BELIEVE

Today’s Reading: Genesis 14-15

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

The view while descending to the lowest point on earth – The Dead Sea. On the far side of the Dead Sea is the Kingdom of Jordan with the mountains of Moab seen along the horizon. Abraham would’ve seen this view, minus the modern highway.

Key Verse: Genesis 15:6

And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

The Apostle Paul picks up this story (Romans 4:2-3): “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.'” If you have the time, read the entirety of Romans 4. Our works will never gain us a place in Heaven, nor will they guarantee the presence of God here and now. However, our actions are noticed by God and can result in God’s action towards us (e.g. Cornelius Acts 10:4b, “Your prayers and your alms (donations) have come up for a memorial before God”). James 2:20 says, “Faith without works is dead.” Works provide an outward and tangible confirmation of the inward motivating force behind them, belief and trust in God.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father God, thank You for Your unconditional love and for Your righteousness given to me as a result of my faith in You. Like Abram (His name was not yet changed), I believe in You. Thank You for Your friend, Abram, who is a great example for me. I pray this in the Name of Jesus, Who is the greatest Example. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I’m so impressed by Abram’s attitude toward God and people. Yes, he believed God! He also showed this by works. I hate to admit this, but I think that Abram may have had something in common with an Afghan Warlord (a righteous one). Abram had a private Army. He was definitely not your average farmer. In today’s reading he risked his own life to rescue his nephew Lot and the other Sodomites. He tried (unsuccessfully) to turn the King of Sodom and the Sodomites he had rescued to God by introducing them to the priest of the most high God, Melchizedek. He paid his tithe. Abram’s attitude, overall, was impressive.

One of our 13 great-grandchildren, Autumn Neilson, is six years old now. I remember when she was two and she visited us. She sang over and over a song about attitude based on Philippians 2:5, written by her grandfather, Bruce Stacey, husband of my daughter Elaine: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” All but the newest of my great-grandchildren have memorized dozens of Bible verses because of these songs. Check out God Rocks Bibletoons Scripture songs online HERE. You can go to the Crossroads e-store to order a CD or DVD HERE.

Your friend and brother in Christ,

David

LOOK UP

Today’s Reading: Genesis 11-13

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

Here is a self portrait…well at least those are my feet. I (Reynold Mainse) am looking southeast toward the morning sun. In front is the famous mountain of Masada, and beyond is the Dead Sea. At the bottom left of Masada you can see 2,000-year-old Roman Army encampment sites. The protective walls the soldiers built are in the shape of rectangles.

Key Verse: Genesis 13:14b-15

Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are — northward, southward, eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendents forever.

Abram (his name changed later to Abraham – father of nations) showed himself to be a generous man. His heart was being changed over time so that he now could give his nephew, Lot, first choice in land. God honoured Abram by promising him all the land for his descendants…eventually. Abram is father to both the Arabs and the Jews; his offspring have taken over the entire Middle East. Notice what happened before God made such a promise. Abram obeyed God! He left his home. Abram honoured God! He built altars with which to worship God and to make fresh commitments to God. Note the word, “ALTAR” (12:7,12:8,13:4,13:18). He “pitched” his tent, but he BUILT altars. The tent represents the temporal, but the ALTARS represent the ETERNAL! We need to ask this question, “Am I putting up and taking down eternal things and building only the temporary, or am I building that which will be permanent, forever?” Let us search our hearts, asking hard questions such as, “What are my priorities? Is God in first place?” Abram’s actions brought God’s blessings during his life here on earth and will continue to do so throughout eternity!!!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, You responded directly in proportion to Abram’s obedience and faithfulness. Please give me the grace to learn from Abram. Amen & Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I think it’s time to introduce my eldest son, David Reynold Mainse. Reynold spent over three months in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Italy, Greece, and Turkey (lands of the Bible) photographing pictures for this daily blog. He is a professional photographer & video producer. Thank you, Reynold, for your time and for sharing your gifts with us. His full time work is as a missionary in Africa. He is an ordained minister who has given his life to world missions. His wife, Kathy, his children, Rachelle, Elizabeth (and her husband David Lee), and his son David Peter, share his passion to reach the world for Jesus. For years he led the Crossroads Missions Group, and then stepped out of the Crossroads Ministry to lead the “Heaven’s Rehersal” events (click here). These are unprecedented gatherings where the only Name mentioned is “Jesus” and where worship and the reading of Scripture is the total content. Check out www.worldembrace.org for more about their missions work and www.reynoldmainse.com for more about his photography. They lived with Norma-Jean and me for three years. We know the depth of their commitment to God, and to His cause.

