Christian Photographers Community

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Morning Devotional...




4.  The Old Guide Book


In the years of long ago when I was a child, I often heard my mother sing a hymn that somehow I understood was very dear to her. Sometimes I would find her sitting alone singing it with tears on her cheeks. As the years rolled by its importance to her seemed to increase.

Some would have thought it a very strange choice had they heard her quietly sing it. Most people who knew her would have been surprised to hear her sing at all, for she never sang in public. Not even with the congregation. While others sang, she would follow in her hymn book intently with her eyes and I suspect with her heart. Her lips would not move, nor her tongue utter a single syllable. Those who knew our circumstances (although they were probably few in number) would have been astonished at the words:


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Over the years we had accumulated few of this world's goods and it was a constant struggle for her to feed and clothe the family.

What then were the blessings that a very poor Irish woman could sing about? They certainly had no value on the stock market and could not be accumulated in the local branch of the Belfast Savings Bank.  The "passbook" in which the blessings she sang about were listed was an old black leather covered Guide Book.  On the spine in faded gold letters were two words which made up the title, "Holy Bible". The pages were more worn than the cover. Once white, they had long since yellowed with wear and age and tear drops.

My mother probably never heard of John Locke, philosopher and writer, but she would have agreed with the truth of his statement when he said, "It has God for its Author, salvation for its end, without any mixture of error, for its matter: it is all pure, sincere, nothing too much and nothing wanting."

Theologians refer to the Bible as God's Special Revelation to Man. The wonders of creation testify to us of God's unsurpassed wisdom and power, but the Holy Scriptures tell us so much more about God, and it helps us to understand ourselves if only we are willing to accept its teachings. In it we see that God is holy, just and righteous and at the same time, gracious, loving and merciful.

Woodrow Wilson, twenty-eighth president of the United States, spoke truly when he said, "The Bible is the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life."

Paul, the apostle, reminds us in 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17 that: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

It is true that ungodly men have attacked the word of God and tried to destroy it down through the ages.  Many have used or attempted to use "facts" of science to disprove its truth. In 1861 the French Academy of Science published a booklet listing over fifty supposed "facts" to contradict the Bible. Atheists of the day rubbed their hands in glee as they ridiculed the Christian faith. Today all of the claimed "facts" are rejected by men of science.

In the early and mid-nineteenth century, archeologists said that they were confident that their findings would discredit the accuracy of the Bible. A few years ago, I heard a lecture by a professor of the Department of Archeology at the University of Toronto in which he said that the Bible is now considered by many archeologists to be the most reliable guidebook to finding remains of old cities etc. in the middle-east.

Yes, the Bible is an old guide book. In fact it is the only truly reliable guide book on the path of life.

An ancient writer said: "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105 NKJV)

Despite the attacks of Satan and puny men, "We rest upon the impregnable rock of Scripture". (Winston Churchill)


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There are many "great and exceeding precious  promises" (2 Peter 1:4) found in the Old Guide Book we call the Bible. There are countless multitudes of blessings in this grand old book. One outshines all the others and accepting it is the condition for receiving and enjoying all the other blessings. It is described many times over. We shall look at only a few instances where it is mentioned.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:16, 37)

What love God expressed to us in the coming of His Eternal Son in the body of human flesh! True God and true Man to suffer the penalty of sin upon the cross. What a blessing to know that those who repent of their rebellion and sin and trust Him as Lord and Saviour possess eternal life.

Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians 2:4-10 gives us a great summary of this wonderful blessing. "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

You can enter into this the greatest blessing that can ever be known to mankind. Why not do so now by faith in Jesus Christ?

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of Salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2b).

When Iain gets here while we're all in bed sleeping, I thought he'd like to feel right at home with a special recipe!  

I've posted it just for you, Iain!  

CLICK HERE

Well, nobody seems to be awake at this hour. , not even Anthony!  BTW - Has anyone heard from Anthony lately?  I always enjoy your posts Anthony...you were always so regular.

