but firmly by the arm and led him to the corner of the
kitchen. There they set him on a stool and gave him his food
in an earthenware bowl. From then on he always ate in the
corner, blinking at the table with wistful eyes.
One day his hands trembled rather more than usual,
and the earthenware bowl fell and broke. “If you are a pig,”
said the daughter-in-law, “you must eat out of a trough.” So
they made him a little wooden trough and he got his meals in
that.
These people had a four-year-old son of whom they
were very fond. One evening the young man noticed his boy
playing intently with some bits of wood and asked what he
was doing. “I’m making a trough,” he said, smiling up for
approval, “to feed you and Mamma out of when I get big.”
The man and his wife looked at each other for a while
and didn’t say anything. Then they cried a little. They then
went to the corner and took the old man by the arm and led
him back to the table. They sat him in a comfortable chair and
gave him his food on a plate, and from then on nobody ever
scolded when he clattered or spilled or broke things.
We all need to be reminded of Galatians 6:7, “Be not
deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap.”

What to do:
✞Honor thy father (and thy mother).

********************

A Quarrel Among the Tools

August 9
 Bible Reading: I Corinthians 3:1-9
 Key Verse: Verse 3 – “For ye are yet carnal: for
whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and
divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”
Key Words: there is among you envying, and
strife, and divisions

The Carpenter's tools had a conference. Brother

Hammer was in the chair. The meeting had informed him that
he must leave, because he was too noisy. But he said, "If I am
to leave this carpenter's shop, Brother Gimlet must go too; he
is so insignificant that he makes very little impression."
Little Brother Gimlet arose and said, "All right, but
Brother Screw must go also; you have to turn him around and
around again and again to get him anywhere."
Brother Screw then said, "If you wish, I will go, but
Brother Plane must leave also; all his work is on the surface,
there is no depth to it."
To this Brother Plane replied, "Well Brother Rule will
have to withdraw if I do, for he is always measuring other
folks as though he were the only one who is right."
 Brother Rule then complained against Brother
Sandpaper and said, "I just don't care, he is rougher than he
ought to be, and he rubs people the wrong way."
In the midst of the discussion, the Carpenter of
Nazareth walked in. He had come to perform his day's work.
He put on his apron, and went to the bench to make a pulpit.
He employed the screw, the gimlet, the sandpaper, the saw,
the hammer, the plane, and all the other tools. After the day's
work was over and the pulpit was finished, Brother Saw arose
and said, "Brethren, I perceive that all of us are labourers
together with God."
How careful we should be not to find fault with any of
God’s tools, for they are as much use to Him as we are, and
His work cannot go on without them! ~ Author Unknown

What to do:
✞Always be mindful that not every believer will be
like you; but we all have useful purpose in God’s
service.

********************

Failure Is Often A Success

August 10

 Bible Reading: Luke 15:11-24

 Key Verse: Verse 19 – “And am no more worthy to be
called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.”
Key Words: no more worthy

The prodigal son was a failure in at least three ways.

He was a financial failure. All of his inheritance is gone. He
was a moral failure. He had been sleeping with harlots. He
was a social failure. He, as a Jew, worked in a pig pen.
But it was these failures that led to his successful
return to his father. Failure is often a success. Even we as
pastors, evangelists and missionaries sometimes feel as
though we are failures.
I believe that every preacher on occasion feels as
though the sermon was a “dud.” I can assure you that many
preachers leave the pulpit after delivering a dud, feeling like
the message was a failure. Even preachers like Spurgeon were
not exempt from such feelings of failure.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, known as “the prince of
preachers,” felt he delivered his sermon so poorly one Sunday
that he was ashamed of himself. As he walked away from his
church, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, he wondered
how any good could come from that message. When he
arrived home, he dropped to his knees and prayed, “Lord God,
You can do something with nothing. Bless that poor sermon.”
In the months that followed, forty-one people said that
they had decided to trust Christ as Saviour because of that
“weak” message. The following Sunday, to make up for his
previous “failure,” Spurgeon had prepared a “great” sermon—
but no one responded.
Spurgeon’s experience underscores two important
lessons for all who serve the Lord. First, we need the blessing
of God on our efforts. Solomon said in Psalm 127:1, “Except
the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” And
second, our weakness is an occasion for the working of God’s
power. The apostle Paul said, “Therefore, I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in
distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I
strong” (II Cor. 12:10).

What to do:
✞Do your best for God’s glory and leave the results to
God.
 Eagle’s Wings
August 11

 Bible Reading: Isaiah 40:18-31

 Key Verse: Verse 31 – “But they that wait upon the
LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Key Words: they shall mount up with wings as
eagles

In Isaiah 40, we are told that by waiting on the Lord,

we will mount on wings like eagles. Eagles are majestic birds
with remarkable vision. Scientists believe their vision may be
eight times sharper than that of humans. They have powerful
feet with talons that can grip like a vise. Their beaks are
butcher-like, designed to cut and crush and tear their food.
But most of all, eagles are built for flying. They have
incredible speed, able to fly at sixty and eighty and one
hundred miles an hour. They can do rolls and loops like an
airplane doing tricks. Their wingspan extends to nearly eight
feet.
But eagles do not fly like sparrows or robins. Most
birds fly through the air by flapping their wings, but eagles
cannot flap very long. They’re built for soaring, and thus they
can go much further on little energy.
God created our planet with invisible columns of hot
air called thermals rising up here and there from the surface
of the earth. Eagles find these thermals, fly into the invisible
currents, stretch out their wings, and are lifted higher and
higher into the sky as though ascending on an elevator.
They may rise as high as fourteen thousand feet, so
high in the heavens they cannot be seen with the naked eye
from earth.
When they reach those heights, they emerge from the
updraft, wings still spread, and they soar this way and that
way, downwards and sideways, traveling for miles with very
little exertion of strength.
Isaiah seems to be telling us that God is invisible, but
like the invisible uplifting thermal currents of this planet, He
is present for His people. When we search Him out, claim His
promises and trust in Him, spreading out the wings of faith,
we are caught up to a higher plane. We mount up with wings
like eagles. We can run and not grow weary. We can walk and
not faint.
The strength we need for holy, effective, victorious
living comes not from frantically flapping our wings like
sparrows in distress, but from trusting in God and resting in
Jesus Christ.

