- MONDAY -

Good morning forever family,

Last week I sent out a devotion on Jonah that mentioned a kayaker that was swallowed by a whale.  This happened off the coast of Chile.  I soon received this reply from our friend Pastor Paul Lehman...

This from Pastor Paul... 

My friend Rich Stepanek has an interesting take on Jonah.  He says the Ninevites were fish worshipers, so when God had a fish swallow Jonah and then have Jonah spit back up, he knew what he was doing.  Imagine people watching a pale white man being vomited up by a big fish whom you worship.  It is no wonder they listened to Jonah's message and repeated it.  God uses whatever means to save people.  

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ² “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

³ Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. ⁴ Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” ⁵ The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

¹⁰ When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.  Jonah 3:1-5, 10 NIV

I looked this up on Biblehistory.com and Mr. Stepanek is correct.  The Ninevites worshiped Dagon, a false god who was half man and half fish!

Not so for us.  We serve THE God Who is Lord over all.  And, He is AWESOME!  He does all He can (outside of taking away our free will) to save us from Hell.  Fact is, Jonah's message is for us today as well! 

Be blessed, be a blessing,

Randy

- TUESDAY -

Good morning forever family,

What are you doing today?  That's a question my wife, Jackie, often asks me.  We have busy schedules lately and it a very legitimate question.  I could ask the same question of each of you. Psalm 9 has a suggestion... 

1 I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
² I will rejoice and be jubilant in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.  Psalm 9:1-2 NASB  

We serve an AWESOME God and He deserves our best praise.

I will tell others about my great God.  I will have joy as I breathe the free air and live in the freedom He gave me.   will rejoice knowing I am His and He is mine.  I will praise Him that this is a forever relationship.

Be blessed, be a blessing,

Randy 

- WEDNESDAY -

Good morning forever family,

I have a friend who showed up at my house yesterday with a beautiful gentle young rooster.  He had heard that Jackie and I were looking to replace some of our flock of nine hens, half of which are getting pretty old.  We had no rooster so our eggs are not fertilized allowing us to hatch some out.  Now we can.

I've always believed this friend, I'll call him Justin, has a heart as big as Texas and he is a true servant.  He has on a few occasions brought whole meals to the ministry we do on Friday nights.  Part of that ministry is to provide a meal for the folks who come to CR.  This friend is always looking out as to how he can help others.  He has a servant's heart and when I read this verse he immediately comes to mind... 

³⁵ Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”  Mark 9:35 NIV 

The person described by Jesus in Mark 9:35 is a rare person indeed.

Be blessed, be a  blessing,

Randy

- THURSDAY -

Good morning forever family,

A few days ago at a Warrior at Heart event we had an excellent teaching about the attributes of God.  How unfathomable is His love.  All of His attributes are unfathomable to us.  The depths of His love, mercy, forgiveness, and justice.  In a world filled with growing hate for God's people and growing corruption and a love for lawlessness it would be good to think about justice.  We have very little justice in the world now but the time is coming when we will see perfect justice as God is a just God.

I desire justice yet I cannot let that desire claim too much real estate in my heart for the heart is for God and His love.  Isaiah 26 is a chapter devoted to praise for the Lord our God.  It also serves as a reminder that He, and He alone, brings peace.  We must live as a people seeking justice yet realizing that He alone can bring perfect justice and we,  in the meantime, must live righteously looking to Him for all we have.  He will never let us down. 

³ You will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.
⁴ Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

²¹ See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling
    to punish the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood shed on it;
    the earth will conceal its slain no longer.  Isaiah 26:3-4, 21 NIV 

We serve an AWESOME God!

Be blessed, be a blessing,

Randy

- FRIDAY -

Good morning forever family,

I heard a report last week that explained that this area of the western Slope of Colorado is becoming a haven for human trafficking being done by the Mexican cartels allowed in during the last 4 years.  This has been weighing heavily on my mind as I have granddaughters that live here as well.

I was looking at Scripture on this subject.  I always like to get the perspective of God's word.  Joel chapter 3 speaks a bit about the selling of boys and girls and it is a very disturbing read.  Earlier this week I did a devotional on the fact that God is a God of perfect justice.  I can tell you one thing for sure.  The Mexican cartel members will not fare well in the upcoming judgement.  The drugs they sell as well as the kids they sell will seal their fate and I suspect they are headed for a VERY hot place; right beside the folks who do abortions and sell baby body parts.  If you read Joel 3 you'll get a taste of the heart of God on this type of evil.

The Gospel of Matthew also show God's heart toward the little children.  The first thing I thought of when I read this Scripture this morning is the fact that these cartel members pump their evil like Fentanyl into our area so the young ones can get hooked on it.  They even put it in Halloween candy last year.

Yup, headed for a very HOT place.

⁵ And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

⁶ “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. ⁷ Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!    Matthew 18:5-7 NIV 

We, who love the Lord, need to make sure our land is a safe place for God's little ones and a dangerous place, if not an impossible place for criminals to ply their evil trade.

Let's ask God today to place a hedge of protection around the innocent ones.

Be blessed be a blessing,

Randy