Morningside Devotionals

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . What you are expecting now, is a devotional written around, how with God, nothing is impossible, you've heard them before you will hear them again, but not this time. It seems impossible, whatever it is, that's true. As an example, grown men have real trouble climbing Mt. Everest; it is an almost impossible climb. Then along comes a seven year old boy who wants to climb it for a cause. It seems impossible, but you see, that isn't what he saw, he saw a need, and he saw a faithful way, to do it. A Dr. was told that there was no way to provide certain things for his patients, but he found a faith, and a way to do it, it seemed impossible, but he ran across the United States. In so doing, what was impossible for his people, happened. God isn't into impossible, that is a thing you and I see - and that's easy to say, but it is true, God doesn'...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . One of the most fascinating presumptions that you will hear people make is that they know where they are. The reason that this is fascinating is that they are using a highly figurative, and highly relative term. They aren't considering three dimensional space, which they occupy, nor are they likely taking in the enormous corner of the Milky Way Galaxy they reside in, one of millions and millions of galaxies in our universe- and then they aren't considering the element of space time theory which says that you cannot measure something without affecting it's relative locale (Heisenberg's theory); nope they aren't taking those things in, they just figure they know where they are. They may be right, all things considered, but I'd be willing to bet that given the all powerful nature of Jesus, they might be presuming something they should consid...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . God knows our hearts, over against His own heart; two types of hearts, one eternal by nature, one eternal by purchase; one that is spirit, God, and one that is flesh, human. One that is the very power of created order itself, God; and one that is the created, human. Two hearts, but they exist, they are just different, we are the mirror of God- and it's probably safe to make the jump into God's heart, as in David being a man after God's own heart? Which you can deduct from 1 Kings 11:4 and the Psalms 138:1. These two hearts then form a bond when the Holy Spirit moves inside the believer and through the power of the sacrifice of Jesus, aligns itself to the love of God. The heart changes- it is obvious, you can tell it right away, the difference is real, and the reality of the change of heart is known, it is seen, it is always the same, and it affects e...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . We are not astonished as we should be at what is taking place in our lives. Christian's who understand the end times prophecy, are going silent about the return of Christ as a reining King of Kings, and Lord of Lord's, the grandeur of the King as he returns isn't being shouted about; by the very ones that we would believe would be shouting. Isn't that odd? It is odd, because the Bible, which is without error, without mixture of error, the truth, God's Holy word to us about what was, what is, and what is to come, which God would know since He was, He is, and He is to come, literally the Hebrew term He gave Moses to explain who Moses was listening to from the bush consumed but not burnt (again the Hebrew way of expressing that passasge); God knows the end, from the beginning. So do Christian's - especially Christian's who pray, especia...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . An amazing thing about God- He puts up with, us. Now you might wonder about that, since we believe we are His creation, but here is a thought for you to consider- we aren't. God, so far as we can tell from the Bible, created a being called Adam. Adam is Hebrew generic for, a man, that's what it means in the original language- so God created a man, breathed into him the "breath of life," literally a breathing soul. Yet that man, chose to become apart from God. We are not like that created man, we are like the result of that FALL- we are the FALLEN- the tree which has sprung from each soul that had faith after Noah. Welcome to the real world- here we don't play, and so, as a result, the next time you hear someone mistakenly say that we are created by God- step back and wonder at this- for the truth is, God allows a reproduction to take plac...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . God brings some real challenges into your life, if you think God isn't capable of such; and not just as some make believe test of things, but as a real and very difficult part of what it means to be in His family- then you have missed what His Son went through so you'd have the privilege! Get it- it is about you, Christianity rises and falls on the shoulders of those who have the courageous faith to say,"we don't buy into this world and it's values- we want the cross!" Is that you- if it is and you turn up your nose at opportunity- you better think again- God uses those things that are gonna bless you, to turn out resources into a world where you are the courier! Get it- it is about you- so don't you dare get arrogant in the face of what God the almighty has brought you today to bless others with- that my friend, would be living dang...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . We've been skatin' around the rink on the end times, most of that is because we are looking for something that only a very few have seen, and of those who have seen, only but a few have been sane enough to state what they saw after. One of the clearest recollections we have of such comes from the disciple that loved Jesus more than he loved his own life; John. There are many stories about John, some I believe, some aren't provable, it doesn't really matter; here is what does; John was on Patmos island when God chose to reveal to Him the actual nature of the Messiah. From that point onward, John historically was never the same again, and that, is provable. So we have picture among pictures of what the end times will amount to, and for those who believe in and have been saved by and with Jesus, the end times are awesome. For those who don't be...