Central Minnesota Chaplaincy of Todd County

Central Minnesota Chaplaincy of Todd County Central Minnesota Chaplaincy is here to serve the needs of people who need the Love of Jesus. To bring light and hope into those dark and difficult situations

The Vision of Central Minnesota Chaplaincy:
l To Provide emotional support and encouragement, critical incident stress debriefings/management, crises support/ training, referrals and follow up by coordinating Chaplaincy services to victims survivors, Government, State, County, City and Corporate agencies.

09/06/2026

September 6
Morning
"In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." — Php_2:15

Bt Charles Spurgeon

We use lights to make manifest. A Christian man should so shine in his life, that a person could not live with him a week without knowing the gospel.

His conversation should be such that all who are about him should clearly perceive whose he is, and whom he serves; and should see the image of Jesus reflected in his daily actions.

Lights are intended for guidance. We are to help those around us who are in the dark. We are to hold forth to them the Word of life.

We are to point sinners to the Saviour, and the weary to a divine resting-place.

Men sometimes read their Bibles, and fail to understand them; we should be ready, like Philip, to instruct the inquirer in the meaning of God's Word, the way of salvation, and the life of godliness.

Lights are also used for warning. On our rocks and shoals a light-house is sure to be erected. Christian men should know that there are many false lights shown everywhere in the world, and therefore the right light is needed.

The wreckers of Satan are always abroad, tempting the ungodly to sin under the name of pleasure; they hoist the wrong light, be it ours to put up the true light upon every dangerous rock, to point out every sin, and tell what it leads to, that so we may be clear of the blood of all men, shining as lights in the world.

Lights also have a very cheering influence, and so have Christians. A Christian ought to be a comforter, with kind words on his lips, and sympathy in his heart; he should carry sunshine wherever he goes, and diffuse happiness around him.

Prayer

Gracious Spirit dwell with me;
I myself would gracious be,
And with words that help and heal
Would thy life in mine reveal,
And with actions bold and meek
Would for Christ my Saviour speak. Amen

Chaplain Dave

09/05/2026

September 5
More on David and the Lord's Lovingkindness
By Hoekstra

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. (Psa_36:7)

Lovingkindness is one of the terms in the Old Testament that has profound spiritual kinship with the term grace in the New Testament.

Lovingkindness speaks of God's zealous love for His people. This love includes His mercy to hold back the judgment we deserve, as well as His goodness to pour out all that we need.

David's heart for God's grace can be seen in the way he cherished God's lovingkindness. "How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!" In our present verses, David reveals why he greatly valued God's lovingkindness.

It involves the far-reaching implications of God dealing with us on the basis of His lovingkindness.

After announcing his high estimation of lovingkindness, David begins to explain why it was so. "Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings."

When people catch a glimpse of God's lovingkindness, they understand that it includes His desire to protect them. Thus, they draw near in faith to be sheltered by His loving care.

"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by" (Psa_57:1).

Like a devoted bird guarding its young, the Lord displays His lovingkindness in keeping those who trust in Him.

Jesus expressed His desire to care for people in this intimate fashion, even though they might deserve the opposite.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Luk_13:34).

David was one who was willing to be gathered under the loving wings of God's care. "Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, from the wicked who oppress me, From my deadly enemies who surround me" (Psa_17:8-9).

What joy this brings to those who flee to the Lord's lovingkindness.

"Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice" (Psa_63:7).

Prayer

Dear Lord, forgive me for the times I have been unwilling to come to You for Your lovingkindness.

I repent of those times when I neglected, or even refused, to humbly place my hope in Your protecting care. How foolish I was. Lord, every time I have come to You, joy has eventually filled my heart.

Please nurture in me a heart that habitually relies on Your precious lovingkindness, Amen.

Chaplain Dave

09/04/2026

September 4
WHEAT AND TARES
By F. B. Meyer

"But while he slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way." — Mat_13:25.

HOW CLEARLY our Lord taught the personality of Satan! In His explanation of this parable, He said distinctly, "The enemy that sowed them is the devil."

He knew that in every heart—in the Church as well as in the world—the great enemy of God's Kingdom, and of human happiness, is always at work, sowing tares.

The seed may be very small, but in a single night irreparable injury may be wrought.

Notice that we become as the seed we receive—those who receive the wheat-seed become wheat; those who receive the tare-seed become tares.

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." How careful we should be over the books we read, the companionship and friendship that we form, the recreations that we take part in.

Such are some of the processes by which our characters are being made. If we are thoughtless and careless, we expose ourselves to the reception of tare-seed, which germinates into weeds and rubbish.

Of course, if our necessary duties take us into scenes where evil is rife, we may claim the keeping power of Christ, and hide ourselves in Him.

As the doctor or nurse will saturate themselves with disinfectant when called to a house where plague or fever is incurred, so the Holy Spirit, in whom we may bathe our souls, will be as the antiseptic, and deliver us from the microbes of temptation (Gal_5:16-17).

There is not much difference, it is said, between wheat and tares, in the earlier stages of growth; it is only when the harvest comes that the distinction is dearly defined.

So in the Church and the world, there are many counterfeits, people who seem to be good and true, but they are not what they seem, and in the day of reckoning they will be rooted up and cast forth as rubbish.

The two classes that will be rejected at last are "All that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity" (Mat_13:41, R.V.).

It may be that you are not amongst those that do iniquity, in any of its glaring forms, but are you causing others to stumble by your inconsistent behaviour or worldliness?

Let each of us carefully examine ourselves, and open our hearts to receive from the hand of the Lord Jesus the incorruptible seed which He waits to implant by His Word.

