Sunrise at Zion
Hi Men:
This evening everyone converges on Zion for our 15th Annual Men’s Conference. We so much appreciate your prayers. This has been one of the most difficult conferences to prepare for. Around every turn, the enemy was doing his best to disrupt it all……
Even my wife and I came within mere feet of a head-on collision as we were returning from Thanksgiving with our son and his family in northern Nevada. We were between Tonopah and Goldfield on a 2-lane highway heading south at 75 mph when, out of nowhere, a car in the northbound lane decided to pass a whole string of vehicles—easily doing 90 mph—with nowhere to merge back in. I began easing toward the shoulder, but at the last possible moment he jerked his wheel left and shot off into our shoulder, missing us by what felt like inches. I have no idea what happened to him afterward; we had semi-trucks behind us and were towing our son’s trailer with the Dodge diesel. A collision at those speeds would have been catastrophic—no tow trucks needed, just front-end loaders gathering twisted metal. God was incredibly merciful to us last Saturday. Ok, you get the picture….. It wasn’t our time to enter “Perfectville!”
Back to Zion:
One of the brothers sent me the following verse for all the Zion attendees:
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called—His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance. Ephesians 1:18 [NLT]
Wow…. What a great verse!
IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD
I wanted to share a couple of photos of me and Adam, one of the young men who came through my Boy Scout troop years ago. Today he’s serving in the United States Air Force as a jet-engine mechanic, and when he’s discharged next year, he plans to work on commercial jets. My dad was a heavy-duty mechanic/welder and left behind an incredible collection of professional tools—Snap-on, Proto, Cromwell, and more—so I recently had Adam come over and look through them. He ended up taking most of what he’ll need, which thrilled me since they’ve just been sitting in one of our horse stalls for many years.
But the reason I’m sharing this goes deeper: a few years ago, Adam and I began meeting regularly for a discipleship Bible study, and it has been a real joy for both of us. The exciting news is that he’s driving up from Tucson to meet me at Zion Boot Camp tonight—and he’s even bringing another airman to room with him. It’s amazing to see how God weaves things together over time. And yes, as you can tell from the photos, Adam is one tall guy—about 6’7″!
Thank you again for all your prayers for this weekend….
Much Love in Christ,
Dan
(Gal 2:20)
Men: Such a great devotional to ponder…… are we grateful?
“Islam both teaches and practices that the faithful should violate the Golden Rule; it asserts that unbelievers should be coerced into following Allah, and Mohammed, its founder, evangelized with the sword.”
Grateful for a Moral Religion – Red Book Day 340
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”
I read this devotional sent by one of the MIM brothers…..
Obeying God!
Genesis 1:3 says:
“And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”
Walter Henrichsen speaks to this: “When God speaks, He expects to be obeyed. ‘By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth’ (Psalm 33:6). You see the power of God’s Word in creation. As far as we can tell, the only ones who have had the audacity to disobey God are angels and people. Only humans have an opportunity for redemption. Since God took the effort to save us, we do well to listen to Him.”
From the opening lines of Scripture, we are reminded that God’s Word is not suggestion… it is sovereign command. At His voice, light pierces darkness, oceans form their boundaries, and life springs into existence. Creation obeys instantly… yet humanity hesitates.
Obedience is not a burden; it is the pathway to blessing. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (ref John 14:15). Love expresses itself in surrender, trust, and a readiness to respond when God speaks. James tells us not to be hearers only, but doers of the Word (ref James 1:22).
God redeemed us at great cost. How could we not give Him our willing obedience? … His Word deserves our immediate “yes, Lord.”
“Father, give me a heart that responds to Your voice without delay or hesitation. Teach me to love Your commands and to walk in the light of Your truth. May my life reflect the power and authority of Your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
Men: I grabbed this from Creation.com Magazine……
Christians are called to live their lives by ‘Scripture Alone.’ This doesn’t mean that Scripture possesses the only truth. For example, a carbon atom has 6 electrons, a truth not in Scripture. Living one’s life by the Scriptures does mean, however, that the Bible is the final authority in all that it affirms for Christian faith and practice, either explicitly or implicitly.
Here are just a few things the Author of our faith has to say about His Word:
- Nothing should be added to it or taken away from it (Revelation 22:18-19)
- It is solid food (Hebrews 5:12, 14)
- It is sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103)
- It is living and active (Hebrews 4:12)
- It is sufficient for salvation (James 1:21, 2 Timothy 3:15)
- It is to be contended for (Jude 3)
- It is the very breath of God spoken to us (2 Timothy 3:16)
It is so precise that Jesus argues His deity from the tense of a single verb:
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)
Just another fluffy quote from C.T. Studd