I trust you are well, and your Mother also!

Please check in.  ...REMBER.... Pat's rule:..No Lurkers!...Just Posters!!!...LOL

Yes'm, Judy!        I will post a quick hello and not just be a lurker.....however I have been reading in several forums since arriving here tonight.  
It is 11:45 PM here, so I haven't gone to bed yet.
~~Janice

Pat, that's a wonderfu picture of you in the red dress.  That is definitely YOUR colour.  (See, I am catching on, I added the 'u' to the word).  

The two hymns you posted, Pat., are two favourites of mine.  Its YEARS since we've sung them at our church.  (guess its not "peppy enough" for our worship team!

Seems like if it dosen't have a "beat"... its not for the Baptists anymore!

I'd love to see a discussion on here about the music that is trning out in our churches these days.  Would I be "stirring up trouble"??

Also, what's your opinions on the dress code at your places of worship?

I was literally "shocked" a couple of weeks ago to see our Youth Pastor p front, leading the singing wearing a T-shirt and SHORTS!!.

Now what kind of example is that?

I brought this sort of thing up at a business meeting, and some replied, "well as long as the kids COME, who cares what they wear?
Oh boy., the hair was standing on the back of my neck.

If the Queen of England was coming to address the congregation; or President Bush, you can be sure their parents would make sure they were dressed in proper attire!, with clothes clean and neatly pressed!

I'd love some response to the above.

If i'm out of line here, Moderators., please let me know.

Thanks.,

>>>Judy

Good Morning:

Checking in to read and enjoy the devotional before I leave for work. I have just heard on the radio that the 401 going west at Keele Street is closed. a tractor trailer with 85 cattle has flipped on its side. Cattle all over and the normal traffic in the area will be diverting causing other road back ups and delays.  Lots of fun today. As this will reflect in our area as well.     The 401 runs across the top of Toronto.

I trust that all of you have a great day.

Blessings        Ruth

Good morning!!!
Pat....you look very good in red...what a lovely picture of you!

Oh Ruth...that must be quite a site...seeing an overturned truck and cattle running all over the street....my goodness.

Hello there Judy..sorry that you are not able to get your sleep...will be lifting you up before the Lord....He will give you rest....Judy...I tend to agreee with you about the music that is played in churches these days...but I must admit that the dress code no longer shocks me...probably because there is no such thing as a dress code anymore....there seems to be at times a big lack of reverence in quite a few churches...and that shows in the music and the way people dress and treat those who are elder and those who try to show reverence before the Lord.

Sorry..but this is at times a sore spot for me....I just do not want to get on this one too much.
It is nice to see you Judy....one of these days Pat and I will get together with you for a coffee real soon..
take care and God bless.
Paulette

Just dropping in to say "Hi".  

What, no Iain this morning?  Iain, missed you today.  But glad you liked your recipe!  

I'll see you all later on tonight.  I'm on my way to the Senior Centre and then to London to the Dental College.

I really loved this morning's devotional!  I was not familiar with "The Bible Stands" but I did enjoy singing it through.  Thank you again,   Pat.
By the way..You do look good in red!

Songs and Dress Code In today's world there are both types, even though I much prefer the older hymns and looking your best.  In order to accommodate both groups (& more important to reach both groups with the Good News) I think that most churches can meet these needs with 2 different services.  We are more formal in the AM service and relaxed in the PM & Wednesday prayer meeting.  For our church we, or most of us anyway, have made a committment to set aside daily prayer time for God's will just for our church, for a closer walk with HIm and doing His will even though it may mean some changes.  This has brought about a movement of the Holy Spirit  and a genuine closeness with each other.  We had 23+ people baptized within the last year even though we only had an interim pastor.  Most of these people were young people and right now they are participating in the youth fellowship.  This is a big boost for our church because we are a small rural church with an attendance of only 115 in SS every Sunday.  Today we have a brand new pastor and I am anxious to see what his ideas are going to be.  He is very excited and going full blast, a man in his late forties with 2 grown children and one still in high school.
No matter what I think  as long as God's Word is preached, His salvation of grace is given to all and we minister to each other in His love, giving Him the credit and not ourselves...His church will move forward.
P.S.  I still like the oldies!