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . We want better, we would really love best, but we know best is sometimes really hard to get, so we settle for better. A better car, a better meal, a better deal, a better time. Not the best meal, car, deal, or time, just better. Now from a standpoint that considers God and thinking about God and the end of time, eschatology, we have to ask ourselves this question; is best what God intended or is better what God intended? The answer may surprise you. First you might have gone into the bit about God wanting His family to have the best. That sounds logical, doesn't it, and it would seem to fit with His general character. Better, on the other hand, is all around us, so in some sense, better must be a part of that? What happens when it isn't best but it will work? Lots of people living right there, they aren't in the best, but they have it better, an...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . Time might be taken as how you and I measure the passage of events in our lives. Times might be taken as the environment in which we find those events taking place. It is important to distinguish the difference, we're about to get deep. Your heart beats on average 70 or more times per minute. That means that in an hour it has beat 4200.00 times for an average person. In a day an average heart beats 100800.00 beats, and in a years time 36792000.00 beats on average would occur. That muscle is very resilient, wouldn't you say? This physical heart has no relation to the soulful heart, they are entirely different and yet we refer to the heart of a person all the time, from the perspective of them having or not having a heart. When your heart gets broken, what happens? "OK, Dana we get it, but what does this have to do with the end of time, that's ...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . Notice that up front in the title I wanted you to know that I wasn't putting this together on Sunday...that way, couldn't anybody say, the lad worked on a Sunday! Right(?)- we wouldn't want to have to face some vague accusatory item, in the midst of everything else going on in life, would we? Now as you are asking, "Yeah ok fine, how is that a theological issue," remember, we are dealing with, the end times, that nice word, eschatology- the study of the end times. Saw an interesting book today written by a Ph.D. graduate of Dallas Seminary, had to do with 2012; my wife is getting sick of hearing me talk about it- how the prophecy of such might fit into the other odd and assorted prophecy having to do with the end of time. But you see, odd as it might seem, working on Sunday as an issue, would only really mean anything to a few folks- becau...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . One of the reasons that New Orleans just blows me away is the ambiance of the city; there is no other city like it, it is romantic yet French in it's underpinning, love is in the air, and yet it is European enough to be so sophisticated that it isn't easy to get your head around the mass that is there. We met a man on the street who used corn stalks to bend then into shapes of roses. He lived on the street, but made more in a day by passerby's putting coins in his hat for the roses; than I'd make most months workin'. Watching "Heaven's Prisoners" and "In The Electric Mist," one can't help but love the character of Dave Robechaux, he just seems like a New Orleans kind of personality. One is acted out by Alec Baldwin and the other by Tommy Lee Jones, both are splendid characterizations. What do you think God thinks ...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . The curiosity level which a person is familiar with, and the level that they can handle in their life, is usually not examined. For instance, if a friend tells you that they will get back to you about something, and then they don't do it, does that make you wonder what it was, or not? The level of curiosity which drives a person, is a major factor in what they do when interacting with others; some people cannot stand to be "left hanging." They like to have things spelled out for them; which, means that when it comes to God, they are often frustrated, an interesting factor of theology is that God isn't apt to explain Himself, except on God's terms, and in God's time. Some people have a real hard time loving God under those conditions, yet, God, if you notice, doesn't change to match their whims; or, does He? If God changes to match...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . Three items determine what you will amount to, one of them most important is character. The other item that really seems important is workability, how you accomplish what your character indicates to you should be done. The third important item results from the combination of the character and the work, that characteristic is your philosophy. Now these might seem odd to you because we aren't mentioning faith, we aren't God talking, and this isn't your standard devotional twang. Guess why? What do you suppose God uses to find your intent in His mission for your life? What would God use to see if you are up to what His intent for you is? Now while your saying, "God already knows, because God knows everything." What we want to ask is, can that be true if there is such a thing as free will? So this points to our question for today: Gen 3:9 A...