Refreshing Daily

in God’s Word
Emphasis on

Thoughts

October
2020
 Bitterness
October 1

 Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:25-32

 Key Verse: Verse 31 - “Let all bitterness, and wrath,
and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put
away from you, with all malice: ”
Key Words: be put away from you

Thought: No matter how much you nurse a grudge it won’t get

better.

Have you ever noticed that those who are bitter

with you have the hardest time complimenting you, and
have you ever noticed how they automatically begin to
praise your “competition”? When we nurse a grudge we
fail to understand that it doesn’t help, but hinders the
healing process.
There was a guy that could not get along with his
wife and, on top of that, he couldn’t get along with his
mother-in-law. In frustration one day, he finally took a
long walk. As he was about to return home, he got to the
street corner and saw a hearse pull up to the stop sign. It
had a big dog in it.
Behind that was another hearse. And then behind
that second hearse, about fifty men were walking. He was
seized with curiosity and walked up to the first hearse,
knocked on the glass and a guy inside rolled his window
down. “Yes?” he asked. “What is this?” asked the man.
“Well, in this casket is my wife. And in that casket
in the other hearse is my mother-in-law. This big dog
killed both of them.”
“Hmm. Can I borrow that dog?”
And the guy inside said, “Get in line.”
Anyone can bear a grudge who walks in the flesh; to
bear and overcome one has to walk in the spirit.
What to do:
✞Remember no matter how much you nurse a grudge
it won’t get better.

********************
Reproach
October 2

 Bible Reading: I Peter 4

 Key Verse: Verse 14– “If ye be reproached for the
name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory
and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil
spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. ”
Key Words: If ye be reproached

Thought: He who fears reprove will never stand for anything.

Dr. Vance Havner once said, “We leave comfortable

homes, to ride in comfortable cars, to sit in comfortable pews,
while we hear a comfortable message which raises the
question…What do we know about being reproached for
Christ’s sake?”
It’s not easy to speak up for Christ and live for him if
we know that reproach will come as the consequence of our
words and life.
Missionary Lou Nichols writes, “It’s not easy to step up
against the authorities. Let me illustrate: During his years as
premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev denounced
many of the policies and atrocities of his predecessor, Joseph
Stalin. Once, as he reproached Stalin in a public meeting,
Khrushchev was interrupted by a shout from a heckler in the
audience. ‘You were one of Stalin’s colleagues. Why didn’t
you stop him?’ ‘Who said that’ roared Khrushchev. An
agonizing silence followed as nobody in the room dared move
a muscle. Then Khrushchev replied quietly, ‘Now you know
why.’”
 Maybe it’s time we ‘speak up’ and ‘live up’ to the
standard set for us by Jesus.

What to do:
✞ Remember life is not about
you and life is not about me- real
life is about Jesus Christ.

********************
The Manual
October 3

 Bible Reading: Psalms 119:1-8

 Key Verse: Verses 2 – “Blessed are they that keep his
testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.”
Key Words: his testimonies

Thought: For many people the Bible is like the Queen of

England. She holds a position, but no real power.

In order for God’s Word to have real power in our

lives, we must ‘know it’ and ‘live it.’
Recently, I decided to do something I never do. I took
out my car manual and read it. I’m a real simple guy. I get in
a car, get behind the wheel, turn it on, and roll. That’s it. But
one day I was just fooling around, opened my glove
compartment, and there was my car manual. Now this
manual has been in this car for three years. As far as I’m
concerned, this is unnecessary reading. I see a steering wheel,
I see brakes, I see an accelerator, a radio, heat, and air-
conditioning. Good to go.
But on this particular day, I decided to flip through my
manual. I was shocked at some of the stuff I read in there.
There is so much stuff in this car that has never been used! I
realized that I’d been doing things manually that the car was
set up to do automatically. I realized that I’d not been taking
advantage of all that the manufacturer had provided.
On one particular rainy day, I was trying to look out of
my rear windows and couldn’t see anything. After three years
of having this car, I had no idea there was a windshield wiper
back there. It wasn’t that it was not provided, it’s that I was
ignorant of the provision. I didn’t know what was provided
and I certainly didn’t know how to take advantage of it.
What the Bible, the grace manual, is designed to do is
show you all the provisions that God has provided for every
believer. The problem is I not only need to know that the
manual is there, but I also need to know what it tells me I can
do and how things work.

What to do:
✞ Allow God‘s Word to work in your life. That’s
where the power is.

********************
Tact
October 4

 Bible Reading: Judges 8:1-9

 Key Verse: Verse 3 - “God hath delivered into your
hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and
what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then
their anger was abated toward him, when he had
said that.”
Key Words: Then their anger was abated toward
him, when he had said that

Thought: TACT is the ability to make a point without making

an enemy.

We are told in Proverbs 15:1a “a soft answer turneth

away wrath.”
In our text Ephraim was angered that Gideon had not
asked them to join the battle against the Midianites. Gideon’s
tact disarmed a potential division between the Hebrew people.
Tact is important!
The new minister’s family was presented with a pie
baked by one of the congregation who was a rather poor cook.
The pie was inedible, so the minister’s wife threw it into the
garbage.
The preacher was faced with the problem of thanking
the lady, while at the same time being truthful. After much
thought he sent the following note: “Dear Mrs. Jones: Thank
you for being so kind and thoughtful. I can assure you that a
pie like yours never lasts long at our house!”
Now that’s TACT!