What to do:
✞Remember, you’re not built for flapping but for
soaring.

********************

The Battle Over Salvation

August 12

 Bible Reading: Genesis 4:1-5

 Key Verse: Verse 3 – “And in process of time it came
to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground
an offering unto the LORD.”
Key Words: Cain brought of the fruit of the
ground

It didn’t take long after God created man, and Adam

and Eve had disobeyed, for man to form the world’s first false
religion.
There are at least three characteristics of this and all
false salvations.
First of all, Cain’s salvation was based on a human
scheme (Genesis 4:1-2). True salvation involves the Word of
God, the work of Jesus Christ, and the witness of the Spirit.
Cain’s salvation involved none of these.
 Secondly, Cain’s salvation was based on a human
sacrifice (Genesis 4:3-4). If you’ll notice, Cain “brought of the
fruit of the ground an offering.” Cain brought an offering, not
a sacrifice.
Thirdly, Cain’s salvation was based on a human
satisfaction (Genesis 4:5-7). Cain’s philosophy was “I’ve done
my best.” God wasn’t looking for his best, He was looking for
the blood!
Cain, like many of our day, was religious – but lost.
America is being inoculated with a mild form of
Christianity that is making its citizens immune to the real
thing. There are several types of this religious false
Christianity.
Psychological Christianity – an obsession that makes
God a good “pepper-upper” and religion a comforting
thought. Its devotees see theology as a waste of time, shutter
at the mention of sin, go to church to seek psycho-religious
adjustment for tension and frustration. Their heaven is health
and wealth.
Social Christianity – a good-time religion with special
appeal to those who cannot get into lodges, clubs, or the
society column. It expresses itself in a round of socials,
banquets, or – in its more liberal manifestations – theater
parties, dances and bridge.
Political Christianity – a reform movement with a
social gospel, that is so busy with surveys, committee
meetings, projects, campaigns, etc., to clean up society that
individuals are starving to death for spiritual food.
Emotional Christianity – a type of inoculation that
gives the patient divine thrills and mystical exaltations, but
often leaves him spiritually dead.
Atavistic Christianity – a sort of religious loyalty to the
beliefs of our dead forebears. The Chinese have it in a bit
different form and call it ancestor worship.
Sacramental Christianity – a blind loyalty to certain
rites or ceremonies, the faithful performance of which is
supposed to give one a “pass” to glory. Its devotees have a
“form of godliness,” but “deny the power thereof.”
Theological Christianity – an intellectual and coldly
scientific acceptance of the abstract truth in the New
Testament Scriptures. Those who have been immunized by
this serum can split hairs with the same finesse that Nero
played his fiddle while Rome burned.
But genuine salvation is not found in religion –
genuine salvation is found only in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:10-12).

What to do:
✞Don’t trust in religion for salvation; trust in Jesus!

********************

Success, Pt. 1
August 13
 Bible Reading: Revelation 2:8-11
 Key Verse: Verse 10 – “Fear none of those things
which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast
some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye
shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto
death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
Key Words: be thou faithful unto death

Clarence Johnson was a man of unusual abilities and

commitment. He had two Ph.D.’s, one in agriculture and one
in Greek and Hebrew. So gifted was he, he could have chosen
to do anything he wanted. He chose to serve the poor. In the
1940s, he founded a farm in Americus, Georgia, and called it
Koinonia Farm. It was a community for poor whites and poor
blacks. As you might guess, such an idea did not go over well
in the Deep South of the ‘40s.
Ironically, much of the resistance came from good
church people who followed the laws of segregation as much
as the other folk in town. The townspeople tried everything to
stop Clarence. They tried boycotting him, and slashing
workers’ tires when they came to town. Over and over, for
fourteen years, they tried to stop him.
Finally, in 1954, the Ku Klux Klan had enough of
Clarence Johnson, so they decided to get rid of him once and
for all. They came one night with guns and torches and set
fire to every building on Koinonia Farm but Clarence’s home,
which they riddled with bullets. And they chased off all the
families except one black family which refused to leave.
Clarence recognized the voices of many of the Klansmen, and
as you might guess, some of them were church people.
Another was the local newspaper’s reporter. The next day, the
reporter came out to see what remained of the farm. The
rubble still smoldered and the land was scorched, but he
found Clarence in the field, hoeing and planting.
“I heard the awful news,” he called to Clarence, “and I
came out to do a story on the tragedy of your farm closing.”
Clarence just kept on hoeing and planting. The reporter kept
prodding, kept poking, trying to get a rise from this quietly
determined man who seemed to be planting instead of
packing his bags. So finally the reporter said in a haughty
voice, “Well, Dr. Johnson, you got two of them Ph.D.’s and
you’ve put fourteen years into this farm, and there’s nothing
left of it at all. Just how successful do you think you’ve been?”
Clarence stopped hoeing, turned toward the reporter
with his penetrating blue eyes, and said quietly but firmly,
“About as successful as the cross. Sir, I don’t think you
understand us. What we are about is not success but
faithfulness. We’re staying. Good day.”
Beginning that day, Clarence and his companions
rebuilt Koinonia and the farm is going strong today. Staying
faithful in the face of adversity…now that’s success!!

