I was switching the television remote from one Christian station to another Christian station when I heard Kirk Cameron say and I am paraphrasing: we did not run to Jesus for a happy life. We ran to Him to escape the judgment to come.
In this world of ‘feel good Christianity’ that was good to hear. The Life of Christ within does bring ‘happiness’ to us and when we are living a holy life there is NOTHING greater on this earth. I appreciate Kirk’s words. Much of the Christianity preached today is about getting rich and feeling good. I confess I’d like to be rich and I certainly am grateful for any day that my physical frame feels as young and energetic as my spirit but monetary riches and being ‘happy’ is NOT a genuine reason for coming to Jesus.
I am glad Kirk and others have not forgotten that Scripture teaches we must REPENT in order to be saved. And after salvation and for continued holy living, we must submit our feet for washing (see John 13:3-11) as we get them dirty walking through this world. In other words when the Holy Spirit says, that was not right; you should not have done that — we immediately say You are right; forgive me and help me to not do that again. As long as we live here on this earth there will be a need for us to REPENT.

May it NEVER be that anyone ever gets the idea from any of our IDOK Devotions that salvation is saying a simple prayer, get rich and be healed.
Let me go on record right now by saying – we are ALL hell deserving sinners and apart from repentance and accepting the Free Gift of Eternal Life made available ONLY in Jesus Christ, we would ALL die and go to HELL. Not ONE will escape the judgment to come if Jesus Christ is refused as personal Savior and Lord.
And if there has never been a time in your life when you acknowledged by word or simple acceptance that you deserved hell and only Jesus Christ could keep you out of hell and moreover, you were willing to believe and trust Him to keep you out of hell, then based upon the Authority of the Bible – you are still in jeopardy of going there.
Let me briefly tell you about my Saving Encounter with Jesus. It was a Tuesday evening – November 18, 1975. I had all my life, on and off, worried that I would not make Heaven and with each year I had gotten progressively worse in this. By that Tuesday evening, I was afraid to live and afraid to die. You see most all my life I had bounced between two opinions: one, that I was not good enough for Heaven but not bad enough for hell; and second, that I had committed too many sins and I could not be saved – that I was void of faith, that I did not have the ability to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, I feared I was doomed – that I could not be saved. Would you agree, I was a complete mess?!
And so a dear man of God (who is now with Him in Heaven) shared Scripture after Scripture with me. He did not tell me that my two other professions of faith were real and that I should just rebuke the devil and believe I was saved.
He did not tell me that I was good enough as I was for Heaven.
Rather, he agreed with me that in my natural state, apart from the re-birth experience, I did deserve to go to hell.
That was a first for me.
And it was the first time I agreed WITH GOD that He was right — I WAS a hell deserving sinner! But, because He loved me so much and did not want me to go to that place of judgment, wrath and, torment and if I would further agree with Him that Jesus Christ’s Blood shed on Calvary was enough to save even me, that He would immediately save me from the penalty of my sins. And for the first time I agreed with Him on all points, took a deep breath and it was so! I KNEW I was accepted, I KNEW I was forgiven, I KNEW I would not be going to hell and I KNEW I would be going to Heaven at my physical death. My prayer was simply Thank You for saving me.
Since that time, I have had to have ‘my feet scrubbed to the bone’ but He has never deserted me, He has never let me go and He continues to keep me saved. I do not fear going to hell and I am as certain for Heaven as if I were already there. And I KNOW all this is true because of what Jesus has done for me. How did I conjure up all this faith? I didn’t. He GAVE it to me! What more could I ask for?! What more could you ask for?
And now anything else He gives me is just icing (frosting, for some folks) on the cake . And guess what? HE has abundant ‘icing’ for all our cakes and He is willing to spread it on thick when we are ready and have been enabled to receive it.
Romans 3: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 6: 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
Luke 16: 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Acts 4: 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
Romans 10: 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
I John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Romans 8: 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Ephesians 2: 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Romans 8: 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.