Building an altar for eternity,

David

P.S. Remember to watch my new daily 100 Words “vlog” (video blog), which corresponds to this daily blog. HERE is a link to my vlogs, arranged by date, on the 100 Huntley Street website. You may want to watch the one from yesterday, July 1st, Canada’s birthday! All this month, the vlogs are originating from Braeside Camp in Paris, Ontario.

A NEW BEGINNING

Today’s Reading: Genesis 9-10

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

Two friends, actors at the “Nazareth Village”, are having fun with an olive picked from a nearby tree in Nazareth. In today’s reading, the dove sent out by Noah returned to the ark. A “freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth” (Genesis 8:11). Ever since that time, the olive branch has been a symbol of peace and safety.

Key Verse: Genesis 9:1

So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”

So God is a God of second chances. Instead of giving up on humanity, the Lord saved Noah and his family. The great flood happened because people, who were given dominion over the earth by God, rejected Him, and thus cut Him off from exercising His creative maintenance of the earth. The people, with the exception of Noah and his family, rejected God, excluding Him from their lives. It’s not that God ran out of mercy and love. It’s that when God is not invited, not welcome, to be an integral part of human life, nature erupts into chaos. Society disintegrates, and the human race brings judgment on itself.

Today there is much that separates people from God, but I believe that there are at least one billion precious souls who love and serve God, not just eight people, as was the case in today’s reading. These people, by their prayers and right living, hold back the consequences of the great divide between a Holy God and an unrepentant world. Next time, before a worldwide catastrophe, Jesus, the Ark of Salvation, will lift His family of believers to safety in what has been called “The rapture of His Church!” (read 1 Thess. 4:13-18).

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord, thank You for giving me a second chance. I pray fervently for Salvation to come to at least another billion people. Grant me grace, boldness, wisdom and sacrificial giving of myself and the resources that You have put in my hands, so that the most glorious work of  winning people to Jesus will accelerate. We, the human race, will once again bring disaster upon ourselves, but I thank You, Lord God, that You have another plan. At Christ’s return, You shall lift Your people as in an Ark of safety. In Jesus’ powerful saving Name I pray. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I cannot begin to express my gratitude to God and to special people in my life for leading me to Salvation. I had prayed to be saved as a child, but my mother died of cancer when I was 12 years old and I turned my back on God, blaming Him for mother’s death. I now know that it was the separation of the human race from God that allows the twisting of human cells called cancer. It’s not God’s fault; it’s our fault. My Dad went back to his mission work in Egypt and I was put into a boarding school and was eventually kicked out. In a regular high school (grade 12) I encountered followers of Jesus who became my friends. My boss at work coaxed me to give my life to Jesus. He succeeded in convincing me to attend a Youth for Christ rally by asking me to drive his Chrysler New Yorker from Pembroke to Ottawa to pick up Evangelist Jack Wyrtzen. That night, when the invitation was given to accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord, a friend, Homer James, came beside me and offered to walk to the front of the high school auditorium with me. I did it! I’ve never turned back from Jesus since that time. I’m in Him (the Ark of Salvation) and I’m kept by His power! How about you? Unsure? Call 1-866-273-4444 and ask about your salvation. You too can have a “New Beginning!!!”

Yours very truly,

David

P.S.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA! The founders declared Psalm 72:8 as Canada’s motto, “He shall have dominion from sea to sea.”

NOAH’S ARK

Today’s Reading: Genesis 7-8

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

Did you know that the Bible notes 80 species of mammals, 25 kinds of birds, 8 reptiles and 12 insects?

