HOW TO BEHAVE 4

Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

We should rejoice in the hope that is in us.  We should be mindful each day that this world is not really our home and for those who know Jesus as their Savior there is a better day coming.  It helps us to face the minor or major trials that we confront each day.

We will have problems.  Life is not always going to be smooth sailing and we are going to have some turbulent days.  Be patient.  If you have read the Book you know how it comes out in the end so don't panic.  Sometimes you just have to hand things over to the Lord and wait for Him to take care of it.

Have a continual prayer life.  Each time I am requested to pray for someone I stop right then and have a prayer.  I am getting too old and forgetful to put it off and to keep from forgetting I usually just pause for a second and pray for them.  It keeps me in a much closer contact with God.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

HOW TO BEHAVE 3

Romans 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

We are not to be lazy.  We shouldn't be lazy in any of the things we have been entrusted with. We should be fervent to work at our marriage, to work at being a good parent and yes we should strive to be a good and faithful employee on our jobs.

If we aren't careful we can attribute a lot of activity to being busy working.  We need to focus our efforts on getting the most out of the time that God has blessed us with.  This is true of the Lord's work as well.

I once worked on a construction job where everyone talked about how busy one of the carpenter's helpers was.  Every time you saw him he was carrying a board from one place to another.  I began to watch him and before long I figured out that he was always carrying the same board.  He looked busy and had found a way of making himself look busy without really having to do any hard work.

If we are not careful we can do the same thing in the Lord's service.  We can fill up our time with things that really won't make a difference in eternity and it looks like we are really busy.  God is watching what we are doing and He knows if we are really busy about His business.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

HOW TO BEHAVE 2

Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

This is almost another way of saying that we should treat other people the way that we want to be treated.  We should treat all with affection and brotherly love.

No matter how contrary or difficult some people might be it doesn't give us the right to automatically be rude to them every time we see them.  Sometimes a little kindness and affection will go a long way in helping them to change their ways.

We are to put others before ourselves.  I always liked the acronym, JOY.  Jesus First, Others Second, and Yourself Last.  It is an easy way of remembering this scripture and what it teaches.

Life is short at best.  We should try to make the journey as pleasant as we can for everyone in our lives.

What are you doing to make everyone else have a better day?

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

HOW TO BEHAVE 1

Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Love is not a condition.  It is a commandment. We are commanded to love one another, to love our neighbor as our self, and even to love our enemies.

When we learn that love is not a condition or an emotion and realize that love is an action it makes it possible for us to love others.  Sometimes it takes a lot more effort.  Some people are just easier to love than others but we are not to pick and chose who we love.

I am glad that Jesus chose to love us all in spite of our sin.  We to must make a conscious choice to love others.  Loving them does not mean that we have to agree with them or their lifestyles and we do not have to approve of the things they do.  We do have to be concerned for them and for their soul and love them enough to pray for them and witness to them.

We are supposed to hate evil and cling to that which is good and when we do this we will realize that love, good strong Christian love is one of the best things there is.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training 22

How To Behave    Introduction:

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Keeping the Ten Commandments is not all we are required to do.  We are encouraged here to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice unto the Lord.  That sacrifice is our reasonable service.

What is reasonable?  Are you serving the Lord in a reasonable way?  Only you can answer that question but in the next few devotionals I want to discuss some basic behavior that we should exhibit as Christians.

I hope you receive a blessing from them.  Please pray for me as I write these daily devotionals. It is my prayer that they are an encouragement to you to have a closer walk with Jesus.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training For Christians 21

Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

To covet something is to desire it so greatly that you would do almost anything to get it.  We all see things that we would like to have and I guess that is only normal.  It is when we become consumed with having them that it turns into covetousness.

Coveting things is the gateway to other sins. If you really look at many of the stories in the bible you will see that many great sins were committed because someone coveted something that did not belong to them.

Be thankful for the things that God has blessed you with.  If you are thankful for your blessings you are a lot less likely to covet the things that belong to someone else.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training For Christians 20

Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

We all know that telling lies is wrong.  It is not just bad manners and socially unacceptable, it is a sin against God.

This commandment is explicit.  It deals with bearing false witness against a neighbor.  When I see this commandment one word comes to my mind, "Gossip."  Isn't that what we are doing when we gossip?  We are actually spreading something harmful about someone when we are not a true witness to the facts.

Hearsay witness is not even accepted in our legal courts.  When you hear something about someone it is best that we pray for them.  When we spread things that we do not know for a fact we are bearing false witness.  I guess that clears it up for those who are uncertain about it.  Gossip is a sin.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training For Christians 19

Exodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

Honesty is important to us all.  I remember the time when people didn't even lock their doors at night unless there was a loose convict in the area.  Now people's windows are barred, they have alarms, neighborhood security guards and gates and fences to keep thieves out.

It seems that people don't have a regard for what belongs to someone else.  God told Adam that he was to make his living by the sweat of his brow...in other words he was to work for what he had.

We do not want others taking the things we have earned and we should be honest in dealing with others also.

