tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31166234798537459512026-11-12T06:07:27.391-07:00All rights reserved Richard P Swift Publishing, Ltd. December 1,2010 ......................................................................................................... Follow along with us in the One Year Bible with commentary for almost each and every day and add your own comments too!Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.comBlogger3576125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-37905857275056770412026-11-12T06:07:27.391-07:002026-11-12T06:07:27.391-07:00<div><br></div><div><div><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">HEBREWS 11:1-16</span></font></div><div><div><div><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;THE Secular and the Christian World sure don't agree on much, but one thing they do believe in is that if an individual has Faith, whether that is, Faith that they will be healed, faith that they will succeed, faith that they will not die, often times, even Doctors will testify that the catalyst to the persons recovery &amp; survival was driven by their faith, no matter what or whom that faith was in.&nbsp; Christians say, "you need to have faith" and non-Christians say, "you need to have faith".&nbsp;</span><br></span></font></div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Don't you find that odd? It seems like there is this universal code, imprinted in humanity, that somehow understands the premise and the power of Faith. Paul describes Faith as, "<i><u>Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see</u></i>".&nbsp; Jesus said, "<i>if you have the faith of a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, "be moved and cast into the sea" and it would be done</i>.&nbsp; What do you do with a statement like that? Do you try it? Do you accuse Jesus of exaggerating?&nbsp;&nbsp;Put simply, I don't think we really understand or grasp, the meaning and power behind Faith.&nbsp; We know that Faith healed a blind man. We know that faith healed a dying woman.&nbsp; We know Faith changes people's future. Faith helps people apprehend what they would have never apprehended without it.</span></font></p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When you break it down, you realize that there are different kinds of faith that some people think are all synonymous, but they are not! There is Faith in one's own ability, there is Faith in an event to come to pass,&nbsp;a dream to come true, there is faith in faith itself (oddly enough)&nbsp;and of course, last but certainly not least,&nbsp;</span><b>there is Faith in God!</b><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;When the secular world is speaking about Faith they are more often than not, speaking about Faith in one's own ability or Faith in Faith itself.</span><br><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Is Faith what changes the future or is it the belief in Faith that gives us that extra drive to push on, hang on and believe for one more day?&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><u>Is the Faith that Christians are exercising today a secular Faith</u><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;or a</span><b>&nbsp;Faith in God?</b><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;I can have Faith that one day I am going to be a "somebody", I can have faith in my own self, my ability and that faith can get me there. We have heard many testimonies of secular, successful people that will tell you, "</span><b>they never lost faith</b><span style="display: inline !important;">" and somehow, their faith propelled them to where they are today. Explaining how that works could take more space to write than I have here, suffice it to say, this kind of Faith is&nbsp;</span><b>not the kind of Faith</b><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;that we are being called to in the book of Hebrews. There was a book written some time ago by Norman Vincent Peale, it was called, "The Power of Positive Thinking". It was on the New York Times best seller list for quite some time.&nbsp; A friend of mine handed the book over to me and I tried to read it, but I could not make it through. The theme was, "if you believe, if you have enough faith, anything is possible". Any many people would attest and ascribe to that theory, but Abraham was not having Faith in his own ability or in Faith itself, Abraham was exercising Faith in God and the Bible is clear that it is God himself who brought those promises to pass. There was no mystery to it. Many religious people today spout around the word&nbsp;</span><b>Faith,</b><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;but what you will find is often they have convoluted the word “Faith”, as described in the Bible. They have convoluted the Bible faith&nbsp;</span><span style="display: inline !important;">with a secular Faith that anybody can believe in.</span><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;What is the premise of your Faith? "I just have faith it's all going to work out, I'm just trying to keep a positive outlook".&nbsp; This is a common statement I've heard. Now you tell me, who said that statement, was it someone who was Born Again, saved, serving God or was that statement made by a secular person. The answer is, it is made by Christians. If you'll notice there is no reference to God, no reference as to what entity is going to make things work out (like God) all the statement mentions is faith and more often than not, it leaves God out.</span><br><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; God has not called us to a secular faith, a mystic faith or faith in faith itself. God has called us to have Faith in him. In His ability to move in the "supernatural" on our behalf.&nbsp; God has called us to believe, by Faith in His promises. To believe in God, by Faith to apprehend what he has apprehended us for. How different this is from the world, that comes up with their agenda for their lives, they come up with their own promises for their lives and than they say "it was faith" that got them there, but they never clarify "what faith", "faith in whom or what?" It is all mystical and most important, it is all "self-serving".&nbsp; Faith in the bible is often calling us to do the opposite, it calls us to deny ourselves. The Faith in the bible is used to further God's purposes in the earth, not ours.&nbsp; Next time you hear someone say, "I just kept faith that....", politely ask them, faith in whom or what? And I hope the answer you hear is God, but more than likely you will get a blank stare because they really don't know what their faith is in. To them it is magical in a sense, mystical, new age of sorts, but Faith was never meant to be that, our Faith is in God himself!</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;"><br></span></span><span style="display: inline !important;"> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</mark></a></span></p></span><div><span style="display: inline !important;"><br></span></div></font></div></div></div></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-29273849973232241032026-11-11T08:09:30.446-07:002026-11-11T08:09:30.446-07:00<div><br></div><div><div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;MY guess is that many people reading this blog will have, perhaps 2 things in common.&nbsp; #1. They often wondered "there's got to be more to life than this" and # 2.&nbsp; They wondered, "why do I never get away with anything, but my friends and others always seem to get away with stuff??".&nbsp; I do not have a perfectly vivid memory about my childhood, but I do remember this, "<strong>I never got away with anything</strong>".&nbsp; I remember this one&nbsp;incident in elementary school, 6th grade, we were running up the stairs, trying to be first as always (everything was a race) and this one kid is pushing me, pulling on me and driving me nuts.&nbsp; I was always one to keep my cool (unlike other kids in my grade) and I did not fight or cause trouble often, but the one time I decide "I'm not going to hold back".&nbsp; I just stopped, grabbed the kid and pushed him off of me, he went backwards, hit his head up against a brick wall, cracked it and his head started bleeding pretty bad.&nbsp; It was a big ordeal, as you can imagine.&nbsp; All I did was push a kid, which was common with boys in elementary school. Kids would fight in the school yard, pounce on each other and then get in line after recess and nothing happened.&nbsp; I pushed a kid, and he cracks his skull, principal's office, threats of being sued, accused of assault, kids parent's at school....it was drama!&nbsp; Being bad, sinning, rebelling has always been drama for me, how about you?</span></font></p><font face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In our text, in Ezekiel in the last sentence, verse 49, we read&nbsp;</span><em>"You will suffer the penalty....and bear the consequences of your sins .....<strong>then you will know</strong>&nbsp;that I am the Sovereign Lord".&nbsp;&nbsp;</em><span style="display: inline !important;">Most of my friends (whom I envied) who seemed to always get away "with stuff"&nbsp;</span><u>are still getting away with stuff</u><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;and you know what....they also "do not know" God.&nbsp; In our text God reveals something to us, that the purpose of us&nbsp;</span><strong>not</strong><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;getting away with stuff is for the very purpose of knowing God.&nbsp; Perhaps God's leadings, his guiding us into his arm is set up from his sovereign workings in our lives, making sure we do&nbsp;</span><u>suffer the penalty and consequences of our sins.&nbsp;</u><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;In God's eyes,&nbsp;</span><strong>nothing could be worse</strong><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;than for us to be able to get away with our sins, dishonesty, rebelliousness and wayward ways.&nbsp;&nbsp;Had the "Prodigal Son" succeeded in his quest to venture out (and some do) he would not have returned to the Father (symbolic of God). It was him suffering the penalty and&nbsp;bearing the consequences of his decisions that opened him up to salvation.</span><br><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I used to think my friends were lucky and I was not.&nbsp; I thought I had "bad luck" because things did not pan out for me as well as my friends.&nbsp; When my friends stole, they got away with it and I saw what a great benefit it was to "steal", you get what you want and for free, "how great is that". However when I stole, a badge was flashed in my face, I was chased down,&nbsp;caught and suffered the consequences. My parents were called,&nbsp; a record was made of me in that store, it was a mess and quite embarrassing!&nbsp; "Why me?", I thought.&nbsp; Why can I not get away with nothing?&nbsp; In hindsight, I can see these were the sovereign workings of God, making sure I&nbsp;</span><strong>did not</strong><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;get away with my sin, slowly but surely bringing me to a place, one day, that according to our text "Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord".&nbsp;&nbsp; Today, I don't consider myself "unlucky" in the least, I consider myself blessed.&nbsp; The unsaved, the ungodly now continually look to me and call me "lucky".&nbsp; How many times have I heard, "&nbsp;</span><u>You are so lucky, things always seem to work out for you</u><span style="display: inline !important;">".&nbsp; Interestingly, they don't realize they are quoting&nbsp;</span><strong>Romans 8:28</strong><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;and they don't even know it.&nbsp; Interestingly enough, they don't realize that there was a day when my friends considered me "unlucky".&nbsp; I didn't get away with nothing, if things could go wrong, they did. I always felt like I was going against some unseen, supernatural force.....and you know what, I was!&nbsp; And that unseen, supernatural force was God himself, driving me, directing me, into a place of repentance.&nbsp; This is only brought out more and further clarified when God knocks Saul of Tarsus of his horse and says to him, "</span><em>why do you kick against the goad</em><span style="display: inline !important;">"?&nbsp; In other words, "why are you fighting against this force that you feel apposing you?".&nbsp; Paul also felt this force that seemed to be fighting against him, but he, just like I, and just like you never realized it was God's workings in his life and he too came to repentance and came to the place in our text "Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord".&nbsp;Thank God today that these two elements were at work in you, #1. That you wondered if there was more to life and # 2. Why you never got away with stuff, these were the wonder working, providential dealings of God, in your life, bringing you to a place, one day, where you would turn from your sins and turn to him, to come to know that he is The Sovereign Lord and that this was his masterful plan, from before you were even born.&nbsp; In Jeremiah we read, "</span><em>for I knew you before you were formed in your mother's womb, before you were born, I had "called" you and "appointed" you</em><span style="display: inline !important;">."&nbsp; It takes us a while to get it. It takes us a while to come around, but thank God for his persistent and getting us to realize, that unlike many others, God has not called us to prosper in this world and get a way with our sin, but he has called us to a better life, not having to&nbsp;</span><strong>get away with our sin</strong><span style="display: inline !important;">, but rather to be set free from our sin, forgiven of our sin (can't be forgiven if you are getting away with it) free to serve him and prosper in his Kingdom.