Interest [on debt] never sleeps nor sickens nor dies; it never goes to the hospital; it works on Sundays and holidays; it never takes a vacation; it never visits nor travels; it takes no pleasure; it is never laid off work nor discharged from employment; it never works on reduced hours. … Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you. J. Rueben Clark.

“Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.””
‭‭II Kings‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is surety for debts;”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭22‬:‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭5‬:‭42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.” F.B. Meyer

“praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Be persistent!!!…

“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

A couple of challenges given to the Chaplains, practice the “Theology of Presence,” and the “Ministry of Shut Up.”

“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Trust in God’s Will for your life.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Trust in God’s Word for your life.

The second session covered, “Theological Foundations for Religious Liberty.” Some take aways. Align with Truth and live it out in your life. Live it out sincerely. Temporary authority/Eternal authority.

“Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭15‬-‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”
‭‭I Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭22‬-‭34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Be confident in the Gospel. Paul was. Use every means possible to get the Word of God out to our lost world. Take the Good News to where people are…

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭46‬-‭47‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Every morning and all hours and on the account of the goodness of God towards them they praise and laud Him… And if any righteous person of their number passes away from the world they rejoice and give thanks to God… If a child chance to die in its infancy they praise God mightily, as for one that has passed through this world without sin.” Aristide, a second century Athenian philosopher (not a church member) speaking of how the Christians of his day lived…

Live your life today with Jesus Christ in every thought and deed…

This was just too funny/true to not share. I really couldn’t find an appropriate photo…

A couple years into my medical residency, the stress of 105 hour work weeks, hospital food and too many carbohydrates caught up with me. . . 

One memorable afternoon, I found myself calling my gastroenterologist because of blood exiting from an orifice where blood should not be exiting. 

“It’s OK, Adam. We’ll get you taken care of,” he reassured me. “I’ve a cancelation tomorrow morning and I can squeeze you in to my endoscopy schedule. I’ve a garden hose with a camera on the end of it, and it has your name on it.”

I was light headed, but I was relieved. 

“Go pick up a bottle of Magnesium Citrate, drink it all down. And, I will see you in the morning,” he instructed. 

Being the good resident that I was, I followed his instructions to the letter. 

What happens when you drink 10 oz. of Magnesium Citrate?

I’m so glad you asked . . . 

12:05 pm: It’s time. You shotgun the 10 oz. bottle of the strangely un-fruity tasting liquid like it’s a lukewarm Power-Aide because you don’t want to be a pansy in front of your wife or your friends.

It’s suppose to be lemon flavored, however, it’s quite clear that whoever led the Wal-Mart R&D team on the day this flavor was approved has never actually tasted anything remotely like lemons in their life.

Hmm. . . You are already regretting this decision.

12:06 pm: You splurge, and down a cupcake like you’ve been saving it for the apocalypse because let’s face it…that special time IS HERE. And, if you studied 300 hours of anatomy and physiology, you know exactly what’s supposed to happen to that cupcake chaser. 

It’s going to turn to liquid before it even clears your throat but you really don’t care. All is right in the world at this moment. . .

However, hold on to that thought, because you’re about to enter a very dark period in your life.

12:37 pm: First sign of “movement.” The pressure is growing.

You know that you, and every other red blooded American on the planet, already have 3-5 lbs. of impacted stool in your colon, and you just drank the “safe for humans” version of Drano.

You feel a movement coming on, finally. You think it’s time. . . You’re wrong.

You get a little snaked band of feculence . . . just a teaser, an appetizer, if you will.

And yet, beware . . . this is the last semi-solid thing you will see leave your body for the next 24 hours.

12:57 pm: That little science experiment you started cooking 52 minutes ago is about to reach it’s boiling point.

Your stomach is angry now. It hates you…you can feel it.

You have exactly three tenths of a second to make it to the nearest toilet but you can’t run . . . do not run. 

I warn you now . . . NEVER run!

You pray to the Man Above that there is enough elasticity in your rectum to keep the gates closed for five more steps as you start to preemptively undo your pants to save valuable time.

Almost there. 

3…2…1…

12:58 pm: Sweet Mary,…is this real life!??

