Integrity

This Refreshing Daily Devotional will continue here on the blog. See ya tomorrow!

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 20:1-14

Key Verse: Verse 7- “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.”

Key Words: The just man walketh in his integrity

We are told in Proverbs 20:7 that, “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.”  If our children are to be blessed, then we must be parents of integrity.  The word integrity comes from the root word integer which means whole.  Let me explain.  We as parents can’t pick and choose an area where we will be honest.  We must be honest and truthful in all areas of life, even if it hurts.  We must have character, not just in some areas, but in every area of life.  Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. used to say, “Character is what you do in the dark when no one else is looking.”  Let me explain further.  How many times has your child answered the phone, and it was for you, but you didn’t want to talk so you told your child, “Tell them I’m not here.”  Not honest – that’s a lack of integrity, and it is teaching your children to have no integrity.  Have you ever covered for your children not doing their homework or written an excuse for an absence which was not totally truthful?  That’s lacking integrity.  Partial honesty or partial integrity is no honesty or integrity at all.

A man in Long Beach, California, went into a chicken franchise to buy lunch for himself and the lady with him.  He took his order of chicken and drove to a nearby park for a picnic.  When he opened the box of chicken, he was surprised to find money instead of chicken.  The manager kept the earnings in a chicken box as a safety precaution in case of a robbery, but he inadvertently handed the man the wrong box.  The man quickly returned his picnic basket full of cash to the store manager.  The manager, needless to say, was elated, so elated that he proclaimed this man to be “the most honest guy in town.”  The store manager wanted to call the local newspaper and have the story, along with the man’s picture, published for everyone to see. The man protested such an idea.  The manager pressed him for a reason for his protesting. Finally, the man proclaimed, “You see, I am married and the woman I am with is not my wife.” Now I ask you, do you think the man was honest?  You see, partial honesty is no honesty at all.

Integrity is a holiness that directs every area of our lives. “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.” 

 

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Walk in integrity or you will never be whole.

Gossip

Bible Reading:  Mark 16

Key Verse: Verse 15- “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Key Words: preach the gospel

Are you aware that the word gossip is not found in the Word of God?  But its meaning has a spiritual significance, or maybe I should say a lack of spiritual significance.  The word gossip comes from the old English god-sibb.  The word god is a false god and the word sibb means akin to, so then a gossiper would be someone who is akin to a false god.  Now, isn’t that interesting?!!

After three years of research, Indiana University Sociologist Donna Eder identified an important dynamic involved in gossip.  Eder discovered that the initial negative statement was not the starting point for gossip.  The critical turning point was found in the response to the initial statement.  “She’s a snob” is not the starting point of gossip.  It is when someone else agrees that “She’s a snob” that the gossip first begins.  Eder found that the key is whether or not a negative statement is seconded.  If a second is provided, then gossip ensues.  If the second is not provided, then the conversation changes directions.  No one ever challenged an evaluation that had been seconded.  Now no matter how cutting the opening remark is, an immediate quibble from a listener could send the talk into a less critical direction.

The moral of all this is “gossip isn’t any fun if you aren’t willing to agree.”  Moral number two: “we have the power either to incite or defuse gossip.”

But primarily I need to know that when I gossip, I’m akin to a false god and helping to promote the work of Satan.  So let’s not gossip but                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  rather let us spread the gospel.  Amen! 

 

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Don’t spread gossip; spread the gospel.

Noisy Lids

Bible Reading:  Psalm 19

Key Verse: Verse 12 - “Who can understand
his errors?  cleanse thou me from secret faults.”

Key Words: cleanse thou me from secret faults

Godly living involves the secret attitudes of the heart that give birth to actions.  Right conduct is important, to be sure, for without it our testimony will be ineffective.  But the believer knows that sin has polluted his entire being, and that it’s possible to do the right thing for the wrong reason.  A kind and generous deed, for example, can actually be tinged with strong elements of selfishness.

