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The BIBLE VIEW #1005 — Trust the Lord

In This Issue:
An Unreliable Foundation
Give God the Rudder

Volume: 1005   May 11, 2025
Theme:  Trust the Lord!

If you like The BIBLE VIEW, you will most likely look forward to receiving  The Daily View, a free daily devotion.  Sign up (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M), and you will be e-mailed a link to read or HEAR a KJV chapter and a short commentary (200-700 words) of something taught in the day’s reading.  The e-mail will include a mini-sermon in pictures, a prayer list, Thought for The Day, a Bible study, and short articles reinforcing biblical principles.

An Unreliable Foundation
Bill Brinkworth

The central Italian city of Pisa has many popular tourist sites.  Many come to see the University of Pisa, which was first started in 1343.  Others flock to the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square) to see the famous white, marbled cathedral, baptistery, and the tilting bell tower.  Of all that the city has to show, none is more memorable and curious than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or as a 1929 Scientific American article named it, the “Sinking” Tower of Pisa.

The tower was begun in August of 1173 A. D., of which they are sure.  Many of the other details are vague because they are not documented.  Who the architect was is not clear, as at least three different times, the project was resumed and then halted.

Many believe that the tower’s tilting had been discovered by the completion of the third story.  Because of battles and possibly because of the discovery of its inclination, construction was halted.  Soft river valley sediments, sand, and clay did not support its weight, and the building began leaning.  A temporary bell was placed on the third story.

There, the semi-finished building lay, year after year, halted before it was completed.  I am sure it was a laughing stock for many.

“Hey, Luigi, see that unfinished tower those foolish builders left.  Such lack of planning.  It was a waste of money and materials, and what an eyesore.  If they had only spent the time wisely on a firm foundation on which to build,” may have been the conversation of the past.

Some later levels tried to compensate for the five-degree tilt by building them off-center, on the true vertical.  Upward the white, marbled structure’s construction went.  Over the next one hundred years, construction was started and stopped.  It is believed the belfry was completed in 1350, as one of the bells in the tower is dated.

Still, the campanile leans.  All the planning, ingenuity, and decoration did not solve or even hide the problem that the building tilts more than 17 feet from its perpendicular and continues to tilt at a rate of ¼ an inch per year.

Man still has not given up.  Many attempts have been made to stop its leaning.  In the 1930’s, cement was injected through pipes inserted under the tower in hopes that the foundation would be strengthened and the leaning would cease.  The tilting continued.

Attempts were made to tie it together with cables to keep it intact.  Numerous restoration projects were begun and then discontinued.

Plans for the structure’s righting are vast.  Some call for jacking the building up six feet on one side and moving the 14,700 metric tons to a new concrete base.  The more sure method would be to dismantle the eight stories and start construction over on a thick, firm foundation.

How many lives in the past have been erected similarly?  Instead of building a life on the Rock of Ages, the Lord Jesus Christ and around the firm foundation of the Word of God (our preserved KJV Bible), people try various ways, plans, and fads to live their lives.  They spend their entire lives compensating for a life that was not founded on a firm foundation from the beginning.  Their efforts are hopeless if they are not in line with God’s plan and method.

Lives have been directed by the advice of strangers, family, television talk shows, and even from movies.  Newspaper columnists and others’ beliefs have probably directed more lives than would ever be known.  Man-made unbiblical religion has also misdirected many.

All kinds of techniques have been tried to stop problems.  Today, there are drugs to try to solve the issues of weight loss, nervousness, lack of attentiveness, feelings of loneliness, and other of life’s problems.  The hope is in a pill to fix a problem.  Psychologists’ and psychiatrists’ advice is followed, no matter how extreme or illogical it seems.  Man’s attempts to right a tilting life usually fail.

Few of these people ever seek to get the advice from their Creator, who has raised millions upon millions of children.  Father knows best, but He is rarely sought for direction, or His word followed for guidance.  No wonder so many lives are slanting to an inevitable destruction.
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”Matthew 7:24-27

Sin is usually the “tilting” force in one’s life.  There is a clear way to reconstruct a sin-troubled life.  That way can change one’s life.  It is the only way that works.  Man tries to change a life from the outside, hoping the inside will be altered.  God changes it from the inside, and then the outside will be transformed.  The amount of renovation is dependent on one’s obedience to God’s commands found in His Word.

When a man is saved, his life is changed.  The inward change is done in the heart.  That is why the Bible names a spiritually revitalized person as “born again”.  A life is started all over again.

He is a new creature.  All sins are forgiven and forgotten by God.  The new life can begin on a new foundation that will support the load of life’s troubles.  Guilt from sin will disappear.  An eternal penalty for past sins is gone!

This “second chance” can be achieved by admitting one’s sins.  The Bible reminds us that we are all sinners.  Not one of us has pleased God with our good works or kindness.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23

God certainly knows we are sinners.  Our confession of our guilt shows God that we are humbling ourselves and admitting our failure in doing it our way rather than His.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9

Once our sinfulness is acknowledged, one must know that a price has been paid for our sins.  God’s only son, Jesus, paid that price.  The death He suffered on the cross was not for His sin, as He was sinless.  It was for our transgressions.  His payment is the only fee God will accept.  We cannot pay for our sinning against God by our good works or deeds.  Jesus has already paid the price.
“And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” Hebrews 9:15

Once we are saved, we are then in the family of God.  The Father can guide if the “born again” (John 3:3) child obeys Him.  A life can be salvaged and restarted.  There can be hope.  We can compensate and recover from our self-lived lives.

The world’s solutions hardly ever work, and if they do, they often work only temporarily.  God can come into a life and straighten the crooked course, and it can stay undeviated.

Build your life around the Word of God.  It is as true today as when God inspired its writing.  Since then, God has used it to raise, support, and guide millions.  It is the firm foundation.  It will never let you tilt.

“Life is a long lesson in humility.” — Barrie



Give God the Rudder
C. H. Spurgeon

I have heard of a young man who went to college, and when he was there one year, his parents said to him, “What do you know?  Do you know more than when you went?”

“Oh!  Yes,” said he, “I do.”

Then, after he attended the second year, he was asked the same question, “Do you know more than when you went?”

“Oh!  No,” said he, “I know a great deal less than I thought.”

“Well,” said the father,” you are getting somewhere now.”

Then he went to the third year and was asked the same question.  “What do you know now?”

“Oh!” said he, “I don’t think I know half as much as I should know.”

“That is right,” said the father; “you will now profit since you say you know nothing.  He who is convinced that he knows nothing of himself as he ought to know gives up steering his ship and lets God put his hand on the rudder.”

“The truest end of life is to know the life that never ends.” — William Penn

The BIBLE VIEW #1004 — Don’t Quit

In This Issue:
They Kept On Despite Difficulties
In the Master’s Hand
Don’t Quit

Volume: 1004   May 5, 202
Theme:  Don’t Quit

The  Daily View is a free, daily devotion.  Sign up (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M), and you will be e-mailed a link to read or HEAR a KJV chapter and a short commentary (200-700 words) of something taught in the day’s reading.  The e-mail will include a mini-sermon in pictures, a prayer list, Thought for The Day, a Bible study, and short articles reinforcing biblical principles.

They Kept On Despite Difficulties
Bill Brinkworth

Heroes of the faith have continued since biblical times.  Here are just a few of the countless faithful ones:

  • Hundreds of thousands of Christians lost their lives rather than deny that Jesus is the only way to Heaven or that the Bible is the preserved Word of God.  The unwavering faithfulness of those heroes of the faith is why the truth from the Word of God is still preached in many churches, and we still have the preserved Word of God available to us.  The testimonies of many of those heroes who died by the sword, fire, torture, and other hideous ways for their faith can be read in Foxes Book of Martyrs (1563).
  • Fanny Crosby (Frances Jane van Alstne Crosby)  March 23,1820 – Feb. 12, 1915.    Although blinded shortly after her birth, Fanny did not let her handicap hinder her from being a Christian testimony and serving the Lord.  Her over 8,000 hymns are still sung today, including: “Blessed Assurance” and “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour”.  She also spent her life teaching and doing rescue mission work.
  • Horatio Spafford.  Horatio lost many of his properties to the devastation of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire and was ruined financially.  He sent his family to Europe while he stayed behind and handled some business.  On the trip over, four of his daughters died after their ship sank in the Atlantic.  Only his wife survived.  Traveling to join his wife, he penned one of the greatest hymns about having peace during a crisis.  It is entitled “It Is Well with My Soul” and has encouraged many people going through life’s difficulties.
  • John R. Rice, Billy Sunday….  These men, and many more, took a stand in the early to mid-twentieth century to stop the damage done by alcohol.  Because of their strong stand against sin, many came to church, were saved, and allowed the Lord to change their lives.  This angered many saloon owners to the point that the preachers’ lives were threatened.  Still, the faithful men and women would not deviate from telling those involved in alcohol consumption the biblical truth.  Many were saved and had their lives turned around by the strong stand of those faithful Christians.
  • A wheelchair-bound Sunday school bus worker in the Chicago area.  Many years ago, a disabled woman felt called to the ministry of busing in children so they could attend Sunday school.  Every Saturday, despite how she felt or the weather, she had someone take her to the neighborhood where she wanted to invite children.  Although it was the city, and she could not go up to most of the apartments because of the inaccessibility of her wheelchair, she either sent helpers to knock on doors or stood outside the apartment until she got someone’s attention.  As a result of her determination, many, many Chicago children got to church and were saved!

