He has taken our sins away from us as far as the east is from the west.

Psalm 103:12 (NLT)

Each adult is responsible for his own behavior, and that of no one else.

...We are given the powerful weapon of intercessory prayer which must never be underestimated. ...Pray for your children in confidence -- not in regret. The past is the past. You can't undo your mistakes. You could no more be a perfect parent than you could be a perfect human being. Let your guilt do the work God intended and then file it away forever.

— James C. Dobson

Daily Meditations by Pat Nordman Š

August 14

The Election Law is as follows: God has one vote, and that is for you; the devil has one vote, and that is against you; you have one vote, and it is that vote which decides the election. "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise...He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

"He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will" (Ephesians 1:5)..

Pat Nordman Š

Excerpts from today's Spurgeon's Devotions
Spurgeon's Morning for August 14	Spurgeon's Evening for August 14
"Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work." – Psalm 92:4	"I know their sorrowst." — Exodus 3:7
Do you believe that your sins are forgiven, and that Christ has made a full atonement for them? Then what a joyful Christian you ought to be! How you should live above the common trials and troubles of the world! Since sin is forgiven, can it matter what happens to you now?	He is the Physician, and if he knows all, there is no need that the patient should know. Hush, thou silly, fluttering heart, prying, peeping, and suspecting! What thou knowest not now, thou shalt know hereafter, and meanwhile Jesus, the beloved Physician, knows thy soul in adversities.

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August 14 Jer 1:1 - 3:25

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Current Bible Question

What type of bird did Noah first send forth from the Ark?

Previous question and Answer:

What was the name of the first judge of Israel?

Othniel (Judges 1:13; 3:9)

Today's Devotion

But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort from my lips would bring you relief.
Job 16:5 (NIV)

Authority to Send Away

by Cathy Vinson

"...so you may know the Son of Man has authority on earth...."

(Matthew 9:6)

The people eagerly entered the excitement when they saw God from Heaven "had given such authority to men" (vs 8). How thrilling to see a link being established to earth, with men! What power were they witnessing?

They saw "the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (vs 6). Hopefully we, with them, are coming to terms with the cleaving, clinging nature of personal sins. They permeate from one day to the next until Authority steps in to say, "I'm sending those sins away from you, apart from you. I'm removing them." For Jesus to "forgive" meant He was sending away, "away, to send forth." Authority had been met. Is it with this inward forgiveness that the crowd was impressed?

"And the man (paralytic) got up and went home" (vs 7). It was this display that got the crowd's attention. But was this revealing of power greater than forgiveness? "Which is EASIER: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say,'Get up and walk'?" (v 5). It seems the releasing anointing was similar in each case, in one to the hold of sin, in the other to a "hold" as well...hold of what?

The word we know as sickness is made up of "the adverb KAKOS evilly, ill with ECHO to hold, to have." Some examples where this sense of "hold" is used are "ill with various diseases" (Mt 4:24), "Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever" (Lk 4:38), and "father of Publius lay sick of a fever" (sunecho=to hold in, to hold fast). Sickness required the need of One with anointing to come along and break the hold by sending away.

Does the hold of sickness overlap with unforgiven sin? It could be; this God knows. What we need to "know" is that "the Son of Man has authority on earth" and join in the crowd's gratitude for the hold He releases! He, right where we live, "has authority to forgive sins ON EARTH," and "has given such authority to MEN" (vs 6,8).

"...so you may know the Son of Man has authority on earth..."Cathy VinsonŠ

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

Does the hold of sickness overlap with unforgiven sin? It could be; this God knows.

Other Whispers from the Wilderness Devotions are found HERE

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~ Talk About the Weather ~

I have a friend who radiates joy, not because his life is easy, but because he habitually recognizes God's presence in the midst of all human suffering, his own as well as others'.

... My friend's joy is contagious. The more I am with him, the more I catch glimpses of the sun shining through the clouds. Yes, I know there is a sun, even though the skies are covered with clouds. While my friend always spoke about the sun, I kept speaking about the clouds, until one day I realized that it was the sun that allowed me to see the clouds.

Those who keep speaking about the sun while walking under a cloudy sky are messengers of hope, the true saints of our day.

- Henri J. Nouwen in Here and Now: Living in the Spirit. Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 13.

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD,

My soul will exult in my God;

For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,

He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,

And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. ISA 61:10