Daily Bread

 

Hey Gang, I know you enjoy Gramps words and ‘Hillbilly humor” and usually it is very pertinent for today, in spite of 10+ Years ago. Sometimes it is good to hear another word for today. I get weekly Devotionals from CBN Israel and thought this one might be good to share.

 

Daily Bread          from CBN Israel      Aug 22,2022

 

When the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, God provided for their daily sustenance by giving them manna: “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day” (Exodus 16:4 HCSB).

 

They could only gather enough for each day, except on the sixth day they gathered a double portion for that day and the Sabbath (verse 5). God told Moses that the reason they could only collect enough for the day was “I will test them to see whether or not they will follow My instructions” (verse 4).

 

Before they entered the Promised Land, Moses called them to remember the journey that had brought them there. “Remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3 NKJV).

 

The hardships of the wilderness tested Israel’s commitment and obedience to God, but God still provided daily for their needs and sustenance. They only received the provisions that were absolutely necessary for each day. In this way, He taught them to trust Him.

 

We live in a world that values the “self-made” person. Our rugged, self-absorbed individualism flies in the face of biblical spirituality. God’s actions in the Bible repeatedly remind His people of their need and dependence upon Him. He is the giver and sustainer of life. He provides our daily bread.

 

If we let it, our world—with its busyness, anxiety, and worry about tomorrow—pushes God to the edges of our lives. We seek to be self-reliant, planning for tomorrow because tomorrow depends upon us—or so we think. The message of the manna screams to us: God is the source of your daily provision; He takes care of you. Our responsibility: follow His instructions.

 

Do we only turn to God when we need something from Him? Do we merely see Him as the One who delivers us when we’re in a bind? Or, do we recognize Him as the source of our daily bread and overall existence? 

 

Each day, do we remind ourselves that He provides the things we need for our sustenance, and that we are daily to seek to obey His instructions? Have we learned the lessons of the hardships of the wilderness?

 

Prayer

 

Father, thank You for providing our daily bread. God, You are the source of our life; today, may we seek to obey Your instructions. Amen. “Jesus said, I am the bread of Life." John 6:35 Gma J

Gramps Daily Word

Contentment Begins When Comparison Stops

 Wednesday, April 17, 2013

"I know how to get along with humble means and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance... I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation... I can do all things through  Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:12-13

 Hey Gang:  I found the following statement in a magazine and it rang my bell: "Contentment begins when comparison stops”.  How true that is, at least for yours truly.  You see, I have always had a hard time being content at anything.  When I do a project I always end up doing far more than I anticipated.  If you don't believe that, come and see the Christmas displays in our basement. (Now packed in boxes hoping to find a new home). When I set out to do a writing project, I am never content to leave it until it is completely done, corrected and published.

 If I am in the final stages of a wood project and my bride calls for lunch or some other important chore, I tend to want to complete the project before I answer her call.  On top of this my brain seems to be stuck in a nonstop mode.  For me to sit down and read a book is agony and pain.  I presently have four books in the mill, one on page 18, the second on page 34, number three, on 59 and the last one on page 102.  Note:  the 102 is a tremendous victory.

 That trait equipped me to be a role model for kids that I have worked with, for I have yet, in more than fifty years of working with dysfunctional children, found one who is content.  As a matter of fact, I have often taught in workshops that they are dysfunctional because they are unable to find contentment.  It is like having an itch you cannot scratch; and you spend every waking hour trying to fill that churning in your gut.

 Does that mean I am plagued with non-contentment the rest of my life?  At age 79, if I am going to learn what Paul meant when he wrote, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am…." (Phil.4:11), I am going to have to get myself in gear. So, me thinks I am talking to you and not to me this time around.

 Now let me share with you a neat diversion we developed in our girls’ wilderness quest program that seemed to lead to contentment.  We built four shelters in a remote part of the campus.  It had no electricity, no water, no facilities of any kind and the girls had to walk half a mile to get to the dining hall and to do most activities.  One day, one of the staff suggested we alternate boys and girls in the camp.  The result was open rebellion on the part of the girls and boys alike.  The girls did not want to move out and the boys did not want to move in.

 When we asked why the girls were so adamant in remaining in the primitive setting, the main reason: "Here, we can be us", we do not have to put on a front, no make-up, no being concerned about our clothes, etc.  In other words, they were content to be who they really were.  

 Soooo, do you get the point?  ‘Contentment does begin when comparison is put to bed.’   I believe I have learned that we cannot weigh our contentment on a scale of stuff.  When stuff is your measurement, you will never have enough, because there is always someone out there who has more stuff". Regarding Paul's Thorn in the flesh, the LORD said, "My grace is sufficient..."  I believe that also goes for contentment!

 Blessings.  

 Gramps

Climate Control!! Really???

 

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

"When He utters His voice, there is tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses" (Jeremiah 10:13).  

