Sleeping Through the Train Noise

We become hardened to whatever we learn to ignore. When I first attended seminary, I rented an apartment located next to some railroad tracks. I was soundly asleep on the first night when a train came roaring past my room, blaring its horn. Immediately I jumped out of bed with my heart pounding, as I covered my ears to block the noise. After the train passed, it took me a while to get back to sleep.

The next evening, the same thing happened. I covered my head with a pillow and went back to sleep. Each night after that, I briefly woke up and then quickly went to sleep. I eventually learned to sleep through the train noise without waking up! Because I stopped responding to the train, it no longer bothered me.

For years now, I've always woken up by the beep on my wrist watch. How could I sleep through a train but wake up to a soft beep? It's because every morning I respond to the sound of my watch by immediately getting out of bed. I ignored the train and became hardened to it, but I respond to the beep and can still hear it.

Heb. 3:15 says, "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." We will become hardened to our spouse if we always argue about what he or she has to say. Do it long enough and it will lead to a divorce. We become hardened to God if we don't act on what He says to do. Eventually we'll get to the point where we don't hear His voice anymore, just like when I couldn't hear the train.

Is your heart hard or soft? What is God saying to you today? Don't put a pillow over your head. Do what He says. He might be telling you to listen to your spouse.

Keep looking up!

Kent

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Previous devotionals can be found at http://www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com/ in the archive.

Where's that smell coming from?

A boy sneaked into his grandfather's bedroom while he was sleeping and put some Limburger cheese in his mustache. After grandpa awoke, he muttered, "This bedroom stinks." He walked into the living room and commented, "This living room stinks." Trying to get away from the smell, he rushed into the kitchen. "Good grief. This kitchen stinks too." Finally he ran outside, sniffed, and yelled, "This whole world stinks!"

Some people have Limburger cheese in their attitude, so everywhere they go, it stinks. Their job stinks. Their marriage stinks. Their church stinks. Everything stinks. And they can't seem to figure out that the problem isn't with everyone else, but their own stinking attitude.

Air freshener won't take away the smell. A negative, critical spirit comes from an ungrateful heart, so to change the atmosphere around us we must start being thankful. Psalm 105 says, "Oh give thanks to the Lord . . . Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad" (v.1,3). So today, instead of complaining about your boss, spouse, or kids, look for reasons to thank God for them. You'll be amazed how that will clear the air.

Keep looking up!

Kent

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Previous devotionals can be found at http://www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com/ in the archive.

Overboard in the Atlantic Ocean

In 2002, a crew member on a Norway cruise ship fell overboard one evening into the Atlantic Ocean. She couldn't swim. The crew discovered she was missing 4 hours later when she failed to show up for a late roll call. The ship captain had a tough decision to make. With over 1,000 passengers who paid to go to St. Martin Island in the Caribbean, should he take them to their destination, or should he go back and search for the body? He decided to turn the ship around, ignoring the hostile protests from upset passengers.

After back-tracking over 4 hours, by now the sun had come up. Even though it's nearly impossible to spot someone in the high seas due to waves and whitecaps, passengers gathered on deck to help look for the proverbial needle in the haystack. Suddenly a passenger shouted, "There she is!" Unbelievably, she wasn't floating face down. She had been treading water for 10 hours, not knowing the ship would return!

Now, change perspectives and see it through this woman's eyes. Imagine how she felt after plunging into the water, watching the lights of the cruise ship disappear into the night. Can you see her frantically splashing in the water, teaching herself to dog paddle, just keeping her head barely above water? Think of her fear of being eaten by sharks in the ditch dark.

The chances of surviving were a million to one. Her only option was to tread water throughout the night and pray for a miracle. Now imagine her excitement when she sees the ship appear on the horizon, heading her way, and soon to rescue her! This was one of the most amazing incidents of survival at sea in recent memory.

This incredible rescue is what it's like to be saved by God's grace. We are all in a situation much more desperate than this woman's, drowning in a sea of sin. We're treading water during our time on earth. If we go under, we will descend into hell forever. We have no hope of being saved!

Yet, God does the impossible and comes looking for us. Jesus said, "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?" (Luke 15:4). He has come looking for you! We can't save ourselves any more than that woman lost at sea could save herself. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." (Eph. 2:8) All we can do is cry out in desperation. "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." (Rom. 10:13)

If you want to be saved, simply pray, "Jesus, please save me! Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I believe you rose from the dead. I give you my life." If you prayed to be saved, please contact me through http://www.kentcrockett.com/

Kent

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Previous devotionals can be found at http://www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com/ in the archive

Turning Dimes into Millions

Martha Berry founded a school for needy children in the early 1900's. On one occasion she asked Henry Ford for a million dollars to assist her school. Instead of donating the huge sum, he gave her a dime. She graciously accepted the dime and bought some peanuts for her schoolboys to plant.

The next season they harvested the peanuts and used the entire crop to plant a larger field. Eventually they harvested enough peanuts to buy a piano for their music students. Martha wrote a letter to Mr. Ford telling him how they had used his dime to grow enough peanuts to buy a piano. Ford was so impressed by her faithfulness with the dime that he gave her school a million dollars! (Robert Hastings, Proclaim, January-March 1993)

You also can turn your dimes into millions. Matt. 25:23 says, "Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things." If you are a Christian and are faithful with your responsibilities for a few years here on earth, you'll be rewarded with something much greater in heaven forever. So start planting your peanuts--being faithful with each of your daily responsibilities. Live for the Lord, and one day you'll be surprised at the harvest you reap.
Keep looking up!
Kent
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Previous devotionals can be found at http://www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com/ in the archive.

Shipwrecked on a Deserted Island

A Jew, a Catholic, and two Baptists were shipwrecked on a deserted island. The Jew built a synagogue. The Catholic built a Catholic church. The two Baptists built First Baptist Church and Second Baptist Church!

It's sad, but true. People just can't get along with each other. We let the smallest differences divide us. But we don't all have to be exactly alike, and we can agree to disagree on many issues. We can be brothers without being twin brothers!

What nit-picky thing is bugging you? Let it go. Give the guy a break. Love will overlook differences. Col. 3:14 says, "Put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." No, we can't compromise the essentials of the Christian faith. But we shouldn't let minor issues turn into major conflicts either. If we do, everyone will end up building their own church.

Keep looking up!

Kent

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Previous devotionals can be found http://www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com/ in the archive

Running to the Wrong Goal

In the 1929 Rose Bowl, a University of California football player, Roy Riegels (picture on left), picked up a fumble by Georgia Tech and raced 65 yards toward the end zone. He was tackled on the 1-yard line by his own teammate. Why would a player on his team tackle him? Because after picking up the fumble, Riegels had gotten turned around and was running toward the wrong goal line! A few plays later, Georgia Tech scored a safety and went on to win the game 8-7. Riegels has gone down in history as "Wrong Way Riegels."

Many people today are like Roy Riegels--running toward the wrong goals in life. Some people are running after pleasure. The goals of others are money or fame. They never realize until it's too late that they've been heading in the wrong direction. Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."

The right goal in life is to love God will all our hearts and seek to please Him in all we do. "We have as our ambition . . . to be pleasing to Him" (2 Cor. 5:9). So if you've been running in the wrong direction, don't get upset when members of your own team tackle you before you cross the goal line. They're just trying to do you a favor.

Keep looking up!

Kent

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Previous devotionals can be found at http://www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com/

Proof the Bible is True!

Would you like proof that the Bible is true? The evidence is found in the many predictions about the future which have come to pass. The fact that hundreds of Bible prophecies have been fulfilled is irrefutable proof the Bible is inspired by God.

Because God knows what will happen in the future, He revealed some specific future information to His prophets. We can now look back on their prophecies which were recorded in Scripture and see that only an all-knowing God could have inspired them.

The prophet Micah (5:2) predicted the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem over 700 years before Christ was born. The prophet Zechariah (11:12) looked over 500 years into the future and foresaw that the Messiah would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Psalm 22 describes the crucifixion of Jesus 1,000 years into the future, prophesying His hands and feet would be pierced and lots would be cast for His garments, which was fulfilled by the Roman soldiers.

Jesus fulfilled more than 300 prophecies! Peter Stoner in Science Speaks calculated the probability of one man fulfilling just 48 prophecies to be one in 10 to the 157th power. Fulfilled Bible prophecies provide us with indisputable proof that the Bible is true!

God made sure these prophecies were recorded in Scripture so that we would be able to verify them after they came to pass. Why? So that we would believe in Him. Jesus said, "I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He" (John 13:19, 14:29).

For a list of more fulfilled prophecies, go to http://kentcrockett.com/biblestudies/Proof.htm

After reading them, I pray you will place your faith in Jesus Christ.

Kent

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The Story on Your Face

In the 1800's, a couple of gold prospectors discovered a large vein of gold. They wanted to keep their discovery a secret so others wouldn't find out. When they went back into town to buy supplies, neither of them said a word to anyone.

However, as they started back to the mountains, everyone in town was following them with picks and shovels. Although they didn't say anything, the story of their gold discovery was written all over their faces!

Proverbs 15:13 says, "A joyful heart makes a cheerful face." Whatever is in our hearts will show up on our face, whether it's anger, depression, worry, or joy. Our faces tell a story of what's taking place inside our souls. The good news is we get to decide the headlines people will read. What's your story today?

Keep looking up!

Kent

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Previous devotionals can be found at http://www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com/

Literally Fishing for Men

In July 2008, Bob Greene (picture on left) was having his morning coffee when he heard someone calling for help. The cry of distress came from a man drowning in the Kennebec River. Greene grabbed his fishing pole, cast out a line, and snagged the man's shirt with a fishing lure. He reeled him safely to shore, where the rescued man was taken to a Portland hospital.

Jesus said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19). If you aren't fishing, you aren't following! You can join the fishing crew. Bob Greene shows us how.

First, be sensitive enough to hear the cry of people who need to be saved. If Greene had ignored the voice he heard, the man would have drowned.

Second, respond to the call for help. Change your priorities. Put down your coffee cup and grab your fishing pole.

Third, throw out a line. Find a way to explain the gospel in a way the person will understand it.

Fourth, reel him or her in. Lead the person in prayer to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Fifth, provide proper follow-up. The rescued man wasn't left on the shore, but checked into a hospital. Help the saved person get involved in Christian fellowship.

Whom do you know that needs to be saved? Don't let 'em get away.

Keep looking up!

Kent

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Previous devotionals can be found at http://www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com/