Sorry about Wednesday... Working on the March '13 Edition of The StarLight News and Wednesday was the deadline, in which I missed it... Making up for lost time, but managed to get this Devotional ready...
Will Print Monday PM...
Have a Blessed Day,
Richard
Beyond Good Intentions
"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am." - John 13:13
Back in Nehemiah 9:38, we find a group of people who made a binding agreement and put in writing their intention to keep the Law of the Lord. They had searched God's Law to find out what it taught, then searched their own hearts to discover where they were falling short. After listing a number of things that were examples of their failures, they put in writing exactly what they were going to do about it.
Written applications should be part of every Bible study. As we see where we fall short or receive a new challenge in following the Lord, we should write down what we plan to do about it. But that's not enough. In Nehemiah 13, we see that the people got off to a great start by putting their intentions in writing, but stumbled in putting them into practice.
When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem after being gone for awhile, he discovered the people had broken every promise they had made. They were giving their sons and daughters in marriage to the pagans around them; they were conducting business on the Sabbath; they had failed to give their tithes and offerings to the house of God; and they were not maintaining regular worship.
You know, sin dies hard. It can rear its ugly head at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected places. It begins with little sparks that seem so insignificant, and then the fire grows quickly out of control before we realize it. If we're to make progress in the Christian life, we must deal with sin quickly and forcefully. When we study the Word, we are challenged and encouraged. But we make progress by application and obedience.
Prayer
Lord, as I read Your Word and learn Your will, help me turn my good intentions into obedience. Amen.
What good intention have you been meaning to carry out?
How Great Thou Art
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the *worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the *rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:
When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:
And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then *I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim,
Consider all the *worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the *rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Refrain
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:
Refrain
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Refrain
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then *I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim,
My God, how great thou art!
Daily Smile:
A lawyer phoned the governor’s mansion shortly after midnight. “I need to talk to the governor, it’s an emergency!” exclaimed the lawyer. After some cajoling, the governor’s assistant agreed to wake him up. “So, what is it that’s so important that it can’t wait until morning?” grumbled the governor.
“Judge Pierson just died, and I want to take his place,” beg the attorney.
“Well, it’s OK with me if it’s OK with the mortuary,” replied the governor.
In The News:
House Passes Bill to Give Disaster Relief to Religious Groups
The House on Feb. 13 overwhelmingly passed a bill to allow places of worship to receive federal aid to repair their buildings damaged during Hurricane Sandy, the Religion News Service reports. The bill, which garnered strong bipartisan support, is also expected to pass the Senate, and would address what its sponsors consider a discriminatory practice that keeps federal disaster money from religious groups. Currently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency excludes religious organizations but assists privately owned nonprofits. If the bill becomes law, it would make houses of worship eligible for relief on the same terms as other nonprofits. It would cover houses of worship affected not only by Hurricane Sandy, which struck Mid-Atlantic states in October, but also future natural disasters.
'Morning After' Pill Used by 5.8 Million Women
As many as 11 percent of women ages 15 to 44 who have ever had sexual intercourse have used a "morning after" pill at least once, according to the first federal report on emergency contraception, released Thursday, USA TODAY reports. That's 5.8 million women -- half of whom said they used it because they feared their birth control method may have failed, and the rest who had unprotected sex. The National Center for Health Statistics analysis is based on responses collected through in-person interviews with 12,279 women from 2006 to 2010. Of those, 10,605 said they were sexually experienced. The report found that 23 percent of sexually experienced women ages 20 to 24 had ever used emergency contraception, compared with 16 percent ages 25 to 29, 14 percent ages 15 to 19 and 5 percent ages 30 to 44. Emergency contraception was most common among women 20 to 24, the never married, Hispanic and white women, and the college-educated.
CDC: Teen Births Hit Record Lows in 2011
The number of U.S. babies born to teen mothers dropped to record lows in 2011, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jim Liebelt reports. Fewer women gave birth in their 20s as well than in prior years, the researchers said in findings published in Pediatrics -- but the birth rate increased for those in their late 30s and early 40s. The new data showed an 8-percent drop in teen births between 2010 and 2011, with just over 3 percent of 15- to 19-year-olds having babies during that period. CDC statistician Brady Hamilton, lead author of the report, and his colleagues calculated that 3.6 million more babies would have been born to women in that age group over the last two decades had the teen birth rate not been falling since a peak in 1991. Hamilton said the decline in teen births, in particular, is especially welcome news and reflects the efforts of programs and policies targeting that age group.
Marco Rubio: Only One Savior, and It's Not Me
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has made many headlines in recent weeks, first for his high-profile efforts to pass an immigration overhaul, then for his selection as the Republican response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech. Though the next presidential election is still years away, Rubio is already being seen as a potential GOP frontrunner for the nomination. But after a new TIME magazine cover story dubbed him "The Republican Savior," Rubio took to Twitter for his response, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rubio tweeted Feb. 7: "There is only one savior, and it is not me. #Jesus."
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