&nbsp; Those that are getting away with their sin and seem to be prospering, those that, at times, if we will be honest, we can envy, they will one day be left in this world and we will be taken away and who will be glad on that day, that they "got away with their sin"&nbsp; or we "who got caught, suffered the consequences and repented, were able to be forgiven, have our conscience cleared and be set free!?".&nbsp; I think the answer is clear, dont' you!</span></span><span style="font-size: medium; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;"><br></span></span><span style="font-size: medium; display: inline !important; color: rgb(255, 225, 25);"> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><mark></mark></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><mark></mark></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Visit The Door San Angelo</mark></a></span></p></span><div style="font-size: medium;"><span style="display: inline !important;"><br></span></div></font></div></div></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-88235707834709383582026-11-11T08:07:14.000-07:002026-11-11T08:07:14.988-07:00<div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;">I was once in a morning prayer meeting at our church with a few other Christians, when I saw a young boy approaching me.&nbsp; He bypassed everybody else in the room and came directly to me and said, "my mom needs help getting her car started".&nbsp; Then he stood there just waiting for me to jump to my feet and help. My first thought was, "who in the world are you?"&nbsp;Then, people in the room began looking at me to see how I was going to respond to this stranger.&nbsp;The second thought that came&nbsp;to me was "why in the world am I being summoned to go help a woman start her car when I can barely change a flat tire?" I walked outside with the boy and asked him where he lived, he pointed his house out to me....and then I remembered who he was.&nbsp; I had outreached in that neighborhood a month prior and had spoken to the little boy and his sister about God and coming out to church. Neither the boy, his sister, or his mother had ever come out, but now, that there was a need,&nbsp;that same boy was coming back to the "good Christian man" to help his mother out. The boy told me, "the car won't start" and so my quick response was, "well I don't have cables so unless your mom has cables...."&nbsp; and he interrupted me and said, "she has cables".&nbsp; I honestly was hoping she did not have cables and that was going to be the end of that. So I approached the car and introduced myself to the mother, grabbed her cables and attached them to my car and tried to boost her battery.&nbsp; I told her I felt for her predicament and God really did want to help her out (single mom with 4 kids living in a very, very small apartment). I asked&nbsp;her if she went to church and she said "no, but my kids go".&nbsp; I already knew her kids went from my previous encounter with them, some Baptist Church down the way that sends a bus around to pick up kids. &nbsp;</span><br></div><div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I explained to her that that was nice but she, being the mom, was the one that needed to go.&nbsp; Then she told me her boyfriend (her live in boyfriend) had mentioned coming to our church, but they never got around to it.&nbsp; I must admit, I was a little harsh in my witness, as I explained to her that her children needed a father, a man committed to their mother, not some live in boyfriend and I asked her what happened when it didn't work out with him, would a new boyfriend move in? I explained to her that God was not able to help her because of her sin. I quoted to her from&nbsp;<strong>Isaiah 59</strong>&nbsp;<em>"it's not that God's arm is to short, neither his ear to dull to hear</em>,&nbsp;<em>but it is your sins that separate you from God</em>".&nbsp; How can God honor your prayers if you want to continue to live in sin.&nbsp; To my amazement, in the middle of my witness,&nbsp;she took the initiative to take the cables off the battery herself (once the car started) and commenced to take off.&nbsp; In short,&nbsp;<strong>she was done with me</strong>. She knew what she wanted and she got it and had no desire for anything more,&nbsp;no interest in anything I had to say from that point on. She knew where to go when she needed help, (the church/God) and now that she was helped and able to move on that is exactly what she was going to do.&nbsp; I felt used....and the reason I felt used is.....because I had been used!&nbsp; Here is a church, that is spitting distance from this woman's house and yet she has never visited once, but when she needed help she knew where to send her son. "Those good Christian folks, they'll help me out, at least they better, that's their duty isn't it, to help poor people like me", she thought to herself.</span></font></p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; So what does this have to do with our text?&nbsp; In the text written in Ezekiel, the people randomly, for one reason or another (not mentioned because it doesn't really matter) decide they want to inquire of God.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><u>God should have been honored</u><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;and jumped at the opportunity, but&nbsp;</span><strong>He does not</strong><span style="display: inline !important;">, instead God says, "&nbsp;</span><em>This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign LORD."</em><br><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</em><span style="display: inline !important;">Then God proceeds to tell Ezekiel&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-20900">4</sup><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;“Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then&nbsp;</span><strong>confront them...</strong><span style="display: inline !important;">"&nbsp; Perhaps Ezekiel thought as I did, "Lord, now is not the best time to confront them, after all, at least they're seeking you for help right now?"&nbsp; After reading today's text, I thought, "perhaps my witness was not as harsh as I thought?" It is not my style to be harsh and I don't think often this is the best approach, but that morning, without giving it a thought, I began immediately to confront this women about her sin, even though I had never met her before and to my surprise, she was very stiff and hard. She did not melt down or seem the least bit remorseful.&nbsp; I don't know this woman's history, but I have to think that this was not the first time God tried to reach this women and get through to her.</span><br><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The question is, what is it that you want from God, what is it that you want from the church? Do you see the Church as just another welfare program instituted to help you and your struggling life get by.&nbsp; Do you see the people in "The Church" as just a bunch of social workers assigned to help you with your case?&nbsp; What is it that you want from God?&nbsp; It is human nature to try to manipulate and exploit. Is there a chance that you are in the local church, you are serving God but deep down there resides a tendency to try to exploit your Christianity. If God stops "blessing your socks off" and "answering every prayer" will you continue to serve him and continue to serve in the body of Christ with a good attitude? If you are passed up for "promotion" in the church will you continue on to serve God and serve the local body?&nbsp; What is it that you want from your church? What is it that the church is not doing for you that is beginning to upset you and cause resent the people in your church?&nbsp; How close are you to leaving "The Church" because they're not doing what they should for you and your family?&nbsp; And next, how close are you to leaving God because He's not doing what He should for you and your family?&nbsp; I believe this is a trap of the enemy and the best traps are the traps that look as real as the natural surroundings. We know that God is a helper and we know that The Church should also be a great place of help for the struggling, but if we are not careful, we, just like the woman this morning and the people in Ezekiel's day, can just begin to see God and The Church as a place of getting needs met and if we are not careful we allow the enemy to get us trapped in tunnel vision where all we see is the Church and God as a one stop shop for us, for our needs and thence,&nbsp;we have long strayed from the altruistic heart/mindset of not "what do I want from the church and God" but what does God and the Church want from me?&nbsp; When the latter question is what is on the forefront of our hearts and minds, we excel as Christians; however when the former question is what is on the forefront of our hearts and minds,&nbsp;we stray, become narcissistic and if not corrected, eventually leave The Church and if not correct from there, eventually leave God.</span></span><span style="display: inline !important; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark>Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><mark></mark></span><br></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark>"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><mark></mark></span><br></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark>Visit The Door San Angelo<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p></font></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;"><br></span></span><div><span style="display: inline !important;"><br></span></div></font></div></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-64602773989844503102026-11-10T06:14:04.870-07:002026-11-10T06:14:04.870-07:00<div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;">&nbsp; &nbsp;Could you be a Psalm writer?&nbsp; "No, I'm not poetic".&nbsp; The Psalms are not about poetry, they're about relationship. What encourages us in reading the Psalms is reading about the relationship the writer(s) have with God. It's refreshing, it's encouraging, it shows us what we can have; and should have!&nbsp; "Your faithfulness reaches to the sky"&nbsp; "I will sing your praises"&nbsp; "all human help is useless, with God's help we will do mighty things". It is so refreshing to read and in so doing , it implants in our minds, thoughts that are right, thoughts that are in line with God's Word.&nbsp; So different than what we hear otherwise, from week to week from our brethren and sisteren! Staying home from church, speaking doubt and negativity, talking of losing their faith, God's not coming through, etc..etc...and then we read the Psalms, we read about men that are enthused, pumped up, about their relationship with God and something inside of us says, "yeah, that's, the way it should be, that's who I want to hang around with", so the question is...."could you be a Psalm writer?&nbsp; Do you have anything good to write? Do you have anything praise worthy to say? Are you even going to church faithfully? Are you even praying regularly? Do you worship when you do go to church or just sit or stand there detached; could you be a Psalm writer? Have you ever tried to write a Psalm, have you ever wrote a journal on the faithfulness and goodness of God? Could you be a Psalm writer, should you be a Psalm writer? The answers...YES and YES. Set your mind, your attitude, to be a Psalm writer. Strive for that relationship with God that the Psalmists had and sit yourself down and write a Psalm for God, write a Psalm, to God!&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;"><br></span></div><div><span style="display: inline !important;"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</font></mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></font></span><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></font></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></font></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></font></span><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></font></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</span></font><span class="s3" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></span></mark></a></span></p></span></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-15704537653502875562026-11-08T06:42:20.363-07:002026-11-08T06:42:20.363-07:00<div><br></div><div><div><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">HEBREWS 9:1-10</span></font></div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;&nbsp;"An external washing, ceremonies" that's all they are, writes the author of Hebrews, UNTIL, the time of the New Order. Do some research, find out, "are there more Catholics, than Born Again Christians, in the world?" &nbsp;I believe there is. If God ever slept, this idea of the New Order would have kept Him up at night with excitement. Away with religious ceremonies, away with an external washing, that does not clear or clean the conscience. The new order will be Christ coming Himself, by the Holy Spirit, to make His dwelling place in our hearts. Now our consciences can be cleansed/cleared, now we can be washed within. Now we can be clean inside and out, not just a superficial, surface change, but a true change, "if any man be in Christ, he is a New Creation". Well, the New Order has come and Praise God there are many all over the world that rejoice at being saved, being Born Again, being made a "New Creation", but yet there are literally millions that still want to hold on to the "old order" of religious ceremonies and only external washing" but still being filthy inside. There are an estimated 1.2 Billion Catholics in the world today. That's HUGE! Why would the vast majority of the world's population, reject the "New Order"? Why would they reject God's great plan to abolish the Priesthood, to do away with religious ceremonies and only an external washing? Why? Why? Why? I will let you figure that one out!