Today, as I read my UpperRoom devotion, I find I am convicted about thoughts I had while reading the devotion dated January 15, 2011.  The title is "Someone at the Door". The writer talks about someone knocking on his door asking, again, for assistance. Quoting from the devotion: "One day a man who had knocked on my door many times arrived again. This time I asked him to leave without even listening to him." Now there are at least two thoughts that went through my mind as I read this devotion. One had to do with my experience. No one has ever knocked on my door asking for help. I wondered where this type of thing occurred. My initial thought was that it must be in a big city because that just doesn't happen in my small community - that I know of anyway. I looked at the author's name and where he was from - Western Cape, South Africa. Perhaps that is how people ask for assistance in South Africa. I don't really know. As I read it, I thought, "Ge...

I have certain beliefs. Many have developed over many years. Some I've developed without even necessarily THINKING about them. I just believe them.  That is NOT the way to have a belief though. Just believing for the sake of believing is like building on sand. (Matthew 7:26,27 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash . )  So sometimes, I need to examine a belief to make it concrete. One example of that was when I wrote the post about the Trinity and someone made a comment that suggested that the Trinity isn't Biblical. Since that time, I've watched for Biblical evidence to support it. While I don't have the evidence documented to confirm it to a reader, I feel confident in my belief. Lately, I've read a few things that call to question my belief that Jesus is th...

Genesis 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” God's words to Cain. This is after Cain and Abel each presented offerings to God. God was very pleased with Abel's offering and less so with Cain's. God tells Cain," If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”   God says this before Cain killed his brother, Abel. God was talking about the offering but perhaps also about what God knew was coming. God told Cain to do what is right, that sin is crouching at your door, that sin wants him and that Cain must rule over sin. God is warning Cain to beware. To be aware of anger and his jealousy and his penchant for giving enough, but never his best.  God warns Cain, then Cain kills Abel. How often do we do the exact s...

According to the Bible, the first three people to sin were the first three people. Adam, Eve, then Cain killed his younger brother, Abel. In each sinful event, God confronted the sinner.  In each event, they denied their sin. I want to repeat that.  In each event, they denied their sin.  They blamed someone else, or made excuses or tried to pretend it didn't happen. We still do that today.  No matter the issue, we try to dilute it by calling it something other than sin. We all do it.  Then when we are confronted with the sin, we make excuses or try to convince others that it isn't really a sin. There was a tragic shooting in Arizona a few days ago.  Some are trying to say the shooter isn't responsible for his actions.  We just can't face it when we do wrong. We can't accept that there is evil in the world. But the Bible is pretty clear that there is evil, and there is sin and that we will be held accountable.  Thank God for Jesus who died to t...

Well, I finished the Chronological Daily Bible. NIV Daily Bible: In Chronological Order Softcover By F. LaGard Smith / Harvest House Publishers Discover the Bible as the extraordinary epic it is! As the unique, chronological presentation of God's story daily unfolds before you, you'll begin to appreciate God's plan for your life as never before as the Bible will become a fresh, inviting, more informative experience. Find a chronological/historical arrangement of every book of the Bible, a Devotional Commentary, 365 convenient daily reading segments, and topical arrangements for Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Bible is arranged in chronological order; daily readings are posted as January 1, January 2, etc. Organized into 365 chronological readings Narrative shaded in gray Cross-references I also finished another 365 devotional. Now I'm trying to get into a new habit. Well, not exactly a new habit, just new material. It feels a little disjointed since the material...