A little boy told a salesclerk he was shopping for a birthday gift for his mother and asked to see some cookie jars.  At a counter displaying a large selection of them, the youngster carefully lifted and replaced each lid.  His face fell as he came to the last one.  “Aren’t there any covers that don’t make any noise?” he asked.

Beneath the humor of this delightful story is a disturbingly accurate commentary on human nature.  Although there’s the danger of becoming too introspective, we must examine our motives under the searchlight of God’s penetrating Word.  It’s a healthy exercise that will give our lives a quality which the Bible calls “sincerity.”  David’s prayer in Psalm 19:12 can help us: “Who can understand his errors?  cleanse thou me from secret faults.”

Let’s seek to glorify God in everything we do.  Our conduct will then be governed by fixed motives instead of mixed motives.  Our actions will flow from a determination to please Him.  With Paul we’ll be able to say, “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity...we have had our conversation in the world...”  (II Corinthians 1:12).

Two things we must learn to do

If we’d keep our record true:

We must act from motives purely,

We must trust in God securely.  (Van Dyke alt)

 

Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Check the motives of your heart.

Listen God Is Speaking

Bible Reading:  Hebrews 1

Key Verse: Verse 2 - “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

Key Words: spoken unto us by his Son

The well-known theologian, Charles Hodge, wrote about his early years at Princeton: “It was my privilege to be the pupil-assistant of Professor Joseph Henry, the illustrious scientist.  When, for the first time, electric signals were sent from point to point, the earth itself being used for the return current, Professor Henry put me at one end of the circuit, while he stood directing the experiments at the other.  I can well remember the wonderful care with which he arranged them.  Very often, when the testing moment came, he would raise his hand in adoring reverence and call upon me to uncover my head and worship in silence.  He would say, ‘Because God is here.  I am about to ask Him a question.’”

Professor Henry was a God-fearing man and recognized the Almighty’s presence in creation.  He therefore entered into his experiments depending upon the Lord for the right solutions.  He believed that the voice of God could be heard in the universe, for the Bible says, “Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge”  (Psalm 19:2).  Yes, we can hear Him speak, as it were through the light and laws of nature.  But the Almighty has also spoken through the prophets of old; through His written Word, the Bible; and through the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In nature we can learn about God’s greatness, power, and intelligence.  But His Word and His Son reveal most clearly His love, mercy, grace, will, and plan of redemption.

Remember, GOD IS SPEAKING!  He tells us all we need to know.  It’s up to us to listen!

 

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Listen to God.

The Touch OF The Masters Hand

Due to popular demand we are actively seeking a way for this ministry to continue beyond this month. Please be patient and we will give an update before the month ends.

Bible Reading:  Luke 5:1-16

Key Verse: Verse 13 - “And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.”

Key Words: And he put forth his hand, and touched him

One of the most famous musicians of the 19^th-century was a self-taught Norwegian violinist named Ole Bull (1810 – 1880).  He was a composer and artist of amazing skill who toured Europe and America with enormous success.  During his lifetime, he was the world’s most renowned violinist.

But he wasn’t known by everyone.  One day while traveling in the forests of Europe, he became lost and in the dark of night stumbled upon a log hut, the home of a hermit.  The old man took him in, fed and warmed him. After supper they sat in front of a blazing fireplace and the old hermit picked some crude tunes on his screechy, battered violin.

“Do you think I could play on that?” asked Ole Bull.

“I don’t think so,” replied the hermit.  “It took me years to learn.”

Ole Bull replied, “Let me try.”  Taking the old, marred violin, he drew the bow across the strings and suddenly the hermit’s hut was filled with music so beautiful the hermit sobbed like a child.  

We are battered instruments; life’s strings have been snapping; life’s bow has been bent.  Yet if we will only let Him take us and touch us, from our old battered, broken, shattered, marred instruments, He will bring forth music fit for the angels.

Today, the answer to what is ailing you is only as far away as the touch of the Master’s Hand.

 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Let God change your life with His touch.

