DON'T GIVE UP! KEEP GOING!

"And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land; And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship.that they escaped all safe to land" (Acts 27:41, 43-44, KJV).

"And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood" (Genesis 7:7, KJV).

The unvarnished truth is that when life gets in the way, we always have to make adjustments. Often, the unexpected pops its head up at the most inconvenient times. Not always do we know how to cope with these surprises. We tend to be creatures of habit and not like to make necessary adjustments in our daily routines. Sometimes, God allows life to get in the way so we can appreciate the smoother days; the more secure times; the times when we feel safe in our comfort zone. Our son Clint says that the thing that makes the view from a mountaintop look prettier is the valleys one has just traveled.

In Genesis, we read about the flood that caused Noah and his family to change their plans. Not only did they have to get in an ark, they had to build it first. They might have been crowded on the ark. We don't know. The animals probably smelled. Noah and his family might have gotten on each other's nerves. We just don't have a clue to those very personal aspects. They may have wanted to give up and not keep going at times, but they proceeded to do what was necessary.

Acts 27 tells us about how the shipwreck changed the course of action for Paul and the others. They didn't get to shore by boat. When it came apart in the storm, some had to swim and others came in on boards and broken pieces. They didn't give up. They kept going. They reached shore.

Sometimes, the unexpected will happen. Do we want to give up-not go beyond the change? Are we willing to let God make adjustments in our lives?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

Life might get in the way and change my plans, but I will make the necessary adjustments and press on. I can't give up! I won't give up!

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Father, help me not begrudge unexpected changes that come my way. Help me to face them. Help me not give up, but to keep going. Father, I know You are there to help me get through the trying times. I can do all things when You are there by my side.

AMERICA PUT ON YOUR BLUSH!

"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime" (Daniel 6:10, KJV).

"Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 6:15, KJV).

When in elementary school in Hickory Flat, Mississippi, the first thing my class would do each morning was to have a reading from the Bible, say a prayer, and give the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag. These actions were pure, genuine, and wholesome. They served as cornerstones for our lives. There was no way we would be punished for these daily enrichments. Today, students often are not given the privilege to take part in these wonderful building blocks of life.

The Persians made Darius, a Mede, king in Babylon. Daniel was made one of three presidents for the land. The other two presidents didn't like Daniel, so they plotted against him. They knew Daniel prayed to God three times each day, so they met with Darius and asked him to declare a law that no one could pray to anyone but him. If one prayed to someone besides Darius, the person would be thrown to the lions. Daniel continued to pray to God three times each day. He was thrown in a den of lions for punishment.

On the other hand, in Jeremiah 6:10-21, we find Judah being condemned for not heeding the warnings for having no shame, for being stubborn, for empty worship, and other offenses. Unlike Daniel, Judah's people were guilty of compromising. They weren't bold, and strong, and steadfast like Daniel.

Are we a people who refuse to compromise our beliefs? Do we easily give in when the pressure gets heavy so we won't offend others who don't believe in God? Have we reached a point of no return concerning morals, good citizenship, and belief in our Almighty God? Like Judah, is America showing no shame? Does America not blush anymore?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

I will not compromise any of my beliefs for the sake of rejection by a friend or pressure from another person. I will stand my ground concerning my beliefs in my Heavenly Father. I will show other Americans that I am not ashamed of my Lord or His Gospel.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Father, often I'm guilty of standing in the shadow and not SHOWING others that I do have a Master who rules and reigns in my life. Forgive me. Help me to never conduct empty worship. May I be steadfast like Daniel in acknowledging You as Lord and Savior. God, may I as an American realize You are the reason our country has prospered. Help all Americans to put You first.

THE OLD PATHS

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (II Chronicles 7:14, KJV).

"Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein" (Jeremiah 6:16, KJV).

Ray and I went walking on our place not long ago. When we go into the woods we see many different kinds of animals. It is so exciting to watch how they maneuver around in their environment. Some run through the forest. Others hop over things. And, then some of these creatures like to crawl. Whichever movement befits them, they leave a path. It may be a path through the grass. It might be a path through the leaves. Some of the animals even leave paths through the mud. Whichever type path is left, other animals can follow. A particular path we noticed was one left by deer. It was easy to tell this path was made the year before. It was an old path, yet, still a good one to follow.

In II Chronicles, God speaks to Solomon. Verse 14 of this chapter is a well-known verse stating God's requirements for blessing: prayer, devotion, humility, and repentance. He's reminding Solomon that his people must go another way from what they've been traveling in their lives. Then, in Jeremiah 6:16, we find that the Lord tells the children of Israel to turn to what is good, right, and lasting, reminding them to ".ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein."

There are many people I remember who set a wonderfully strong path for me to follow in my growing-up years. They had special ways of doing things that set a good example for me. Oh, how I long to follow the good paths those older people made. Those people and their paths were genuine, pure, and Godly.

