A Daily Devotional

[Gregory Matthews]

John McConnell was a dedicated Seventh-day Adventist teacher of High School science, at the SDA school that I attended.  He is now dead.  In the later years of his life, he began a ministry that sent a daily devotional to interested people.  Often, but not always, his devotional began with a comment on science, which he then related to the devotional thought that he was writing.  An example will be posted below this post. 

Mark Bahike has collected some 600 of those devotional writings and is sending them out on a daily basis to people who request to be on that mailing list.  I believe that such devotional material is of spiritual value, and Mark has given me permission ot publish his work.  If you would like kot be placed oh his mailing list for that material, simply request to be placed on that list by contacting him at the following e-mail address: 

<mark.bahlke@gmail.com>

If you would like to know more about Mark's ministry, see the following.

https://www.morningglorydevotionals.net/index.html

I attend the Gracepoint SDA Church in Northern California.  It has a program which begins each January in which people unite in reading the Bible through in one year.  If you would like to join that group of people in reading the same Biblical passage each day, contact the Church, and request to be placed on that list.  I believe that such would work will with also reading John's devotionals.  One could be a part of your morning worship and the other a part of your evening worship.  Contact information may be obtained from the following website.

https://graceisthepoint.org/

 

 

[Gregory Matthews]

The following is an example of the devotional writings of JohnMcCkonnell:

 

What's Your Tune

by John McConnell

April 01, 2011

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord... upon an instrument of ten strings."

Ps. 92:13, NKJV.

Music has played a dominant role in the history of man. The archaeologist's spade has revealed a wide variety of musical instruments, strings, horns, cymbals, drums, flutes, and woodwinds. These instruments were used in religious ceremonies, entertainment, and dancing. One of the most ingenious inventions is the musical scale. Just by drawing lines and inserting a few dots one can represent all of the notes on a musical scale and incorporate harmony and counterpoint. It is a universal language which can be reproduced on any instrument anywhere. But this scale has not always been available. Tunes have been transmitted from one generation to the next without being recorded.

The musical clef is drawn from ancient neum notation – a medieval musical sign that fixed the pitch. Music was not written down until the 6th century A.D. Guido d' Arazo created a written method in the 11th century. The first printed music was printed in Rome, Italy in 1496, but they were simple melody lines. In 1501 the Italian printer Ottoviana del Petrucci published the first book of polyphonic music. A modern symphony orchestra coordinates the talents of many musicians to produce the beautiful symphonic sound. Every note on the printed page of each instrument must be played at the right time, and held the right amount of time or there would be discord and confusion. There is no room for error, and when it does occur, the conductor must stop the music.

We are all involved in a spiritual symphony under the direction of a divine conductor. We play our various parts in either harmony or discord. God is both the composer and director. Sometimes we play a sour note, or we get behind or ahead and this causes disharmony. The instrument we play has ten strings, two eyes, two ears, two hands, two feet, one tongue, and one heart (mind). Are your eyes on the score? Are your ears tuned to the pitch? Are your fingers playing the right notes? Are you feet in step with the drumbeat of the heavenly orchestra? Is your voice raised in praise? Are your heart and soul in harmony with the other instruments? Is the right music on your stand? If not, "what's your tune?"

[Gregory Matthews]

I do not intend to re-post devotionals on a regular basis.  But, I am posting a second one here to let you know what you can receive, if you register, as mentioned in the Opening Post.

The Immunization Paradigm

by John McConnell

April 22, 2011

"So use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy."

Eph. 6:11, LB.

Louis Pasteur became interested in microbes from his research into the causes of wine fermentation. Also a German scientist, Robert Koch, suggested that microbes caused disease, and a century before, Edward Jenner had shown how inoculating people with cowpox protected them from smallpox. So Pasteur went on to show how many diseases could be prevented by arming the body's defenses through vaccination with a weakened form of the germs. He succeeded in identifying the germs that are responsible for causing TB, cholera, diphtheria, leprosy, tetanus, malaria, and yellow fever. His success in creating a vaccine for rabies saved 20,000 lives over a ten year period made him famous all over Europe and resulted in the opening of the Pasteur Institute in Paris in 1888.

Jenner, Koch, and Pasteur had no idea how these vaccines worked and how they resulted in immunity. Evidently there was some mysterious defense mechanism in the body that was alerted. Now we know that the body does indeed have such a defense immune system. Whenever the body is invaded by a foreign substance, this marvelous immune system is activated to neutralize the invader. The immune system consists of white blood cells called phagocytes and antibodies that are specifically designed for each type of infection. These tiny microscopic entities go into battle without any regard for their own welfare or survival. In fact, most of them are sacrificed in the battle.

6,000 years ago the earth was infected with the deadly sin virus. This virus has resulted in the death of humans, animals and plants and has caused untold misery and degradation. Not only does it threaten physical life, but also can result in spiritual death. The infection has not gone unnoticed by God because it began in heaven where it infected almost one-half of the angels. The army of heaven, called "the Lord's host," was mobilized to fight the battle of the great controversy between good and evil, and the Holy Spirit was sent down to earth to conduct the battle (DA 352). An antidote called ‘the plan of salvation" was made available designed to neutralize the virus. This plan required the sacrifice of the antibody, Jesus Christ.

Today we continue to wrestle against supernatural forces that seek to destroy us. The only defense is a daily inoculation of the antidote, the Word of God and the plan of salvation Those who receive this antidote will be immunized against the deadly effects of the sin virus just as the physical body is immunized against disease. This similarity might be called "the immunization paradigm."