Think Of Others

Think Of Others "Do not say to your neighbor, Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow--when you now have it with you." Proverbs 3:28 Each time I read this scripture, I always think of my mother and her giving spirit. My mother has always been my example, when I think about the attitude that God wants each of us to have about giving to others. Although she has never had much to give, she will give anyone anything that she has, if she sees they are in need. This same trait was so evident in my grandfather as well, as he always was a giver throughout his life. I believe this is one of the most important gifts that God can give someone, to have their hearts focused on how they can help others. Greed, which is thinking of yourself first, is one of the deadly sins that the Bible teaches us about, and prevents so many people from giving as God commands. The Bible tells us not to store up worldly possessions, which will not last and will rot and rust away, but to give with a free heart. In our society, many people spend all their lives trying to build up their nest eggs, and accumulate as much wealth as they possibly can, not thinking about others, who are less fortunate. It has been proven throughout history, that wealth does not provide happiness, as many of the wealthiest people have died in misery and depressed. It is perfectly all right to provide for our families, but not to store up riches, and let our wealth become our gods. Our minds and our hearts must not become consumed with material things, and become a distraction from our walk with God. When we see people in need, we must open our hearts to them and reach out to them. This is the way Jesus commands us to live, with thoughts about others, instead of fulfilling all the desires of our hearts. Don't let your wealth become your God. My Daily Devotional Volume Six September 7 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Be Transformed

Be Transformed “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2 The above scripture is my very favorite verse in the Bible. Today, I was reminded again of this scripture, as I watched a caterpillar emerge from the ground, and attach itself to one of my peach tree leaves. A caterpillar is an ugly little creature, and is not the most pleasant thing to look at, but this is its sole function in life, as it is necessary in order to reach the next level, which is to hide itself inside a cocoon, and wait for its next transformation. A few weeks later the cocoon bursts open, and a beautiful butterfly springs forth. This beautiful example of the wonders of God’s nature, reminds me of what happens to us, when we ask Jesus into our hearts. Before we receive God in our hearts, we exist with very little function in our lives, as we live day to day with little direction. We are full of wickedness, ugly in our sin, but as we hear and accept God’s call, and begin to hide ourselves in God’s word, accepting His saving grace, a great transformation takes place in our lives. We suddenly are transformed, our mind is renewed, and our life has a new meaning. We turn away from the old things; things that were ugly, and go to the next level, one that now has meaning and purpose. Do you want to become a new person and accept Jesus into your heart, becoming a new being with joy on your face, and the peace of God in your heart, and experience your own transformation? Each one of you has this same opportunity to be transformed and renewed, as Jesus wants you to have the peace and joy that only He can bring to your life. Just ask Jesus into your heart today and experience this wonderful transformation. My Daily Devotional Volume Six September 6 Robert William Brock, Jr.

God Is Faithful

God Is Faithful “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 During the past several months I have had many of my readers begin to question why they are having so many difficulties in their lives. Many have lost their jobs due to the economic collapse, and others are struggling to make ends meet financially. Their dreams, plans and goals have been shattered due to their current situations. I strongly believe that God uses situations like these to bring us back to reality, as so often we are going our own ways instead of following the paths that God has designed for us to follow. When we are in periods of prosperity, I have observed that many people have the tendency to turn away from God, not obeying His commands, not reading their Bibles and worshiping Him, and begin to depend upon themselves and their own abilities more and more. It is important that we not forget that in our times of prosperity, it was not us that had allowed us to prosper, but it was God that made it all possible. I have discussed many times in my devotionals that our dreams and plans must be consistent with God’s plan for us, and if they are, God will lead us and guide us to fulfill these dreams and goals and make them become realities. However, when we have dreams and goals that do not mesh with His plan for our lives, we will continually have doors being closed on us that will keep our dreams from coming to fruition. When we share a dream with God, it is a fragile thing we have been entrusted with, and we need to keep reminding ourselves that God is faithful and will open the doors we need to enter to make His dreams come true. If you find yourself in difficulties today, turn to God, He is still faithful. My Daily Devotional Volume Six September 5 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Do Not Worry

