Cartoonology Devotional 07-28-09

Cartoonology.  There is great theology in cartoons and comics.

Work is often presented as a dirty word, but work is something that enables a person to have dignity.  Work is God-ordained.  Even God works. 

The work ethic is a gift that was given to me at a very young age.  When I turned 11, my father found a job for me, and told me that I would start the next Saturday.  He didn’t ask me if I wanted a job, and I never questioned whether or not I would take it.  Around our house, working was the norm.  My father and mother were both hard workers and they passed it on to all 7 of their children. 

I worked at that job for over 4 years.  My senior year, I took another job which became a full-time position when I got married.  When my wife and I married, I had over $2,000.00 in the bank, which was pretty good money in 1969.  I bought my first car for $150.00 at the age of 15.  I paid for my schoolbooks, lunches and some of my clothing throughout high school.  During the summers, I worked as much as 72 hours per week for 50 cents per hour.  I have never once begrudged or regretted any of it.

We fail our children when we do not teach them the work ethic.  Perhaps, it was a little overdone in my case, but giving our children chores to do and enabling them to get a job is healthy.  It is one way to build within them genuine self-worth.

Proverbs 28:19 (NKJV)
¹⁹ He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough!  07-28-09

Cartoonology Devotional 07-30-09

Cartoonology.  There is great theology in cartoons and comics.

There is nothing like being prepared.  There is an old Chinese proverb that reads, “Dig the well before you are thirsty.”   Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts, developed the Scout motto, “Be prepared”.  He was once asked, “Be prepared for what?”  “Why, for any old thing.” was his reply.  The motto more definitively “means you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty.”

Being spiritually prepared is most important.  There will be what is often called “Divine Appointments” when God will give us opportunity to share our faith, perform some ministry, provide for a need, etc.  If we are not prepared and on alert, those opportunities will be lost.  The sharing of our faith is something that we must cultivate.  There are plenty of courses and materials to help prepare us for telling others the Gospel message.  Campus Crusade for Christ provides excellent material and training.  You can learn how to share their tract The Four Spiritual Laws online. 

The Eternal Life tract can also be viewed online, and you can purchase it at many Christian bookstores.  Another great resource is the Here’s Hope tract, which contains the old “Roman Road” model of the Gospel presentation.  One more is Billy Graham’s Steps To Peace With God.  Being prepared in this area is fairly simple these days.  Be Prepared!

1 Peter 3:15 (NLT)
¹⁵ Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.  07-29-09

Cartoonology Devotional 07-30-09

Cartoonology.  There is great theology in cartoons and comics.

We often like to think of ourselves as independent and self-sufficient, but reality tells us otherwise.  Henry Emerson Fosdick said it well.  

We asked the leaf, "Are you complete in yourself?" And the leaf answers, "No, my life is in the branches."

We ask the branch, and the branch answers, "No, my life is in the

root."

We asked the root, and it answer, "No, my life is in the trunk and the branches and the leaves. Keep the branches stripped of leaves, and I shall die."

So it is with the great tree of being. Nothing is completely and merely individual.

There is dependence, independence, co-dependence, and then, there is interdependence.  Interdependence fits the bill the best.  It takes both dependence and independence and weaves them together.  We each stand alone before God, but when we reach across to join hands with others in the cause, we find camaraderie, strength, encouragement and community.

The early church learned this well.  Some have accused them of being like a commune, but nothing is further from the truth.  They were simply a unified group of people in Christ who knew how to share with and support one another in love.    They learned that they could do much more for the cause of Christ together than they could ever do individually.  The result was a common bond that kept them together.  Stand alone and wither away.  Join the ranks and thrive.

Acts 4:32 (NKJV)
³² Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.  07-30-09

Cartoonology Devotional 07-31-09

Cartoonology. There is great theology in cartoons and comics.

Do you remember the first date you had with your spouse? I do. It was 44 years ago. Well, it was sort of a date. I was actually minding my own business at the local square dance being held at our local American Legion building. I wasn’t dancing because I didn’t know how, but I liked listening to the music and watching the others.

I was leaning against the wall enjoying myself when I noticed this slender, redhead with very long hair making her way across the room. She was coming straight at me, but I didn’t give it much thought. The closer she came, the more I realized she had targeted me. “You want to dance”, she asked. For some strange reason, I said yes and before I knew it we were on the floor.

I was pretty impressed. First, that a girl noticed me. Second, because I was actually dancing. Third, this girl was pretty and friendly. Fourth, she was two years older than me. Maybe it was all because she attended school in the next county and didn’t know me. We met each other every weekend at that dance for about a year until I could get my driver’s license. I was only 14 when we met.

I haven’t been the perfect husband, but she has been perfect for me these 40 years of marriage. She has been a perfect mate and partner in ministry, and has sacrificed a lot. I can’t think of being in ministry without her. She is God’s gift to me.

Proverbs 5:18 (NLT)
18 Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. 07-31-09

Cartoonology Devotional 08-01-09

Cartoonology. There is great theology in cartoons and comics.

Isn’t interesting how you can remember the way things smell? I still remember the smell of my mother cooking in the kitchen. This was when cooking in the kitchen was much different than it is today. There were no microwave ovens, no instant meals in a package and no canned biscuits, although I also remember when my mother started using canned biscuits. They weren’t as good as her homemade versions, but the thing I missed the most was eating the raw dough. And I still remember the smell and taste of that dough.

God must have a keen sense of smell, as well. Whenever the priests offered up sacrifices, it was quite commonly described as a sweet-smelling aroma to Him. Incense was used along with the sacrifice that would emit a sweet smelling aroma, but a close look at the scriptures indicate that the attitude of the worshipper and the sacrifice itself was sweet-smelling and pleasing to God.