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . Do you believe that Christianity will overcome every obstacle? Do you believe that in the end of it all, Christian's win? Do you believe that God has arranged everything so that when all of time comes to the conclusion that it will reach; do you believe God has Christian's in the winning place? These questions deal with the end of time, a concept that from a theologian's standpoint is one of the hardest to contemplate, simply because we don't have the tools to analyze and think about the end of time. Almost every theologian thinks on these matters at some time, and inevitably, every theologian turns to several different Bible based sources. In each of those instances, they will deal with the Old Testament ( a word which means contract or covenant) and the New Testament, a division which naturally didn't occur in the writings, but was inserted...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . We have so many sayings that don't match up with what we as a people profess to believe, and, as followers of Christ we use them all the time. They are innocent sayings, they aren't meant as an affront to God, and yet, God hasn't changed, for God is changeless. God is God, changeless and ageless, He is eternal, He is without the need to change, and yet He is change itself; God redefines what all is. This God will have no other God's above Him- in your life. So when something good happens and we say, "Thank Goodness," we don't really mean it in the strictest sense of being thanks to an unknown entity, as some did in Greece, in Athens; where they lined the roads with their Gods, including one which they called the God that they didn't want to offend by not having it present; they didn't know if the God existed above all other G...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . Twelve parts of something can be, large, or small, but twelve parts is twelve parts, a unit of numbering uniquely oriental in it's origin. Have you ever looked right at something and missed it, like looking at a Chameleon sitting on a leaf, at first you see, only the leaf, as you continue to watch, however, a portion of the leaf moves, and that's when you know about the lizard. Noticing, seeing, observing, they aren't uniquely human, we now know from research that many animals have the lens to see things similarly to what we as human beings see them; but we uniquely classify and define what we discern. So far as we are able to determine that makes our seeing of a different form altogether, we look right at things sometimes, but don't see them. Consider how it is not the large body nature of gravity which is so mind boggling, rather it is the fa...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . What do you do when something falls short? Here is an awesome theological concept of God, when something falls short, God gives time, gives power, gives guidance, gives resources, gives whatever will assist in the process of bringing the remaining missed mark into alignment with the overall Godly result. Now If you've never wondered about that, sin is missing the mark, the mark is the overall result, God loves perfect, God does not love imperfect; however, we're not perfect, so, the challenge to us is to understand and in our hearts come to know, God doesn't hold that against us at all. God understands we are less than perfect, because, God became us; every sin ever sinned or that ever will be sinned is atoned for in the sacrifice of God's only Son, Jesus Christ. There you have it - a very large, LARGE, theological concept, in one, ONE, paragraph...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . Tenth, just doesn't seem like a lot does it? A tenth of something seems like a small amount, in fact, we wouldn't consider it, much, a tenth of a piece of pie? We'd call that a sliver. But what about a tenth of an inch to the left or right, and the bullet misses the heart? How about Biblically, a tenth of the people of Sodom repent and the city isn't destroyed? How about a tenth now? Suddenly it isn't so small, in fact, here is the strange aspect to measure, interpretation and Godly reality, a tenth is a tenth, we attach whatever significance of meaning resides with it, for the truth of the focus lies in the moment, doesn't it? You cannot change a former flawed measure that was a tenth off, and so the tower leans; nor can you assign a future date to have a tenth replaced, because the future never gets here, except as the present. Matt 6:3...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . Heard an expert last evening talking about the languages, said that only two languages were numbers based languages, in other words, they used some sort of numbering system within their language, Hebrew and Greek, the two languages of the Bible. Interesting tidbit, theologically it certainly adds an interesting touch to the theology we're going to spend some paragraphs in, which is eschatology, or, the end things. In both systems of languages and cultural nuance, three symbolically stood for complete, and so it's easy to see why, three times three would be, awesomely complete, wouldn't that make sense? In the actions of human living a pregnancy through takes nine months - so the giving of life, is also culturally in the ambiance. Nines- a ninth, a portion which is divinely appointed. Hmm, sort of makes a person wonder at these Bible passages: Lev 2...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . Are we delusional, or, realistic, and, how would we know? Pause momentarily and consider how difficult it is to determine what truth is? What do you suppose Jesus would respond if asked what the truth is? What do you suppose is so troubling to us about it, you see, right now you are saying; "I don't have a problem with knowing what the truth is." And as you are saying that, you know full good and well that no two people ever see the same thing in the same way, do they? And so we come to the a very bizarre and yet odd fact of what we are about, while we can get close to another person, we never really know them, do we? Little wonder then that Christ would say: Mat 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. drd's Blog...