First of all, an apology for not getting these welcome messages posted sooner - my FTP program hiccupped, but today all seems well.

Now, music and dress codes.  

I'm of the old school and much prefer the old standard hymns, of which we usually have two or three during the regular service.  However, at the 8:30 a.m. service and to open the 10:30 a.m. service we have the modern upbeat songs and choruses.  These latter don't have the music included, only the words on an insert in the bulletin.  My main problem with that is that I need to hear them six or eight times before I know the melody if I don't have music to follow.  But that's just me.  

Judy, it's probably true that families in England or Canada would make sure everyone was dressed "to the nines" for a visit by Queen Elizabeth.  However, I'm afraid the younger generation in the U.S. would think nothing of wearing shorts or jeans to a reception for President Bush.  For myself, I know I'd want to look my best to visit any king or queen or president, and when I go to church I'm visiting the King of Kings!  

In our little town there are people who just don't have the "good" clothes to wear and of course in that case it's a matter of "at least they get to hear the Word."

I am breaking my own rule today, and posting before reading!  It is going to be really warm here today, and it is class day.

I'm getting my painting stuff packed to go to Jack Sorenson's class in Fowler next week.  Dee and I will leave on Sunday, and I will be gone until Friday, so y'all will have to "hold the fort" until I get back!

I read this and thought it so good:

Feed your faith, and your doubts will starve to death.

Now I will go read today's posts!

Good morning to all. I had a restless night also. the dogs wanted to go out more than usual during the night, plus it was so hot. I turned on the A/C in the bedroom. I have 2 here one in the front room and one in the bedroom, each is only a one room A/C. I don't like to leave it on over night as it runs the bill up to high as it is So I turned it off about 10 pm. They are both refridgeration units not swamp coolers, because of the hauled water situation swamp coolers were not practical. So I am tired this morning.

I also had some prayer requests that required much attention and prayer, as I had a hard time sleeping I prayed for those requests. However the Joy of the Lord is mystrength and He will strengthen me throughout his day.

Pat the devotional made my eyes leak, thank you I needed to hear that teaching this   morning.

As for dress code and music. Everyone dresses nice in the morning service. In the summer, evening service usually finds everyone dressed more casual. Pastor in shirt sleeves, Peggy in a nice pantsuit, the congregation in everything from shorts and t-shirt to sundresses or jeans. In winter sweats or jeans. WEd. Bible study the sam casual attire. Some of the low cut or, thin strapped tank tops worn by the younger people are not part of the attire of the older folks. To me those are just too revealing. I feel guilty when I wear shorts that come almost to my knees.

We don't use the hymnal as much as we do the overhead. We have a lot of the hymns on the  overhead. Some of us can't see the words in the hymnal very well and need them on the overhead where they are larger. In the choir we prefer not have to hold the hymnal and sing at the same time, For me it is a matter of taking my glasses off and on and off and on. Its distracting when I have to turn to pick up my glasses to read the hymnal.

I'll Be Back Sorry this is so long.

[size=#]I only have this question about the dress code as y'all want to call it!

Does anyone think that as Jesus walked the earth, he would even think twice about what a person was wearing when he met them or would he be more interested in saving that person? I also think most of the music today reflects the modern aspect of reaching those that were born since the second half of the 20th century! This is only my opinion and I won't care one way or the other if y'all disagree with me, but I have seen too many people coming to the Lord since the relaxation of the dress code and changing of the music! I am for what ever it takes to bring people to the Lord![/size]

Hi to everyone.  It is another beautiful day here in Georgia.

Pat, this is indeed an outstanding devotional today and I remember reading it before, but it is even better by being reread.  He really knew how to get his points across in his writing.  (I also like your new picture on your postings and agree that red is a very good color for you.  Hope your class went well today and your dental visit as well.  Sounds like a very full day.)