What to do:
✞Be faithful to God and you will be successful.
 Success, Pt. 2
August 14

 Bible Reading: Joshua 1:1-8

 Key Verse: Verse 8 - "This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate
therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all that is written therein: for then thou
shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt
have good success. "
Key Words: and then thou shalt have good success

Nobody wants to fail. We all desire to be successful so

let’s read Joshua 1:8 again.
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy
mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that
thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written
therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and
then thou shalt have good success.”
The word success is an interesting word. In our world
success is being popular, having fame, having more. But the
Hebrew word for success means to place under or to put
under. So Joshua, in essence, is saying that success is when
we put ourselves or place ourselves under the authority of
God’s Word. Now, there’s a different twist! Success is not
being “uppity” but being “under,” under God’s Word.
In his book Be Free, Warren W. Wiersby mentioned
the fact that young ministers often visited the great British
preacher G. Campbell Morgan to ask him the secret of his
success. When someone inquired of him what he told these
aspiring pastors, Morgan replied, “I always say to them the
same thing—work; hard work; and again, work!”
And Morgan lived up to his own advice. He would be
in his study every morning at 6 o’clock, finding rich treasures
out of his Bible to pass on to God’s people.
So let me close by asking, based upon the Hebrew
meaning of the word: Are you successful? Just asking.
What to do:
✞Are you successful?

********************

The Cleaving Soul

August 15

 Bible Reading: Psalm 119:25-32

 Key Verse: Verse 25 – “DALETH. My soul cleaveth
unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy
word.”
Key Words: My soul cleaveth unto the dust

If David is the author of Psalm 119, and I believe he is,

then something has brought David low. Something now has
David lying prostrate on the ground. It could be King Saul’s
persecution of David, or Absalom’s rebellion, David’s
adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, the death of his baby
boy, or even the death of Absalom. Whatever it is, something
has humbled David.
Humility is not a bad thing; it cures envy, jealousy,
strife, and division – just to name a few of its cures.
Martin Luther reportedly told of two mountain goats
who met each other on a narrow ledge just wide enough for
one of the animals to pass. On the left was a sheer cliff, and
on the right a steep wall. The two were facing each other, and
it was impossible to turn or to back up.
How did they solve their dilemma? If they had been
people they would have started butting each other until they
plunged into the chasm together. But according to Luther, the
goats had more sense than that. One of them lay down on the
trail and let the other literally walk over him – and both were
safe.
So the next time pride raises its ugly head in your
heart, defeat it with humility. Remember, humility was good
enough for Jesus and David; it ought to be good enough for us
as well.
What to do:
✞The key to safety and progress is humility.

********************

Lot’s Children
August 16

 Bible Reading: Genesis 19:14, 24-36

 Key Verse: Verse 32 – “Come, let us make our father
drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may
preserve seed of our father.”
Key Words: Come, let us make our father drink
wine

I have never heard a message on or about Lot’s

children. Think about this.
Two angels were sent from God to Sodom. The reports
of Sodom's sins were found to be true. More! Those vices did
not slink down the back alleys of the city, furtive and
ashamed. They stalked brazenly along the major
thoroughfares. The gay community demanded its rights, and
the rulers of society endorsed the “preferences” of the
Sodomites as normal and permissible. Their “alternative
lifestyle” was endorsed by the laws of the land, and Lot was
hired to help enforce those laws.
The streets of Sodom were notoriously vile. Visitors
were not safe in the place, not even heavenly visitors, not even
when those visitors were guests in the home of a minister of
state. God’s judgment must fall.
Lot had never asked if Sodom was a good place to raise
children. He just asked if the verdant plains of Jordan were a
good place to raise cattle. It would seem Lot had never
worried much about the spiritual welfare of his children. He
thought his example would be sufficient. After all, he didn’t
indulge in those gross sins for which Sodom was famous. He
had doubtless told his children about Abraham and God, but
he had never wept and prayed for his children’s salvation. He
had never cared enough for his children to separate himself
from Sodom for their sakes.
Doubtless Lot had sent his children to Sodom’s
schools, and allowed them to play with Sodom’s sons. He
watched his children imbibe Sodom’s ways and turned a blind
eye at Sodom’s vices. He watched his wife become more and
more involved in Sodom’s social life. But watch him now!
There he goes, running as fast as he can to warn them of
impending doom.
At least two of Lot’s daughters had married into
Sodomite families. He had lost them! They cared nothing at
all for spiritual things. And payday had now arrived. He had
sowed worldliness, and he was now reaping worldliness. He
had “vexed his righteous soul from day to day” (II Peter 2:8),
but little good that could do as long as he continued to live in
Sodom. Why couldn’t he see that? Why didn’t he get right
with God? Why don’t we?
We see our children absorbing this world’s values. So
many of them argue over every little thing. They don’t want
the company of God’s people; they prefer their godless
friends. We wonder why. If we have modeled our own
lifestyle on worldliness, no wonder our children do the same.
As the hymn writer puts it,
Room for pleasure, room for business –
But, for Christ the Crucified,
Not a place where He can enter
In the heart for which he died?
Lot had a saved soul and a lost life. He made the
world his choice and then wondered why his children made
the world their choice. Lot pursued worldly goals. He reaped
worldly results.

