Replies

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

August 4, 2008

A Place To Stand

ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. —1 Corinthians 3:11

While taking a break during a ministry trip, we were snorkeling in the Caribbean Sea. The boat that had taken us to the deep water for better sites had gone back to shore, and I began to feel panicky about being in the open water. Finding it hard to control my breathing, I asked my son-in-law Todd and a friend, Dave Velzen, for help. They held my arms while I searched for an outcropping of coral close enough to the surface for me to stand on. Once I had a place to stand, even though surrounded by deep waters, I was okay.

Are you feeling a bit panicky about events in your life? Maybe it seems as if you are surrounded by the open waters of relationship problems, or money woes, or simply an inability to put your life in order. Perhaps you feel as if you are drowning in a sea of trials and trouble.

May I suggest two things? First, find a fellow Christian or two who can come beside you and hold you up (see Eccl. 4:10), pray for you, talk with you, and remind you that you are not alone. Then rest your feet on the only solid foundation in life: Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).

Life’s troubles are too tough to take on alone. Get some help and find in Jesus a place to stand.

God often meets our deepest need
With help we gain from others,
From caring members of His church—
Our sisters and our brothers. —Brown

Build your life on the solid foundation—Jesus Christ.

Bible in One Year: Job 10–12; Proverbs 12:15-28

218TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S. COAST GUARD

1. ON BEHALF OF ALL MARINES, I SALUTE THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AS YOU CELEBRATE YOUR 218TH ANNIVERSARY. SINCE ITS FOUNDING ON 4 AUGUST 1790, THE COAST GUARD HAS PROVIDED DISTINGUISHED SERVICE IN PROTECTING THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF OUR NATION.

2. THE MARINE CORPS HAS BEEN PROUD TO SERVE ALONGSIDE YOU IN TIMES OF BOTH WAR AND PEACE. DURING WORLD WAR II, COAST GUARD SIGNALMAN FIRST CLASS DOUGLAS ALBERT MUNRO DIED WHILE RESCUING A GROUP OF MARINES NEAR THE MATANIKAU RIVER ON GUADALCANAL. POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED THE MEDAL OF HONOR, HIS BRAVERY AND SELF-SACRIFICE WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN BY THE MARINE CORPS.

3. AS THE NATION'S OLDEST CONTINUING SEAGOING SERVICE, THE COAST GUARD'S MOTTO, SEMPER PARATUS - ALWAYS READY, HAS NEVER APPLIED MORE DRAMATICALLY THAN AT PRESENT. THE COAST GUARD HAS MADE ITS LARGEST COMMITMENT TO PORT SECURITY OPERATIONS SINCE WORLD WAR II AND, AT THE SAME TIME, DEPLOYED ITS LARGEST CONTINGENT OF COAST GUARD MEMBERS OVERSEAS SINCE THE VIETNAM WAR IN SUPPORT OF THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR. YOUR PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN OUTSTANDING AND ADMIRABLY REFLECTS THE COAST GUARD'S CORE VALUES OF HONOR, RESPECT, AND DEVOTION TO DUTY.

4. SEMPER FIDELIS, JAMES T. CONWAY, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS.

.

Amen brother. If I didn’t have Jesus Christ on which to stand, I would be like the old woman who asked the preacher if all he had preached about sin was true, to which he answered, “indeed it is true.” She lamented then, “I’s a lost ball in de tall weeds.”