Key Bible Verse: "You must obey all the commands of the Lord your God, following his instructions in every detail" (Deuteronomy 5:32). Bonus Reading: 1 Samuel 10:8; 13:4b-14

I took a man in his 20s on a mission trip to Puerto Bermudez in Peru's Amazon jungle. Getting there from Lima by rented car and then ancient bus would take more than 25 cold, tedious hours. I knew we'd arrive at a lonely jungle army garrison at about three A.M. "Put your passport in your shirt pocket," I told my companion. "Keep it there, and put everything else in your suitcase."

When we arrived at the checkpoint, the passengers were nervous and irritable. People were being killed every day in Peru. There's nothing more nerve-racking than 15 or so nervous, tired soldiers manning a jungle outpost before dawn. As we jolted to a stop, I awakened my young friend. "Come on," I said, "Get out of the bus." Everyone shuffled into line in front of a captain seated at a desk. Sleepy soldiers guarded the line with machine guns.

The captain began checking and stamping travel documents. "What are they doing?" asked the young man.

"Stamping our passports. Get yours out," I said.

"Passport?" he asked, alarmed. "It's in my suitcase."

"The one tied on the top of the bus?" I demanded.

"Yes," he whined. [continued 5/3]

—Mark Rutland in Character Matters

My Response: A time when I thought I knew better than my authority was …

Thought to Apply: The ship that will not obey the helm will have to obey the rocks.—ENGLISH PROVERB

Adapted from Character Matters (Charisma, 2003) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Help me, Lord, to realize that your commands are loving safeguards, not arbitrary restrictions.

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter    RSS Feed   RSS Help