A Poem – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Hurting People
by Ted Stahl
There are hurting people in the pew.
Exactly now, what will you do?
Shake a hand and talk a few?
Simply start: “How do you do?”
There are hurting people in the pew.
Exactly now, what will you do?
Turn the blind eye? Never wave goodbye?
Still hurting, they leave, and you just sigh.
There are hurting people in the pew.
Exactly now, what will you do?
What would Jesus say when He sees?
You didn’t do it to them, you didn’t do it to Me.
There are hurting people in the pew.
Exactly now, what will you do?
Pray that you are not like these?
Or pray for mercy and shed some tears?
There are hurting people in the pew.
Now you know. What will you do?
In Acts chapter 15, Elymas the sorcerer was blinded for only a season for perverting the right ways of the Lord. It’s a new season. It’s time we opened our eyes and see… There are hurting people in the pew. Now you know. What will you do?
Peace. (John 3:16)
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
THE STUDY OF WOMEN IN THE BIBLE – By Camille Stahl
Pharaoh’s Daughter
“And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” (Exodus 2:1-6)
Today in the worlds eyes being important, and well known, is everything. But is it really? Pharaoh’s daughter was educated, powerful, and well known in her time. She had all that anyone could ever have. Wealth, servants, beautiful clothing…. Her father was the ruler of Egypt. He just commanded, that all Hebrew boys 2 years old and younger be drowned in the Nile River. When she saw the baby, the Bible says she had compassion on him. She was brave enough to disobey her father and kept the baby. She would later raise Moses in the house of Pharaoh. The education, and training, helped Moses in many areas of his life; and God used him in a mighty way.
Even with the important role she played, and what she did, no one knows her name. The Bible doesn’t say if she came to know the God of the Hebrews, but God placed the right woman in the right place at the right time.
How many people do you know that may be unsaved that performs good deeds? A coworker, a family member, your friends. God can use the unsaved to fulfill his will in our lives. God can use different people to fulfill His goals. However, He never forces them to have faith in Him.
There are many daughters of Pharaoh living among us. They are guided by God and doing His will but lost. We see them and think all is well. They have it all, as Pharaoh’s daughter, and yet they have nothing.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)
Will you reach out to one today? Will you give them a track or invite them to church? We can all rejoice when they come to know Jesus too!
Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. (Matthew 9:37-38)
People Need the Lord. Listen to this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uZcGaixMhg&feature=related
Thank You
1 John 5:13
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Warning Signs – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1John 1:9
Good morning. Someone once said that confession is good for the soul. According to 1John 1:9, it is. King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then had her husband, Uriah, killed to hide her pregnancy. Eventually the sin was exposed, and the baby died. David poured out his heart to God in Psalm 51 for forgiveness. Something that we should consider when we think about sinning is that you can’t hide anything from God: He already knew you were going to sin before you were born. David gives us some warning signs that should direct us to the Lord when we see them in our lives.
WARNING: Verse 7: Do you feel dirty? Unless your conscience has been seared with a hot iron, or you are not saved, the Holy Spirit will not let you be ‘comfortable’ with your sin. “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
WARNING: Verse 8: How’s your hearing? Can you still hear the wonderful sounds of joy and gladness? “Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.”
WARNING: Verse 10: Do you have an attitude problem? Go to the Lord, He can fix it, or do you like being miserable? “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
WARNING: Verse 11-12: Are you feeling alone: not able to fit in with the world, or with Christians? Have you lost the joy of your salvation? God promises that He will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. He is patiently waiting for you to come to Him. “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
WARNING: Verse 13: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” (Proverbs 11:30). How is your soul winning? “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”
WARNING: Verse 14: Do you have a frog in your throat, maybe like Pharaoh may have? How is your singing? The Bible says to make a joyful NOISE! Can you manage a noise that is joyful? God can fix that too. “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.”
WARNING: Verse 15: Can you give God praise for anything that He is doing in your life. He prepared a gourd to give shade to an angry Jonah. “O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.”
