Living Bible

Now, THIS is the Living Bible:

His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it,
jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four
years of college.

He is brilliant. Kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a
Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very
conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but
are not sure how to go about it.

One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans,
his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill
starts down the aisle looking for a seat.

The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now,
people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything.

Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he
realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet.

By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is
thick.

About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of
the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill.

Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a
three-piece suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very
courtly. He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy,
everyone is saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's
going to do.

How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to
understand some college kid on the floor? It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy.

The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's
cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing.
the minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he
has to do.

And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With
great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and
worships with him so he won't be alone.

Everyone chokes up with emotion.
When the minister gains control, he says, "What I'm about to preach,
you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget"

"Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will
ever read!"

I asked the Lord to bless you
as I prayed for you today.
To guide you and protect you
as you go along your way....
His love is always with you,
His promises are true,
And when we give Him all our cares,
You know He will see us through.

Daily Devotion

I receive the daily devotion by Rick Warren from Saddleback Church. This was on Friday and it is really worth reading! I have also enjoyed listening to sermons with the Saddleback app, so check it out! 6 Things You Need to Fight the Devil: (#4) Certainty by Rick Warren Hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. (Ephesians 6:16 NLT) In Ephesians, the apostle Paul says the fourth thing to do in spiritual warfare is to hold up a shield of faith. The full armor of God includes integrity, purity, serenity and certainty. How effective is a shield? One of the most famous battles in history is the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, when 300 Spartans stood their ground against perhaps 100,000 Persians. At one point in the battle, the Persians shot volley after volley of arrows at the 300 Spartans. The Spartans knelt together and held up their shields, creating a wall of protection from the arrows. Have you ever had a day you felt like that? When life is coming at you from every angle and thousands of fiery arrows are aimed at you? That’s when you need what Paul calls “the shield of faith.” Paul says, “Hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil” (Ephesians 6:16). What are the devil’s fiery arrows? Doubt Depression Discouragement Delay Dead ends Despair Satan has been casting doubt on mankind since the Garden of Eden, when he asked Eve, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). The moment you open your door to doubt — even just a little bit — Satan will charge in and create doubts, despair and depression. What do you need when you’re facing those kinds of “burning arrows”? You need faith — and certainty. Certainty comes from trusting the promises of God when everything is going wrong in your life. You’ve got to put on your shield of faith, and doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs. Most people do the exact opposite. That’s just foolish. It is the doubts we should doubt and beliefs we should believe. If you don't have faith, you will stumble when Satan attacks you. The Bible says, “Because of your faith, it will happen” (Matthew 9:29). What does that mean? You’ve got to believe in God’s promises, even if they don’t appear to be true at the time. Lean on God’s promises and lift up the shield of faith when Satan sends his fiery darts of doubt.