Inner Peace

Due to popular demand we are actively seeking a way for this ministry to continue beyond this month. Please be patient and we will give an update before the month ends.

 Bible Reading: Romans 5

Key Verse: Verse 1 - Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

Key Words: have peace with God

The word peace in the Scripture means a solace, a calm spirit, tranquil.  My personal definition of peace is “an inner calmness that says all is in God’s control.”  If we are to have inner peace, three things must be in place in our life.

First of all, we must be at peace with God.  This peace only comes through salvation.  We are told in Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Secondly, there is the peace of God.  This peace only comes through having a right relationship with God, and through a proper thought life.  We read in Philippians 4:6-8, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Then lastly, but by no means least, there is the peace from God.  This comes as a result of our relationship with others.  In I Corinthians 1:3-4 we read, “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;... .”  God’s peace allows us to have an inner calmness even though the storms of life are raging all around us.

Sailors and sea merchants will tell you if you are ever caught in a hurricane, find the eye of the storm for it is there you will find a calmness that allows you to ride out the storm.  Jesus is our eye of calmness; He is our peace and tranquility in this old world of conflict and strife.

Today, if you long for inner peace you must first be at peace with God by being born again.  You must have the peace of God that comes through a right relationship with God.  Then you must be at peace with others, this is peace from God.  I trust today you are in a place of perfect peace even though the storms of life are raging all around you.

 

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Be at peace with God.

Prayer and Healing

Due to popular demand we are actively seeking a way for this ministry to continue beyond this month. Please be patient and we will give an update before the month ends.

Bible Reading: James 5:13-20

Key Verse: Verse 15 - “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

Key Words: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick

Do you believe in praying for the sick?  I surely do.  So did John Wesley.

Here are three entries from John Wesley’s journal, taken from incidents years apart, that shows that Wesley believed that God could heal in response to prayer.  The three incidents involved healing for himself, a friend – and a horse.

• In 1741, May 10.  Sunday, pain in back and head, with fever; had to lie down most of day; only easy in one position.  At night tried to preach; pain, and seized with cough, etc.  There came to mind strongly, “These signs shall follow them that believe.”  Prayed; called on Jesus aloud to increase my faith and to confirm the Word of His grace.  While I was speaking my pain vanished away, the fever left me, my bodily strength returned, and for many weeks I felt neither sickness nor pain.  Unto Thee, O Lord, do I give thanks!
• 1745, Jan. 14.  On way to Bristol.  Was earnest desired to turn aside and call at the house of a poor man, William Shalwood.  I found him and his wife sick in one bed, and with small hopes of the recovery of either.  Yet (after prayer) I believed they would not die, but live and declare the loving kindness of the Lord.  The next time I called he was sitting below the stairs, and his wife was able to be abroad.
• 1781, Sept. 5.  On Wednesday noon I preached at Taunton.  I believe it my duty to relate here what some will esteem a most notable instance of enthusiasm (fanaticism).  Be it so or not, I aver the plain fact.  In an hour after we left Taunton, one of the chaise horses was on a sudden so lame that he could hardly set his foot to the ground.  It being impossible to procure any human help, I knew no remedy but prayer.  Immediately the lameness was gone, and he went just as he did before.

Oh, the power of prayer!

 

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Pray for the sick.

When The Inside's Outside

Due to popular demand we are actively seeking a way for this ministry to continue beyond this month. Please be patient and we will give an update before the month ends.

Bible Reading: Mark 7:14-23

Key Verse: Verse 23 - “All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

Key Words: All these evil things come from within

From the Choice Gleanings Desk Calendar comes this story: On one occasion Hudson Taylor wanted to teach a spiritual lesson, so he filled a glass with water and placed it on the table before him.  While he was speaking, he pounded his fist hard enough to make water splash onto the table.  He then explained, “You will come up against much trouble.  But when you do, remember, only what’s in you will spill out.”

