Author: Brad Whitt
22 May Devotional Thought – The Secret of Forgetting Self
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." John 15:4
No one ever becomes great simply through his own ability or personality. Greatness is only achieved through the life of another. Think about that for a minute. What makes a patriot so revered? It is because his life is found in the larger life of his country. What makes the humanitarian so distinguished? It is because he’s a member of the larger body of humanity. Why is the artist so loved? It is because his spirit is a part of the larger spirit of creation.
17 May Fridays Are For Family – When “I Do” Becomes “We Will”
As a pastor one of the things that comes with the ministry is seeing families at the best times of their lives - weddings, births, graduations, great accomplishments - as well as the worst times of their lives. I've stood with a family at four o'clock in the morning as a nurse pulled the body of their college-aged daughter out of the wall - killed in a single car accident. I've sat on the floor of a hospital waiting room with the adult, grieving daughter of a man who took his own life. I watched as she in essence reverted to a little child, holding herself, rocking and shouting, "NO! MY DADDY WOULDN'T DO THIS! MY DADDY LOVES ME TOO MUCH TO LEAVE ME THIS WAY! NO!" I met with a family in a hospital room as they received word that their fourteen year old daughter had contracted meningitis. I stood with them a few days later as they put her body in the ground. I've stood with families over a little casket as they said goodbye to a baby they never had the opportunity to know - stillborn. I could go on with example after example of couples I know and love when they faced the fiercest storms that ever raged against their marriage.
05 Apr Devotional Thought – Empty Things
"And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing." 1 Samuel 12:21
What a strange, and even anticlimactic, statement! Samuel says to the people that they must not turn aside from God. That certainly makes sense, but his reason is rather startling. He says that if they deviate from following the Lord they will end up going "after empty things." Okay, I get it. They would fall for the frivolous, but is that the worst thing that could happen? Is it really all that bad that those who detour from following after God would go after those things that are "nothing"?