I am beginning by confessing. As I sit to write, this has been a frustrating day for me and I have no one to blame but me. I will spare you the details, let it suffice to say that I made some unwise food choices for more than one day in a row and some less than beneficial scheduling choices, watched some liberals spew verbal sewage and went on line to discover County Government now charges a ‘convenience’ fee for on line services! As I said I have no one to blame but me. I could have made better food choices but I didn’t so now I have to pay the price. I could have made better agenda choices but I didn’t, so I say to myself, get over it. Knowing that I have reached my saturation level, I should not even expose my mind to political rhetoric. AND the County Government … Well, it’s up to me to retain peace even in time of extortion by either County, State, or Federal government – you’d think I would have learned that by now. So all that being said, I decided a ‘re-run’ would be a good idea for Tuesday’s IDOK. And so I looked at September 23, 2003. And a re-run is just what I needed.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1. Losing my peace over my own mistakes or this world’s system that is clearly going to ‘hell’ is a yoke of slavery any way I look at it. I knew that back in 2003. Lets read on.
But how, how can we not be enslaved? How do we not get caught up in this world? It is all around us and yes, even our flesh likes it!
5 [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), II Corinthians 10:5. Or put another way we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Now! When those thoughts come to you that disturb you, those thoughts when you know you get that little check in your Spirit that those thoughts do not line up with The Word, do not line up with TRUTH; THROW THEM OUT! Kick them out of your mind. Tell them you have NO VACANCIES. No rooms of your mind for that thought to rent! NO RENT, NO LEASE, NO WAY!! GET OUT!!
Bring into captivity those thoughts that come to your mind today that are not holy, not Truth, not positive, not grateful, not helpful, not beneficial to you and to those of whom you are thinking! And when you find yourself already full blown into it… Stop!
CALL UPON JESUS FOR STRENGTH, forgive yourself and go on… With new thoughts. Jesus and you; Jesus and me …. we can do this today! And, yes, it will take practice but PRACTICE.
So what does it mean, bring into captivity? How about the word ‘arrest’ ? You know like bring those thoughts into ‘custody’, read ’em their rights. But wait. They have no rights, do they? Those thoughts are illegal, they have no place in our minds; they are criminal trespassers. So stop them. Again I say, all of them that come to your mind today that are not holy, not truth, not positive, not grateful, not helpful, not beneficial to you or to those of whom you are thinking; when they come stop them. And if at times you are a bit slow on the arrest and you find yourself already full blown into self loathing or loathing another or this unholy world’s system … Stop! CALL UPON JESUS FOR STRENGTH, forgive yourself and go on… With new thoughts!! Jesus and you; Jesus and me …. We can do this today! And, yes, it will take practice but PRACTICE.
And so here are my own 2003 words speaking to me in 2008 … I should have read them earlier BUT I have read them now and better late than never. Right?
Thank you Father for your word to us today and Lord, help me think right today; help me think whatsoever is lovely, whatsoever is truth, whatsoever is helpful and Lord even more help me say those things today that are beneficial to those who hear. Help me keep my mouth shut unless my words are to build up and help those to whom they are intended to be spoken. Lord, put a governor on our mouths and our MINDS and put that check in our Spirits when we are thinking in avenues that do not reflect your glory and do us nor anyone else any good. Lord, help us be good to each other today and as Your Word says that You went About doing good…. Lord, help us go about doing good this day. I ask for grace and Protection and Your ministry upon each of my sisters and brothers who read this email today for Jesus sake. Amen and amen.