Judy, in our church we have two different types of services.  We have the traditional service, which is just that, traditional in the hymns sung and the anthem offered by the choir.  Then in our fellowship center we have a Lifeline service that is non-traditional and they use the praise hymns with the drums, guitars, and electric piano.  I am confident that their singing is as pleasing to God as our more traditional and I like some of it, although we do attend the traditional service.  I have also noticed a definite relaxation of the dress code in church.  I really doubt that God is looking at our clothes but rather our inner self but I do think that dressing well to be in church is certainly a sign of respect and is still appropriate.  I do breakdown during the summer and leave the suit coat and tie at home, especially if I am going to have the choir robe on.

Marilyn, sorry to read that you didn't have a restful night.  I certainly understand your concern for leaving the AC on all night and the added expense.  

Janet,  I am sure you enjoy the classes.  We will miss your daily postings but happy that you can get away to take the classes.

Good morning, friends.

Since I was one of the first women to wear pants to church, maybe I shouldn't say much. My reason is directly related to the disability and being required to wear shoes that look like policemen's black shoes. They just don't look right with dresses, so I don't even own a dress now.

As for casual attire, maybe I oughta tell y'all a little story about my dad's country church. This was in 1951. The little town held many poor families whose fathers both worked in blue collar jobs and also farmed on the side. In fact, many people were so poor there were few changes of clothing and in the wintertime, they would just add another flannel shirt as the chill deepened.

At any rate, Daddy began his pastorate in February. There were 6 people in attendance, counting Daddy and me (my brother was sick so Mother stayed home). As hard has he tried, and as many visits as he made in the community, he continually heard replies similar to this, "Well, Preacher, I'd love to come, but I ain't got no good clothes."

Well before Labor Day, Daddy began announcing that on the Sunday before the holiday, no one was to wear dress clothing to church - wear "your work clothes." Well, the church was completely filled with men in overalls, ladies in housedresses, barefoot children, etc. Since Daddy and Mother both held full-time jobs (he was what is now known as a bi-vocational pastor), they stood at the door and greeted the congregation. Daddy was wearing the uniform of a driver for Railway Express, complete with billed cap, and Mother wore her white uniform, stockings, and white shoes that she wore as an x-ray technician.

From that time on, our church grew steadily, people happily attended in whatever they had to wear, and, in 1995 at his funeral, some of these same people came to the big church in the city where Daddy and Helen (Mother has been deceased since 1981) attended. As they stood to give their tributes to Daddy, one gnarled old gentleman said that he always felt welcome in the House of the Lord when Daddy was the minister.

Y'all have a good day.

Ruth Ann

Ruth Ann Bice ~ I love the story of your Daddy! He was a thinking man!

Welcome Caroleen

WELCOME CAROLEEN
WE ARE SO HAPPY TO
HAVE YOU JOIN US HERE

Come on in and tell us about yourself. Where do you live?

Well, I drove home to let Geordie out and now I'm off to London.

I just arrived in time to welcome our newest member!  

We're so happy to see you and just pull up a chair and talk to us.

"See" you all later!

44 More days until I am in grass, tree, flower country.WhooooHoooo. Out of this heat

CAROLEEN!!!

We visit every day.  We talk about our children, grandchildren, local politics, aches and pains, sorrows, triumphs.  We discuss the Sunday sermon, our reading of scripture, a new book that touched or troubled us.  We post photographs.  We sing.  We laugh a lot.  Sometimes we cry.  We make an effort to listen intently.

Our visits to CP is our holy time.  As we read each others posts and look at each others pictures, we posts our thoughts, hopes, and fears to each other and to God.  Our posts are a manifestation of Christ in the world.  Being part of the Body of Christ is not a private walk with Jesus; it is two or three people gathered together with Christ in their midst.  When we show compassion or 'listen' with love, we are expressing Christ.  We are being the church in the world.  Even though we aren't perfect and we don't have all the right answers, we experience Christs's presence in these times together.

Who needs someone to listen???!!!

I have read all the posts but I am breezing through.  Great to see all of you started a new day with the Lord.

Dress code.....personally, I think if you stay in the past, your church will also.  Times change.  If your parents came back, they would probably think...what music?  Why are they dressed that way?  I, too, see a lot of young people in our church.  32 graduating Seniors!!!  We have a mix of music.  And I am not offended at all to see someone come in with shorts, shirt and sandals.  I am glad they are there praising God.  We even have a biker.  But he is a Christian and rides his motorcycle to spread the work of God.

Ruth Ann ~ Your father had the right mind!  Praise his wisdom.

Ivalou and I are going shopping/eating/and paying a ticket.  I am one that NEVER goes anywhere without my seat belt on.  Well, I got stopped for not having my seat belt fastened.  Probably the farthest I drove without it fastened since using a seat belt.  I don't have a good excuse so I won't explain why it wasn't fastened.  So now I have to pay the fine.

?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`  "Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, faith looks up."

Okay, after thinking about this for a couple of hours, I have decided to add my opinion about dress and music in church.

I love the old hymns of the faith, but I also love the peppy praise songs, and some of the slower worship choruses.  I do NOT like any music that is dragged out slower than what it was originally written!  (Just my opinion here.)  There are so many of the hymns I learned as a child, and I still know all the words to all the verses.  So it is nice to sing them again sometimes.

Now, about clothes.........I think it shows respect to wear clean and modest clothes to the house of the Lord.  I don't mind modest shorts, but I do have a problem with too revealing clothing, such as short shorts,  really short skirts, bare midriffs, and bare shoulders.  I just don't feel those are appropriate apparel for church.  Now, if that's all the person has, fine.  But I don't know a single person who doesn't have other clothing to wear.  And I \feel the parents should train their kids in the appropriate way to dress, and not just allow them to follow the world in these matters.

Jeans, short sleeved shirts, longer shorts, tee shirts, and such are just fine, in my opinion.  But I have watched young girls in skimpy clothes nearly turn blue in church because the ac was too cold on all that bare skin!

Okay, that's all, folks!  Suffice it to say, that whenever a person comes into the house of the Lord, they should be warmly welcomed, no matter WHAT their physical appearance!                                                                      

This speaks to the topic we are discussing today......

THE HOMELESS MAN

It was a cold winter's day that Sunday. The parking lot to the church
was filling up quickly. I noticed as I got out of my car that fellow
church members were whispering among themselves as they walked to the
church. As I got closer I saw a man leaned up against the wall outside
the church. He was almost laying down as if he was asleep. He had on a
long trench coat that was almost in shreds and a hat topped his head,
pulled down so you could not see his face.

He wore shoes that looked 30 years old, too small for his feet with
holes all over them, his toes stuck out. I assumed this man was
homeless, and asleep, so I walked on by through the doors of the church.
We all fellowshipped for a few minutes, and someone brought up the man
laying outside. People snickered and gossiped but no one bothered to ask
him to come in, including me.

A few moments later church began. We all waited for the Preacher to take
his place and to give us the Word, when the doors to the church opened.
In came the homeless man walking down the aisle with his head down.
People gasped and whispered and made faces. He made his way down the
aisle and up onto the pulpit he took off his hat and coat.

My heart sank.

There stood our preacher...he was the "homeless man." No one said a
word. The preacher took his Bible and laid it on the stand. "Folks, I
don't think I have to tell you what I am preaching about today." Then he
started singing the words to this song. "If I can help somebody as I
pass along. If I can cheer somebody with a word or song. If I can show
somebody that he's traveling wrong. Then my living shall not be in vain."

"IS YOUR LIVING IN VAIN?"

-- Author Unknown

o.k.  I give up !!

I can not go away and then come back and play "catch up" with the postings.

