Author Archives: lrbartel

May 28 2017
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Devos

“I was telling Steve Doocy…if he knew what I knew about terrorism, he’d never leave the house in the morning,” Homeland Security Secretary, John Kelly

John KelleyI read this report written by Tim Marcin in Newsweek and posted with permission on Fox News yesterday…

“A person’s first security briefing has long been described as a knee-knocking experience: it’s a laundry list of all the things in the world that could go catastrophically wrong. The head of the Department of Homeland Security said Friday in an interview on Fox News that the information he deals with on a daily basis would keep most normal folks locked in their homes.

“I was telling [host] Steve [Doocy] on the way in here, if he knew what I knew about terrorism, he’d never leave the house in the morning,” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on the show “Fox & Friends.”

Then this morning, one day later, I read this inspired word of assurance in the Bible that encourages God fearing, Bible believing Christians, who live in a world like Homeland Security Secretary, John Kelly, described…

First the Psalmist gives his inspired word of assurance in a dangerous and treacherous world: “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty! This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him! For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with his wings [like a bird protecting its young]. His faithful promises are your armor and protection! Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying all around you, these evils will not touch you! If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For He will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone…

Then the Lord Himself speaks! Notice His strong, reliable “I will…” statements: “The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me! I will protect those who trust in my name! When they call upon me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble! I will rescue and honor them! I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.’” (From Psalm 91 New Living Translation)

In a dangerous world with terror, danger and risks all around us, I choose to believe what Psalm 91 urges us to do and believe! I cannot afford to live in fear or be intimidated by terror! There is much for the Lord that needs to be done. I must “live by faith” and “trust the Lord!” I’m encouraged by the Psalmist’s assurances… I’m banking on God’s “I will’s!”

May 26 2017
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Devos

Jesus, our mentor and model for overcoming temptation…

overcoming temptationEveryone… yes EVERYONE is tempted! Temptation and sin are universal experiences. God forgives sin when we acknowledge it (“confess” it), turn from it (“repent”) and ask for forgiveness (1 John 1:8-9)! And He helps us overcome temptation! Here’s what the Bible says about temptation…
 
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to us all. God is faithful! He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it!” (1 Corinthians 10:13) That’s really good news to anyone desiring to overcome temptation (and the resultant sin if we give in to temptation)!
 
God promises to help us… to sustain and strengthen us… and always provide a way of escape in temptation, if we will avail ourselves of it and use it!
 
Jesus was our great mentor, I believe, in overcoming temptation…
 
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need!” (Hebrews 4:15–16)
 
All of this came to mind this morning during my time of “Coffee with the Lord” as I read about Jesus’ temptation by Satan in Luke 4:1-13. (You really need to read it for yourself if you’re interested in overcoming temptation – and every Christian ought to be… It’s part of their “new birth” – their new “Spiritual DNA!”) Here’s a couple of lesson from Jesus in temptation that I saw in the passage this morning…
 
1) Temptation often comes when we are depleted and drained physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. That’s when Satan loves to attack us with temptation. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days alone in the wilderness when Satan attacked Him with temptation.
 
2) Temptation comes in some of the same areas Jesus experienced… What our body wants, power issues, and esteem needs. Read it… they’re all there.
 
3) We need inner strength to face temptation – The Holy Spirit within empowers us to overcome temptation! We need to be Spirit filled! and Spirit led… We need to walk in the Spirit! (Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:16-25) Notice the passage says, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.”
 
4) Finally, when we are tempted we need to apply what God’s word says to the various issues of our life in a practical way! We need to choose “God’s way” – not the “tempter’s way!” In each case of temptation, the Bible says Jesus responded to the tempter and temptation with, “It is written!”
 
I don’t know about you, but I’m going to spend some time meditating on how Jesus responded to temptation! I want Him to be my mentor and model! I want to overcome temptation, don’t you?
May 25 2017
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Devos

An ordinary kid down the street… but more! Jesus… Son of God!

kids on the playgroundA hometown boy… our kids were in soccer together, knew his mom (sweet girl), and his dad? That cabinet maker down the street. Oh yeah, he was a good boy, obedient to his parents and respectful, smart too. Ordinary people, not rich or distinguished… I mean they live in Nazareth, after all… Does anything “great” come out of Nazareth?
 
And then we begin to hear rumors that this hometown boy is something special… more than a mere man… rumors are he might be the “Messiah!” Really? I mean, he lived in that little house just down the street!
 
Who is Jesus anyway? I mean who is he REALLY?
 
Some people are telling an incredible story… They are pretty insistent about what they saw and heard…
 
That guy John Baptist … a prophet type… People are flocking to hear him and be baptized, confessing their sins…
Story is Jesus went to be baptized by him… and this is the story – the testimony of eyewitnesses…
 
“When Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” (from Luke 3:21–22 ESV)
 
Wow! A heavenly dove, a voice from heaven – a powerful voice from heaven… God’s voice! “You are my Beloved Son!” Really?
 
Luke, the physician, says, “When Jesus began his ministry, at about 30 years of age, it was supposed that he was the “son of Joseph,” that cabinet maker down the street! And then Luke traced the lineage of Jesus – the hometown boy… he traces it all the way back through David the king, then Abraham, Noah, Enoch, and then Adam, the “son of God.”
Son of God! Can you believe it? Jesus, that kid down the street! Son of God?
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Can you identify with the challenge Jesus’ neighbors faced?
 
People still struggle with “Who Jesus really is” today! Me? Well for my part, I’m going to accept the eyewitness account of those who were at His baptism and heard God’s voice from heaven… “You are my beloved Son – with You I am well pleased!” I believe He is God’s Messiah – Son of God! He’s more than the physical son of Joseph… I mean after all, the story is, an angel appeared to his mother Mary, a virgin, and told her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God!” (Luke 1:35) That’s what I believe!
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