A disgruntled church-goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained: "I've gone to church for thirty years now, and in that time I have heard something like three-thousand sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. I think I'm wasting my time and the Pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This began a major controversy which went on for weeks until someone wrote in this reply:

"I've been married for thirty years now. In that time my wife has cooked some three thousand meals. For the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this … they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work…”

Hmmm. So true. We need our spiritual nourishment to be able to do the work of the Lord effectively! Corporate worship, fellowship with our brothers and sisters and Godly counsel are a great means to get it!

God does not want us to isolate ourselves! He wants us to be in consistent fellowship with like minded believers, teaching and exhorting one another, singing psalms and spiritual hymns together! Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb.10-25)! There’s so much work to be done!

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions.

One day, a man was walking across a bridge and saw another man standing on the edge, about to jump off. He immediately ran to him and said, "Stop! Don't do it!" "Well, why shouldn't I?" he replied. The other said, "Well, there's so much to live for!" "Like what”? "Well … are you religious or atheist?" "Religious." "Me too! And are you Christian or Jewish?" "Christian." "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?" "Protestant." "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?” "Baptist." "Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" "Baptist Church of God." "Me too! Are you Original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?" "Reformed Baptist Church of God." "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?" "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!" To which he said, "Die, you heretic!" and pushed him off the bridge.

When we get together with our family here in Israel on Shabbat, we often find ourselves discussing and even arguing our views on various topics, political, spiritual, etc. You’ve heard the phrase two Jews, five opinions? That’s our family. At the end, we all laugh about who argued best and try to learn from one another.

The body of the Lord is one big family. Yes, we differ in opinion on some issues. But we are going to be together for eternity and we must learn to live in peace with one another! In order for us to make a real difference in the world, the world needs to see us loving each other.

Let’s not be like the man who pushed the other off the bridge. Let’s laugh about it and try to learn from one another.

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions.

When I was growing up in the 1980's we had a rotary dial phone. You put your finger in a numbered spot on a circular dialer which clicked as it returned to its place and registered the 7 or 10 numbers you selected. It took a full 10 to 20 seconds to complete a call and was really annoying if the number had a lot of 8s or 9s! Then came touch-tone phones. You pushed a button, it beeped, and you could make a call in two and a half to three seconds. Back in those days, a phone was simply an instrument to talk with someone voice to voice. Nowadays, phones are "smarter"; they are "smart" phones; and they do everything but make coffee for you in the morning, although soon I think you can program them to start your coffee maker before you wake up. You can send or receive emails, text, Facebook, "Skype", play games, study French, listen to music, record love letters, pay your bills, watch movies…your phone can be the interface for your life, and it is, for many people!

These days when you get a phone — a "smart phone", the first thing you do is to find the best “apps” for it. Thousands and thousands of apps are available, with more being created every 5 minutes. Your apps define the interface of your life. But I had this thought…

…there's God apps… throughout the Scriptures, and they're FREE — thousands of them, every one "GUARANTEED" to be a top-level "interface" for your life! Check out the love app! [Matthew 22:37-39] Or the Spiritual Fruit App! [Galatians 5:22] Or the Unity App! [Ephesians 4:2-6] The Scriptures are just filled with apps to apply to the interface of your life!

Spend some time in God's free "App Store" today, it's just an opened Bible away! Apply God's apps to your life — you'll be dialing into His will, purposes, power, and His infinitely interesting universe!

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.

How often, in all the issues we have to deal with talking with people, we know or we feel we are right; our idea, our position, our interpretation is it, and we're ready to fight for it. Forget the fact that we may not be, or that there might be something we're completely ignorant of. The truth is that sometimes we know better, and sometimes we don't. But the scripture teaches us, and I've learned from experience (most of the time), that arguing, forcefulness, and violence in my own voice are almost guaranteed to start a futile and ugly war of words. People are naturally defensive, and often, naturally offensive.

But I can be the one to break the pattern…with a gentle answer. If my heart attitude is “Come, let us reason together, hear each other out, respect each other, speak softly, and trust the Lord for the outcome", and my tone of voice carries that spirit, I can actually help the other person to calm down and prevent a war. The fruit of the spirit is…..self control. What a blessing!

