Devotional for Sunday 

From our pastor

     Many people avoid God's call on their lives because of a distorted view of His heart. They grow up thinking that following God means He will ask them to do things they hate, go places they don't want to go, or sacrifice everything that brings them joy. 

     This misconception keeps countless believers from experiencing the fullness of God's plan for their lives. They see God as a harsh taskmaster rather than a loving Father who has good gifts in store for his children. But this isn't the God we serve. 

     God loves you deeply and personally. His plans for you aren't designed to torture you or strip away everything good in your life. 

     Yes, following God may involve challenges, sacrifice and stepping out of your comfort zone. But his ultimate desire is to bless you and use you for His glory. He invites you to partnership with Him that will bring fulfillment, purpose, and joy - even in the midst of difficulties.

     His call on your life is an expression of His love. He doesn't typically call people to do things completely against their God-given personality and gifts. He refines and redirects our desires to serve His purposes. 

     Trust that God's heart toward you is good, and His plans for you are born out of love, not to harm you.

   

Hitler's Long Shadow 

     We are tired of Democrats claiming President Trump is another Hitler. Eighty years later, do most Americans even know who Hitler was? 

     The Age of Hitler, by Alec Ryrie. In WORLD magazine, James Wood summarizes, "For too long, Western politics has been defined by its devils. We avoid another Hitler, racist fascism, anti-Semitism, etc." 

     "We struggle to find common loves, and we are left only with common fears and hates. Is this all there is to civilization? The West replaced the Christian story with the anti-Nazi story. Scripture and Christianity were simplified into humanism and hatred of fascism. This has blinded us to all sorts of other evils, and poor guidance." 

     "We are too quick to make parallels between problems we face today and the battle against the Nazis. We will treat every problem with the same ruthlessness used by the Allies." 

     "Ryrie is okay with insights and values gained during the age of Hitler. He just thinks our values should rest on the firmer foundations of a richer story. He wants the West to return to its Christian roots, far more rich, positive and firm than simply fearing fascists."

     "But he also wants us to receive the gains in moral and political wisdom from the past century. Both the Christian story and the Hitler story are part of the West's heritage. It's just that the latter should not over-shadow and erase the former."

      Jimmy 

Fear and Uncertainty 

     "Israel is not just another nation," pastor David Jeremiah said. "It is the epicenter of God's activity in the last days. The rebirth of Israel in 1948 was a major prophetic milestone, and every conflict surrounding it brings us closer to the fulfillment of end-time events." 

     As the world around us gives in to fear and uncertainty, Christians have hope and a faith anchored in God's promises (Luke 21:25-28, Titus 2:13).

     "We as the church hold the message they so desperately need - the gospel of Jesus Christ," Jeremiah said. "While others are panicking, we should be proclaiming."

     "We are here for such a time as this, Jeremiah continued, "to share the Gospel, to pray without ceasing and to live holy lives that reflect the light of Christ. The final hour is not a message of fear but a wake-up call."  

     John Silkman, Israel country director for Samaritan's Purse, says, "Believers in Jesus Christ inside Israel are praying for peace and safety in their country. People in Israel think they're forgotten and isolated. When we say to them that people in the United States or people around the world in general...are praying for them no matter what their beliefs, they are very inspired and encouraged, and it uplifts their spirits." 

     

Court Decisions Matter

     "The Supreme Court's decisions matter. These judicial decrees trickle down and touch our everyday lives, activities and freedoms. The decisions impact the education of our children, parental rights, freedom of speech and thought, rights of conscience, protection of children born and preborn, and how we operate our churches, ministries, religious schools, businesses, even our livelihoods. 

Todd Chasteen, Decision magazine

     "Most Americans who receive a paycheck have tax dollars withdrawn. And most believers would be livid to find that their tax dollars were going to organizations that intentionally terminate innocent lives in the womb or to the distributer of gender transition drugs. 

     "In June, in U.S. v. Skrmetti, the court held that Tennessee can protect children from what is likely the largest medical scandal and deception in our nation's history: experimentation with dangerous gender transition drugs and genital surgery. Children in Tennessee and nearly 25 other states are now safe from this harmful practice." 