Do Not Worry “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them.” Matthew 6:26 This morning as I was sitting in our sun room drinking my morning cup of coffee, there was a flock of wild geese that flew by our house. It was a rather windy morning, and the geese were having to work extra hard to fly into the wind. I was reminded of the eagle, which with its large wing span, is able to fly above the wind into calmer air. I believe the eagle can teach us a good lesson, in that when troubles beset us we need to rise above them, as the eagle does, by reaching out to God, who can take us above our problems and into calmer circumstances. We don’t have to continue to struggle with situations that can rob us of our peace and contentment by ourselves, but we can turn these over to God, who will help us deal with our problems. Whether we are having problems with our finances, a relationship issue, a family issue or some other circumstance that is taking away our peace and joy, God can take the burdens from our shoulders and restore our peace. There are so many problems in today’s world that we struggle with, which seem like mountains to us, and bog us down, and keep us from having peace in our lives. We need to remind ourselves that God is still in control, and even though these problems seem insurmountable in our eyes, they are insignificant in God’s eyes as Jesus tells us not to worry about such things. “So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? Or what shall we wear? But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 7:31-33. God is still in control, and can give you the strength to fly like the eagle above your problems. My Daily Devotional Volume Six September 4 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Keep God With You

Keep God With You “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing.” Matthew 15:5 As you read this devotional, you may be facing various problems in your life. You may be dealing with a serious health issue, a crisis in your marriage, a major financial issue, a problem in your job or some other problem that is challenging you. Every day, just in the course of living through another 24 hours, there are so many things in our lives that happen. Many of these things are totally out of our control, and simply problems that we never expected, but are suddenly confronted with. This is one of the reasons that we must always have a real committed, 24/7 relationship with the Lord. To withstand these kind of problems, I always counsel people to start their day in prayer, and in the Word of God. It is not only the best way to start each day, but it will give you the focus and strength to deal with whatever problems life may throw at you. Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing”, and I take that literally as we can pray all during our day. We need to keep the line open to God at all times, as God has given us a direct line to Him. You need to understand that God cares about you, and He loves you. There is nothing too small or too large that He cannot handle. When we don’t pray, we are depending upon ourselves, and as the scripture above states, that “apart from me you can do nothing.” I will be praying for you today, that no matter what problems in life you may be having, that you will find your strength, your hope, and your answers in the Lord. You will be amazed how much easier each day is, when you are operating in His strength and not depending upon yourself. Take time today, to spend with God, talk to him, tell Him your problems, let Him be part of your daily life. My Daily Devotional Volume Six September 3 Robert William Brock, Jr.

The Great Judgment

The Great Judgment “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20:12 As I was growing up the subject of the Great Judgment of God was preached in my church almost every Sunday, as this is the essential ingredient that will someday be the deciding factor for our entrance into heaven. To see our name recorded in the Book of Life will be the most important thing that will ever define our success in life. We should all be living for eternity, as one day soon all of us will stand before a holy and just God, and be judged for the way we have lived. However during these past several decades I have observed a disturbing trend in our churches, and that is that this message of a Judgment Day is slowly disappearing from Church pulpits throughout our nation. I realize that things have changed since I was a child, and that our culture has become more materialistic, and that our religion has moved to a more “feel good” type of religion, one that is geared to appeal and more pleasantly popular to the masses. This kind of new age religion is usually what we see on television, and in the majority of the churches today. The “Old Time Religion”, that our forefathers taught, and we heard each Sunday, is something that much of the Christian world seems to have lost touch with today. I strongly feel that each of us needs to have the Great Judgment preached to us again each Sunday, as without this we will lose sight of our destiny in Christ Jesus, and will miss the extreme joy God has for those who follow Him. We do not know the time that Jesus will return, but we must be ready. My Daily Devotional Volume Six September 2 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Love One Another

Love One Another “A new command I give you: Love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 During the recent presidential election there has been much heated discussion between the candidates that have bordered on hatred, and much innuendo about the character including personal attacks. It is obvious that there is very little love lost during many of these heated exchanges. I have always thought that all people may disagree about certain issues, however we can disagree and still treat other people with dignity and respect even if they do not share our convictions. In our society it is becoming difficult for people to “disagree with grace” both in our churches and also in our society in general. This loss of civility means we frequently see a basic lack of mutual respect in conversation between persons in any kind of public discourse. Many of the problems in dysfunctional families, stem from the different viewpoints family members have, and the inability to work together to reconcile their differences. The society of yesterday which our ancestors lived in, was one where reconciliation was practiced, and when issues arose where there were disagreements they were settled respectfully, and the dignity of those involved was not damaged. God instructs us to always treat others with respect and with dignity, and not to let divisions occur that will hinder anyone’s walk with God. We should never cause others to become angry as this is causing them to sin, but should try to settle any disputes with kindness and compassion, and to always show our Christianity, and be a witness to God in everything we do. My Daily Devotional Volume Six September 1 Robert William Brock, Jr.