If we cheat someone it is stealing.  If we fail to do the work we are paid to do, we are stealing.  When we are honest it is much easier to go to sleep at night.  Our conscience is clear.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training For Christians 18

Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

In our present society it seems that many people feel that this one is outdated.  It is not a suggestion, it is a commandment.  We find people living together before marriage, having multiple partners through their single life and completely disregarding God's laws pertaining to fidelity and chastity.

God created one man and then made him a wife from his rib.  I believe this is a lesson to us to let us know that a man's wife is a part of him and I also believe if God had intended for man to have more than one wife he would have made more than one for Him.

In our society of infidelity it is important for young people to know that God has a plan.  One man and one woman for all their lives.  This seems almost impossible with the bombardment of temptation from the media but when you follow the proper steps it is simplified.  God has someone special for each person.  Men and Women should spend much time in prayer seeking the mate that God has for them. Being faithful is much easier when you are with the person that God intends you to be with.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training For Christians 17

Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

This is a commandment against the taking of human life.  We find today where many have little regard for human life.  Millions of babies are killed before they even have time to enter the world.  Many believe that the sick and feeble should be helped to kill themselves to end their suffering.  Life is precious.  It is a gift from God, to be given back to Him and lived for His glory. We have no right to take it from someone else.

In many parts of the world we find people who have little regard for their own life much less anyone else.  The terrorists that blow themselves up and kill hundreds of innocent people are not doing God's will, they are breaking His commandment.

When we study the entire law we find that there are times when taking someones life is justifiable but we are to tread very lightly in these areas.  Cherish life.  Respect your own and honor the life of others.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training For Christians 16

Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

The Bible tells us that this is the first commandment with promise.  Sometimes I hear young people talk to their parents and it makes me cringe.  The truth is that all of our parents aren't as perfect as the Father's Day and Mother's Day cards depict them.  They make mistakes and truthfully some of them are doing a terrible job raising their kids.  Many are not raising them at all but have abandoned them for someone else to raise.

Having said that I will say that it does not excuse us from this commandment.  We are still to treat our parents with honor and with respect.  For some reason God chose them to use to bring us into the world.  We are born into the world to fulfill the purpose of God.  If for no other reason we should honor our parents for giving us a chance at life.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training For Christians 15

Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

God created the Heavens and the Earth in six days and He rested to enjoy His creation on the Seventh.  He set aside this as a day of rest and a Holy day to Him.

Jesus made the statement that the sabbath was made for man and that man was not made for the sabbath.  As a part of the Jewish Law man could only do so much on the Sabbath or he was guilty of breaking the law.

The early church met, not on the sabbath, or seventh day of the week but on the first day of the week which became known as the Lord's day.

We are Christians every day of the week and while we are not under the law we should honor God each day with our lives.  We should strive our best to honor Him and to keep our lives and our actions Holy.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training For Christians 14

Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

This may seem like a small thing to some people but I personally am offended when people take the name of the Lord in vain.  There are many ways that people do this and it is even done by many well meaning people who don't realize that they are doing it.

We know of some of the worst words and I won't even mention them...I try not to even hear or think about them but I also cringe when I hear someone say, "My God," when they are not really being reverent to our Heavenly Father.

Even saying "Good Lord," when we are not truly praising Him is taking his name in vain.  Vanity means emptiness.  Tossing around references to our Heavenly Father without the reverence He deserves is taking His name in vain.

We are commanded not to do this.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training For Christians 13

Exodus 20:4-5 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (5) Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

It has always amazed me how someone could create something with their own hands and then attribute godlike qualities to it.  We know that in the old testament there were many that carved statues and images and actually elevated them to the godlike positions.

I suppose though it is not so hard to believe when we see people today who worship the creations but fail to acknowledge the creator.  We were created by God.  In His image.  Nothing else is worthy of our praise and worship.

Be very careful about humbling yourself to anyone or anything.  The True and Living God is the only One worthy of our worship.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training For Christians 12

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

I was once having coffee with a Christian friend and he made the statement, "I really don't think people still have other gods or worship idols."

This statement sort of through me for a loop.  I wondered how out of touch he was with the real world.  Anything people worship is a false God. I have seen crowds of people pour out their overflowing adoration to celebrities and famous people and even politicians.  They have lifted them up and made Gods of them.

Superstitions, such as Astrology, have elevated even the stars to having power to control people's lives.  When we give those attributes to anything we are elevating them to the position of an Idol.

There is only one true God.  He is the God of the Bible, the Creator of the Universe, The Sustainer of all things.  He is the only One worthy of our worship and our trust.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Basic Training For Christians 11

Exodus 201-2 And God spake all these words, saying,(2) I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

We have been in a series on Basic Training for Christians and I thought it would be good to go back to the very basics...The Ten Commandments. These commandments were given to man for the benefit of man.

If you get right down to the basics all the laws that are beneficial to mankind are rooted in these commandments.  Men make lots of laws but they are not really beneficial unless they agree with God's laws.