Key Verse: Genesis 7:1

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.”

According to the dimensions given by God to Noah, the Ark was about 450 feet long (the length of 1-1/2 football fields), 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. There were only eight human passengers. I’m told that the Chinese character for “safety” depicts eight people in a boat. According to the Bible, the world as we know it will again be destroyed. Next time, the Ark will be big enough to hold many more than eight people. God has provided a way, through Jesus, whereby all who receive Him as Saviour and Lord will be saved. Noah must have wept as he considered the fate of others, but there was nothing he could do. There is something we can do! It’s our job to invite everyone into the Ark. Jesus is the Ark of safety!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, again and again You invited people to come to You and You promised that You would receive all who come (John 6:37). Please Lord, grant me the honour of telling someone today about Your invitation, and may I urge people to decide today to come into the eternal safety that You have provided. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

Four years ago, a former 100 Huntley Street TV host, Lorna Dueck (who is now Crossroads new President and CEO), reminded me, as she helped me learn how to do a blog, that I had instructed her, We must never let a day go by on television without giving an invitation for people to respond to the call to be saved.” All those wonderful people who answer our Prayer Line at 1-866-273-4444 are prepared to lead people to assurance of their eternal salvation. June 15th, 1977, was the first day we had telephones available for immediate response. Don Osborne signaled to me from across the studio that the first person had just given their life to Christ on one of our 30 telephones. I said, “Everything is paid for now, because one soul is worth more than the whole world!”

Yours very, very, very truly,

David

THE TEACHER

Today’s Reading: Genesis 5-6

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

The heavens are gloriously ablaze above the Eastern Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. Some of those whose bodies are buried in front of the gate died hoping someday to walk through that gate following the general resurrection of the dead. Like Enoch, those who walk with God now can expect to walk with God throughout eternity.

Key Verse: Genesis 5:24

And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

The way out of the “rat race” is simply to walk with God. Obviously, God wants your company. God wanted to walk with Adam and Eve every evening. Enoch’s time with God was so precious and consistent that, no doubt with his full consent, God took Enoch directly to Heaven without him experiencing death. Enoch’s name means “teacher” in English. He must have shared with others those things he learned in those long walks. Noah was Enoch’s great-grandson and was likely the recipient of Enoch’s sharing. Remember Noah? He is the one who found favour with God. The result was that he knew how to hear from God in building an ark to save his family. You’re on your daily walk with God now as you read His Word and talk with Him in prayer. Listen as God talks with you today.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, as I walk with You now, please fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I may experience “walking in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

Like Enoch, I have children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I’m always telling them stories. I’m convinced that from his childood, Noah heard what Great-Grandpa learned on those long walks with God. It was probably the reason Noah turned out so well. I had a Sunday School teacher by the name of Miss Johnson when I was 10 & 11. She explained Enoch’s going to Heaven without dying like this: “One day, as God and Enoch were walking together, God said, ‘Enoch, we’re much closer to My place than we are to yours, why don’t you just come on home with Me’?” For some reason I’ve never forgotten her story.

Let’s go for a walk,

David

THE BLAME GAME

Today’s Reading: Genesis 3-4

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

On the lower slope of the Mount of Olives is the Garden of Gethsemane. It is claimed that some of the olive trees here are over 2,000 years old – perhaps these trees were the ones under which Jesus’ disciples slept during the night of His arrest. Like Adam and Eve, no doubt they had excuses for their failure to obey. Jesus had told them to “Watch and pray!” The building  you see in the background is “The Church of All Nations”.

Key Verse: Genesis 3:12

Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

A most important Word that Jesus used over and over is “Repent.” Adam and Eve provide us with examples of what repentance is NOT! They attempted to blame others for their sin. Adam blamed both God and Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. The message is, “STOP THE BLAME GAME!” Pray the sinner’s prayer which Jesus guaranteed would make a person right with God: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Two verses following the key verse, God, Himself, gives the first prophecy. He speaks of a most unique event to come. All through the Bible in procreation, it’s the seed of the man, e.g. Abraham (Galatians 3:29), but Jesus is the “Seed of the woman” (Genesis 3:15). He crushes Satan. Satan comes in many forms to tempt us. Remind him that his head is crushed by Jesus. Jesus gives us power (authority) to join Him in trampling on the serpent and “Nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). Confess it! Believe it!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, You and I are “trampling” on the serpent. James wrote,”Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). I do this now, Lord Jesus. The devil has no power over me. In Your authority, Lord Jesus, I pray. AMEN!