GLANCE OVER MY SHOULDER

I hear the quietness in the air and long for a "Hey, how ya'll today?"
Wishing time could be turned back and a friend was a real friend;
A family was still a sacred thing.

I hear the quietness in the air and long for the moment
When "suppertime" was the happy climax to a long day,
And story reading at night was a treat for the young AND the old.

I hear the quietness in the air and long for the time
When family devotion was sweet and sacred for all the members,
And a "good ole talk with the Lord" was "getting a burden-off-your-chest time."

I hear the quietness in the air and long for the time
When all the kids came home for Sunday dinner,
And "washer pitching" under the old oak tree was a Sunday afternoon treat!

I hear the quietness in the air and long to see the family
Goin' together to hear the pastor preach about the coming of the Lord,
And hear the church folk singing Amazing Grace, When the Roll is Called Up

Yonder, and I'll Fly Away.

I hear the quietness in the air and long for the old-timey revival meetings
That brought out overall-clad farmers who sat outside on their car hoods listening

to the old-timey

Preaching through the raised windows of the church house; spitting tobacco

on the ground and hollering "AMEN" all in the same breath.

I hear the quietness in the air and long to see babies spread out on pallets on the

church floor,

And mothers trying not to disturb the preacher as they unscrewed Mason jar lids

to give

Their young'uns a drink of water.

I hear the quietness in the air and long for the wholesome things of life--
Dinner on the grounds, family picnics, sitting in the front porch swing, checker

games,

Stringing popcorn for the cedar Christmas tree, baptizing in the river, fried peach

pies, bread pudding, milk gravy and homemade biscuits.

Ah, I hear the quietness in the air and I long-long for the old-timey PEACE of

days gone by.

By Martha A. Crawford

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

I will strive to follow the good examples-the old paths-set before me. These old paths and examples are what made homes strong in past years. I will try to make a good path for my family to follow today.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Father, forgive me when I have strayed out of the great and wonderful path You set for me to follow. Please help me today to stay in the middle of the "old paths" of good, Godly ways so that my life will be more like You would have it to be today.

"CAW" TO THE END

"And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee" (Psalm 39:7, KJV).

"...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5b, KJV).

My husband Ray had a pet crow when he was young. Joe the crow waited anxiously for him to come out of the house each morning. The bird flew excitedly as soon as it saw Ray or heard his voice. Then Ray walked one-fourth of a mile to school with Joe perched on his shoulder. From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day the crow waited for Ray in a tree or on the windowsill outside the classroom. At the end of the day of classes, they made their journey home. The black crow was faithful, never compromising his dedication to his owner.

One Thursday afternoon the bell rang promptly at 3 p.m. Ray approached the outside where he usually met Joe each afternoon. The shiny, black crow lay lifeless on the windowsill. A classmate had killed Joe with his slingshot just before Ray arrived. The pet was faithful to his friend to the end.

The Lord shows us in Hebrews 13:5 that He will be faithful and never leave or forsake us. In Psalm 39:7 we read that David acknowledges that his hope is in Christ. Are we willing to be faithful to God until our death? Do we love Him that much?

The crow's faithfulness to its owner spoke volumes. It had no idea of the fate that lay ahead that day. If Jim could have spoken, I'm sure he would say, "My friend, I didn't plan to leave you or forsake you. I wanted to 'caw' for you until the end. "

Praise be to God, we have the comfort that our Heavenly Father will always be with us no matter what comes our way. He will be our great comforter, our protector, our companion, our strength. He will lead us through the valleys and point us toward the mountains. We don't have to dread or fear we will not be with Him if we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

Inconsistent faithfulness to the Lord will cripple one's walk with Him. Today, He will find me faithful until the end.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Lord, I'm sorry You have not always found me faithful to You and Your work. Forgive me when I don't show my appreciation that Thy Son was faithful to die on the cross so that sinners such as I could be saved. Thank You for giving me another chance to prove my love for Thee.

HANGING IT UP!

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion" (Psalms 137:1-3, KJV).

"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land" (Psalms 137:4, KJV)?

When young, I had to pick cotton in order to have money to buy school clothes. It was hard work. The early morning dew would seep into the already scratched hands and it would burn the shallow wounds. On up in the day, I would get thirsty and tired. Hunger pains would rip through my stomach. My cotton sack grew heavy to pull. The strap across my shoulder would tighten with each pound of cotton I placed in the sack. I just wanted to hang it up on the scales, leave the field, never to return.

