The Bird on the Window Sill

The following comes from my new book, MORE Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals. NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.

A woman was awakened one night by a pecking sound. She got up, went to the window, and saw a moth flying back and forth inside the window pane as if it was trying to avoid something. A sparrow was outside on the window sill, pecking at the moth and trying to get in. The moth couldn’t see the glass, but it could see the bird attacking it. The bird couldn’t see the glass either, and was frustrated because it couldn’t get to the moth.

The moth was safe because a barrier protected it from its enemy. God’s hand of protection is like that window of glass. Although the barrier seemed invisible to the moth and bird, it protected the moth from harm. You can’t see God’s invisible hand of protection either, but His hand keeps Satan from touching His people. “The Lord is faithful. He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thess. 3:3). “The Son of God keeps [God’s children] safe, and the evil one cannot touch them” (1 John 5:18 NCV).

When God sent the plagues on the Egyptians, the Lord protected Israel from the judgments. “But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel” (Ex. 9:4). He knows how to protect His people, even during times of calamity. “You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap” (Prov. 3:25-26 NLT).

We can trust God to protect us because our safety is found in Him. “The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe” (Prov. 18:10 NLT). Whenever you feel in danger, remember to run into God’s strong fortress. “I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, My God in whom I trust!’” (Psalm 91:2).

READ SERMON: JONAH 2—When You Hit Bottom

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net 

The Bus Driver and the Bus Stop

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

A little boy was standing on a sidewalk in the middle of a block, obviously waiting for something. An older man asked him what he was waiting for. “I’m waiting for the bus.” The man said, “The bus won’t stop here. The bus stop is on the next block.” “I know,” the boy replied, “but the bus will pick me up here.” 

The man said, “Listen sonny, if you want to catch the bus, you had better start walking right now to the bus stop. It’s not going to stop here.” “No sir, I’m going to wait right here.” “Okay, suit yourself, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

As the man walked away, he heard the screeching of brakes. He turned around and couldn’t believe his eyes. The bus actually stopped in the middle of the block for the boy. The bus door opened, and as the boy climbed on board, he turned and yelled, “Hey Mister. My dad is the bus driver!”

It helps to know your Daddy is the bus driver of the universe. God the Father will do things for His children that He won’t do for others. The favor of God means His blessing is on your life. It’s like God saying, “I’m doing you a favor.” King David had God’s favor on his life. He said, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life” (Ps. 23:6). Not “every now and then,” but every day of his life. God’s favor brought David through every trial.

God’s favor was also with Joseph. “Joseph found favor in His sight” and “the Lord caused all that he did to prosper” (Gen. 39:3-4, 23). Many people treated him horribly, but it couldn’t stop God’s favor. The Lord turned their evil around for his good (Gen. 50:20). You also can find favor with Him. “The Lord favors those who fear Him” (Ps. 147:11). It’s nice to know our Dad is driving the bus and will take us to the right destination.

READ SERMON: JONAH 1—Unwelcome Assignments

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  

Cheating on Chemistry Tests

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

When I was in college, many of the students in my chemistry class cheated on their tests by getting the answers ahead of time; others by copying answers off those seated next to them. The tests were always difficult. If a question was answered incorrectly, it counted as negative points, which kept people from guessing at the correct answer.

I refused to cheat, even though I was failing the class. I realized my honesty was also being tested by God, and I didn’t want my integrity to fail in His eyes. By God’s grace alone, I did well on my final exam and passed the class.

Years later, I preached at a church where I told about how I was failing chemistry, but I refused to cheat on my chemistry tests because I wanted to please God. Three years later, I received an email from a girl I didn’t know. She said, “When I was a freshman, I heard you say that you didn’t cheat because you wanted to please God more than get a good grade. I want you to know that after hearing your sermon, I quit cheating on tests the rest of high school.”

Integrity means that you live right, not because a private eye is following you around and reporting on what you’re doing. You live right because you want to please God. “Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10).

Integrity stands up for truth and makes right choices. You’re honest in business dealings. You’re the same in private as you are in public. If you will live with integrity, you won’t fail the test when you stand before God. No one will get away with cheating at His Final Exam.

LISTEN TO THIS MUSIC VIDEO with lyrics: By Faith We See the Hand of God

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net 

When the Voice of Wisdom YELLS!

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

A friend of mine, Keith, worked for a construction company one summer when he was in high school. One day, his foreman told him to drive a dump truck to another town and fill the water tank in back. He had never driven a truck that size and only had a learner’s license.

 

On the way, a crew was paving one of the lanes, so he bypassed it by driving down the other side of the road. There he met a car coming his way, which meant he had to back up the huge truck down one narrow lane for half a mile. That’s when the man driving the other car started SCREAMING and waving his arms.

 

Keith stopped backing up—just a few inches from rolling over the edge of a 10-foot drop into a creek. The truck was off the pavement with one of the tires hanging in mid-air! Listening to man shouting at him averted a disaster.