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”   Philippians 4:13



In the Master’s Hand
Deb McCoy

Lord, I cannot imagine my life apart from your grace;
Gratitude flows from my heart as tears begin to stream down my face.
These trials and hardships you have allowed for a specific good reason;
Though I don’t understand, help me to endure these afflictions, if but for a season.

Let the pathway of my heart never forsake what Christ endured;
May my testimony of Christ within never tragically be obscured.
Let bitterness and anger not hinder my course lest I stray;
May the Holy Spirit flow freely through my life each and every day.

My perseverance, my strength, and my courage are inspired by you Lord.
Knowing you as Father and Saviour is my greatest reward.
You are my creator, deliverer, provider, and guide;
Through the most painful chapters of my life, there is comfort with you by my side.

Ingratitude and self-pity have dissipated as hope has dawned again;
Overshadowed by unhindered expressions of your love time and again.
I struggle at times with insignificance, powerlessness, and even purposelessness.
It is during those times you never cease to amaze and inspire me with glimpses of your goodness.

Lord I know you have so graciously preserved me;
It is my desire to embrace your truth for others to see.
Thank you Lord for your mercy, understanding, and patience.
Your Word is my foundation to provide for all of my substance.

Regardless of circumstances help me to continually abide in your Word;
Continually seeking you alone, as there is never a prayer that has returned unheard.
My gratitude and praises no price can it measure.
Heavenly Father, you are the most gifted treasure!

What blesses my heart most about this poem is that it was written by a person going through great trials and tribulations, but she still has great faith, hope, and strength.  She writes: “My kidneys are back and forth between improving and failure.  The report on my injuries from recent falls and diabetic complications has come to the forefront of serious concerns.  My diabetes is brittle, and the shots caused elevated dangerous levels.  I see the orthopedic doctor again next week and believe I will be sent to a team of surgeons.  I am looking at multiple surgeries as the trauma from falls has caused considerable damage.  Once I meet with the surgeons, I will just need to continue praying for wisdom to make difficult decisions.  It will be rough as each surgery is very complicated.  I am just praying for guidance and peace to know what to do.  I am feeling so poorly and have too many diffuse pains competing with each other on top of the already existing neuropathy.  I push through, but have no energy.  The struggle, both physically and emotionally, seems overwhelming, I love the Lord so much, and He will get me through this!”

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul

Chorus:
It is well
With my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul
From the Hymn “It Is Well with My Soul” by Horatio G. Spafford

Don’t Quit
Bill Brinkworth

Too many quit or want to stop when the going gets rough.  In most cases, one never really quits the problem.  One may move away from it, but it follows a person, often much of one’s life.  The obstacle is still there.

Quitters are everywhere:

  • Husbands feel they cannot handle the burden of being a husband and father and run away.  Although he is distant from his family, he is still a father and husband.  His running away has not changed that.  The problems he ran away from usually get far bigger than they originally were.
  • Wives run off leaving families and husbands; however, each is still a wife and mother.
  • Children sometimes do not like their parent’s rules.  They run away, but they still have the same parents.  They just put space between themselves and the unsolved problem that will most likey haunt them for the rest of their lives unless they stay and work out the problem.
  • Students quit school but usually have a future without training and education.  The rest of their lives are often stalled because they never learned the necessary lessons to further their lives.
  • Friends quit long-term friendships because of arguments.
  • Employees quit when they do not like what is happening at the workplace.

It usually is easy to walk away from an uncomfortable situation.  It does not take character, intelligence, or common sense to run away when the way gets tough.  Rarely is anything solved by quitting.  There will always be problems in life.  Unsolved problems have a way of following us wherever we go.

Many take their quitting lifestyle and apply it to their spiritual lives.  Here are several reasons why one cannot quit on God:

  • You cannot quit being a Christian: Once a true Christian, always a Christian.  You did not earn it.  It was a free gift of salvation if you trusted Jesus’ finished work on the cross as payment for all your sins.  However, too many quit being Christ-like.
    “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” John 10:28-29
  • You cannot quit because the enemy has nothing to offer.  There are only two sides – Satan’s and God’s.  If one is truly saved by faith, he cannot get unsaved and be on the loser’s side.
    “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13
  • You should not quit because victory may be just around the corner.  Troubles and tribulations are part of the school of life.  You may be very close to passing the “test” and going on to life’s next lesson.  Do not quit now.
    “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever.  Amen.” II Timothy 4:18
  • You cannot quit when you make a mistake.  Just get back in the saddle and try again.
    “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39
  • You cannot quit now; you will miss the harvest.  Maybe your problem will be over one day, and you will reap a blessing from the tribulation.  Perhaps it will be tomorrow or the day after.  Spiritual fruit does not always come the day it is planted.
    “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” I Corinthians 15:58  Also: John 15:4.

Many times, life is very difficult.  If you are a Christian, you are on the winning side.  Do not quit now.  Victory is possible; it is a blessing when achieved and may be just around the corner!

“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”   Romans 8:37

The BIBLE VIEW #1003 — Temptation

In This Issue:
Drifting Away
Shame!  Shame!
Don’t Dig It Up!
Tested before Deemed Trustworthy

Volume: 1003   April 28, 2025
Theme:  Temptations

The  Daily View is a free, daily devotion.  Sign up (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M), and you will be e-mailed a link to read or HEAR a KJV chapter and a short commentary (200-700 words) of something taught in the day’s reading.  The e-mail will include a mini-sermon in pictures, a prayer list, Thought for The Day, a Bible study, and short articles reinforcing biblical principles.

Read what readers have said about the e-mailed devotion at
https://www.devotionsfromthebible.com/what-readers-say/



Drifting Away

The battle for living a godly life does not end when one is saved. It begins when one trusts Christ as Saviour, especially if one is determined to live an obedient, Christian life.  

Some succumb to the temptations of this world and lose their love for the things of God. Demas, spoken of in II Timothy 4, was one such causality.
“For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.” II Timothy 4:10

For a while, Demas was a faithful fellow laborer in Christ (Col. 4:14, Philemon 1:24) alongside Paul. Paul relied on Demas to help reach the lost.  Like countless millions, however, the allure of this world caught Demas’ eye and lured him away from his main purpose in life.

Since I have been saved, I have seen many Demases. They got saved and started sitting next to us in a pew. They never missed preaching. 

When the doors of the church were opened, they were there. As the preacher preached, they jotted down what was said as fast as possible. Their marked Bible was evidence that they read the Word of God quite often. Conversations with them indicated they had a consistent prayer life. 

Then, a downward decline started. A once faithful believer missed one church service. It was not long until another was missed. Soon, only one service a week was attended, and then their pew was permanently empty.

A visit to their home revealed that, like Demas, their priorities had changed. No longer was pleasing the Lord their number one goal. Faithfulness to Him had been replaced by a new job, girlfriend, hobby, or sport. Like a fish tempted by a shiny, fluttering lure, they had gotten hooked by something the world offered.  They were soon out of a lifestyle purposing to obey the Lord.

“Drifting away” from living a God-pleasing life can happen to any Christian.  It may begin when one reads the Bible and does not get excited about what was read or by sitting through church and not getting anything out of it.  It can be a spiritually downhill slide when one has too many spiritual “used-to-does”.