That’s worth thinking about, isn’t it?  If we are mistreated or misunderstood, how do we respond?  With loving words, patience and kindness?  Or are we inclined to retaliate in anger?  In Ephesians 4:17-32, we see the contrast between the old man and the new man – what a person is before he is saved and filled with God’s Spirit, and what he is afterward.  When we are under the control of the Holy Spirit, we will show it by the way we react to the shocking, jolting trials and temptations of life.  How we respond to trying, embarrassing situations that are suddenly thrust upon us is a good test of how much we have grown in grace.  What we do on the spur of the moment, when we don’t have time to think or weigh the consequences, reveals whether or not our lives are filled with the love of Christ.

A non-Christian in a tense situation may suppress his innermost feelings in order to serve his own ends.  But when a person who is filled with the Savior’s love is jostled, he will be patient and kind without even thinking about it.  Like that glass of water, he shows what’s on the inside by what spills over on the outside.

 So what’s spilling out of you?  Love, joy, peace, etc. – or envy, gossip, and criticism?  You know what’s on the inside by what’s going out.

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Make sure that which comes out is from God.

The Healing Word

Due to popular demand we are actively seeking a way for this ministry to continue beyond this month. Please be patient and we will give an update before the month ends.

Bible Reading: Psalm 107:1-22

Key Verse: Verse 2  0- “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

Key Words: He sent his word, and healed them

Have you ever considered that God’s Word has healing power?  The psalmist declares that it was God’s Word that healed Israel.

God’s Word is a powerful word, a sharp word, but it’s also a healing word.

Dr. Stanley Blanton, a well-known psychiatrist, told about a new patient who entered his office.  Seeing a Bible on his desk, the patient asked, “Do you, a psychiatrist, read the Bible?”

Dr. Blanton replied, “I not only read it, I study it.  It’s the greatest textbook on human behavior ever put together.  If people would just absorb its message, a lot of us psychiatrists could close our offices and go fishing.”

“You are talking about Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule?” the patient asked.

“Certainly, but more, too.  Dozens of other insights have profound psychiatric value.  Take your own case.  For the past hour you have been telling me how you have tried this, tried that, but all to no avail.  Isn’t it quite obvious that you are worrying yourself into a state of acute anxiety?” asked Dr. Blanton.

“That is why I am here,” the patient acknowledged.

Said Dr. Blanton, “For more than three thousand years, the Bible has been a help in time of trouble to any person wise enough to use it.”

 

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Apply the salve of God’s Word to what’s ailing you.

Death Wish

Due to popular demand we are actively seeking a way for this ministry to continue beyond this month. Please be patient and we will give an update before the month ends.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 8

Key Verse: Verse 36-   “But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.”

Key Words: wrongeth his own soul

On a lonely three-mile stretch of a Florida beach, 100 pilot whales hurled themselves onto dry ground in an apparent mass suicide.  It was another example of self-destructive behavior that continues to baffle marine biologists.  These huge creatures had beached themselves in a kind of follow-the-leader fashion.  People came from miles around to try to turn them back.  At one point a human fence was formed between the whales and the shoreline.  But even when those sea mammals were pushed, pulled, and forced back into deeper water, many of them repeated their death surge and threw themselves onto dry ground again.  Several theories have been advanced to explain this seeming bent toward self-destruction.  One is that the whale’s directional sonar, which steer it clear of danger, may have gotten fouled up.  Biologists found parasites in the inner ears of some of the huge creatures that may have disoriented them.

Do you suppose we humans look like that to the angels?  As God’s ministers for our good, they might wonder what strange urge causes us to self-destruct “en masse.”  It’s clear to them that the Creator has provided a sea of wisdom for us to live in.  Yet there’s something about man that mimics these whales.  Like an unreasoning animal, he seems obsessed with a desire to break out of that element he was created for.  Instead of remaining in the expanse of a loving, conscious submission to God, he throws himself onto the dry ground of disobedience.  

We may think we’d never do that.  But believe what God says: “All who hate wisdom love death.”

 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Ask God to give you a love for Godly wisdom.

