IDOK DEVOTION FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2009

One Thing Leads To Another —

Thought Trains

So come aboard this thought train with me. Today (at this writing it is Tuesday AM) a CD I ordered arrived (Imperials 1977 – 1988) and so I immediately opened and placed it in the CD player and kept on with my housekeeping pleasures as I listened. About the third song in, Russ was singing about looking inside and wanting to be changed and I identified readily with him. A particular line of the song caught my attention (paraphrased): the answer is not in you, no more looking inside, look at JESUS; and thus I boarded my thought train. If the answer is not in me and I well know it is not; still, don’t I need to look at me? Don’t I need to see and examine all the things at which I am failing? Why? So I can change them. RED LIGHT! Yeah, since when have I ever been able to change me? Has not God always been the One who does the changing of you? Well, yeah. So does this mean that I am wrong when I look at me and my failings? Yes. Yes?! Then how does this work? It works when I look at JESUS instead of me? Is that right? Then how will I see what’s wrong with me? That’s not my job? No? It’s YOUR job? I am to keep looking at You and wait for You to reveal to me where I failed; or where I will fail, if I keep on looking at me? I think I see. Looking at me is never a good idea unless I look at me from YOUR EYES, is that right, LORD? Wow! That will take some doing … Good thing You, LORD, are the One doing the doing!

Ok, IDOKs, did my Thought Train take you anywhere?

John 15:4-6 (New American Standard Bible)

4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Apart from Him I can do nothing … Especially change ‘ME’.

You did it again ABBA. Follow the plan and You speak. I love this. I love YOU. We IDOKs love You. Thank You for music. Thank You for people You have called to sing Your Songs. Thank You that once Your Word is out there is keeps on keeping on, changing Your People from glory to glory. This is fun. Thank You. You are gonna take this thought train and use it, aren’t You? I would love that. Thank You that You take silly fun and make it holy and helpful. You are so AWESOME. And I know You are going to bless our IDOKs today. I ask You to give them wisdom, laughter, holy fun, and focus. The ability and the will to focus on You and abide in You just like You have recorded and ordered us in Your Word to do. In our humanity we don’t like orders. You know that, that’s what got us in this mess. But it is obeying Your Orders that gets us out of this mess. Help us love Your Orders; help us thrill to obey every one of them. And help us crave getting to know all Your Orders to us. I mean crave Your Word more than chocolate candy, or feel good movies, or baseball games, or surfing the web, or shopping for clothes or a new vehicle, or whatever we do that occupies us so often. And here I am looking a me and what I do. LORD, we are Yours and You are doing a great job with us. Thank You. And we pray for our IDOK Troops again, for their protection and safety in every foreign land and here at home. We pray for their families, for their peace of mind and provisions. We pray for Ruth’s continued recovery; that she will follow the doctors’ instructions and get stronger and stronger. Thank You for Cynthia and I ask You to bless her much for her faithfulness. And I pray for Doug and the surgery to come. We want it to go well and for him to have an excellent quality of life here. And we pray especially for infants and children, there are a few listed here with serious, life threatening or life altering conditions and we’d like to see them be well and whole and we know You are able and so we are bringing them to You for Your Touch and Blessings on them and their families. And there are hurting adults listed here with many needs, more needs than we can name or know; please make Yourself easy to see and sense in their here and now. And we pray for the peace of Israel, for the surrender and or defeat of all their enemies. And we pray for the repentance of America’s people and I am asking You for the purging of Washington and the States too. I am asking You to ‘get all up in our government business’, I’d like to see You walk the halls of Congress and the Senate and pour out conviction until there is weeping for the sins committed within those walls that once honored You. And if You can work through us in this, do it LORD. And in the meantime keep on directing our focus to You. Amen and amen.

A SPECIFIC UNSPOKEN. Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about. Rachel and family. Stellan. Christopher H and his family. Darlene’s Sister. Mr. Matthews. Tammy B and Family. Jackie K. Brian T. Ricky M. Chloe Melissa. Linda and Family. Joe. Michael H. Linda W. Debbie W. Mike and Vickie. Natalie. Kathy and family. Tommy and Raye. Doug. Frank. Jeanette. Francis T. Cathy T. Cathie R and family. Jacqueline and Sons (River and Jackson). Emily. Walt. Phillip. Margie and Craig. Sandra. Terry and family. Dot B. Julia O. Ann C. Stan and Jowanna and Family. Carolyn. Mary. Mabel. Amy, Kevin and Girls. Joan. Kimberly. Shay and Emma’s Kids (orphanage in Zambia) Ministry. Susan D. Jason A and his mother. Wayne B. Melinda H. Trisha. Brennan and his family. Joshua. Branson. The O’Brien family. Kim and her Fiancee. Jonathan. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Darlene and Torkel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. Joseph Toomey and Family. DeLois. Katelyn (B). Janie B. Vickie. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Cathy. Bay and family. John and Carolyn and Family. Larry and Claudia and family. Jeanette and Earl and family. Callie. 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. Mollie and family. Julia. Bobbie. Erin. Alan. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Lance. Candance and Family. Laura and family. John and Sandy. Bill and Judy. Andrew and Daughters. Lee. Sharron and family, Linda and family, Bev and Family, Mollie B. Friends at work.

Public and Private School Teachers.

Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.

Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church.

The Peace of Israel.

Revival in America.

IDOKs Military Families.

IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Drew. Justin G. Michael K. Sgt. Bozicevich. Bay N. T. Palin. John L. Richard M. Adam M. Bobby G. (added 12/16/08) Tommy T. Chad B (3/2009) Kyle N. (3/26)

IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: Brandon B.

Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Lee. George. Travis N. Hawk. Justin G.

Injured: Lukas S. (11/30/08) http://www.strafford1st.com/page25/page26/page26.html

Military at home, specifically those emotional/spirit wounds that only God and Time can heal – Captain Tran Josh.

As I post this it is 54°F and mist in Kuwait, KW (Airport)& the time there is 5:59 AM AST on April 1, 2009.