 PERSONAL WORDS:

Every day before going live to air with the daily 100 Huntley Street telecast, I would state in front of the other hosts, the on-air guests, and the studio audience, words something like this…”We trample on Satan in Jesus’ Name! We pull down the ‘strongholds’ of the enemy” (2 Corinthians 10:4). On the human level we do not defend ourselves. No defence! No offence!  We are to love one another, whether friend or enemy! “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Throughout over 10,000 telecasts, Jesus, our production and administration team, our financial supporters, our on-air guests, our telephone prayer partners (over 10 million phone calls) have confirmed the crushing of Satan’s head, and have watched God accomplish mighty works for time and eternity in the lives of infinitely precious people.

To the current Crossroads team and every reader of my blog, KEEP TRAMPLING!!!,

David

P.S. Speaking of trampling on the enemy, I’m thrilled to let you know of the appointment of the new Crossroads ministry President and CEO…someone who is already known and loved by so many of our long-time 100 Huntley Street viewers…Lorna Dueck. HERE is a link to the official announcement on the 100huntley.com website.

THE BEGINNING

Today’s Reading: Genesis 1-2

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

A couple sits watching the sunset over the Mediterranean Sea from under the remains of an ancient Roman aqueduct in the area of Caesarea, Israel.

Key Verse: Genesis 1:27

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

“God created,” “Elohim bara” (Hebrew). This Name for God is always plural, yet in the Hebrew language it always takes a singular verb (Genesis 1:1). Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are at work to make something out of nothing. In the rest of the story the verb is “Asah,” which is what a carpenter does when he works with material already in existence. Chapter two is an expansion of what God did in chapter one. We are made in His Image. We are not just physical beings. We have a capacity for a life beyond, for communication with God, and God with us. Like God, we are intended to live forever! Because we are made in His image, we can come to know Him more as we daily read from the revelation He has chosen to give us, the Bible! We have a free will, the freedom to choose. We can ignore Him and even reject Him, or we can learn of Him, opening our hearts and minds to Him as our God, believing in the great Creator God!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I’ve decided to believe in You. Thank You for enabling me to find this blog. Your Thoughts are expressed in Your Holy Word. Help me to maintain the committment of reading Your Word daily, getting to know what You think of me and of everything. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I marvel at God’s creation. On land we once owned, according to someone who knows, there is a 300-year-old cherry tree. Amazing! Recently a large red fox decided to have a sleep on our driveway. Norma-Jean thought it was dead, but it jumped up and ran off, it’s long fluffy tail floating in the breeze. God must love variety. In meditating on creation, my heart and mind are lifted up to contemplate the Creator God, and Jesus Himself. John writes that, “Without Him (Jesus) nothing was made that was made.” The mystery of it all astounds me. There are many things I do not understand. It would be the height of arrogance to claim to know it all. However, I can claim to know a great deal more than I did when I first heard Bible stories as a child. Almost every day, as I study the suggested reading, I’m learning more. I imagine reading Genesis 1 & 2 in eternity and asking Moses, “What have you learned here in Heaven from God about creation that you didn’t know when you wrote Genesis? When God spoke the cosmos into existence, was there a ‘big bang?’ Is that how it happened, Moses?” I expect to have a greatly increased intellectual capacity, even understanding quantum physics.

We’ve just completed reading the first book of the record of Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew’s Gospel, and we’re now beginning a book which Jesus would’ve read as a Boy in the Synagogue. Remember, at any time we or someone we know can begin this journey and in two years, with breakfast-sized readings, God’s thoughts expressed in Words will be ours, and the Spirit of God will bring to remembrance what we need to know (if we are consistent in our reading) when we need to remember for ourselves and for others.

