Scripture
Watch out, you mighty man! The LORD is about to grab hold of you. He is about to throw you away. He will roll you up tightly like a ball. He will throw you into a very large country. There you will die.
~Isaiah 22:17-18, NIrV
Quote
Pride preceeds a fall.
~Solomon
God’s word is so fresh and deep that I am continually impressed. I am reading the prophet Isaiah in my morning devotions and today I was reading chapter 22. I do not remember this man Shebna and I have preached through the entire bible. Today, when I reread the story, it’s like I had never seen it before. I guess this is part of being 67 years old; I wake up in a new world everyday. If you are a history buff like myself, you may find this story interesting.

What lessons do we learn from this story?
- Pride preceeds a fall–this spiritual law is as accurate as the law of gravity; pride is sure to bring us low.
- We must not forget who we are: we are servants not masters. Stewards have freedoms, responsibilities and priviledges but we are still servants and we have a master.
- We can decieve people, perhaps even kings like Hezekiah [a good king] but we can’t decieve God and it is He, not we, who will have the final say about our future.
- What can we say other than PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSING FLOW. The LORD continues to move and bless. We had two more professions of faith yesterday {Preston Shelton and Cody Cribbs} and one transfer of letter {Eva Marino}. The church also called Joe David to be their new pastor effective January 1, 2017. Our mission offering was slightly better and so was our budget offering.
- TRUNK-A-TREAT: we had three more sign up for Trunk-A-Treat, this gives us 29. Remember, you will get help on the candy. Two prizes: Best trunk and best costume.
- God’s word is convicting. It amazes me how God convicts me by the sermons I preach. Last night, after the service, He convicted me of doing the very thing I denied doing in the sermon, “trying to straighten folks out.” Once again, God convicted me of my pride and my lack of faith in HIM. I have repented and turned from this sin. By the grace of God, I will do better.
- I have a lot to be thankful for and I need to give God credit for doing things that I could never do. I do praise HIM for HIS infinite goodness. I do thank him for my family, friends and staff. DBC is bless with good leaders and I feel very good about my retirement. I think it is time and I believe the church will do better than ever. I do have great help: speaking of which, Mandy is having a hard day. Winston is in critical condition. Those of you who know the situation understand why she loves this dog so much and it is not because she is married to Jason. I don’t mind asking you to pray for Mandy.
- It’s warm this morning but things are supposed to change today. We may get some rain tonight but one way or the other, a cool front is on the way or so they say. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to see the hot weather go. Hot dry weather depresses me and I can’t do anything about it.