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.

Inner Beauty

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 31

Key Verse: Verse 30 - “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.”

Key Words: beauty is vain

Outer beauty attracts men, but inner beauty can keep them.

I read about two fairly well-to-do women who spent an afternoon at the local mall searching for “the perfect outfit.”  The following day was to be a special event and the two women wanted to look especially attractive.  The two had their nails polished to a fine brilliance, hair done by a well-known stylist, selected a sweet-smelling perfume, and tried on outfits.  While in the dressing room of a fashionable department store, the two women made certain their every need was catered to by the store assistants.  “This outfit is much too small!” yelled the first woman as she threw her garment at the store assistant.  “Go get me another one now!” she ordered.  The second woman chimed in, “You fool!  You brought me the blue dress!  I told you I look horrid in blue!”  

For the next hour, the two women tried on many glittery outfits as they verbally abused and insulted the assistants whose job it was to assist “special” customers.  By the time the women finally selected appropriate outfits, the assistants felt drained and were glad to see the two women go.  “Have you ever seen such ugly women?” asked one assistant to the other.  “What do you mean?” asked the other, looking puzzled, “Those women were very attractive.”  “Attractive on the outside, yes, but on the inside, they were ugly as sin!” answered the assistant as she gathered up the dresses which were strewn all over the dressing room floor.

If only the women in this story would spend as much attention on their inner being as on their outer appearance.  Often, we spend too much time and money on things that God does not even care about.  What He is concerned with, though, is if we neglect to beautify our inner being with the truth and light of His Word and how we treat others.  These are things which cannot be bought in a store.  What do you see when you look in the mirror?

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Spend time daily on making the inner man more beautiful than the outer man.

The Backslider "In 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 14:1-14

Key Verse: Verse 14 - “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.”

Key Words: The backslider in heart

When you and I think of backsliders, our minds usually conjure up thoughts about someone who at one time was faithful serving in their local church but are now cold toward the things of God.  Those individuals are certainly backsliders but it is not the primary idea or thought behind being a backslider.  God gives us an example of backsliding in Hosea 4:16 ... “for Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer.”  When a heifer would not obey its owner and go where the owner wanted it to go, they would put a rope around its neck and pull.  The heifer would then begin to pull back and back up and fight against its owner.  So a backslider is someone who doesn’t want to be led and receive guidance and direction.

This reminds me of the story of the little fellow who was made to sit down and as the teacher was walking away, the young boy said, “Teacher, I just want you to know that I’m sitting down on the outside but I’m standing up on the inside!”  While the boy was doing what he was told, he was still a backslider “in heart.”

It would do each of us good to examine our hearts.

 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Examine your heart.

The Depressed 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 77

Key Verse: Verse 2 – “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.”

Key Words: my soul refused to be comforted

Strangely enough, even David battled with depression...yes, King David, the apple of God’s eye.

Would it surprise you to know that some of the greatest pastors of our day, and days gone by, battled with depression?

One pastor said it well when he said, “Candidly, of all the groups I minister to, few are more depressed and exhausted than a group of pastors.  They are overworked, usually underpaid, and almost without exception underappreciated, though most of them are doing a remarkable piece of work.  Mild depressions can come on us unexpectedly and erode our willingness.  Often, we can’t explain such depression at the time.

“Though writing more than a hundred years ago, Charles Spurgeon described in a chapter of his book, Lectures to My Students, exactly some of the reasons we suffer from burnout in ministry today.  He even admitted to depression in his own life, often before a great success, sometimes after a great success, and usually because of something he couldn’t explain.  He called this chapter “The Minister’s Fainting Fits.”  Listen to his candid remarks.

 “’Fits of depression come over most of us.  Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down.  The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy.  There may be here and there men of iron...but surely the rust frets even these.’”

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Pray for those in places of spiritual leadership.  They are always under attack.

Mistaken About Oneself

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: Romans 12

Key Verse: Verse 2 – “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Key Words: the renewing of your mind

A young lady went to her minister one day and confessed, “Pastor, I have to admit I’ve become vain in my thinking.  Why, just this morning I looked in the mirror and admired my beauty.”  The elderly minister paused and then said with a smile, “Be at peace, my dear.  To be mistaken is not to sin!”

Sometimes we as Christians are a lot like that young woman.  We see ourselves through “rose-colored glasses” and fail to hold a proper view of our strengths and weaknesses.  As a result, we attempt what we are not cut out to do, or we try to exercise gifts we do not possess.  An inflated estimate of our capabilities hinders the Holy Spirit’s work in us and opens the door to embarrassment and failure.  We must remember that He gives us our talents and empowers us so that what we accomplish brings glory to God, not to ourselves.

In Romans 12, Paul tells us how to gain a right perspective.  He says that we should guard against having an inflated opinion of ourselves but instead should see our lives in the context of the “mercies of God.”  Because we are forgiven sinners through faith in Christ, we can be confident to do whatever He chooses.  Confident that He accepts us and wants to use us, we are then free to exercise the talents that are most natural to us.

So let’s not envy the achievements of others.  Let’s not try to be like someone else.  We can avoid being mistaken about our gifts by thinking soberly about ourselves as God gives us the measure of faith.