Just not possible!!

One thing good about being away when I read all the postings together; you definately see a trend.

A delightful trend--warm, good natured people , whose love for the LORD shines through.

Now that is a good thing.

I am going around to the other postings, so, hopefully , I will talk to you later.

Welcome, all new comers , you will find a great Christian home here.

Take care, Love in CHrist,
Joyce

I guess I'm one of those "weird" ones.  Though I "belong" to the younger generation, I can certainly appreciate the opinions and beliefs of those of the "older" generations.  Here in WNC, these two things have literally split churches in two.  I have seen churches go to two services, only to suffer from elitism and division.  And other churches try to combine "traditional" and "contemporary" and this seemed to work well for most, but there were those that complained etc. etc.

I don't know the right answer, or even a satisfactory one.  For me, I like the "old" hymns and the "new" stuff.  I can worship with either.  I will say that I think the reason many young people are "put off" with the traditional services is the lack of sincerity evident (this has been my situation, I hope and pray it is not like that at your church).  I hated the songs "How Great Thou Art" and "The Old Rugged Cross" growing up.  Absolutely groaned when we sang them.    Why?  Because the adults I saw singing them looked like they had been sucking on persimmons and they took about 14 hours to sing, they were so slow.  As I got older, and "experienced" the cross and how great HE is, I appreciated the songs more, but it has only bee since I have been an adult that I can say I like them.

Give me the Gaithers, give me Steven Curtis Chapman, just give me musicians who are singing from their heart and want to minister to people.  I don't think it is the music people don't understand, but rather the purpose in singing.  Southern Gospel style music seems to be more encouraging and minsters more to people who are already Christians, I think.  The newer contemporary stuff tries to appeal to people who are not Christians.  Here in WNC, two groups, the Primitive Quartet and the Inspirations each have several "singings" a year.  Though I have been to several, I have never seen them give an altar call or invitation (several different groups sing each night).  Yet, if you go hear Carmen, Ray Boltz, Mercy Me, Lincoln Brewster, etc, that is part of the "show."  I don't think either one is more right or spiritual than the other, I just think they have entirely different purposes.

The dress thing.  I don't mind what someone wears to church.  I wish I spent as much time making sure my "inside" was as clean and well kept up as my outside was on Sunday morning.  There are churches around here, unfortunately, though, that if you aren't dressed a certain way, or belong to a certain socioeconomic group, they really don't want you that is sad.

The revealing dress discussion makes me smile. A couple of summers ago, I chaperoned a youth camp trip.  At one of the afternoon sessions, the speaker (a very well known singer) told the girls the importance of modest dress.  Our girls were livid.  They felt that she had no right ot tell them how to dress, and that people shouldn't judge what they had on.  At this point, the youth leader, his wife, adn myself, gave up and said, "God, you deal with it because it is obviously a matter of the heart."  The next night, everyone of the girls accepted Christ as their Savior, and we no longer had to "lecture' about what to wear.

Anyway, like many other things we may disagree on, I don't mind the disagreement.  I don't even mind a little conflict (truthfully, I think conflict can help us to grow, if used in the right way), so feel free to comment, critique or even argue with me.  I think we are all mature enough to deal with respecting each other differing opinions.

Love you guys, sorry this is so long.  Travis is taking a good nap!  

I am back from having a great few hours with Ivalou.  I still can't get used to looking at her eyes without glasses....

Karma ~ The Gaither's are from right up the road from me.  If you have seen their video's, one of them is at the Paramount Theater in Anderson, Indiana.  I love the Gaither's.  Great music and great message.

About dress code....I remember a couple of couples when they first came to church.  They wore blue jeans, un-styled/kept hair, old sneakers etc.  Today they are both prominent couples in our church.  Both couples have been baptized and are members and do lots of work for God in our church.  AND they don't wear blue jeans, old sneakers and have un-styled/kept hair.  We would have not had these two couples if we wouldn't have let them in the door the first time.  And they have learned by association.