Beverly Muffin stood “ten feet (three meters) tall” when she saw her daughter, Susan (name changed) step from the airplane dressed immaculately in her U.S. Navy whites. Susan had just returned from boot camp training. How proud Beverly was of her daughter.

Three generations of Beverly’s family have served in the military. She tells how, as a small girl, she read a telegram from World War II that her grandmother kept in her Bible. The telegram was sent to tell her that one of her sons had been shot down, was missing in action, and presumed dead.

War in any man’s language is a tragedy. As Rear Admiral A. Byron Holderby, Jr., a former U.S. Navy Chief of Chaplains, said, “Because there is evil in the world, we will always need a military.”

It’s Memorial Day in the U.S. today but let all of us who live in free countries be especially thankful today and always for the thousands of service men and woman who risked their life and for the many who made the supreme sacrifice by giving their life to protect the land that you and I stand on.

Let us never forget their sacrifice. And may we never forget the supreme sacrifice that Jesus, the Son of God, made when He gave His life to save us from a hellish, lost eternity. And whether we live in a free country or otherwise, every one of us is equal in the sight of God, and all are greatly loved by God so every one of us can equally ask for and receive His forgiveness and gift of eternal life.

“Suggested prayer: “Dear God, those of us who live in a free country express our deepest gratitude for all who gave their lives to pay for our freedom. And we pray for our brothers and sisters who have no religious freedom, or their land is being ravaged by war, who have been forced to become a refugee, or are suffering under terrible bondage. May they find freedom in their heart by knowing and loving You as their personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Deuteronomy 6:12 (NIV).

One very effective prayer I was taught in my youth was: “Dear God, today I commit and trust my life and way to You as I do that of my family (stating their names).” I have prayed that prayer daily ever since.

To that prayer I have added another powerful prayer based on a prayer from an almost unknown character, Jabez, whose name, as far as I know, is mentioned in only one chapter in the Bible.

He prayed to the God of Israel: ‘Oh, that You would bless me wonderfully. Please be with me in everything I do. Greatly expand my borders and keep me from all evil and disaster.’”

The result? “God granted him his request!”

I can’t always see how God is leading and blessing me especially at those times when I feel my prayers don’t go any higher than the ceiling. However, as I look back over my life I can see how God has blessed me wonderfully and greatly “expanded my borders” more than I ever dreamed possible.

In a nutshell: ACTS gospel literature outreach has expanded to be used around the world by several thousand churches, missionaries, other organizations, business and professional people, individuals, and military, hospital and prison chaplains. And now through E-mail and the Internet we are receiving salvation responses daily from around the world. God has used ACTS ministries to help introduce many thousands to the Savior. You can see how God has and is answering this powerful prayer in our latest report at: www.actsweb.org/acts_in_action.php.

I encourage you also to commit and trust your life and the lives of your loved ones to God and pray the prayer Jabez prayed—every day. I’ve done this for many years and plan to continue doing so every day for as long as I live. Do this and God will grant you your request too.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, O that You would bless me and my family wonderfully again today. Please be with us in everything we do. Greatly expand our (Christian) borders and keep us from all evil and disaster. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. 1 Chronicles 4:10.

Today is a day of celebration for U.S. citizens—the day when each year they celebrate their independence as a nation. For those who live in the U.S.A. let us not forget that our independence was bought with a price—the price of blood on the battlefields. Thousands of men, supported by wives, mothers and sisters, fathers and brothers, fought for our freedom, multiplied thousands of whom gave their lives in the process.

No nation in world history has experienced more freedoms, privileges, and opportunities. This nation was founded and built on a solid foundation of liberty and justice for all with a firm belief and trust in God.

Today, however, too many of us are taking our freedom for granted and have forgotten that the “price of freedom is still eternal vigilance;”² not only militarily, but perhaps even more important, morally. Too many are confusing liberty with license and are wanting personal freedom without personal responsibility and accountability—not realizing that they are being enslaved by their own passions and selfish desires which will erode the very foundation upon which this nation was built quicker than anything else.

For all of who live in a free country may we ever be thankful to those who gave their lives to give us our freedom and independence and may we guard these freedoms with our lives. And may we also be ever thankful to God for the gift of his Son who died so we could be eternally free and for the wonderful privilege that we can serve him with our lives. And may we never ever forget that “blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”³

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, for those of us who live in a free country we give You our never-ending thanks. May we never take our freedom for granted but guard it zealously. And we pray for those people who are enslaved by despot leaders, who are imprisoned and tortured for their Christian faith, and for all who know nothing of freedom—and we especially pray that the gospel will go forth in spite of their situation. And grant that those who belong to You will have peace in the midst of their circumstances and be kept from all harm and danger. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. John 15:13 (NIV).

2. Thomas Jefferson.

3. Psalm 33:12.

Some of the most fascinating trees I have ever seen are the magnificent California and West Coast redwoods. They reach their leafy arms heavenward, commonly growing 200 to 275 feet tall. The tallest one in Humboldt County, California, towers 368.6 feet in height. These trees stand like sentinels of time and have done so for hundreds of years. Some were living at the time Christ walked on earth.

They’ve been through winds, earthquakes, fires and storms—still they stand. Nothing seems to deter them.

What is so amazing is that these trees, among the tallest in the world, have a comparably shallow root system and yet they rarely ever fall. How do they keep standing even in the wildest of storms? It’s because the redwood’s root systems reach out for great distances and are intertwined with one another. They literally hold each up other up.

If you and I are going to reach our full potential, we too need the support of each other, not to be overdependent but inter-dependent.

None of us can stand alone. As Solomon also said, “If two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be like a mighty redwood tree giving and receiving support to and from my fellow Christian friends so that I, too, can reach the heights of my God-given potential. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

1. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV).

2. Ecclesiastes 4:11-12 (NIV).

Dorothy Bull asks:

Why does the earthworm always look clean,

When you consider where it has been?

How does the butterfly with new-formed wings

Know how to fly with such cumbersome things?

Where does the spider keep all its thread?

Who put the web-pattern into its head?

How does the ant carry food twice its size,

And store for the winter?

Who made it so wise?²

We can say it was chance or we can say it was God. No matter what we say, belief in God is instinctive. Every person is born with an innate sense of a divine, all-powerful Supreme Being. To act on this belief, however, is a choice. We basically believe what we want and choose to believe.

Sometimes doubts are genuine and cause us to think, and that is good. But sometimes they are a smoke screen to hide a moral problem … we fear that if we come to Christ, believe in him and accept him as our Savior, we will have to give up some things we know instinctively are wrong.

Thus it is choice, not chance, that determines our beliefs and therefore our eternal destiny. As God’s Word says, “Choose today whom you will serve.”³

Indeed, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”⁴

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, if You have planted in the heart of all mankind a sense of Your divine being, please open the eyes of my understanding so that I will see and know that You are indeed the God of all creation. In so doing please give me the courage this day to truly serve and live for You. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer, gratefully in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

1. Romans 1:19-20 (NLT).

2. Dorothy Bull, Cited in Encounter magazine,
Sep/Oct, 2001.

3. Joshua 24:15 (NLT).

4. Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV).

According to an article in Turning Point Daily Devotional, “Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn’t able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay, it had been sold to a collector.

“Kreisler made his way to the new owner’s home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession, and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. ‘Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?’ he asked.

“Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector’s emotions were deeply stirred. ‘I have no right to keep that to myself,’ he exclaimed. ‘It’s yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it.’”²

God has given you and me the greatest news and most powerful “music” in the world—the message that Jesus died on the cross to save mankind from the dreadful consequences of sin, so that all who come to him can receive God’s forgiveness and His gift of eternal life. This is the message Jesus commissioned us to take to the world so everyone, everywhere will hear it and have the opportunity to have their sins forgiven and receive God’s gift of eternal life.*

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please make and use me ‘as an instrument’ of Your love and peace to communicate Your great salvation in some way to every life I touch—through being ‘as Jesus’ to all, and as opportunity arises to share Your gospel message of eternal salvation. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Mark 16:15 (TLB).
2. Turning Point Daily Devotional (7-26-06). Cited on
PreachingNow http://www.preaching.com
*For an effective way to share the gospel with a friend or contact go to: http://tinyurl.com/agt89