My Priest Unknown – Otto Biel

Sometimes last year I got a mail – a devotional from someone called Otto Biel and it has impacted me greatly.
Being a bit of a cynic, I normally read and discard all the ‘if you don’t forward this, you don’t love Jesus mails” junk mails – if I’m in a good mood and if I’m not I just go ahead and delete without even reading them…. But somehow I read Otto Biel’s devotional mail and I couldn’t stop.
It so blessed my life I subscribed to the daily devotional and read it everyday…and for someone who rushes out of the house everyday with barely a prayer mumbled, it was a great way to have my quiet time….
A hymnal in midi file was always attached to the devotional and a lot of times he had a joke or two to tell.

I got so fascinated, that I decided to find out if the devotionals were some automated mailing or someone somewhere called Otto Biel was sending them to me… I mailed Otto and he replied… Otto prayed with me also!
Otto Biel was an old man in his late 70s and full of life (despite many surgical operations and visits to the hospital) Otto passed on last year (November 2006) and it was a huge loss for me….
I have attached below excepts from one of my favourite devotionals from Otto Biel… I hope it blesses you too!

…………………………………………………………….
Something to think about
Someday all you will have is what you gave to God


If the first law of
friendship is that it has to be cultivated,
the second law is to be indulgent
when the first law has been neglected.


And we urge you brothers...encourage the timid, help the weak,
be patient with everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 NIV

I have learned---
Before God created the universe
He had you in mind!.....

GO WITH GOD - have a great day ---Otto---
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I Choose True Kindness"

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there are no laws." Galatians 5:22"

Love is patient. Love is kind." I Corinthians 13:4

It's quiet. It's early. The world is still asleep. In a few moments the day will arrive. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.For the next 14 hours you will be exposed to the day's demands. It is now you must choose.! Because of Calvary you are free to choose. And so you do.

TODAY I CHOOSE KINDNESS, as Max Lucado put it. I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. I'll be kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And I'll be kind to the unkind, for that is how God has treated me.

It is fairly easy to be kind, when it is convenient for us. When we are feeling good, when our schedule is accommodating, when it doesn't put us out – then it is not hard to be kind. The real test of kindness comes when it is not convenient, when it takes more from us than we think we can give. Kindness is sometimes boiled down to being nice. I think it's so much more than that, because true kindness comes from a heart that is willing to make the extra effort - in the power of God - to help someone else, to be there for someone else, to go beyond what we think we can or should do. That's where true kindness begins.

Bringing It Home:

1. Look ahead to your day and identify times or places, where it would
be easier to look the other way or avoid, and then choose those times and places to show true kindness.

2. Look today for the opportunities Jesus gives you to show true kindness to someone else – then, in his power, do it!Prayer:Kindly Savior, you are abundant in your kindness to me. Through your love for me you have shown me what true kindness is like. Give my opportunities to be truly kind to someone today. Give me the chance and the grace to pass on your kindness to me to someone else.

AMEN.

Pastor Jane JebsenGurnee, Illinois

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