A Calm Soul

The July 2025 Refreshing Daily in God’s Word will be the last issue of the devotional.  Pastor Michael Rouse retired June 29, 2025.  At the present time, Mountain View Baptist Church does not have anyone to continue this ministry.

 

We appreciate all the support and prayers that you have given for this ministry since 2007 when it first began. We pray the devotionals have been a blessing and have brought you closer in your walk with the Lord.

 

In the future, the Lord may allow the devotional to return.  In the meantime, we are asking for your prayers for the man that God chooses for our church.

 

Thank you and God bless you! 

Bible Reading:  Psalm 46

Key Verse: Verse 10 - “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Key Words: Be still, and know that I am God

In our hurry-scurry life when we run hither, thither, and yon and never seem to have any time for hearing...I mean really hearing God...we often find ourselves frail and weak, not only physically but spiritually.  Our key verse reminds us of the importance of being still, having a time of calmness for our soul when we listen to God.

Before refrigerators were invented, icehouses were used to preserve food.  These icehouses had thick walls, no windows, and a tightly fitted door.  Large blocks of ice were obtained during the winter and covered with sawdust to prevent melting.  This would allow the ice to last well into summer.  One day a man lost his valuable watch while working in the icehouse.  He and his fellow workers diligently searched for the valued timepiece without success.  A small boy heard of the problem and slipped into the icehouse.  He soon emerged from the cold with the man’s watch.  The men were amazed and asked the boy how he found it.  He said, “I closed the door, laid down in the sawdust, and kept very still.  Soon I heard the watch ticking.”  From the cool darkness of this dated icehouse comes the timeless reminder of Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

 

                                                                            Dr, Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Heed the counsel of God’s Word, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Lust of the Eyes

The July 2025 Refreshing Daily in God’s Word will be the last issue of the devotional.  Pastor Michael Rouse retired June 29, 2025.  At the present time, Mountain View Baptist Church does not have anyone to continue this ministry.

 

We appreciate all the support and prayers that you have given for this ministry since 2007 when it first began. We pray the devotionals have been a blessing and have brought you closer in your walk with the Lord.

 

In the future, the Lord may allow the devotional to return.  In the meantime, we are asking for your prayers for the man that God chooses for our church.

 

Thank you and God bless you! 

Bible Reading: Judges 14

Key Verse: Verse 2 – “And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.”

Key Words: I have seen a woman

Samson was a he-man with a she-weakness.  In spite of the fact he was raised in a Godly home, set apart from his birth to be a Nazarite, and elevated to the enviable position of Judge of Israel, he never conquered his tendency toward lust.  On the contrary, it conquered him.  Several Scriptures point to the lustful bent of Samson.

• The first recorded words from his mouth were, “I have seen a woman...” Judges 14:2.
• He was attracted to women strictly on the basis of outward appearance.  In Judges 14:3 Samson said (paraphrased), “Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.”
• Samson judged Israel for twenty years, then went back to his old habit of chasing women (Judges 16:4).
• He became so preoccupied with his lustful desires; he didn’t even know that the Lord had departed from him (Judges 16:20).

The results of Samson’s illicit affairs are familiar to all of us.  The strong man of Dan was taken captive and became a slave in the enemy’s camp.  His eyes were gouged out of his head, and he was appointed to be the grinder in a Philistine prison.  Lust had brought Samson, the swarthy pride of Israel who once held the highest office of the land, to where he was now – the bald-headed clown of the Philistines.  His eyes would never wander again.  His life, once filled with promise and dignity, was now filled with hopelessness.  Chalk up another victim to lust.

Need I remind you that even giving lust a foothold – no, a toenail – in your life will bring you low?  We would all do well to remember Joseph (Genesis 39).  He was dedicated to God, a well-disciplined man who knew that he could not play with lust without being whipped.  When it came time for a hasty retreat, he decided it would be better to leave his jacket behind rather than his testimony.  But not Samson, he played with fire and was burnt.  And need I remind you that lust is one flame you dare not fan?  You will get burned if you do.