Your cheeks barely hit the seat as all hell breaks loose. 

The mixture coming out of your colon exits with such force that it actually sprays the back of the toilet bowl at a 45 degree angle, deflecting in every direction but down.

Is that blood? WHEW! NO, False alarm. Oh, wait, that’s the remnants of a cherry pie you ate at Thanksgiving . . . when you were 5 years old.

The smell . . . Oh, the smell is horrid . . .the sound is deafening . . . the look on your spouse’s face is ghastly. 

You try to clench what’s left of your rectal orifice to soften the blow but it’s just not working.

The whole house just heard you expel gas as if someone ignited a propane tank . . . followed by the sound of liquefied . . . 

HOLY COW, what was that!??

1:06 pm- 8:30 pm: Everything’s a blur. 

You realize that you have pooped out everything you’ve ever eaten since the day of your birth. You’re quite sure you even passed things your ancestors ate in the early 1800’s. 

Your rectum feels like a Flaming Hot Cheeto shedding the tears of a thousand Jalapeno seeds.

You curl up in the bathtub while ugly-crying, because you have to remain within arm’s reach of the toilet at all times.

The gastroenterologist never said anything about . . . 

Whoa . . . “poop sweats?! REALLY?!!”

You have now experience the “poop sweats.” 

And then . . .in your delirium, you think you meet Jesus.

8:37 pm: Your family will never be able to unsee the things they’ve seen in the last 8 hours.

You’re broken. You’re quite sure that your rectum will never be the same again.

Your spirit’s broken. Life as you know it will never be the same. 

However, . . . tomorrow’s a new day.

5:30am: You’re going to get up out of bed, throw on the only remaining pair of underwear you have that does not have permanent racing stripes. And, you’re going to run up to the nearby Wal-Mart with the last shred of dignity you have left . . .

Before your endoscopy, you buy yourself a new toilet brush. You’ve earned it. 

And, your wife refuses to let you come home without one.

Happy Monday,

Adam Nally, DO

A parable with three men and three philosophies.

“Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭30‬-‭37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The first man is the Thief. The philosophy of the Thief is, “What you have is mine.” The other word for it, that we hear a lot about is Socialism/Communism.

The second man is the Priest/Levite. His philosophy is “What I have belongs to me.” Me, mine, I will get what belongs to me. A rough individualism that takes root. Capitalism void of God.

The third man is the Good Samaritan. “What I have belongs to you.” That is his philosophy. A Christian way of life. A person that puts the Lord Jesus Christ first in his life. “If I can help, you can have it.” A way of life that comes from the heart…

Do you have that kind of a heart? A heart that has been renewed, rebuilt by God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If not, believe on Him today…

Psalm 55 are words we can learn from and a promise we can claim. David cries out to God, all seems lost to him. He is in anguish and is paralyzed by fear.

Verse 1. “Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.“ No one is immune to trouble. Cry out to God. We can and should call on His name in time of need.

Verse 4. “My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.” Fight or flight, desire to flee- Call upon the Lord! Are you lost in the far country? You need to come home.

Betrayed by friends? Wounds often come from those that are close. (Verse 14). “As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.” Psalm 55:16. The Hope! Count your blessings, not your bruises.

Verse 22. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” A command! Unload it to the Lord. Your burden will not destroy you, God will give you the confidence you need…

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18.

The cross of Jesus Christ. What do you think about the cross?

Three words in this verse- “Message”- in the Greek means word. The word of the cross…The gospel facts: Christ died for our sins according to scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures. That is the gospel, all the gospel and nothing but the gospel. Anything else is not the gospel. “The gospel of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.”

“Foolishness”- from the Greek we get our words, “moron” or “moronic.” Something that is good for nothing, something stupid. For the gospel of the cross is good for nothing to those who are perishing. It means nothing to them. For most people the cross is stupid. The gospel of the cross is stupid to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

“Power“- from the Greek we get our word for dynamite. It represents power to the “nth” most powerful power.

Two groups come to the cross- one group thinks the cross is stupid, no good at all. The second group comes to the cross to discover the power of nth, the power of all power, the God of salvation!

Come to the cross today. Simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved…