Today’s Smile
Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song?
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The Two Minute Devotion
Text: Hebrews 9:27
“Man is destined to die once, and
after that to face judgment.”
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“Accountability”
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Business has an old adage, “People do not do what you expect. They do what you inspect.” We call this “being accountable.”
The Bible is filled with the principle of accountability. Jesus spoke of accountability in many of his parables. The Parable of the Virgins and the Parable of the Talents (Matt 25) both teach accountability. In fact it would be difficult to find a parable that does not have accountability at its core.
Reading the book of Job offers another example of accountability. Job 1:6-7 tells us:
“One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the LORD, ‘From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.’”
Christians often read this and skip to the beautiful story of Job, but there is an interesting picture here. It is of God calling the angels to accountability. Job 2 also tells of a day of accountability for angels. We do not know much about this day, but it is important to note that God requires accountability for both men and angels.
When one stops to think about it the whole scheme of redemption it leads us to one final day of accountability. It is called “The Judgment Day.” We need to show ourselves worthy workers before the Lord because we will be accountability.
This thought ought not to frighten us. We were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” (Eph 2:10). It is not reasonable to think that God would inspect the work of angels, but not our work.
Lonnie Davis
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Daily Bible Question:
Question: What man was cured of leprosy after dipping in the Jordan river?
(Answer at end of email)
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Today’s Bible Reading – Job 2
(Click the Chapter to Read it in PDF)
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Answer to Bible Question: Naaman who was commander of the army of Aram had leprosy. Elisha told him to dip seven times in the river Jordan. (2 Kings 5:9-10).
Just a Vimeo video.
Once upon a time a rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was horrified to discover that it was a rat trap. Retreating to the farmyard the rat proclaimed the warning; "There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!"
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."
The rat turned to the pig and told him, "There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!"
"I am so very sorry Mr. Rat," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers."
The rat turned to the cow. The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Rat, a rat trap! I am in grave danger. Duh?"
So the rat returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s rat trap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a rat trap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital.
She returned home with a fever. Everyone knows that you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient.
His wife’s sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer’s wife do not get well. She died, and so many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.
So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when there is a rat trap in the house, the whole farmyard is at risk.
– Anon