Please feel free to post your comments. Each one is read, and I thank you for your input. However, I’m sorry that I am rarely able to reply to your specific questions. Attend church this Sunday. Speak with a teacher there if possible, asking any questions you may have. Beware of false teachers. For a New Testament reading for today, I suggest the little book of Jude (only one chapter).

Yours for learning to think some of God’s thoughts,

David

HE IS RISEN!

Today’s Reading: Matthew 27-28

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

The Garden Tomb, Jerusalem. “He is not here!”

Key Verse: Matthew 28:6

He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

The resurrection of Jesus is the most thoroughly reported fact of ancient history. The tough battle-hardened Roman guards “shook for fear.” According to Roman military manuals, a “guard” consisted of at least eight soldiers, and if one fell asleep on duty, the others were supposed to kill him on the spot. Those who deny the facts of the resurrection must answer some questions: Where’s the body? What would turn a man like Peter, who could not stand up to a waitress, into a bold, fearless man just 50 days later? What about the over 500 people who claimed to have seen Jesus alive after His resurrection? Many of these were still alive when the Gospels were written. What about the over 5,000 Jerusalem Jews who became believers (including many of the Jewish priests) after Peter preached in the Temple? (Acts 4:4 and Acts 6:7). No official source has ever been able to deny this history in an effort to prove that the resurrection is only a myth, nor has anyone in authority denied the amazing growth of the Jewish Church of Jerusalem. We have the Mishna, the minutes of the Sanhedrin (the ruling religious body) for that period of time. These contemporaries of Jesus and the Apostles knew the facts. HE IS RISEN!!!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, You raised Your Son and our Saviour from the dead. He’s ALIVE! I worship Him! Amen and Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

In the early 1960’s, Norma-Jean and I worked at establishing a congregation in Deep River, Ontario, the residential community for Atomic Energy of Canada at Chalk River. I found that some senior nuclear physicists were humble believers in Jesus. One told me that a change in the molecular structure of Christ’s body could enable Him to appear and do all that He did in His post resurrection appearances. One Easter Sunday morning, the parents of a baby named Tim Laronde presented him before the Lord at the altar of our church. Tim was born with a club foot. As I held him up before the congregation I was filled with God’s Spirit and said, “Either Jesus is alive and still does the same miracles today, or the soldiers were right when they said, ‘While we slept His disciples stole His body.’ Jesus is alive and when Tim is old enough to walk, He will walk normally.” The next morning, Tim’s mother, Marilyn, burst into our home carrying Tim and showed us both feet completely normal. Just over two years ago, I met Marilyn in Pembroke, Ontario, and we rejoiced in the fact that Jesus is alive and that He is the Healer.

Serving a risen Saviour,

David

P.S. In yesterday’s blog I mentioned actor Bruce Marchiano, who played the part of Jesus in the four-hour film production of The Gospel of Matthew. My son, Ron, has since found online that entire movie. What a blessing it has been for me to watch and listen to this film, which includes all of Matthew, word-for-word (the New International Version). If you only have time to watch the last few chapters of Matthew, you can fast-forward by dragging the little dot on the bottom left of the screen approximately 90% of the way across (the chapter and verse appear on the screen). Please let me know if you were able to access this amazing Holy Spirit-inspired production (click here).

RAISED

Today’s Reading: Matthew 26

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

Looking east from the south end of the Old City of Jerusalem you can see the Mount of Olives. The graves of thousands of Jewish people who await the general resurrection dot the hillside. The tower to the left is said to mark the spot from which Jesus ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:9-11).

Key Verse: Matthew 26:32

But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.

