I Delight to do Your Will – Psalm 40 ESV 2 Minute Devotional

Why would God not delight in sacrifice and offerings? After all, He had set up the sacrificial system to provide His people with a means of dealing with their sins.

The Psalmist makes it clear that our delight should be to do God’s will, and that it should be written on our hearts. Going through the motions of obedience is not enough, it must be from sincere motives and delight in God’s law.

You’ve probably heard the story about the child that was disciplined by his parents, and told to go sit in the corner. His response was: “I may be sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing on the inside.” I can remember a few of those occasions, can you?

Jesus always seemed to deal with people in a way that touched them right at the heart of their motives and needs. We can think of the “Rich Young Ruler,” “The Prodigal Son,” and many other parables and miracles.  Jesus’ dealings with people in the Bible were so intimate that no miracle or healing is ever duplicated exactly.

So it is that Jesus touches me, right at the heart of my motivations, so that I may know how much he loves me. As he teaches me to delight in His will, I can only respond with my obedience.

Dear Lord, In your mercy, help me to delight more and more in your will. As I read the Scriptures, let your law become written on my heart. Jesus, please work in my heart, that I may understand your great salvation. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 40 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Will Rogers on “Mules and Speeches”

The mules were hee-hawing the other day in the lower chamber – I mean lower stall. They were kicking and bucking something terrible. There was so much commotion and noise that there wasn’t even a need for microphones – you could hear ’em clear across town. They was all bunched up in groups, trading oats back and forth until enough mules joined the group with the most oats.

The leader was a stubborn old mule, with a hee-haw so terrible loud, it would scare the hair off your ears. Listening in on all the noise, I couldn’t understand a thing they were braying, but there wasn’t any need to. Everyone knew that new leader was going to be the old leader. The only reason I was there was for the entertainment!

Image Information: This image is from a Will Rogers’ silent movie called Jubilo, released in 1919. Rogers plays Jubilo, a tramp, who makes himself useful doing odd jobs in a small farming community while he looks for the wife who deserted him while he was off in the war.

The image was taken directly from movie stills at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.

Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Spurgeon on “Lessons from the Whale” ~ 2 Minute Devotional

When I read about Jonah, or the Israelites in the wilderness, my first instinct is to think: “What a bunch of stubborn boneheads! Don’t they ever learn?”

Just about the time I start to congratulate myself on what a fine example of obedience I demonstrate, compared to others, the Lord sees fit to humble me. It’s me, Frank, in the belly of the whale taking another dip under the water, just like the image on the left. It’s me, Frank, walking through the wilderness, until I learn my lessons.

When I am deposited on the beach, I’ll brush the seaweed out of my hair, preach the gospel to the (stunned) fishermen, and ask directions to Nineveh!

Dear Lord, Let me yield myself to you rather than strive against you. Help me to humble myself, so that I may serve you without delay. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Spurgeon on “Safe upon the River” ~ 2 Minute Devotional

As I have been reading the Psalms, I have noticed that the Psalmist regularly encourages us to remember, remember, remember. Remember what the Lord has done for us. Remember God’s many blessings in our lives. Remember answered prayers. Remember his salvation. Remember his deliverance. Remember his mercy. Remember, remember, remember!

In this quote, Spurgeon also encourages us to look to the flowing river of our experiences. I hope that our rivers may be wide and deep, like the one in the picture.

The bulrushes, or reeds along the river mark our specific experiences. They can be gathered and woven together in to an ark, or small boat. Spurgeon indicates that this will help us “float safely on the stream.”

When our “infant faith” is tested, we must rely on our experiences of God’s past faithfulness to help us float in safety over rough waters. For example, when I face financial hardships, I remember all the times that God has provided for my needs in similar circumstances. For that I can praise the Lord in the current difficulty, trusting that He will see me through, just like He has so many times before.

Dear Lord, Please help me bring to remembrance all the experiences of your love and mercy, so that they may sustain me in difficult times. Especially let me remember your great salvation, through Jesus Christ, that will sustain me to the end. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Product review for iPhone Daily Psalms

Here’s a review for the Daily Psalms iPhone applications in The iPhone App Review.

Will Rogers on Voter Fraud

Will RogersAccording to this Will Rogers quote, folks were concerned about the honest and fair counting of votes back in 1930. We’ve seen our share of vote fraud and suspicious recounts in recent years. It is well known that dead people regularly vote in Chicago, and in many places when votes are tallied, more votes than voters are found. For some reason, in recounts, more votes seem to mysteriously turn up only for one candidate.

Honest folks are offended to think that there are organizations and people that purposely try to throw an election toward their candidate. It’s as unfair as putting grease on the bathroom doorknob.

There is an unintended effect of voter fraud. It tends to energize the opposition. The tactics only work when an election is close and an energized opposition can overwhelm the unfair efforts.

Most folks believe in fair elections, and even though the fraudsters might win a few, in the end, truth will prevail and triumph.

The image was taken directly from pictures at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.

Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Will Rogers

Will Rogers on “Hot & Bothered”

Will Rogers“Never let a crisis go to waste,” so says the current administration. We now have the Libyan crisis and the Japanese nuclear crisis . Before that it was the Egyptian crisis, and who could forget the worst ecological disaster ever, the oil spill in the gulf.