Father, I believe IDOKs who will read these words have said yes to You in Salvation but just in case there is one who has not or just in case IDOKs will pass this on to those they love who have not been saved, I am asking You to take Your Word written here and convict and convince those who read it of their need of You and give them grace and the will to believe You and receive Saving Faith from You for the salvation of their souls.
You know I am thinking of Jennifer and have been; the report is that she is more with You now than with us and all we can say is thank You for the beautiful woman she is, for the testimony of faith that will continue to live on here with us even after she is fully with You and removed from our sight. Thank You for the peace and yes even joy You are giving her at this moment. Comfort Kevin and the children and all who love her so dearly as they wait upon You and as they spend the moments remaining with Jen. We know that even now You could heal her and raise her up but more than that we desire only Your Will. Thank You Father.
And I pray for Bev that You will continue to heal her and restore her to health. I pray for Ed Litton and family that You will continue to comfort them and give them assurance that all is well and You are bringing good even in this tragedy. Especially comfort Ed’s daughter as she grieves her mother’s physical death. And we continue to pray for each one listed here for all needs to be met in Your Abundant Grace and Mercy for us all. Continue we pray to protect our IDOK Troops and please bring each and every one of them home to us safe and sound and more in love with You than when they deployed.
The Ellis Family. Bev. Ed Litton and family. People of Peru. Vickie. Lisa W. John Thomas. Cole. Melannie and family. Taylor & family. Anita. Kathy. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Jennifer and Kevin. Cathy. Toy and family. Katelyn. Caleb and family. Bay and family. Jennifer B. John and Carolyn. Larry and Claudia and family. Jennifer L and family. Jeanette and Earl and family. Libby and family. Randy and Vivian and Chase. Chris. Callie. Madie. Ruth. Martha F and Bob. Rev and Mrs. Carpenter. Allyson and Glen and family and Kaitlyn. Brittney and Kersten and family. Marcia and Larry and family. Sharron and girls. Frankie and girls. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Billy and Gina and boys. Lance and family. Grace and family. Tressa and Brad and family. Cindy K and family. Cindy L and family. Chuck. Windy and Jared and families. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Chad and Brittany and family. Mollie and family. Jenny. Julia. Bobbie. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Kayla. Trey. Jacob. Ashely. Lance. Christian. Cecil. Laura and family. Mary. Doris. Chassidy. Lisa M and Family.
Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild. Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church. Revival in America.
IDOKs Military Families.
IDOKs Troops -Shaun. Ethan. Tommy. Christopher. Raul. Desi. Robert. Billy. Josh. George. Jonathan. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Hawk. Tommy T. Brant W.
Injured and brought State side: Anthony. Hector
Military at home adjusting – Tim. Lee. Mack. The 226. Troy. Danny. Drew. Brad.
Civilian in Country – Mike.

As I post this it is 86°F and clear in Balad, Iraq & the time there is 7:47 AM ADT – on August 28, 2007

Pray for the Peace of Israel

It has been a back to back weekend and today may be short – a little rest is in order.

As Jerry and I were driving to Sunday morning service I was reminiscing other Sundays, lessons taught, comments made and etc. On the movie screen of my memories, I saw myself as immature and silly – even embarrassing. And before I could change scenes it was if the Holy Spirit began to correct and instruct me. He played another scene for me – a little girl learning to walk. She held on for the longest time to the coffee table and the sofa, gingerly inching her way around and then finally letting go she took a wobbly step, halted to balance herself and then a big smile; a wobbly step, halt and a big smile. And on and on she went. And me, what was I doing? Watching with glee, clapping and cheering. It was as if Father gently said, you watched your babies (and now your grand-babies) grow and every little step, every accomplishment was celebrated, even the tiniest achievement was applauded — remember? You would not have dreamed of being embarrassed by their efforts, nor would you have described their efforts as silly or immature. Why are you accessing your spiritual advances any differently? Why can you not humbly applaud those steps you made? I do.
And with that my thoughts turned to you, my dear IDOK Family. And I wondered if you have done the same; if you have criticized yourself as you remember your spiritual journey from infancy to where you are today? Have you looked back with embarrassment? Have you criticized your progress? Have you bemoaned that as a toddler you could not complete English 101?
Don’t!
Humbly applaud every step you have taken toward Jesus; humbly applaud every courageous step you have taken in Bible Study, in sharing The Word with others, every word of encouragement you have spoken to another, every unclean joke you refused to listen to, every gossip session you refused to take part in, every television program you turned off because of the unholy content, every movie theater you walked out of for the same reason – etc. Etc. Humbly applaud your progress and keep going – keep on keeping on!

Father, thank You. Thank You for Your Daily Words to us. Thank You for your encouragement, thank You for the applause, help us accept with humility and gratitude for we know any steps to maturity in You we owe to You. Thank You. And now my mind turns to Jennifer and her family; I know Your Hand is upon them; I know they all are precious to You; I know You have a plan and I know You are carefully attending to each of them; Lord be so near I pray. And we come to with the Ellis Family and the tragedies they face – Lord, do what You will and help Emma as she walks in Your Leading. And Bev – thank You for the wonderful progress and we pray it will continue until she is fully restored. And these others we bring too for whatever is needed today and thank You that we can come and receive Your help


And our IDOK Troops we have them on our hearts too – wherever they are and whatever they need, You have for them and we ask You Holy Spirit to help them depend upon You. And we pray for their protection in mind and body and spirit and we pray that each of them will come home safe and sound and more in love with You than when they deployed. And all this we ask solely on the merits of Jesus our Lord.

As I post this it is 84°F and haze in Balad, Iraq & the time there is 7:13 AM ADT – on August 27, 2007