What to do:
✞Ask God to give you the ability to build fire under
people without making their blood boil.

********************
The Bible
October 5

 Bible Reading: II Peter 1:1-8

 Key Verse: Verse 4 - “Whereby are given unto us
exceeding great and precious promises: that by these
ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust. ”
Key Words: great and precious promises

Thought: A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to

someone who isn’t.

Let me begin by asking you: how precious is the Bible

to you?
A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an
explosion. Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his
book The Wonders of the Word of God. The victim’s face was
badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both
hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest
disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible.
Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with
her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the
Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered
that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the
explosion. One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to
his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised
characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I
can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert
Sumner wrote his book, the man had “read” through the
entire Bible four times.

What to do:
✞Claim God’s great & precious promises today. They
will keep you from falling apart.

********************
Faith
October 6

 Bible Reading: James 2:15-26

 Key Verse: Verse 26 – “For as the body without the
spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Key Words: faith without works is dead

Thought: Faith is taking God at His Word in spite of my

feelings, circumstances or consequences.

In a farming community, it hadn’t rained in a long

time, and things were getting desperate. The ministers
decided they were going to call a prayer meeting. They said,
“Look, we want the whole town to come to the prayer meeting
and bring their religious symbols.” So the whole town showed
up for the prayer meeting and people brought crosses, they
brought their Bibles, the Catholics brought their rosaries, and
they all cried out to God. They finished the prayer meeting.
No rain was in sight. They all went home.
The next day though, in the town square where they
had had the meeting, there was a little boy. “Oh, God, we
need rain. God, show Your power, and give us rain.” The day
before, with all the preachers and all the religious symbols,
calling on God, no rain. The little boy shows up the next day
by himself in the town square, and as he way praying, the sky
got darker. As he was praying, rumbling occurred. As he was
praying, the shower hit, and it was pouring down rain.
What was it about the little boy? He said the same
things that all the people said the day before. The day before
they had all the ministers; they even brought their religious
symbols. But the day the young boy came, when the clouds
got dark, he lifted up the symbol that he brought: an umbrella.
He expected it to rain.
When you anticipate rain, you take an umbrella.
When a man tells you it’s going to rain, when a meteorologist
says it’s going to storm today, most people will get their
umbrellas because they believe his word. Meteorologists are
wrong half the time and we still take them at their word. Why
is it, when it comes to God, who is never wrong, we hesitate to
believe and act on His Word?

What to do:
✞Remember faith alone saves but a faith that saves
will never be alone.

*******************
Remember Your Youth
October 7

 Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 12

 Key Verse: Verse 1 – “Remember now thy Creator in
the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not,
nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have
no pleasure in them;”
Key Words: while the evil days come not

Thought: Life may begin at forty, but everything else begins to

wear out, fall out, or spread out.
Man is like an automobile. As it gets older, the differential
starts slipping, and the u-joints get worn, causing the drive
shaft to go bad. The transmission won’t go into high gear and
sometimes has difficulty getting out of low. The cylinders get
worn and lose compression, making it hard to climb the
slightest incline. When it is climbing, the tappets clatter and
ping to the point where one wonders if the old bus will make it
to the top. The carburetor gets fouled with pollutants and
other matter, making it hard to get started in the morning. It
is hard to keep the radiator filled because of the leaking hose.
The thermostat goes out, making it difficult to reach operating
temperature. The headlights grow dim, and the horn gets
weaker. The memory chip drops a few bytes, and the battery
needs constant recharging. But if the body looks good with no
bangs, dents or chipping paint, we can keep it washed and
polished, giving the impression that it can compete with the
newer models and make one more trip down the primrose
lane before the head gasket blows. Gentlemen, start your
engines.

What to do:
✞Remember to enjoy and use the days of your youth
with Godly wisdom!

*******************
White Lies
October 8

 Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16

 Key Verse: Verse 15 - “But speaking the truth in love,
may grow up into him in all things, which is the head,
even Christ:”
Key Words: speaking the truth in love

Thought: Those who are given to “white” lies soon become

color blind.

Famous American lies:

 The check is in the mail.
I’ll start my diet tomorrow.
We service what we sell.
Give me your number and the doctor will call you right
back.
Money cheerfully refunded.
One size fits all.
This offer limited to the first 100 people who call in.
Your luggage isn’t lost; it’s only misplaced.
Leave your resume and we’ll keep it on file.
This hurts me more than it hurts you.
I just need five minutes of your time.
Your table will be ready in a few minutes.
Open wide, it won’t hurt a bit.
Let’s have lunch sometime.
It’s not the money; it’s the principle.

A twelve-year-old boy was a key witness in a crucial lawsuit.

One of the lawyers had put him through a rigorous cross-
examination and had been unable to shake his clear,
damaging testimony. In a stern voice, the lawyer said, “Your
father has been telling you how to testify, hasn't he?” “Yes,”
said the boy. “Now,” said the lawyer, with smug satisfaction,
“just tell us what your father told you to say.” “Well,” replied
the boy, “Father told me that lawyers may try to tangle me,
but if I would just be careful and tell the truth, I could say the
same thing every time.”

What to do:
✞Remember, in the end it really pays to tell the truth.

********************
The Measure of a Person
October 9

 Bible Reading: I Samuel 16:1-13


 Key Verse: Verse 7 – “But the LORD said unto
Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the
height of his stature; because I have refused him: for
the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on
the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on
the heart.”
Key Words: the Lord looketh on the heart

Thought: When God measures a man, He puts a tape measure

around his heart, not his head.