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</span></font><span class="s3" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></span></mark></a></span></p></div></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-6201924372902297302026-11-07T05:48:50.332-07:002026-11-07T05:48:50.332-07:00<div><br></div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I am so glad I serve the God of the New Testament. I think somewhere between Malachi and the Gospel of Matthew, the God of the Old Testament was converted. The God of the Old Testament seems like He's always judging people for their sins and angry and Jesus of course, is more like Grandpa, He's just so nice, accepting, tolerant and forgiving; almost a "pushover", but hey, that's fine with me, I'd much rather that than this angry God in the Old Testament. How could God be so different in the Old Testament as opposed &nbsp;to the New Testament? It almost seems like two separate Gods; unless I begin to look closer. The first place I need to go in my research of these seemingly two separate Gods, is Golgotha. When I get up to Golgotha, I see Jesus, hanging on that cross, with a crown of thorns forced into his skull, nails driven into his hands, feet; and a side pierced with a sword and a back that has it's flesh so beaten, the flesh is just hanging and then when I see this, I have to wonder, who is this Jesus and who was it that didn't like him? If I’m judging by the torture He received, somebody or some group of people despised him. But why? Then I remember the time he did confront the woman who had had five husbands and was shacking up with her current husband. Then I also remember the time he flipped over the tables in the Temple and began to call the people names and judge (oooops, there's that word) them for their actions. &nbsp;I also remember the time he called the Priests hypocrites, told them their father was the devil, he called them adulterers and thieves, now it's all coming back to me. Jesus called sin sin and sinners sinners. He really wasn't this warm gushy grandpa type of God after all, so where do I get this notion then? It's not in my bible? As a matter of a fact, when I think of it, in Revelations, Jesus seems to be full of judgment, awful and awesome judgement comes forth from Jesus, that almost makes the God in the Old Testament look passive. Maybe the Jesus I'm thinking of is the one that the religious world has created that is just a fictitious as Santa Clause himself. &nbsp;Maybe Jesus, just like Jehovah, sees all our sin and is just as angry about our sin today as he was 4500 years ago? Maybe Jesus today still does judge and bring consequences to sin, just like he did with Israel thousands of years ago. Maybe that's why I look around, read the news, talk to co-workers, and get depressed at the news (or could I say judgement) that I hear about? When I look at my life, it seems bliss compared to what I hear at work and watch on my news feeds. Maybe Jehovah didn't convert somewhere between Malachi and Mathew because He didn't need too. In our text in Ezekiel we read that His ultimate goal is to forgive and restore. Sounds allot like Jesus to me. Maybe the greatest understanding we in the 21st Century could gain is that we serve the same God of the Old Testament and He hasn't changed and He still does judge, get angry and bring consequences on those that blatantly and defiantly sin in the face of God. &nbsp;It's interesting that as we go on to read our New Testament reading in Hebrews we read "the day is coming , says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. ..........I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts, I will be their God and they will be my people."&nbsp;Could it be that the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament, could it be that Jehovah is Jesus? Could it be that this same God, in Old Testament and New Testament has always had the same purpose and goal in mind and that is to bring his people to a place where they would know him, know his ways, follow him in his ways so he could bless them and not have to judge them? Nothing has changed from Old to New Testament. The same sins and disobedience that brought judgment and God's disfavor 4000 years ago are the same sins and disobedience that bring judgement upon our lives in the 21st Century. And what brought blessing and prosperity upon God's people 4000 years ago is still what brings blessing upon people today; and that is, a reverent fear and obedience to God's ways. Christians that are blessed today are the ones that have the understanding that we serve the same God, and what cursed and brought judgement in the Old Testament is the same that will being cursing and judgment today and what brought blessing then is also what will bring blessing today. " I am so glad (phew) I serve the God of the New Testament", anyone who utters those words shows only their ignorance, He is the same God and He was good and merciful then, only wanting relationship with his people and He is good and merciful today, only wanting relationship with us still, " I am the Lord thy God, there is no shadow of turning in me, I am the same yesterday, today and forevermore!"</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</span></font><span class="s3" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></span></mark></a></span></p></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-26071422104478387742026-11-06T06:20:45.112-07:002026-11-06T06:20:45.112-07:00<div><br></div><div><div><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">PSALM 106:2 &amp; 106:7<br></span></font><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp; &nbsp; The Psalmist writes, "who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord!" NLTI dare say, there are some reading this blog that might challenge that!" They would say, "list them, I'm hard pressed to think of one!</span></font></p><div><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Miracles go hand in hand with opportunity. We have our lives so structured and we don't venture out in faith, we PLAY it safe. Well then don't complain you have no miracles. Peter had to step out of the boat to experience a miracle, but don't forget there was a handful of other disciples that stayed in the boat, safe and experienced no miracle! You can’t have it both ways. Christians who venture out in faith are the ones that have the "lists of miracles" to write about.&nbsp;</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;"Does God still do miracles? In your intellect you say, "yes of course", but in your heart what do you say? God does miracle, yes! Does He do miracles for you? Do you encourage others to believe in miracles and now you need a miracle but yet you are having a hard time believing God for a miracle, for yourself. "I believe for others so why can't I believe for me?", people ask. I have a simple answer for that, "you don't believe for others, it's a fallacy is all it is, it's just talk because it DOES'T really matter, because it's not you. True faith causes a believer to Believe God for their own miracle, before believing for another and once we see God do a miracle for us then and only then, can we TRULY believe for someone else. It's backwards to say,&nbsp;"I believe for others but not for myself, it's actually disingenuous.<br><br></span></font></div><div><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Does God still do miracles, of course, question is........is He doing them for you and if not, then why?&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</mark></a></span></p></font></div></div></div></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-85406368359056316242026-11-06T06:18:57.115-07:002026-11-06T06:18:57.115-07:00<div><br></div><div><div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; THE most disobeyed thought that comes to our minds, more often than we would care to admit is, "Don't do it!" How many times have you and I heard that voice and ignored it. When I am angry....I'm not listening to that voice. When I am filled with lust...I am not listening to that voice. When I am filled with "my way"....I am not listening to that voice. When "I'm tired" I'm not listening to that voice. Isn't that dangerous?! In the times when I need to listen to that voice the most, my feelings override every other faculty of the mind. Don't do it! This thought, may even be screaming to some that are reading this blog today. Everything I feel, everything I sense, everything within me (except for that thought) is urging and pressing me to doing this. I'm tired, I'm fed up. I'm tired of being broke, I’m tired of no intimacy with my spouse, I'm tired of not having enough, I'm tired....I'm tired, I'm tired....and yet the answer is the same, Don't do it!!!</span></font></p><span style="display: inline !important; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;People do not rob banks because they are rich. Most people who steal, don't steal because they have plenty, most people who do drugs don't do drugs because they are filled with joy. Most people who get drunk don't get drunk because life is going great. Most men who cheat don't cheat because things are going great at home. In almost ALL cases where we are about to do something we are going to regret, we do them not because things are going well, but because we are in a crisis, but yet, God will always whisper to you, Don't do it! And our answer back to God would be, "why not, why not!" And God's answer would be, "because you are going to regret it, because it will ruin you, because it will be your undoing.” We have to be able to endure hard times, we have to be able to endure suffering. As a good soldier (prisoner of war) is expected not to give in and give up key combatant information, but suffer torture, so is the Christian Soldier expected to suffer and not give in. "Suffer", the Apostle Paul says. "Suffer as a good and faithful soldier". "I'm hungry, I'm tired, I'm broke, I’m being tempted", Paul would say, "suffer through" don't do anything haste,&nbsp;</font></span></div><div><span style="display: inline !important; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3">it will pass. I've lived through some excruciating pain in my life and also lived through some excruciating depression and it would have been nice just to die in those times, but I am glad I didn't because the pain passed, as bad as it was, and the depression broke, as dark as it was. Elijah also cried out to God to let him die, but God did not grant him that request! We must be tough enough to suffer and not take action. Esau reflects the opposite of all I've written.&nbsp;What we think of Esau's Pre-dicament, doesn't matter. In Esau's mind he was desperate and he was tired. Everything within him urged him to get what he was lusting after. Did Esau have that still small voice in the back of his mind saying, Don't do it! Of course he did! Endure for now, suffer through it.....would have been the right thing and why? The reason why is because later he would regret it and later so will you regret it. In the book of Hebrews today we read, &nbsp;“Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done." Remember that word....."afterward". When you go ahead and do, what that still small voice said "not to do", there will always be an afterward that you will have to face and that day will seem and feel worse than the day you felt, you had no choice but "to do it". Our text says "tears" could not change what Esau had done. Regret, could not change what Esau had done. Our text makes it clear, nothing could change the decision Esau made that day. This is why, whenever we hear that voice whispering "don't do it" that we don't. No matter how hard things are, no matter how much we are suffering, we must endure and not do anything haste, especially when we know better because there will always be an afterward, that is filled with tears and regret, but tears and regret, will not change, what you have brought into being, by ignoring, God's still small voice and council. Today, if you are on the edge, you're on the brink, you're tired and ready to react, give in, do something that you know you shouldn't do, take heed to God's voice that speaks in your conscience, "don't do it" if not for the sake of simply obeying God, than at least for your own sake because you will regret it if you do and you will shed tears afterward, but you won't be able to reverse what you've done. Endure for just a little longer, pray a little harder and the cloud will pass, TRUST GOD.