Hey Gang:  Does anyone out there have a mowing machine with pontoons instead of wheels?  We are blessed to live at the bottom of a water shed and not only get direct delivery services from the heavenlies but also the run-off from my neighbors; it is usually mid-June before I can get into a major portion of my lawn. 

This year it has been especially bad, (2022 as well!) and the grass rapidly grew beyond the capacity of my mower to solve the problem.  So, I did some research as to which would be best, to hire a local farmer to bring his combine in or rent a herd of goats to spend a week or so getting it under control.  There are some advantages to the goat herd idea, it negates the need to fertilize.

If you are an avid news follower I suspect you, like I, am getting kind of burned out on this thing called "climate control".  According to the climate control advocates, if we don't do something yesterday to reduce our use of the various products that are causing the problem, we will all turn to ashes within a fortnight. 

Now I admit I have a problem with that theory.  You see, I believe God is at the controls of the universe and totally controls the winds, the rains, the sleet, the droughts but mostly the temperature.  Several years ago, it was reported that Polar Bears were becoming extinct because the ice was melting and there were no ice flows for them to live on.  Last week another writer wrote an article on the problem the Polar Bears are having this year, the ice is so thick that the seals cannot break through the ice, endangering the food supply for the bears.

It is like the story of two rabbis who were discussing the many ‘things to come’ theories, and for each topic brought up for discussion, there were four opinions.    It brings to mind the words of Paul in his second letter to Timothy, "…men will ever be learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim 3:7).  Paul did not stop there, he went on to warn us, "Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith" (vs. 8).

 

I suspect a large part of the problem is that many folks believe the media controls the weather and what they write is gospel truth.  Well, my blood pressure will not allow me to get into that this morning.  I would rather share truth, nothing but the truth, so help me Father God. He gives us the assurance it is not how much coal we burn or how many cars pollute our air that controls the thermometer, He is still Sovereign! 

Soooo, you have a choice to make this morning: you can listen to the so-called climate control authorities, and the press with its horror stories, or you can turn to God's Word  and learn about the One who controls the climate.  The Bible is filled with wonderful examples of God's mastery over the winds and weather.  One of my very favorites came when the disciples were fearful that they were going to visit Davy Jones at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee Jesus, sleeping through the terror, was awakened and said, "Wind be still” and the wind was stilled.

The disciples’ response to this awesome experience? "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him" (Mark 4:39-41).   As for me and my house, we will put our trust in the Lord to be our ‘Climate Controller’. How about you?

Blessings,
Gramps 

 

An Encouraging Word for the Moment

 

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

An Encouraging Word for the Moment

 

 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

 Hey Gang:  For the past several months I have been on a mission to cut sufficient wood to provide for our needs for the next two years.  I am blessed by a neighbor who recently harvested a bunch of trees and gave me the tops.  I have learned, in my sojourn with the wood project, that when we get older, we no longer have the strength and stamina we had as young bucks.   

 But, there is always a ‘but’ to save our ego, our minds are still geared to yester year and getting the job done but our bodies send us clear messages that the days of eight to twelve-hour work-days are gone forever.  Just a warning for you super turkeys out there who have noticed the first grey hair and felt the first pangs of soreness after a day of labor.

 I believe that if I were to ask the majority of folks in our country today what the number one malady is, they would remark discouragement.  My hillbilly dictionary defines discouragement as a mixture of fear and lack of knowledge.   I believe there are times in every ones’ life when they are discouraged.  I certainly am no exception to that statement. 

 Perhaps you are discouraged today.  We live in an unpredictable world and just when we think we have the world by the tail, someone clips it off.  Hebrews 12 tells us in that in the last days everything that can be shaken is going to be shaken.  Are you in God’s shaker this morning?  If so, I want to give you Good News that you can take to the bank.  No, not to the money bank, the news says they are on the precipice of failure even as I write this.  Put the Good News it in the one place that is truly secure – the bank/depths of your heart.

 My dad drove a bus for more than twenty years and looked forward to the day when he could get the rocking chair out and place it on the front porch and slowly start rocking, but one day he received a pink slip that stated the bus company had filed for bankruptcy and would cease operation within the month.  Where does a fifty- five year old man with only a basic education find work to feed his family? 

  Now that folks, is discouragement, and I might add there are multitudes of dads who have been sent packing and can find no meaningful work to feed their families at this moment.  You may know one such person – go to them today and come alongside them with God’s love and encouragement.  If there is one thing the church is lacking is providing for hurting people in need of “encouragement”.

 Paul tells us in Romans fifteen why God gave us the Word, “Everything that is written is to teach us and help us through the encouragement of the Scriptures, that we might have hope”.   (Hainley Rendition).

 Soooo, friends and brothers and sisters in Christ, my purpose in these next Morning Messages is  to encourage you and through that encouragement challenge you to “Go ye into all of your world and spread the Good News…”that Jesus Christ is standing at the door of their heart wanting to come in.”

Blessings,

Gramps