July 26, 2010

“In waiting, I waited, for the Lord.” Psalm 40:1

Back at the turn of the last century when I was a young lad (that is what my kids think) I helped a neighbor on his farm. His father had once had a dairy farm on that land and had planted a fast growing rose bush to make fence rows. Within a couple years those bushes had grown higher than a man’s head, as wide as a car and nothing but Ber-rabbit could go through that tangle of vines and sharp thorns. Those hedge rows were designed to keep the cows in and worked better than any barbwire ever made. Sometimes God plants a briar patch around us and hedges us in. Then we find our path blocked and we must wait. Waiting is much more difficult than walking. Waiting requires patience and patience is a rare virtue toady. Certainly one the Barnes clan missed out on. Hedges are great for protecting us from things, but when the hedge grows so tall and thick that we can not see around or over it, we often begin to wonder if we will ever get out of its sphere of influence and service we have been limited to. Sometimes it becomes hard to “brighten the corner” where we are hedged into. But God has purpose in all His holdups. Psalm 37:23 says “The steps of a good man (or woman) are ordered by the Lord.” (parentheses mine) The great saint of prayer and faith, George Mueller once wrote in the margin of his Bible beside the verse above; “And the stops also.” It is a sad mistake for men to break through God’s hedges. It is a vital principle that Christians must learn to never move out of the place in which he is sure God has placed him until God opens a door and says, “GO!”

Thought for the week: A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized. -- Fred Allen

Funny for the week: Where did our innocence go?

Out bicycling one day with my eight-year-old granddaughter, Carolyn, I got a little wistful. 'In ten years,' I said, 'you'll want to be with your friends and you won't go walking, biking, and swimming with me like you do now. Carolyn shrugged. 'In ten years you'll be too old to do all those things anyway.'

Yelp, there now…………. Chaplain Barnes

Last week’s answer: What two men in the Bible made a love covenant? David and Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:4)

This week’s question: The title of what book in the Bible means the “preacher”?

July 19, 2010

“Trust in Him…” Psalm 37:5

Today’s devotion comes from the book New Streams in the Desert by F.B. Meyer (p.465)

The word “trust” is the heart of faith and is the O.T. word given to the infant, or early, stages of faith. The word “faith” conveys more an act of the will, while the word “belief” conveys an act of the mind or intellect, but trust is the language of the heart. The words “faith” and “belief” refer more to a truth believed or to something expected to happen.

Trust implies more than this, for it sees and feels and it leans on those who have a great, living, and genuine heart of love. Therefore, let us “trust also in him” (KJV), through all the delays, in spite of all the difficulties, and in the face of all the rejection we encounter in life. And in spite of our feelings and evidence to the contrary, and even when we cannot understand our way or our situations, may we still “trust also in him (for) he shall bring it to pass.” The way will open, our situation will be changed, and the end result will be peace. The cloud will finally be lifted, and the light of eternal noonday will shine at last.

Thought for the week: “When a man marries a woman, they become one but the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.”

Funny for the week: Where did our innocence go?

As I was nursing my baby, my cousin's six-year-old daughter, Krissy, came into the room. Never having seen anyone breast feed before, she was intrigued and full of all kinds of questions about what I was doing. After mulling over my answers, she remarked, 'My mom has some of those, but I don't think she knows how to use them..'

Don’t you just love kids?......... Chaplain Barnes

Last week’s answer: In what book of the OT do we find the story of the fall of Jericho? Joshua 6

This week’s question: What two men in the Bible made a love covenant?