When those temptations come, do as Paul did; fight the “good fight” (II Tim. 4:7). Fight any change from doing right.  It may be a lifelong struggle.  If you fail, get back up and do what you used to do.  Finish the course (II Tim. 4:7).  Its benefits are everlasting!

“When a man who professes to be converted says that he goes into the world and sin for pleasure, it is as if an angel went to Hell for enjoyment.”
 — C. H. Spurgeon

Shame!  Shame!
Bill Brinkworth

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.  For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.” Ephesians 5:11-12

The Bible commands Christians to keep far away from the luring grasp of sin.  We are not only to do our best not to commit sin and avoid those involved in it, but we are not even to talk about the iniquities in which others are involved.

This last principle has been ignored by most, and the opposite is practiced.  Many, instead of obeying God’s command, “educate” the masses about certain behavior.  Their hopes are often that knowledge of the side effects of certain socially unacceptable practices, often what the Bible identifies as sin, will help people stay away from them.  Unfortunately, education about something one should not do frequently stimulates an interest in trying to do that very thing.

Programs to educate youth about not doing drugs quite often put the ideas in their minds about doing them and show them how to do something they would never have known about if they had not been shown how or introduced to it by “education”.  The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D. A. R. E.), a publicly-funded program that uses law enforcement resources to help children resist drugs and gangs, illustrates this fact.

Instead of reducing the number of children involved in those things, it has been found that there has been an increase in their involvement in drugs and gangs.  The Family Council of Drug Awareness reported, “Since its curriculum (D. A. R. E.’s) went national, two patterns have emerged: more students now do drugs, and they start using drugs at an earlier age.” Education about something that should not be discussed often increases the practice, not decreases it.

Billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money have been spent over the decades to give young people a sex education under the guise that knowledge will help them keep from making “mistakes.”  Instead, education about sex has increased and encouraged its practice at an early age before marriage.  

Birth rates quickly prove this fact.  In 1950, when sex outside marriage was not openly talked about, especially in the school curriculum, birth rates for unmarried women were about 30 per 1,000.  The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that the birth rate has decreased from previous years.  However, it is now over 450 per 1,000 unmarried women.  The CDC also noted that abortions in 1970 were 10 per 1,000 and increased to over 70 per 1,000, not including the effects of growing usage of birth control, including the day-after “emergency” birth control drugs.  Again, education about not doing something has become a “how-to” and an invitation to “do.”

Other once unwelcomed behaviors are also on the increase.  There was a time when few even knew a divorced couple; now, it is difficult to find couples that have not been divorced.  Perhaps the exposure in movies and television about divorce and adultery has made a once feared occurrence a ho-hum common one. 

Homosexuality, imprisonment, poor parenting, lack of respect for Christianity, crime, and hosts of other once frowned-upon activities are common in public-school lesson plans and media “entertainment,” that they have lost their social stigma and are now acceptable and even encouraged in some areas.  Knowledge of what was once taboos again has contaminated society by going against God’s commandment to discuss something that should not even be whispered about.

The world often defends its efforts in “educating” by belittling God’s commandments and labeling it as making the masses willfully ignorant or “censoring the truth.” The truth, however, is that in most situations, speaking of practices that should not be committed only puts the idea in one’s head.  It does not take much thought to develop the idea to, “I’ll just try it this once”.  Once it is experienced, inhibitions are worn away, and a more frequent practice is easily accomplished.

The human brain is an amazing organ.   It seldom completely forgets something to which it has been exposed.  Conversation about doing improper things often is where the idea to commit them originates.  

God’s wisdom warns us not even to talk about sin because it will not be long until you are neck-deep in it — paraphrased, of course.  God’s commandments are always the best.  If heeded, they will keep you from the hurtful consequences of sin.

“You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequences of your choice.” Barbara Brinkworth

Don’t Dig It Up!
Salters, 1871

Worms and other insects take up their habitation under the surface of the Earth.  A plot of ground may be outwardly covered with grass and decorated with flowers.  Take a spade in your hand and turn up the solid ground, and you soon have a sample of the creatures and filth that lurk beneath.  Temptation is the spade that breaks up the ground of a believer’s heart and helps him discover the corruptions of his fallen nature.

“In diving to the bottom for pleasures, we bring up more gravel than pearls.”
—Spurgeon

Tested before Deemed Trustworthy
C. H. Spurgeon

A further reason why you are tempted and tried is that God, in His wise providence, is testing you to see whether you are fit for His work.  Before a firearm is sold, it is taken to the proof shop.  

It is loaded with a charge, perhaps four or five times heavier than it will ever have to carry at the ordinary sportsman’s hand.  The barrels are filled, and no great hurt is done if they burst in the proof house.  However, it would be exceedingly dangerous if they should burst in the hands of some unskilled man in the field.

God often tests His servants.  Some that He will make special use of are put to the “proof house.”  Perhaps they are loaded with five times more temptations than any person should ordinarily endure so that God may see and prove to onlookers that they are fit for His Divine service.

We have heard that the old warriors before they would use their swords, would bend them across their knees.  They had to see whether the weapons had the right stuff before they would venture into battle with them.  God does this with His servants.

If it had not been for the devil, Martin Luther had never been the Martin Luther he was.  The devil was, as it were, the proof house for Martin Luther.  One must be tried and tempted before he becomes fit for the Master’s use.

“God doesn’t give us what we can handle; God helps us handle what we are given.”

The BIBLE VIEW #1002 — Worry

In This Issue:
Weed Right in Front of You
“But God”
The First “Don’t Worry Club”
Fretting Wastes Precious Time
The Ways of Faith

Volume: 1002   April 21, 2025
Theme:  Worry

The  Daily View is a free, daily devotion.  Sign up (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M), and you will be e-mailed a link to read or HEAR a KJV chapter and a short commentary (200-700 words) of something taught in the day’s reading.  The e-mail will include a mini-sermon in pictures, a prayer list, Thought for The Day, a Bible study, and short articles reinforcing biblical principles.


Read what readers have said about the e-mailed devotion at
https://www.devotionsfromthebible.com/what-readers-say

Weed Right in Front of You
Bill Brinkworth

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.  Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34

Worrying over life’s troubles consumes much time for many.  Sometimes, the concerns are legitimate; sometimes, they are only imagined and never come to fruition.  We all have been vexed by what we perceived as problems.

God has much to say about the sin of worrying in His Word.  Matthew 6:34 compels us to take life’s obstacles on a day-by-day basis.  We have a lot on our plate for today; do not worry about what may or may not happen tomorrow.  Besides, what situation has worrying ever improved (Matthew 6:27)?

Looking at all the possible problems that could happen on another day is very frustrating.  I remember the same feeling when told to weed a 40-foot garden when I was younger.  

My mother gave me the chore to weed a backyard flower patch.  I worked a short time, then looked to the finishing point.  It seemed so far away and impossible.  After working a little more,  I again looked to the far end.  t seemed I would never finish, and it was almost hopeless that I would ever complete the job.

Then, I came up with a different strategy.  Instead of looking at the enormous task, I looked no further than two feet before me.  Looking up, I found my short goal and weeded hard to reach it.  When I achieved that mark, I looked up two feet further and made that my next mission.  Never did I look to the end.  I kept making short commitments.

I do remember at one point, which did not seem that long after starting, when I did permit myself to look back where I started.  Why, the beginning point was far, far behind me.  I did accomplish something.  I was beginning to realize that the task was obtainable.

Again, I returned to my two-foot tasks.  Before long, my next look at the next two-foot objective made me realize it was the end.  Small bites at the task and not fretting over the overall picture made the job seem faster and less agonizing.  From that chore, I learned to set shorter goals and keep plodding on until the main goal was reached.

Life has many challenges that we will face.  God does not give us more than we can handle.  Be concerned with what God gives us to do today.  When tomorrow comes, he will also give us the grace to meet the challenges we face that day.

“Worry is a kind of insult to the Lord.  It’s like throwing His promises and assurances back into His face and saying they’re no good, and you don’t trust Him.” — Fletcher



“But God”
Edited From Pearls, Points, and Parables, F. E. Marsh, 1908

Two significant words are often found in the Bible that indicate things will not turn out the way one expects; there will be a change.  Those hopeful words are, “But God.”