 

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Be careful what you focus on.

The Hasty Tongue

The July 2025 Refreshing Daily in God’s Word will be the last issue of the devotional.  Pastor Michael Rouse retired June 29, 2025.  At the present time, Mountain View Baptist Church does not have anyone to continue this ministry.

 

We appreciate all the support and prayers that you have given for this ministry since 2007 when it first began. We pray the devotionals have been a blessing and have brought you closer in your walk with the Lord.

 

In the future, the Lord may allow the devotional to return.  In the meantime, we are asking for your prayers for the man that God chooses for our church.

 

Thank you and God bless you! 

Bible Reading: Proverbs 29:1-20

Key Verse: Verses 20 - “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”

Key Words: Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words?  there is more hope of a fool than of him

There is a little poem I like written by Luellen Norris.  The poem goes as follows.

If your lips would keep from slips

Five things observe with care:

To whom you speak, of whom you speak,

And how, and when, and where.

I do believe that the tongue is the only tool that grows sharper with use.

None was better at insults than Winston Churchill, who had no love affair with Lady Astor.  Actually, the feeling was mutual.  On one occasion she found the great statesman rather obviously inebriated in a hotel elevator.  With cutting disgust she snipped, “Sir Winston, you are drunk!” to which he replied, “M’lady, you are ugly.  Tomorrow I will be sober.”  That may be a classic example of how not to handle an insult.  It surely is an example of hasty words.

 

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Follow the admonition of James 1:19b, “...let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

A Cheerful Heart

The July 2025 Refreshing Daily in God’s Word will be the last issue of the devotional.  Pastor Michael Rouse retired June 29, 2025.  At the present time, Mountain View Baptist Church does not have anyone to continue this ministry.

 

We appreciate all the support and prayers that you have given for this ministry since 2007 when it first began. We pray the devotionals have been a blessing and have brought you closer in your walk with the Lord.

 

In the future, the Lord may allow the devotional to return.  In the meantime, we are asking for your prayers for the man that God chooses for our church.

 

Thank you and God bless you! 

Bible Reading: II Corinthians 9

Key Verse: Verses 7 - “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

Key Words: Every man according as he purposeth in his heart

A pastor in a rural community wanted to see if a farmer in his church was willing to support the Lord’s work.  As they were walking along one day, the pastor decided to ask him some direct questions.  “If you had two farms,” he said, “would you be willing to give one to the Lord?”  The farmer didn’t hesitate.  “Why, Pastor, you know if I had two farms, I’d be glad to give one to the Lord.”  The pastor asked another question.  “If you had $10,000, would you give $5,000 to the Lord?”  Again there was no hesitation.  “Why, of course I would, Pastor.  If I had $10,000, half of it would go right to the Lord.”  The pastor had one more question.  “If you had two hogs,” he said, “would you give one to the Lord?”  This time there was a lengthy pause.  Finally, the farmer replied, “Aw, Pastor, you know I’ve got two hogs!” 

 It was easy for the farmer to talk of giving so generously as long as it was something out of his reach.  But when it came down to what he really did have, he wasn’t willing to part with it.  He hadn’t learned to be a cheerful giver.  You see, God expects us to give out of the abundance of what He has blessed us with.  According to I Corinthians 16:2, each of us is to give according as God has prospered us.  But how can we give cheerfully?  The key to this is found in II Corinthians 8:1-5, where Paul commended the churches of Macedonia for their willingness to give.  Verse 5 tells us that, before they gave financially, they “first gave their own selves to the Lord.”  If you want to be a cheerful giver, first give yourself to the Lord, and your giving will be from a heart of love.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Give cheerfully; but if you can’t give cheerfully, give anyway.

The Echo of the Soul

The July 2025 Refreshing Daily in God’s Word will be the last issue of the devotional.  Pastor Michael Rouse retired June 29, 2025.  At the present time, Mountain View Baptist Church does not have anyone to continue this ministry.