Do you want to start a fight…..or finish one? Give a gentle answer today and see what the Lord does!

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

The word for builder in Hebrew is “bo-neh”. It is also translated repairer. When our Messiah came 2000 years ago, He came to repair lives — to do a complete restoration of all that is broken in this world.

Interestingly, the Hebrew words for son, “ben” and daughter, “baht” both also come from the word bo-neh! So — if you were wondering what God’s calling on your life is, here you have it! We, as sons and daughters, are called to repair and build up our families, the body of Messiah and the world around us.

Let's begin looking for opportunities to bless those around us! Let's seek to be the ones to repair broken hearts, lives and relationships. In this way, we will truly become sons and daughters of God!

1 Chronicles 12:38 All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of one mind to make David king.

The mighty men that followed David were of one mind and heart to make him King. Their recognition of David's anointing may have been the most significant quality of these Mighty Men. What was it in David that drew out this deep loyalty? I believe it was God's Holy Spirit which David received when Samuel anointed him king.[1 Samuel 16:13].

"Mashiach" literally means "anointed"; so David was a "mashiach". "Yeshua ha Mashiach" translated literally into English is, "Jesus the Anointed". David received the Holy Spirit from the moment of his anointing by Samuel as future king of Israel. As the anointed Son of David, and Son of God, Yeshua is our eternal king.

The anointing on David's life, and the unity of his mighty men and their devotion to make him king, inspired all of Israel. The entire nation was inspired to crown him their king. What a picture of spiritual unity for us as lovers of our King/Messiah! If we love our King the way they loved David, we will also be drawn into great unity of heart and mind, as they were.

Now, as the storms gather, as our enemies plot our destruction, we must realize and recognize our oneness in Yeshua. Whatever disagreements we may nurture, they must pale in comparison to the love and loyalty we share toward our beloved King. Just as Israel loved and was utterly devoted to David, so, even more, can we be drawn together by the magnificent anointing of our Messiah, King of the Universe.

Read more Christian devotions on: Anointing, Love, Loyalty, Meshiach ben David, Unity

1 Chronicles 12:16-18 Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to David at the stronghold. And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, "If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look and bring judgment." Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said: "We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you." So David received them, and made them captains of the troop.

Mark 6:7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.

As David grew in stature those who stood by him increased in number, devoting themselves to fight with him. Though it was a time of adversity for David, and a time of warfare, he found that there were many willing to join their lives to his; "…a brother is born for adversity"; and "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother". Again we note that David's anointing and his character made him a friend to many…and many became his loyal friends.

When Yeshua (Jesus) sent his disciples out, He never sent them alone — He sent them two by two; and no doubt these pairs of disciples developed deep loyalty, unity and friendship as they proclaimed the kingdom and faced the powers of darkness together.

How would you describe your friendships in the Body of Messiah? Do you feel isolated, fighting battles alone? Do you know others who are in that condition? With the battles now raging, it's more important than ever to be a friend, and to really know who your friends are. May the Lord grant each one of us loyal and faithful friendships as we fight the good fight.

Read more Christian Devotionals on: Friendship, Meshiach ben David, Spiritual Warfare, Unity, War

If you look at the ant you will find that they dwell in colonies.  Each colony consists of approximately 60,000 – 90,000 ants — they really can't prosper on their own.   They need each other.  How does a colony of that many ants to work together?   The only reason it works is that they operate in unity.  Each ant shares the same purpose, the same goal, and the same aim.

Just as ants can't prosper on their own, neither can we as believers.  As ants need each other, so do God's children.  We need to dwell together as they do.  The way we dwell together is by sharing the same purpose.  We don't have to agree on when the tribulation or rapture is going to happen.  Those are all secondary things.   But we do have to be intent on the same purpose, to glorify God and spread His Word, to love God and each other.  Let's aim to accomplish the task that God has set before us and  God will be faithful bless our colony!

We can't let the ants put God's people to shame! Stay encouraged and focused on the ultimate goal!

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions.

A friend sent us this story about a young lady named Sally and her experience in a recent seminary class, given by her teacher, Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons. This particular day, Sally walked into the class and knew they were in for a fun day.

On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were many darts. Dr. Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone that they disliked or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow them to throw darts at the person's picture.