Everyone gets whipped up into a frenzy by press reports of riots, radiation maps and gushing oil wells under the sea. But just like Will Rogers says, we “cool off faster than any nation in the world.”

Using a crisis for political gain, however, is about as foolish as using a skunk for perfume. It just doesn’t smell right!  The stench from the economic bailout crisis and the healthcare crisis is getting worse every day.

We might heat up and cool down quickly, but skunk-smell doesn’t go away over night! If the stink is there on election day, people will remember.

Image Information Will Rogers was an expert with the lasso, perhaps the best ever. In this picture he is roping a moving rider from the back of his own horse. The rope is thrown to catch the horse by the legs.

The image was taken directly from pictures at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.

Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Will Rogers

God’s Choosing – Psalm 78 NIV 2 Minute Devotional

As I look back across my life, I am continually amazed to see God’s hand in events large and small. God called me out of a life of sin and self-destruction. He has guided my path step-by-step, through dark times and blessings.

In Psalm 78 we understand that God chose David. Had this not happened, David would likely have tended sheep for the rest of his life. There would have been no record of his life because there was nothing remarkable about him. Instead God lifts an unknown and unremarkable young man from obscurity to become one of the major figures in Scripture.

The story of David’s choosing can be found in I Sam 16.  From this passage, God makes it clear that the choice of David was His choice alone, and not a choice based on human reasoning, luck or chance. God chose David, David didn’t choose God.

I think the same is true of my life. God chose me, I didn’t choose God. In fact, Had it been up to me, I never would have chosen God. Furthermore, had I made all the choices in my life, it would have been a mess.

Ask God daily for his guidance. Look back and acknowledge God’s day-by-day work in your life. Thank God for the many blessings he has brought your way. It is a great comfort to know God chooses my path and directs my life. If I had to trust in my own choices, I would find no peace, and God would receive no glory.

Dear Lord, Help me to trust in your choosing. Let me earnestly seek your guidance each day, that you might be glorified. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 78 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NIV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or  Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Spurgeon on “Light Without Darkness” ~ 2 Minute Devotional

This world is stained with sin. We can’t get away from it, no matter how hard we try, or how far we go. It manifests itself personally in our lives, and in nature.

In our personal lives and relationships, we see pride, envy, lust, hatefulness, and all sorts of sin that manifests itself in our lives each day. We might be able to overcome some sins through the sheer force of will, but sin itself is so deeply embedded in our being that it can never be overcome completely.

In nature we see imperfections and decay everywhere. Our own bodies wear out after a period of time, even though the average lifespan has increased in recent years. Natural phenomena such as tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and many other events indicate that this earth is unstable. Pain and suffering are all around us.

But Spurgeon (and the Bible) talk of beauty and perfection that doesn’t exist on this earth. In a place called heaven we will find it.

When Jesus came to this earth, he showed us that He could reverse the effects of sin in this world. Jesus healed many people reversing the effect of disease in their bodies. He controlled the weather by calming a storm, and he controlled evil spirits by casting them out of the people they tormented. He also preached the gospel, which by faith, can cleanse sin from our lives.

Dear Lord, Only with your grace can we reverse the effect of sin in our life. Only by faith can we prepare for heaven, where sin shall be no more, and we will see your “glory without cloud.” Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Will Rogers on “Unemployed & Hungary”

Will RogersHave you noticed that Congress seems to live in the land of “good intentions?” Some call it an “alternate universe.” It’s a place of love, happiness and prosperity.

How many times have you heard our legislators proudly proclaim that their legislation will bring world peace, end poverty, end hunger, end unemployment, put a chicken in every pot, cure cancer, clean up the environment, stop terrorism, and leave no child behind.

Noble goals indeed, but without fail there are always unintended consequences which create the opposite effect. The “War on Poverty” hasn’t ended poverty despite spending untold billions of dollars. Treaties never seem to bring peace, extending unemployment benefits seems to correlate with more unemployment, and cleaning up the environment seems to mean that nobody can live, work on, or enjoy the land any more.

The fact that the programs don’t accomplish their original goal, by any measurement, and cause more trouble that good, doesn’t seem to make any difference. In fact,  the more colossal the failure, the more money is demanded to finish the work. Just the other day a high administration official remarked that the stimulus spending did what it was supposed to, and that we needed even more money to finish the job!

Will Rogers was concerned about an ineffective gathering of “our boys [and girls]” in Congress in 1931. I’m even more concerned about them gathering today! Not only are they ineffective, they are killing us with “good intentions,” because people are still hungry and unemployed.

Well, the Capitol grounds may be a place of love, happiness and prosperity, but if you wander down the wrong street a couple of miles away, you better be packin’ heat and be wearing a bullet-proof vest.

Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Will Rogers

Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit – Psalm 31 NIV 2 Minute Devotional

The first phrase of Psalm 31 is quoted by Jesus on the cross. In fact “Into your hands I commit my spirit,” are the last words Jesus spoke before he died. They were uttered with his last breath. These words are the final act of faith as he leaves his earthly life.

