January 4 – Read Something Every Day

        Deuteronomy 17:18, 19 - " When [the king] takes his throne, he is to write for himself, on a scroll, a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. The copy is to be with the king, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere Yahweh his God, and to carefully follow all the words of this law and these decrees....."

        The above verses were written for future kings of Israel, and during the time when Moses was still the leader of the nation.  It was a command so that the future king would not get arrogant, think himself more highly than his people, and thus pervert justice in the kingdom. We Christians can certainly take heed from these words. A daily dose of God's word, with a willing heart to submit to God's will for the day, will teach us to follow God's ways and to love Him.

        I realize that sometimes one does not feel like reading every day, or that time restraints may prevent us from taking time in God's word, especially time to really meditate on the words and pray about them. One thing I try to do in the midst of these constraints, is to at least read a Psalm every day. One should definitely read and meditate upon texts from the New Testament, as that contains a fuller revealing of God and his ways. As has been stated by someone, "the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed".

        There are 150 psalms in the English Bible (a couple are actually combined in the Hebrew texts). There are an average of 30 days in each month, the number of which divides evenly into 150. Therefore, no matter what day of the month it is, I know which Psalm to read. If it is March 23, I know to easily turn to Psalm 23, Psalm 53, 83, 113, or 143. If it is January 31, I know that I can read some of Psalm 119, which has 176 verses, and which is also 80 times larger than Psalm 117. Proverbs can also fit into this pattern, since it has 31 chapters. Certainly Matthew, Luke, John, and Acts fit into this pattern also, as these NT books are divided into slightly less than 30 chapters.

        So forgive yourself for those days that you miss reading God's word. Then dive back in the next day, and let God speak to you from his word.

August 30 – To Tithe or not to tithe

       Malachi 3:8-10 - “ 'Will a man rob God? Yet you do rob me. But you ask “How do we rob you?” In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse – the whole nation of you – because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Almighty Eternal One, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven, and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room for it.' ”

        This is not an argument on the larger philosophy of tithing, whether or not it is still a requirement under the new covenant that Jesus initiated. Despite the rebuke in the verses above, there is a promise from God that remains. When we give money and resources to his established work (wherever that may be in his kingdom, and whatever that may look like), he promises to bless us tremendously. He only asks, as the New Testament woven theme goes, that we give willingly and generously (2 Corinthians 8:1-15).

        I was raised in a middle-class family, who lived for many years in an early 20^th century house, with a coal furnace. When I was in high school, I worked at the local Dairy Queen for a few summers. I was a new Christian, and I had read and understood the concept of tithing. So I made a promise to God. Even though I was only making $3 per hour at the time, I told God that I would give him $10 from every paycheck, which sometimes was well over 10% of what I made. For a teen, that might be a big deal; but I sacrificed anyway.

        As the years went by, I continued to be faithful in giving tithes and offerings (above 10%) to God's kingdom work, and still do so to this day. I can say that I have been blessed financially, in order to be a further blessing to someone else, not to increase my treasure on this earth for extravagant, luxurious living.

        This promise from God is one in which God states “to test him”. In other scriptures, we are expressly told to not test God. This exception must then be special. So why not “taste and see” that God is good, and start testing his heart to bless you, when you start blessing others and giving to his kingdom work.

August 27 – Birth Day

        Psalm 139:13-16a - “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made....my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body....” NIV © 1973

        The psalmist here paints a beautiful poetic picture of God creating a new physical life. It is interesting to note that the NIV uses the words “unformed body” in verse 16. The original Hebrew word actually means “embryo”. This verse alone, although there are others, (e.g. Jer. 1:5), confirms that life in God's mind begins at conception. Humans are his special creation (Gen. 1:26).

        There are more than 7 billion people on planet Earth in 2016. That averages to 19,178,082 living persons who share the same birth day in a calendar year. Does that large number make you feel insignificant? Yet God knows each one of us from the day that we were conceived, and even before, as Jeremiah 1:5 suggests.

        With whom do you share your birth date? Check out http://www.onthisday.com/birthdays to find some people remembered in history who have the same birth date as you. I share my birth day with U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, actor Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman), and Anna of Brandenburg, queen of Denmark (16^th cent). While I will not be remembered in the history annals of the world, God remembers me right now. I thank him that he is my Father and God, the most powerful creator and inventor of all time.

