Why Did Joseph Weep?

The story of Joseph is a moving reminder of God's love.  He went from favored son and hated brother, to successful slave, prime prisoner, to prime minister!

There is one particularly poignant portion. Joseph had been in Egypt over 20 years and his brethren came to buy food.  They didn't realize that this hard "Egyptian" leader was actually their brother.  When Joseph mentions "I fear God" it seems to jog their conscience.  Their dirty deed of 20 years ago comes bubbling up from their guilty consciences.  They had ignored the pitiful (pit-full :-) ) cries of their brother and sold him into slavery.  As they are conversing among themselves, Reuben says

(Gen 42:22) And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

Through the years, I imagine that Joseph lamented the fact that ALL of his brethren had so turned against him and that no one had cared about him.  Now, as he hears Reuben, he understands that at least one had cared and tried to help him!  He is overcome with emotion and leaves their presence to weep.

Knowing that someone cares is a powerful incentive to continue on in our journey for God.

Yet even if you feel you are all alone, we are never alone. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

(Exo 34:5) And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

God will stand with us, if we stand for Him! Follow @ddevonshire

The devil's armor

(Read "Whose Armor Are You Wearing?" first)
We have seen before that Judas had power, but piece by piece the devil clothed him with his armor.

Belt of Lies
Joh 12:5-6
(5) Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
(6) This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

We see Judas strapping on the belt of lies with these verses. Sometimes the most wicked lies are covered by a moral sounding excuse. Jesus used the example of the Pharisees who said I can't give this to my parents it is a gift to God. It sounded good to man, but Jesus identified it as a cover-up for their disobedience to God!

Helmet of Destruction
Matt 27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

He thought it was too late. Even then God could have and would have forgiven him, if he tried. He says to himself, being prompted by the devil "I can't be forgiven, I am going to be destroyed"…and puts on the helmet of destruction.

Breastplate of unrighteousness
Joh 13:2
(2) And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
This betrayal and wickedness shoes us Judas donning the breastplate of unrighteousness.

Feet shod with shoes
John 13:30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.
The "Sop" was the most tender and delicious morsel of the meal and was usually given by the host to a guest to show honor and love or friendship. Jesus was in this act of giving the sop, reaching out to Judas one last time, but Judas had on the devil's shoes, he was ready and determined to do evil, and went out immediately!

Shield of unbelief
When he did not believe, he opened himself to betrayal.
John 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
John 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
John 6:71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

He walked with Him three years and still did not believe! He had seen the miracles, even partook of them, but still did not believe!

Words of the devil…the sword
As we saw above, he complained about the "waste" of the ointment poured out upon Jesus. Complaining. never changes anything for the good. If you get your way, there is no peace about it afterwards. Complaining doesn't improve anything, it wastes your time, brings a shadow and a cloud over you.
God hates it!

Judas ended up clothed in the devil's armor and marched to his destruction. It doesn't have to be that way for you! Take off the devil's armor and put on the whole armor of God! Follow @ddevonshire

Whose Armor Are You Wearing?

Luk 11:21-22

(21) When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

(22) But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

Clank, Clank, Clank the army of souls goes marching into God's house each week. Their helmets gleaming, swords sharpened, shields held high. Soldiers of the Lord you say? Wearing the Armor of the Lord? Some are, but when we read the book of Luke, we find there is another armor. The devil's armor. Everyone has on a spiritual armor, but the question I want to ask you is:

Whose armor are you wearing?

In Ephesians we find that God gives Christians His armor. Knowing the devil often imitates God's methods and that from our bible reading he has an armor, we can imagine that as God clothes Christians with His armor, the devil gives his armor to those he wants to "protect" from the power of God.

If he can't keep you from the house of God, then he wants to put his armor on you so that you will not come into full contact with God's power.

When Paul describes the armor of God, he began with the waistbelt of truth, the devil's armor would be the belt of lies. He is even called a liar and the father of lies. One Greek word used for the devil is diabolos, which means slanderer. Slander is defined as false statements injurious to a person's reputation. God desires truth in the inward parts, and the devil delights in lies, false accusations and slander.

The slander and lies told about God, His church, His preachers and His believers, sometimes keep others from receiving the truth.

