Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I could not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

(Philipians 3:12-14 ASV)

Made of the right stuff!

"A little brown cork
Fell in the path of a whale
Who lashed it down
With his angry tail.
But in spite of its blows
It quickly arose,
And floated serenely
Before his nose.
Said the cork to the whale:
‘You may flap and sputter and frown,
But you never, never, can keep me down;
For I’m made of the stuff
That is buoyant enough
To float instead of to drown!’"

Pameii

Daily Meditations by Pat Nordman ©

June 11

"And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled...hands, they found fault" (Mark 7:2 KJV).

"`They found fault.' Not a difficult thing to do. It does not require much education...brains...money...spirituality, nor much of anything usually prized by respectable folks. It only demands a little, mean, spiteful nature, and a determination not to be pleased, to pick a flaw, or to hold up an unworthy motive respecting everything which another may do. It is the one thing in which we can all become experts. Anybody can find fault." Anna D. Bradley, Christian Standard. Father, deliver us from petties!

Pat Nordman ©

Excerpts from today's Spurgeon's Devotions

Spurgeon's Morning for June 11	Spurgeon's Evening for June 11
"We love him because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:19	"There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle." - Psalm 76:3
There is no light in the planet but that which proceedeth from the sun; and there is no true love to Jesus in the heart but that which cometh from the Lord Jesus himself. From this overflowing fountain of the infinite love of God, all our love to God must spring.	Beloved, no sin of a believer can now be an arrow mortally to wound him, no condemnation can now be a sword to kill him, for the punishment of our sin was borne by Christ, a full atonement was made for all our iniquities by our blessed Substitute and Surety.

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June 11 2Ch 4:1 - 6:42

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How did Joshua's army cripple their enemies horses when taking over Canaan?

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Which judge struck down 600 Philistines with an ox-goad?

Shamgar (Judges 3:31)

Today's Devotion

...and by his light I walked through darkness! JOB 29:3 NIV

The Other Nine

by Pat Nordman

"Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?"

Luke 17:17

If ever there is a story of indifference bordering on utter ingratitude, it is this story of the ten lepers who besieged – and beseeched – Jesus to cure them. No doubt it touched Jesus deeply, for He saw in this sorry display of thoughtlessness the general attitude toward His Father and Himself, both then and always. Again, it is the Samaritan – the foreigner – who returns in adoration and overwhelming gratitude. The others on whom He also lavished love and grace ran off to continue with everyday life and its distractions. They didn't even look back. The nine had faith enough to receive health; the one who returned with appreciation was given that extra measure of friendship with God. The others would never realize what they missed.

What excuses have we for our ingratitude? Do we underestimate the cost of His love for us? Do we not realize what it means to our Savior to have us love Him back; to be grateful to Him for the immeasurable blessings He bestows on us every day? "Every good and perfect gift is from above ... " (James 1:17). Perhaps we think it's useless to thank God for gifts that He so willingly presents; that God's joy is in His generosity. But He does want us to thank Him, not for His sake but for ours. Our gratitude is our recognition of indebtedness to Him.

To acknowledge another's gift is moral strength; to ignore another's grace is a cruel lack of recognition of the Giver. God hurts when we are indifferent to His love that He gives to all, rich and poor, just and unjust.

Contrast this with Elisha's noble reaction to all that the widow had done for him: "You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you?" (2 Kings 4:13).

Send a note to © Pat Nordman , the writer of this devotion.

God hurts when we are indifferent to His love that He gives to all, rich and poor, just and unjust.

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