Sally's friend drew a picture of girl who had stolen her boyfriend. Another guy drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a picture of a former friend. The class lined up and began throwing darts. Some of the students were throwing their darts with such force that their targets were ripping apart and everyone was laughing hysterically.

Finally, Dr. Smith asked all the students to be seated. He came to the front of the class with a less-than-amused look on his face. As he began removing the target from the wall, there appeared underneath, a picture of Jesus. A hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled picture; holes and jagged marks covered Jesus' face, and His eyes were pierced.

Dr. Smith said only these words. "In as much as you have done it unto the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto Me." Matthew 25:40.

What a powerful analogy. Phew. When we "throw darts" at our brothers and sisters, friends and even strangers, we are actually piercing our Lord too. Let's get right with the Lord and others today. It's a good season for reconciliation. There's so much work to be done!

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

Being involved in ministry, my wife and I have experienced a few hairy situations in which we were called upon, either directly or indirectly, to mediate in an unresolved conflict.

Have you ever been a mediator? I'm sure you have in some way — at home, church, work . It's not an easy task, is it? Jesus called us to be peacemakers. We, as Christians, are to be the ones to bring peace into any situation in this world of conflict — a very high and often difficult calling.

Here's a little anecdote that really spoke to me regarding this.

"I was once involved in a complex situation where a lawyer with many years experience was brought in as a consultant to a case. He sat back and listened carefully to get as comprehensive a picture as possible. All throughout the presentation, he kept being asked, "So what do you think so far?" 'Well, I'm still trying to get a more complete picture,' he would say, 'I have no comments as of yet.' Only when the picture became very clear did he make his comments and state his opinion. Because of his extensive experience, he knew that things are not always as they seem. Two sides in a quarrel each will have a different picture and it takes patience to get the entire picture."

Let's strive for humility, wisdom and patience like this. It's important for us to learn the art of peace making. There's so much work to be done!

How do you get a one-armed blonde out of a tree? Wave.

Ok, I have to admit — it made me chuckle too. But blonde jokes, "name your ethnic group of choice" jokes — let's be honest — it is our human nature to put others down. There's something about it that makes us feel better about ourselves on some level.

Harmless? I'm not sure.

We need to develop eyes to see people the way God sees them. We need to be a people who build each other up – not tear each other down!

Let's ask the Lord to reveal if there is something in us that feels the need to put others down in order to elevate ourselves. We have the opportunity to change lives for the better with our words, sometimes even just a smile! And there's so much work to be done!

A friend sent us this very touching story and we had to share it with you.

Some time ago there was a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, and a line tugging in her mouth.

Thankfully, a fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was in such bad condition that the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her, a very dangerous proposition.

One slap of the enormous whale's tail could kill a rescuer. Still the brave rescuers worked for hours cutting her free. One guy who was cutting the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time. Eventually they were able to free her.

As soon as she became free, the divers say she began to swim in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed gently around-she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

Let's take a lesson from this beautiful story. So often we let the hurting in our churches and communities fall through the cracks, never to be seen again. But it is a brave soul who gathers up an army of rescuers to reach out to a suffering or hard to reach brother or sister and rescue him or her from the binding entanglements of this world. Just as the Lord has so mercifully reached out to us, we need to do the same. Whether it is a gift, an invitation to a meal or a smile and a word of encouragement, let's strive to reach out.

We need to be the first to initiate this kind of rescue team for our brothers and sisters. Believe you me, it will be just as beautiful and rewarding too. There's so much work to be done!

As members of the body of Messiah, we can be compared to pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Each piece has protrusions and indentations. The protrusions represent our strengths (gifts, talents, abilities), and the indentations represent our weaknesses (faults, limitations, shortcomings, undeveloped areas). The beautiful thing is that the pieces complement one another and produce a beautiful whole.

Just as each piece of a puzzle is important, so each member of the body is important and can minister to the other members of the body. And just as when one piece is missing from a puzzle, it’s absence is very obvious and damages the picture, so also is the whole weakened when we are absent from the body of Messiah.

We have the privilege of being a little part of God's big picture! Let's not shy away from being a piece! Go forth and serve the Lord in wonderful ways this weekend.