Develop Good Habits

Develop Good Habits “He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.” Luke 4:16 Great men have great habits, just as Jesus did in the scripture above, as this was His custom to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. A well known billionaire has a habit of arriving at his office at 7:00 a.m. each morning, and working until 6:00 p.m. each day. Recently a best-selling novelist who has sold over one million books said, “I get up at the same time each morning. I start writing at 8:00 a.m. and I quit at 4:00 each afternoon. I do it every day. It is a habit.” When we get into a habit of doing something on a daily basis it becomes easier and easier to do. Many of the Biblical leaders had habits. Daniel prayed three times a day. The psalmist prayed seven times daily. The disciples of Jesus met on the first day of each week. This was just part of their daily routine, and these habits thus became a part of their lives. Do you have any daily habits that encourage you to become a better person, and have a closer relationship with Christ Jesus? Why not develop a habit of studying God’s word for thirty minutes each day, or developing a habit of spending time in prayer each morning and at night? These are habits that once you begin will become easier and easier to do, and ones that will bring you to a closer relationship with God. Good habits will lead to good things happening in your life, and will lead to success. However bad habits can lead you down the wrong path and lead to failure. I would encourage each of you to look at your daily habits, and see if they are habits that God would approve of. It is not too late to begin forming habits that will be uplifting and help you succeed in following God’s plan for you. My Daily Devotional Volume III June 6 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Use Your Words Wisely

Use Your Words Wisely “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37 We have all heard the old saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” This old saying is not true however, as words can do as much damage to others as any physical violence could ever do. I had a severe speech problem as I was growing up, and I can recall the hurt and pain that other children caused me during the times that I stuttered. Although many times people do not know the damage that their words do to others, I believe it is important to choose our words carefully as not to offend and hurt someone. I am probably more sensitive to my use of words because of my own personal situation; however it is easy to say things that can hurt others as many times we speak without thinking. Words have started wars, they have destroyed friendships and they have destroyed marriages and families. Words can do damage that can carry over from one generation to another. The scripture above tells us that one day we will be judged for every careless word we have spoken, and this should be an encouragement for us to think before we speak. The words that come from our mouth originates in our hearts, and if our hearts are clean our words will show love, encouragement, joy, happiness and our true character. Our words are like money, as they should be accounted for and not spent unwisely. We need to ask God to give us the understanding and wisdom to cleanse our hearts of any bitterness, anger and malice, and let our tongues show our true character, and let our words be a blessing to others. My Daily Devotional Volume III June 5 Robert William Brock, Jr

Show Your True Character

Show Your True Character ”Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7 This is a scripture by David telling us that no one can hide from the watchful eyes of God. When I see the character of so many people that put on a good face in public, I think about what they are really like in their private lives. I believe that our true character is shown when no one is looking. God knows what we are like in public and also when we are alone, as there is no hiding our true character from God. Our true character is found not in our words, not in our outward appearance to others but is found in the way we live. When we put on a show to impress others and are different in our hearts, and in our private life we are deceiving others and also deceiving ourselves. God knows and sees us at all times, as we cannot flee from His presence. We need our words, our actions and also our heart to be pleasing to God at all times. So many people have allowed themselves and their character to diminish to the point that they only want to please themselves and have no thought of pleasing God. They get caught up in “wanting to do what they want to do,” instead of doing what God tells them to do. If your thoughts, words and actions are things that you feel guilty about, and would not be pleasing to God, you are probably headed down the wrong path. I would encourage each of you to think about yourself, and consider if you would be comfortable with your words, your thoughts and your actions if God was beside you. If there is any doubt in your mind you are probably walking in secret sin, but God knows all about you, and these hidden secrets. There is no escaping His watchful eye. It is not too late to change, and become a person of true character, one who is not ashamed in front of men and also in the presence of God. My Daily Devotional Volume III June 4 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Be Patient