Women take a lot of time and attention to make sure

they look glorious. They are a lot like my wife. If I tell her we
have to go somewhere at 7:00, at 6:00 she “goeth” before the
mirror of her glory. She goes to work. She pulls out eye
mascara, eye-liner, foundation, rollers, curlers, a hot iron, and
stuff I can't even pronounce. In one hour she is transformed
before my very eyes.

We go to the car; the car is in the garage, so she

doesn't have to go outside first to mess up her glory. She can
go straight to the car, and keep all her glory intact. The first
thing she does is to pull out the visor to check the glory she
just put on. When we get to the building we are traveling to,
we go in and come to the elevator. Guess what? There's a
mirror in the elevator, to double-check her glory. When we
arrive at our floor and get off the elevator, my wife will make a
beeline for the powder room. Now, there is nothing wrong
with a wife who seeks to be glorious. The Bible says that a
woman is the glory of the man and I don't mind my wife
making me look good.
But God is looking for even more. He wants us to be
glorious on the inside, not merely on the outside. Far too
many women are elegant on the outside, but bargain
basement on the inside: evil-spirited, evil attitude,
disregarding, disrespectful. Remember, God is not measuring
us by that which is outward, but He is measuring our heart.
What to do:
✞Ask yourself and answer honestly: which
measurement is greater, my head or my heart?

Temptation
October 10

 Bible Reading: Matthew 6:5-15

 Key Verse: Verse 13 – “And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen.”
Key Words: And lead us not into temptation

Thought: Temptations, unlike opportunities, will always give

you a second chance.

A businessman was on a diet and experienced a

craving for donuts. He drove to the donut shop and just kept
circling the block. Then he prayed, “Lord, I know You don't
want me to eat donuts. I know that that's not Your will, but I
need You to confirm it. There are no parking spaces at this
donut shop, so if You don't open a parking space, I'll accept
this as Your will. The man had to drive around the block eight
times before it was God's will.
What the worm is designed to do is entice the fish so
that the fish can become food for the fisherman. It is an
enticement. No bear goes looking for a bear trap.  No mouse
goes looking for a mousetrap.  What entices the mouse is
cheese.  But cheese is set on the trap, and because of its lust
for cheese, the mouse is deceived in not recognizing the trap. 
Therefore, it is enticed or deceived or duped by something
that is legitimate to create an opportunity for the destruction
of the prey.
Most of us are in debt, because of deception. There
was a desire to buy something that we either could not afford
or should not have purchased, but that thing was presented in
such a way so as to cause us to believe we couldn't live without
it. So, we spent money we didn't have, for things we didn't
need, to impress people we don't know. We were not thinking
at the moment that this decision would take us the rest of our
lives to pay off, at 18% interest. “Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”

What to do:
✞Remember, temptation will
always knock at your heart's door.

********************
Tears
October 11

 Bible Reading: John 11:31-46

 Key Verse: Verse 35 – “Jesus wept.”
Key Words: Jesus wept

Thought: “Tears are a liquid pain.” ~ Herbert Lockyer. Golda

Meir said, “Those who don't know how to weep with their whole
heart, don't know how to laugh either.”

A little girl was once late coming home from play.

When her mother asked her where she had been, she
explained that her friend had fallen and broken her very
special doll. "And," said the little girl, "I stayed to help her."
"How did you help her," asked the mother. "I just sat down
and helped her cry".

• Joseph is said to have wept 8 times.

• David, 7 times.
• Paul, 4 times. He described himself as serving the
Lord with all humility, with many tears. (Acts 20:19)
• Jeremiah compared his weeping to both a fountain
and a river of tears. (Jeremiah 9:1; Lamentations 3:48)
• David’s men wept until they had no more power to
weep. (1 Samuel 30:4)
• The Psalmist wept until he drenched his couch and
made his “bed swim.” (Psalm 6:6)
• Peter wept “bitterly.” (Matthew 26:75)
 • There are three records of Jesus’ tears: Over a
doomed city, over a friend’s death, and over a painful
sacrifice. (Luke 19:41, John 11:33–35, and Hebrews
5:7)
• Hell is described as a place of weeping and gnashing
of teeth. (Matthew 13:42)
• The last mention of tears is in Revelation 21:4, the
promise that God shall wipe away all tears from the
eyes of his redeemed.

Tears -- a language God understands!

What to do:
✞Remember, even Jesus wept.

*******************
Negative Talk
October 12
 Bible Reading: Nehemiah 4:1-11
 Key Verse: Verse 2 – “And he spake before his
brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What
do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves?
will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day?
will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the
rubbish which are burned? ”
Key Words: What do these feeble Jews?

Thought: The person who rows the boat usually doesn't have
time to rock it.

Alan Loy McGinnis is a business consultant and

author who had been called in to help change the negative
trends in many large companies and corporations. In his
book, The Power of Optimism, McGinnis writes:
"Corporations occasionally ask me to work with their
low-producing managers and salespersons, the people who
are failing, but whom they'd like to reclaim. As I sit with these
men and women and listen to their conversation, I'm always
struck by how pessimistic and cynical their talk is. One might
say, `Of course they're negative; they know they're in trouble
in their company.' But I suspect it may have worked the other
way -- the reason they became losers was their habit of
negative talk. At some point they evidently got into the habit
of commenting on bad circumstances, the bad working
conditions, and the bad state of their business. Maybe it
originally got them some sympathy and attention, or maybe
they picked up the habit from other workers. In any event,
they became negative, and their work suffered."
McGinnis suggests several ways to reverse this, but
one of the most powerful is to monitor and change the way we
talk. When people begin talking more positively, they begin
thinking or acting more so. He suggests watching every
conversation to see the direction of the comments and
attitudes it contains.
"In almost every situation," he writes, "it is possible to
give the conversation an optimistic spin."