God gives us a breastplate of righteousness, and the devil gives his people a breastplate of unrighteousness. Their sins and iniquities separate them from God. They love their sin so much, they don't want to let it go. One lady told a friend of mine "I would rather die and go to hell then give up this relationship!"

God gives His sons and daughters a helmet of salvation, but the devil clothes his children with a helmet of destruction. Saying: "You are going to die and go to hell anyway, you might as well live it up." or "It is too late for you, don't even try." He endeavors to get that person to destroy themselves literally or through a destructive lifestyle.

God's soldiers are wearing gospel shoes, prepared to do His work, and the minions of the enemy are ready to do evil Prov. 1:16 "For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood"

The warriors of the Lord are protected with a shield of faith, but doubt, suspicion and unbelief form the shield that keeps the enemy's people "shielded" from God.

The weapon in the hand of the Christian is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The words of the devil, prompted to the minds of humanity becomes the weapon fighting against the gospel. If the Word of the Lord is pure, converting the soul, the enemies words are impure, confirming the soul in it's situation.

My goal is not to lift up what the enemy is doing, but to point out his tactics so that you may examine yourself and see if you are indeed wearing his armor, and if it is keeping you from receiving all that God wants for you.

God is never limited, and there are times His arrows pierce between "the joints and the harness" of any armor. Other times people wonder why they are hindered, perhaps this could be part of the reason.

Part 2 tomorrow

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The Barber Shop

I have had some odd barber shop experiences in the past, but this one is truly unique! Upon arriving in St. Louis I began searching for an establishment I could make my every other week trimming trip to. I had been paying about $1.50 in the Philippines for a haircut, and so the $12-$13 prices seemed pretty high to me. After several bad haircuts, and even an attempt to learn to do it myself, I found a place that offered a $7 cut. I went there after a days visiting and there were several men waiting so I decided to come back the next day. The barber seemed friendly enough, and had some religious decorations around, and after the haircut, he refused to let me pay him, saying he hadn't really cut much. Great! The next time I went, I told him I was a preacher and invited him to church. He stopped what he was doing, and told me this "I thought you were a tax man! I stayed up at night trying to think of a way to tell you never to come back here! I hated you! You intimidated me!"

Whoa! Not the kind of effect I was hoping to have on people! He felt pretty bad and then began to share with me about some family members with some pretty serious medical problems. I told him I would pray for them. He asked me if I had any pamphlets I could leave at the barber shop for the patrons, I gladly went to the car and got a stack and laid them on the counter, he said "No! Go and give them to each person! Have some guts! and anytime you want to come in here and talk to any of the guys in the barber shop you can."

Having been duly scolded, I went to each person and invited them out, and spoke with one man at length, he came that Sunday night!

Anytime I go in, he usually calls someone over for me to talk to and I get to invite them out to church!

I think I found the right barber shop!

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Back in the USA

For those of you who don't already know, the Lord directed our steps back to the United States.  We served nearly 4 and 1/2 years in the Philippines and will miss many of the people who became our friends, brothers and sisters.  

We are now pastoring a church in St. Louis and the Lord is blessing us.  We have settled in for the most part, and enjoying the challenge set before us.  

Keep us in your prayers.

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Dangerous in the Philippines

It is dangerous in the Philippines...

Within a short span of time, I have encountered 4 different dangerous situations regarding church members and their families:

1. A young man has a motorcycle accident, the other person involved died. It was in front of a large famous (non-Christian) church known for their solidarity. The victim was a part of this church. They take the victim to the hospital, and then beat the young man. He could have died. He must pass this way daily to and from work, and the hunger for vengeance has at times caused the police to release a guilty party, knowing the family of the victim will track them down and kill them. There is no literal “City of refuge”, no safe place to go.

2. A young man coming back from a late evening was stabbed, this is the second time he has been stabbed. The last time he almost lost his hearing since the knife passed into his skull near his ear. He is recovering in the hospital, the blood draining from his lungs.

3. Another young man walking down the street, when a stabbing takes place across the street, the group involved flees in his direction, and those pursuing mistake him as the culprit and beat him.