Seven warning signs. Do you see any of them in your life? It may be time to sit down, or kneel down, and talk to the Lord about it. Accept His forgiveness for any wrongs you may have done. Then you will be clean. You’ll rejoice with others. Your fellowship with the Lord will be restored. You will once again give the gospel out to a lost and dying world. Your voice and your mouth will send forth praises. (And if your voice squeaks, just tell people you invented a new note!)
“For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalm 51:16-17).
Peace. (1John 1:9)
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Just For Ladies – by Camille Stahl
Today’s Passage – Isaiah 37 – 40 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)
(Second Milers also read – John 7 – 8; Psalms 31 – 35; Proverbs 7)
Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song –Ephesians 4:32
The Study of Women in the Bible
Rahab, A Harlot With Great Faith
“And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate. And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.” (Joshua 2:1-21)
“By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.” (Hebrews 11:31)
Good morning and welcome back to the Tuesday Ladies Bible Study. For this study, the Lord has impressed upon me to blog about Rahab. Many times, women feel unworthy to serve the Lord. We have the mindset of ‘how can God love someone like me?’ He does, and Rahab is a great example.
The Bible pulls no punches when it comes to the hard facts about Rahab. She was a harlot: someone who sold her body for money. Some try to sugar-coat this fact by saying she was an innkeeper, which may be true, but she was still a harlot. The spies may have gone to Rahab’s place to stay. She discovered that they were Israelites. She knew about what happened to Egypt at the Red Sea, and heard that God was going to give the Israelites the city of Jericho. It took faith to hide the spies. She trusted their word that she and her household would be saved. One definition of faith is a profound trust in God and His Word. Rahab had this kind of faith. God honored Rahab, along with Sarah: the only two women mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11: the heroes of the faith.
There are two things I would like to look at that we can apply to us today. First is Rahab’s faith. We must be in God’s word daily. I know I always mention about Bible reading, but how can we know His word unless we read it.
“Give us this day our daily bread..”. (Matthew 6:11)
If you are not reading at all, start with a few verses. Read a little, increase a little. A great tool to use is the Bible reading on the blog. Not only do you get to read it, but you get to hear it as well. We must believe and trust in His word. I know this is sometimes easier said then done. My faith and trust was shaky at times during this past year or so, but God repeatedly showed His love to me.
“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)
The second point is that God is no respecter of persons. If Jesus is your Saviour, your past is in the past. He remembers our sin no more.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms 103:12)
You’re a Princess because you’re a child of the King. God loves us all equally. Don’t let your past hinder you from serving Him. God can do great things through you if you stay faithful and allow Him to. Rahab’s story continued after Jericho. She found God. She no longer worked as a harlot. She lived among the Jewish people. She married Salmon and had a child. She was the great-grandmother of King David.
“And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king;… “ (Matthew 1:5-6)
She is in the lineage of Jesus Christ. You say a harlot? Yes.
If you don’t know Jesus as your Saviour, I highly suggest you go to the churches website www.jerseyshorebaptist.com and click on “Why Jesus”. Jesus is waiting for you with His out-stretched arms. He is willing to forgive and love you, just as He did Rahab. God wants to use you too!
For the young abandoned husband, left alone without a reason – For the Pilgrim in the the city where there is no home – For the son without a father, for his solitary mother – I have a message – He sees you – He knows you – He loves you – Every heart that is breaking tonight – Is the heart of a child, that He holds in his sight – And oh how He longs, to hold in His arms – Every heart that is breaking tonight – For the precious fallen daughter, for her devastated father – For the prodigal who’s dying in a strange new way – For the child who’s always hungry – For the Patriot with no country – I have a message – He sees you – He knows you – He loves you – Jesus loves you – Every heart that is breaking tonight – Is the heart of a child, that He holds in his sight – And oh how He longs, to hold in His arms – Every heart that is breaking tonight.
Every Heart That Is Breaking – A song by Twila Paris
Start fresh today and leave the past in the past.
Thank You
1 John 5:13 – 14
Posted in Devotions, Just for Ladies by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Cleaning House – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Good morning. Does your shed look like mine? I just cleaned it out a few weeks ago. It’s just a little cluttered. I mean you CAN walk around in it if you pull a few things out. Sometimes we get too bogged down with clutter. Not just in our sheds, but in our lives too. The clutter in our lives can cause us to loose focus on the things of life that are really important. Jesus was great at removing clutter. We find this in John chapter 2…
“And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” (John 2:13-17)
Sometimes we just need to clean house, clean the temple that God gave us to be a steward over. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1Cor 6:19-20)
What can we do? Clean house. We need to get rid of the garbage, the clutter which has crept into our lives…
SPIRITUALLY. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
MENTALLY. Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
PHYSICALLY. In Philippians 4:9 Paul wrote, “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
Peace. (Philippians 4:6-9)
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Decisions – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Good morning! This week we went camping again. It was in the driveway of Evangelist Joe Kieser’s house. We were there for the Northeast Vision Summit at Solid Rock Baptist Church, in Berlin, NJ. We got to see many old friends, and some new ones. My job schedule only allowed me to be there Wednesday night and all day Thursday. Camille got to see David Gibbs. He is such a great story-teller. We also got to see and hear Pastors Doug Fisher, Jack Trieber, and Paul Chappel from California. Bruce Frye was also there to sing for us.
On Wednesday night, Bruce Frye sang a song about a boy’s love for his unsaved father. The dad was hidden behind a newspaper, his son behind a box of Cheri-o’s, and the mom wanted to go to church. The dad said he wasn’t going, that he would end up in the place were people like him go (hell). The mom asked the son to go, and the son told the mom, no, he wanted to go where his daddy was going, because he loved his daddy.
I had to praise the Lord for that song because I was faced with a similar situation in 1984. We had just moved into our first house in the Birchwood Park section of Brick Township, NJ. Our daughter Melissa was at the playground when she was approached by a woman out visiting on her bus route. Jackie Ferrara invited Melissa to go to church on Sunday. She followed my wife and daughter to our house, and told them about the church. Just to give you a little insight into my life, I was raised Pentecostal, my wife was Roman Catholic. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum! I get home from work and Camille says, “Guess where we’re going Sunday.”
“Where?”, I asked.
“To church!”
“Church? What church?”
“Ocean County Baptist Temple. It’s in Toms River.”
“Baptist! That’s hell-fire, damnation stuff!”
What should I do? We had never been to church as a family. Well, it was a church, and we got a free bus ride. We went. This was the first time I heard the Bible preached and taught clearly as it should be taught.
But, what if I had said no, I’m not going? Would that have kept my wife and daughter from going? Would I have been a dis-courager instead of an en-courager? I have to praise the Lord for helping me make the right decision to go.
How do we love and care for our families? I think about what Job did.
“And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.” (Job 1:5)
Jesus sacrificed His life for us. Shouldn’t we show that same love for our family? Doesn’t the Bible tell us in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it…”
The only thing that could possibly get in our way is pride.
By the way, the song had a happy ending: they all went to church and the dad got saved.
(P.S. If anyone knows the title of this song, and/or the name of the album, let me know: I’d like to hear it again. Thanks and..)
Peace. (Mark 9:50)
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
O Taste And See That The LORD Is Good – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Listen to Pastor Charlie Horton’s message to the men at our Men’s Breakfast – “God’s Will In Your Life”
Good morning! Vacations are nice, but it’s always better to get home. God’s hands were all over our vacation in Lancaster, PA. Thursday was our last day there, and we went to Sight and Sound’s production of Jonah. I think this is my favorite so far. I walked out of the theater wanting to study the book of Jonah in depth (no pun intended).
But the best thing to happen to us on our vacation, happened at Red Lobster. We had Melissa’s gift card with us, which we thought was still loaded with $50. A bad assumption. Our waiter came back and told us there was only $10. So I dug the VISA (sorry Dave) out of my wallet, and handed it to him. A few more minutes passed, and our waiter returned with my card. That’s when he told us the two ladies, who were seated across from us, picked up the rest of our tab! He said, “They told me to tell you that Jesus loves you.”
Yes He does. And I told you all that to tell you Psalm 34:8a, “O taste and see that the LORD is good…”
Like I said, God’s hand was all over this vacation. Then we came home and saw what happened in our little trailer park. Many trees were down from the storm that came through early last Saturday morning. The transformer on a telephone pole was struck by lightning, and was now the same color as the pole. God protected our house, and many others.
Even though our daughter lies buried, and her soul is in heaven, taste and see that the LORD is good.
Even though my wife had a heart attack, and needed three stints put in, taste and see that the LORD is good.
When the LORD gets you through the storms of life, O taste and see that the LORD is good.
When blessings fall like the leaves from a tree, O taste and see that the LORD is good.
When times look bright, and when times look dark, O taste and see that the LORD is good.
If you don’t know the LORD, I invite you to taste and see that the LORD is good. He loves you so much. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13). He laid down His life to save you from hell because He knew you could not save yourself: (Ephesians 2:8-9) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Just agree with God that you are a sinner: As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one… For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God… (Romans 3:10 and 23). Then call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to save you, and He will. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13).
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalm 34:8)
Peace. (1Chronicals 16:34).
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
A Penny For Your Thoughts
Today’s Passage -Psalms 90 – 95
Second Milers also read – Matthew 7 – 8; Psalms 16 – 20; Proverbs 4
“In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.” – (Psalm 94:19)
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” – (Proverbs 23:7)
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” – (Philippians 4:8)
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” – (2 Corinthians 10:5)
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about thinking lately. I am discovering that our thought processes have a great deal of impact on our overall happiness. In our reading passage today, in Psalm 94, David is confronted with all of the negatives that life could dish out. He had many enemies that were trying to destroy him, and he had his critics that seem to always know how the job could be done better. Yet, David chose not to dwell on all of these discouraging factors. Instead, his thoughts turned to God. David was pretty good at this. Remember when the Amelekites took David’s family captive, and the families of all his men? His men were so upset with David that they spake of stoning him. What did David do? Well, he eventually went out and got his friends and family back, but first he got encouragement from God. How did he do that? He remembered God’s promises. He thought about his relationship with God, and chose to think about what God had done for him in the past, as well as what God said he would do for him in his future; and this thought process caused David to take action. But it all started with a thought process. David’s circumstances did not change at all before his encouragement came. His encouragement came simply from looking at his circumstances from a higher perspective; and then the actions that resulted from the encouragement changed his circumstances, which, of course, encouraged him more.
Many people I know, are constantly living in a state of discouragement. Their minds are a playground of negativity, which results in a defeated attitude. This further causes them to live in defeat, blaming everything and everybody for their problems and failures. The Bible says that we need to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. These negative thoughts attack what we believe to be true about God and our relationship with Him, which makes God’s image and power appear smaller in our mind. We are supposed to magnify the Lord, not make him smaller.
As I have observed people through the years, I have noticed two root causes for negativity and discouragement in God’s people:
The first reason for their discouragement is that they are not busy enough. They have too much time on their hands to think, and the direction of their thoughts is often about their circumstances. Instead of taking the appropriate actions necessary to improve their situation, they wallow in self-pity, waiting for somebody to come along and fix the problem for them; and when he never comes, they go into an even deeper discouragement with blame and criticism added to it directed toward the people that should have cared enough to help. Busy people, however, tend to not have time to dwell on anything. They are too busy. Their minds are active, and are constantly being used to solve problems, rather than dwell on them. Did you ever notice in the Psalms written by David, that he never looks to anybody but God to solve his problems.
The second cause for discouragement is that when people do have time to think, they let their thoughts control them, rather than choosing and controlling the thought pattern. The Bible commands us to “cast down”, and to “think on these things”. These two imperatives make it clear that what we think about is, at least to some degree, a matter of our own choosing. I ask again – what are you thinking about? Is your mind filled with criticism and complaint about other people? Is it polluted with corruption and filth from sin? God wants you to think about good things. God wants you to control what you think about. Think about Him; read His Word; memorize passages of Scripture; sing the songs of God; spend some time remembering God’s promises, and praising Him for what He has done in the past.
If you and I could stay busy, and then when we do have time to think, control the direction of our thoughts, we could then encourage ourselves like David did, and then we could get up and do something, which will make our lives, and the lives of others better, which then makes us feel even better.
Just a thought.
By the way – Happy Birthday America!
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.
The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Praise Ye The Lord
Psalms 150 says,
“Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”
I have breath, so I must praise the Lord. As I sit here in my camper, at Country Acres Campground, in the heart of Lancaster, PA, I can’t get over what God has done in getting us here. For those of you who are not familiar with driving in Philadelphia, it’s an un-natural disaster. Tune into any morning show and watch the traffic reports. It’s insane! God set this up, and I praise Him for that. We were going camping for the week of July fourth. My sister Ruthie wanted to give us a vacation after all that had transpired in the first half of the year. We chose Lancaster. Here is what God did. We wanted to leave when I got home from work Friday morning. God was there and arranged me to be scheduled to work overnight at the Sicklerville store. We started our camping trip a day early. I brought Camille and the camper to Sicklerville that night. Now remember the traffic? God supplied me and my boss Joe with another worker. We were able to finish the resets, and get out of there around 4:00 am. Do you know how the traffic is at four in the morning? There isn’t any. We drove through Philly with no problem, right into a nasty thunder storm. God’s timing, of course, is perfect. We only had to drive through a few down-pours. The lightning lit up the early morning sky. It was beautiful. Streaks of high voltage travelling horizontaly across the sky, and vertically as it struck the ground. Then we saw the results, but God protected us from them. There were many branches from trees blocking the outside lane. There was no traffic arround when I swerved to avoid hitting a pile. Praise God that the trailer did not flip, and that we were not damaged by the fallen debree. The Lord got us safely to the campgrounds at 6:30 am. I still have breath, so I praise Him for that. Also the campground is very well kept, and peaceful. Normally, about this time, we would still be hearing the music blaring, the people partying, and loud, foul voices would fill the air. This is a nice, peaceful place. I was going to say a piece of Heaven on earth, but since when is Heaven peaceful? We’ll be shouting praises to our Lord and Saviour. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Peace (Psalm 150:2).
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Thirsty?
Today’s Passage – Psalms 40 – 45
Second Milers also read – Revelation 4 – 7; Psalms 116 – 120; Proverbs 24
Scripture Memory for June – Psalm 139
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 92:1
“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” – (Psalm 42:1-2)
I remember when I was a boy, the neighborhood that I grew up in was involved in an unorganized baseball league and we would challenge other neighborhoods in our town to play us. I remember one very hot, summer afternoon we were playing Lake Riviera, our arch rivals. The temperature was in the 90’s with high humidity. It was a real scorcher. I don’t remember who won or lost that game, but I do remember that out of all of the dozen or so guys on our team only one had enough sense to bring water. I recall he had one of those Coleman jugs that contained about a half gallon or so of water. At first he did not want to share; but under the threat of death from his teammates, he finally yielded and shared his treasure. It was as close as I ever came to identifying with the rich man in Luke 16, who desired just a drop of cool water.
In the passage referenced above the Psalmist tells us that he had that kind of a thirst, not for water, but for the things of God. Jesus said, “…if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37), and “blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Amos referred to a thirst for the “hearing of the words of the Lord”. (Amos 8:11)
We tend to get thirsty when we have been without hydration for a while. America is dehydrated spiritually, and I bet there are a lot of folks out there who are thirsting for God; and they may not even realize what they are thirsting for. They have been drinking from the wells of this world for a long time, but have not found satisfaction. The people of God are not helping the situation because they too have abandoned the well of the Word of God and have been sipping at the fountains of the devil.
Are you thirsty? As God’s people, our desire should be for God’s will and God’s Word. We should thirst after it. How long has it been since you took a good, long, satisfying drink from God’s well? How long has it been since you offered a cup of God’s Spirit to the thirsty people of the world around you?
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