In Psalms 137 we read there were eight acts of Babylonian captives. They sat down, wept, remembered Zion, hung their harps on the willows, refused to sing a song of the Lord while in captivity, vowed not to forget Jerusalem, prayed for vengeance upon those that rejoiced at their fall, and predicted the fall of Babylon. The captives were in a strange situation, one in which they were very uncomfortable. Maybe they were scared. Perhaps mad at their captors. They might even have been a little apprehensive concerning what might happen in the near future. When they awoke that morning, they certainly didn't suspect to be Babylonian captives. Their world had been turned upside down.

Has your world ever been turned upside down? Has the most unexpected thing happened to you, and you did not know how to handle it? Probably all of us have had episodes in our lives that we would not have chosen. But, how did we handle those times? Did we sit down and weep? Did we "hang our harps" on the willows and say, "I can't sing in this situation?" Maybe, we stopped singing and witnessing about the Lord during this valley in our lives. Did we turn the matter over to the Lord, or did we want to take "things" in our own hands and fix it? Oh, that we might not "hang our harps" up and stop singing even during the bad times.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

Bad times are going to come, but we can make a choice to let them conquer us or we can make up our minds to choose to keep on singing the song of Zion.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Lord, I'm so weak. You are so strong. I pray that during the weakest times of my life that You will replace my frailty with Your strength. I pray that You will remind me of a song I can sing and that I will lift up my voice, even in the dark days, and sing praises to You.

EITHER YOU "IS" OR YOU "AIN'T"

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16, KJV).

"Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter" (James 3:11, KJV)?

What makes it so hard for us to make up our minds about something? Why do we sometimes make a decision and then drift away from it? We are double-minded at times and unstable in our thinking. James 1:8 states, "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." In other words, a double-minded man is two-faced and has characteristics of being hypocritical. My, my, my! Are we one way at church and another way at home? At work? Are we sweet only when we know someone is watching us?

We sing Oh How I Love Jesus but we don't always serve Him like we should. We sing Wherever He leads, I'll Go, but we don't even show up at church sometimes, much less go witness where and when He desires. Double-standards seem to be the "going thing" these days. We tell our children not to do something, but they see us doing the same thing. We tell our children they should say their prayers, but they never hear a prayer leave our lips. We tell our children they need to go to church. Yet, we ask the church to send the van by to pick them up and we stay at home instead. Oh, ye double-minded! We are so often just lukewarm-neither hot nor cold.

How long is it going to take for us to make up our minds whether we want to serve the Lord 100 per cent? Will we drift along forever not deciding whether we want to give Him our all? Oh, that we not be living a shady lifestyle. I Kings 18:21 reads, "And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word."

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

Today is the day the Lord wants us to make up our minds who we are, what we are to do, and how dedicated we are willing to be in relation to Him.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Lord, forgive me for being a lukewarm Christian at times. Father, I need Your help in showing me how NOT to be a wishy-washy Christian. It is so important to me that I find Your will in my life and gain strength from You so I can be steadfast in everything. Help me not to straddle the fence in my dedication to You.

THIS IS A HOLD UP!

"And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun" (Exodus 17:11-12, KJV).

"When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me" (John 5: 6-7, KJV).

Have you ever been desperate for help, but there was none to hold you up-make things easier for you? Why is it in today's world that we don't make the time or the effort to help our fellowman? Is it because we are too busy, self-centered, or non-caring? Or, is it because we simply don't notice the needs of others?

Exodus 17 shows us Amalek and Israel in battle. Joshua did as Moses told him and fought with Amalek. At the same time, Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of a hill. Verses 11 and 12 tell us that when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. Naturely, after awhile, Moses' arm grew tired from holding up his hand so long, so Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hand. It was a great hold up! God allowed Israel to win! What a blessing to Moses to have two companions who saw his need.

On the other hand, in our verses in John 5, we find quite a different story. Someone had a need, but was overlooked. There was none to hold him up! No one noticed him. I'm talking about the sad man at the Pool of Bethesda who wanted to enter the pool, but couldn't. He had a physical problem, possibly like paralysis, that prevented him from getting into the pool without help so that he could be made whole from whatever disease he had. Jesus saw him and knew he had been there by the pool a long time. Jesus asked, "Wilt thou be made whole?" The poor man told Jesus that when the water was troubled, he wanted to get in but there was none to hold him up so he could enter the pool. And, if that wasn't enough, he told Christ that when it came his turn, someone else would go in before him.

How sad it is when no one holds up another brother in Christ. How awful it is when those in need go unnoticed and are left to themselves. How many elderly are left alone with no one to care? How many children are abandoned each year and have no love? What about the sick who need a ride to the doctor's office? What about the hungry? May we never overlook the opportunity to "hold up someone!"

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

I will count it a privilege and an honor to help someone else today. It may interfere with something else I had planned, but I will take the time and opportunity to "hold someone up" today.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Oh, Father, forgive me for all the times I didn't help someone in need. Please forgive me for being selfish and self-centered, thinking I didn't have time to take out of my busy schedule to "hold up" a brother or sister in need.

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