Daily Devotionals Godly Activities of God s People Written by: Mark Clements Nathan Rogers CHILDREN S EDITOR: Libby Gill EDITOR IN CHIEF: Larry E. Clements larry.clements@bogardstore.org GRAPHIC ARTISTS: Shawn Blase Jeff Allen Greg Hilterbrand BUSINESS MANAGER: Wayne Sewell wayne.sewell@bogardstore.org PRODUCTION EDITOR: Kyle Elkins ADULT EDITOR: Jim Jones ILLUSTRATOR: Connie Spears LAYOUT DESIGNERS: Cindy Butler Ashley Elkins Tammie Sutton CONTENT EDITORS: Terry McKellar Carolyn Burks Deby Turrentine Joni Curtis PRINT PRODUCTION: Charles Easley Copyright 2014 Vol. 24, No. 4 Bogard Press 4605 N. State Line Ave. Texarkana, TX 75503-2928 www.bogardstore.org 1-800-264-2482
About the Writers Mark David Clements is Senior Pastor at New Liberty Baptist Church in Garland, Texas. He has been married to Jenny since 1996 and God has blessed them with four children: Noah, Mahlah, Nathan and Rhoda. Mark is a graduate of Texas Baptist Institute and Seminary, and he and his family were privileged to serve in the southern Philippines as missionaries for seven years. During those seven years, Mark served as an instructor and Dean of Students at Philippine Missionary Baptist Seminary and planted Grace Baptist Church. Mark is passionate about studying, teaching and preaching God s Word and helping people experience transformed lives through faith in Christ. Dr. Robert A. Sunny Brock discovered America on Income Tax Day, 1941, eight months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, born to an oil field hand dad and child polio victim mother. He was raised by five old country Irish uncles and was first prize winner of the National Interscholastic League Story Telling Contest. He served nine years as a US Air Force chaplain s assistant during the Vietnam War era. He attended Baylor University, University of Southern California and the University of Hawaii. He received his Master s in education from Sam Houston State University and ThD from Texas Baptist Institute and Seminary. Sunny taught eighth grade earth science, vocational agriculture and women prisoners at Huntsville, TX and has thirty-eight years of teaching and tenure at Texas Baptist Institute and Seminary. Dr. Brock has authored articles for newspapers, religious journals and textbooks Romans The Fifth Gospel, Teaching Methods for Bible Teachers, Developmental Psychology, Research and Writing Manual for Master and Doctoral Thesis, Bible Backgrounds, Discipleship and Interpretation of the English Bible, Criterion Press. Book credits include Salt Lick Vol. I and Vol. II, Exlibris Press, Turkey Mountain Boys: My Brother s Keeper, Tate Publishing, OK. He may be contacted at BobBrock@juno.com. Nathan Noel Rogers has served as the pastor of the Longview Missionary Baptist Church in Longview, Texas since 2010. Nathan grew up in East End, Arkansas and attended East Union Missionary Baptist Church as a child. He was saved in 1992 when he attended camp at Pine Springs Camp with a friend from Faith Missionary Baptist Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1994 Nathan moved to Sheridan, Arkansas where he met his high school sweetheart and eventual wife Ericka (Taylor) Rogers. They were married in 1999. They have two children, Bethany and Micah. Nathan surrendered into the gospel ministry in 1999 while a member at Lonoke Baptist Church in Morrilton, Arkansas. He has served churches in Morrilton, Harrison, Cave City, Arkansas and Longview, Texas. Nathan has attended seminary classes at the Missionary Baptist Seminary in Little Rock, Arkansas, Central Arkansas Baptist Bible Institute in Benton, Arkansas and Texas Baptist Institute and Seminary in Henderson, Texas. Nathan has received Bachelors degrees in Theology, Bible Ministry and Youth Ministry. He has also served on the teaching staffs at Central Arkansas Baptist Bible Institute and Texas Baptist Institute and Seminary. He may be contacted at nathan@longviewmbc.com. 2
, September Scripture Readings, o September 1 Psalms 16; 17; Galatians 1:13-29 o September 2 Psalm 18; Galatians 2 o September 3 Psalms 19; 20; Galatians 3 o September 4 Psalms 21 23; Galatians 4:1-14 o September 5 Psalms 24; 25; Galatians 4:15-31 o September 6 Psalms 26 29; Galatians 5 o September 7 Psalms 30 32; Galatians 6 o September 8 Psalms 33 36; Ephesians 1 o September 9 Psalms 37 39; Ephesians 2 o September 10 Psalms 40 43; Ephesians 3 o September 11 Psalms 44 46; Ephesians 4:1-16 o September 12 Psalms 47 49; Ephesians 4:17-32 o September 13 Psalms 50 52; Ephesians 5:1-17 o September 14 Psalms 53 57; Ephesians 5:18-33 o September 15 Psalms 58 60; Ephesians 6 o September 16 Psalms 61 65; Philippians 1:1-18 o September 17 Psalms 66 68; Philippians 1:19-30 o September 18 Psalms 69 71; Philippians 2:1-16 o September 19 Psalms 72; 73; Philippians 2:17-30 o September 20 Psalms 74 76; Philippians 3 o September 21 Psalms 77; 78; Philippians 4 o September 22 Psalms 79 82; Colossians 1:1-14 o September 23 Psalms 83 86; Colossians 1:15-29 o September 24 Psalms 87 90; Colossians 2 o September 25 Psalms 91 93; Colossians 3 o September 26 Psalms 94 97; Colossians 4 o September 27 Psalms 98 102; 1 Thessalonians 1 o September 28 Psalms 103; 104; 1 Thessalonians 2 o September 29 Psalms 105; 106; 1 Thessalonians 3 o September 30 Psalms 107 115; 1 Thessalonians 4 3
