Christian Devotions & Quick Studies

Christian Devotions and Quick Studies

By Jim Davenport

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2011-2012 InfoSys Solutions Associates, Inc.

ISBN 9781301727858

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Christian Devotions & Quick Studies – JimDavenport.Wordpress.com - Copyright © 2011-2012 by InfoSys Solutions Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except for the preparation of devotionals and Christian messages for Christian groups. For information address Jim Davenport, InfoSys Solutions Associates, Inc. 4740 Riversound Drive, Snellville, GA 30039

Book Description

This book is a compilation of selected articles and devotions on a variety of Christian topics. Some touch on items of importance to the local church such as how to deal with rumors and gossip, the Biblical pattern for giving, the comparison of givers and takers, harboring grudges, and the proper order for worship. Many of the articles provide advice to the individual Christian on their daily walk with God including such topics as lifestyle choices, the sanctity of life, changes brought about by the salvation experience, how to deal with fear, facing tough times, being a friend, and making right choices. Several articles touch on Islam with one providing a basic comparison to Christian beliefs. Others address the nature of God, the gift of Jesus, and the believer’s sufficiency in Christ.

Not everyone will appreciate the author’s point of view, but his purpose is to make you think … and in particular to think about and strengthen your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About Jim Davenport

About My Blog – jimdavenport.wordpress.com

About This Book

1. Fully God, Fully Man!!

2. The Greatest Gift Ever Given

3. How Great Thou Art

4. The Proper Order

5. Committed to a Different Lifestyle

6. That’s A Good Place to Say Amen

7. Thank You Lord for Saving My Soul

8. On Proper Corporate Worship

9. On the Sanctity of Life and Abortion

10. Facing Tough Times

11. Is Anything too Hard for God?

12. Salvation Brings About Positive Change

13. Christianity versus Islam

14. On Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood

15. On Radical Islam and Jihad

16. The Bread of Life

17. On Harboring a Grudge

18. On Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law

19. The Servant Who Suffered For Us

20. On Christians Spreading Rumors and Gossip in the Church

21. On Biblical Giving to the Local Church

22. Believers as Givers versus Takers

23. On Not Being Fed

24. What Is A Friend?

25. Revisiting On Christians Spreading Rumors and Gossip in the Church

26. Do Not Fear

27. Lifestyle Choices and Biblical Truth

28. Seven Keys to Successful Christian Living

29. Do! – A Call to Right Christian Action

30. Blessings in Disguise* - A Thanksgiving Devotional

31. The Believer’s Sufficiency in Christ

32. The Word Became Flesh – A Christmas Devotional

33. In His Own Image

34. How to Become a Christian

About Jim Davenport

Jim Davenport resides in Snellville, Georgia. Jim is a Christian author and businessman and is an active member of a Southern Baptist Church.

Jim and his wife Charlotte have a mountain home located on Lookout Mountain in Northeast Alabama where they spend many spring, summer and fall days working in their raised bed garden.

Jim serves as a Deacon and Trustee in his local church and a Trustee of Shorter University, an intentionally Christian institution located in Rome, Georgia.

Jim has a passion for the word of God and has always believed that Christian principles should guide every aspect of his life. He also loves Christian music and often serves as a tenor soloist in his church. One of the highlights of Jim’s life was the nearly 20 years he spent singing with The Good News, a southern gospel quartet.

Jim served as an Information Technology professional his entire working career of over 45 years having held senior positions in and consulted with hundreds of world class organizations. Jim is President and founder of Infosys Solutions Associates, Inc. which is a Trusted Advisor technology and business consulting firm and the organization which owns his published books, blog site and related articles.

Jim holds both a BS and an MS in Mathematics from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia and completed Management Development Training at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

About My Blog – jimdavenport.wordpress.com

I am not an accomplished author by any stretch of the imagination. But I do enjoy writing about subjects that are important to me. I have spent much of my life in the information technology and consulting fields overseeing the successful preparation and presentation of tens of thousands of pages of complex technical and business documentation. At the same time, I have not written that much about what is really important to me … namely, sharing my Christian life experience with others in hopes that it would be meaningful to them in their Christian walk. Over the years as a Sunday School teacher at Pine Lake Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia, I put together hundreds of notes and outlines to guide my teaching. I always intended to develop some of those notes into a series of articles.

In late 2010 as my business career began to wind down and after suffering some health issues, I realized that I needed to move on with the development of the articles post haste. So I started a blog site using Wordpress.com to post articles as each was completed.

At times my posts are rather passionate and touch on subjects that are controversial.  Admittedly, my posts are not very scholarly and are often quite opinionated.  However, I always try to provide ample scripture to back up my points. 

I realize that not everyone will appreciate my point of view, but my prayer is that I will make you think … and in particular think about your relationship to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Your courteous comments are always welcome.

You can access my blog site for additional articles and information using the following link:

www.JimDavenport.wordpress.com

About This Book

This book is a compilation of selected articles and devotions on a variety of Christian topics. Some touch on items of importance to the local church such as how to deal with rumors and gossip, the Biblical pattern for giving, the comparison of givers and takers, harboring grudges, and the proper order for worship. Many of the articles provide advice to the individual Christian on their daily walk with God including such topics as lifestyle choices, the sanctity of life, changes brought about by the salvation experience, how to deal with fear, facing tough times, being a friend, and making right choices. Several articles touch on Islam with one providing a basic comparison to Christian beliefs. Others address the nature of God, the gift of Jesus, and the believer’s sufficiency in Christ.

All of the articles in this book appeared on my blog site over the period December 2010 through December 2011. I invite the reader to view and comment on these and future articles by accessing my blog at JimDavenport.wordpress.com.

1. Fully God, Fully Man!!

Posted on December 24, 2010

On the eve of Christmas day, I am reminded of the great price that Jesus Christ paid for the forgiveness of our sins.  He left heaven, fully God, and became fully man to live a sinless life and endure a cruel death on the cross to pay the price for the forgiveness of OUR sins.  Is HE the reason you are celebrating Christmas??  If not, will you turn your life over to him today and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

Consider these verses:

Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!

John Wilson writes in the 12/24/2010 Wall Street Journal Opinion section: … As we sing carols for his birth, we see him taken down from the cross, wrapped in ‘a clean linen cloth,’ and laid in the tomb of a friend.  That’s the cloth that is left behind in the empty tomb of Resurrection morning.  Easter is implicit in Christmas, and Christmas is implicit in Easter.  When we celebrate the one, we celebrate the other, looking forward to the restoration of all things.

Merry Christmas and Happy Easter!  They are inseparable.

2. The Greatest Gift Ever Given

Posted on December 25, 2010

In His own time, God sent His only son Jesus to be born of an earthly mother. She was a virgin who knew not a man. Jesus would be fully God and fully man and live a sinless life. His primary purpose would be to redeem mankind by paying the price for their sins by suffering a cruel death on a cross. But the cross was not the end as Jesus gloriously rose from the dead conquering both sin and death and providing a way of salvation for all of mankind. I’m one of those who has accepted God’s free gift of salvation through His son’s sacrifice.

As you visit with your family and friends on Christmas day today, will you examine your heart and see if you have truly accepted Him as your Savior? It will be the greatest gift you will ever receive. You will spend an eternity in Heaven praising the one who has given to us so freely.

John 3:16 (KJV)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

3. How Great Thou Art

Posted on December 27, 2010

Just about everyone would recognize this song title, How Great Thou Art.  George Beverly Shea has sung this powerful gospel hymn thousands of times during