When we leave God out of our reckoning, difficulties will daunt us, temptations will triumph over us, sin will seduce us, self will sway us, and the world will warp us.   Seeming impossibilities will irritate us, and unbelief will undermine our faith.  Christian work will worry us, fear will frighten us, and all things will wear us down.  We will be defeated..

When God is recognized as the One who undertakes for us, then difficulties are opportunities to trust Him, temptations are the harbingers of victory, sin has no attraction, self is denied, unbelief is ignored, service is a delight, contentment sings in the heart, and all things are possible! God’s involvement can change anything.

“Worry is believing God won’t get it right.”  — Todd Wagner

 The First “Don’t Worry Club”
D. L. Moody

Mrs. Sangster says that we hear a good deal about the futility of being anxious as if it were a novelty.  People have established “Don’t Worry Clubs.”  The first “Don’t Worry Club” was begun by our blessed Lord Himself when He said, “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.  Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  (Mt 6:25).”

He bade us consider the lilies growing in their beauty and purity without a thought and taught us the proper way of living without care, without solicitude, bearing all burdens lightly, and having continual joy on our faces.  Only those who have the indwelling Christ in their hearts can walk through this world with bright and glad looks because they know that, let come what may, their Father will lead them safely.
“And why take ye thought for raiment?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” Mat.  6:28-30 

“Don’t let yesterday mess us up today.” — Author Unknown



Fretting Wastes Precious Time
Author Unknown

Two gardeners had their pea crops killed by the frost.  One who fretted greatly and grumbled at the loss visited his neighbor sometime afterward and was astonished to see another fine crop growing.  He inquired how it could be.

“These are what I sowed while you were fretting,” was the reply.

“Why, don’t you worry?”

“Yes, but I put it off till I have repaired the problem.”

“Why, then there’s no need to fret at all.”

“True.  That’s the reason I put it off.”

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow.  It empties today of its strength.”
— Corrie Ten Boom

The Ways of Faith
F. E. Marsh, From Pearls, Points, and Parables, 1908

  • The way of faith is not the way of sight.  It is not looking for evidence, either in our own feelings or the circumstances at play.  True faith does not ask for these things.  It rests on something altogether apart from them.
  • The way of faith is not the way of effort.  That is, when we are trusting another to do a thing for us, we have ceased to try to do it for ourselves.  Genuine faith is confidence in God that He is working on our behalf.  Instead of bringing worry and effort into our hearts, faith brings rest.
  • The way of faith is the way of reliance upon the character and promise of another and upon God and His Word.  Faith looks to God to work, as He said He would, and refuses to undertake for itself, except to fulfill those conditions that God may have laid down with His promise.  Indeed, the largest part of faith’s struggle, often, is to keep from interfering and to keep from helping God out, as some think they must.

    Unbelief cannot and will not wait for God to work but must rush ahead to help itself.  Thus, it fails to receive from God.
    “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” Isa. 64:4

On the contrary, faith is willing to endure trial and wait long if need be until God is ready to interpose on its behalf.  Faith knows that.
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” Heb. 10:23

A significant part of faith’s work, therefore, is fighting unbelief and refusing to look at those things that dishearten and destroy confidence.  Satan is ever ready with temptations to make us doubt.  Often, too, the circumstances about us would utterly discourage us.  God frequently waits to be gracious until our self-hopes and efforts are done.

  • The way of faith is God’s way with His people.  There is no other way.
    “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
    Heb. 11:6

The BIBLE VIEW #1001 — Parenting

In This Issue:
How to Ruin a Child
Cost of a Child
Training Children
Too Little Children

April 14, 2025
Theme:  Service

The  Daily View is a free, daily devotion.  Sign up (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M), and you will be e-mailed a link to read or HEAR a KJV chapter and a short commentary (200-700 words) of something taught in the day’s reading.  The e-mail will include a mini-sermon in pictures, a prayer list, Thought for The Day, a Bible study, and short articles reinforcing biblical principles.


Read what readers have said about the e-mailed devotion at
https://www.devotionsfromthebible.com/what-readers-say



How to Ruin a Child
Bill Brinkworth

Parents, psychologists, and many people have all kinds of ideas about how to raise a child.  Some of the advice may be good, but some is not sound.

Few seek advice from Someone who has raised billions and billions of children.  His counsel, if heeded, will result in well-adjusted, wise, and successful children.  This most experienced “parent” is God, whose advice has been recorded and is available to all in the King James Bible for English-speaking people.

This “expert” has never had to apologize for giving parental advice that resulted in ruining generations, as did the pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock when he realized his advice about not disciplining children caused tremendous problems. God’s advice is always right.

Still, many ignore God’s advice and “do it their way”.  Unfortunately, many techniques, practices, and behaviors prevent a child from being what God intended.  Here are some child-rearing practices that may ruin a child, according to God’s Word:

  • Giving them everything they want reinforces covetousness. Also, a parent or authority in their life who is consumed with getting things is inadvertently teaching a child that possessions can somehow bring happiness in one’s life. 
    “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” Ex 20:17
    “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” I John 2:15
  • Never teach a child that “no” can mean they can still have certain things. This is accomplished when a child learns that a parent’s “no” can be changed to “yes” if he keeps asking for something. When they are told “no” by someone who will not back down, they will become angry and act improperly toward the person saying “no” to them.
    “As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious [quarrelsome, given to angry debate]  man to kindle strife.” Prov. 26:21
  • By not correcting their child.  An undisciplined child will be unruly in many situations, including school and public situations. The lack of training will be a constant challenge for the parents and teachers. It will make it harder for the child to get along with others, especially people in authority (teachers, police, bosses…).
    “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.” Proverb 29:17
    “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.” Proverb 19:18
    “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” Prov. 29:15
  • Never teach them how to live biblically.  By not teaching them God’s way, they will quickly learn to follow the way everyone around them is going.

This can also be done by a parent’s “teaching” them by not living biblically themselves.  A child will quickly realize, “Why should I live a way that my parents don’t?  If it were a better way, they would live that way!”  Hypocritical advice rarely teaches proper behavior.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Prov. 22:56

  • Criticizing the authority over them in front of them!  By letting the child know that you disagree with a decision another parent has made, a teacher has made, what a pastor has said, what a policeman has done, or a babysitter’s decision, you have shown the child that authority is in error and can be questioned.  That kind of inadvertent parental reaction often reinforces rebellion. Usually, it stops an authority from ever positively impacting the child.
    “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” Heb. 13:17   Also: I Timothy 5:17.
  • That biblical teaching is not important.  This is often done verbally, but it is more often “taught” by a parent who always has excuses for not going to church, not praying, reading his Bible, not speaking to them about salvation, or doing anything spiritual.  This makes it clear to an ever-learning child that spiritual things are unimportant.  When a child does have problems in his life because of the damage done by a parental example, the child will not think to turn to the Lord for help and guidance.
    “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22
  • That biblical teaching does not have to be obeyed.  When a child hears a parent lie, hears of their cheating on income taxes, hears them blaspheme God, hears them lie about the child’s age to get a cheaper ticket rate at a sporting event, sees what they watch on television, or sees them live a life that is contrary to the way the Bible commands, that parent is “teaching” a child that God’s Word does not have to be obeyed!  See: James 1:22.
  • Allowing the child to be exposed to the world’s philosophy taught through the media, government education, video games, the internet, etc.  A child is a “ball of clay” that can easily be molded.  They will be molded by whom they associate with, what they are taught, and what they are exposed to.
    “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” I John 2:16


Children are a wonderful part of one’s life but also a parent’s biggest responsibility.  Although others may have some impact on their lives, ultimately, it is the parents who have been given the responsibility by God to raise them His way (Ephesians 6:4). 

The world’s way is constantly changing because they have not found a way that is successful all the time, and it is not the world’s responsibility.  God, however, has a way that always works for rearing children correctly.  It is up to the parents to learn His way and train their children in His way if they want their children to be successful.                                                                                                                                                                                                             

“Allowing a child to call a parent by his or her first name is not teaching him to honor his parent!”  

Cost of a Child
Cameron, 1871

“How much does that little girl cost!” said a mother as she and I passed a little child leaning against an iron railing.

“Cost?” I said. “You mean with her shoes and socks, plaid dress, and ribbons in her hair?”