August 26 – Watch Your Life

        1 Timothy 4:16 – "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and [those who hear you]." © NIV, 1973

Proverbs 16:17 - ".....he who guards his way, guards his life."

        In 2010 I spent a week in El Salvador with King's Castle, a mission organization that works in youth evangelism and discipleship. I was with a team of college students from the U.S. and with some locals, participating in "spectacle evangelism" in the greaterr Santa Ana area. We were sleeping in a church building each night, and were transported via rented bus each day to and from our various destinations. The church building was very close to a busy road, and the bus had little room to park between the building and the road. One day, as we were exiting the bus on the highway side, one of the locals, in his decent, but incomplete English, stated "Watch your life", as we had to step from the bus onto the road. We Americans thought it was funny that he had used a phrase that was technically correct in American English but not used in the colloquial way that we say "Be careful!". So it turned out that I now have a perpetual inside joke related to bad English.

        It also turns out, that same phrase is used in I Timothy in the NIV, only in a slightly different context. The warning, however, is still there. It is a call to constantly be on guard about the direction that we are taking and about the worldview we are living. Everyday we should be mindful of how we spend our time, money, resources, ambitious thoughts. All of those things do reflect the worldview that we are living. Surrendering our lives daily and asking for God's guidance and direction the first thing in the morning, is one way to keep on track during the day. Let's guard our thoughts and life while pressing on to know God and his will and plans for our lives. Read I Cor. 16:13 and Prov. 4:23 for further thoughts.

January 3 – New Year's Day

        John 15:5 – "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a person remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing."

        Psalm 1:3 – "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which produces its fruit in season...."

        The music group U2 produced in 1983 a song called "New Year's Day". While it has overtones related to a long-standing feud in Ireland between Protestants and Catholics, it also has ideas related to the above scriptures, as well as some pessimism. Listening to that song forces one to look inside, and ask whether things have changed positively since the previous new year's day.

        When one plants something, that plant cannot move on its own. It has a new place of existence. When a tree sprouts naturally from a seedling, it is stuck in its natural environment; it cannot uproot itself and move to a different location. The same is not true of people. We can pick up our roots and move to different places. Where we tap our resources for growth or stagnation, are daily choices. Let's choose to remain in the source of God's spirit, which produces the fruit in our lives. Read Gal. 5:22, 23, as well as the entire context of the verses above. Both deal with life choices and the resulting fruit that is produced.

        Everyday can't be New Year's Day, but it can be that year's new day in one's life.

January 1 – Nothing New Under The Sun

        Eccl. 1:9, 10 -- "What has been will be again; what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, 'Look! This is something new'? It was here already, long ago. It was here before our time." NIV, © 1973

        Matt. 13:52 – "[Jesus] said to them, 'Therefore, every teacher of the law who has instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." NIV, © 1973

        I love to walk along the beach, looking for unique shells that the ocean has deposited in the sand. Purple-laced shells are my favorites, with black ones coming in second place. However, any unique-looking shells are worthy of keeping. Most of the purple-laced shells are actually just shards of larger shells that the churning of the ocean has torn apart (and re-cycled). That process takes nothing away from the beauty that I see in these broken pieces. 

              Many persons have written daily devotionals for the Christian community over the years. So, what makes this one special or different from all the others? Not necessarily anything. Solomon realistically, albeit pessimistically, realized, in the above quote from Ecclesiastes, that we just re-hash the same material, generation after generation. We live just like our ancestors did, only with different technology that we think makes our lives better than the previous generation. We all still need to eat and drink and have a secure place to lay our heads, away from the rain. And we need to have a correct perspective on God. That was also part of Solomon's search for meaning.

        Jesus comes along 900 years later and gives us a fuller and ultimate revelation of God and how to view life in this world. He states that the treasures of the kingdom consist of old and new things. While we Christians consider the New Testament to be the "final" revelation of God, his Spirit can take what is old, mundane, boring, repetitive, and make it new, vibrant, exciting, and life-changing to individuals, no matter what their age is, or how mature there life-experiences have been. God is in the business of redeeming all things. He can make your life flourish in the midst of what seems like constant winter, bringing new things out of his storeroom.