 

 

Moral Minority 

     "Many conservative Christians, who see the left as the only threat to Christianity, open themselves to malevolent influences on the right," said Mark Tooley of the Institute on Religion and Democracy.  

     "They falsely assume that any force on the right must be a friend to Christianity. They also forget that sin is universal and not confined to the political left. 

     "In the past, many conservatives who didn't claim Christianity still operated under its umbrella. Now, they're more comfortable with publicly expressing their secular beliefs.    

     "At the Republican National Convention in 2024, virtually all of the anti-abortion language was stripped from the official platform. You have to ask yourself how many of the people who had signed off previously really believed any of it." Well, Jesus is neither Democrat or Republican.

WORLD magazine 

Thanks for returning to Views after our disappearance Monday and most of Tuesday. Our daughter and husband are returning to St. Louis, a 16-hour drive. Along with their dog, Charlie.  

What began as an uneventful visit turned into a roar Tuesday morning. My late sister-in-law's house in our neighborhood will belong to new owners on Friday. By one trick or another we had emptied out almost everything in the house. What remained were two large/heavy items...a china closet and a three piece office furniture. 

When the people who take such things to the dump backed out of our agreement - like the astronauts we "had a problem." Our daughter and husband needed to get on the road, and we needed a miracle. Long story short, daughter wanted the cabinet, which they somehow got into our garage, where it will sit until they return at Christmas with a larger vehicle. Her husband meanwhile dismantled the office furniture and set it in sister's garage where "Two men and a truck" will - hopefully - take them out on Thursday, hours to spare. Daughter and husband were hours late started home. Oh, almost forgot that Mrs. Donut and I spent an hour in a medical office this morning for my annual heart checkup. 

                    Jimmy

Fish, Birds, and last, Trees 

     There are more than 300 palms and cycads representing some 73 species from around the world. 

     Here in central Florida, there is the Texas palmetto. There is the pineapple palm, and the cabbage sabal palm. 

     Add to that, the Miami palmetto, Jamaican coconut and the ribbon fan palm, the Cuban royal palm, the foxtail palm, and the bottle palm. 

     That's just one region. Think of the variety of maple trees, oak trees and those towering trees in California. 

     Like the birds and sea creatures, there is an amazing variety of growth on land. Much of it beautiful all year long, while others lose their leaves in winter and renew them in the spring.   

     We're not even writing about incredible human beings, especially with brains that even those who don't believe in our Creator cannot explain. 

     So, remember these and other features of our planet as you thank God for your life, pray to him daily, read his Bible, and see what else He might want you to do. 

Note: We are having company for a couple days,

so we will paus here and return soon.  

Jimmy

Can't See um Til You Catch um 

     So, we'll see um for you. Here along the Suncoast of Florida the ocean is home to trout, king mackerel, bluish colored snook, grouper, barracuda, (a long scary look), reddish flounder, and the black sea bass. 

     There are many more, some slender, others more rounded. Fish come in most any color. Tails are different. A gray fish has black stripes. A black fish on top is white on the bottom. 

     The mouths aren't too different, but the tails vary quite a bit. 

     Further out to sea are swordfish, sharks, whales and other creatures like rays, hammer heads and so much more. 

     Like the birds we discussed yesterday, every fish and other creatures like snakes and turtles and those that never come up for air, we credit our Lord, who made earth and everything on it, above it or within. 

     The wise ones who say all this just happened are Satan's tools to fool God's (potential) children. 

     Some 500 people, not just the disciples and others who knew Jesus before the crucifixion, saw and worshiped him until he rose to heaven. A few of them wrote one or more books of the New Testament. 

     In a sense, you and I can be honored above some or all of the 500. Why? Because we believe on faith. God could show himself to every person in the world and invite them to heaven. But the great Satan, who knows God well, knows that we can live forever in the Kingdom, by faith, and obedience, without seeing Him with human eyes. 

       Jimmy