What to do:
✞When you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind.
You can’t have Sodom and Godly children. It doesn’t
work that way.
 Education
August 17

 Bible Reading: II Timothy 3:1-8

 Key Verse: Verse 7 - “Ever learning, and never able to
 come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Key Words: Ever learning

Bok’s Law: If you think education is expensive, try

ignorance.
From the day we entered the ninth-grade health class,
one blackboard was covered with the names and locations of
the major bones and muscles of the human body. The diagram
stayed on the board throughout the term, although the
teacher never referred to it. The day of the final exam, we
came to class to find the board wiped clean. The sole test
question was: “Name and locate every major bone and muscle
in the human body.” The class protested in unison: “We never
studied that!” “That’s no excuse,” said the teacher. “The
information was there for months.” After we struggled with
the test for a while, he collected the papers and tore them up.
“Always remember,” he told us, “that education is more than
just learning what you are told.”
A young boy once approached his father to ask, "Dad,
why does the wind blow?" The father responded, "I don't
know, son." "Dad, where do the clouds come from?" "I'm not
sure, son." "Dad, what makes a rainbow?" "No idea, son."
"Dad, do you mind me asking you all these questions?"
"Not at all, son. How else are you going to learn?"
There are a myriad of educated people today because
they have ever learned. They have all the degrees but have no
truth.
Let me close with a final thought: “Without spiritual
education, we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking
worldly, educated people seriously.”

What to do:
✞Remember, education without truth is still just a lie.
 Values
August 18

 Bible Reading: Matthew 26:6-16

 Key Verse: Verse 15 - “And said unto them, What will
ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they
covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.”
Key Words: for thirty pieces of silver

Judas valued thirty pieces of silver more than he

valued the very Son of God. It’s very obvious that Judas had a
warped value system.
In this somewhat crazy world we live in, it’s easy to
have misplaced values. For example….

Family
Vince Foster was the deputy presidential counsel to
President Clinton. He spoke to the 1993 graduating class of
Arkansas University School of Law just six weeks before his
controversial death. In his speech he spoke of his love for
family and his wife of 25 years. He encouraged the graduates
to “balance wisely your professional life and your family life.
No one was ever heard to say on a death bed, ‘I wish I had
spent more time at the office.’”

Friends
Just about everyone has heard of the feud between the
Hatfields and the McCoys. There are a couple of things you
might not know. Did you know that at one time the two
families were friends? Also, did you know how the feud
started? In 1878 they had a dispute over the ownership of a
hog. That led to a twelve-year war which resulted in the
deaths of three Hatfields, seven McCoys, and two outsiders.
Disagreement over that one hog stole twelve years and twelve
lives. Most family feuds today are equally ridiculous because
we have not had our moral compass on what are true values.

Spiritual Priorities
In a large city some very creative crooks broke into a
department store. They entered the store unnoticed and
stayed long enough to accomplish their mission. What was
their mission? You may wonder what they stole, but that’s just
the catch. They didn’t take anything. They switched the price
tags on everything in the store. $395 price tags were swapped
with price tags that read $3.95, and so on. When the store
opened the next morning you would have expected total
chaos. Surprisingly, though, for four hours, the store operated
just as it normally did. Some customers literally got some
steals while others thought the merchandise was significantly
overpriced. Incredibly, four hours slipped by before the hoax
was discovered. In the department store of American Culture,
Satan has deceptively switched the price tags, and too many
people have not yet caught on. Things are valued more than
people, pleasure is priced higher than faithfulness, profits
mean more than integrity, and God has been priced for
clearance. The tags have been switched, and we need to sound
the alarm.

What to do:
✞Evaluate your value system and if God’s not first, it’s
warped.

********************

Determination
August 19

 Bible Reading: Joshua 14:2-12

 Key Verse: Verse 12 – “Now therefore give me this
mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for
thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were
there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so
be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to
drive them out, as the LORD said.”
Key Words: give me this mountain
 When you hear the word determination, who do you
think of? Several people come to mind, but one Biblical
character who stands out to me is Caleb. We read in Joshua
14:12a, “Now therefore give me this mountain.” Caleb had
waited forty years for his inheritance from God. He is now
eighty-five and more determined than ever to claim the land
God had promised him.
Caleb was determined that his life would end well.
When we think of Caleb, we should think of the mighty
Amazon. Boisterous in its youth, this river is a settled,
invincible, and steady flow in its old age.
The Amazon starts three miles high in the snow-swept
Andes of Peru. At the source, the river is only seventy miles
from the Pacific Ocean, but it travels nearly four thousand
miles across the width of the continent toward the Atlantic.
In the beginning a tiny trickle tumbles down a mountain and
begins a long, eventful journey to the sea. The stream takes
its time and as it wends its way, it draws the water of two
hundred other streams and brooks into its embrace until it is
a full- fledged river. Then it churns through mountain passes,
bursts with explosive force into the green wall of the jungle
below, and becomes an inland sea, draining nearly half of
South America – an area equal to two- thirds of the United
States. At the mouth the banks stand ninety miles apart.
When the Amazon reaches the end of its adventurous journey,
it refuses to die. The power and drive of the river are so great
that it floods the ocean with fresh water up to one hundred
miles offshore. Indeed, the current can still be seen two
hundred miles out to sea.
Caleb was like the Amazon. At the ripe age of eighty-
five, he refused to consider for a moment that he had reached
beyond the hoary- headed age and was now well stricken in
years. “Well-stricken in nothing,” Caleb would say. “Me? I’m
ready to tackle a mountain. Me retire? Retire and play golf?
Not me! Give me an untamed mountain. Up to now I’ve just
been training. Now I’m ready to start.”
Caleb understood that a winner never quits and a
quitter never wins.
We must be determined not to give up in the face of
difficult days when as time passes we become more and more
the minority. We must occupy until Jesus comes. Be
determined to be salt and light until then.
Paul Harvey was asked once, “What is the key to your
success?” He said “Easy, when I fall down, I get up.”