“That is her least cost,” replied the mother, “nor was I thinking of them, but what pain and suffering she costs; what fatigue and watching; how much of a mother’s anxiety; how much of a father’s toil; how many prayers; how many fears; how many yearnings; how much patience; how much responsibility; how much instruction; how much correction; how much love; how much sorrow; how many teachers; how many sermons; how many Sunday school classes. Those things will cost her parents the most.”

When a lady once told Pastor Sharpe that she would not give her children religious instruction until they had attained the years of discretion, the preacher replied, “If you do not teach them, the devil will!” — J. Whitecross

Training Children
F. Quarles, 1871

Be very vigilant over thy child in the April of his understanding, lest the frost of May nips his blossoms.  While he is a tender twig, straighten him whilst he is a new vessel.  Season him.  Let his first lesson be obedience; his second shall be what thou wilt.  Give him education from good, clean books.  Season his youth with the love of his Creator, and make the fear of his God the beginning of his knowledge.  If he has an active spirit, rectify and curb it, but reckon idleness is among his chiefest faults.  Show him the spade and the plow and prepare him for the danger of a skirmish and the honor of receiving a prize.

“Teach your child to hold his tongue; he’ll learn fast enough to speak!”— Benjamin Franklin



“Too Little” Children
Author Unknown

Said a precious little laddie,
To his father, one bright day,
“May I give myself to Jesus,
Let Him wash my sins away?”

“Oh, my son, but you’re too little,
Wait until you older grow,
Bigger folk, ‘tis true, do need Him,
But little folk are safe, you know.”

Said the father to his laddie
As a storm was coming on,
“Are the sheep safely sheltered,
Safe within the fold, my son?”

“All the big ones are, my father,
But the lambs, I let them go,
For I didn’t think it mattered,
Little ones are safe, you know.”

Oh, my brother! Oh, my sister!
Have you too, made that mistake?
Little hearts that now are yielding
May be hardened then — too late.

E’er the evil days come nigh them,
“Let the children come to me
And forbid them not,” said Jesus,
“For such shall my Kingdom be.”

The BIBLE VIEW #1000 — Service

In This Issue:
If We Don’t Tell Them, Who Will?
Not to Be Forgotten
How Are You Serving the Lord?

1,000th Issue!

April 7, 2025
Theme:  Service

Read what readers have said about the e-mailed devotion at
https://www.devotionsfromthebible.com/what-readers-say



If We Don’t Tell Them, Who Will?
Bill Brinkworth

Around 1989, a faithful bus worker had to leave the bus ministry.  My wife and I took the Sunday school bus route over.  If we did not, our Sunday school class would have no students. 

I noticed one problem when visiting on Saturday to remind children to ride the Sunday bus to church.  We went to many houses but had little Scripture-based material to leave; it was the same tract each visit.

The Lord laid on my heart to start writing a one-page newsletter with biblical teachings, spiritual encouraging articles, and KJV scripture.   For months, I produced the newsletter and left it at hundreds of houses.  If household members did not attend church, at least they could read what the Bible taught.

In 1991, a door to another full-time ministry opened in Haines City, Florida to work at the Landmark Baptist church publishing ministry.  While there, I also worked in the bus ministry.  Every Saturday, I and around 75 other bus ministry workers visited hundreds of households, inviting all we could to church on Sunday.

After a short period, I saw the same problem I saw at the other ministry.  Many households were visited, but the same small salvation tract was left for residents to read.  It was a missed opportunity to leave biblical teachings at households for family members to read.  The only thing that will change hearts for the glory of God is the Word of God, so it was essential to try to get biblical truths into as many homes as possible.

Again, I produced another one-page weekly newsletter.  Originally, it was named The Landmark Baptist Bus Banner.

Most editions were about one Biblical theme.  A new Banner was published every week, and faithful bus visitation people left it in houses.  The paper included Bible-based articles emphasizing biblical principles, puzzles, wise sayings, Bible lessons, and scripture.

Some of the Banners not only were left at hundreds of households to read, but members have left them at stores, laundromats, business counters, handed or e-mailed to friends, and many other inventive ways to get God’s truths into as many hearts as possible.  If we do not tell others what the Bible teaches, who else will?  It is a Christian’s responsibility to share God’s truths with as many people as possible.

Years later, a fellow Christian school teacher suggested I make them available online.  That was a good idea, and soon, www.OpenThouMineEyes.com was created.  The Banner was dubbed The Bible View and was posted online for over 5,000 people to read weekly.  Bible studies, bible-based articles, puzzles, and wise sayings were published.  Churches all over the world could then print and use the material freely.

New features were constantly added.  A daily devotion was added and e-mailed to thousands.  It was called The Daily View.

The View included one KJV chapter, a short commentary on something taught in the chapter, a recorded version of the devotion, biblical-based articles, poems, wise sayings, a prayer list, and access to Bible Views.  After several years, the entire New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs were added.  The ministry attempts to reach as many people as possible with biblical truths.

The full-time mininistry, as do most, constantly deals with problems. Some are technical and many are spiritual onslaughts attempting to halt the ministry.  Sometimes, hackers tapped into it and caused it to be redesigned and repackaged.  More than once, over several thousand articles and materials had to be re-installed and rewritten.

Hackers, including Chinese and Russians, still cause a lot of problems, but any work to get Bible truths out will face trials, tribulations, and obstacles.  God always halts the delays, and the problems are eventually solved.  The work continues.

The Devotions are now aired on a radio station, and many other ministries, including churches, prisons, deaf, nursing homes, and even local and Christian newspapers publish some of the material.

A translating module at www.DevotionsFromTheBible.com translates hundreds of lessons and articles into over 100 different languages.  The Internet ministry is reaching places that we cannot imagine.  If there is any hope for this world, it is that the Word of God works in lives.

Although the Bible View was printed for at least five years before they were numbered, this is the 1,000th issue.  Hopefully, it will continue to reach many and point more souls to God’s truths and His only way to Heaven.  Again, if we do not share the Truths from His Word, who will?

The task of telling others of God’s good news is on Christian shoulders.  Are you also doing all you can to reach the lost and those ignorant of God’s Truths?

See some of the ministries that use the BIBLE VIEW BULLETIN insert at
https://openthoumineeyes.com/Using.html.  Is yours?  If not, let us know at brinkworth@frontier.com.  Give us the name of the ministry, address, city, state, country, how long it has been used, how many are given out each week, how it is dispersed, and your ministry website.  Your ministry will then be listed on
https://openthoumineeyes.com/Using.html.



Not to Be Forgotten
Bill Brinkworth

Many of the Daily View devotions and weekly newsletters contain articles from writers of the past.  There are reasons for that, which include:

  • Today’s readers can read that much of what the Bible teaches was taught hundreds of years ago.  Much is not new to biblical Christianity.  Biblical doctrines are not just for today.  They have been published so that all can be saved and live the life God desires for them.
  • Writings of the past may reveal how some biblical teachings are not taught anymore as they once were but still should be.
  • Many authors had good testimonies, survived trials and tribulations, were bold in their teachings, and still have a lot of wisdom to share.
  • Many of the works of past heroes of the faith should not be forgotten for what they taught and persevered.  Their efforts can still be used to help and encourage modern-day believers.
  • Godly principles changed lives in the past, and they can do it to believers today.

This ministry’s other outreaches are
www.DevotionsFromTheBible.com
www.OpenThouMineEyes.com
www.TheBibleView.com

How Are You Serving the Lord?
Bill Brinkworth

Each Christian has different God-given abilities, interests, and calling.  Has God laid on your heart to spread His truths in a certain way?  Are you doing what He desires for you to do?

Not all positions for God’s service are preaching, teaching, and musical.  In the past, I have known some who God laid on their heart to serve Him by:

  • Working on or starting a bus or van ministry to bring people to church.
  • Visiting the sick at home or in the hospital,  the elderly, the lonely, and those who have visited the church.
  • Passing out tracks (that is what the Bible View can be used for) wherever or to whom they could.  When you pay your bills, include a tract.  You have no idea who may read it.  Leave them in public restrooms.  Hand them to clerks when you are making purchases.
  • Visit, teach, or preach in nursing homes.  I call it the “Last Chance Ministry,” For some, it may be the last chance they can hear the Gospel and be saved.
  • Regularly telephone people that miss church, are sick, or are alone.
  • Help those that cannot do what they used to do.  Everyone needs help sometimes.
  • Offer to drive people to different places.
  • Watch children so parents can have time for themselves.

