Lighten Up and Live E-Book

Ken Davis

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Seitenzahl: 119

Beschreibung

Comedian and motivational speaker Ken Davis uses his unique sense of humor in 90 light hearted devotions designed to bring a smile to your face and a spark of inspiration to your day. Enjoy solid nuggets of truth from God's word and occasional opportunities to go deeper if you wish. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Take this opportunity to lighten up and live!

Leseprobe

BroadStreet Publishing Group LLC

Racine, WI 53403

Broadstreetpublishing.com

Lighten Up and Live!

© 2014 Ken Davis

ISBN 978-1-4245-4941-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® (NIV®). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

The Holy Bible, New King James Version® (NKJV®). Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The Holy Bible, New Living Translation® (NLT®). Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

Design by Chris Garborg | garborgdesign.com

Illustrations by Greg Scott

Printed in China

CONTENTS

How to Use This Book

Distractions

Getting Along

Who’s Driving?

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Pace Yourself

From Hut to Hut

The Alarm Before the Alarm

Golf, Sanity, and Repentance

A Can of Worms

The Right Questions and a Gentle Answer

God Is at Work

Is He Smooth?

Breaking the Blankie Habit

Listen to God

Finishing Well

Live Up to Your Bumper Sticker

The Best Batter in the World

What Does God Look Like?

Selective Perception

What Does a Hero Look Like?

Don’t Jump

Being Emotional with God

Microphobias

Haunted by a Cow

The Inheritance

Death and Taxes

Super Sheep

An Impatient Patient

Let It Go

Another Night with the Frogs

Back to Life

Body Counts

No Such Thing as Sweet Revenge

No Excuses

But Dust?

Baseball in Heaven

Exercising Faith

Ready, Aim, Live!

Breathe

What Goes Up…

Sermon on Mountain Driving

Peer Pressure

Patience

What Ifs

Better Than a Six-Pack

God Sees Everything

Yellow Lights and Blessings

True Love Has 20/20 Vision

A Sensitive Man

Forget About It

Look for the Rainbow

The Gift of Each Other

All We Like…Sheep?

It’s a Dog’s World

Shine!

Wild Ride

The “D” Word

What’s on the Inside?

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Read Between the Lines

The Protective Father

You Can’t Hide the Truth

Rest

Someone Else’s Pain

Children

Paid in Full

Children of God

Hidden Treasure

Leave It There!

Guard Your Tongue

The State of Confusion

The Cure to Insomnia

Looking for Acorns

Good News

God Answers Prayer

For the Sick

The Truth

Oblivious

Moving Forward

Words Make a Difference

God’s Memory Loss

Stay Off the Grass

Life Makes Us Humble

Honesty

Generosity

Marine Magic

Live Loud

Don’t Do That

Opportunity Knocks

From the Mouths of Babes

Sneaking Out

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Sincere thanks to my management team Joy Groblebe and Brian Scheer for encouraging me to write this devotional.

A special thanks to Drew Blankman, who edited my writing and made suggestions that made these devotionals more powerful and clear. He made the editing process fun.

I also wish to thank Mike Atkinson and Mikey’s Funnies for being an amazing resource for many of the clean jokes and stories used in this book.

We worked diligently to search for the authors or originators of each of these stories. Where we were successful, the sources are footnoted. If you find we have missed the original source of a story, please let us know and we will correct it.

Blessing to you! I truly hope this book will brighten your days.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Devotionals come in a variety of forms. This devotional is designed to use humor to drive home wonderful truths from God’s Word. I find my day goes better if it starts with a smile, and better yet, if I focus on some aspect of God’s Word to apply during the day.

These 90 devotionals should not replace your regular Bible study. They were written with the hope they might inspire you to a deeper appreciation of God’s Word and the desire to study it.

•  Share a devotional each morning or evening with y our family.

•  Make it fun. Share similar jokes and stories.

•  Pray together about the topic of the devotional.

•  Take advantage of the opportunity to “Go Deeper” when it is offered.

•  Report back to each other on how God used a particular devotional in your life.

I pray that God will hear the sound of laughter as you read these, and that He will touch your heart with the point of the devotional and inspire families to get into His Word. May these stories and the scriptures that accompany them bring joy to your life. Lighten up and live!

DISTRACTIONS

A couple was having a party at their house. An hour before the party, the woman found out that she still needed escargot—an entrée made from snails. So, she sent her husband to get it.

On the way, he passed the golf course and decided to rent some clubs and hit some balls on the driving range. An hour and a half later, he looked at his watch and realized that the party had already started. He quickly ran to the market, bought a bucket of snails and drove home.

He tried to sneak into the kitchen without his wife seeing him, but he stumbled and spilled the snails all over the floor. Hearing the noise, his wife stormed into the room. Without hesitation he looked down and shouted, “Come on guys, we’re almost there!”

The problem of being distracted from the main task is common to all of us. It is especially acute with people my age. It’s not a big deal if you are cleaning your desk and end up reading a book, but it’s crucial if you are distracted from your purpose for living. Living with no regrets means staying focused on your goal.

Set your goal high and stay on track.

Paul says, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Don’t let anything distract you from that calling. At the end of your life there will be no time to blame the snails.

GO DEEPER: PHILIPPIANS 3:7-14

GETTING ALONG

On the way to church my children would sit in the back seat picking fights over senseless things.

