God Will Show You What to Do Next

After Elijah stopped the rain in Israel, God told him to go to the brook Cherith, where He commanded the ravens to bring him food in the mornings and evenings (1 Kings 17:1-6). God told the birds where to find food, and then He showed them exactly where to find Elijah.

After a while, when the brook dried up, God told Elijah what to do next. “Go to Zarephath…I have commanded a widow there to provide for you" (1 Kings 17:9). The Lord didn’t speak to him about moving to another place until after the water quit flowing. When the brook dries up and the ravens stop delivering meals, it’s time to move on. It doesn’t take a prophet to figure this out.

Do you understand the lesson here? God knows exactly where you are and how to deliver His provision to you. If you will learn to follow God’s leading, it will keep you from worrying because He can show you what to do next in every situation, just like He showed Elijah where to go and what to do.

Even though Elijah was living through 3 ½ years of drought, he didn’t worry about starving to death or dying of thirst. He simply followed God’s instructions about what to do next and trusted Him to provide what he needed. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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Why Did He Raise the Wrong Hand?

In 1962, a newspaper showed a picture of new United States senators taking the oath of office. One of the senators raised his left hand instead of his right hand at the swearing-in. 

Someone wrote a letter to the editor criticizing the senator for being unpatriotic. “He’s not qualified to be in office. He doesn’t even know his right hand from his left.”

The critical person must have been embarrassed and ashamed after he found out the real reason why the man raised his left hand. The senator was WWII war hero, Daniel Inouye, who was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Medal of Honor. He lost his right arm in battle while fighting the Germans. He raised his left hand for the swearing-in because he didn’t have a right hand.

Critical people usually make judgments based on misleading or incomplete information. Have you ever judged someone only to find out later there was a lot more to the story? Jesus said, “Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged . . . And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own?” (Matt. 7:1-2). The “speck” is only a small piece of information but not the entire story.

Before you criticize someone, make sure you know all the facts. It might change your mind—and it will keep you from looking like a fool.  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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Follow the Leader

The following comes from my book, MORE Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals. In 2005 in the town of Gavas in eastern Turkey, a sheep from a large flock walked to the edge of a cliff and jumped to its death. A second sheep imitated the first and leaped off the cliff. Then a third sheep followed. Then a fourth. Then a fifth. And they kept following until the entire flock was gone.

The Associated Press reported the Turkish shepherds had left the flock so they could go eat breakfast. Nearly 1,500 sheep followed their woolly leader over the same cliff, one at a time. In the end, 450 sheep died and 1,050 survived, but only because the survivors were saved as the pile of sheep kept getting higher. Like a big fluffy pillow, the mountain of fleeces cushioned the late-jumpers fall. They didn’t know any better because they were sheep without a shepherd.

That’s what happens when shepherds are more interested in taking care of their stomachs than taking care of their sheep. When Jesus saw the multitudes of people, He had compassion for them because they were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36).

It’s no accident Jesus compared people with sheep. Sheep will blindly follow other sheep, even if it kills them. Isaiah said, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isa. 53:6). That’s why we need to follow a wise shepherd who will lead us through the difficulties of life. We need to follow a good shepherd who knows what’s best for us.

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep . . . My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish” (John 10: 11, 27-28). The Good Shepherd will lead you to green pastures. Following wayward sheep will lead you over a cliff.

Jesus is our spiritual Leader, but we also have government leaders. PLEASE VOTE THIS TUESDAY!  This election will determine which LEADER will make crucial decisions that will affect your life for the next 4 years and beyond. Examine the past POLICIES of each candidate. Which of the policies (national & local candidates) align with biblical principles? Elections are usually very close, and your vote may make the difference on who will be the next LEADER.

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The Wooden Statue of Jesus in Peru

The following comes from my book, MORE Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals.

A museum in Peru has an exhibit displaying some of the artifacts from an inquisition that took place in the history of that country. One is a large wooden statue of Jesus. When people were on trial, a judge would sit beside the statue, with ropes running from the head down the back of the wooden Jesus and under the judge’s table.