Surrender yourself to serve the Lord in the way He desires.  Ask Him to show you what He would have you do!  Keep your eyes open for opportunities!

No Christian is called just to sit and soak up His goodness.  We are to help and be a godly example for others!

Please let me know how the Bible View or Landmark Baptist Banner has
been a blessing to you at brinkworth@frontier.com or at
140 Stephen’s Lane, Murphy, NC 28906.

The BIBLE VIEW #999 — Priorities

In This Issue:
Not As Important As You Think
Our Important Testimony
Beware of Covetousness

Volume: 999    March 31, 2025
Theme:  Priorities

The  Daily View is a free, daily devotion.  Sign up (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M), and you will be e-mailed a link to read or HEAR a KJV chapter and a short commentary (200-700 words) of something taught in the day’s reading.  The e-mail will aso include a mini-sermon in pictures, a prayer list, Thought for The Day, a Bible study, and short articles reinforcing biblical principles.

Read what readers have said about the e-mailed devotion at
https://www.devotionsfromthebible.com/what-readers-say


Not As Important As You Think
Bill Brinkworth

Many are concerned about things that often are not as important as believed.  As Christians, we need to be concerned about the priorities God desires us to have and make what He deems relevant important to us.

Webster defines “vanity” as “emptiness; want of substance to satisfy desire; fruitless desire or endeavor; trifling labor that produces no good; empty pleasure; vain pursuit.” Vanity is a concern for things that are not that important.  “Vain” is similar in that it is defined as “worthless, having no substance, empty, and unsatisfying.” Many times, vain interests get more energy and concern than they deserve.

Here is a brief study on what the Bible classifies as “vanity” and “vain” in hopes that more Christians will realize what is truly important and what is not essential (vain) in God’s eyes:

What the Bible calls “vain”:

  • Ideas and popular trends of the world are vain.  
    “And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.” II Kings 17:15
    “They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.” Psalm 12:2
  • The “end justifies the means” philosophy is vain.  
    “The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.” Proverbs 21:6
  • The wages of sin are vain.  
    “He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.” Proverbs 22:8
  • The love of money is vain.  
    “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.” Ecclesiastes 5:10
  • Foolish desires of youth can be vain.  
    “Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.” Ecclesiastes 11:10
  • Nations against God are vain.  
    “All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.” Isaiah 40:17
  • Ungodly wisdom of judges is vain.  
    “That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.” Isaiah 40:23
  • Good works without salvation are vain.  
    “Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.” Isaiah 41:29
  • False religion is vain.  
    “For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.” Zechariah 10:2
  • Prideful wisdom is vain.  
    “For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.” II Peter 2:18
  • Cursing is vain.  God’s name should never be used lightly and without respect.  
    “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Exodus 20:7
  • Over-beautifying the flesh is vain.  
    “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.” Proverb 31:30
  • Customs and traditions are vain, especially religious ones.  
    “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.  For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.” Jeremiah 10:2-3
  • Philosophies of men are vain.  
    “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matthew 15:9
  • Religion without Christ is vain.  
    “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” I Corithians 15:14 Also: Titus 3:9, II Timothy 3:5-7.


What Is Not Vanity:

  • Hard work is not vanity.  
    “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.” Proverb 13:11
  • A godly stand is not vanity.  
    “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,” Ephesians 4:17
  • Fear of the Lord is not vanity.  
    “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.” Proverb 31:30
  • God’s creations are not vanity.  
    “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:18


The best word to define both “vanity” and “vain” is “emptiness.” No matter how much time and energy one spends on vain things, the results will be nothing of value.  God has so much more to offer you than “emptiness”.  Fill yourself with the desires of God.  They will have value that will last forever.

“A man is rich based on what he is, not what he has!” — Author Unknown


Our Important Testimony
Bill Brinkworth

One of the most valuable assets a Christian can have is one’s testimony.  What others think of him is often what they see him do, how he reacts in certain situations, and how they believe a Christian should live (although their views may not always be accurate).  Paul gave some advice on how to preserve that testimony in Ephesians 4.  Some of his advice included:

  • Do not live like the rest of the world and put the wrong value on things that are not that important (vs. 17-18).
  • Do not lust after things of this world and be consumed with greed for them (vs. 19).
  • Do not let your conversation with others be about lust for this world’s things (vs. 22).
  • Live a righteous life and strive to be a good example (vs. 24).
  • Let your conversation be honest, and do not lie (vs. 25).
  • If you get angry, get it right with those involved before the sun goes down (vs. 26).
  • Do not get close to sin, and allow the devil to destroy your testimony (vs. 27).
  • Do not steal; work hard for what you want (vs. 28).
  • Be careful of the words you utter, making sure what you say helps others (vs. 29).
  • Do not sadden the indwelling Holy Spirit by sinning (vs. 30).
  • Do not allow the sins of bitterness, violence, anger, and evil speaking to be part of your life (vs. 31).
  • Be kind to others (vs. 32).

As hard as we try, some will always see our example wrongly, no matter how we adhere to the above advice and other godly principles.  Although it is impossible to please all the people all the time, we are responsible for trying to have the best testimony we can.  Our example is not so much about what others think about us but what others think about Christ from our example.  We are often all the unsaved will ever know about Christ.  Will they determine that they do not want to be a Christian because of what is observed in our behavior, or will they consider being one because of how we live our lives?

“Your walk talks louder than your talk talks.” — Author Unknown

Beware of Covetousness
C. H. Spurgeon

Beware of covetousness.  It is one of the most insidious of all sins.

Covetousness is like the silting of a river.  As the stream flows down, it brings sand and earth and deposits all these at its mouth.  Soon, unless cleared and dug out, it will block itself, leaving no channel for ships to travel.  Daily deposits create a sandbar, which is dangerous to navigation.

Many people, when accumulating wealth, ruin their lives similarly.  The more that is acquired, the more closely one’s spiritual life is blocked.  Instead of doing more for God, a person does less.  The things of this world get in the way.  The more that is saved, the more that is wanted, and the more that is wanted, the less one cares for the world to come.

“The greatest deception is to equate success with wealth.” — Author Unknown

The BIBLE VIEW #998 — Assorted

In This Issue:
A Failure?
Appearance of Evil
The Lament of a Backslider
Doing It on Their Own
A Good Example
A Burden for Others
Christ, Forever

Volume: 998    March 24, 2025
Theme:  Assorted

The  Daily View is a free, daily devotion.  Sign up (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M), and you will be e-mailed a link to read or HEAR a KJV chapter and a short commentary (200-700 words) of something taught in the day’s reading.  The e-mail will also include a mini-sermon in pictures, a prayer list, Thought for The Day, a Biblestudy, and short articles reinforcing biblical principles.


Read what readers have said about the e-mailed devotion at
https://www.devotionsfromthebible.com/what-readers-say


A Failure?
Cameron

Many years ago a merchant’s business had failed.  He went home greatly upset.

“What is the matter?” asked his wife.

“I am ruined.  I will be a beggar.  I have lost it all!” he exclaimed, pressing his hands upon his forehead.

“All?” said his wife.  “No.  I am left.”

“Papa?” questioned his eldest boy.  “Here I am!”

“And I, too,” piped in his little girl, running up and putting her arms around his neck.

“I’m not lost, papa,” repeated Eddy.

“And you have your health left,” reminded his wife.

“And your hands to work with,” said the eldest, “and I can help you.”

“And your two feet, papa, to carry you about, and your two eyes to see with, papa,” chimed in Eddie.

“And you have God’s promises,” added grandmother.

“And a good God,” added his wife.

“And a Heaven to go to,” said his little girl.

“And Jesus who came to fetch us there,” said his eldest.

“God forgive me!” said the poor merchant, bursting into tears.  “I have not lost it all.  What I have lost is nothing compared to what I have,” and he took comfort and began the world afresh.

“He who knows no hardships will know no hardihood.  He who faces no calamity will need no courage.  Mysterious though it is, the characteristics in human nature which we love best grow in a soil with a strong mixture of trouble.”
— Harry Emerson Fosdick

Appearance of Evil
John Bate

A thing may have the appearance of wrong-doing and not be evil in itself, just as an apple may have the appearance of sweetness and soundness and yet be both sour and rotten.  Why, then, are we to abstain from the “appearance of evil”?