What to do:
✞When you fall down, get up!

********************

Heaven
August 20

 Bible Reading: John 14:1-14

 Key Verse: Verse 2 – “In my Father's house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you..”
Key Words: I go to prepare a place for you

Dr. Charles E. Fuller once announced that he

would be speaking the following Sunday on "Heaven."
During that week a beautiful letter was received from an
old gentleman who was very ill.
"Next Sunday you are to talk about Heaven. I am
interested in that land, because I have held a clear title to
a bit of property there for over fifty-five years. I did not
buy it. It was given to me without money and without
price. But the Donor purchased it for me at tremendous
sacrifice. I am not holding it for speculation since the
title is not transferable. It is not a vacant lot.
"For more than half a century I have been sending
materials out of which the greatest Architect and Builder
of the Universe has been building a home for me which
will never need to be remodeled nor repaired because it
will suit me perfectly, individually, and will never grow
old.
"Termites can never undermine its foundations
for they rest on the Rock of Ages. Fire cannot destroy it.
Floods cannot wash it away. No locks nor bolts will ever
be placed upon its doors, for no vicious person can ever
enter that land where my dwelling stands, now almost
completed and almost ready for me to enter in and abide
in peace eternally, without fear of being ejected.
"There is a valley of deep shadow between where I
live and the place of which I shall journey in a very short
time. I cannot hope to reach my home in that City of
Gold without passing through this dark valley of
shadows. But I am not afraid because the best Friend I
ever had went through the same valley long, long ago
and drove away all its gloom. He has stuck by me
through thick and thin, since we first became acquainted
fifty-five years ago, and I hold His promise in printed
form, never to forsake me or leave me alone. He will be
with me as I walk through the valley of shadows, and I
shall not lose my way when He is with me.
"I hope to hear your sermon on Heaven next
Sunday from my home here, but I have no assurance that
I shall be able to do so. My ticket to Heaven has no date
marked for the journey, no return coupon, and no permit
or values. Yes, I am all ready to go and I may not be here
while you are talking next Sunday evening, but I shall
meet you in Heaven someday."

What to do:
✞Are you sure heaven is your home? If not, someone
on our staff will be happy to share with you how
heaven can be your home. Just call 205-854-2741.
 A Dilemma
August 21

 Bible Reading: II Kings 18:19-27

 Key Verse: Verse 19 - “And Rabshakeh said unto them,
Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king,
the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein
thou trustest?”
Key Words: What confidence is this wherein thou
trustest

Have you ever found yourself in a dilemma? Maybe

we need to begin by defining the word dilemma.
Dictionary.com says that a dilemma is having to choose
between two equally needed situations. May I translate that
for you? Mission impossible. One of these situations will have
to be let go.
Hezekiah is in a dilemma. He can’t run. The
Assyrians will simply chase him down and kill him; and he
can’t fight. The Assyrians are much too strong for Israel to
defeat.
Now I repeat—have you ever found yourself in a
dilemma? Quite honestly, I find myself there several times
during the course of a year.
I have said on numerous occasions that being busy
and being in a dilemma go hand-in-hand. The only ones who
never find themselves in a dilemma are those who are seldom
busy and accomplishing little to nothing.
When you find yourself in this situation you pray real
hard for grace and understanding on the part of others.
Sometimes you get your prayer answered, and some are kind
and gracious; and on other occasions you find some graceless
and unforgiving. But either way, you learn a lot about people
and their spirit during these times of dilemma.
I came across an interesting article that describes what
being in a dilemma is like.
Two hunters came across a bear so big they dropped
their rifles and ran for cover. One man climbed a tree while
the other hid in a nearby cave. The bear was in no hurry to
eat, so he sat down between the tree and the cave to reflect
upon his good fortune. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason,
the hunter in the cave came rushing out, almost ran into the
waiting bear, hesitated, and then dashed back in again. The
same thing happened a second time. When he emerged for
the third time, his companion in the tree frantically called out,
“Woody, are you crazy? Stay in the cave till he leaves!”
“Can’t,” panted Woody, “there’s another bear in there.” Now
that’s a dilemma. Which way do you go?
My answer is, you go to the Lord. “Where can I go? O,
where can I go? Where can I go but to the Lord.” That’s the
answer for every dilemma.

What to do:
✞When you are in a dilemma, run to God.

********************

“I”
August 22

 Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 2:12-17

 Key Verse: Verse 12 - “And I turned myself to behold
wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the
man do that cometh after the king? even that which
hath been already done.”
Key Words: And I turned

This is what I call the “I” chapter of the Bible. Solomon

uses the personal pronoun “I” some 34 times in this one
chapter alone.
A quick overview of Solomon’s “I” reveals his self-
centeredness. I said, I sought, I made, I got, I gathered, I was
great; but then he comes to verse 11, “Then I looked on all the
works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I
had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation
of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”
 There is no joy or peace in “I.” Only what’s done for
Christ will last.
Our Daily Bread records the following: “Tennis star
Boris Becker was at the very top of the tennis world – yet he
was on the brink of suicide. He said, ‘I had won Wimbledon
twice before, once as the youngest player. I was rich. I had all
the material possessions I needed…It’s the old song of movie
stars and pop stars who commit suicide. They have
everything, and yet they are so unhappy. I had no inner peace.
I was a puppet on a string.’
“Becker is not the only one to feel that sense of
emptiness. The echoes of a hollow life pervade our culture.
One doesn’t have to read many contemporary biographies to
find the same frustration and disappointment. Jack Higgens,
author of such successful novels as The Eagle Has Landed,
was asked what he would like to have known as a boy. His
answer: ‘That when you get to the top, there’s nothing there.’”
Maybe that’s the reason Solomon said, “For God giveth
to a man that is good in his [God’s] sight wisdom, and
knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to
gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good
before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit” (not
what God gives, but what man attains).
It’s always wise to remember when we make life about
us, things, and reaching the top, we soon discover we’ve gone
the wrong way and end up on the bottom.

What to do:
✞Make life about Jesus Christ. At least then you’ll
know you are headed in the right direction.
 The Home
August 23

 Bible Reading: Hebrews 13:1-8

 Key Verse: Verse 4 – Marriage is honourable in all,
and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and
adulterers God will judge.”
Key Words: Marriage is honorable

There is an old saying that goes, “As goes the home so

go our churches, and as go our churches so goes the nation.”
With that in mind, how would you rate our nation’s spiritual
condition? Not very high, huh? As a matter of fact, most of us
would say that our nation spiritually is at its very lowest ebb
and is still sinking. So what does this say about our homes
today?
The American home today is in spiritual decay for two
primary reasons.
First of all, because of our love for material things.
The average home blatantly goes against God’s Word when it
says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the
world.” I John 2:15a. We are also told in Matthew 6:33, “But
seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you.” Now, be honest.
Do your children ask for more of the things of God or more of
the “worldly entertaining things?” What about you, do you
desire God more than the things of the world? The answer to
these questions for the vast majority of our homes is,
“Materialism, not God!”
Secondly, the American home is in spiritual decay
because of our morals. We are a sexually perverted nation. In
1961, The National Council of Churches published a book
entitled The Meaning of Sex in the Christian Life. The book
says in part, “The difficulty with western society’s legitimate
regulation of sexual conduct is that it has been far too
negative and too monolithic.... Our culture declares that all
sexual activity within marriage is legal, proper, and good,
while any such activity outside marriage is illicit, sinful and
wrong. This is to ignore the personal dimension of life, to
seek to force everyone under one massive legal umbrella.
 “You and I know perfectly well that there are many
marriages that are simply matters of convenience, that such
sex as goes on within them is selfish, exploitative, and evil.
We know further that there is sexual contact between
unmarried couples that is motivated by love and which is pure
and on occasions beautiful.
“From the perspective of the personal dimension then,
the crucial question to be asked about any sexual contact –
from holding hands to complete intercourse – is not so much
what is done but what is meant...What justifies and sanctifies
sexuality is not the external marital status of the people before
the law but rather what they feel toward each other in their
hearts.”
How depraved!! God tells us in Hebrews 13:4,
“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but
whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”
I close by asking you one last question, “Is your home
more spiritual than it was a year ago, two years ago, five years
ago, or is it less spiritual?”
“As goes the home so go our churches, and as go our
churches so goes the nation.”

What to do:
✞Having a Godless home is far worse than being
homeless.

********************

Goals
August 24

 Bible Reading: I Corinthians 2:1-11

 Key Verse: Verse 2 – “For I determined not to know
any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified.”
Key Words: save Jesus Christ, and him crucified
 Paul had a goal and his goal was to make Jesus Christ
the focus of his life. Oftentimes we become distracted by the
trivial things of life.
I tell them around me on occasion to prioritize their
lives into three areas:
 those things that are necessary,
 those things that are needy, and
 those things that are nice.
Have goals and focus on Jesus Christ as your Number
One Goal.
Bernie May, the U.S. Director of Wycliffe Bible
Translators, once wrote a paper entitled, “Fly the Airplane,” in
which he described his early training as a pilot and his
instructor’s word regarding the procedures to follow in case of
an emergency. There were a series of steps to take regarding
the throttle, the flaps, the engines, etc., and he said, “Between
each of them write on the card, ‘Fly the Airplane.’ Don’t
become so involved in handling the emergency that you fail to
continue flying the airplane.” He pointed out that some years
ago a commercial airliner crashed in the swamps of Florida
because the entire crew was so involved in the process of
checking a landing gear which did not seem to be coming
down that they forgot to fly the airplane.
There is a German proverb that goes: “The main thing
is that the main thing remains the main thing.” I trust that
Jesus is the main thing in your life.

What to do:
✞Keep Jesus and the things of the Lord as the main
thing.
 Consistency
August 25

 Bible Reading: Matthew 7:1-12

 Key Verse: Verse 3 – “And why beholdest thou the
mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not
the beam that is in thine own eye?”
Key Words: considerest not the beam that is in
thine own eye

Years ago I had a college professor who told me, “As a

pastor the most frustrating thing you will deal with is not the
finances, the lack of faithfulness, or even the deacons. It will
be the consistency of people who can see others’ faults and
sins and never see their own. They will see the sin of another
and then go and tell others what they’ve heard or seen, and
never realize that their gossip is just as sinful as what they saw
or heard.”
In 1991, The New England Journal of Medicine
published a study on dieting conducted by Dr. Kelly D.
Brownell at Yale University. This research was based on
thirty-two years of follow-up study on 5,127 men and women.
Dr. Brownell and his associates discovered it is more
hazardous to yo-yo diet than to stay consistently overweight.
The study found that the risk of dying from heart disease is
about 70% higher in those with fluctuating weight than in
those whose weight stays reasonably the same. Spiritual
inconsistency is equally destructive. The inconsistency in our
spiritual discernment to see that our “talk” (gossip) is as
equally sinful as what others may be doing.
You know, the professor was right. People seeing
others’ faults and being blind to their own is not only
frustrating, it’s just plain sinful!