It’s difficult to choose a key verse as this chapter is filled with crucial truth for all people. The death and resurrection of Christ is the focal point of all history. It is His story! Once again Jesus states the fact of His death and resurrection and once again His disciples failed to comprehend. This time they were too sleepy to take in truth. Are you wide awake? Are you ready to understand? Understand that when Jesus gives a promise, its fulfillment is absolutely sure! It is impossible for Him to lie! He knew He must die and He also knew He must rise again. This was the reason He came. He also knew the humanity of His followers. They would remember His instructions about meeting Him in Galilee after the resurrection, and they would obey Him.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, as I read Your Words, grant the grace to make those Words an integral element in my spiritual DNA. Please grant me full comphrehension and obedience. I pray this with sincerety and faith that You will do this in me for Your Glory and for the fulfillment of Your plan for my life. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I have been reading your responses to 100words.ca. Thank you for letting me know that you are there with me daily. I turn 80 on August 13th, and as an old-timer I’m not always sure anyone would bother reading my blog. I don’t really understand the new social media. Come to think of it, I didn’t understand television back on June 2nd, 1962 either. I do know, however, that God gave me the grace of obedience then, and He’s doing so now. If you are blessed and encouraged, or if this blog helps you in the daily discipline of reading the entire Bible in meal-sized portions over two years, then God’s purpose is being fulfilled. Amen! and Amen!

Continuing in obedience,

David

P.S. Yesterday I mentioned my first two times preaching. Someone said to me, “I’ve heard you talk on TV, but I’ve never heard you preach.” Well, here goes! Below is a link to a message I delivered in the mid-90’s at Compass Point Church, which is located next door to the Crossroads Centre in Burlington, Ontario. My opening remarks will seem odd unless I tell you that actor Bruce Marchiano, who played the part of Jesus in The Gospel of Matthew movie, had been quoting Jesus’ words as he walked down the stairs between the pulpit and the congregation. Unfortunately Bruce tripped and fell, but recovered quickly. I was scheduled to preach immediately after Bruce’s last line. That evening we were celebrating the 5,000th 100 Huntley Street telecast. I don’t know of any other time when my preaching was videotaped. It was some years ago, and now we have have celebrated the 10,000th telecast (last fall). If you have the time to handle some preaching, click here (it’s only about 13 minutes long). If you think that this message might touch someone, bringing them to Christ, please pass it on! Thank you!!!

THE LORD’S JOY

Today’s Reading: Matthew 25

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

“Mr. and Mrs. Goat” on the West hillside of the Galilee. One never knows when a goat will decide to “butt.”  These two have caused me to think that if I am to be a “good and faithful servant” I should never say “But” to my Lord! The response should always be, “Yes Sir!”

Key Verse: Matthew 25:21

His Lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”

God has given you at least one gift and perhaps many more. With His gifts come responsibilities. Never hide a gift. Invest in others. You grow what God has given you. What has God given you? Think about it. Talk to your Pastor and a trusted friend about it. Call the Crossroads toll-free Prayer Line and pray with someone (1-866-273-4444). Of course, pray about it yourself. Make decisions and move on those decisions. Ask God to stop you if you are moving in the wrong direction. God is Faithful. He’ll guide you. Move forward with your decisions.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Dear Lord God, Give me the grace to invest in my family, my community, my church, my friends and aquaintances, and even in far off places. Keep me faithful over the “few things” You’ve given me. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I was 16 the first time I tried to preach. I had given my life fully to Christ about two months earlier. The youth leader, Greta O’Brien, asked me to bring the message at a youth service.  As I spoke, they said my face got red, and I lasted all of five minutes. Several months later, I was baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). The next time I preached I studied the Word of God diligently, reading my text and the surrounding verses over and over. I prayed for a long time, making sure I was filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. The words flowed from my heart, mind and mouth. There was no struggle or embarrassment. I knew that God had given me a gift of preaching His Word!

Thanking God for His gifts,

David

P.S. In this, the beginning of the third two-year journey of 100words.ca, I’m trying to keep to that number of words in each section. I couldn’t help but notice that as I reviewed my blogs from the first 730 days, my comments were becoming longer. Patient, loving readers wrote to me saying things like, “Don’t worry David if you go over.” So I relaxed and each morning between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. I just typed what I believed God had given me. Most days I will revise and refresh what I have previously written. Let’s remember to keep the “main thing the main thing”…that is the faithful daily reading of God’s Word, not necessarily my words about God’s Word!