BBD 08.12.15 Begin (New)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
If for
some reason you do not receive your email version of the devotional please
check the Burning Bush website at http://www.theburningbush.net for the “Devotional of the Day”
and read the devotional there.
The Burning
Bush Devotional
08.12.15
Begin
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. - Genesis
1:1 NKJV.
And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My
disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first
and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid
the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? - Luke 14:27-30
NKJV.
There
are many weeds that have sprung up on our property since the drought has ended.
In the ten years since I have taken over the care of the grounds around this
home from my father, there has not been anything like this. I look at all of
the weeds and grass, and I think of it as being a jungle. How am I ever going
to tame this jungle? Where do I even begin? I did arrive at a conclusion yesterday
that it really does not matter so much as to where I begin, as it does that I
actually begin cutting down the jungle. So, I mowed as much as I could, and then
got out my 4-cycle weed wacker and began to cut down the jungle. It still
looks like an almost impossible task, but since I have actually started do
something about it, I think it may just be possible to tame my jungle.
Beginning the work has made the impossible appear to be possible.
Beginnings
are important. God made a beginning as we read in Genesis
1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Now Jesus
does warn about counting the cost of building a tower before beginning to build, and of
the cost of following Him. However, if a person who wants to build a tower does
not begin, it will never be built. Also, if a person does not actually begin to
follow Jesus, the spiritual journey will never begin.
Most of
us have had many beginnings in our lives. We were born. We began to attend
school, we began our careers, we began our married life (for many of us), and
we may have begun a business venture or countless other things.
Spiritually,
there are beginnings. The first step spiritually is to be “born again” as Jesus says in John
3:3. Once we know Jesus as our Savior having been born again, we need to
take up our cross and follow Him. In the following of Jesus there are many
beginnings. I remember the first time I memorized Scripture in a Vacation Bible
School one summer. I remember beginning to pray, not just every so often, but
faithfully every day. I remember making a commitment that I was going to attend
church faithfully whenever it was possible for me to do so whether my family
went with me or not. I remember making a commitment to read God's Word and to
memorize it. I remember how God called me to ministry and how there was a
beginning that went beyond knowing to actually making public in a church that
God had called me. I remember beginning to preach, that first time. I remember
selling our home and moving into a parsonage as we began our lives in ministry.
There was a beginning as I began to send out devotionals by email. There was a
beginning as I created a website and began to post the devotionals there. Many
beginnings....
At some
point, we need to begin in the Christian life. At some point, we need to
actually pick up our cross and follow Jesus.
Copyright © 2015. 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.
Visit the
Burning Bush websites:
The Burning Bush websites
received visits from 184 countries in 2015 including from 27 cities in Iran.
Celebrating 17 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than
14,000 subscribers across the world.
The Addictions Kit - Biblical Help for Addictions by Ed Wrather is now
available for download from Amazon. The Addictions Kit provides practical Biblical steps to defeat
your addiction that actually work.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VIYLNLM
The New Pastor's Training Manual is available for download on Amazon. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJ8UTGS If you prefer
a paper copy of the book you can order it from the Burning Bush website at http://bit.ly/1uXDBnk
You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.
There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right hand corner of all of the pages.
Please continue to pray
for our friend Michelle who is recovering from surgery for cancer. The latest
update is that she is “half way through Chemo, awaiting results of PET Scan at
end of Chemo.” Thank you for your prayers for Michelle!!!
Please continue to pray for
Michelle, Justin Lewis, Shane Hall, Reta (my sister), and Beverly (Jeanie’s
sister). Jeanie has also been experiencing increased pain in her back and side.
So far tests have not revealed it being caused by cancer, but degenerative disc
disease. It is likely she will need additional intervention for the pain.
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.).
I would like to be able to preach
more revivals and share my testimony more, however, that has not happened in
some time. If you are part of a Southern Baptist Church in the continental United
States please consider having me as your evangelist for a revival. Here is a
link with more information including contact information: http://www.theburningbush.net/pages.asp?pageid=22160
You can contact Ed Wrather at edwrather@yahoo.com or
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105
If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org
There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.
Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.
You can unsubscribe to the
burningbushdevo devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
You may subscribe to the html
text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is only being sent now
in html format) by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org
and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.
--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org