        Therefore, everything in this devotional, while being a re-hash of someone's experiences, may be something new and inspiring to someone else. Remember – they can't all be gems. But then again, they don't need to be.

January 2 – The LORD, the Lord, Christ

Psalm 110:1 – "The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at my feet until I make your enemies a footstool."

Ephesians. 1:2 – "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Colossians. 3:11 – "Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings."

       Throughout this devotional book [created in 2016], this is the only time that you will see the words "LORD" and "Lord". While I am not a Hebrew or Greek scholar (I can, however, read Koine Greek), I have enough lay knowledge to question the usage of the archaic translations "Lord" and "LORD" in the Old and New Testaments. Tradition alone is not good enough to keep using words that are outdated at best, and incorrect translations, at worst.

        In the 1500s and 1600s of England, the common word "lord" was widely used as a respectful title, either meaning "Sir", or "Ruler", the latter meaning carrying over into modern English in one of the few common English words with "lord" in it: "landlord". "Landlord" means the owner of a rental property, or at the very least, the manager thereof. There are two Hebrew words, which have traditionally been translated "LORD" (all caps) and "Lord". The former word is the Hebrew word (transliterated as) "Yahweh" or "Jehovah". (The word "transliterated", by the way, means the taking of a "foreign" word and forming it directly into a local word, e.g., the Greek word "angelos" coming into being as the English word "angel".) Yahweh is the title used by God in Exodus 3, when he spoke with Moses from the unburnt burning-bush. The word means "I am that I am"; "I will be what I will be"; and/or "the self-existent one". In other words, it means "the Eternal One", the being who has always existed, and always will exist, apart from anything that was created. This is a meaning that can be understood today. The latter word is the Hebrew word (transliterated as) "Adonai", which means "ruler" or "master", two modern English words that can be easily understood in context. Therefore, because I believe that titles matter, I always substitute these English titles or transliterations when I read or write Bible verses, instead of using the archaic tradtional translations. In Biblical Greek, the word (transliterated as) "kurios" means "sir, ruler, or master", depending on the context. This Greek word has been tradtionally translated "Lord", which I do not use.

        For the longest time, I also had trouble with the title "Christ" being used as a name. There is a reason to use the title of "Christ" as a name. The Greek word (transliterated as) "kristou" means "the Anointed One", which directly corresponds with the Hebrew word (transliterated as) "mashiach", which corresponds to our English translation "Messiah". It has traditionally been translated as a transliteration: "Christ". The name of Jesus was not a unique name during his time on the earth. The verse from Colossians above mentions a person who had two names – Jesus and Justus. Philippians 2:9-11 gives us the answer to any dilemma that may arise from the use of a common name: "Therefore God exalted [Jesus] to the hightest place and gave him the name that is above every name – that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow....and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Master), to the glory of God the Father." I am not sure from this verse whether the name Jesus itself has been exalted, or whether the "new" name of Jesus + Christ is the exalted one. What matters is that we differentiate between a Jesus who is the Christ, and one who is not. After all, there are many Jesuses in the Hispanic world, which is why Hispanics always say "JesuCristo" when they refer to the Jesus of the Bible.

        Some might argue that the word "Christ" as a title has morphed into a name. That concept is okay with me, whether it be true or not. (The name/title "Christian" follows this thinking.) It does not take away from the title and meaning itself – "the anointed One". Now, when one was anointed, oil was poured over the head as a symbolic gesture of God pouring his spirit onto a person for special usage, e.g., as a special leader, or as a prophet. Moses was one such person; as a matter of fact, he prophesied that someone like him would arise from among their brothers (Deuteronomy 18:18). We Christians recognize Jesus as this person, this "anointed One", this Messiah, the one that the Jewish people allegedly were always looking for thereafter. Because "anointed one" was recognized as someone special, I might refer to this person as "the chosen one" because he was the only one to be the "most High, anointed one". We know from many other Bible verses that Jesus was actually God in the flesh, also making him the "most High, anointed one", or "the chosen one".

        The upshot is this: I will not be using the English word "Lord" whatsoever, when referencing God or Jesus. I may use the English word "Christ", or "anointed one", or even "chosen one". I believe that the original meanings have more impact as words. I also believe that no respect toward God is lost in this endeavor; on the contrary, I believe that more respect is given to God, as his character traits are more fully divulged.

The verses at the beginning of this explanation can thus be rendered:

Psalm 110:1 – "Yahweh says to my master: Sit at my feet until I make your enemies a footstool."

Eph. 1:2 – "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Ruler Jesus, the Anointed One."

If you disagree, or are more comfortable using the traditional English words, that is also fine.  The important thing is that, whatever words we use to represent God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, we know what the meanings are, and that our devotion to God is not diminished due to the words that we use. 

August 21 – Crucified with The Anointed One

        Gal 2:20, 21 – "I have been crucified with the Chosen One (Christ); I no longer live, but the Chosen One lives in me. The life that I live in this body, is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God. If righteousness could be obtained by observing the Old Testament law, then the Chosen One died for nothing."

         These verses are related to baptism passages, in that immersion into Jesus means an immersion into his death and resurrection. These verses are also an "identifying" with Jesus. They are bold statements of faith. They are much more as well. Living daily by faith in Jesus requires a complete surrender and trust in God to work in us, change us, and to lead us in good and straight paths. Proverbs 3:5, 6 comes to mind as well: "Trust in Yahweh with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths." Living by faith in Jesus, furthermore, means a "resting" from our own works of "righteousness" and letting God work to perfect his life in us. He is the "author and finisher of our faith, as Hebrews 12 states. It is walking in step with his Spirit, living a symbiotic relationship with God. Study Gal. 5:16-18 and 2 Peter 1:3-11 for more specifics on God's working in us and our response thereto.

August 18 - One Aspect of Baptism

       Romans 6:2-4 – "We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? All of us who were baptized into Jesus the Anointed One were baptized into his death. We were, therefore, buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Jesus was raised from the dead physically, through the glory of the Father, we also may live a new life."

       I was baptized in 1983 in a muddy pond at Creation Festival in central Pennsylvania. I had become a Christian four years earlier in high school. Some friends would argue that I did not become a Christian until I was baptized, but I would disagree. That argument is for another day. I want to focus on one aspect of baptism that is inherent but rarely fleshed out during the baptism "ceremony".

       It is always a joy to be at someone's baptism, because baptism represents seriousness. It is a conscious display to the world, telling them that one is serious about living for Jesus. When I became a Christian, I really didn't know the details and symbolism behind baptism. I was serious in my faith, however, from the beginning. When I finally understood the meaning of baptism, I made the conscious decision to let the world know. Baptism is definitely a "coming out of the closet". It is a purposeful statement to the whole world, letting them know that your "old life" has been buried in that watery grave, and that your "new life" is now immersed in learning to follow the teachings of Jesus, learning to live in his guiding Spirit, and surrendering one's life to his will.

       I use the word "immersed" on purpose, as that is the meaning of the Greek word for baptism. When one is immersed in water, one is completely surrounded by it. There is not one part of the body that does not get wet. Therefore, every aspect of one's life (marriage, job, money, time, etc.) is covered in new life, new meaning, and new purpose, as taught by Jesus. The old life is over; the new life is completely different from the old. That is one of the nuances of the meaning of the statement of Jesus, "You must be born again." A butterfly emerges from its "immersion" in the cocoon as a worm, to be become a completely different creature, beautiful in its transformation.  

August 16 - The Ultra-condensed Summary of World History

        Acts 27:24-31 - "The God who made the world and everything in it — He is Ruler of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Being God’s offspring then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination. Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to change their minds, because He has set a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.” © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers

        That is the ultra-condensed version of history from creation to the end thereof, as we know it. There are obviously more details that we as the human race need to know to have a more-thorough knowledge of God, his ways, and his plan for humans. Nonetheless, these verses give you and me a glimpse into our own existence. I was born in Pennslyvania, in the USA, to a white family of European ancestry, in the 20^th century AD - on purpose. God planned the start of my earthly existence to be in that particular place on earth, to a particular family/nationality, and in that particular time in history. As a matter of fact, this is true for everyone living, and who has ever lived. As the text states, God did this, despite the fact that he is invisible, so that we could look for him and yet find him, wherever we were in time, place, and circumstance.

