IDOK DEVOTION for Monday, July 9, 2007

Friday, Dennis was right on target. Some days there is a lot of wisdom in the “Funny Papers”.
Picture this: Mom is standing at the door; Dennis and Joey are stepping off the stoop into the peppering rain and she hears Dennis say to Joey: “C’mon, Joey, If you wanna see a rainbow, you gotta put up with a little rain.”

How insightful is that?! As we live and breathe here on planet earth unpleasant and downright hard stuff comes our way but we can be sure if we keep looking up the rainbow will appear. However, there is one more thing I need to mention about Dennis and Joey and the rain … Dennis had the umbrella. I think the umbrella gave Dennis a leg up on his upbeat attitude, don’t you?

I think you and I have an umbrella against the enviable rain that falls upon each and every soul … His Name is Jesus. The question is though — do we have Dennis’ attitude about our rainfall?

Matthew 5: (NKJV) 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

At first, I thought this passage fit perfectly for our illustration, but now I think the ‘fit’ needs some consideration. Obviously, Dennis and Joey’s rain was one of those ‘hard’ things that come to us in life since they were looking for a rainbow. Bad stuff is inevitable upon the JUST (that’s us who are saved) and the UNJUST (that’s those who have not said yes to Jesus for Salvation). Before writing this IDOK devotion, I think I may have overlooked that in this passage it is Father who is doing the SENDING which gives me a whole new light on this. Father only sends GOOD STUFF, so the sun and rain in this passage are good and beneficial and pleasant, not bad; not something that we have to wade through and hope to find the rainbow. But rather the kind of rain that you stand out in with your head back, your mouth open, arms stretched out, twirling around laughing. And on top of all that glorious fun, you see the rainbow! It’s that kind of stuff He sends and we the JUST benefit from it. The UNJUST do too, but just maybe they don’t know from Whom it comes. We do! We need to tell them!
Think about it this way: lost folks benefit from just walking around this planet with us but they still need to come under our UMBRELLA for Eternal Protection and we still need to offer THE UMBRELLA to folks getting rained on — be it pleasant rain or unpleasant rain. I sure hope I get to share my UMBRELLA with someone who doesn’t have ONE today. How about you?

Father, thank you for the weekend; for the sermons heard, for family and friends, for good food, for little boy birthdays, for mercy and grace. Right now we are thinking of Steve and his surgeon and the medical staff and we pray for a rested, alert surgeon and staff and we pray for a textbook perfect procedure and recovery for Steve and for peace and comfort for Janet and all the family. We continue too to pray for Tonya that You will dissolve that tumor and make the surgery unnecessary; continue to minister to Erby’s family as they grieve and not only Erby’s family but others who still miss loved ones who have passed from here to there with You. We pray for strength and practical helps for children taking care of parents and we pray for repentance for wayward children who are diseased and ill because of sin and unholy choices. And we pray for healing of those whose minds are tortured – somehow Lord reach them even as You did the man in the tombs. Again we bring America and pray for her repentance and revival and again we pray for IDOK that we be willing and useful vessels to help this Country return to holiness. As we do daily we remember our IDOK Troops and we pray for their safety in mind and body and spirit. We ask You to bring them home to us safe and sound and more in love with You than when they deployed. Thank You for the UMBRELLA picture and as we see umbrellas and as we use them, help us praise You each time for the protection from hell and sin that You have given us in Christ Jesus and it is in His name we offer this prayer.

As I post this it is 86°F and clear in Balad, Iraq & the time there is 7:15 AM ADT – on July 9, 2007

HIS MINISTRY TO YOU