 

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Think of others more than you think of yourself.

Say So

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 107:1-9

Key Verse: Verse 2 – “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;”

Key Words: Let the redeemed of the LORD say so

There are two ways the tongue can be used incorrectly.  The first of these ways is known to all of us.  It is by speaking.  When our tongue is used as a tool of gossip, slander, cursing, or even idle talk, we misuse our tongue.  We are told in Psalm 39:1a, “I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue.”  The second way we use our tongue incorrectly is through silence, not speaking up when we should.  Ezekiel warns us against the silence of the tongue in Ezekiel 3:18, “When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”  If you saw your neighbor’s house on fire and you failed to warn your neighbor, you would be branded as a fool for the rest of your life.  Then what of those who we know are bound for an eternal fire?  Should we not warn them as well, and if we fail to do so, what does that say about us?

I recently read the following story.  “Two businessmen lived side by side in a suburb.  One was a professing Christian, the other was an unbeliever.  They both lived in the city and rode the same train to work each morning.  Several years were spent each morning in neighborly conversation.  One day the unbeliever became seriously ill.  His doctor told him, ‘John, you are very sick.  Would you like for me to call your pastor or someone who could help you spiritually?’  John shook his head and said, ‘No.  There is nothing they can offer.  My neighbor is a good Christian and for years we have ridden the same train together each morning and he has never mentioned salvation to me.  If it is not worth living for then it’s probably not of any value in death either.’”

Maybe we need to consider the word of the psalmist, David, “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so.”

 

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Tell others how God saved

Listening and Hearing

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: Romans 10:1-17

Key Verse: Verse 17 - “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Key Words: faith cometh by hearing

We are told in Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  The word “hearing” means to regard, to pay attention to, which reminds me of the following story I read.

“An Indian was walking in downtown New York City alongside a friend who was a resident of the city.  Right in the center of Manhattan, the Indian seized his friend’s arm and whispered, ‘Wait!  I hear a cricket.’  His friend said, ‘Come on!  Cricket?  Man, this is downtown New York.’  He persisted, ‘No, seriously, I really do.’  ‘It’s impossible!’ was the response.  ‘You can’t hear a cricket!  Taxis going by, horns honkin’, people screamin’ at each other, brakes screeching, both sides of the street filled with people, cash registers clanging away, subways roaring beneath us – you can’t possibly hear a cricket!’

“The Indian insisted.  ‘Wait a minute!’  He led his friend along, slowly.  They stopped, and the Indian walked down to the end of the block, went across the street, looked around, cocked his head to one side but couldn’t find it.  He went across another street, and there, in a large cement planter where a tree was growing, he dug down into the mulch and found the cricket.  ‘See!’ he yelled, as he held the insect high above his head.

“His friend walked across the street, marveling, ‘How in the world could it be that you heard a cricket in the middle of downtown, busy Manhattan?’

“The Indian said, ‘Well, my ears are different from yours.  It simply depends on what you’re listening to.  Here let me show you.’  And he reached in his pocket and pulled out a handful of change – a couple of quarters, three or four nickels, and dimes and pennies.  Then he said, ‘Now watch.’  He held the coins waist high and dropped them on the sidewalk.  Every head within a block turned around and looked in the direction of the Indian.”

The moral of the story is people hear what they want to hear.

 

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Listen to the things of God, and you’ll not have as much time to listen to the world.

The Butterfly and the Caterpillar

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:  I John 3:1-14

Key Verse: Verse 2 – “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Key Words: it doth not yet appear what we shall be

I read once of a dashing knight who longed to rescue his princess, who was imprisoned by a cruel enemy in the palace tower.  He devised a plan and recruited two small friends to send her a message.  First there was Claude Caterpillar, who was a hard-working fellow but crusty and sour.  He started inching his way up the wall toward the distant window, but it was hard work.  He grumbled that the sun was hot, causing him to sweat.  Then the sun withdrew behind a cloud, it started to rain, and he complained about the raindrops.  Finally, he heaved himself onto the window ledge, looked at the fair maiden, and said, “Hey, you, come over here.  Are you the lady in distress?”  She nodded.  Claude gave her the once-over and said, “You’re kidding.  You mean I climbed all the way up here for the likes of you?  Well, the knight says to get ready; he is coming for you at 5 P.M. sharp.  Think you can remember that, or should I repeat it?”  And off he went.

Next, the knight sent Barney Butterfly.  Barney, too, battled the rain and the contrary winds.  He had almost made it to the window when a bird came by and nearly ate him alive.  But finally, he fluttered in, landing softly on the lady’s finger.  “Lovely and favored maiden,” he said, “the white knight loves you dearly, and tonight he is coming to rescue you.  He asks only that you be ready at 5 P.M.”

The princess smiled and replied, “Thank you very much, Mr. Butterfly.  You are very sweet, and I will be ready tonight when he comes.  Claude Caterpillar already brought me the message, but tell me, why was he so disagreeable?  He brought me the same news, but after he left, I felt worse than before he came.”

The butterfly replied, “Oh, you mean Claude?  Well, don’t mind Claude.  That’s just the way he is.  I used to be that way, too, until I was transformed.”

 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Be patient with people.  Remember, God isn’t through with them yet.