What to do:
✞If you’re talking about someone else’s faults, then
you just found your own.
 Biblical Integrity
August 26

 Bible Reading: II Timothy 2:1-15

 Key Verse: Verse 15 – “Study to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Key Words: Study to show thyself approved unto
God

A pastor asked a class of Sunday School children,

"Who broke down the walls of Jericho?" A boy answered, "Not
me, sir!" Upset, the pastor asked the teacher, "Is this typical?"
She replied, "I believe this boy is honest, and I really don't
think he did it." The pastor went to the Chairman of the
Education Committee. "I've known the boy and the teacher for
a number of years," said the chairman, "and I just can’t
picture either of them doing such a terrible thing." Aghast, the
pastor went to the Chairman of the Deacons. "Pastor," said
the chairman, "let's not make an issue of this. Let's just pay
for the damage and charge it to our maintenance account.”
The Library of Congress recently conducted a survey
which asked, “What book has most influenced your life?” The
Bible landed in the number one position. Yet, during a typical
week only 45% of American Christians read the Bible. Of the
45%, just 12% claim to read God’s Word daily. Fifty-five
percent don’t even bother to open it once a week! With stats
like these, the above story might be true. ~ What Americans
Believe by George Barna

What to do:
✞Maybe it’s what not to do…don’t be a Biblical
illiterate.
 Martyrs
August 27

 Bible Reading: Philippians 1:16-24

 Key Verse: Verse 21 – “For to me to live is Christ, and
to die is gain.”
Key Words: For me to live is Christ

They are known as the forty martyrs of Sebaste. In the

famed Twelfth Legion of Rome’s imperial army there were
forty soldiers who professed their faith in Jesus Christ. One
day their captain informed them that Emperor Licinius had
sent out an edict commanding all soldiers to offer sacrifice to
pagan gods. These Christian warriors said, "You can have our
armor and even our bodies, but our hearts’ allegiance belongs
to Jesus Christ." Because of their stance they were marched
onto a frozen lake in the midwinter of A.D. 320 and stripped
of their clothes. At any time they could renounce Christ and
be spared from death. Instead, they huddled close together
and sang their song of victory, "Forty martyrs for Christ."
That freezing night saw thirty nine men fall to their icy
graves. When there was but one man left he stumbled to the
shore and renounced Christ. The officer in charge of guarding
these men had secretly come to believe in Christ. He then
replaced the man who had broken rank and walked out onto
the ice. He threw off his clothes and confessed his faith in
Christ. At sunrise the Roman soldiers found forty men who
gave their all for the cause of Christ.
Today we are blessed that we don’t have to die for
Christ. But rather we are to live for Him. Are you?

What to do:
✞You will never go wrong by living for Christ.
 Thankful: Blake Smith
August 28

 Bible Reading: I Thessalonians 5:16-22

 Key Verse: Verse 18 - “In every thing give thanks: for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Key Words: In everything give thanks

It has been a year and a half now since Blake Smith

went home to be with the Lord. His home-going was tragic
and sad to all of us, but especially to his family.
As I was thinking of Blake the other day, I was
reminded of the following.
We are told in I Thessalonians 5:18 to give thanks in
everything so let me begin to give thanks.
While Blake Smith is no longer driving the highways of
Knoxville and Birmingham, I’m thankful that he is walking
the streets of gold.
While Blake is no longer living in a college dorm room,
I’m thankful that he is living in a heavenly mansion prepared
just for him by the Lord Himself.
While Blake is no longer here on earth with us, I’m
thankful that one day we will be with him.
While Blake is greatly missed here, I’m thankful he is
greatly received in heaven.
While Blake is no longer here to fellowship among us,
I’m thankful he is in fellowship with the heavenly hosts above.
While Blake died tragically, I’m thankful that he lived
joyfully.
While some in the media are reporting on Blake’s
death, I’m thankful to announce that he is very much alive.
While Blake will no longer preach about heaven, I’m
thankful he is experiencing it firsthand.
While Blake battled with an ACL problem here on
earth, I’m thankful that he is now walking and leaping and
praising the Lord.
While Blake will be missed, I’m thankful that his life
demands that he will not be forgotten.
While Blake is at peace in the arms of God, I’m
thankful that I am as well.
 While Blake is no longer here with us, I’m thankful for
the twenty years that he was.
While Blake is no longer here with us physically, I’m
thankful that he will be in our hearts and minds.
While Blake will no longer teach our Junior Boys
Sunday School Class, I’m thankful that what he did teach
them will not be soon forgotten.
And lastly, while I know where Blake is, I wonder if
you will join him one day.
John 3:16-17; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:9-10
& 13.