        The latter part of the text also differentiates between two separate historical timeframes, one before Jesus lived on the earth, and the one thereafter. So there are at least two measures of revelation from God to mankind, the latter perhaps carrying more responsibility for mankind in relation to the personal acceptance (embracing) of that revelation. (From an historical view of the Bible, one can conclude several different measures of revelation. The fleshing out of that concept is for another blog.) It may seem like God plays hide-and-seek (and I think he does sometimes on purpose), but he has given mankind enough reason for us to find him and know him.

August 15 – Face-book Irony

       Psalm 105:14 – "Look to Yahweh and his strength; seek his face always."

       Psalm 27:8, 9 – "My heart says of you, 'Seek his face'. Your face, Yahweh, I will                           seek.  Do not hide your face from me....." © NIV, 1973

       I try to not take anything for granted in God's word, which is sometimes easy to do after more than three decades of following Jesus. There is certainly much that I do not understand in the Old Testament prophets; there is much learning/living to do as life lines up with the New Testament teaching and experiences. To that point, I am always finding new things to ponder in God's word. There is a phrase that pops up now and then in the Old Testament that is ironic – "Seek his face".

       God, who remained mostly invisible in the Old Testament to Earth's inhabitants, told us not to worship images or idols, because he was so much bigger and so much more than a small material object – even so much bigger than his creation. Yet he remained unseen – invisible – to the physical eye. Then some Old Testament writers, such as Moses and the psalmists, come along and use some mystical phrasing in contrast to this invisible God. This passage from Numbers 6:22f is very interesting. Yahweh himself instructs Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites: Speak to them: " ' "May Yahweh bless you and keep you [safe]; may Yahweh make his face shine on you and be grace-giving to you; may Yahweh turn his face toward you and give you peace." ' "

       While Moses did speak with Yahweh "face-to-face", the rest of the Israelite community only saw God's glory in awesome, terrible, displays of fire, smoke, and loud rumblings/voices. Yet God uses the word "face" metaphorically in a positive, gentle way to convey his desire to love and bless us. Seeing someone's face is a very important aspect in knowing that person. Yet God says that we can know him, without seeing his face. There are other parts of creation that point to him, and to us knowing him. So, I see this interesting use of phrasing as a means of testing us. The resurrected Jesus told a "doubting" Thomas in John 20:29, "Because you have finally seen me, you now believe. Blessed are those who have not seen me and still believe." That promise holds true even two millenia after Jesus physically left this earth.

August 13 - Infinity

     Psalm 103:12 – "As far as the east is from the west, is how far God has removed our sins from us."

     Back in the days of 700 BC, in the Middle East, when someone compared the east versus the west, one probably had in mind a span of only a few hundred miles, as even the traders would not routinely travel much farther on their trade routes. So, in the mind of your average non-traveler, the distance between east and west was very far – far enough for our sins to not be a part of us anymore. If you had taken a long journey, and returned home, all the while leaving something personal behind at your destination, you would have deemed it gone forever. A trek back to retrieve it would take a long time and not worth taking again. That is how we as followers of Jesus should see our sins in the light of Jesus "removing" them from us.

     There is even a greater analogy of east versus west. Now that we can travel around the world in 24 hours, east and west do not seem contrasting at all, at least on the surface. That is, until one looks at the surface of a globe. If one starts anywhere on the earth and travels northward, he will eventually reach the north pole and start heading southward. The opposite is also true. If one heads south, he will eventually start heading north after reaching the south pole. The east-west traversal, however, is not the same. Even if one heads east, and goes all the way around the world to his starting point, if he continues in the same direction, he will still be heading east, and will forever be heading east. Therefore, the theoretical distance between east and west is infinity, because if one is always heading east, west is never reached. What an awesome picture of Jesus removing our sins when we give our lives in submission to him!  

August 12 - Reminders

      2 Peter 1:12-15 – "So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. I will make every effort to see that after my departure, you will always be able to remember these things."  
      2 Peter 3:1 – "Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking."  NIV, © 1973

      I use to work for a government agency in the operations division, which meant that there was round-the-clock work. This also meant that the work shifts were only eight hours. Work breaks were designated due to this structure. Every day around 2:45, I would take my afternoon 15-minute break. My usual custom was to read my Bible while on break. One day, a middle-aged man asked me why I read my Bible every day. I told him that I needed to remind myself how to think and act.

      Peter, in his second letter, tells his audience that he is reminding them of things that they already knew, because they were deeply rooted in the truth. If deeply-rooted Christians needed to be reminded, how much more so new Christians in the faith!

I think that Peter recognized what a later hymn-writer would pen in "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing": "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love." I think that one reason for that penchant to wander is that we do not remind ourselves daily of the promises of God, our standing in his family, or what God requires of us daily. We need to discipline ourselves in reminding ourselves!

      Jeremiah 17:9 says that the human heart is deceitful above all things. Paul reminds us in I Cor. 10:12 – "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall". Jesus reminds us in several places to "be on our guard" – Matt 16:11,12; Matt. 10:17; Luke 21:36, e.g. These verses are given to us as warnings; reminding ourselves how to think and act will help in avoiding these pitfalls.

      So, don't forget to remind yourself daily of the truths in God's word.

August 10 - Freely Give

Luke 6:30 - "Give to everyone who asks you...."

     These are words of Jesus, put into a context of other phrases which describe someone taking your possessions and not returning them.  This is basically someone taking advantage of you.  The phrase above, however, is very simple, and it is a command.  Let me share a story of something that happened to me recently.
     I was entering Wendy's fast food restaurant, when a man hollered at me from his car.  After he caught my attention, he approached me and asked if I could buy him something to eat.  After a hesitant affirmation, I noticed that another man exited this man's car and walked toward the restaurant.  I was then wondering if I was going to buy this man something to eat as well.  As we were all in the restaurant in line, the first man then said he had to go back to his car for something.  I then closely watched the 2nd man order some food for himself and pay for it with cash he pulled from his pocket.  I managed to see him re-pocket a bill that was not a $1 bill.  He got his food, just as the first man came back into the store.  Instead of asking the first man if he would like what I was going to order, I confronted the first man, asking why his buddy was not buying food for him, since he apparently had money.  I ended up not buying the man anything, and he did not put forth an argument at all.
     Later, I really felt guilty, not for uncovering a plot to take advantage of me, but for not simply obeying the instruction of Jesus.  I had reverted to looking out for myself, instead of letting God look out for me, even though this guy was trying to pull the wool over my eyes.
     On the surface, it seemed like a simple plot to take advantage of me.  But did I really know the whole story of these guys lives?  Did I miss an opportunity to reap a blessing from God?  To please him in obedience?  To maybe get a chance to dig into these guys lives and plant a seed of righteousness?  I certainly did miss an opportunity.
    It is better to simply obey and allow God to take care of us.  None of this scenario surprised God.  He knew it was going to happen, and he allowed it to happen as a test of my obedience.  God, warm up my love for you and others. 

August 9 -Thankfulness

Psalm 100:4 – "Enter [God's] gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

      I have been to many group meetings, whose sole purpose was to have folks talk about that for which they were thankful. During those meetings, many good things in life were put forth, with the speaker stating that he or she was grateful or thankful for these things. I would put forth, however, that thankfulness cannot be a state of mind. If I was grateful that I had money to buy fuel to keep my house warm in the winter, it would actually mean that I was glad that I had a warm house. "Being" grateful is really only being glad. In order to really "be" thankful, one has to actually thank someone. One cannot thank inanimate objects or animals, because they cannot do things for humans out of a free will (dogs may be an exception, but you get the point). Thankfulness is not a state of being; it is the act of thanking someone for something that a person did for you.

      If I earn the ability to be comfortable and happy, then no thanks is necessary. I did it on my own. However, we all know that not everything we have in life was earned by the sweat of our brows. All of us enjoy blessings, wealth, health, happiness, etc. because it was given to us - through many avenues. The ultimate giver is God who gives every day without us blinking an eye. Consider: Acts 17:28 - "For in [God] we live and move and have our being." As mentioned in the opening Bible verse, we should thank God for all the good things in our lives, every day. James 1:17 states that "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights..." Deuteronomy 8:17, 18 - "You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.' But remember the Eternal One your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth...." Therefore, we should thank God continually for these good things. I Thess. 5:18 also says to give thanks in all circumstances. Even Jesus specifically gave thanks to the Father. Check out John 11:41; Matthew 15:36; Mark 14:41; Luke 22:17f; and Luke 24:30. There are numerous other verses that command us to thank God for what he has done for us.

      Don't just be glad for your blessings. Thank God on purpose for them.