Archives for 2018

Good morning,

John Newton pithy gems

(John Newton)

The more vile we are in our own eyes–the more precious Christ will be to us!
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How unspeakably wonderful it is–to know that all our concerns are held in those hands which bled for us!
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Our sea may sometimes be stormy–but we have an infallible Pilot, and shall infallibly gain our port.
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Our work is great–our time is short–and the consequences of our labors are infinite.
“Hold me up–and I will be safe!” Psalm 119:117
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My grand point in preaching–is to break the hard heart, and to heal the broken heart.
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I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ–and the brightest evidences that He is indeed our Master.
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We serve a gracious Master–who will overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.
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Can we wish, if it were possible, to walk in a path strewed with flowers—when His path was strewed with thorns?
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May we sit at the foot of the cross–and there learn . . .
what sin has done,
what justice has done,
what love has done.
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Healing and wounding are equally from His hand–and equally tokens of His love and care over us.
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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

If it were up to me, I would want everything to go smoothly, no problems, no pain or sorrow. However, as this devotional shows, it takes the good and bad to grow and mature us. God knows all the things going on in our lives. He is looking out for our best interests.

A chequered life

(Letters of John Newton)

This life that we live in the flesh, is a chequered life.

The grain requires both rain and sunshine to bring it to maturity; but either of them without the other, would destroy the crop.

Thus, if we had only the sun of prosperity–the plant of grace would be burnt up.

If we only had the rain of affliction–the plant of grace would be overwhelmed and drowned.

The Lord, who knows exactly what we are, and where we are–adjusts these different means, in season and measure, as He, in His wisdom, sees most for our advantage.

Were health at all times and in all respects best for those who fear Him–then they would not feel a moment’s illness!

We pass through so many changes, that when it rains–we may always hope for fair weather. And when the sky is bright and serene–we may expect rain before long.

He prescribes all our afflictions–in number, weight, and measure, and season, exactly according to what our case requires!

What a mercy to know that all our concerns are in the hands of Him who so loved us, as to wash us from our sins in His own blood.
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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

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Good morning,

Today’s devotion centers in on what is important in life. We are busy doing things. Some good, some not, and many just wasting time.

Martha was consumed by “many things”. She was not focused on the most important thing, Jesus Christ.

That is our challenge today. The things of this world or Jesus.

Read and reflect.

Let this little sentence be continually before the eyes of our minds! 

(J.C. Ryle)

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things–but only one thing is needed!” Luke 10:41-42

Let us observe what a solemn rebuke our Lord Jesus Christ gave to His servant Martha. Like a wise physician—He saw the disease which was preying upon her, and at once applied the remedy. Like a tender parent–He exposed the fault into which His erring child had fallen and did not spare the chastening which was required.

“Martha, Martha,” He said, “you are worried and upset about many things–but only one thing is needed!” Faithful are the wounds of a friend! That little sentence was a precious balm indeed! It contained a volume of practical divinity in a few words!

“Only one thing is needed!” How true that saying! The longer we live in the world, the more true it will appear. The nearer we come to the grave, the more thoroughly we shall assent to it. Health, and money, and lands, and rank, and honors, and prosperity, are all well in their way. But they cannot be called needful. Without them thousands are happy in this world and reach glory in the world to come. The “many things” which men and women are continually struggling for, are not really necessities. The grace of God which brings salvation, is the one thing needful.

Let this little sentence be continually before the eyes of our minds! 
Let it check us when we are ready to murmur at earthly trials.
Let it strengthen us when we are tempted to deny our Master on account of persecution.
Let it caution us when we begin to think too much of the things of this world.
Let it quicken us when we are disposed to look back, like Lot’s wife.
In all such seasons, let the words of our Lord ring in our ears like a trumpet, and bring us to a right mind! “Only one thing is needed!” 

If Christ is ours–then we have all and abound!
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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

Good morning,

Over the years of reading the Bible, the phrase “but God” has intrigued me. It seems when things are the darkest, “but God”.

This lesson is on the phrase “but God”.

BUT GOD

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (Ephesians 2:4)

Introduction

But God helped in time of need:

And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. (Genesis 31:7)

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. (Genesis 50:20)

And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. (1 Samuel 23:14)

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. (Psalm 73:26)

The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness. (Proverbs 21:12)

And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,¹⁰ And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. (Acts 7:9-10)

For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. (Philippians 2:27)

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (Ephesians 2:3-5)

But God will:

But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. (Psalm 49:15)

But God is:

But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. (Psalm 75:7)

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.²¹ Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. (Galatians 3:20-21)

But God acts:

And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. ³⁰ But God raised him from the dead:³¹ And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. (Acts 13:29-31)

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (1 Corinthians 1:27)

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10)

 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.⁷ So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

CONCLUSION

God acts on the behalf of men

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good morning,

God gives Joshua detailed instructions on how to take the city of Jericho. Joshua communicates this to the Priests and the people.

Joshua gave the people a warning.

 ^“And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.¹⁹ But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.” (Joshua 6:18-19)

God gave the city of Jericho into the hands of Israel and they completely destroyed it.

“And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.” (Joshua 6:21)

“And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.” (Joshua 6:24)

God’s anger is kindled.

“But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.” (Joshua 7:1)

Achan’s confession.

“And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.²⁰ And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:²¹ When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.” (Joshua 7:19-21)

God takes Achan and his families, property, and the accursed things and stones them and then burns them.

“And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.²⁵ And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.” (Joshua 7:24-25)

The lesson here is that SIN requires a sentence of death. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Achan saw, coveted, and took, the accursed thing.