What to do:
✞I have discovered that everyone is doing one of three
things. 1) Rowing the boat, 2) Rocking the boat, or 3)
Just simply riding in the boat. Which one are you?

********************
Your Autograph
October 13

 Bible Reading: Acts 6

 Key Verse: Verse 3 – “Wherefore, brethren, look ye
out among you seven men of honest report, full of the
Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over
this business. ”
Key Words: of honest report
Thought: Live your life so that your autograph will be wanted
instead of your fingerprints.

Devotional writer Henry G. Bosch once wrote in Our

Daily Bread that when he was a boy he would often work with
his father during the summer months.   Leaving home each
morning, they would stop at a particular store for a
newspaper, which they read at coffee break.   One day,
arriving at work, Henry's dad discovered that he had taken
two papers by mistake because they were so thin.   After a
moment's thought, he decided to return to the store
immediately to pay for the extra paper.   "I don't want the
owner, who isn't a Christian, to think I'm dishonest," said Mr.
Bosch.
About a week later, some expensive items were
shoplifted from the same store.   The police calculated that at
the time of the robbery only two men had been shopping in
the store – Mr. Bosch and another man.   "I know John is
honest," said the storekeeper.   "Just last week he came all the
way back here to return a newspaper he'd taken by mistake."   
The police questioned the other man instead and, in so doing,
apprehended the culprit who made a full confession.
"Father's honesty and Christian character…not only
made a deep impression on the storekeeper," Henry later
wrote, "but his actions also left an indelible mark upon my
young and pliable mind."

What to do:
✞Be honest; it will come back to “save” you someday.

********************
People and Cars
October 14
 Bible Reading: Acts 11:17-26
 Key Verse: Verse 26 – “And when he had found him,
he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass,
 that a whole year they assembled themselves with the
church, and taught much people. And the disciples
were called Christians first in Antioch.”
Key Words: they assembled themselves with the
church

Thought: People are a lot like cars when it come to church

attendance. They generally start missing before they go out
altogether.

Someone has put together an analogy of a sold-out

football game and a less-than-sold-out church. It's called
“Ten Reasons for Never Attending Another Football Game.”

1. I was taken to too many games by my parents when I

was growing up.
2. It seems that the games are scheduled when I want to
do other things.
3. Every time I go to a game somebody asks for money.
4. Although I go to the game often, few people are
friendly enough to speak to me.
5. The seats are too hard and uncomfortable. Besides, I
often have to sit down front on the fifty yard line.
6. I suspect that there are hypocrites sitting nearby -
they come to see their friends and what others are
wearing rather than to see the game.
7. The field judge says things I do not agree with.
8. The band plays some numbers I have never heard
before.
9. Some games last too long, and I am late getting home.
10. I have a book on football. I can stay at home and read
it.
Just sayin'!!
What to do:
✞Remember, don't miss too much or you'll go out
altogether.

Success
October 15

 Bible Reading: Joshua 1:1-9

 Key Verse: Verse 8– “This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate
therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all that is written therein: for then thou
shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt
have good success.”
Key Words: good success

Thought: There is no place where success comes before hard

work except in the dictionary.

In 1972, Cathy Rigby was determined to win a gold

medal at the Olympic games in Munich.  She had trained very
hard for many years and did not want to disappoint herself or
the United States Gymnastics team.  As she began her
grueling regimen of performing under Olympic pressure, she
prayed for the strength and control to get through her
routines without making mistakes.  She performed well but
did not win.  Cathy was crushed by the defeat.  When she later
joined her parents in the stands, she burst into tears and said,
"I'm sorry, I did my best."  Her mother gave her these wise
words of consolation, "You know that, and I know that, and
I'm sure God knows that too.  DOING YOUR BEST IS MORE
IMPORTANT THAN BEING THE BEST."  Doing our best for
the Master is all that Jesus has asked.  We won't always be the
best, but we can always try to do our best.
 I often tell parents that it isn't the student that makes
the “A's” with no effort that counts, but the “C” student who
works hard and does the best that counts!! There is
something to be said for a 100% effort.

What to do:
✞Remember, success is sweet, but usually it has the
scent of sweat about it.
Circumstances
October 16

 Bible Reading: I Samuel 18:1-11

 Key Verse: Verse 8 – “And Saul was very wroth, and
the saying displeased him; and he said, They have
ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they
have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have
more but the kingdom?”
Key Words: what can he have more but the
kingdom?

Thought: Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% what

attitude I have toward it.

It wasn't your ideal wedding. When Victoria LeMelle

and Roger Compton tied the knot on May 2, 1992, their
wedding was well-planned, but they didn't count on the riots
that broke out in South-Central Los Angeles. The bride's
dress was stolen, the groom's tux was looted, and both the
cameraman and the limo service canceled at the last minute.
Only the caterer and flowers came through. Nonetheless, the
couple went on with the ceremony in a sanctuary filled with
the scent of flowers and smoke. The honeymoon was placed
on hold because they couldn't get out of their riot-torn
neighborhood in time to board their scheduled cruise. "I'm
happy anyway," said the bride. "We just decided we weren't
going to let a bunch of ignorant people get in our way. May 2
was our day, and nobody was going to stop us." Although
riots aren't an everyday occurrence, there are plenty of
adversities which bombard us each week. We must not allow
"less than ideal" circumstances to rob us of our joy and peace
as God's children.
Always remember, a bad attitude from circumstances
comes when we have a life “about me!”