4. An older man who works in the local barrangay (town office) goes to the federal government to protest a land seizure in his area. Shortly after that, armed goons arrive and there are threats made on his life. The owner of the land didn't like the fact he was fighting for the occupants. He hasn't slept at home for a long time now, and tries to move from place to place, not staying in one place for more than an hour or two. Is his fear justified? Another barrangay leader was shot to death just the week before. I asked, do you have anything to protect yourself? He said “If I carry weapons, God can't be my protection. The other man that was killed, carried a gun and had two body guards, but they killed him before he could draw his weapon!”

God alone can keep us safe. We do have a “City of refuge” to flee from our enemies. In Christ.

Keep us and the church members and their families in your prayers.

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Christmas 2007 Pics

God bless you and we hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Blessed New Year.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

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New Pictures are posted on Flickr

Check out the new photos:HERE Follow @ddevonshire

Christmas Photos

Maligayang Pasco sa inyong Lahat!
Merry Christmas to you All!
Please keep us in your prayers!

 

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Jogger's Hematuria

Sounds pretty scary doesn't it?  Wait til you hear what it is!  Hematuria, is blood in the urine. When you go to the restroom and find blood, it is enough to scare anyone to go see the doctor! Oftentimes, the blood in the urine is a result of a Urinary tract infection, or more seriously, kidney stones, and sometimes even indicative of cancer.  In a few rarer cases, it is caused by running or jogging with an empty bladder.  The walls of the empty bladder smack together and small blood vessels break inside the bladder leading to the shocking sight when using the restroom.  The answer? Drink water!  Fill your bladder so that the walls won't smack together, they will be cushioned by the water and therefore no bleeding.

As I learned about this, I thought of those who complain, or even those that quit serving God.  I have often seen the very real pain they are experiencing is due to the fact that they are empty on the inside.  They have no grace and no God to cushion the jarring experiences of life.  The walls of their empty soul smack together and they ask why?  Why does life hurt so much?  

There are others, who though they go through catastrophes, come out victorious.  Their hearts are filled with God and His grace and they are cushioned through each hardship.

Is life hurting?  

John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.


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Harvesting Buko

Buko is the name for a young coconut. 

 

If you are from America, and like me, your idea of coconut is the brown fuzzy ball with the milk on the inside, but Buko is the younger version.  While in this young stage, it is harvested, and cut open to drain the Buko juice out, and to scrape slivers of the still soft coconut meat to be added to the drink.  There are many who sell the Buko juice on the sidewalks, or the whole Bukos, like this:

We are blessed to have four coconut trees outside of our church, and an owner that has made a deal with one brother that he can harvest all he wants, just give him half.  Today, was harvest time.  The brother in turn, brought 4 bukos to my house.  I pulled out the bolo, and started hacking away at a smaller one, but to my surprise, it was full of juice and we quickly poured it into a pitcher.  We then turned to the largest one thinking it will fill the rest of the pitcher, but again, to my surprise, when we opened it, it contained only a small amount of juice.  It made me think about people, how often they look so big on the outside, but they have so little on the inside, and those who appear small, have much to offer.

Like the little girl who was buying the cotton candy.  The vendor said: "Are you sure you can eat all of this, you are such a little girl?"  She replied "I'm bigger on the inside, than I am on the outside!"

May it be so in our souls.

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Daisy

We went visiting today and our first stop was a lady who is a midwife.  Apung Ganingding (sp?) is a jolly lady who cackled as she told us stories while sitting on the floor of her bamboo rest house.  Her daughter has thirteen children, (Or 12 and pregnant with number 13) that sufficiently impressed us, but there was more to come.  At one of our next stops down a dirt road they told us about Daisy.  In the Philippines, they use both Tagalog numbers and Spanish numbers.  Their spelling for seventeen is "disisiyete" and the first part sounds like Daisy.  That is why they named the young girl Daisy, she was the seventeenth child of the family! Follow @ddevonshire

Hospital of many idols....

Altar full of idols...Black Nazarene, Mary, Santo Nino...etc.

I don't know who this is, evil looking fella, I call him evilman.

Of course the statue of Jesus

Big belly Buddha

Dee Hwa Liong is the name of the hospital William was born.  Anthony Dee, from what I 
understand, was the one who immigrated to the Philippines from China and became rich here.  
He was kidnapped and held for ransom years ago and then killed.  We had the privilege to meet
his grandson, Timmy, and he shared that his father was a Catholic-Buddhist.  Perhaps this 
explains why there are so many idols in the hospital. 

