Monday, October 31, 2011

A person is known not only by the company he keeps but by the company he avoids.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Christianity is worth little if it doesn’t change your lifestyle.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Thursday, October 27, 2011

You are either leaving your mark on the world or the world is leaving its mark on you

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Monday, October 24, 2011

Separate yourself from fellowship with the world, or the world will separate you from fellowship with God

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Friday, October 21, 2011

It’s not your will that keeps you out of heaven; it’s your won’t.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Christ is the only way to heaven; all other paths are detours to doom.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

If you’re really concerned about what you wear, remember that facial expressions are the most important.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Laugh a lot, and when you are older, all of your wrinkles will be in the right places.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Monday, October 10, 2011

There are few dark days ahead for those who have learned to spread sunshine.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Thursday, October 6, 2011

October 6, 2011But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be
fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
Matthew 26:56.

Before he attacked Russia, Napoleon seemed to have the world at his
fingertips. When the Russian invasion failed, Napoleon, fearing he might be overthrown at home, left his suffering army and hurried back to France. Coming to a river, the frightened general asked the ferryman if many
deserters had asked for passage. "No," replied the Russian, "you are the first."

In making His stand for the redemption of sinful humanity, Jesus broke new ground. He did have options. He could have escaped -after all, He had walked through a hostile crowd before (His time had not yet come). But Jesus was not a deserter. His Father had entrusted Him with the job of
saving humanity and He completed it. So that others may know this
wonderful news, Christians are being called upon, in increasing numbers, to take their stand. That's what we will do, lest we become a deserter in the Lord's crusade.
REMEMBER: Stand for the One who died for you.

LIFE OF CHRISTMatthew 26:47-56

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

October 5, 2011
When He had finished praying, Jesus left with His disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. John 18:1
When Joseph and Mary had made their way to Bethlehem, it’s altogether possible that they passed through the Kidron Valley. This would have been a familiar experience for them. When Jews would come to Jerusalem, they would come singing their familiar Psalms of Ascent.
When they passed through this valley, they did so knowing they were
bearing the Savior of the world, the One promised for so long. They would sing the Psalms in a whole new way. Others were singing the songs filled with hope. Mary and Joseph were singing them as songs about to be
fulfilled! The cry of the pilgrims had been heard! The Messiah was about to be born! There must have been so much joy in Joseph and Mary’s heart as they passed through the Kidron Valley with eagerness and delight.
33 years later, however, Jesus passed through this valley on Palm Sunday. He was welcomed as the Song of David, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. He was riding a donkey. Mary, that day, no doubt remembered her ride into Jerusalem, on the way to Bethlehem so many years earlier (and probably on a donkey as well.)
But, on this night that we’ve read about in the Scriptures today Jesus passes through the valley again. This time, He does so as our Lord and Savior, to lay down His life for us, and then to take it up for us again. He came through that valley so He might assure us that He joins us in all the valleys of our lives.
REMEMBER: You are always accompanied by the King of kings and Lord of lords.

LIFE OF CHRISTJohn 18:1; Luke 22:39-46

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

October 4, 2011And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. Mark 14:32

Our Scriptures today take us into the Garden of Gethsemane late at night. It was not unusual for Jesus to go to the garden to seek solitude. It was there He prayed.
But the nature of the prayer was most unusual. Showing His true humanity He prays that this "cup" of suffering might be removed. Showing His true obedience to God the Father, He also prays for the Father's will to be done. He does this three times, and an angel comes to minister to Him. He pleads so intently that "being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44).
Jesus understands how difficult this is going to be. He also understands how important it is for Him to be faithful. The full passion of Christ is also seen in John 17 where He prays for Himself, His disciples, and all believers.
The prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane also emphasizes Christ's aloneness. The disciples, despite their best intentions and desires, cannot stay awake. It shouldn't be difficult for us to identify with their behavior. Others have
observed that same behavior in us. Our Lord also forgives us of our failed best intentions.
PRAY TODAY: Bless me, Lord, so that I may watch with You. Amen.

LIFE OF CHRIST
Mark 14:32-42

Monday, October 3, 2011

October 3, 2011Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto
death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and
fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this
cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Matthew 26:38-39
Dorothy Lee's husband of 40 years died while they were driving home from a Bible study. He nodded a few times and then his head fell upon his chest. Ms. Lee was able to avoid a crash, call 911, and watch as the ambulance arrived and the paramedics worked to save her husband. He was
pronounced dead at the hospital. Then, a few minutes later, Ms. Lee's heart seemed to start causing her difficulty. She complained of sharp pains in her chest; she said she felt faint and then passed out. The doctors studied her. They sent her through a battery of tests and found nothing amiss. Her
arteries were clear; there was no trace of a blood clot. She hadn't had a heart attack. So what happened? Dorothy Lee almost died of a broken heart.
Yes, really. There is such a thing. A
broken heart isn't just some poetic turn of phrase. Those who study such things know that real, sometimes fatal, changes, can happen to a heart after a traumatic breakup or after the death of a loved one. If that's the case, it would explain why ministers see
seemingly healthy spouses die soon after the passing of a loved one.