</font></span></div></div></div><div><span style="display: inline !important; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><br></font></span></div><div><span style="display: inline !important;"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</font></mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></font></span><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></font></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></font></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></font></span><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></font></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</span></font><span class="s3" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></span></mark></a></span></p></span></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-27145788688289301742026-11-05T06:51:20.005-07:002026-11-05T06:51:20.005-07:00<div><br></div><div><div><div><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp; The Psalmist is reminiscing of the "good 'ol days of old". Nostalgia..."a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact, to a former time in one's life". Beware of nostalgia, it sometimes brings to us good memories of the past but it can also create of false impression of the past and create in our minds and feelings, what never was! Nostalgia also has the ability to create a discontentment for the present, while longing for the past. A song, a smell, certain seasons &amp; smells or deja-vu's can immediately create a sense of nostalgia. If we can appreciate them and move on, that's fine, but if it creates a longing for the past, that's not fine. Beware of nostalgia, it's a slippery slope. It can create utopia's out of what was really a nightmare chapter of our lives. When we were in that chapter of our lives, we couldn't wait to get out, now, we are reminiscing...thinking, "those were the good 'ol days..." were they really? This is the state of mind of the Psalmist, in our reading today, it's a very melancholy state of mind. The Psalmist goes from nostalgia to "do I still have a song in the night to sing" and this is the problem with nostalgia, it creates a discontentment for the present and steals our song away for the present. And let's say for arguments sake, that there is a valid argument that the past was better, then contend for your present and future. Cry out to the God who's promise is that our best years are not to be behind us, but in front of us. Cry out to the God who saves his "best for last". It's not God that has created a life for us that makes us long for our past, it's our decisions. It's the decisions that Israel has made that puts them in this state of melancholy, not God. Longing for our past, for "the days of 'old" not only depresses us but jeopardizes our future. I am not a big fan of nostalgia or melancholy, though I am just as susceptible to them as anybody else. I do and can get caught up in both. I can relate to the Psalmist, but I must shake myself loose of it's grip and quote another Psalm, "oh my soul, why so downcast within me, put your faith and hope in God!". Melancholy is like the food that makes us sick, but we continue to consume, why? We sit around and purposely listen to songs of the past and bring ourselves into this state of mind, why? Why do we poke at a scab, why do we play with a sore tooth with our tongue, why do we agitate an infection, is there a little of a masochist in each of us? I believe the answer to that is yes. Beware of nostalgia, beware of playing and manipulating your emotions, you may find one day, that you are now caught in a state of melancholy and cannot get out. Jesus mentioned over and over in the Gospels, that our portion is "joy" and "that your joy may be full". Some of us, may like to get down, down, down and then get high, high, high....we like the fluctuation of emotions rather than being stoic, but emotions are not to be played with. Are you caught up in nostalgia and melancholy? Shake yourself out of it before you get so low, you cannot get out, "oh my soul, why so downcast within?</span><br></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;"><br></span></span><span style="display: inline !important; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark>Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><mark></mark></span><br></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark>"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><mark></mark></span><br></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark>Visit The Door San Angelo</mark></a></span></p></font></span></font></div><div><p><span face="&quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Trebuchet, sans-serif"><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;</span></font></span></p></div></div></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-76152388575894968922026-11-04T07:19:12.507-07:002026-11-04T07:19:12.507-07:00<div><br></div><div><div><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hebrews 6:1-20</span></font></div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;I go to church, I pray from time to time and on the occasion, pick up my bible. I'm not perfect, but I do&nbsp;abstain&nbsp;from most obvious and premeditated sins. I wonder, is my love for God shown by being faithful in&nbsp;ministry, is it shown by my generous giving, maybe....I can guess and assume on these previous virtues, but here is one that I don't have to guess about, it's plain as can be, "For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers". &nbsp;There it is, in writing, "you have shown your love FOR GOD, by caring for other believers. &nbsp;We lose that vital link with God when we lose our heart for other believers in the church. Every relationship hinges on common bond in that relationship. Two people connect when they have a common idea, sport, hobby or passion that they share and connect on. Many couples divorce when the children have grown and moved out because that couple now realizes they had no other bond between them, other than those children, that are now gone, "what do we have in common now, nothing!" and they divorce. Our connection to Jesus, is our heart, our common bond for his people. Many religious people would attribute their love for God then, by telling us the good and how much they care for their families. This does not impress God that you would care for your own family, you are quite dysfunctional&nbsp;at best, if you don't care for your&nbsp;own family. God does not mince words. Our scripture indicates that we show our great love for Him when we care for "other believers", never mind your family. To illustrate this, Jesus gives us the parable of the Good Samaritan. What's good about the Good Samaritan? We know the answer, "that he cared", but the answer is not that simple, everybody cares, at least most normal people. I'm sure the priest and the Rabbi would have stopped if this was their mother or father on the side of the road. However, it was not and therefore; &nbsp;they did not stop or care. &nbsp;Yes the Good Samaritan cared, but what's more relevant is that he cared for someone that was not part of "his own". In Hebrews today we read that God attributes our love for him but loving other believers. "Give preference to one another" another scripture reads. &nbsp;At the end of this we read a secret to keeping a passion in our relationship with God. &nbsp;Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.&nbsp;12Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent.&nbsp;&nbsp;Christians who become dull are Christians who have no interest in caring for other people in the church. All they do is come out, hear the sermon and rush home, but are disconnected from other believers and are definitely&nbsp;disconnected from&nbsp;caring for other believers in the church.&nbsp;We often hear this comment, "I've lost interest in the Church, not God, but the Church, I just stay home and worship there". &nbsp;Well the truth is, before they lost interest in the church they lost interest in the believers in the church. What do you really have in common with Jesus if you've lost interest in caring for other believers? How do you show your love for God? Any answers you come up with, that our contrary to our scripture today, are meaningless at best; and very deceptive and misleading at worse. We don't have to guess, we don't have to assume or wonder anymore about how we know we love God, it has been laid out for us today, we know we love God when we are actively engaged in the caring for other believers.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</span></font><span class="s3" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></span></mark></a></span></p></div></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-81278352799950133372026-11-02T09:19:17.326-07:002026-11-02T09:19:17.327-07:00<p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">&nbsp; Are you enjoying your Sabbath? We work to rest. If we dismiss the Sabbath as 21st Century Christians, we show our ignorance of the Sabbath. For man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man, Jesus proclaims. The author in Hebrews is alluding to the fact or point, that Heaven is our Sabbath as Christians. Retirement is very much ingrained in the culture of North American Society, it is the ultimate, earthly Sabbath. That God made the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day has been reduced to no more than a Children’s Church story. However it’s meaning and implications, ironically, is meant for Adults, not in anyway was it meant for Children. However it is good to teach our children, that there is a day of Sabbath, a day of rest, even if at times, that means boredom to the child. The Sabbath is meant for us in the same way it was meant for the land. In the 7th year the Israelites were told to give the land rest, to allow it a year of rest to replenish its nutrients. Experts say today the land has been so depleted of it’s nutrients that it is false to think, that we can get by with just eating vegetables because those vegetables do not contain half the vitamins they once contained because the soil has been depleted of all it’s nutrients. And we as humans become the same and you and I have run into the individual who has disregarded the Sabbath; he is a worn out and depleted human being. You can sit there and try to throw your Theology at me and explain to me how the Sabbath is an Old Testament ritual, but call me ignorant if you want, but I see Heaven as New Testament and in Hebrews, the author describes to us, the true Sabbath, that has been prepared for us, the eternal Sabbath and day of rest for God’s people, Heaven!!. We work while it is day because the night cometh when no man can work. We labor now, for the rest that is coming, when that rest does not come or we have no hope of that rest, we become unproductive as citizens and we become equally unproductive as celestial citizens. There is meaning behind the Sabbath on both sides of Eternity. The Sabbath was never meant to become forced or become “a law” Jesus tries to explain to you and I….”listen, the Sabbath was made for you, don’t you get it?Do we get it? Are you run down and ragged, has the soil of your life been depleted of all its nutrients? Two things God gave us to help us in our journey, the Holy Spirit and The Sabbath, amazing how many Christians think, they can get by, without either of them!</span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></p>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-28757593236806473562026-11-01T07:40:02.428-07:002026-11-02T09:19:40.778-07:00<div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">&nbsp; &nbsp;"But the people of&nbsp;</span><st1:country-region style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">&nbsp;are not willing to listen&nbsp;to you because they are not willing to listen to me"&nbsp;</span></div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: 100%;">There's a profound truth here! People that are willing to listen to us are really people that are willing to listen to God. Many people pray and ask for a sign from God, but that's not what they need. I myself once prayed, "God if you're real, cause a falling star to fall...RIGHT NOW!” A falling star didn't fall and I continued in my sinful ways until later on I ran into a Christian who invited me out to church....several times! What if God had gave me my request that night in the park and shown me a falling star, would I have become a&nbsp;believer? Of course not, I would have&nbsp;dismissed&nbsp;it as mere coincidence&nbsp;and&nbsp;gone&nbsp;on in my sin. All we need is the people God sends our way, if we will listen to them then we will listen to God. But the opposite is also true, if we will not listen to them then we will not listen to God either. People are looking for something more than their co-worker, friend and/or family member, inviting them to church and telling them about God. They are looking for God incarnate, they are looking for something big, yet God is speaking to them through this person, ie:&nbsp;Ezekiel. They&nbsp;reject as, "who do you think you are?", "Stop judging me", "God I will listen to, but you're just a man", blah, blah, blah.....it's a facade. Nobody reading this blog was reached by a 10 foot arch angel. Nobody here had Jesus incarnate, take them by the hand to church; it was an Ezekiel for all of us and those that rejected our words, rejected God and those that heard and listened to our words heard and listened to God and are saved and in church today. Next time someone rejects the words God gave you, make sure to let them know, "it's not my words you're rejecting, it's God's!" And walk on your merry way and let them chew on that for a bit.</span><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br /></span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #4363d8;">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: #4363d8;"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></mark></span></span><span style="color: #4363d8;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #4363d8;">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: #4363d8;"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></mark></span></span><span style="color: #4363d8;"><br /></span></p><p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: #4363d8; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: 100%;"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: #4363d8;">Visit The Door San Angelo</font></mark></a></span></p></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-80677300920405964512026-10-31T07:19:33.302-07:002026-10-31T07:19:33.302-07:00<div><br></div><div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I have always wondered about people who claim a peacefulness about dieing. It is not that I don't believe the accounts/stories I have heard, it is just hard to believe. In my opinion, I have always feared death and until this day there is still somewhat of a fear that lurks within. Today's reading helped me feel a little more at ease with my disposition towards death. Our text acknowledges that there is a natural, human tendency to have a fear towards death, so I am normal. Anyone who claims to have no fear of death must be someone who is not being completely honest with you or worse, with&nbsp;themselves. This text in Hebrews is very important concerning death.