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Couple more Will pics

Me and my son....
Caught him smiling!
Doing his favorite thing.
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They Changed Our Names!!!

The Filipino law states that a child born here can be given a first name, but the child's middle name will be the mother's maiden name. Since we had already picked William Drew as the first and middle name, and since our son was not going to be given Filipino citizenship, I balked when they told me this. The kind lady at the records dept. offered to let me go to the government office and plead my case, I did, and lost. I called the embassy and they explained that though he would become William Drew Greathouse Devonshire (William Drew being a two part first name) when they made the American birth certificate they would drop the Greathouse. So, when I returned to the hospital, I agreed to go along with this. When they called me to sign the birth certificate, I was shocked to find out that they had changed all of our names! I was now David Charles Yanssens Devonshire and my wife was now Christine Penelope Bryant Greathouse. I explained that though that was the custom and law here, that in America it wasn't and those are not our names. She didn't seem to understand my complaint, and after a fruitless discussion, I let it go. Hmmm...I came here to hopefully help change some lives, and got my name changed! Maybe I should have wrestled with the records dept. lady til the breaking of the day and gotten a better name....Gen 32:24-28 Follow @ddevonshire

Guess or Guest?

We have a friend who is in charge of the guards here in our subdivision.  He has been attending 
church with us and so one morning when we saw him we pulled over and began to talk.  He 
shared how that often they don't receive their whole salary, the office may be a month behind
paying them.  We started to ask about the dues and fees which we pay and asked why they have
not paid them since we sure pay the office our monthly fees and even the fees for the sticker that
is posted on your windshield to let you in the gate.  He shared that there are many people who buy
counterfeit stickers.  The real ones may cost 300 or 400 pesos but they can buy a counterfeit 
one for about 50 pesos.  I asked how he was able to tell if it was a counterfeit.  He said there were
many who had bought guest stickers but they were all spelled "Guess" He would tell them, this
is not a guest sticker, this is a pair of jeans!
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Will Pics

Well the first  bath took place with mom worrying about the water being too hot and dad about it being too cold, and I, well I was just worried!

Here  I am finally tubeless!  My little smile can show!
 

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Tomorrow!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) should be the big day! Lord willing, William will come home. Yesterday they took out the feeding tube and he is no longer connected to any machines or tubes, eats like a normal baby, with a bottle, and is in the bassinet. They say he likes to be carried around, but a white baby is a novelty to them, only the second one they have dealt with, and I think they like to carry him. I heard one say "Cute na Cute!" (Doubling the word means VERY to them, and I have to agree!)

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The Update

The good news is Sis. Devonshire is out of the hospital and was able to attend the services this weekend. The presence of the Lord was precious to us and we are thankful for His grace. William is moving quite a bit, crying (a good sign) but took a small step backwards, his breathing was very fast and he was having mild retractions, so they had to go back to the nasal CPAP (I think it stands for Constant Positive Air Pressure) basically oxygen/air mixture blown into his nostrils. The ups and downs of his recovery can be heart wrenching. We think we are close to him being well, but then there is a delay. God is in control and we trust Him that all will be fine. I enclose a picture of our Super Doctor working on our Super Son. This is Dr. Gregorio M. Leonardo, a neonatalogist and the one overseeing our son's care. He gave our son the Filipino name of Gregorio! He is a really nice guy. He worked in New York and Detroit before returning to the Philippines. Keep up the good work Doc!

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Friday the 29th (here) Update on the family

Little Will is responding well.  He is more awake now and all of the sedation seems to have worn
off.  This morning, his eyes were open and he was looking around for quite a while.  This is
good news since the doc was concerned about him not moving much and always sleeping.

They had him breathing on his own yesterday, but they decided to put him back on the machine 
for the night.  The doc lives 20-30  minutes away and we were in the midst of a typhoon so
if there were any problems, he would have a hard time getting to the hospital, so we thought it 
better to keep him on the machine til this morning, and then again let him breathe on his own,
and if all goes well, they will then remove the tube.  Then, finally, he won't look like the
bionic baby!

Christine is still experiencing the high b.p. but the doc will let her go home when Will is
discharged, and maybe all of our blood pressures will go down!!

I have many experiences to share with you, but I want to wait til the whole family is safe and
sound at home.

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