Monday, September 29,
2025
BEGINNING TODAY, AND FOR
THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, I MUST BRIEFLY TAKE A BREAK FROM THESE DEVOTIONALS. I AM
HAVING A KNEE REPLACEMENT SURGERY AND WILL RESUME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IN THE
MEAN TIME, YOU MAY ACCESS OVER 3,000 CLASSIC DEVOTIONALS AT THE LINK BELOW.
http://backsideofthepulpit.blogspot.com
Sunday, September 28,
2025
UNWORTHY
Gen_32:10
I am not worthy of the
least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy
servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two
bands.
Jacob the ‘heal catcher’ or supplanter felt as he
truly was, undeserving, and unworthy. I think that to be truly thankful a
person must feel the smallness of self and embrace the enormity of God. We must
leave hubris behind and embrace humility.
UNWORTHY
Unworthy am I of the
grace that He gave,
Unworthy to hold to His
hand;
Amazed that a King would
reach down to a slave,
This love I cannot
understand.
Chorus
Unworthy, unworthy, a
beggar;
In bondage and alone;
But He made me worthy and
now by His grace,
His mercy has made me His
own.
Thank
you, Lord, for an abundance undeserved. AMEN
Saturday, September 27,
2025
THREE
GOALS OF MINISTRY
2Timothy
4:2
Preach the word; be
instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine.
Some of my followers are so accustomed to
these daily devotionals that they assume something dreadful has happened if I
should miss one or two but life has plenty of interruptions and I apologize for
any that are tardy or absent. Having said that, I want you to know that I have three
goals for my devotionals. They are as follows.
To Evangelize! The Great Commission has but one challenging verb
and that is to “make disciples.” To reach the lost and to win souls for Christ
is the foundational goal of preaching. If your Christianity is not outreaching
then it has forgotten its mission.
To Educate! When Paul said, “I would not have you to be
ignorant,” he was addressing believers who needed instruction. Delivering pure doctrine
and correcting false notions is a major part of pastoral ministry because it promotes
both evangelism and encouragement.
To Encourage! Because believers are strangers and pilgrims in a
world that is now foreign to them, we are admonished to encourage one another. The
words of Fanny Crosby’s old hymn Rescue the Perishing confirm these three
goals.
Rescue the perishing,
care for the dying,
snatch them in pity from
sin and the grave;
weep o’er the erring one,
lift up the fallen,
tell them of Jesus the
mighty to save.
Down in the human heart,
crushed by the tempter,
feelings lie buried that
grace can restore;
touched by a loving
heart, wakened by kindness,
cords that are broken
will vibrate once more. [Refrain]
Refrain:
Rescue the perishing,
care for the dying;
Jesus is merciful, Jesus
will save.
Lord,
mold my life around these three goals. AMEN