What to do:
✞Remember, life is not about you and life is not
about me, but life is all about Jesus Christ.

********************
Wrong Place
October 17

 Bible Reading: Romans 12:9-21

 Key Verse: Verse 16 – “Be of the same mind one
toward another. Mind not high things, but
condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your
own conceits.”
Key Words: be not wise in your own conceits

Thought: The person who never sees himself as being wrong, is

wrong again.

There is nothing worse than a person who never see

himself as being wrong. They, in their eyes, are never the
problem. They simply work with people who are the problem.
The problem is these people just never really see
themselves as they really are: worthless!
A little boy was accustomed to being praised by his
doting grandmother. On one particular visit she kept telling
him that he was “priceless.” When he finished a drawing of
which he was very proud, he excitedly ran to his
grandmother's side and yelled, “Look, Grandma, I'm
worthless!”
 Until God can get a hold of the “conceited” person's
heart, they will never be wrong in their own eyes. May God
help them, for they are wrong again!!

What to do:
✞Don’t be “wrong again.”

Power of Prayer
October 18

 Bible Reading: Matthew6:5-15

 Key Verse: Verse 10 – “Thy kingdom come. Thy will
be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
Key Words: Thy will be done

Thought: “Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message,

oppose our arguments, despise our person; but they are helpless
against our prayers.” ~ Sidlow Baxter

Most of us know the “Lord's Prayer” by heart. We

have put it to memory. But the verse that shows us the power
of God: God's will be done...and it always will be.
You know the Supreme Court is the highest court of
appeals. They've got all kind of courts that lead up to the
Supreme Court. The lower courts may make all kinds of
decisions but if the Supreme Court decides to hear a case, it is
irrelevant what other courts have decided. If the Supreme
Court decides it will hear an issue, it doesn't matter what the
lower courts have decided. Only what the Supreme Court
rules sticks, all other courts, no matter how powerful, just or
unjust, must pale in significance when the Supreme Court
rules.
I don't know who has made a decision for your life. I
don't know what court has ruled on your circumstances. It
may have been the court of your employer who has ruled that
you will never leave this position. It may be the court of your
finances has decided you will never better your lifestyle. It
may be the court of the doctor that said we can't fix this
disease. But at least, appeal it to the Supreme Court. At least,
place it on the docket up there so that God can decide what
the final rendering is. If He takes the case, it doesn't matter
what the court of your employer has said, or the court of your
doctor has said, because when that court speaks all other
courts become irrelevant. You can be happy today because
He's sovereign and He sits on the throne.
Thy will be done!!

What to do:
✞ When you are tired of being
spurned, rejected, opposed, and despised, try praying.

********************
Reasons For Failure
October 19

 Bible Reading: Psalm 103

 Key Verse: Verse 12 – “As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from
us.”
Key Words: so far hath he removed our
transgressions from us

Thought: A dirty diamond is still a diamond; it just needs to be

cleaned.

Every week, people have the habit of taking clothes to

the cleaners that have been soiled. The job of the cleaners is to
freshen them up and get them smelling good again. Jesus has
a pick up cleaning service. He picks up dirty people – people
who have allowed their lives to sink into the mud for one
reason or another – and cleanses them.
Did you know that the biggest bulldozer in the world is
the D575A? It's 16 feet long, 25 feet wide, and 41 feet high. It
weighs 225,000 pounds. It's a huge machine to bulldoze dirt.
A couple of years ago it came to a county where there was an
overload of garbage, and the bulldozer was brought in to dig a
big hole that would collect the garbage and remove it from the
lives of the citizens.
On the cross, God dug a hole so big He could collect
the sins of the whole world -- past, present, and future. On the
cross, He gathered all the sin and took out His eternal wrath
on Jesus Christ for you and for me. "God made him who had
no sin to be sin for us.”
To God be the glory!

What to do:
✞You are still a diamond so let God cleanse you so
you can be a clean diamond.

********************
The Bible
October 20

 Bible Reading: Psalm 19

 Key Verse: Verse 8 – “The statutes of the LORD are
right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the
LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.”
Key Words: The statutes of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart

Thought: A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to

someone who isn't.

There was a commercial not too long ago for Prego

spaghetti sauce. A mother is cooking the spaghetti and the
pot is full of what looks like a vibrant, red spaghetti sauce.
The aroma appears to be filling the house. The son comes up
and looks at his mother cooking the sauce and asks, “Mom,
where are the mushrooms?”
She says, “It’s in there.”
“But what about the sausage?”
“Why, it’s in there.”
“What about the ripe tomatoes?”
“It’s in there.”
 Prego’s spaghetti sauce had kick and flavor, because of
what was inside. Every time the boy looked for something to
explain what he smelled, his mother would reply, “It’s in
there.”
If you are looking for victory, it’s in the Bible. If you’re
looking for transformation, it’s already in there. If you’re
looking for power, it’s in there. If you’re looking for
deliverance, it’s in there. If you’re looking for a brand-new
you, it’s already there. The divine nature has given you
everything you need and you can learn about what’s available
to you by studying the Word of God.