&nbsp; It is written&nbsp;that one of the&nbsp;<u>pre-requisites</u>&nbsp;for Jesus to be our Saviour was that&nbsp;<strong>He too face (taste)&nbsp;death</strong>.&nbsp; And what was Jesus' response just seconds before he died? "<em>Father, why have you forsaken me</em>" (does that sound like fear?!)</span></font></p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">There was a fear ....however Jesus rebounded (as we all must) and exercised faith, to overcome fear and unbelief and said, "Father I commit my spirit into your hands".&nbsp; There is nothing scarier than a slow death.&nbsp; It is one thing to have a sudden death and be taken without any foreknowledge, but for those that can see their death on the horizon, whether it be by a disease, fatal injury&nbsp;or old age, it is surely a battle of fear and faith.&nbsp; To know that in a moment you will close your eyes and once you do, to know things will never, ever be the same again. You will close your eyes and perhaps never exist again?&nbsp; There's the thought that you will close your eyes and when you awaken you will be in a place of torment for all eternity, never to escape.&nbsp; And of course there is the thought that you will close your eyes and when you awaken you will find yourself in such a beautiful place as Heaven.&nbsp; Jesus had to trust, that as He allowed himself to die (taste death), that it would not be the end for him who had existed since forever, up until that point. He had to "taste" death and read what the text goes on to say.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<em><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-29992">14</sup>&nbsp;Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—&nbsp;<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-29993">15</sup>&nbsp;<strong>and free</strong>&nbsp;those who all their lives were held in slavery by&nbsp;<strong>their fear of death</strong>."&nbsp;</em><br><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</em>Jesus had to experience and face death, head on, himself and so must we! The difference....Jesus was the Pioneer! He was the first to taste death and conquer it!&nbsp; Now, we too, by faith can face death, conquer it&nbsp;and raise from the dead. We have to believe that "death" has no grip on us. A Christian never dies, we simply close our eyes and enter into another dimension, called Eternity. The Christian on his death bed needs to believe, "I will now close my eyes and when I awaken again, I will be ALIVE AGAIN, in Eternity and by Faith...., in Heaven. Because we know, none of us truly deserve Heaven, so we must believe, by faith in God's word, that that is where we will be when our eyes open again.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Unfortunately, the fear that can torment, is that we will open our eyes again and find ourselves in a dark place and never able to reverse that. The fear is that we died deluded, self deceived and that reality hits us when our eyes are opened again. Jesus himself is the one who points out to us that there will be many who die, thinking they were right with God that find themselves in Hell.&nbsp; This is recorded for us in Matthew 7:21, "many, will say to me Lord, Lord, we knew you.....and I (Jesus) will say to them, "depart from me, you workers of iniquity".&nbsp; This is a frightening thought and this is what brings us back to the frightening part of death.&nbsp; That as my hour approaches or as death looms on the horizon of the unknown, the question the Christian must soberly ask himself is, "am I living a self-deluded Christian life?"&nbsp; "Is my walk with God a farce?"&nbsp; "Is it possible that I am deceived by my own self?"&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The difference between us and Jesus is Jesus knew He was&nbsp;<strong>sinless</strong>&nbsp;and we know the opposite, that we are&nbsp;<strong>sinful</strong>!&nbsp; All we know is this, that according to our text today, death is a big issue and there is nothing scarier for a human being to face than that of his own mortality. However, we also know that Jesus has come to break the fear of death in us, which according to scripture, has kept us in slavery. The irony is, that Jesus can only break the fear of death in you if He can break you from your sin. The fear of death is never broken in the life of the Christian that lives with secrets sins.&nbsp; How can the&nbsp;unforgiven, bitter, gossiping, immoral, unclean Christian have the fear of death broken by Jesus? The only way for these types of Christians&nbsp;to have the fear of death broken in their minds is to give themselves over to a deluded/deceived mind.&nbsp; The only way for the reprobate to free himself from this&nbsp;<strong>great fear of death</strong>&nbsp;is simply to dismiss God all together and this allows him to sleep at night and go on living in a deluded state of mind and consciousness.&nbsp; Most of us face our mortality every time we fly.&nbsp; It seems that people become quite sober when flying around in the skies, thousands of feet above the ground and ocean. However, truth is, most people will never die up in the sky, they will die with their feet planted on the ground. They will awaken one morning, not knowing that that day, is their last, no matter how hard they try to be safe, no matter how careful they are, no matter how healthy they are, that morning will be the last time they awaken on earth.&nbsp;<strong>The fear of death is not that "I am going to get old and one day die</strong>" The fear of death is that "<u>I may die tomorrow</u>".&nbsp; The fear of death is that it is actually an "appointed" time already pre-ordained and every day that passes we are that much closer to facing the most critical experience of our lives, and we do not know when it is.&nbsp; Death is the "<em><u>ultimate tease</u></em>" that God has put on humanity!&nbsp; We do not know when it will be but it is a set time, but we can prepare. If you are alive today, reading this blog, you have enough time to prepare. The uncertainty of death is certain and quite unnerving, but the time to prepare, regardless of not knowing the hour, is here, it is now, it is today.&nbsp; Many people go through life, every morning waking up, hoping that today is not the day they will die. They are playing Russian Roulette with their souls and they know it. And this is a sure sign that they are not right with their maker. Perhaps then, we who are living right, should have a peace about death.&nbsp; Their will always be struggles of doubt and faith at times, we may cry out in an instance, "God why have you forsaken me" but like Jesus, we must rebound and counter that with Faith and say, "Lord, you are true to your word, by the blood of Christ I'm not perfect but forgiven and that same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead shall quicken my mortal body and I shall not see decay but see Jesus face to face, into your hands Lord, I commit my spirit".</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</span></span><span class="s3" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></span></mark></a></span></p></font></div></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-78498569447526633812026-10-30T07:05:27.772-07:002026-10-30T07:05:27.772-07:00<div><br></div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Do you love Angels? &nbsp;Apparently, you're not the only one! The writer of Hebrews takes a whole chapter to dismantle, for the Gospel's sake, the worship of Angels. As one man famously quoted, "the more things change they more they remain the same." Here we are, a couple of thousand years later, still having to deal with this issue, of worshiping Angels, in the church. &nbsp;We love Angels, they're beautiful (not sure how we know this?), they have wings, they fly and best of all, they don't judge. God, he's the boss, the mean guy! Angels, just help and do good. People who have a love affair with Angels, often are not that knowledgeable&nbsp;of the Bible.&nbsp;Angels may be beautiful and only there to help, but if you read Revelations, they judge (by God's decree) and kill worse than any villain in Hollywood. The Catholics like to worship Mary and Saints, Christians like to worship Angels. Each religion has their own demi-gods that they set up for themselves, rather than go to God himself. Jesus himself is the mediator between God and man, not Mary, not Saints, and not Angels. "I don't feel comfortable going to Jesus, why can't I just go through Mary, Angels or......". &nbsp;The question is, "why don't you feel comfortable going through Jesus? Why do we avoid authority? &nbsp;Why do we avoid the boss at work, the principle at school, the Pastor at the front door on Sundays?" Normally there is a reason. &nbsp;Santa Clause is a distraction from Jesus on his birth. Easter Bunny is a distraction from Jesus on his Victorious Resurrection and Angels are another distraction from a relationship with the Savior Himself. We used to have a woman that would come out to church we her Angel lapel. She never came out to church without it and always had stories of Angels for us and the little kids. She would get the kids to kiss her Angel lapel. She would also talk to me about Angels and I would politely listen and try, like the author in Hebrews, to play down her worship of Angels and point her towards Jesus. I was never quite successful in that endeavor. I wonder if the author in Hebrews had more success? I once lost my wallet and the person I was with suggested we pray to Saint Antony to help us find it. I asked, "could we also pray to Jesus himself to help us find it, after all, He is God, I think He could probably do a decent job too". &nbsp;The answer was, "well, of course you can, but He may be busy with other stuff, why trouble &nbsp;Him for the small stuff, just pray to Saint Antony, don't' be difficult!" &nbsp;Why trouble Jesus with the small stuff? Well # 1, because He told us to and # 2 because nowhere in the Bible does it mention praying to Saint Antony for lost artifacts. Once again, people who are often distracted by religious decoys are often people who are ignorant of The Word of God. In short, our scripture today is simply telling us to "stop worshiping Angels and putting them in a place of preeminence above our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Not just Angels, but Mary, Saints, Santa, Easter Bunny and whatever else we are lured into to draw us away from the one that the Holy Spirit is trying to lure us to, each and every day and that is Jesus, a name above all names, our mediator, our lawyer, our defender, a friend that sticks closer than a brother, a father to the fatherless, a comforter to the widow, the healer of the broken heart, HE IS the one we should go to, there is no other and if there was, there would still be no better, than Jesus, to go to in our time of need, affliction, distress and/or comfort. "Come to me, all you that are heavy burdened down" &nbsp;Come to me, Jesus says, not a decoy, not an idol, not a lessor god, false god or Mary, Saint or Angel, but COME TO ME!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</font></mark></a></span></p></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-14792808534020018222026-10-29T18:12:29.422-07:002026-10-29T18:12:29.422-07:00<div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;">The scripture in Lamentations today makes me think of how ironic it is, that we so desperately want to know our future, but then again, we give no thought to our future, it's a complete contradiction of who we are. And this is who we are, as people, we constantly contradict ourselves. We say "this is what I want" but then turn around and do actions that are in complete contrast to what we said the previous day....</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;">.&nbsp;</span><i style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium;">She defiled herself with immorality and gave no thought to her future. Now she lies in the gutter with no one to lift her out.&nbsp;</i><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;">&nbsp;She gave NO THOUGHT to her future. All we think about is our future, but this text says, "she gave no thought to her future", so which is it? Do we think about our future or do we not think about our future. It's both! All we think about is our future "in our thoughts" but we never think about the future "in our decisions/actions"; our decisions, contradict our thoughts. If we are so concerned about our future, that we are willing to go to some fortune teller and pay; then why don't we make better decisions about the future? We are now living in the future, of decisions we made 1,2,3 or 5 years ago.&nbsp;</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;">&nbsp;</span><i style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Now she lies in the gutter with no one to lift her out.