When I first read that article in the
Wall Street Journal, it got me wondering, "Did Jesus die of a broken heart?" If anyone had a right to die of sadness it was Jesus. The people He had come to save had rejected Him, renounced Him, and rebelled against His words. One of His closest friends betrayed Him; one denied Him; the others deserted Him. Did Jesus die of a broken heart? Well, His heart was broken. That’s absolutely correct. But, that’s not the whole story. You see, Scripture tells us the Savior willingly "gave up His Spirit" (John 19:30b). In John 10, Jesus said that nobody would take His life. On the contrary, He predicted that when death came calling on
Calvary's cross it would succeed because He was willingly laying down His life to save the sheep. Did Jesus die of a broken heart? His heart was broken. But He died because His heart was so full of love He gladly gave His life for ours.

 
REMEMBER: Man’s best friend, Jesus, has conquered man’s worst enemy, death.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

October 2, 2011
(Jesus said)…”Thy Word is truth.” John 17:17b

Maybe you've heard the expression, "If it looks like a duck, and it waddles like a duck and it quacks like a duck ... it's probably a duck."
Applying that phrase to today's devotion, I'd say if it looks like the Bible, and it sounds like the Bible, and it has a name like the Bible's ... it ought to be the Bible.
But it isn't. Most definitely the book I'm talking about
isn't the Bible. And what book is this? This is a volume written by atheist-humanist Anthony C. Grayling ... a volume he has entitled: The Good Book.The Good Book has two columns like many Bibles; it uses chapters and verses like your Bible; it even tries to duplicate the beautiful and powerful rhythms of the King James Version of Scripture.
Grayling's
The Good Book looks like a Bible, but it isn't. It really isn't.
In your Bible, God is credited with the creation of heaven and earth. In Grayling's book it says, "All things take their origins from earlier kinds. Ancestors of most creatures rose from the sea, some inhabitants of the sea evolved from land-dwelling forefathers."
Your Bible tells how Adam and Eve were seduced into sinning when they ate the forbidden fruit. Grayling prefers to substitute the story of an apple falling on Isaac Newton's head.
And when your Bible talks about sin and the need for Jesus' blood-bought forgiveness, Grayling's
The Good Book says all of us are really very good and very nice.
And why does Mr. Grayling feel the need to write and market his good book?
It stems from Mr. Grayling's dislike of today's Bible verse. He doesn't
believe God's Word is truth, and he's pretty sure he can come up with a better plan for humanity than that which is contained in Scripture.
Grayling's thinking and writing is a sign of the times: a sign the Lord said was coming when He wrote, "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" (Matthew 24:11).
REMEMBER: “Anything short of truth and anything beyond the truth is a lie.” – Curtis Hutson

LIFE OF CHRIST
John 17:1-26

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Enter His Gates October 1, 2011

October 1, 2011For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. John 16:27
"I love you." We say those powerful words in so many different
contexts...the love between friends; the love of husbands for wives, and wives for husbands; the love we have for our children. In all of these
examples, we have experienced that kind of love being tested. Sometimes that love has been lost, and sometimes, after a passage of time, it is
regained. Yet, there is no earthly example great enough to truly show us how great the love our Heavenly Father has for you and me.
Think of it this way: God knows tomorrow as well as you know your
yesterdays. He knew every mistake you would and will make. He knows every time you have or will take His name in vain. He knows every time you will or have sinned against Him. When something bad happens to you, He knows that every time you will scream at the top of your lungs, "WHY?" Yet with all of that knowledge, God still sent His Son as a sacrifice on a cross for all you've done, or will ever do.
Imagine Christ hanging on that cross with all your baggage draped around His neck, weighing Him down further, pulling tighter at the nails driven painfully through His palms, taking the hit for you! That's love! That's
perfect love! That's how much God loves you!
The only response needed to accept God's perfect love is to love Jesus, to accept Him for who He was and who He is, the Son of the Living God. "For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me (Jesus), and have believed that I came forth from God."
REMEMBER: Be happy. YOU ARE LOVED!
LIFE OF CHRIST
John 16:26-33