What to do:
✞Don't fall apart. Just come
apart and let God give you rest through His Word.

********************
The Word
October 21

 Bible Reading: Jeremiah 5:10-24

 Key Verse: Verse 13– “And the prophets shall become
wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be
done unto them.”
Key Words: and the word is not in them

Thought: The devil is not afraid of the Bible with dust on it.

Tony Evans writes:

“G. Campbell Morgan had grown up in a Christian
home, never questioning that the Bible was the Word of God.
But in college, his faith was severely challenged and he began
to entertain doubts. “The whole intellectual world was under
the mastery of the physical scientists,” he later said, “and of a
materialistic and rationalistic philosophy. Darwin, Huxley,
Tyndall, Spencer, Bain. There came a moment when I was
sure of nothing.”
In those days, opponents of the Bible appeared every
Sunday in great lecture and concert halls across England,
attacking Christianity and the Bible, and these brilliant
atheists and agnostics troubled the young student. He read
every book he could find, both for and against the Bible, both
for and against Christianity, until he was confused, so riddled
with doubt that he felt he couldn’t go on.
In desperation, he closed his books, put them in his
cupboard and turned the lock. Going down to a bookshop, he
bought a new Bible, returned to his room, sat down at his
desk, and opened it. He said, I am no longer sure that this is
what my father claims it to be – the Word of God. But of this I
am sure, it will bring assurance to my soul of itself. As he
looked into the book before him, studying its form and
structure and unity and message, he was amazed. He later
said, “That Bible found me. I began to read and study it then,
in 1883, and I have been a student ever since.”

What to do:
✞ Let the Word of God be in you.

********************
Giving
October 22

 Bible Reading: Acts 4:32 – 5:11

 Key Verse: Verse 4:34 – “Neither was there any
among them that lacked: for as many as were
possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought
the prices of the things that were sold,”
Key Words: and brought the prices of the things
that were sold

Thought: Stealing from God is like robbing the police station –

not a good idea.

Tony Evans tells the following.

I remember when I was teaching my oldest son,
Anthony, about giving. At the time, he was getting one dollar
a week for an allowance. I explained to him that he now had to
give ten cents to God before he spent the other ninety. I also
explained that ten cents was the minimum and that he could
give more based on his gratefulness. My son understood that
he had to tithe before he could buy candy. Anthony was not a
happy camper.
First, he explained to me that one dollar wasn't enough
to buy anything. He started quoting the prices of all his
favorite candies. Second, he couldn't believe that he had to
cut into his too-little allowance to share with God.
So, I had to teach him. I said, “Now, Son, where did
you get the dollar?” “Well, Daddy, you gave it to me.” “Where
did Daddy get the money to give you the dollar?” “Well, you
got the money from your salary at the church.” “Well, how did
I get money from the salary at the church in order to give you
the dollar?”
“Because the people go to work and then they give and
then you get a salary from which you gave me a dollar.”
“So where did the people get the money out of which I
got a salary to give you a dollar?”
“Well, the people have jobs and when the people got
paid at their jobs, they gave a portion of their income from
which you get a salary to give me a dollar.”
“Tell me some kinds of jobs that the people do who got
the salary who gave the money that provided me the salary to
give you a dollar.”
My son started naming a bunch of different kinds of
jobs. For each job he mentioned, I explained to him all of the
natural resources it took, under the good hand of God the
Father, to make those jobs possible – that also made my
salary and his dollar possible.
After that conversation, he put fifteen cents into the
offering. When you understand that everything starts with
God, it motivates you to give to Him first.

What to do:
✞ Remember the words of Malachi, “Will a man rob
God? Yet ye have robbed me, But ye say, Wherein
have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings”
 Malachi 3:8.

Your Face
October 23

 Bible Reading: Proverbs 15:1-14

 Key Verse: Verse 13 – “A merry heart maketh a
cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the
spirit is broken.”
Key Words: A merry heart maketh a cheerful
countenance

Thought: A person's face is the signature of his soul.

~ William L. Stidger
On one occasion Martin Luther had been brooding for
several days. Reports had been and still were coming of
groups of peasants in revolt, and of increased papal pressure
on the nobles to renounce their stand for Luther. These
conspired to make him feel that he had undertaken a hopeless
task.
On the morning when he was most deeply
melancholic, he came into the dining room for breakfast. His
wife, Katie, greeted him attired in a black dress which was as
funeral in appearance as the costume she had worn as a nun.
Martin glanced at her quizzically. She usually greeted
him with a cheerful, “Guten morgen, Herr Dokter,” but this
morning she said not a word.
“What is wrong, Katie?” Martin inquired.
“God is dead,” she announced sadly.
“Woman that is a terrible heresy. God is not dead, nor
doth He sleep. Never say that The Eternal has died. When
heaven and earth shall pass away God will remain,” he
affirmed.
 “Then why do you waken each morning with such a
doleful expression on your face? Why go through the day
sighing like the north wind? In your university classes you
claim to interpret the mind of God. You have appeared to
know Him well, and I became certain, from the expression on
your face, that God must surely have expired.”
She made this statement without a change of
expression. Suddenly Martin burst out laughing. “You have
convinced me, Katie, dear,” he said. “So, if ever you see me
again with a melancholy countenance, remind me that God is
living, that He will live forevermore. I promise you that I shall
try not to appear as dour as a shriveled turnip.”
Maybe we should promise the same thing!