Monday, September 1 Contrasting Lives and Results Psalm 1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Psalm 1:1. The three postures walking, standing and sitting cover most of our lives. We rarely think of a person we respect in terms of small incidents, rather, we have a generic, all-encompassing attitude about that person s walk in life. For example, my mother was a hard-working nurse who would storm the gates of hell for her five children. But, I always thought of her as soft and understanding. I could look at her work-worn hands and they preached a life of suffering from the ravages of childhood polio. Her walk and her stand on any matter were bold and clear, no shades of gray. In her presence, one just knew he had to comply with righteous standards. At the same time, because of a lifetime of suffering, one knew mercy and patience were available in any situation. God s Word teaches that a Christian s life is to be like a perfume. It leaves an essence that reflects his whole character. Even after the person is gone, the world knows that it is a better place because the person passed through on his walk to his Father s house. In the days when Englishmen kept daily journals, a member of parliament took the day off to carry his neglected son fishing. The outing was fraught with difficulties, and the father entered in his journal, Today I took my son fishing, the worst day of my life. The son entered into his journal, Today my dad took me fishing, the grandest day of my life. All of our small incidents in life add up to one generic character that people remember. IN OTHER WORDS A tree planted by the river brings forth much fruit, especially if it is the River of Life. 6
King of Zion Psalm 2 Tuesday, September 2 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him, Psalm 2:12. In a kingdom, the commoners will feel either insecure or protected in direct relation to the character of their king. Since everything in the universe is in God s kingdom, in the final analysis, everything must relate to God, be measured by His standards and receive reward or punishment. Solomon said that God has made us simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated. Since people have confused their relationships to the King, they have muddled their responsibilities in the kingdom. Everything in the visible and invisible realm was made of Christ s energy by Him and for Him. Since all living and nonliving matter is created of atoms, which are spinning balls of God s energy, then God is in absolute control. How foolish for Satan and the lost world to think they can plot to take over the kingdom as though God did not exist. Every created being is just one heartbeat away from eternity. Like Daniel, the innocent may have to suffer along with the guilty, but Christians can rest assured that the Father has set His King on His right hand, making His enemies His footstool. His kingdom will come, and His will done on earth as it is in Heaven. One fine day when the King comes to set up His throne in Zion, He will bring the saints with Him, and they will reign with Him for a thousand years. Won t that be a real change... a welcome change? Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout,... behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation (Zech. 9:9). IN OTHER WORDS Make sure you are in Christ s kingdom and not Satan s. 7
Wednesday, September 3 God s Protection Psalm 3 But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head, Psalm 3:3. David s description of God s protection from his enemies is as an old-fashioned, Irish, bare-fisted boxing match: thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly (verse 7). It did not take long for David s enemies to learn not to fear him; rather, they feared David s God who protected him. However, the precursor to this psalm was one of David s favored sons, Absalom, who was taking the kingdom from his father by military coup. Absalom was a man s man, David s kind of man, a handsome warrior-type with nine pounds of hair. At one time David may have even contemplated favoring Absalom to be the next king of Israel. In spite of Absalom s rebellious spirit, David showed him much favor. All the while Absalom was pretending to serve his father, he was planning treachery. In this psalm, David was running from his own son, praying to God to save him from Absalom s destruction. I cried... I laid me down and slept (verses 4, 5) shows David s complete confidence in God to help him. However, when David learned that Joab had killed Absalom and left him hanging in a tree, he screamed out in anguish of soul, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! (2 Sam. 18:33). God the Father saw the travail of His Son, hanging on the cross as the sinner, and He was satisfied. At the same time, He knew it was His beloved, Only Begotten, hanging on the tree of death, His perfect sacrificial Lamb. IN OTHER WORDS Oh love that will not let me go, bind my wandering heart to Thee. 8