&nbsp;</i><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;">&nbsp;</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;">No doubt she is not happy at this point in her life, but she is living in the future, she is living out, suffering, from bad decisions, way back when, when she gave no thought of the future. Okay, we don't want to dwell in the past, we can't change decisions we made years ago, but we can, today, start thinking about the future. If I make this decision today, how will that work out a year from now? If we are so concerned with our future, why not today start making decisions that will benefit us, or at least, not hurt us, a year from now?!</span><br></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;"><br></span></div><div><span style="display: inline !important;"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</font></mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></font></span><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></font></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></font></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></font></span><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></font></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</span></font><span class="s3" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></span></mark></a></span></p></span></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-62433369303048425762026-10-28T14:48:02.000-07:002026-10-28T14:48:02.497-07:00<div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;">&nbsp; &nbsp;It's very interesting, Isaiah predicts the rise of Babylon when they are insignificant nobodies, it is hardly believable that Babylon is ever going to rise to any stage of great prominence, never mind, defeat Israel and take them all in captive to be their slaves. Yet that's exactly what happened. Now we have Jeremiah, when Babylon IS the greatest force on&nbsp;</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); display: inline !important;">the earth predicting that they will be reduced to nothing, they will be something to be laughed at and mocked, this is also hardly believable, especially as he predicts this while they are great. Yet, approx 65-70 years later, the Medes and Persians come in and completely destroy Babylon, the Great. Isaiah predicts their greatness when they are nothing and he (Jeremiah) predicts their fall when they are great. The boldness of these predictions......these prophecies will either prove him to be true a Prophet or a false prophet! History (don't even have to use the Bible) proves both these Prophecies to be 100% accurate. Not only in their predictions of the events to come but also in the time they would come. The atheist will say, "the bible is just a book written by men" (and that it is) ..it's a book written by men alright, about 40 different men,</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 19px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); display: inline !important;">&nbsp;contains 66 books, written over a span of 1,600 years, in three languages, across three continents—yet it unfolds one great story of God’s redemption and is perfectly cohesive. Written by&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); display: inline !important;">&nbsp;men that never knew each other, but yet all their predictions and prophecies fall into perfect alignment. Just like you can tell the earth a divine creator, so can you tell the Bible has been sown together by a divine creator. We can't even predict the weather or the stock market, but yet these men predicted the rise and fall of Kingdoms and predicted when it would happen. Coincidence is the god of the atheist. Anything they can't explain they dismiss as coincidence or " I don't know". The atheist needs faith in faith itself, which actually makes no sense, to believe what they believe, the Christian must have faith in God to believe what they believe. The atheist relies on non-nonsensical talking points in all their arguments, we Christians have History on our side. It's History that proves the Bible to be true, not Christians. Any Historian will tell you, one of the greatest tools over the centuries in studying history, has been the Bible. It is pinpoint accurate as far as dates, leaders &amp; nations, rising and falling. The characters in the Bible are real life characters that can be traced right through even secular history books. The only person who dismisses the Bible as a man made book, is only the man who is ignorant and has never read it through from cover to cover.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;"><br></span></div><div><span style="display: inline !important;"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</font></mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></font></span><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></font></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></font></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></font></span><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></font></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</span></font><span class="s3" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></span></mark></a></span></p></span></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-19624131233521192382026-10-27T06:36:29.353-07:002026-10-27T06:36:29.353-07:00<div><br></div><div><div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Paul in our text is breaking down Christian and ethical behavior in 4 categories. He's breaking it down for Men, Women &amp; Children &amp; Servants. There is variation in what he writes to all 4, but one common virtue Paul brings up in all 4 scenarios, the "only" virtue he brings up to all 4 parties is that of "Self Control". I think it is easier to understand that word if you say it backwards...<b>Control Self</b>, or even more specifically,&nbsp;<b>Control yourself</b>! Is this such a big issue with us? Do we not control ourselves? I know I control my bladder, it would be severely embarrassing to me to be with friends and have an "accident". I don't think they would look at me with much empathy but they probably would look at me with much sympathy, sympathy for what a sorry sucker I am that I cannot control my own bladder at my age. There are other areas that I am not so flawless at exercising self control. I have never, not once had a bladder accident, not once! I am quite "powerful" in this area of self control and so are you!!! Why is it then that in other areas we do not have such a perfect track record, we are not so strong? Have you ever lacked self control in the area of purity? Have you ever lacked self control in the area of temper? Have you ever lacked self-control in the area of your tongue, your eyes, your mind, your hands/fists? I will not pee on myself in front of others but for some reason I will lash out with my mouth in front of others. Do I somehow think that I have made less of a fool of myself because it was only my mouth I let loose? Well in some ways we may be correct in thinking that. And why is that? The reason is because it's a cultural norm to lack self control of the tongue/mouth, but it is not a cultural norm to lack self control over your bladder. Imagine how different we would be if people frowned at the lack of self-control over your mouth as much as they would the lack of self-control over your bladder. Do you think we would refrain more often from temper tantrums, do you think we would refrain more often from mouthing off, of course we would. And why would we? Because, truth be known, we do have the power to exercise self-control if we truly want to. This is why Paul doesn't say, "if you can, please do your best to exercise self-control", but rather Paul simply says, "just do it".</span></font></p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;">We are truly a mess when it comes to this word, this virtue, this fruit of the Spirit, called "Self-Control". Even Preachers do not have a grasp on this, as they should, how much more so the congregation members and your average day to day Christian. We fail miserably in the area of self-control, don't we! At the end of the day, all we have to say is, "I shouldn't have said that, I shouldn't have ate that, I shouldn't have hit him, I shouldn't have looked at that, I shouldn't have lost my temper, I shouldn't have gone through that light, I shouldn't have drank so much, I shouldn't have had that second helping, I shouldn't have ....I shouldn't have.....</span><br><span style="display: inline !important;">Self-Control is tied to our will. It is "our will" that determines our self control. And "our will" is motivated by "self", so this is a combination destined to fail, unless someone or something, ie: The Holy Spirit, gets involved. If it will make us look bad (by cultural norms) we will go to great lengths to exercise self-control, but if we are not concerned about how we may look or appear, self-control goes out the window. Self-Control is like a muscle, the more it is exercised the stronger it gets. Every time we make a stand and say "no, I will not" our self-control is reinforced, re-calibrated with a greater strength. The same is also true that every time "we give in" we weaken our will to overcome and in so doing we weaken our self-control. Christians who have more self-control than others are not simply Christians who prayed, "God I want more self-control" (don't we all) they are Christians who one decision at a time, one day at a time, began saying "no, I will not" and actually did not cave in. They are Christians that do not function by "cultural norms" but by "Kingdom norms ".</span><br><span style="display: inline !important;">I wish I had self-control like you" is the greatest cop-out any Christian can ever utter, as if some are more gifted with it than others (I hope you didn't think that). THE LIE is that true happiness will come from gratification, that true happiness comes from not restraining yourself, but it is a HUGE LIE and we are not dumb for falling for it once or twice, but we are dumb as dirt for falling for it over and over again through out the course of our lives. Has "self gratification" ever turned out to be good, when you instinctively sensed it was wrong but refused to exercise self-control. Did you ever eat to the point that you were bloated and felt sick and then thought... "gee, that was good, I feel great about that". There was a time when gluttony was frowned upon and thought to be a sin (according to the bible, it still is). "And why was that?" you may ask...well simply said, because it showed a lack of self-control, which was expected by the Christian who claimed to be indwelt, by the Holy Spirit.</span><br><span style="display: inline !important;">The classic case of a man that lacks self-control, is the man that is out of work (because he can't keep his mouth shut), he is grossly overweight (because he cannot say no or enough), he is divorced because he refuses to deny his eyes and he is bound in pornography because he refuses to control his mind (all areas where we can exercise self-control, if we choose to). Perhaps what we need to do is change our mindset, don't think "is this culturally acceptable" but rather think, "is this acceptable in the sight of God" "Would I be embarrassed to behave or do this in front of God? Would I be embarrassed to do this in front of a host of Angels? Than that is the "cultural norm &amp; acceptable behavior" that we need be concerned about. In some areas of the middle east, rape is a cultural norm (clearly a lack of self-control on the man's part, sinfully so) but yet there is no shame because it is a cultural norm. So if we allow our deteriorating culture to dictate to us what is "normal" we will get to a place where self-control is a lost virtue. "Where do I need to begin exercising self-control?" Look in your bible, it is clearly outlined and best of all, it is timeless. Once you know which areas to exercise self-control in, you don't have to look back, no matter where you move, what country you live in, how much time passes, it remains the same.</span><br><span style="display: inline !important;">Self-Control is not a dirty word, it is a fantastic word and a great virtue to have. It is not bought, nor does it come by prayer (although that would be a starting place) but it is available to all and it starts the moment you are done reading this blog. It can be attained and you will have an opportunity to begin attaining it in just a moment or two and it is a virtue that Paul writes, is a virtue that the man, the woman and the child must possess if he or she is going to walk the Christian walk and not profane the name of Christ.