Redeeming The Time

ALARM TO THE UNCONVERTED is a little book written by Joseph Alleine(1634-1668). Though not as recognized as it once was, it has left its mark in Christian history as a Puritan classic.

Alleine was a serious young man who felt that his commitment to Christ required the wise use of his time. He wanted to use every moment, in one way or another, for the Lord. As a student, he often neglected his friends for his studies. "It's better they should wonder at my rudeness," he explained, "than that I should lose time; for only a few will notice the rudeness, but many will feel my loss of time."

As a minister, Joseph habitually rose at four in the morning, praying and studying his Bible until eight. His afternoons were spent calling on the unconverted. At the beginning of the week, he would remark, "Another week is now before; let us spend this week for God." Each morning he would say, "Now let us live this one day well!"

Though he died at age thirty-four, Joseph Alleine did more for Christ than many twice his age. Are you being a good steward of your time? Are you using your moments wisely for Christ?


This devotion is from Turning Point Ministry, Dr. David Jeremiah

I have been out of town visiting family and meeting new friends. I hope all of you are well and I pray the Lord will give you comfort and provision in all your needs. I have a new favorite line I picked from this devotion, "Now let us live this one day well." Take care, Carey

The Velvet Ant

There is a strange little insect called the velvet ant-attractive as ants go-garbed in a thick coat of tiny hairs that feel smooth and velvety. But it's all a disguise. This tiny creature isn't even an ant at all, but a wingless wasp with a nasty sting. After injecting its victim with venom, it lays eggs in their incapacitated bodies.

How like Satan! He's a venomous impostor who wants to implant his warped ideas into the dulled hearts of his victims. One of his cleverest strategies is to seem to make evil desirable. Just consider today's movies. Sexual sin of every type is glamorized and glorified. Profanity appears as righteous indignation. Fame captivates. Fortune beguiles. Violence titillates.

Or take modern faith fads. Satan doesn't mind if become religious, just so long as it remains politically incorrect to proclaim Jesus Christ as the name under heaven whereby we must be saved.

Paul told the Corinthians, "I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ"(2 Corinthians 11:3).

Be on guard! Don't fall Satan's Frauds.

This devotion is from Turning Point Ministry, Dr. David Jeremiah.

Work On That Relationship

For hundreds of years, inventors have been working on versions of perpetual motion machines, trying to invent a device that will keep going without any input of energy. No one has yet succeeded.

Many people think love, marriage, and friendship are perpetual motion machines that will keep going without our energy and effort. They aren't. We have to work at spending time together, being patient with each other, and listening to what the other is saying. We have to work at serving the other person without complaint.

Whether with our spouse, kids, or friends, a good partnership takes; at some point, the relationship will lose steam.

Contrary to popular opinion, love is not having a trouble-free relationship. It's caring deeply about the needs of the other person even if and when there is stress in the relationship. Love means putting up with faults, flaws, and failures of each other. This kind of love isn't of the earth, but from above. It flows into imperfect circumstances, for it comes from an infinite and infallible God who loves us.

Do you need to work a little harder on that troubled relationship? Why not start today?

This devotion is from the Turning Point Ministry, Dr. David Jeremiah

Freedom and Security

Compare the oyster to the eagle. The oyster has a rock hard home to protect it from predators and opens its shell whenever it wants nourishment. The eagle resides on freezing and exposed mountain crags and flies through miles of dangerous weather in search of food. The oyster is completely secure, while the eagle is completely free. Which did America choose as it national symbol?

Animals don't choose their lifestyles; they just follow their God-given instincts. so we can't be too critical of one over the other. But all too often, we see humans who choose worldly security over spiritual freedom. They invest all their time and talent laying up treasures on earth. Security against the unexpected becomes their obsession.

There's nothing wrong with security, of course. The question is, where do we seek it: in God or in the things of this world? Do a security check in your own life. Wherever you find some insecurities, look at them against the backdrop of God's great resources and not your own.

Oysters may be secure and eagles free, but Christians are both secure and free when they live in dependence on God.

This devotion is from Turning Point Ministry, Dr. David Jeremiah

Streams In The Desert

Have you experienced deserts in your life? Ever felt you were wandering in a wilderness, surrounded by problems, hemmed in by distress? Charles Weigle was an itinerant evangelist who enjoyed traveling and preaching, despite the rigors of the road. His wife, however, grew disillusioned with her frequently absent husband. One day, Charles returned home to find this note: "Charles. I've been a fool, I've done without a lot of things...From here on out, I'm getting all I can of what the world owes me. I know you'll continue to be a fool for Jesus, but for me it's good-bye!"

Charles was stunned, and depression swept over him like a tidal wave. One day, sitting on the porch of a cottage in Florida, he contemplated suicide. Your work is finished, said an inner voice. No one cares...But another voice pierced his gloom: Charlie, I haven't forgotten you...I care for you. Instantly Charles was on his knees, rededicating himself to Christ.

Sometime later he wrote the words to the well known gospel song: "No one ever cared for me like Jesus; there's no other friend so kind as He. No one else could take the sin and darkness from me; O how much He cared for me."

He cares for you too-even in the desert.


This devotion is from the Turning Point Ministry, Dr. David Jeremiah


My friend's whatever desert your going through now, seek the friend who is like no other, who loves you and died for you. Jesus will lift you up and deliver you from your sin and distress. I know this to be true, because I've experienced firsthand what He has done for me and I rest on the Mighty Rock. Safe and secure by the streams He provides in my deserts of life. Carey

Connecting the Dots

One of the most popular documentary series ever shown on public television was titled CONNECTIONS. It was based on the work of the British scientific historian and author James Burke. In each segment of the series, Burke explored the development of scientific advancements and showed how seemingly unconnected discoveries were in fact related-like fast food and black holes in space, and corn flakes and Einstein's theory of relativity.

It takes a scientist or historian to tediously follow the claim of events that lead from one discovery to another, to connect history's seemingly random dots. What about God's plan for redemption? Who would have thought that God's calling of a Mesopotamian pagan worshiper named Abram would result in spiritual blessings for the whole world(Genesis 12:1-3)? Every seemingly mundane event in world history has taken place as part of God's plan. And He knows everything about your life as well-the beginning, the middle, and the end. His plan is perfect and will be fulfilled.

When the parts of your life seem disjointed, remember; God has all the dots connected.


This devotion is from The Turning Point Ministry devotion book, Dr. David Jeremiah

Sound Familiar (Same Agenda-New Messenger)