Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior.

Ephes. 4:31 (New Living Translation)

Lincoln And Stanton’s Harsh Letter

When the darkest clouds of the Civil War were hovering over the capital, many things done by the generals were not approved by either Lincoln or Secretary Stanton. Lincoln would take a long time to ponder over those situations, but Stanton would, at times, lose his temper and explode.

    One day Stanton came to see Lincoln about the doings of a certain general. Listening quietly, Lincoln let Stanton show his anger, and when the latter exclaimed, “I would like to write him a letter and tell him what I think of him!” Lincoln remarked quietly, “Well, why not do so? Sit down and write him a letter, saying all you have said to me.”

    Stanton was surprised for he thought that President Lincoln would object to this. He declared that he would take the President at his word.

    Two days later he brought Lincoln the letter he had written, and read it to him. When Stanton had finished, Lincoln smiled and remarked, “That is all right. You have said all you told me you would. Now, what are you going to do with this letter?”

    “Why, I am going to give it to him, of course.”

    “I wouldn’t,” replied the President quietly. “Throw it in the waste basket.”

    “What, after spending two days on it,” exclaimed Stanton.

    “Yes. It took you two days to write it, and it did you a lot of good. You feel a great deal better now, and that is all that is necessary.”

    The letter went to the waste basket, and Stanton learned an important lesson.

—Young People

Daily Meditations by Pat Nordman Š

September 29

Procrastination is a killer of time and motivation. It borrows on tomorrow's time. Today is yesterday's tomorrow. God has many promises, but tomorrow isn't one of them. We can't waste a minute of unredeemable time in getting on with our purpose in life while we have time and health to do it. Felix told Paul, "Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you" (Acts 24:25 NAS). There is no record of Felix ever finding the time to summon Paul. Cervantes said, "By the streets of `By and By' one arrives at the house of `Never.'" By and by, we will arrive at never, too, if we don't get on with what we need to dotoday.

Pat Nordman Š

Excerpts from today's Spurgeon's Devotions With links to the entire devotion
Spurgeon's Morning for September 29	Spurgeon's Evening for September 29
"Behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague." - Leviticus 13:13	"I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go." - Song of Solomon 3:4
When a man sees himself to be altogether lost and ruined, covered all over with the defilement of sin, and no part free from pollution; when he disclaims all righteousness of his own, and pleads guilty before the Lord, then is he clean through the blood of Jesus, and the grace of God.	Does Christ receive us when we come to him, notwithstanding all our past sinfulness? Does he never chide us for having tried all other refuges first? And is there none on earth like him? Is he the best of all the good, the fairest of all the fair? Oh, then let us praise him!

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September 29 Zec 8:1 - 14:21

365 days of Bible Readings Linked to Bible Gaitway TM

Current Bible Question

Who was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after his death?

Previous question and Answer:

Who took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands to symbolize how the Jews would bind Paul and deliver him to the gentiles?

Agabus (Acts 21:10-11)

Today's Devotion

But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.

Job 16:5 (NIV)

Looking Ahead

by Cathy Vinson

"By faith Moses, when he had GROWN UP...was looking forward to his reward"

(Hebrews 11:24,26)

Growing up enabled Moses to make a value judgment, and he chose a greater future over the pleasures of Egypt surrounding him at his fingertips. In Scripture we can see a link between maturity and looking ahead. Have we, like Moses, grown up?

Because spiritual maturity is a goal, what does it look like? what hinders it?

Luke 8:14 describes fruit that never matures: "those who hear, but as they go their way they are choked by life's pleasures, and they do not mature." Are we stuck in today, being choked? Moses' ability to look ahead kept him from getting trapped in these cares "...BECAUSE he was looking ahead."

Paul, as well, described maturity in terms of looking ahead. "I press on to take hold...straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are MATURE should take such a view" (Phil 3:12-15).

Maturity leaves a believer with a hard-to-define residue from each experience, a lack of satisfaction for what only heaven can provide.
"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied" (Lk 6:21).

Being a stranger was his home; Abraham "was looking forward to his city." Faith's heroes saw the things ahead "...were persuaded of them, and embraced them...They were looking for a country of their own...they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one" (Heb 11:10,13,14,16).

Let's lift our heads and look to a better country. We will see worries lessen, riches and pleasures lose their appeal. If what is happening NOW is the sum total of our existence, we are trapped and not maturing. Gain a focus towards a better place - "a heavenly one."

Cathy VinsonŠ

Send a note to Cathy Vinson , the writer of this devotion.

Maturity leaves a believer with a hard-to-define residue from each experience, a lack of satisfaction for what only heaven can provide.

Other Whispers from the Wilderness Devotions are found HERE

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~ Buried Anger ~

In a 1994 article, "Wars' Lethal Leftovers Threaten Europeans," Associated Press reporter Christopher Burns writes: "The bombs of World War II are still killing in Europe. They turn up--and sometimes blow up--at construction sites, in fishing nets, or on beaches fifty years after the guns fell silent.

"Hundreds of tons of explosives are recovered every year in France alone. Thirteen old bombs exploded in France last year, killing twelve people and wounding eleven, the Interior Ministry said.

"'I've lost two of my colleagues,' said Yvon Bouvet, who heads a government team in the Champagne-Ardennes region that defuses explosives from both World War I and II. ...
"Unexploded bombs become more dangerous with time, Bouvet said. 'With the corrosion inside, the weapon becomes more unstable, the detonator can be exposed.'" What is true of lingering bombs is also true of lingering anger. Buried anger will explode when we least expect it.

— Barry McGee, Anderson, California. Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 3.

Don’t get angry.
Don’t be upset; it only leads to trouble.

Psalm 37:8(NCV)