It frightens me when our government and our courts actually go completely against the Word of God.  I feel it is presumptuous of anyone to think that they know more than God about what is good for us.

The next few devotionals will really be getting back to the very basics of our relationship with God.  I hope you receive a blessing from them.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

BASIC TRAINING FOR CHRISTIANS 9

Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

 A friend of mine once said, "I don't know if I'm just tired or if I'm tired of it."  She was a dear Christian lady who was obviously just tired because I know she is still faithfully serving the Lord.

 Sometimes we do get tired and when we look around and don't see the results from our ministry that we would like to see we just might get close to being "tired of it."

 The truth is that we might not ever see the results of our service to the Lord or we might see them further down the road and look back and realize that our efforts were not in vain.

 Early in my ministry I was discouraged many times by the lack of response to my visiting and witnessing.  In one case there was a man that I talked to many times and he would never ask Jesus to save him.  I eventually moved away feeling that I had spent a lot of time with him and didn't see any results.

 I was asked to preach a sunrise service at a church in the same community some years later.  I looked out into the congregation and saw him sitting there.  The pastor there said that he had been saved and was a very faithful member of their church.  I'm still not sure if my witnessing to him had a thing to do with it.  It doesn't matter.  What matters is that we are to be faithful doing God's work in His way.  It is His job to get results in His time.

Please email me atshilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

BASIC TRAINING FOR CHRISTIANS 9

Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

 We live in a world of decay.  Things, rot, rust, and waste away.  We spend many hours and years accumulating stuff.  Stuff that has to be cleaned, cared for, kept up and fixed.  Much of our time is taken up in caring for our stuff.

We are not going to take any of it with us and the parts that don't crumble and tear apart will be left behind and used by others.  That is a fact yet many of us still spend the biggest portion of our time on carnal things.

 Carnal things are things that benefit the flesh or to put it another way, our natural self.  We like to eat, dress well, own things.  If we are honest most of this brings us very little pleasure and even when it does it is a fleeting pleasure that doesn't last very long.

 When we spend our time laying up treasures in Heaven it will bring lasting rewards.  Those things are eternal and the treasures we send before us will be there when we get there.

 Someone once wisely said, "You'll never see a hearse with a U-Haul trailer behind it because you can't take anything with you."

 You can send things ahead though.  You can witness to people and know that you will see them again when you get to heaven.  You can serve Jesus and know that you will be rewarded in when you finally see Him face to face.

Please email me atshilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

BASIC TRAINING FOR CHRISTIANS 8

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

 This is a lesson that the whole world needs to learn.  In modern day terms someone might say, "What goes around comes around."

 No farmer is foolish enough to believe that he can plant only corn and expect to reap, beans, potatoes, and tomatoes.  He knows that he can only gather the fruit produced from the seeds he has planted.

 During my ministry I have known many self centered bitter people who could never understand why people didn't treat them better. I have also known many who tried to spread love and cheer everywhere they went.  Guess which ones people didn't avoid.  The people who care about other people and do not think they are the center of the universe usually have people who care deeply about them.

 Sow seeds of kindness, seeds of love, seeds of caring.  When you plant a seed it doesn't just come back as one when harvested. When you plant a seed sometimes it is multiplied hundreds of times.  Be very careful what you sow.

Please email me atshilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

BASIC TRAINING FOR CHRISTIANS 7

Galatians 6:6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

 We should have a sincere desire to learn the Word of God.  If God's people would develop a sincere hunger for the Word of God we would see a great revival in our homes, our  churches and even in our nation.

 If all one learns about the Bible is what they hear from the pulpit or in Sunday School class they will never grow into the mature Christian that they should be.

 I have had many great teachers in my ministry.  Actually I have learned from many who didn't even claim to be my teachers.  My learning did not come because I have a great aptitude for learning.  What I have learned came mostly when I prayed and asked God to teach me something.

 It is amazing how prayer should go before study.  One should communicate with Him that teaches us in all good things.  Before you study, pray.  Before you listen to a sermon, pray.  Before you go to your Sunday School class, pray.

 I don't mean just bow your head during the public prayer in the services.  I mean you should sincerely ask God to open your heart to receive what He would teach you.

Please email me atshilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

BASIC TRAINING FOR CHRISTIANS 6

Ga 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

 All through the New Testament we are taught that we should help bear one anothers burdens yet here we are told that each of us has to bear his own burdens.  This is not contradictory.  We are supposed to help bear one anothers burdens but that doesn't mean we are just to depend on someone else to bear our burdens.

 We each have to pull our own load.  There have been many times that people have asked me to pray for them and I was reluctant because I was pretty sure that they weren't praying for themselves.  Now I usually tell them that I will pray with them about something.  This lets them know that I will be praying but it also makes a point that they should pray too.

 You can't have someone else do your praying, your studying, or your ministering. They will gladly help you but they can not do it for you.  I believe we are certainly supposed to help each other but I also believe we have a responsibility to do our own part.

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.

If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know.  Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus.  I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.