Be Patient “A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 19:11 Our generation is an impatient generation, as fast foods, microwave ovens and crowded freeways reflect this philosophy. We can see the impatient mindset almost everywhere we look, as people do not want to wait for anything, but want it now. We need to realize that most things take time and that when we try to rush things, we find that is when most mistakes happen. Most businesses fail because of lack of preparation and time. Even our great nation took years to become an independent nation. Jesus was patient and waited for thirty years becoming prepared for His ministry. Life is a marathon, not a fifty yard dash and takes time and patience to finish it. Our society needs to slow down and take time to prepare ourselves for the future. I have found that patience is a weapon that we can use so much through our lives when we have control over it. I have seen by experience that usually the side that wins in union negotiations is the one that has the most patience. Whoever is the most hurried and impatient usually ends up with the worst end of the deal. We need to take time to do things right. A good example of patience can be seen by Jesus when one of his close friends, Lazarus, was sick. Word was sent to Jesus, that Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus wanted Jesus to hurry and pray for his healing before he died. Jesus did not hurry but kept His own agenda, and Lazarus died. But Jesus, when He did arrive, called Lazarus forth from his grave, as the time was right for him to be raised from the dead. There is a time for everything in God’s plan for each of us. I would encourage each of you to ask God for patience in your life, and to wait until you hear from God and know that the time is right for you. My Daily Devotional Volume III June 3 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone “The Lord had said to Abram, leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1 Can you imagine receiving the message above to leave your country, your people, and your household and go to another land? This has taken a considerable amount of faith to go and leave everything that Abram had worked all his life for and go into an unknown place. I am sure this message was difficult for him to follow as doing something that we have never done before is hard for everyone to do. Everything we do is difficult at first. When we were beginning to crawl, it was very difficult. When we took our first step, it was very difficult. When we started to school, it was very difficult. Throughout our lives we have experienced new difficulties that we have faced and overcome. Thousands of people will fail in life because they are not willing to make the changes necessary to go farther. They refuse to change jobs, towns, or change friendships. People want to stay in their comfort zones, and many times become stagnant in their jobs, their communities and in their lives because they cannot change. Yet thousands of others move up the ladder of happiness because they are willing to go through a little discomfort to experience a new level in life. Peter wanted to walk on water, and Jesus saw his excitement, and said “Come”, and he left the boat and began to walk, but then he discovered that he was out of his comfort zone and began to sink. Many times, in order to fulfill the plan that Jesus has for our lives, we have to get out of our comfort zones. I would encourage each of you to move out of your comfort zones, and realize that in order to achieve something you have never had, that you must do something you have never done before. My Daily Devotional Volume III June 2 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Be A Finisher

Be A Finisher “A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil.” Proverbs 13:19 Have you ever had a desire or longing to do something so bad that you devote all your efforts to achieve it, but for various reasons it is never completed? I am sure most of us have experienced a similar situation in our lives where our dreams were not fulfilled. It is always fun to be creative, to give birth to new ideas, think of new places to go or new things to do. However so many of these creative dreams get left undone and unfulfilled. Jesus is an example of finishing what He started. Jesus was thirty years old when He began His ministry. His ministry went for three and a half years. He did many miracles, and touched many lives. He electrified the world through His twelve disciples. But hidden in the thousands of scriptures is a golden principle that revealed His power. It happened on the horrible day of His crucifixion. He was taunted by thousands, spears pierced His side, spikes were driven into His hands, and eight inches of thorns were crushed into His brow. That is when He uttered perhaps the greatest sentence ever uttered: “It is finished.” Jesus had completed His plan, and finished His task on earth. He had not been deterred, or distracted from His mission, and even though it was so difficult He had finished the race. Jesus finished what He started and did not quit, even though that would have been so easy for Him to do. I would encourage each of you to also become a finisher. Start today by completing the little things, call a sick friend, encourage someone, feed or clothe someone in need, find someone in need and help them. Stop finding excuses to keep from doing what you started. Look at what Jesus did and the sacrifice that He made on our behalf. Finish what you started and get the spirit of a finisher. My Daily Devotional Volume III June 1 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Think Of Others First

Think Of Others First “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2nd Peter 1:5-8 Having spent my career in health care management I saw what sickness can do to people’s lives, and saw the different ways that individual people would handle their sickness. Some people were able to go on and lead productive lives, while others withdrew and were not able to function effectively. I remember seeing a Gallup survey which was done to find out why some people return to work more quickly after an illness than others. They found out that the quick returnees almost never think about their physical problems, while those who are slow to come back to work focus on themselves and their impairment. When Jesus came to earth, His whole mind was on others, not Himself. He taught His followers to do the same thing; to think about others, almost to the point that they forgot about themselves. He was teaching them not to be absorbed in themselves. His message—and His example was to do something for someone else, serve someone, minister to others, feed the poor, teach the lost, always think about others before yourself. Jesus’ whole message is to think about others first before ourselves, but this is so hard to do for most people as they want to focus on themselves. I believe that if we follow the advice of Jesus we will live longer, work more productively and bless others because of it My Daily Devotional Volume III May 31 Robert William Brock, Jr.