Leviticus 1:9 (NKJV)
9 . . . And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is described in a similar way in the New Testament. It is described as sweet-smelling to God and it’s sure sweet-smelling to me, as well!

Ephesians 5:2 (NKJV)
2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 08-01-09

Cartoonology Devotional 08-15-09

Cartoonology. There is great theology in cartoons and comics.

“Cleanliness is next to godliness” is a proverb some people think is in the Bible. Perhaps that is because it is part of a statement John Wesley made in a sermon in 1791. Although it is not found in the Bible, it expresses a veritable truth.

Cleanliness is one virtue that my mother passed on to her children. I recall one occasion when she was preparing lunch for my father, who came home from the sawmill every day to eat at noon. Mom was stressing the importance of washing for meals, and in order to get us to conform she made a big deal about being extra clean for Dad when he came in. My baby sister and I went into the bathroom and washed and washed and washed. By the time Dad came in our faces were red, chafed and very sore, but we were clean!

I am often appalled at the number of people I see in restrooms who never wash their hands. What does it say about our society when employers have to put signs on the restroom mirrors reminding employees to wash and list instructions on how to do it? And it is not just young people I observe not washing. If cleanliness is indeed next to godliness, perhaps this could be part of the explanation for the filthiness we see in our society regarding morals and ethics.

Isaiah 1:16 (NKJV)
16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 08-15-09

Cartoonology Devotional 08-22-09

Cartoonology Devotional. There is great theology in cartoons and comics.

Pondering the meaning of life is never a waste of time, and living life without pondering it’s meaning can leave one empty. Ask any military chaplain if pondering the meaning of life is important. "There are no atheists in foxholes," said Capt. B.A. Arnold, an Air Force chaplain. "The pressures of the military tend to force people to ask questions about the meaning of life and death."

When U.S. Airways Airbus A320 safely crashed into the Hudson River this past January, people immediately began to refer to it as a miracle. It is not uncommon for people get a little bit of religion at times like this. Others, however, testified out of their Christian experience about the meaning of life in Christ.

On such passenger was Michael Whitesides who said after the crash, “If there’s anything I’d say I learned from this, it’s that God gets the glory.” “He made it possible for that plane to slow down enough to land.”

Jesus said that He came to give people meaning and purpose as well as eternal life. Without Him, we wander about aimlessly with regard to God’s will and purpose. That is not to say that we cannot be successful based on the world’s standards, but it is no secret that the worlds’ standards will bring no true fulfillment in life. With Jesus, we can face anything - even death itself.

John 10:10 (NKJV)
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 08-22-09

Cartoonology Devotional 08-27-09

Cartoonology. There is great theology in cartoons and comics.

The grass is greener on the other side of the fence. This tongue-in-cheek proverb has been around for ages. It is a sarcastic way of saying that you really won’t be any happier in other circumstances or places. Be happy and bloom where you are, unless God gives you other circumstances, of course.

I was driving a school bus down a country lane this morning. As I passed by a cow pasture, I noticed several cows stretching their necks through the barbed-wire fence eating grass. I thought to myself, even cows think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

The truth is the grass was greener on the other side, as well as, taller. However, I seriously doubt that it was any better tasting or nourishing than the grass right under their feet.

There is another truth, however. Except for the fence, the cows would be in greater peril pursuing that greener grass, not to mention the people passing by in their cars. The grass might be greener on the other side, but that does not mean it is good for you or necessarily more desirable.

The trick is learning to be content with whatever situation God has you in at the moment and to make the best of it, whatever that might be. It could be a place of great honor, something mediocre or something almost unbearable such as divorce, prison, bankruptcy, etc. Decide to place your faith in Christ and strive to do well. In God’s time, things will get better and more satisfying.

1 Timothy 6:6 (NKJV)
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 08-27-09

Cartoonology Devotional 09-17-09

Cartoonology Devotional 09-17-09
E. Larry Ross

Have you ever done a stupid thing and wished you could turn back the clock? I certainly have; more than once.

A man walked into the Bank of America and on the back of a deposit slip wrote, "this iz a stikkup. Put all your muny in this bag." While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone may have seen him write the note. So, he left the Bank of America and walked across to the street to Wells Fargo and handed it to a teller. Determining that this robber was a few sandwiches short, she told him that he would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo withdrawal slip or go back to the Bank of America. She then called the police. They arrested the man a few minutes later—still waiting in line at the Bank of America.

We sometimes do stupid things more than once. Why is that? Human nature. Sinful nature. Listen to what the Apostle Paul said.

Romans 7:15, 24-25 (NKJV)

15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. 09-17-09





















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Cartoonology Devotional 09-24-09

Cartoonology. There is great theology in cartoons and comics.

There is a great old hymn titled, “Give of Your Best to the Master”. You can’t find it in modern-day hymnals, but we sang it a lot in church when I was growing up. In addition to good lyrics, it has an unusual tune. Part of the lyrics are:

Give of your best to the Master;
Give Him first place in your heart;
Give Him first place in your service;
Consecrate every part.

I tell people who fall asleep in worship services that I know of no better place to take a nap. I know some people struggle because of medication, etc., but some people sleep simply because they do not come prepared to give God their best in worship.

My wife and I have made it a habit over the years to reserve Saturday nights for time at home. We do that in part just to get ready for Sunday morning. We get our offering ready, sometimes our clothing ready, our Bible study materials in order and we go to bed early enough to get plenty of rest. We want to give our best when we go to worship. We want to be alert and come with expectation to hear something from God.

I am always glad to see people on Sunday morning, sleepy or not. Think about it, though. If you are not giving your best ear to God on Sunday morning, are you able to do it through the week?

Psalm 95:2 (NKJV)
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms.