Wyoming Tetons and the Snake River
John & I looking upstream from a bridge – July 2022
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth. (1 Peter 1:13-17)
Hi Men:
I pray you have had a great week in Christ. The words above from the Apostle Paul are so powerful. A month or so ago I mentioned some previous verses from 1 Peter. I will again encourage you to spend some time in 1 Peter 1. We were bought with a price, Jesus owns us ……….He gave Himself as a ransom for us. If you believe this, then it should be manifest in you life. Go back to the above verses and spend a little time on words like: prepare, obedient, each one’s work and fear.
ROAD TRIP WITH MY SON JOHN
Bear with me as I share a few thoughts while navigating on my laptop. How spoiled I get using a PC with dual monitors. Well this has been a wonderful time being on the road with my younger son John. What’s amazing, is at the same time, my other son Mark is driving with his family as they work their way toward North Carolina. He is currently staying with a good friend in Wichita, Kansas. Next week Mark will pass through Knoxville and will see his brother. Very cool. So (2) boys raised in Vegas are going to be living in the Charlotte and Knoxville area. Whatever God’s perfect will is Jane and my desire for our boys and their families. In the flesh we would of course love to be closer to them, but unless God opens that door, we are so grateful that both cities have direct flights from Vegas. 😊
Not only did John and I have great conversations as we drove across the country, but along the way we visited cousins and friends. One of my Wyoming cousins (see photo) was headed to participate in a rodeo in Jackson, Wyo. He is 75 years old! His passion for rodeo is not the focus of my message, because the following day on a beautiful Wyoming morning, I found both he and his wife in the kitchen having a cup of coffee. I joined them and we had the most profound conversation for the next hour and a half orchestrated by the Lord (thank you for your prayers). As most of you know, I was raised Catholic and for the most part never encouraged to read the Bible…… this too was the case with both of them. I can’t help to believe that God is dealing with them because they spend their winter months just outside Wittenberg, Arizona and a Christian man there has a Bible Study and a home church they have attended a few times. I gave my cousin a Blue Book and explained it. He was so grateful to receive it.
A dear brother shared this passage from Ray Comfort’s Evidence Bible (page 1471). Please take a moment to read it. His timing in sending it was God’s Grace, for I shared Jesus’ words with my cousin of why Jesus came to earth….. “To seek and save the lost” (Luke 19 The Parable of the Minas) …… And brothers, that too is our mission! My cousin had never heard this explained and was extremely open to the Word…….
Quote from below: “There is only one reason the Lord allows his church to remain on earth: to seek and save the lost, just as Christ only reason for coming to earth was to seek and save the lost.”
Take your time reading this:
The Lord provided other opportunities along Interstate 70 & 80. I will save those for another time.
“To Seek and Save the Lost”
Dan
(Gal 2:20)
Men: Does this devotional make you feel uncomfortable? If it doesn’t, you’re in trouble!
“The Savior only accepts as His own those who renounce all rights to themselves and completely surrender themselves to His leadership in their lives”
“If Jesus is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all” (Read the last sentence!)
Surrender – Red Book Day 202
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”
Men:
While on our road trip, I received the most beautiful voice message from a husband and wife in California that I had given a Blue Book to several months back. They explained to me that one morning over coffee, both spent over an hour discussing this particular day. That’s why I wanted to share this devotional again. Once I get permission from them, I will share a few more details and the ministry they serve the Lord together.
The Inquiring Heart – Blue Book Day 196
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”
Hallelujah Over Hell?
How God’s People Rejoice While Their Enemies Perish
By David Mathis
“Soon enough, the shades of grey will be gone, and those outside of Christ will be revealed as hardened rebels against their Creator; haters of the God we love; abhorrers of the Christ we adore, and of his bride. There’s an all-stakes war going on for the cosmos—one we ignore to our own peril.”
Men: This article was sent by a brother. I encourage you to read it. See attached PDF
How are your answers on the 3 questions below?
Are you in the faith?
THREE SIMPLE BUT IMPORTANT TESTS TO SEE IF I AM ON TRACK SPIRITUALLY
The Scriptures exhort us to “examine [ourselves] to see whether [we] are in the faith…” (2 Cor. 13:5b).
1) Am I bearing fruit inward by living in God’s word? Jesus: ” If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:31b, 32).
Ask yourself if these past couple of weeks your time alone with God in prayer and the Scriptures has been your top priority. If not, according to John 8:31, 32 you are living in bondage. Last week I asked a friend in full time Christian service about his time with God. Skimpy. Yet he manages to busy himself with creating and running “Christian” programs. He should be mindful of John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
2) Am I bearing fruit outward by loving others? Jesus: ” A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Jn. 13:34, 35 – NIV). The caliber of Jesus’ love lived through us is:
- Selfless : “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5).
- Forgiving : “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:34b).
- Sacrificial : “…Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:33b).
3) Am I bearing fruit upward by winning the lost and discipling the saved? Jesus: “ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (Jn. 15:7, 8). This abundant fruit is manifest in two ways:
1) Character: “… The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law ” (Gal. 5:22, 23).
2) Service: “Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together” (Jn. 4:35, 36).
QUESTION: Would you take a few moments now to prayerfully examine yourself in these three areas, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the state of your inner life. Is there a change you need to make today?
This week may you experience His grace, peace and protection.
~Dwight Hill~
1 Some of the key ideas for this “Facts” credited to Spiritual Discipleship, J Oswald Sanders, Moody Press, Chicago 1994, ppg. 27-34.
As I read the quote below……. “Lord, One Man Please” comes to mind……
Thomas De Witt Talmage … 1832-1902
Here’s another fluffy quote as you head out on this weekend