</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;"><br></span></span><span style="display: inline !important; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark>Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><mark></mark></span><br></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark>"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><mark></mark></span><br></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark>Visit The Door San Angelo<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p></font></span><div><span style="display: inline !important;"><br></span></div></font></div></div></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-73129245273687570322026-10-26T06:04:33.741-07:002026-10-26T06:04:33.741-07:00<div><br></div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The heading in most Bibles for Ephesians 4 "Christian Living". &nbsp;Ephesians 4 &amp; 5 are the basic manuals for Christian etiquette. The antagonist of the Church, ironically enough, is not necessarily the Devil, though he is one, but it is also you and I. &nbsp;We by nature try to drag the church down to are level, rather than rise up to the standard Christ has set before us. This constant tension between what our flesh craves for and what the Holy Spirit desires. Any Pastor on any given Sunday could preach on this text and have the altars full. "Don't be bitter, don't fight, stop lusting, stop lying, let go of the anger, don't grieve the Holy Spirit" We can so easily be reduced to our base instinct, our base nature. So often we hear Christians say, "oh, they are so lucky I'm a Christian, or I would....." This only confirms that for many of us, as Voltaire, the French philosopher and acclaimed atheist wrote, "scratch the service of a Christian and you will find an infidel". Is our Christianity really only surface deep, as Voltaire suggests? Are we just a bunch of shiny, glistening phonies until someone rubs us wrong, then who we really are is going to come out? Paul is not writing to the church at Ephesus on how to conduct themselves as Christians because they are, he is writing to the church at Ephesus on how to conduct themselves as Christians because they are acting and re-acting like a bunch of heathens. Are we thin surfaced Christians or do we have something that runs deep through the corps of our being? Jesus’ promise was "out of you will stream rivers of living water". The ideal of God is not surface Christianity but rather something that runs deeper to our corps, to our being. Then when someone "slaps us' we turn the other cheek, not because the scripture has told us, but because it has become who we are, it has become our new nature in Christ.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</font></mark></a></span></p></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-24685410508398921982026-10-25T14:36:18.677-07:002026-10-25T14:36:18.677-07:00<div><br></div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;&nbsp;I would much prefer not to talk about this, I would much rather not have to deal with this, this is messy stuff. If I wanted to be involved in politics and messy stuff, then I would get involved in that. I stay clear of politics, I stay clear of conflict, I just want to be a Christian, go to church and be happy. Paul today is writing about rebuking people, setting them straight, confronting supposed Christians, challenging people who are teaching false doctrine, people rejecting the truth and coming up with lies, I just want to ask Paul, "are you trying to discourage me from The Church or encourage me?". Reading about this discourages me, reading about this reminds me of when people say, 'the reason I don't go to church is because of all the problems in the church". There really is an ugly side of ministry, isn't there?! It's been like this since the beginning of the church, apparently. So what do we do then? What we do is keep going to church, keep serving in ministry and try to make it as beautiful as you can, just like you would with anything else that can look ugly. Everything that is beautiful has an ugly side. Family can be quite ugly at times, but we forge through, and more often than not, especially during Holidays, we are glad for them, and if not then, then for sure when we are older. Studies show that in most situations where a Pastor was driven from a Church, it was not a majority of the church that was involved in that, studies found in most instances it was less than 6 members of a church, that caused them to quite or drove them away. That's quite surprising statistic to most people, but I would have to conquer, that in my experience, I would have to agree with those findings and so does God's Word. In Proverbs we read, that a little fly spoils all the wonderful smell of the ointment and Solomon writes, "it's the little foxes that ruin the vine". How true that is, who knows who Paul is talking about in our Epistle today, my guess is, it's not a vast majority, but according to research and according to The Word of God, it's just a small handful of people, ruining it for everyone. If ministry has an ugly side to it, it's simply because of the people that are involved in it. And the problem is, the good people go, the good people get fed up and leave and that only makes matters worse. If ministry has an ugly side to it, then it is our duty, we that are not contributing to its ugliness, to remain and change the landscape of that ministry, change the environment to be a more uplifting one, more joyful, more pleasant to be part of. If there's an ugly side to ministry, the question to ask ourselves, "is what side are we on?"</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</font></mark></a></span></p></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-51992850914761146122026-10-24T07:01:09.602-07:002026-10-24T07:01:09.602-07:00<div><br></div><div><p><span face="&quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Trebuchet, sans-serif"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I was reading Proverbs today with a little trepidation. Thinking, "I hope I'm not a fool?". &nbsp;What a negative discourse this is. If the first four books of the New Testament are called "The Gospels" ie: Good News, what would we call Proverbs 26? &nbsp;As you are reading through this proverb, you don't get the sense that there is much hope for a fool. It's sad because I know a few fools and so do you! Not only does it pretty accurately describe a fool, it also describes or alludes as to how we may try to work with a fool and you know what, I have tried them all and true to this proverb, the results have been as stated in the scripture. Let's look at the idea of "honoring a fool". Verse 8 deals with that. You may ask "who would honor a fool?", I have! &nbsp;And obviously others have too; otherwise it would not be addressed in our text. I honored a fool in hopes that in honoring them, it would encourage them to change and just like it says, it came right back to hit me in the face! I have trusted a fool with responsibility, I have tried to trust work to a fool and it has always back fired. It's interesting that a whole proverb on "a fool" takes on the subject of laziness too. As if the author is now going to pick on somebody else. However, the author is not picking on somebody else, the fool and the lazy person are one and the same! And as I keep reading, now a few more people come to mind and I am even more discouraged. For some, they are reading this proverb and thinking of a son, a daughter, a parent, a brother, a husband, a wife, a friend.....people we all love so much, but they are "fools" and as we read Proverbs 26, all we can think about, is them and how tragic it is. A foolish toddler affects nobody else but himself, but a foolish adult affects all those around him. We are the ones being called, we are the ones having to show up at the police station, we are the ones having to bail him or her out, we are the ones having to go pick up their children, we are the ones having to make room for them in our homes, we are the ones having to lend or should I say, give them our money, our car our time and to what ends? It never seems to payoff. If we invest in a fool, we get a fools return on our investment. Proverbs 26 is clear, there is no hope for a fool. Of course this proverb doesn't talk about the hope of change through Salvation in Jesus Christ, but then again, the New Testament adds to this, "that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is foolishness to them that are perishing". And so yes, let me add to your discouragement, to say that the fool is also a perishing soul. That's probably the saddest part. The fool lives a miserable life here on earth, often hates God or gets to a place where he dismisses God all together (the fool says in his heart this is no God) and then when he/she dies, they perish into everlasting judgement, to make matters worse. Maybe you are reading this today, by some miracle and you are that fool! Well there is "good news" that as long as you're still breathing, there's hope for you to change! "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation". &nbsp;If you are reading this today and you realize you once "used to be" that fool, but by the Grace of God, by a miracle you changed....I wouldn't let a day go by, that you don't thank God for that. Don't EVER take it for granted that you are not a fool, keep in your mind and heart the idea, next time you see the fool,&nbsp;<b>there go I;&nbsp;</b><u>except for and by.......the Grace of God!</u></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><u><br></u></span></font></font></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</mark></a></span></p><p><span face="&quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Trebuchet, sans-serif"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span><div><u><br></u></div></font></span><span face="&quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Trebuchet, sans-serif"><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"></font></span></p></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-65954050320874538972026-10-23T07:17:23.034-07:002026-10-23T07:17:23.034-07:00<div><br></div><div><div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;Wow, I wish I felt like that in the morning! Somebody has had way too much Java this morning. "It is good to give thanks to the lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp, and the melody of a lyre. You thrill me,Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done." Somebody got off to a good start this morning, was it you? We're waking up tired, very tired. We're thinking about that dead end job we have to go to everyday, wishing we would win the lottery so we could quit, oh but we don't play the lottery, great, then we'll never get out of that dead end job. We still don't know how the rent is going to get paid, who's going to be able to fix the car, how our daughter is going to get out of this crazy relationship, how you’re going to deal with your husband being laid off, etc..etc…and then we open our bible and read about this man who seems to have so much joy and victory in his life. He seems to have so much joy and contentment in his relationship with God. What is wrong with me? Maybe I need another cup of coffee, oh never mind, I'm going to be late for work.....Through out the day I will think about what I read this morning and wonder, "am I missing something? Why is my walk with God nothing compared to what I read this morning?</span></font></p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I am not in any way thinking of turning from my faith or my church. I love my church and I am glad I’m a Christian, but this morning, to be honest, I just can't relate to this man's abounding joy and thrill to be a Christian and thrilled with what God is doing". I don't know if this is in the bible to encourage me or discourage me? And at night.....I am so tired I can barely remember to take off my shoes before I hit the sack. Last thing I'm going to do is sit there and ponder on God's faithfulness, it is all I can do to utter a quick "thank-you Lord for getting me through this day" and then it's lights out! Maybe if I didn't work so hard, maybe if I didn't have to run the kids all over the place, pay bills, go to meetings, school events, work events and now our church just announced a week long revival, oh yippee yay! That means more laundry piling up, more late nights, getting the kids to bed late or staying up trying to get homework finished and falling that much further behind. I wonder if Christians were meant not to work and just sit at home all day, be well rested and meditate on the things of God and how good He is? I don't think so because His Word says, "if a man will not work then let him not eat". So I must work, juggle life and still some how, masterfully figure out how to find time &amp; energy to be as in love and appreciative of my Savior as the writer of our Psalm today. Is it possible, really?! When these words were penned had God ever thought of the life the 21st Century Christian would be living? Wednesday night I sat in church with one eye open and one eye closed, and then switched to the other eye, hoping the preacher would not notice if I had at least one eye open. Sunday night services are becoming more of a chore as I think of all I need to get done before Monday and how much more, I'd rather be sitting at home, in my pajamas with my feet up on the couch. Am I evil, am I not saved? I don't think so, I don't feel evil, I think I'm saved. I agree with everything that I read today and I would say, "yes and amen" God is good and great and He does have unfailing love, I just don't know if it would be that early in the morning or that late at night that I would express that, but somewhere in between the madness of life, I must find time to reflect on my God and how good He is!