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . Sometimes when it is late at night, and a singular message movie is on, like this evening, and this movie, "The Postman," a Kevin Kostner movie, which while it will rankle some of my "thou shalt not watch R rated movies" folks- I watch, because it's after the horror of apocalypse message is a powerful one. Yes a person has to look past some pretty shocking realities portrayed in the movie, but isn't that life, finally, really? Here is what frightens me during those times, the distinct possibility that death won't greet me, and the second coming will not have occurred, but instead, the fragile and delicate threads which bind this great nation of America together, will come unraveled in such a way that leaves us scattered, shattered, sheltered but without hope. This is just one paragraph, but bear in mind that theologically the end of ...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that . Did you look at yourself in the mirror this morning? How closely did you look? Let's say, not all that closely, why not, because, with few changes you've seen that same face for your whole life, it changes very little except with the years. You have come to depend upon it. God, as a matter of theological importance, can be depended upon, and here is the interesting thing, it isn't so much what God does that can be depended upon, but what God doesn't do. You and I are alive today because God chose to allow this world to continue to exist. You and I are alive today because God made a deliberate choice for us to exist, and to continue to exist, and the simplest of truths is, we have become used to being able to depend upon God not to do the drastic reality ending sort of things, haven't we? Yet here is the subtle theological point of the day, He ca...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that. Does a person under God own anything? Can we, God's creation, own any part of the created? Now while your shaking your head at the idea of that even being a theological concept, stop, for just a second and realize, it most assuredly is. You see, you aren't just a created being, inbreathed, with the very life breath of God, you are, according to what is contained in God's word, the Bible, inheritors, which changes everything. When the Bible states that all creation moans waiting for the coming of the Lord, the strain should be felt in our lives, and within that strain is the momentous truth of family ties. Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together. drd's Blog Ooh Visit Our Twitter Group 1000 plus strong and growing! Visit our Facebook effo...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that. Something of the imagination of man must be a residual of the inbuilt from God. We are an image, in some sense, the mirror which reflects the image, but we are, biological, and that changes everything, and it is the inherit diffculty of the simple analogoy. The concept of made in God's image, is the stated legacy of the Hebrew who sought to explain what can't be explained, that He who makes something from nothing, made man, different; and what that meant. His description might, therefore, be not so much about what as about the entirity of being a created being? It is difficult and yet it is also reassuring and odd that in fact, humankind is different. Our ways are not the totally natural, the totally predatory, nor the totally antithetical of any of those, we are, odd, unusual and different in the kingdom of nature we stand out. This makes sense, we were cre...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that. What is it about God that leaves you either spellbound, or not? Because one of the things that Jesus made plain in his ministry was that you couldn't sit on the fence with God; you either believed in God and that He sent Jesus, or, you didn't. There is no halfway measure that will accomplish that belief point- it's either or. What makes that further interesting is that so many want to hedge on it, they want to suggest shades of knowing, partial knowledge, ask questions about what knowing Him means, and therein is the rub, you either know Him, Jesus, or you don't, it actually is, just that simple. So Paul got that into the hearts of his listeners by suggesting that they not let the simple nature of that saving knowing trip them up. 1Pe 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe [he is] precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the buil...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that. Here in day three we need to get more than personal, we need to get intimate; deep, longing, desiring; the aspects of our human nature that we equate to obsession, aren't they? The question is a haunting one, is God, obsessed with His creation? Mind you in modern thinking, which is why this theological shot is so much fun, as the rocket streaks past your bow, you hear the faint calls of splashes in the distance, whence it is headed for the deep. Mind you, today we all too often ask if we are obsessed with God, and that's a good theological question to put forth, but my suggestion to you is, to smile, and laugh, and even howl with delight, because the one who made you, created you, and has you reading this is indeed obsessively in love with you. Deu 10:15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, [even] yo...

The October challenge, find amazing parts of theology and then each day bring one paragraph to you the reader about that. Today we draw from a very deep well indeed, C.S. Lewis, a man of mystery, a man who fell in love with a married woman, who later divorced her unconcerned husband, and who C.S. felt was the completion to his soul. They eventually married, although they weren't able to spend much time together, is it possible that in the years they hesitated to leave their comfortable lives, they were cheating the joy they felt when they were finally able to become one soul? One soul- the Hebrew calls the soul the "Nephish" and they say that, and even Christian's, read a Bible which proclaims that man is a soul which has the breath of God in it. This breath of God separates and makes man distinct. So each person is indeed unique and a creation. Creation an ongoing act of creator God, what is He creating in your life today? Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man [of...