 

We don’t like people shouting at us, but sometimes we need to listen. It just might be wisdom calling out to us. Solomon wrote, “Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out” (Prov. 1:20).

 

Why would wisdom need to shout at us? Because that’s the only way some people will listen. A stranger hollered at my friend. Because he listened, it kept him from wrecking a truck and possibly kept him out of the hospital. The next time someone raises a voice at you, stop for a moment and listen. It just might be wisdom trying to keep you from disaster.

LISTEN TO THIS MUSIC VIDEO: Behold Our God by CBU choir

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  

A Letter Inside the 1896 Time Capsule

The following comes from Kent’s book, Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals

In January 1896, a time capsule was buried in a certain community. Instructions were left saying the box should be opened 100 years later. In January 1996 the capsule was dug up. Inside were letters written to people living in a future century. One letter asked, “Has anyone invented a flying machine yet?”

Suppose you could send a letter back in time to those people in 1896. They would be astonished to read: “People travel all over the world in flying machines every day. Men have flown to the moon and back. The U.S. space probe Pioneer 10 has flown past the planet Pluto, which is 5.9 billion miles from the sun. On TV we watch events as they are taking place all over the world.” You conclude the letter writing about computers, DNA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, lasers, smart phones and cryptocurrencies. How would they know what you’re talking about?

 

For your letter to make sense, you’d have to use words they could understand. Satellites, television, and computers wouldn’t mean anything to them. You would need to speak IN SIMPLE TERMS to give them a vague idea of what the future looks like.

 

When God writes to us about what we’ll be doing in heaven forever, He speaks IN SIMPLE TERMS that we can understand. He says we will supervise “many things” (Matt. 25:21), manage “true riches” (Luke 16:11) and “serve Him” (Rev. 22:3). At our present knowledge, we aren’t able to comprehend it, just like the people in 1896 could never comprehend what’s happening today.

 

We would be bored in heaven if we had nothing to do forever. God will give us joyful assignments, but we won’t understand what they are until we get there—where our knowledge will be expanded, and we will be able to “know fully” (1 Cor. 13:12).

BIBLE STUDY: End Times & Bible Prophecy

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
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What Was the Purpose of the Burning Bush?

The following comes from Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals

Moses led his flock into the wilderness when he saw something weird. A bush was on fire, which kept burning, but it wasn’t consumed. The bush didn’t burn out because God was in it. If your bush burns out, God isn’t in it.

Then something even more weird happened. The bush started talking to him—and even called his name! “Moses, Moses … remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground … I am the God of your father” (Ex. 3:4-6). Remember, this happened long before the tabernacle and temple were built to worship God. Moses was only standing on dirt, but the ground was holy because he was in the presence of a holy God.

 The Lord spoke through a burning bush to prove to Moses three things:

First, He knew exactly where Moses was, even in the back side of a desert.

Second, He called Moses by name, proving He knew who he was.

Third, the bush didn’t burn out, showing He had endless energy. 

Then the Lord gave Moses an assignment to accomplish. “I will send you to Pharaoh so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt (Ex. 3:10). Moses made excuses why he wasn’t capable of doing it, but the Lord assured him, “Certainly I will be with you” (Ex. 3:12). When God calls you to do something, He goes with you and gives you the ability to accomplish it. The Lord gave Moses the wisdom and strength to lead a nation of people out of Egypt and oversaw them for four decades in the wilderness.  

People burn out because they’re doing tasks that God never called them to do, or they’re doing them in their own strength. Moses’ bush never burned out. And your bush won’t burn out either, if God is in it.   

CREATION VS. EVOLUTION: How Did Stingrays Get Fossilized in Wyoming?

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
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The Unbaptized Arms

The following comes from my book Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals

Ivan the Great, the tsar of Russia during the fifteen century, converted to Greek Orthodox to marry the daughter of the king of Greece. Ivan said, “If I’m going to convert, so will my soldiers.” The Greeks sent tutors to teach Ivan and 500 elite soldiers about being Greek Orthodox, and assigned 500 priests to immerse the soldiers in one mass baptism.

Thousands of people gathered to watch hundreds of soldiers in full armor, along with hundreds of priests dressed in black robes and tall hats, all standing in the Mediterranean Sea.

But there was a problem. The church prohibited soldiers from becoming church members unless they gave up their commitment to shed blood in battle. They came up with a solution where they could become church members and keep their military commitment. 

Just before the priests baptized the soldiers, each man reached to his side, withdrew his sword, and lifted it high overhead. Each soldier was totally immersed underwater—except for his fighting arm and sword. The soldiers became church members but could still fight in wars because they all had “unbaptized arms.”

Compromising is when we ignore God’s standards to get something we want. We see it all the time, especially when it comes to sexual purity. Paul writes, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thess. 4:3). Jesus said, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). When Jesus becomes the Lord of your life, you’ll do what His says. Is any part of you unbaptized? www.makinglifecount.net

BIBLE STUDY: Are There Degrees of Sin?

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net