When I was very young, I had complete confidence that my parents would take care of all my needs. They fed me, clothed me, protected me and loved me. If I was sick, they watched over me.

For some reason, it seems difficult to have such complete confidence in God. Probably because God isn’t flesh and blood like my parents. I can’t touch Him or see Him.

But I have God’s word, the Bible. I know that Jesus was flesh and blood. I know about Jesus life, death and resurrection. I know of his love for sinners, like me. I also know of his forgiveness and redemption of sinners. The Psalmist says God knows about my affliction and anguish of my soul.

Can I commit my spirit into God’s hands? Yes! Can I have complete confidence that God will take care of all my needs? Confidence will grow as your faith grows. Your faith will grow as you draw closer to God by reading the Bible, seek fellowship with other believers and listen to the preaching of God’s Word.

Dear Lord, Help my faith to grow so that when the end comes I can say, “Into your hands I commit my spirit. Amen.

I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 31 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NIV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or  Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.

Will Rogers on “War and the Federal Reserve”

Folks, you just gotta love Will Rogers! Here’s a classic quote about war and the Federal Reserve from 1929 that still rings true today.

The Federal Reserve (The Fed)  is responsible for conducting the nation’s monetary policy to help maintain employment, keep prices stable, and keep interest rates relatively low. The poor folks running The Fed have their hands full, with the prices of corn, grits and gas going up, unemployment going up, and who knows what’s going to happen with inflation and interest rates.

The Fed has to react to an administrations that is trying to run the economy by stimulatin’, regulatin’, legislatin’, and bloviatin’. Businesses don’t know where the administration will strike next.

They tried to stimulate the economy with “shovel-ready jobs,” but the president just admitted that they weren’t quite as “shovel-ready as we expected.” The EPA is going bonkers with new regulations to eliminate the threat of “global warming” by shutting down the coal and oil industry. Congress passed  unconstitutional health care legislation which threatens to destroy the best health care system in the world. The bloviator-in-chief keeps proclaiming “recovery” while the vice-bloviator famously proclaimed: “Just because the stimulus was a monumental failure, doesn’t mean it’s not working.”

And what about war, or wars? This gets a bit confusing these days. Depending on how you define “hostilities” we might be in two, three or four wars. Our Nobel-Peace-Prize-Winner-in-Chief wants us to refrain from “torturing” captured enemy terrorists with water-boarding, but putting a bullet in the brain of a Osama bin Laden is ok. What’s a business to do? If you manufacture water-boards, you are going out of business, but if you make bullets you will survive.

Will Rogers is right, again! Businesses are on a wild roller coaster ride, just tryin’ to stay on the tracks. They’re watching The Fed closely and hoping we don’t get into yet another war, or even another “hostility.”

In this image, Will Rogers is holding his son and spinning his lasso at the same time.

The image was taken directly from pictures at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.

Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Will Rogers on “Out of Work”

Will RogersMost of us “little fellows,” as Will Rogers says, get along just fine. We struggle from time-to-time with job loss, keeping food on the table, and other hardships, but overall, we are confident that we can make a better life and enjoy some of life’s simple pleasures. We assume that the government will be helpful and not stand in the way of hard-working folks.

Well, it just “dills my pickle” that some of these big Washington liberals, who have never missed a meal, think they know what is best for the “little fellow.” They don’t seem to have any confidence in the foundational principles laid down in the Constitution.

The problem is that the changes they are making or want to make, make life more difficult for the “little fellow.” Jobs are lost in the auto industry, private aircraft industry, oil industry, insurance industry, travel industry, etc. Gas prices are going up along with everything else, and all they can say is that we should get used to the “new normal.”

Will Rogers always talked about common sense and I believe Washington needs a big dose of it about now. If they don’t wise up soon, some of them will be replaced in the next election.

The image was taken directly from movie stills at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.

Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Will Rogers

Will Rogers on Basic Economics

Will RogersWhat in the world did the Supreme Court have to do with nickel rides on the subway in 1929? In general, what does any branch of government have to do with the price of anything? When the government touches the price of goods and services, subway riders can’t get the seats they need, drivers can’t get the gas they need (remember gas lines in the 70s?), companies go bankrupt, and jobs are lost.

Why is it that brilliant government economists still don’t understand supply and demand? Even hog callers on the farm understand that when demand is high, you have to raise the price, and when demand is low, you drop the price. But when the government locks the price, you run out of hogs and go out of business.

I guess those government bureaucrats never had to call a hog, turn a wrench or meet a payroll. It ought to be a requirement that anyone, especially economists and office holders, ought to be required to work in the real world for a while. Let them work on a farm and call the hogs. Sooooooooweeeeeee, here pig, pig, pig, pig!

Image Info: Will Rogers took his typewriter with him everywhere. Each day he would type out his “Daily Telegram” syndicated column and deliver the copy to the local telegraph office for transmission to New York for publication. Will Rogers’ column was arguably the most popular daily column of the day. Even today the most famous bloggers would envy Will Rogers humor, wit, common sense, and ability to communicate with his readers.

The image was taken directly from pictures at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.

Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.

I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.

Will Rogers