Just as a parent is pleased with the efforts of his little child to please him, though it be only by picking a daisy or walking across a room, so is our Father in heaven pleased with the poor performances of His believing children. He looks at the motive, principle, and intention of their actions, and not merely at their quantity and quality. He regards them as members of His own dear Son, and for His sake, wherever there is a single eye, He is well-pleased.
J.C. Ryle

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BBD 05.30.16 No Surrender (New)

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#1 · May 30, 2016, 11:41 am

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Since June 8th 1998, this
is the 1748th         

Burning Bush Devotional

30 May 2016

 

 

No Surrender

 

 

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing
into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food
and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich
fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which
drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds
of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these
things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. FIGHT
THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also
called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many
witnesses. – 1 Timothy 6:6-12 NKJV.

 

 

In the
United States today is Memorial Day, a federal holiday for remembrance of those
who died while serving in the armed forces of the country. Memorial Day was
originally Decoration Day begun in 1868 when the graves of the Union war dead
were decorated. There was also a day for remembering the Confederate war dead
from the Civil War, but these days were merged into the one that we now
observe.

 

 

Today
on Memorial Day is a good time to remember one of the famous battles of WWII
called “the Battle of the Bulge.” Military.com
has a short, but excellent article about the battle. In December 1944, the
Germans had launched a counter offensive and were able to surround Bastogne,
Belgium. Bastogne was being defended by the 101st Airborne Division
commanded by General Anthony Clement McAuliffe. On the morning of December 22nd
four Germans approached carrying a white flag carrying with them a demand for
the Americans to surrender. There were two pages demanding the Americans
surrender, which in part read, “To the USA Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne…There
is only one possibility the honorable surrender of the encircled town.”

 

 

When General McAuliffe first briefly looked at the
message from the Germans his immediate response was, “Aw, nuts!” Military.com gives
this insight into how the actual official response of General McAuliffe
occurred: “When he told his commanders he didn’t know what answer to send,
Lt. Col. Harry Kinnard said ‘That first crack you made would be hard to beat,
General.’ Everyone laughed as a sergeant typed up the succinct response: ‘To
the German Commander: Nuts! The American Commander.’” The 101st Airborne was able to hold on until they
received relief from Patton’s troops and weather cleared enough for air
support. General McAuliffe would likely agree with Dictionary
dot com’s interpretation of the word “nuts”
as being an expression of “disapproval, disgust, or defiance” meaning in
essence “insane,
or crazy.” It might have been a temporary relief from the terrible
conditions they were in to have surrendered, but that would have been “crazy!”

 

At
times we may feel like we are surrounded spiritually. We may all express
silently, if not verbally as did Peter, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” Sin, whether small or great in our eyes, is a
spiritual defeat; but, that does not mean that the war has been lost. However,
we may “feel” like we have been
surrounded by the hosts of hell and that the only thing to do is to surrender
to their demands. That in a word would be as General McAuliffe uttered
at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, “Nuts!”
As the apostle Paul encouraged Timothy, instead of surrender, rise up and “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life!”

 

 

Copyright © 2016. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of those first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

 

 

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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VIYLNLM

 

 

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Prayer
Requests:
Please continue to pray for McCoy Greer, Michelle Abetz,
Shane Hall, Brad, Reta (my sister), Beverly (Jeanie’s sister), and Jeanie.

 

 

Please pray for an end to the
racial hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace and love. Many
prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page.
You can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

 

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