What to do:
✞ Remember, your countenance is your face revealing
what your heart is feeling.

********************
Leadership
October 24

 Bible Reading: I Peter 3:8-17

 Key Verse: Verse 10 – “For he that will love life, and
see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil,
and his lips that they speak no guile:”
Key Words: refrain his tongue from evil

Thought: A leader is easy to recognize. He is the one with the

arrows in his back.

The word evil in our key verse carries the idea of

backbiting. I've never known of a good leader who was not
bitten, stabbed and shot in the back with slander and gossip.
It just goes with the territory.
Abraham Lincoln once said: “If I tried to answer all
the criticisms of me and all the attacks leveled at me, this
office would be closed to all other business. My job is not
pleasing men, but doing the best I can. If in the end I am
found to be wrong, ten legions of angels swearing I was right
will not help me; but if the end proves me to have been right,
then all that is said about me now will amount to nothing.”
An irritated editor: “If you find errors in this
publication, please consider they are there for a purpose. We
publish something for everyone, and some people are always
looking for mistakes.”
So let me say to all of you Godly leaders, whether you
are a parent, boss, supervisor, teacher, principal, and yes,
even a pastor: “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain;
and most do.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
Keep on for the glory of God.

What to do:
✞Remember, “If evil be said of thee and it be true,
correct thyself; and if it be a lie, laugh at it.” ~
Epictetus

********************
Anger
October 25

 Bible Reading: Matthew 5:21-30

 Key Verse: Verse 22 – “But I say unto you, That
whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever
shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of
the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall
be in danger of hell fire.”
Key Words: without a cause

Thought: The person who feels no anger toward evil is a person

who lacks enthusiasm for good.

Whenever I tell people that not all anger is bad, I get

this look as if I am a heretic. Then I have to remind them that
Jesus became angry with the money-changers in the
temple...and Moses became angry with the stubborn
Israelites...and Nehemiah became angry with the mocking
Gentiles...not all anger is bad.
Now people will often quote, or should I say misquote,
Ephesians 4:26 to not let the sun go down on one's anger, but
that's not what the verse says. It says, “Be ye angry and sin
not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Wrath is
when we want to harm someone. Wrath is when anger boils
over into envy and jealousy of others.
But we have seared our conscience when we are
apathetic toward evil.
A university professor noticed a student was about to
fall asleep in class. So the teacher asked the student, “What is
the greatest problem in our society – ignorance or apathy?”
The student replied: “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
In this pastor's opinion, it is not the act of evil that is
destroying our nation; it's the church's apathy toward it!

What to do:
✞Be ye angry, but don't let it turn into wrath.

********************
False Flattery
October 26

 Bible Reading: Proverbs 28:17-28

 Key Verse: Verse 23 – “He that rebuketh a man
afterwards shall find more favour than he that
flattereth with the tongue.”
Key Words: flattereth with the tongue

Thought: Only two groups of people fall for flattery: men and
women.

Note what others have said of flattery.

“One who extremely exaggerates in his opinion of your

qualities, so that it may come nearer to your opinion of them."
~ Oscar Wilde, when asked his definition of a flatterer.

“Flattery is like cologne water, to be smelt of, not swallowed.”

~ Josh Billings, 19th century writer.

“Praise, like gold and diamonds, owes its value to its scarcity.”
~ Dr. Samuel Johnson.
“Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver.” ~ Edmund
Burke.

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I
may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.
Encourage me, and I will not forget you.” ~ William Ward,
college administrator.
It's great to compliment others, but false flattery is like
soap: 90% lye.

What to do:
✞ It's always wise to remember that when talking to a
person who likes to be flattered, you are only telling
them what they already think of themselves.

********************
Church Attendance
October 27

 Bible Reading: Hebrews 10:25-35

 Key Verse: Verse 25 – “Not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but
exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye
see the day approaching.”
Key Words: Not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together

Thought: Some people don't go to church because of hypocrites,

but they still go to movies, ballgames, and Wal-Mart with them.
 A farmer once said to a friend, "I have some delicious
apples growing in my orchard. If you come over, I'll give you
a bushel." He repeated the offer, but his friend never came.
Finally, he asked, “John, why didn't you accept my offer?”
“Well, to tell you the truth,” said the other, “I have tasted
them. As I went along the road a few weeks ago, I picked one
up that had fallen over the wall and frankly, I have never
eaten anything so sour!” “Oh,” laughed the farmer. “I
thought that might be the case. Those apples around the
outside were placed there because we have so many boys in
the neighborhood. In order to protect my crop, I selected the
sourest varieties to plant around the outer edge of my
orchard. When the boys tasted these, they gave up stealing,
thinking all the fruit was just as bad. However, if you will
come with me, you'll find that I grow a very different quality
on the inside. You'll really enjoy them. They're as sweet as
honey.”
Those who judge the church by its sour members make
the same mistake when they allow the “sour apple hypocrites”
to keep them away from the “orchard of fellowship” they
might enjoy with God's saints.
Why condemn the church because all its members
aren't fine saints? You don't tear down the hospital because
not all the patients recover.
Just sayin'!!

What to do:
✞ Remember, hypocrites need to go to church as well.
It may help overcome the hypocrisy.
 The Conscience
October 28

 Bible Reading: Acts 23:1-9

 Key Verse: Verse 1 – “And Paul, earnestly beholding
the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all
good conscience before God until this day.”
Key Words: I have lived in all good conscience
before God

Thought: The greatest tormentor of the human soul is a guilty

conscience.