“This is my side of the car!” one would yell. “You are breathing on my side of the car.”

“She’s looking at me!”the other would counter.

I would grab the rearview mirror and give them “the Sunday morning look of love,” an unmistakable glare warning of the catastrophic consequences if the battle continued. That would be followed by a lecture peppered with questions that had no rational answer.

“Do you want me to come back there?”

“Do you know what will happen if I stop this car?”

Swatting at them was not an option because all children are born with the innate knowledge of the one spot in the car your arm can never reach.

Most of my life I struggled to figure out how to discipline a child while driving, until an old gentleman pulled me aside and whispered, “A touch on the brakes brings them right into play.”

Unfortunately, the same kind of quibbling can follow us into adult life with disastrous results: church splits, destroyed relationships, bitterness and revenge.

In Romans 12, the apostle Paul gave this instruction to believers: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (vv. 17-18).

If that doesn’t work, there is always the brakes.

GO DEEPER: ROMANS 12:9-21

WHO’S DRIVING?

A guy was hitchhiking on a very dark night in the middle of a downpour so powerful he could hardly see a few feet ahead.

Suddenly, a car slowly came toward him and stopped.

Blinded by the rain and darkness, he jumped into the back seat, closed the door and then realized there was nobody behind the wheel! The car started moving slowly and then headed straight toward a curve. Scared to death, he started to pray, begging for his life.

Just before the curve, a hand suddenly appeared through the window and moved the wheel. The guy, paralyzed in terror, watched how the hand appeared every time the car approached a curve.

Summoning all his courage, the man jumped out of the car and ran to the nearest town. He stumbled into a restaurant and told everybody what had happened.

It got very quiet when they realized the guy was serious.

About half an hour later, two guys walked into the same restaurant. They were looking for a table when one said, “Look, John, that’s the guy who got in the car when we were pushing it.”

Can you look back and see where the hand of God has helped steer you in the right direction? Why not let him direct your life every day, starting with today?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

OPEN MOUTH, INSERT FOOT

While bicycling with my wife, Diane, I began to cough uncontrollably. I pulled to the side of the road and lay in the grass trying to catch my breath. Finally, with one violent cough a huge beetle tumbled out of my mouth.

When Diane saw what had caused the problem, she began laughing hysterically—after she had killed the prehistoric beast, of course. Between her own gasps for breath she said, “How many times have I told you to keep your mouth shut?”

Of course she was just teasing me, but it’s a lesson I am still learning. My first instinct is to correct, to disagree, to judge or to “fix it” with a single sentence. So many relationships are damaged by people who speak before they think or listen.

My dad, a veteran of WWII, used to say, “Loose lips sink ships.”

The Scriptures leave no doubt. We need to be careful about what we say.

Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips (Psalms 141:3).

A fool speaks without thinking.

A closed mouth gathers no foot—or bugs!

PACE YOURSELF

In a long-distance race, it is important to pace yourself. I joined the track team in high school and trained to run 800 meters—about half a mile. On the day of an important track meet, I was ready to go.

This was a special day because my girlfriend was in the stands. I confess, I had never spoken to her, but I wished she was my girlfriend. And winning this race might have attracted her attention and her affection.

When the gun went off, I took off like a shot. After the first turn, I was ahead of everybody. Then, suddenly, I ran out of gas. I tried to keep going, but it was impossible. I had started out too fast.

My stomach sent a message to my brain informing me that the sandwich I had eaten earlier in the day didn’t want to run with me anymore.

Before I knew it, I was kneeling on the infield grass. The sandwich came up first, followed by pizza I had eaten a few days earlier.

Instead of pacing myself and running to finish the race, I tried to beat the others and failed to do either. The race of life isn’t about speed, it is about endurance.

The author of Hebrews says, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

FROM HUT TO HUT

A man was stranded on the deserted Pacific island for years. One day, a boat sailed into view. The man frantically waved and drew the skipper’s attention. The boat anchored near the island and the sailor got out and greeted the marooned man.

After a while the sailor asked, “What are those three huts you have built there?”

The man pointed to the nearest and said, “Well, that’s my house there.”

“What’s that next hut?” asked the sailor.

The man said, “I built that hut to be my church.”

The sailor asked, “What about the other hut?”

“Oh, that’s where I used to go to church.”

Sound familiar?

Many people spend a lifetime hopping from church to church looking for the one that will be perfect. The first time they are offended, meet difficult people, or disagree with the pastor, they begin looking for another hut. If only we could find people just like us.

It’s a fruitless search.

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24).

Lord, protect me from ever finding a church filled with people just like me. Help me to find a church with people who strive to be like you. Help me to be faithful in attendance and look for every opportunity to love and serve other imperfect people.

THE ALARM BEFORE THE ALARM

You are sound asleep. I’m talking about a ripsnorting, pillow-drooling, dead-to-the-world sleep. Your alarm clock is set to go off at 5 a.m. At precisely 4:55, the clock makes a little click sound.

I don’t know why it does this. Maybe the alarm has its own alarm to wake it up so it can wake us up! All I know is that a few minutes before the alarm goes off, it makes that click sound in joyful anticipation of destroying your rest.

That tiny noise makes you sit straight up in bed, wide awake and angry that the click robbed you of five full minutes of sleep. It’s no use in going back to sleep because just as you doze off, the big alarm will go off. Does this sound familiar?