  1. Because most judge by the appearance and would therefore judge us wrongfully.
  2. Because in this judgment, our characters would be damaged and Christianity be defamed.
  3. Because by following the appearance of doing something wrong, we would promote and encourage evil.
  4. Because we are positively commanded to keep from even looking like we are doing something sinful.
  5. Because it is directly inconsistent with the good we profess we do.
  6. Because by abstaining from even looking like we are doing something wrong, we do not appear as hypocrites.

“If you want your neighbor to see what the Christ spirit will do for him, let him see what it has done for you.”  — H. Beecher



The Lament of a Backslider
Author Unknown

Where is the Saviour now,
Whose smiles I once possessed?
Till He return, I bow,
By heavy grief oppressed.
My days of happiness are gone,
And I am left to weep alone.

Where can the mourner go,
And tell his tale of grief?
Ah, who can soothe his woe,
Ah, who can give relief?
Earth cannot heal the wounded breast
Or give the troubled conscience rest.

Jesus, Thy smiles impart;
My gracious Lord, return,
Bind up my broken heart
And bid me cease to mourn;
Then shall this night of sorrow flee,
And peace from Heaven be found in Thee.


Doing It on Their Own
H. W. Beecher

Many say, “I can find God without the help of the Bible, church, or minister.”  Very well.  Do so if you can. 

The ferry company would feel no jealousy of a man who should prefer to swim to New York City rather than ride in their ferry.  Let him do so if he is able, and we will talk about it on the other shore, but probably trying to swim would be the thing that would bring him quickest to the boat.  So God would have no jealousy of a man’s going to Heaven without the aid of the Bible, church, or minister, but let him try to do so. It will be the surest way to return him to the three helpers for assistance.



A Good Example
Author Unknown

A chaplain told this story of a young soldier who consulted with a question of Christian duty.  “Last night,” said the young man, “in my barrack, before going into bed, I knelt and prayed in a low voice when suddenly my comrades threw their boots at me and laughed.”

“Well,” replied the chaplain, “suppose you defer your prayer until you get into bed and then silently lift your heart to God?”

A week or two afterwards, the young soldier called again.  “Well,” said the chaplain, “you took my advice, I suppose?  How has it gone?”

“Sir,” he answered, “I did  take your advice for one or two nights, but I began to think it looked rather like I was denying my Saviour. I once more knelt at my bedside and prayed in a low whisper as before.”

“And what happened?”

“Not one of them laughs now, sir. The whole fifteen kneel and pray, too.”

“I felt ashamed,” added the chaplain in narrating the story, “of the advice I had given him.  That young man was both wiser and bolder than I was.”

“A good example has twice the value of good advice.” — Author Unknown




A Burden for Others
K. Arvine

Ancient history records that a city was besieged and, at length, obliged to surrender.  In that city, there were two brothers who had, in some way, obliged the conquering general and, because of this, received permission to leave the city before it was destroyed, taking with them as much of their property as each could carry.  Accordingly, the two generous youths appeared at the city gates, one carrying their father, and the other their mother.

If we could all be as generous and burdened as those brothers after we get saved, we would be concerned to tell as many family members, friends, and neighbors as possible about the way to Heaven.  More would be Heaven bound from our efforts! 


Christ, Forever
S. Coley

When King Ptolemy built Pharos he wanted his name upon it.  Sostratus, the architect, did not think that the king, who only paid the money for its construction, should get all the credit while he had none.  Sostratus put the king’s name on the front of the structure in plaster, but underneath, in the eternal granite, the architect had his name chiseled deep into the stone.

The sea dashed against the plaster and chipped it off bit by bit.  It lasted out the time of Ptolemy, but by and by, the plaster was chipped away, and there stood the name “Sostratus”.

I am not sure that there are not “waves” that will chip off all human names from the true church that Christ built.  I am sure that the one name of Christ shall last forever after all others fade away.

The BIBLE VIEW #997 — Encouragement

In This Issue:
The Brake Is On!
Assurance
“I Have Nothing to Complain About!”
Christ, Our Banner
Prepare for the Daily Battle


Volume: 997    March 14, 2025
Theme:  Encouragement

The  Daily View is a free, daily devotion.  Sign up (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M), and you will be e-mailed a link to read or HEAR a KJV chapter and a short commentary (200-700 words) of something taught in the day’s reading.  The e-mail will include a mini-sermon in pictures, a prayer list, Thought for The Day, and short articles reinforcing biblical principles.


Read what readers have said about the e-mailed devotion at
https://www.devotionsfromthebible.com/what-readers-say/


The Brake Is On!
Bill Brinkworth

“Yippee” was the feeling of glee the young driver felt.  It was the first time for her to drive after she got her license.  All those school classes on driver safety, reading and reciting that boring driver’s manual were finished, and now the moment of freedom was not far away.  She could go anywhere daddy’s car would take her.

“Well, what’s the first thing I should do? Check the driver’s mirror.  Check.  Check the rear-view mirror.  Oops, my lipstick needs a little more on the top lip.  Double-check.  Adjust seat.  Put on the seat belt.  Check.  Put the key in, and turn it on.”  A little burst of excitement made her smile as she was seconds from a world she had wanted to enter for way too long.  “Put it in drive, and away we go,” she giggled.  This was it.  “A little bit on the accelerator, and?”

The car would not move.  “Maybe a little more gas?”  The car inched forward, lurching and jerking.  It did not want to cooperate.  “Hmm.  What didn’t I do?”  The novice driver double-checked everything she had done so many times before.

More gas, and still the car lurched forward.  “Something is wrong here,” she concluded.  “I had better check with Dad.”  As she put the car in park, turned off the ignition, and prepared to leave the vehicle, something caught her eye.  Someone had left the emergency brake on.  Again, she restarted the car, removed the emergency brake, put it in gear, applied the gas, and she was off.  The brake made it almost impossible for her to get anywhere!

In church, there also may be securely applied brakes that keep many from going forward for God.  The appliers of the brake often mean well, but sometimes, they unintentionally restrict others from moving smoothly forward in Christian service.

These “brakes” are often:

  • Unkind, unthought-out words such as, “We ain’t done it that way before,” “That’s not how we do it around here,” “When you’ve been saved as long as I have, you’ll know better,” and “I’d never do it that way.”  Although there should be proper ways to do things, since any ministry is representing the church, too often we can deflate one’s enthusiasm to move forward for God because of unedifying, self-purposing, wrong words.
  • Very few attend church-wide events such as church, prayer meetings, visitation, church dinners, or other church functions.  Lack of attendance instantly sends a message to those who attend that they are not like anyone else, and maybe they are “taking this “Christian” thing too seriously.”  Immediately, their zeal is quenched, and they soon could become one more Christian who is sitting and not serving.
  • The longstanding members and leaders do not attend church regularly.  New converts and visitors see their lack of support for the ministry and instantly halt their zeal in attending.  “Well, if they’re not coming, then maybe it is not important for me to attend all the time,” could be their thoughts.
  • Members are late.  Lateness gives a clear impression of the importance of attendance.  One would not think of being late for school or work because it is essential.  Church attendance is also important!
  • Complaining and murmuring among members magnifies to the on-looker that maybe this is not a happy church family.  It also does not help when someone in public prayer makes it clear that they are not satisfied with something that is going on in the church.  Under the guise of spirituality, it is sometimes prayed aloud, “Please pray for Brother So-and-so that he will get his heart right and stop lying,” or some other cutting remark about a situation.  Those cowardly attacks never do anything positive; they only increase discord and hurt feelings.  No one is usually fooled and realizes that the person is venting his opinion about how they think people or situations should be dealt with in the church. 

    The Holy Spirit should handle most situations and not us!  If we need to ensure the matter is handled, it should be dealt with first on a one-to-one basis (Matthew 18:15-17)!



There are enough obstacles in serving the Lord without discouraging others, intentionally or unintentionally.  The work is great, and so is the battle (Ephesians 6:12).

There is more said in the Bible about encouraging others and ourselves than there is in our being volunteer holy spirits, and our telling others how to serve God.  The real Holy Spirit can certainly do a better job in speaking to hearts and guiding one in the way He would like it done.  We need to be more like accelerators, and less often “brakes”!

“If you are busy rowing the boat, you won’t have time to rock it!”

Assurance
Author Unknown

Pelopidas, when informed that the number of the enemy was double that of his army, replied, “So much the better.  We shall conquer so many the more.” His intelligent self-assurance was more powerful than a thousand spears.

“It takes little intelligence, character, or spirituality to criticize.  However, it does take all three to encourage others!”  

“I Have Nothing to Complain About!”
Bill Brinkworth

One of our favorite blessings in the nursing home ministry is L.  We asked her the other day how she was, and she cheerfully replied, “Brother Bill, I’d like to complain about something, but I honestly cannot find anything to complain about.” 

Another time, when asked what she was thankful for, she quipped, “I am so thankful for my health.”   She meant this from her heart, as she sat in her wheelchair receiving oxygen much of the day and needing the care provided for her by the nursing home.

What a testimony she is to us who have so much more, but complain too often about our “little” afflictions.

“The men who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than they criticize.”  — Elizabeth Harrison

Christ, Our Banner

C. H. Spurgeon

The army’s banner was a source of consolation to the wounded.  There he lies, the good knight.  Well has he fought without fear and without reproach.  A chance arrow pierced the joints of his harness, and his life is oozing out from the ghastly wound.  

No one is there to unbuckle his helmet or give him a draught of cooling water.  His frame is locked up in that hard case of steel, and though he feels the smart from the wound, he cannot gain the remedy.  He hears the cries, the mingled cries, the hoarse shouts of men that rush in fury against their fellows, and he opens his eyes as yet he has not fainted with his bleeding.  Where, think you, does he look?  He turns himself around.  What is he looking for?  For friend?  For comrade?  No.

Should they come to him, he would say, “Just lift me, and let me sit against that tree awhile and bleed here, but go you to the fight.”

Where is that restless eye searching, and what object is it looking for?  Yes, he has it, and the face of the dying man is brightened.  He sees the banner still waving, and with his last breath, he cries, “On!  On!  On!”  He falls asleep content because his troop’s banner is safe.  It has not been cast down.  Though he has lost, the flag is secure.

Even so, every true soldier of the Cross rejoices in its triumph.  We fall, but Christ does not.  We die, but the cause prospers.  When my heart was most sad, sad as it never was before nor since, that sweet text, “Him hath God the Father exalted, and given him a name that is above every name,” immensely cheered my soul and set me again in peace and comfort.  Our banner is still flying, and there is hope!

Prepare for the Daily Battle!

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” Ephesians 6:10-18

The BIBLE VIEW #996 — Complaining

In This Issue:
Sweet or Miserable?
It’s Temporary
Complaining?
Contentment
Discontentment

Volume: 996    March 10, 2025
Theme: Complaining

The  Daily View is a free, daily devotion.  Sign up (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M), and you will be e-mailed a link to read or HEAR a KJV chapter and a short commentary (200-700 words) of something taught in the day’s reading.  The e-mail will include a mini-sermon in pictures, a prayer list, Thought for The Day, and short articles reinforcing biblical principles.


Read what readers have said about the e-mailed devotion at
https://www.devotionsfromthebible.com/what-readers-say/



Sweet or Miserable?
Bill Brinkworth

Every living person has or has had difficulties.  This certainly is not Heaven because of Eve’s and Adam’s sin.  This planet is cursed because of the original iniquity.  All will experience hardships.
“And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;” Genesis 3:17

Some may have a period of grace where life seems to be treating them well.  Others are not having that experience now.  Sooner or later, all will face trials and tribulations.

Many in the valley of challenges and hardships, even if it is a slight rumble or complaint, blame others and God.  When blessings pour out on them, they are not always satisfied, grateful, and still find something not to be happy about.  Often, they are just miserable.

Others, however,  have a sweet spirit, even though they seem to have much to complain about and be angry over.  They may be facing humbling health situations, financial fiascos, or social separations, but they usually seem to be smiling and have something positive to say through it all.  Why is there such a vast difference in attitudes between the two reactions?

Those with a closer walk with the Lord, trusting His leadership and having a more positive outlook has much to do with why some have a healthier attitude toward what they are experiencing.  Grumbling, ungrateful Christians usually do not have a closer, surrendered, trusting relationship with the Lord.

Why would an unsaved person want to have a life like the proclaiming Christian who cannot find anything good in their life?  What a poor testimony the grumbling believers are for the cause of Christ.  They are often a black-eye to Christianity. 

Their complaints may:

  • Convince others that God is not real or cannot help.
  • Convince some God cannot take care of His own.
  • Convince others that there is no difference between the lost and saved.  One’s discontentment may encourage unsaved people to shy away from Christianity.
  • Convince others that they are fine as they are because they have a better attitude than the complaining “Christian.”

However, a joyful, grateful, trusting believer will have a different attitude and affect on those they are in contact with.  People may see that a believer:

  • Truly believes there is a God, relies on Him, trusts what the Bible says, and has peace that most do not have amidst trials and tribulations.\
    “For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.” Hebrews 10:34
    “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Philippians 4:12
  • Reacts differently when confronted with bad news, hard times, and a scary future.
    “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matthew 5:12
  • Has hope, peace, and joy even when experiencing difficulties.  Those are rare reactions that unbelievers seldom see.  The better attitude becomes a positive advertisement for Christianity to those desiring the same comforting trust while facing problems.
    “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” James 1:2 
  • Does not throw up one’s hands in frustration, wanting to quit, but is calm and knows that there will be a positive outcome eventually.


    Most people want joy, peace, and hope.  They gravitate to those that seem to hold the treasure they seek.

Count your current blessings, not your past difficulties.  If you do count your trials, you certainly will be depressed and unappreciative.  Besides,  enduring difficulties can strengthen one’s faith.  No strong Christian got that way without facing hardships and coming out on the other side of their situation with more faith and trust.

Rehearsing the “good times” will remind you that there is hope.  God fixed the situations in the past, and He WILL do it again.  If you are saved, you are on the winning side.  Have a good attitude and be happy.

“A complaining Christian may unwittingly be giving free advertisement for the devil.”   — Bill Brinkworth

It’s Temporary
Burroughs, 1599-1646

Though we experience trials, it should not be grievous to us.  This is not our permanent, eternal home.  No matter what the trouble is, it will not exist forever.

The scripture tells us that we must behave as pilgrims and travelers.  Our life here is only temporary.  We are just passing through.

Abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul.  Consider your temporary condition here.  Do not think to satisfy yourselves forever. 

A person coming into an inn, if there is not a full stock of food there to last a while, is not troubled because it is not his own.  He is going away soon and will not be there long. 

So let us not be upset when we see other people with great estates when we have not or at those who seem to have everything we wish for.  Why?  Because we are going away into another “country.” 

You are not  “lodging” on Earth here, but only for a relatively short time  If you should live a hundred years, in comparison with eternity, it is not much more than a temporary “night.”  Again, you are only a pilgrim just passing through this life.

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
I Corinthians 10:13

Complaining?
Watson, 1696

Are you complaining about your troubles? The trial may not be the biggest problem, but your discontent attitude may be the underlying issue.

It is not the water outside the ship that is the trouble but the water that gets through a hole in the hull, which can sink the vessel.  Likewise, it is not usually outward affliction that can make the life of a Christian intolerable but one’s spiritual flaw.

A contented mind would sail above troubled waters. Still, when there is a leak of discontentment available, trouble may get into one’s heart. Then, one will be disquieted and “sink.”

Apply the principles mariners follow.  Pump the water of discontentment out and stop the spiritual leak of your soul, and no trouble will harm you.

Contentment
Trough, 1599-1646

One who has been in the school of afflictions for a long time is not very bright in Christ’s school of life if nothing has been learned about contentment.  Those that God exercises much with afflictions should have learned how to be content.
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:11

One newly coming into the care of Christ, perhaps, has complained about their situation and seemingly cannot bear the affliction.  Lord willing, their faith and trust will improve as they allow God to work in their lives. Yet older, supposedly more mature Christians still wilt murmur and whine when facing challenges. Oh, it is a shame for any that have been a long time in the school of Jesus Christ to murmur and allow discontented spirits to ruin their walk with Christ.

“Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” — A reminder from Johnson Oatman’s hymn, “Count Your Blessings”

Discontentment
Charnock,1628-1680

Discontentment is a secret boasting of some excellency in ourselves as if God does not govern well and we could manage better.

Shall an inexperienced ship passenger, who does not understand the use of the compass, be angry that the skillful pilot will not steer the vessel according to the way the traveler thinks best? Must we give our orders to God, as if His infinite wisdom is not as trustworthy as what we believe and want?