God Has Adopted Us

God Has Adopted Us “…I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2nd Corinthians 6:18 I have been researching my ancestors for many years now and discovered years ago that my grandmother had been adopted back in 1895 when she was a baby. Although I know her adopted father and mother I have not been able to find out who her real father and mother were and the reason for the adoption. There are several examples of adoption in the scriptures—Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, Esther was adopted by her cousin Mordecai. But, I believe that the most beautiful example was when Mephibosheth was adopted by David in 2nd Samuel chapter 9. The beauty of that particular adoption is that there was no motivation, no reason for David to do it other than out of his grace and his love. And in many ways, that adoption is similar to our adoption by God. Even more remarkable is that Mephibosheth was the grandson of Saul who had repeatedly tried to kill David. And even most surprising of all is the fact that Mephibosheth was crippled in both feet, and was helpless to render David any significant service. And yet David brought this outcast, to dine at his table as his son and gave him a magnificent inheritance. Adoption agencies will tell you that there’s a big market for babies who are healthy, but for babies who are handicapped, mentally or physically, it’s hard to find a family for them. I am thankful that God is not like that, as none of us would stand much of a chance because we’ve all got handicaps of one form or another. We’ve all got blotches and imperfections. But the good news is that God has chosen us by grace, just like David did with Mephibosheth, and is motivated solely by His grace and His love, and has given us the opportunity to be His children. My Daily Devotional Volume III May 30 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Spend Your Time Wisely

Spend Your Time Wisely “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 Do you make the most use of your time? I would venture to say that many people do not take the opportunity to use their time as wisely as they should. I can remember a story about Emmanuel Menger, a gifted artist who lived back in 1887. The story goes that Mr. Menger, gave a local neighborhood grocery store clerk a $20 dollar note to pay for his groceries. The clerk noticed that some of the ink came off on her hands when she put in into her change drawer. She had known Mr. Menger for many years and was shocked. However $20 was a lot of money in those days and she notified the police, who after procuring a search warrant, went to his home where they found in his attic the tools he was using to reproduce the fake money. They also found his easel, paint brushes and paints that he used to paint three portraits. These paintings sold at a public auction for more than $16,000. How could someone so talented waste their time doing something so foolish when they had the opportunity to do something so valuable? But we’re all guilty of the same thing. Think for a moment about how you spent your time yesterday, or last week. Think about the hours wasted doing things that were unimportant (or maybe even destructive)—time which could have been spent developing your relationship with God and helping others. We have all been given only so much time, and no one is richer than anyone else, for we all get exactly the same amount. None of these minutes can be stored up and used the next day, but must be used on the day they were given. Choose wisely, and choose to spend some of your time with God on a daily basis. My Daily Devotional Volume III May 29 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Begin A New Life

Begin A New Life “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2nd Corinthians 5:17 As I was growing up it was always so nice to get a new toy for Christmas and feel the excitement, but after a while the newness begins to wear off and our excitement begins to wane. Our life can be much like a new toy, as many times the days pass and the new wears off. We lose interest, we forget why we started, we cannot remember our original plan, we take one another for granted, our dreams fade, and we get discouraged and think about quitting. On the first day of our vacations our faces reflect excitement as we anticipate the events of the week ahead. On the last day our faces reflect sadness as they realize the time is passing too quickly and soon we will be back at work. On the first day home from the hospital the chores of taking care of a new baby bring joy and fulfillment. After a month the constant changing of diapers, feedings and lack of sleep bring frustration and misery. But when we are in Christ, our days don’t have to drag, work does not have to be misery, marriage does not have to grow stale, and caring for a loved one does not have to be a burden. When we have an authentic relationship with Jesus, life is new all the time. Each day brings new adventures. Every trial provides an opportunity for the Lord to reveal His glory. Life can drag sometimes, but it does not have to. When we develop a genuine relationship with Jesus, we can really begin to live. With Christ, the newness will never wear off and the adventure will never end. With Christ, the days will never be routine and life will never be dull. I would encourage each of you to find this place where you can really live to the fullest, and enjoy the abundance that God has showered upon you. My Daily Devotional Volume III May 28 Robert William Brock, Jr.