Scripture

Above all, constantly seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness, then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly.

~Matthew 6:33, Passion

Quote

Isn’t it interesting how God uses difficult {obnoxious} people in our life to teach us valuable lessons.

Mark S. Milwee

I spoke to a group of pastors recently and I must have mentioned my affinity for reading; later one of the pastors mailed me a daily devotional that he had written. It is one of six I am using daily in 2024. His February 6 entry got my full attention. He spoke a very difficult man in the church where he was serving. This guy was a Pharisee from top to bottom. He had the very bad habit of rebuking other church members for their sins. What made everyone sick was that he never confessed any of his sins such as pride and self-righteousness. He was not speaking directly to the pastor but the pastor heard him say to some, “No news before the good news”. What he was referring to was turning on the TV before you do your bible reading and prayer time. The pastor’s habit was to drink a cup of coffee and look at the news paper first thing. God used this self-righteous hypocrite to convict the pastor. I’ve been there, done that and have the T-shirt. I’ve had these in-your-face self-righteous fruit inspectors to say demeaning things to me. I will admit that what they said ticked me off but when I got alone to brood about their comments, the LORD would tell me…“You can sit there and feel sorry for yourself if you want to but the guy has a point. He is crude, and rude, and he wouldn’t know the love of Jesus if it bit him on the neck but there is some truth to what he said.” God can hit a hard lick with a crooked stick.

I don’t know if the self-righteous obnoxious man coined this phrase or simply repeated it–NO NEWS BEFORE THE GOOD NEWS–but I like the concept. It is not just the TV or the newspaper that gets the best part of our day; cell phone are probably the biggest idol of them all. Some years ago, I discovered the Sudoku puzzle on my phone and my first thing came to be to make a cup of hot chocolate and work the puzzle. I can usually work the puzzle in fifteen minutes or less but that is not the point. I was convicted before the end of last year and I started a new discipline in 2024. The first thing I do is read is Sarah Young’s JESUS CALLING. It is a brief devotion designed to help us focus on Christ presence. I have it and Swindoll at the breakfast table and I read Billy Graham just before I go to bed. I don’t want to sound like the self-righteous man but I highly suggest that you not turn on the TV or your phone until you have had your quiet time.

I am not saying that TV is evil but it will not edify you spiritually. I watch some TV, usually late night. It help me unwind. Right now we are watching Paradise, a family show {western} made for TV back in the 90’s. I watch no news on TV. It discourages and depresses me. Plus practically everything they say is a lie. There is no doubt, the world is the influence behind TV. Of course, I am preaching to the choir. Those who read this blog have a daily quiet time and right now you are reading, not watching T.V.

Extra

If you want my cell phone, come get it. Of course you will have to go through Big Mama who uses it for a tracking device. She is afraid I will wonder off and not come back. That is a guess; she may be afraid I will come back. I don’t keep it on half the time and I am horrible about hearing it ring. I usually respond to text the next day. If I was not on the road so much I wouldn’t need one at all. I guess they are convenient in a way but I could live without one. Of course, they would need to put phone booths back in. I bet my GK’s don’t know what a phone booth or directory is!

Great weather this week but Big Mama says cold weather is on it’s way and it will be here for Valentine’s Day. I hope you have a great hump day and thanks for reading the blog.