The accused would come forward and make his case to the wooden Jesus. He was led to believe that Jesus was hearing the details of each case. However, the wooden Jesus was just a dummy, and the judge was the one who was pulling the strings. If he thought a person was correct, he pulled the ropes that moved the wooden head up and down, showing Jesus approved and declared him innocent.

If the judge didn’t like what he heard, he would pull the ropes that moved the wooden head from right to left, back and forth, signaling Jesus’ disapproval. The accused was declared guilty and sentenced to death.

 I can’t help but wonder if those standing before the statue truly believed it actually was Jesus nodding and shaking his head, or if someone might be pulling strings under the table. Maybe they were afraid to ask.

One day every person will stand before the real Jesus to give account for their lives, and He is no dummy. No one will be able to pull strings to control Him. Those who received Him as Lord and Savior will be excited to see Him, and He will give approval and declare them innocent.

Those who refuse to believe Him will be terrified to see Him shake His head in disapproval (Matt. 25:31-46). But the good news is there’s still time to be in that first group. When the saints go marching in, you can be in that number, if you will ask Him right now to save you.

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Can God Forgive a Mass Murderer?

The following comes from my book, MORE Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals.

Adolf Hitler was one of the evilest men who ever lived. He murdered 6 million Jews, plus millions of other people during World War II. But suppose Hitler saw the light, was truly repentant of his sins, and asked Jesus to save him. Would God forgive him? And what about the Japanese pilot who led the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941?

Mitsuo Fuchida admired Hitler, and even sported the same little mustache. He was the pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbor, which started WWII. More than 2,400 Americans were killed, and Fuchida became a hero in Japan.

 

Later, Jacob DeShazer, an American prisoner of war during WWII, was being tortured for 40 months in a Japanese prison camp. During that time, DeShazer underwent a spiritual awakening and became a Christian. He forgave his enemies and began treating the prison guards with love. After the war, he became a Christian missionary to Japan.

 

When Fuchida heard about the radical change in DeShazer’s behavior, he was confounded. He couldn’t understand why he didn’t want to kill his enemies. After learning about Jesus, the Japanese pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbor repented of his terrible act of evil and converted to Christianity. He learned to love the United States, renounced his warrior past and traveled throughout the U.S., Japan and Europe preaching the Word of God, salvation and forgiveness.

 

In 1950, Fuchida and DeShazer became friends after meeting each other. The two former enemies embraced each other as brothers and spent the rest of their lives preaching God’s Word together and the need to forgive others. (The entire story about Fuchida and DeShazer is in T. Martin Bennett’s book, The Wounded Tiger, Dynamis Books, 2023).

 

God forgave Fuchida because he repented and put his faith in Jesus to save him. And if you will repent and believe in Him (Mark 1:15), He will forgive you for whatever evil you have done.

READ SERMON: JONAH 4—The Pity Party

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Inviting a Bear Into Your Tent

The following comes from my book, Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals.

Several years ago, a man went camping in Glacier National Park in Montana. Campers should never take food into their tent because the smell attracts bears. This man caught some fish one evening and wanted to cook them for breakfast, so he brought them into his tent for the night. Sure enough, a bear smelled the fish, which invited it into the tent. You can figure out the unfortunate ending.

You don’t want to invite bears into your tent, and you don’t want to invite the devil into your life. Paul said, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger. Do not give the devil an opportunity” (Eph. 4:26-27). John Piper says, “Harbored anger is the only thing the Bible explicitly says opens a door and invites the devil in.” When you hold on to anger without resolving it, you’re opening a door and inviting Satan to attack you.

We get angry when others are doing what we don’t want them to do, or they’re not doing what we want them to do. Someone once told me, “A friend of mine keeps asking God to take away his anger, but he doesn’t want to deal with the issues that are making him angry. He can’t figure out why he’s always angry.” Much of our anger is based on our unrealistic expectations of others.

Is there an issue that’s making you angry, but you don’t want to deal with it? If so, you’re giving the devil an opportunity to attack you. “Do not let the sun go down on your anger” means don’t bring fish into your tent at night. You’ll sleep a lot better knowing that bears aren’t sniffing at your door.

READ SERMON: JONAH 3—The God of Another Chance

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Making Life Count Ministries
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