 

We appreciate all the support and prayers that you have given for this ministry since 2007 when it first began. We pray the devotionals have been a blessing and have brought you closer in your walk with the Lord.

 

In the future, the Lord may allow the devotional to return.  In the meantime, we are asking for your prayers for the man that God chooses for our church.

 

Thank you and God bless you! 

Bible Reading:  Galatians 6:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 7 - “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Key Words: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap

I realize this is a familiar portion of Scripture, but I trust it’s not so familiar that it has ceased to impact our lives for we do reap what we sow.

A young boy lived with his grandfather on the top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps.  Often, just to hear the sound of his own voice echoing back to him, he would go outside, cup his hands around his mouth and shout, “HELLO!”  Up from the canyons the reply reverberated, “HELLO...HELLO...hello...hello....”  Then he would call out, “I LOVE YOU...I LOVE YOU...I love you...love you...love you....”

One day the boy seriously misbehaved and his grandfather disciplined him severely.  Reacting violently, the child shook his fist and screamed, “I HATE YOU!”  To his surprise, the rocks and boulders across the mountainside responded in kind: “I HATE YOU...I HATE YOU...I hate you...hate you...hate you....”

And so it is in a family.  We could call it one of the immutable laws of physical nature.  More particularly, human nature.  We get in return exactly what we give.  It all comes back.  Incredible echoes mirror our actions to an emphatic degree, sometimes in greater measure than we give.  The results are often embarrassing...or tragic.

 Tennyson said: “Our echoes roll from soul to soul and grow forever and forever.”

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Sow what you want to reap because you will anyway.

The Heart

The July 2025 Refreshing Daily in God’s Word will be the last issue of the devotional.  Pastor Michael Rouse retired June 29, 2025.  At the present time, Mountain View Baptist Church does not have anyone to continue this ministry.

 

We appreciate all the support and prayers that you have given for this ministry since 2007 when it first began. We pray the devotionals have been a blessing and have brought you closer in your walk with the Lord.

 

In the future, the Lord may allow the devotional to return.  In the meantime, we are asking for your prayers for the man that God chooses for our church.

 

Thank you and God bless you! 

Bible Reading: Proverbs 4

Key Verse: Verse 23 - “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Key Words: Keep thy heart

In Proverbs 4:23 we are told to “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”  The word heart is used often throughout the Word of God.

• In Jeremiah 17:9, we are told that the heart is deceitful.
• In John 14, we are told to “Let not your heart be troubled.”
• In Deuteronomy 6:5, we see that we are to love the Lord with all of our heart.
• In Romans 10:9-10, we see the heart is vital to salvation, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” 

So what is the heart?  Solomon tells us what the heart is when he says, “for out of it are the issues of life.”  The heart is that which produces our actions.  You can actually know the heart of a person by their actions.  Now that is a scary thought that people can know my heart by what I do.  Solomon goes on in Proverbs 4:24-27 to give us three ways to identify our heart.

First of all, you can know a person’s heart by what they say.  Verse 24, “Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.”  If my words are froward (crooked, dishonest) or perverse (misleading), then my heart is dishonest and misleading.  If I gossip, lie, murmur, complain, backbite, it is because my heart is filled with gossip, lies, murmuring, complaints, and backbiting.  On the other hand, if my words are pure and clean, that reveals a pure and clean heart.  So as you listen to people talk, you can know their heart.  Matthew 12:34 says, “...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”

Secondly, you can know a person’s heart by what they look at or watch. Verse 25, “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.”  A heart that is out of control looks at things that he or she should not.  There is no reason to explain here, this is pretty clear.

Thirdly, you can know a person’s heart by where they go.  Verses 26-27, “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.  Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”  Do I go to the house of God or the ballfield?  Do I go soul-winning or fulfill my hobby?  Do I go to movies which I should not be seeing?  Oh well, you get the idea.

So based on these three things: my words–what I say, my eyes–what I see, and my feet–where I go, I can tell what the spiritual condition of my heart is.

 

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Don’t give your heart to the world or the worldly.