Scripture

The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you.

~Deuteronomy 33:27

Quote

Life is like walking a tightrope. Don’t give in to the fear of falling; keep your eyes on Jesus and remember you have a safety net under you…the Everlasting Arms.

~Sarah Young

I love devotionals. I am doing five this year and three of them came from a book give-a-way at the Associational Office. You will find this shocking, but my favorite may be Sarah Young. I don’t know much about Sarah; she was a native of Nashville and she was promoted last August at the age of seventy-seven. Judging by her education, I would think she was a Presbyterian. Her approach is the most fascinating thing I have ever seen. Her devotions are very short but powerful. I highly recommend JESUS CALLING and it has sold over 45 million copies. I am also reading WISDOM FOR THE WAY by Chuck Swindoll. It too is very concise: neither of these takes more than a minute to read. I am also doing DAY BY DAY by Billy Graham.

Now what really amazes me is how God uses these authors and books to encourage me. I have really been struggling with the flesh and the devil for the past couple of months. He reminds me constantly that I am unworthy and that the most noble thing I could do would be to resign and tell everyone I’ve tried to help that I am a hypocrite and a fraud. His fiery darts are like the waves of the sea, one after another in relentless succession. When I read Grahams devotion for yesterday, it was music to my ears. “Death for the Christian means permanent freedom from evil and the evil one. So much of self is involved in all we do here; but one day Christ will glorify us and make us perfect.” Sounds like Dr. Graham struggles with the flesh just like I do, and I thank God that he was an honest man who shared his experience. Hearing him say this made me feel better about jack.

By the way: Billy Graham is not as gifted as some other writers but his testimony speaks volumes and I love reading his thoughts. I’m going to guess that all my readers do a morning quiet time but if you don’t let me suggest that you start with one of these devotions that you can read in under two minutes. Start small and do not worry about time. Five minutes a day is better than no minutes. First you have to make it a habit and in time it will become a passion.

Extra

Another good LORD’s day. Doug didn’t think he was going to make it but he did and once again he did an outstanding job leading us in praise. We had another great discussion in the men’s bible class and a good worship services. The amazing thing yesterday were the visitors. They may have out numbered our members. I was shocked and pleased. According the Barnabas {read this last night} only 5% of people return for a second visit due to the preacher or the sermon. By far, not even close, the invitation of a friend or relative leads the pack. A whopping 75% attend due to the invitation of a friend or family.

Sun is shinning and it is warming up. I went out to turn the water on to my office building and our meter is covered by a frozen pond. This is not good. I think there is a leak below but the ice is to thick to mess with. I will probably find out what it is this evening. Our water pressure has been down all week. I do understand, it is a minor problem–nothing to compare with what Mike and his family are going through.

I talked to Andrea yesterday some time and Lincoln is home on the couch but in pain. He goes to St. Jude later this week. Kip is going back to hospital today. They are working on Mike a rehab plan. It was good to see smiling Emma in service yesterday and she brought family and friends.

God bless you, have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.