Father God, thank You for words – words that are not just words but Your Truth. Thank You. Thank You for forgiveness and arrested behavior. Thank You for relief from the slavery of sin. ABBA, I am thinking that I am not the only sister or brother who looks at the economic debacle that is taking place and we are concerned. Lord, I’ve been passed concerned, just plain angry and yes Lord even scared. Thank You for reminding me that You are in control and we are always, always safe with You. So in that peace and safety we come with our list of names; we don’t know each of them inside out but You do. You know just what will work with each of them. You know what will bring You glory and what will take them from glory to glory and it is for that we ask for each one in their individual situations. And for our IDOK Troops we pray for peace and safety and that You will bring them all home safe and sound. And we pray again for Israel, for peace, for safety, for allies to stand with and defend as You lead. ABBA, You know I am not pleased with this world’s system. I am not pleased with the lies, the fraud, the waste, the greed – all of it generates anger within me and without You Lord I would surely despair. And Lord, forgive me if I am wrong but it looks too far gone now to be fixed by mere humans. So I am looking to You to preserve Your People even in a world of corruption; not only preserve us but empower us to fight back with holiness and hold the line against evil for as long as You give us time here. I am asking You to rally the people to vote Your Bible, to vote LIFE and I am asking You to have mercy on America. Please don’t give us what we deserve, give us grace and mercy. Give us conviction, made it hard on people to keep living in sin. Empower and embolden Your Bride with a voice; a voice that can be heard above the lies of the evil one and yet soft enough for the little ones to believe and find hope and comfort. You know there are certain ones heavily on my mind; wayward children and friends so ill – Lord, I ask You to rescue them all. Amen and amen. Shay C. And Emma’s Kids. Jason A and his mother. Melinda H. Trisha. Patti’s Family. George. Brennan and his family. Joshua. Branson. The O’Brien family. Brooklyn. Families and communities hit by Gustav and Ike. Jacqueline and her boys, River and Jackson. Kim and her Fiancee. Jonathan. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Family from Olive Baptist. Bernie. Darlene. Edie G. Rachel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. Dylan. Joseph Toomey and Family. DeLois. Terri. Kim T. Kevin and the children. Katelyn (B). Janie B. Vickie. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Cathy. Caleb and family. Bay and family. Jennifer B. John and Carolyn and Family. Larry and Claudia and family. Taylor & family. David & Allison. Jeanette and Earl and family. Callie. Madie. Ruth. Cynthia. Martha F and Bob. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Billy and Gina and boys. Lance and family. Grace and family. Tressa. Brad, Lindsay, Karah and Haley. Chuck. Windy and Jared and families. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Chad and Brittany and family. Mollie and family. Julia. Bobbie. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Kayla. Trey. Jacob. Ashely. Lance. Candance andFamily. Laura and family. John and Sandy. Bill and Judy. Andrew and Daughters. Lee. Sharron and family, Linda and family, Bev and Family, Mollie B.
Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about
Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.
Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church.
IDOKs Military Families.
IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Josh. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Drew. Justin G. Kyle N. Michael K. Sgt. Bozicevich. Bay N.
IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: T. Palin. Rick M.
Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Tommy T. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Lee. George.Travis N. Hawk.
Injured and brought State side: Anthony.
Hospitalized: Captain Tran
Military at home adjusting – Tim. Mack. The 226. Troy. Brad. Tommy. Desi. Edward J. Lyndon A. Jason G.
Still praying but no recent update: Hector. Corpl. Light. Bradley T. Albert R III.
The Peace of Israel.
Revival in America.
November’s Election.
This came in just before posting: While we were in Knoxville, I have visited my friend who is a missionary in Zambia (she is from my hometown, Morristown). She is in the States to raise funds for another year in Africa (she has to pay her own way) and does fundraising for the orphanage there, EMMA’s KID’S. They are supported by the Church of God World Missions in part but there is always a need. We were blessed to be able to take her to visit in the mountains and to dinner several times. Her name is Shay Compton and she is so full of faith and love it spills out for all to see. She always asks for prayer for EMMA’S KIDS and for Africa. Zambia’s Christian President died a few weeks ago and the election coming up in November there is a dangerous time for Americans. I am glad Shay will be in the States then.
As I post this it is 72°F and partly cloudy in Al Asad, IQ & the time there is 7:02 AM AST- on September 23, 2008
Internet Daughters of the
THE WHITE STONE
His Ministry to You

IDOK DEVOTION FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

It has been another quick weekend and I am sitting here with what seems to be a ‘barren’ mind. And I don’t mean barren as in no activity (I know, that’s debatable) but I mean unproductive –unproductive in that with so many thoughts rumbling around, bumping into one another and fracturing off before becoming complete. And in that condition the pressure builds with each tick of the clock and I wonder what am I going to put on this screen. And then comes a whisper that says just don’t write anything which is countered with an amazing reality — if there is no IDOK for today, folks will actually miss you. So I prayed. Thanking ABBA for each of you. Thanking Him that He would give us this ministry of IDOK. A ministry that is much more than words on a screen. A ministry that is much more than what I might have to say on any given day. A ministry that connects Christian sisters and brothers from across towns, states and maybe even continents – I do not know the extent of this ministry – for prayer and from time to time a Word that helps. THAT IS AMAZING and to GOD BE THE GLORY! (there’s a story at the end of the list)
Ps. 57: 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth.