Our we not the same way? We see something and must have it at any cost. If God says “NO”, then the answer is NO. The Bible is very clear that we are not to covet.

The wages for sin have not changed since Adam rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden. The wages are death physically and spiritually.

The “GOOD NEWS” is that Jesus paid for our sin debt on the cross. If we repent of our sin, believe on Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and follow Him, our sin debt will be paid.

Has your sin debt been paid? If not, contact me and let’s talk about it.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

 

Good morning,

Moses is dead. The mantle of leadership has been passed to Joshua. God places His seal of approval on Joshua in Joshua 1:5-9. God makes sure Joshua knows he will not be going alone into this battle. God will be with him all the way.

“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” (1:5)

God command’s Joshua to be strong and courageous. Then to divide the land.

“Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.” (1:6)

God command’s Joshua to follow the book of the law. Observe, obey, meditate, so that they might be prosperous and have great success.

^“Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (1:7-8)

God command’s Joshua not to be afraid or dismayed. Why? God will be with him where ever he goes.

^“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (1:9)

Did it ever occur to you that we serve the same God as Joshua? The challenge to be “strong and courageous”, is God’s challenge to believer’s today. God’s presence, protection, are available to all believers in Christ.

It is still God’s desire for every believer to read, obey, meditate, and do what the Bible says. We are commanded to tell others about our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. This is where our battle begins. We must go in the power of the Holy Spirit, with strength and courage.

May we be found faithful to God. Joshua was.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

Good morning,

Ponder these quotes by William Law. Then if God’s Spirit convicts, act upon that conviction.

Short pithy quotes from William Law

If our life is not a course of humility, self-denial, renunciation of the world, poverty of spirit, and heavenly affection–we do not live the lives of Christians.

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He who has learned to pray–has learned the greatest secret of a holy and happy life.

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We may justly condemn ourselves as the greatest sinners we know–because we know more of the folly of our own heart than we do of other people’s.

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Humility is nothing else but a right judgment of ourselves.

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He who complains of the weather—complains of the God who ordains the weather!

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SELF is the root, the tree, and the branches–of all the evils of our fallen state.

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Prayer is the nearest approach to God and the highest enjoyment of Him, that we are capable of in this life.

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Feasts and business and pleasure and enjoyments seem great things to us, while we think of nothing else; but as soon as we add death to them–they all sink into an equal littleness.

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Saving grace draws us out of the vanity of time–into the riches of eternity!

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

Challenging quotes from A. W. Tozer.

Short pithy quotes from A.W. Tozer

Among the plastic saints of our times–Jesus has to do all the dying.
All we want, is to hear another sermon about His dying!
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It is no longer either dangerous or costly to be a Christian!
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Some Christians have taken all the justice, judgment and hatred of sin out of the nature of God–and have nothing left but a soft god.
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Let us start reading our Bibles with the thought that God means exactly what He says!
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The most godly Christian is the one who knows himself best.
No one who knows himself, will believe that he deserves anything better than Hell.
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God’s gifts often take the place of God Himself–and the whole course of the man’s life is upset by the monstrous substitution!
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The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God–and the Church is famishing for lack of His presence!
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Anyone who wishes to check on his true spiritual condition may do so–by noting what his voluntary thoughts have been over the last hours or days.
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We have learned to live with unholiness in our churches–and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing.
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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

We conclude our study of Ephesians today.

Ephesians 6 begins with instructions to children, parents, servants, masters, and then transitions to the armor of God. This chapter is loaded with practical teaching for living in today’s world.

EPHESIANS 6

 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (6:12)

Introduction

Instruction to children, parents, servants, and masters (6:1-9)

Children (6:1-3)

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.² Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;³ That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Fathers (6:4)

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Servants (6:5-8)

Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;⁶ Not with eyeservice, as men pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;⁷ With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:⁸ Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

Masters (6:9)

And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.

The Armor of God (6:10-17)

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Pray always (6:18-20)

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;¹⁹ And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,²⁰ For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Closing (6:21-24)

But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:²² Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.²³ Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.²⁴ Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

CONCLUSION

Obey those over us

Be strong in the Lord

Put on the whole armor of God

Pray always

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good morning,

Is Jesus precious to you? As you read this devotion, answer the questions honestly. Then begin to develop that closer, intimate relationship with Jesus.

Unto you who believe–He is precious!

(“Every Day!” Author unknown, 1872)

“Unto you who believe–He is precious!” 1 Peter 2:7

It is to unbelievers only, that Christ is “as a root out of a dry ground“–having no form nor loveliness.

To those who know Him and put their trust in Him–He is the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely! To those who believe, He is precious . . .
in all the offices He sustains,
in all the relations He bears,
as their atoning Sacrifice,
as the Lord their righteousness,
as the source of their spiritual life,
as their Teacher,
as their Example,
and as their Guide.

O my soul, is Jesus precious to you?

Do you realize something of His worth?

Is He your Refuge, your Hiding-place?

Are you sheltered in Him?

Is He your Shepherd, your Guardian, your Friend?

Do you feel that, whatever you are called to part with–you cannot part with Christ?

Do you feel that that He is your Savior, your Life, your All?

Oh, then cleave to Him, serve Him earnestly, and live to His glory!

And know to your comfort, that as unworthy and sinful as you are–you are precious to Him. He bought you with His precious blood, He claims you as His own, and He will treasure you among His jewels when He comes to gather them up!

“Yes, Christ is precious to my soul,
My transport and my trust;
Jewels to Him are gaudy toys,
And gold is sordid dust!”
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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001