Tuesday, September 18, 2012

DRIVE-TIME DEVOTION

ON CREAKY KNEES
Read: Psalm 116
Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. --Psalm 116:2
Meet Margaret the battler. More than 90 years of memories and faith are her legacy, but she's not ready to surrender. Her life is full of the physical pain that often accompanies old age, and even though she's too weak to walk anymore, Margaret is not done with her ministry.
Despite her increasing feebleness, and despite her near deafness and inability to move around, Margaret has a ministry that reaches far beyond the walls of the nursing home where she lives. Every day--often for hours at a time--she sits in her chair with a stack of prayer cards and prays diligently for missionaries. And sometimes, when she can push her frail body to do so, she kneels beside her bed on creaky knees to talk with God.
Margaret doesn't have much more than prayer to offer her Lord. She is the essence of the answer to the question in Psalm 116:12, "What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?" Verse 13 answers, "I will . . . call upon the name of the Lord."
A lifetime of being sustained by God's love, grace, and mercy is just about over for Margaret. In the face of mounting physical weakness, she is staying spiritually strong to the end. O to have her courage and dedication--at any age!
(From Campus Journal)

Monday, September 15, 2012

DRIVE-TIME DEVOTION

NO MORE EXCUSES
Read: Ezekiel 18:1-18
The soul who sins shall die. —Ezekiel 18:4
When salmon travel hundreds of miles up rivers and streams to spawn, they are acting on instinct. They are in a sense being driven by an uncontrollable force.
I read about a young convict who thinks that human conduct is similar to that of the salmon. Referring to the murders he committed and to his own fate, he said, "Things just happen." He thinks some kind of force was responsible for his pulling the trigger and killing two people. But he is wrong. Man is free and cannot blame his sinful actions on an uncontrollable force such as instinct.
More than 2,500 years ago, some Israelites were using a similar excuse for their sin. They quoted a well-known proverb that placed the blame for their sins on their ancestors (Ezekiel 18:2). But God told them they were wrong. He said that a good man will not be punished for the sins of a wicked son. Nor will a godly son be punished for the sins of his evil father.
Make no mistake. No matter what your situation, you are responsible for what you do. Stop offering excuses for your sins. Instead, acknowledge your guilt to God and accept the forgiveness He offers (Psalm 32:5). That's the first step in exercising your individual responsibility. —Herb Vander Lugt

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Birthday Verse of the Day: 

Romans 8:15 NIV = For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

Today in History:

1911: Procter & Gamble of Cincinnati introduced Crisco hydrogenated shortening.

1939: The film Wizard of Oz premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

1999: Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship, the youngest player to win two majors since Seve Ballesteros.

1456: The Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed from a movable type, was dated by hand. Printed by the German Johann Gutenberg, its exact date of publication is unknown. Gutenberg probably printed about 180 copies, of which 20 complete copies are extant. The Gutenberg Bible is the oldest surviving printed book in Europe. 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Birthday Verse of the Day:

Romans 8:14 NIV = because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Today in History:

1935: U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, creating a system of federal income insurance for the elderly.

2003: The chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Roy Moore, said he would not remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building, defying a federal court order to remove the granite monument.

1942: Bill Wallace returns to China as a missionary doctor. He had vowed to give his life for this work years earlier. 

Monday, August 13, 2012

Birthday Verse of the Day:  

Isaiah 8:13 NIV = The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear.

Today in History:

1910: Nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale died at age 90. She had taken to her bed 34 years earlier, convinced she was dying. 

1998: Iowa honored longtime Governor Terry Branstad by having his likeness carved in a 150-pound block of Colby cheese. The bust was displayed in a cooler outside the cattle barn at the Iowa State Fair.

1587: Members of Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition to Roanoke baptizes Manko, the first American Indian convert to Protestantism.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Today in History

1498: England’s King Henry the 7th paid John Cabot a 10-pound reward for discovering Canada. In American currency, that was about $15 worth of beads.

1993: Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the U.S. Supreme Court`s 107th justice, and second female member.

1948: English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: "We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good; if bad, because it works in us patience, humility, contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country."

Birthday Verse of the Day

Nehemiah 8:10 NIV = Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Today in History:

1944: The U.S. Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council created the character Smokey the Bear to plead for Americans to prevent forest fires. 

1765: English founder of Methodism John Wesley wrote in a letter: "You have but one Pattern; follow Him inwardly and outwardly. If other believers will go step for step with you, well; but if not, follow Him!"

Birthday Verse of the Day:

2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV = For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.