ABBA, I am grateful for IDOK; thank You for allowing me this ministry connection with so many precious people. Thank You for bringing this together; thank You for every woman and man that comes to meet with You at a computer screen. Thank You for the faith of each; for the desire of each to worship You and to enter into the lives of others for good by presenting names of people they care about; people they want You to intervene on behalf of. People they want You to heal. People they want You to rescue from habits and destructive behaviors. Babies and children they want You to touch and restore little bodies and minds. Young ladies and young men they want You to protect as they defend this Nation we love. And this Nation that we all want You to turn to holiness. And an election that we are all concerned about and what it can mean either way it goes. And You ABBA know already. All we know for certain is that You are in control and that is enough. Amen and amen. Jason A and his mother. Melinda H. Trisha. Patti’s Family. George. Brennan and his family. Joshua. Branson. The O’Brien family. Brooklyn. Families and communities hit by Gustav and Ike. Jacqueline and her boys, River and Jackson. Kim and her Fiancee. Jonathan. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Family from Olive Baptist. Bernie. Darlene. Edie G. Rachel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. Dylan. Joseph Toomey and Family. DeLois. Terri. Kim T. Kevin and the children. Katelyn (B). Janie B. Vickie. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Cathy. Caleb and family. Bay and family. Jennifer B. John and Carolyn and Family. Larry and Claudia and family. Taylor & family. David & Allison. Jeanette and Earl and family. Callie. Madie. Ruth. Cynthia. Martha F and Bob. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Billy and Gina and boys. Lance and family. Grace and family. Tressa. Brad, Lindsay, Karah and Haley. Chuck. Windy and Jared and families. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Chad and Brittany and family. Mollie and family. Julia. Bobbie. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Kayla. Trey. Jacob. Ashely. Lance. Candance andFamily. Laura and family. John and Sandy. Bill and Judy. Andrew and Daughters. Lee. Sharron and family, Linda and family, Bev and Family, Mollie B.
Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about
Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.
Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church.
IDOKs Military Families.
IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Josh. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Drew. Justin G. Kyle N. Michael K. Sgt. Bozicevich. Bay N.
IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: T. Palin. Rick M.
Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Tommy T. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Lee. George.Travis N. Hawk.
Injured and brought State side: Anthony.
Hospitalized: Captain Tran
Military at home adjusting – Tim. Mack. The 226. Troy. Brad. Tommy. Desi. Edward J. Lyndon A. Jason G.
Still praying but no recent update: Hector. Corpl. Light. Bradley T. Albert R III.
The Peace of Israel.
Revival in America.
November’s Election.
This blessed me. It came from a sister IDOK. I think it will bless you too.
TO MEET SUCH A MAN
I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day.
As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to b e carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, ‘I will work for food.’ My heart sank.
I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.
We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car.
Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: ‘Don’t go back to the office until you’ve at least driven once more around the square.’
Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square’s third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the store front church, going through his sack.
I stopped and looked, feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town’s newest visitor.
‘Looking for the pastor?’ I asked.
‘Not really,’ he replied, ‘just resting.’
‘Have you eaten today?’
‘Oh, I ate something early this morning.’
‘Would you like to have lunch with me?’
‘Do you have some work I could do for you?’
‘No work,’ I replied. ‘I commute here to work from the city, but I would l like to take you to lunch.’
‘Sure,’ he replied with a smile.
As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. ‘Where are you headed?’
‘St. Louis ….. ‘
‘Where you from?’
‘Oh, all over; mostly Florida …..’
‘How long you been walking?’
‘Fourteen years,’ came the reply.
I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, ‘Jesus is The Never Ending Story.’
Then Daniel’s story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He’d made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment …. A concert, he said to himself.
He was hired, and learned that the tent would not house a concert but revival services; and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God
‘Nothing’s been the same since,’ he said, ‘I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.’
‘Ever think of stopping?’ I asked.
‘Oh, once in a while, when it see ms to get the best of me But God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. That’s what’s in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.’
I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: ‘What’s it like?’
‘What? ‘
‘To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?’
‘Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn’t make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people’s concepts of other folks like me.’
My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and he gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused. He turned to me and said, ‘Come ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I’ve prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.’
I felt as if we were on holy ground. ‘Could you use another Bible?’ I asked.
He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy. It was also his personal favorite. ‘I’ve read through it 14 times,’ he said.
‘I’m not sure we’ve got one of those, but let’s stop by our church and see’ I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.
‘Where are you headed from here?’ I asked.
‘Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.’
‘Are you hoping to hire on there for awhile?’
‘No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there is in need of a Bible, so that’s where I’m going next.’
He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we’d met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his things.
‘Would you sign my autograph book?’ he asked. ‘I like to keep messages from folks I meet.’
I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, ‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declared the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope.’
‘Thanks, man,’ he said. ‘I know we just met and we’re really just strangers, but I love you.’
‘I know,’ I said, ‘I love you, too.’
‘The Lord is good!’ he replied.
‘Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?’ I asked.
‘A long time,’ he answered.
And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed. He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, ‘See you in the New Jerusalem.’
‘I’ll be there!’ was my reply.
He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, ‘When you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?’
‘You bet,’ I shouted back, ‘God bless!’
‘God bless.’ And that was the last I saw of him.
Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them… a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them.
Then I remembered his words: ‘If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?’
Today his gloves lie on the desk in my office. They help me to see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry.
‘See you in the New Jerusalem,’ he said. ‘Yes, Daniel, I know you will…’
As I post this it is 98°F and clear in Al Asad, IQ & the time there is 4:47 PM AST – on September 22, 2008
Internet Daughters of the KING
THE WHITE STONE
His Ministry to You