Leslie B. Flynn says, "Since 1811 Uncle Sam has been

receiving anonymous sums of money as self-imposed fines for
a variety of reasons, such as for taking Army blankets for
souvenirs or for deliberately failing to put enough postage on
a letter. One widow, checking her late husband's books,
discovered he had cheated the government, so she promptly
mailed a check for $50 to the Treasury. All these monies have
been placed in an account named the Federal Conscience
Fund which now totals over three million dollars.”
A farmer was on his way home after picking up his
new car. As he approached his farm, he decided to test the
acceleration. He passed the side road that led to his house
and drove on for a mile or so. Then, after making a sharp U-
turn, he sped back toward the side road. A man driving a
station wagon observed the U-turn and the farmer’s fast rate
of speed, and he thought the automobile was an unmarked
police car. Trying to avoid detection, he quickly headed down
the road leading to the farm.
 Of course, it was just his luck that the road he
happened to turn down was the road leading to the farmer’s
house, so the farmer turned in too. When the second driver
saw what he thought was the patrolman turn in behind him,
he was alarmed and drove at a high speed to escape, only to
come to a dead end. He jumped out and ran, abandoning the
station wagon. Later it was found to be filled with stolen
coffee, cigarettes, and ammunition. His conscience had made

him flee, even though no one was pursuing him.

What to do:
✞Live by your conscience unless your conscience
opposes the Word of God.

********************
Assuming You’re Right
October 29

 Bible Reading: Mark 7:1-13

 Key Verse: Verse 5 – “Then the Pharisees and scribes
asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to
the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with
unwashen hands?”
Key Words: but eat bread with unwashen hands?

Thought: If the only way I can make myself look good is to

criticize you, then something is seriously wrong with me.

Criticism: we have all faced it, and it usually comes

from those who do not have all the facts and just enough
information to make them as dangerous as an infant with a
loaded .38 revolver. In other words, someone is about to get
hurt.
I have discovered in my 42 years of ministry that those
who believe they know the truth are assuming the one who
told them is “in the know.” As a result, they make unwise
decisions. Assuming can get you into trouble.
John was driving home late one night when he picked
up a hitchhiker. As they rode along, he began to be suspicious
of his passenger. John checked to see if his wallet was safe in
the pocket of his coat that was on the seat between them, but
it wasn't there! So he slammed on the brakes, ordered the
hitchhiker out, and said, "Hand over the wallet immediately!"
The frightened hitchhiker handed over a billfold, and John
drove off. When he arrived home, he started to tell his wife
about the experience, but she interrupted him, saying, "Before
I forget, John, do you know that you left your wallet at home
this morning?" 
Poor John is like so many, he believed he was so right
when he really was so wrong.

What to do:
✞Be careful who you listen to because you sink or
swim based upon what information they give you.

********************
Lay Me Down in Peace
October 30

 Bible Reading: Psalm 4

 Key Verse: Verse 8 – “I will both lay me down in
peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me
dwell in safety.”
Key Words: lay me down in peace

Thought: Peace rules the day when Christ rules the heart.

In 1555, Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake

because of his witness for Christ. On the night before Ridley’s
execution, his brother offered to remain with him in the
prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort. Nicholas
declined the offer and replied that he meant to go to bed and
sleep as quietly as ever he did in his life. Because he knew the
peace of God, he could rest in the strength of the everlasting
arms of his Lord to meet his need.
In 1873 a successful businessman lost all his material
possessions in the great Chicago fire. This did not trouble him
too much for he had set his affection on “things above.”
However, just a few weeks later, when his wife and children
were on board the “Ville du Havre” to visit France, their ship
was rammed by an English vessel and sank within two hours,
claiming the lives of 226 people. Although his wife survived,
all four of their children perished in the icy waters. While en
route to Europe to join his wife, the man was given the tragic
news and later shown the spot in the mid-Atlantic where the
shipwreck occurred. Although heartsick with grief, Mr.
Spafford suddenly felt an inrush of supernatural peace and
comfort as he looked to the Lord for strength. With tears
streaming down his face, he picked up a pen to record his
feelings, and from his well-blest heart flowed these thrilling
words, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when
sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou hast
taught me to say, 'It is well, it is well with my soul!'”

What to do:
✞ If it is well with your soul, then peace will rule the
day.

********************
More Beyond
October 31

 Bible Reading: I Corinthians 15:1-19

 Key Verse: Verse 19 – “If in this life only we have hope
in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”
Key Words: If in this life only we have hope in
Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

Thought: Life is not about you, and it's not about me; life is all
about Jesus Christ.
 It is because of Jesus Christ that we have hope beyond
this life.
In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus
died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the great
discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the
memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin
words that had been part of Spain's motto for centuries.
Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought
they had reached the outer limits of earth. Thus their motto
was "Ne Plus Ultra," which means "No More Beyond." The
word being torn away by the lion is "Ne" or "no," making it
read "Plus Ultra." Columbus had proven that there was
indeed "more beyond."
So it is in life – there is more beyond.

What to do:
✞ Live as though this were your last day on earth –
because one day it will be!
I deeply appreciate the help of

Mary Parsons

Glenda Myrick

And my lovely wife, Linda

 Without God using these
people to help, this devotional
would not have been possible.
Dr. Mike Rouse

is a ministry of
5568 Chalkville Mountain Road
Birmingham, AL. 35235
(205) 854-2741
www.mountainviewbaptist.org