********************

Murphy’s Law for Parenting

August 29

 Bible Reading: Proverbs 4:1-13

 Key Verse: Verse 1 – “Hear, ye children, the
instruction of a father, and attend to know
understanding.”
Key Words: attend to know understanding

Our key words “attend to know understanding”

remind me of what I hear parents say all the time, “Are you
listening to me? Pay attention!”
I came across the following ten laws of parenting and
thought I would share them with you.
1. The tennis shoes you must replace today
will go on sale next week.
2. Leak-proof thermoses - will.
3. The chances of a piece of bread falling
with the grape jelly side down is directly
proportional to the cost of the carpet.
 4. The garbage truck will be two doors past
your house when the argument over whose day
it is to take out the trash ends.
5. The shirt your child must wear today will
be the only one that needs to be washed or
mended.
6. Gym clothes left at school in lockers
mildew at a faster rate than other clothing.
7. The item your child lost, and must have
for school within the next ten seconds, will be
found in the last place you look.
(Tom's note: Isn't something ALWAYS in the
last place you look? I mean, you don't keep
looking once you've found it, do you?)
8. Sick children recover miraculously when
the pediatrician enters the treatment room.
9. Refrigerated items, used daily, will
gravitate toward the back of the refrigerator.
10. Your chances of being seen by someone
you know dramatically increase if you drive
your child to school in your robe and curlers.
Nobody said parenting is easy but hang in there,
justice is on its way…”it” is called grandchildren.

What to do:
✞Keep giving that Godly advice. One day it will
connect with your child.
 The Spiritual Cliff
August 30

 Bible Reading: II Chronicles 7:8-22

 Key Verse: Verse 14 – “If my people, which are called
by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and
seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin,
and will heal their land.”
Key Words: If my people

The key to a national righteousness isn’t dependent

upon the lost but God’s people…”if my people”.
We have heard a lot lately about our country going
over “the fiscal cliff” which would have resulted in higher
taxes, etc.
I’m not so concerned about our nation going over the
fiscal cliff as I am our country going over the spiritual cliff.
Here are some sobering thoughts to consider.
 We have expelled God from our schools.
 We have booted the Ten Commandments
from our courthouses.
 We have dismissed God from our
government.
 We, in some stores, no longer call it
Christmas; we call it the holiday season.
 We abort over one million babies every
year.
 Only three out of every ten families
attend church, and only two of those
families would be considered faithful
church attenders.
 According to Barna, only a little over 10%
of churches still have a visitation program.
That’s about the same number that still
have a mid-week service.
 More than half of all Americans aged 12
or older report that they are current
drinkers. In the latest national survey,
 51.9% of those surveyed said they were
current drinkers, or an estimated 130.6
million people.
 Ninety-five percent of all Americans are
engaged in sexual activity before marriage.
You didn’t read that wrong: 95%.
 Ages 18 – 24 of this group, 80% who say
they are saved have engaged in pre-marital
sex.
 Only one out of every ten church-goers
gives financially on a consistent basis.
Here at Mountain View I have been told
that fewer than four out of ten give
consistently. That’s better than the
average; but poor, considering that almost
everyone raises their hand that they are in a
right relationship with God.
I close this article with the words of the writer from II
Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name,
shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and
turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

What to do:
✞Be ye doers of the word, not hearers only.

********************

Negativism
August 31

 Bible Reading: Numbers 13:17-33

 Key Verse: Verse 6 - ” But the men that went up with
him said, We be not able to go up against the people;
for they are stronger than we.”
 Key Words: But the men that went up with him
said, We be not able to go up against the people

A person’s attitude plays a major role in determining

what they accomplish. If a person thinks that something is
impossible, they usually don’t bother with it or put very little
effort into it.
One of the best portions of scripture concerning the
influence of others is recorded in Numbers 13. Moses sent out
twelve spies to determine the lay of the land, the size and
strength of the cities, and the type of produce and fruit which
was growing. Moses did not ask them to determine if the land
could be taken. Their purpose was to discuss what conditions
would prevail when the invasion occurred.
The spies spent 40 days in the land and came back
with a glowing report concerning its abundant produce. They
began their report by saying, We came unto the land whither
thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey;
and this is the fruit of it. Numbers 13:27. However, most of
the spies (ten of the twelve to be exact) quickly turned their
attention toward the negative. They gave a four-fold negative
report.
1.The cities are walled and very great.
Numbers 13:28.
2.The enemy are many in number. Numbers
13:29.
3.The enemy is strong. Numbers 13:31.
4.The enemy is big in stature. Numbers
13:32-33.
Negative thinking always produces negative
assumptions and conclusions. The spies’ negative report
began to spread like wildfire among the people, which
produced a negative report. And all the children of Israel
murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole
congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in
the land of Egypt! Or would God we had died in the
wilderness! And wherefore hath the Lord brought us into
this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our
children should be a prey? Were it not better for us to return
into Egypt? Numbers 14:2-3.
 Now, negative attitudes are highly contagious, and it
wasn’t long before this negative attitude infected the entire
nation. The truth is there really was no reason for all the
negativity...
 for God had this land prepared for Israel,
 the victory was a sure thing, and
 blessing lay ahead.
But because the people listened to all the negativism,
forty years of wilderness wandering resulted. Who you listen
to is extremely important. Reminds me of the following story.
“Two tired donkeys approached a stream on a hot day.
One was carrying a load of salt, and the other a huge pack of
sponges. The first donkey, carrying salt, went down into the
stream where the salt was dissolved. When he came out on
the other side, he called back to his fellow donkey, saying
what a marvelous experience he had as he lost his burden in
the cooling stream. Whereupon the second donkey plunged
into the stream, but the sponges soaked up the water and
caused him to drown.” Now the moral of the story is this:
make sure you know who you are listening to before you
follow them.

What to do:
✞Protect yourself from those who carry the
contagious attitude of negativism. They will kill your
zeal for God and the ministry.
Notes:
 I deeply appreciate the help of

Mary Parsons

Glenda Myrick

And my lovely wife, Linda

Without God using these people to

help, this devotional would not have
been possible.
Dr. Mike Rouse
 is a ministry of

5568 Chalkville Mountain Road

Birmingham, AL. 35235
(205) 854-2741
www.mountainviewbaptist.org