July 12, 2010

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Many psychological tests have you compare yourself to an animal to help the psychologist understand you better. When it comes to walking my wife is a cheetah. Sleek, beautiful and fast. Me? I am more like a camel, baggy skin, humps and bumps and I drool a lot. Oh yes, and I am slow, oh so slow. She doesn’t think she is walking unless the rubber on her tennis shoes is smoking. We go to Walley World and she is half way to the door before I get around the car. So different, yet we both tire and sometimes get totally exhausted. That is when my favorite exercise in the world kicks in. REST! Our bodies were designed to work, but to work well, they must also have periods of rest. I am not just talking about the hours of shut eye you get at night, important as it is. We also need those times when we get away from the routine with all its demands and give our mind and body a break. Over and over the Bible tells us that Jesus withdrew away and spent time alone, praying and resting from the crowds. On the seventh day of creation, God took a break and rested. So, if the God of this universe saw rest as necessary dare you challenge him? He said, “Come and I will give you REST!” Have you rested lately? I mean, get away, forget the urgent and allowed Him to give you rest? “For him who knoweth to do right and doeth it not, to him it is a sin.” Excuse me now, I think I will go take a nap.

Thought for the week: When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion.
-- C. P. Snow

Funny for the week: Where did our innocence go?

While I sat in the reception area of my doctor's office, a woman rolled an elderly man in a wheelchair into the room. As she went to the receptionist's desk, the man sat there, alone and silent. Just as I was thinking I should make small talk with him, a little boy slipped off his mother's lap and walked over to the wheelchair. Placing his hand on the man's, he said, I know how you feel. My mom makes me ride in the stroller too..'

I want one of those motorized ones………..Chaplain Barnes

Last week’s answer: Does the Bible forbid tattoos? Yes. “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you; I am the Lord.” (KJV) Leviticus 19:28

This week’s question: In what book of the OT do we find the story of the fall of Jericho?

July 5, 2010

“Forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.” Colossians 3:13

In 1991 after three years of spiraling down, I resigned my church totally burned out. I would spend the next few years in a hospital called Crest View Baptist Churchbeing healed through the angels he had working there. During that time I began to study about burn out and finally came to the realization that burn out is the result of resentment. When I confessed that as a sin, God began to heal and restore me. Because of my resentment I had developed an unforgiving spirit. I had been hurt, abused and used, and I wanted revenge. God was patient and he kept hitting me with the verse above. So, I began to pray for a forgiving heart, but I could not forget. I stated many times that to forgive is to forget. But that is not in the Bible. I have since learned that what the Bible does teach is that we must forgive and then let it go. Biblical forgiveness means that we “give up our right to get even.” By that I mean that when we forgive, God can then begin the work of freeing us from the stewing resentment and boiling anger we have. We may never forget the hurt, but we no longer fantasize about payback and getting even. After you choose to forgive, whether you remember or not is irrelevant. What is at issue is that God can free you from the resentment and once that is done, he can begin to lead you to love those who hurt you. Resentment almost cost me my life, and left me with physical problems I will carry for the rest of my life. But I chose to forgive and God has freed me from all those resentments that caused me to burn out. I testify to you today that freedom is better than bondage and forgiveness is better than resentment. “…you must forgive.” Leave the rest up to God.

Thought for the week: Illegal aliens have always been a problem in the United States. Ask any Indian. -- Robert Orben

Funny for the week: WHAT CAUSES ARTHRITIS?

A drunk who smelled like beer sat down on a subway next to a priest. The man's clothes were stained, his face was plastered with red lipstick, and a half-empty bottle of gin was sticking out of his torn coat pocket. He opened his newspaper and began reading. After a few minutes the man turned to the priest and asked, "Say Father, what causes arthritis?"
The priest replies, "My Son, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap, wicked women, too much alcohol, contempt for your fellow man, sleeping around with prostitutes and lack of a bath."
The drunk muttered in response "Well, I'll be damned!" Then he returned to his paper.
The priest, thinking about what he had said, nudged the man and apologized. "I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?"
The drunk answered, "I don't have it, Father. I was just reading here that the Pope does."

MORAL: Make sure you understand the question …………Chaplain Barnes

Last week’s answer: In which book of the Bible do we find the story of Jacob and Esau?

Genesis (25:19-26)

This week’s question: Does the Bible forbid tattoos?