</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="display: inline !important;"><br></span></span><span style="display: inline !important; color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><mark></mark></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><mark></mark></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Visit The Door San Angelo</mark></a></span></p></span><div><span style="display: inline !important;"><br></span></div></font></div></div></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-34886731712738728002026-10-22T07:02:31.112-07:002026-10-22T07:02:31.112-07:00<div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;">Certainly, many of life's tragedies we are not going to get an explanation on. We will have to wait until we get on the other side of eternity before we can any reasonable explanation. Right now, all we can do is grieve and maintain our faith in God, when it seems hard, in the midst of tragedy. The end of the story that we read today is that Gedaliah is murdered and the rest of the Jews that are with him are slaughtered. First question we are going to ask is going to be, "where was God?", not "why did Ishmael do such a wicked thing?" No, the 1st question is always, "where was God?" However this is one story that we do get privy insight into, unlike most other tragedies, in this story we get to see the whole story unfold. It starts with a solemn warning to Gedaliah. Johanan is able to find out (now how was Johanan able to find out except by divine orchestration or you can say "coincidence" but I won't). So Johanan is able to find out, by divine orchestration that there is going to be an attempt to assassinate Gedaliah. "Phew, that's a good thing, a tragedy averted, Gedaliah won't be assassinated and the Jews that are with him will not be murdered and all thrown into a cistern. Thank-you Jesus! Isn't God good!!! Oh wait, that's not how it goes.....Gedaliah doesn't listen to the warning, proceeds in his stubbornness and perhaps a bit of arrogance (nothing can touch me I'm God's leader and child) and the tragedy, that God was trying to avert, comes to pass, regardless and instead of everyone shouting "praise God, He is good!" They are shouting, "where was God!!" We don't have answers and explanations into every tragedy that happens in life, but our reading today does give us insight that perhaps, many tragedies in life, God did try to prevent but it was a stubborn, perhaps arrogant or prideful person that caused the tragedy NOT to be averted and what we have in the end, is not people praising God, but cursing, accusing Him and shouting "where's God!"</span><br></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; display: inline !important;"><br></span></div><div><span style="display: inline !important;"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</font></mark></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></font></span><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></font></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></font></mark></a></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark></mark></span></font></span><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></font></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</span></font><span class="s3" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></span></mark></a></span></p></span></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-44258920923120085812026-10-21T06:39:57.004-07:002026-10-21T06:39:57.004-07:00<div><br></div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;This is only proof to me, for what I've often thought was the case; and that is, often we don’t offer the same common courtesies to one another, that we often offer to those whom we are not even that close with. Why is that? Is it because we take each other for granted? What Paul is saying almost doesn't make sense, “if the masters are believers that is no excuse for being disrespectful….they should work “all the harder” because their masters are believers” I definitely would agree with that. How about you? Why is it that sometimes are poorest performance is what we do for one another or what we do for the church. Often someone has to come in behind the previous person and re-do what that person did because it was done with such a poor effort. We are short with each other, rude and inconsiderate. Paul notices this, he realizes that sometimes the fact that we are dealing with another Christian will not bring the best out of us, but the worse. If we were dealing with a sinner or somebody “outside the church” we would do our best to make sure we behaved, kept a smile on our face and made sure we behaved the way we know we should be, as a Christian, lest that person call us out. However when we are simply around family, when we are just around the same people we see every Sunday, (Wednesday) we tend to just be lax and unrestrained in our behavior. This catches Paul’s attention and he says it should be the opposite. If anything, when we are dealing with each other, as fellow believers we should be even more respectful towards one another, we should try even harder to please one another, not less! Basically what Paul is saying, “is things are totally backwards here!” We treat people of the world better than we treat those in our own house; both our house at home and the house of God. One son told his father, “dad I wish I was a sinner”. His father answered, “son, why in the world would you say something like that!” His son replied, “because you’ll do anything for a sinner, but not for me!” And how true that is! The bible clearly states that we, “of the House of God” ought to give each other preferential treatment. Yes we need to be there for the world, but even before that, we need to be there for each other, above all else. People miss the days when they first came in to the church because that’s when they felt loved. People say the only time anyone ever calls is when they stop coming to church and then it’s too late. The truth is, we do take each other for granted and we do often treat the ones closest to us, the worse. Paul warns us, God is warning us, “don’t’ think you can just “be you”, let you guard down and disrespect someone, just because they are a Christian. Paul says, if anything, you should be even more respectful and make that much more of an effort, because they are a fellow believer.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</span></font><span class="s3" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></span></mark></a></span></p></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-1379376112771951112026-10-20T06:24:10.497-07:002026-10-20T06:24:10.497-07:00<div><br></div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;We know Jeremiah as The Prophet, but we don’t know Jeremiah, as The Trickster! Jeremiah is entering into some under cover work here, for God. Jeremiah is being used by God to try to trick this good folks into drinking some wine. These believers really have something solid working in their lives that we would be wise to envy and want for ourselves and our families. This is my personnel opinion, but who cares about my personnel opinion. What’s even more note worthy, is that this is God’s opinion too! Can you imagine yourself sitting in the presence of the great prophet Jeremiah and he says, “come now, sit and have a cup of wine”.&nbsp; Unless Jeremiah is acting very odd or suspicious, I would think, “this must be okay” after all, Jeremiah is a man of God if there ever was. If Jeremiah says, it’s okay, let’s drink up!! These people, the Recabites have an amazing ability to not allow themselves to be influenced by others, no matter how much clout or status, those people have or in this case, this individual. A wife or husband falls because their spouse falls, congregation members fall because their pastor falls, children stray when their parents become lukewarm or turn against their faith. In each of these situations, someone fell; someone stumbled because of the influence of another. It is tragic when someone falls because someone they looked up to fell or influenced them to&nbsp; stumble. Even Jesus brings this up in the Gospels, “<i>woe unto those that cause one of these little ones to stumble, for it would be better for them if they hung a millstone around their necks….”</i>&nbsp;We should not take lightly being a stumbling block to anybody. And while we must be cautious not to be a stumbling block we must also make sure that we don’t allow anybody, no matter who they are, what reputation they have, to be a stumbling block for us. This is what God praises and commends about the Recabites. God understands the influence and name that Jeremiah has, but yet, even under Jeremiah, these people, respectfully decline. And how does God respond to that? “This is what the&nbsp;lord&nbsp;of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go and say to the people in Judah and Jerusalem, ‘Come and learn a lesson about how to obey me.The Recabites do not drink wine to this day because their ancestor Jehonadab told them not to. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you refuse to obey me. Time after time I sent you prophets, who told you, “Turn from your wicked ways, and start doing things right. Stop worshiping other gods so that you might live in peace here in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you would not listen to me or obey me. God is contrasting how one group is not only not being told by God what to do, obeys, even with the influence of Jeremiah, they don’t compromise; and yet the other group who is constantly being told by God, what to do, &nbsp;still won’t obey? This contrast of Christians still exists today. There are those that will receive endless counsel, direction and words spoken to them over and over again, yet still do not obey and then you have other Christians, that don’t constantly receive words, have had numerous Godly examples in their life fall and disappoint them, yet they go on to obey God, nonetheless. I believe God sees this and applauds them, praises them as much as He did the family of the Recabites. Every one of us has the opportunity to be the Recabites. If you are a parent, you have the opportunity to set this kind of example for your children. A Christian family that is not swayed by public opinion, is not swayed by who’s falling, who’s compromising and who’s not, but that you as a parent would display to your children an obedience and faithfulness to God that is unwavering.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</span></font><span class="s3" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"></span></mark></a></span></p></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116623479853745951.post-44659599804509430102026-10-19T07:03:16.563-07:002026-10-19T07:03:16.563-07:00<div><br></div><div><p><font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's nothing wrong with being moved by emotion and then making pledges, promises or commitments based off of that. Is it possible that we could be manipulated by others, of course, there's always that chance. Are some people mentally or emotionally week and very susceptible to people with strong personalities, of course, that's where we get cults from. You have one strong, charismatic, type-A personality who preys and draws upon the weaker to follow him by his manipulation. So now that we got all that out of the way, for the rest of us, that are able to guard ourselves, and make sensible decisions, while being moved with emotion, we have an obligation to follow through on those. Even more so when we have been moved upon to "do good" and we do it not. For one reason or another, the people make a decision to release the Hebrew slaves and not for no apparent reason either. God had established the year of Jubilee, where all slaves and debts were released. Bankruptcy Courts still follow this rule today! The slaves had not been released as prescribed by the law, they are convicted, agree to release the slaves, but then renege on their promise and God is quite perturbed over the whole affair. Why did they go back on their promise, do you think? The answer is obvious, that their good deed, the right decision, the moral thing to do, not actually to play out in "real time" and cost them. Often we renege on good and moral decisions we have made, when it begins to cost us,...and all God's people said...AMEN! It starts with Salvation and continues from there. Many are moved to give their lives to Christ, to surrender all, to give up their sin.......until.....it begins to cost them, then they renege. Then they say, "oh it was just a low point in my life", "oh, I was just manipulated by the Preacher". No, it was none of those, the truth is you, we, were moved "yes by emotion" but it was to do a good thing and there was no manipulation involved, it is simply when the cost began to play out in your life, you reneged on that promise. We don't hear God speak often do we! We make promises everyday day, week, month and year, to God, and half the time don't follow through. Do we hear any displeasure from God, does lightning strike us.....of course not. So we go on with our merry lives thinking "it's no big deal". Our story reveals to us that it is a big deal. God's not speaking audibly today because He has already said all He has to say, in His Word, if we will just take the time to read. And over and over in His Word, it is stated, "better not to make a vow to God, then to make it and then not follow through". It's never too late to go back and follow through or to re-commit to a promise, a pledge, or commitment you made to God. &nbsp;I guarantee if you do, you will sleep a lot better tonight and have a much better experience next time your Worship God in church. Guilt is a nasty burden to carry, but it is a good thing, if we respond to it!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Richard P. Swift is Pastor of The Door San Angelo and author of the bestselling devotional, The One Year Bible Devotional.</mark></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-Devotional/dp/1387111663"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">"Read The One Year Bible Devotional on Amazon"<span class="s3"></span></mark></a></span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0)"></mark></span></span><span style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"><br></span></p><p><font face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: rgb(67, 99, 216);"> </span></font></p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.thedoorsanangelo.com/"><mark style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="sans-serif" size="3" style="color: rgb(67, 99, 216);">Visit The Door San Angelo</font></mark></a></span></p></div>Richard P Swifthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06089949908368863961noreply@blogger.com0