PRAYER

Give us a pure judgment and a true understanding of Thy Word, O Lord, that we may not be deceived and carried away by any error; but grant that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. AMEN.

Chaplain Dave

09/03/2026

September 3
David Confessing God as His Refuge
By Hoekstra

Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us . . . . You are my hiding place . . . You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psa_62:8 and Psa_32:7)

David often confessed God as his refuge. This is another indicator that he typically lived by the grace of God (that is, by trusting God to work on his behalf).

The need or desire to find a refuge (a place of shelter or protection) is common among mankind.

The storms of life can beat down relentlessly. Circumstantially, it can be as though Ezekiel's prophetic warning is being fulfilled toward us.

"There will be flooding rain . . . great hailstones . . . and a stormy wind" (Eze_13:11). We long for a shelter. At other times, threats and dangers seem to lurk around every corner.

Experientially, it can be as though we are reliving the trials of David. "The pangs of death encompassed me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me" (Psa_18:4-5).

We long for a place of protection. David knew where to turn for refuge when troubles multiplied. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psa_46:1).

Our place of shelter and protection is not a place, but a person. When troubles come, we can turn to Him. He is totally available to help us ("a very present help").

Whenever we exercise our trust in Him, whenever we pour our heart out to Him in prayer, we can enjoy the Lord as our refuge.

"Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."
At other times, we are not looking so much for a refuge (a place of shelter or protection), we are seeking a hiding place (a secret solitude).

When this occurs, we easily identify with David's desire to flee. "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness" (Psa_55:6-7).

Well, God has more good news for us. As David learned, the Lord is willing and able to be that hiding place.

"You are my hiding place . . . You shall surround me with songs of deliverance."

Whenever we turn to the Lord and allow Him to encompass us with songs of His delivering power, we can enjoy the Lord as our hiding place.

Of course, one practical way to be surrounded by God's "songs of deliverance" is to spend time prayerfully reading in the book of Psalms.

They are God's divinely inspired rescue songs.

Prayer

Dear God, my refuge, I so often long to be sheltered and protected. I praise You that I can find that by running to You in prayer!

Dear Lord, my hiding place, I frequently yearn to flee for a secret solitude. I rejoice that I can find that by allowing You to surround me by Your message of deliverance found in Your word!

Chaplain Dave

09/02/2026

September 2
David Confessing God as His Strength
By Hoekstra

The LORD is the strength of my life . . . The LORD is . . . my strength, in whom I will trust. (Psa_27:1 and Psa_18:2)

Living by grace involves depending upon God to work in our lives. For the greater part of his life, David was an outstanding Old Testament example of such living.

This was certainly evident in the way David frequently confessed the Lord as his strength.

For each adult who lives in this fallen world, strength is demanded just to deal with every day responsibilities and challenges.

When you add the calling and desire that believers have to please and honor God, much strength is needed day by day.

David confessed the Lord as his strength for living. "The LORD is the strength of my life." How wonderful to know that the Lord is with us to impart His strength in us for every aspect of our lives, whether home, or work, or ministry, or whatever.

In our earthly pilgrimage, we need strength to stay on course. The world, the flesh, and the devil want to prevent us from progressing down the Lord's perfect path.

David found in the Lord the strength for this need as well. "It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect" (Psa_18:32).

At times, when walking along our designated path of life, we get trapped in circumstantial nets, laid by the enemy of our souls.

When David experienced these traps, he cried out to God for the necessary strength. "Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength" (Psa_31:4).

At other times along our path, the problem is not a trap, but an all-out battle. Once again, David found the strength he needed in His Lord.

"For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me" (Psa_18:39).

Sometimes, the need for strength pertains to what is going on within (or flowing forth from within).

The thoughts we are thinking, and the words we are expressing might need to be anchored again in the will of the Lord. David also knew how to turn to God for this essential strength as well.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer" (Psa_19:14).

When he weakened within and stumbled in failure, David still knew where to turn for the only help that will ever prove sufficient.

"My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psa_73:26). Whatever the need for strength, David learned to rely upon the Lord. "The LORD is . . . my strength, in whom I will trust."

Prayer

O Lord, my strength, I need Your strength for daily responsibilities, strength for staying on track with You, strength for periodic battles, strength for weaknesses within, strength to please You. You are my strength; I trust in You! Amen

Chaplain Dave

09/01/2026

September 1
SELF-WATCH!
By F. B. Meyer

"Keep thy heart above all that thou guardest: For out of it are the issues of life." — Pro_4:23 (R.V. marg.). (Pro 4:23) Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

SAID PETER to our Lord, "Spare Thyself this death of which Thou speakest—this bitter suffering and anguish shall never be Thine!"

These words are continually spoken still, and many are the voices that bid us spare ourselves—the voices of our friends who love us; the voices of prudence and worldly wisdom; the voices of our own wayward hearts.

Do not spare your judgment of yourself. Never permit yourself to do things which you would be the first to condemn in others.

Never suppose that there are reasons for you to do a wrong, which, under no circumstances would you tolerate in your neighbour.

Do not spare yourself in confessing your sins and mistakes. Confession is one of the tests of nobility.

Not a few are willing to confess to God, who never attempt to confess to men.

It is a serious question whether that sorrow for sin is genuine and deep enough which does not lead the offender to ask his fellow-man for pardon, even as he asks his God.

Nothing could be clearer than Christ's words, that whenever we remember that our brother has aught against us, we are to leave our gift at the altar, and go first to seek reconciliation with him, before we offer our sacrifice to God.

The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice; not what we are when standing in the searchlight of public scrutiny, but when we reach the firelight flicker of our homes; not what we are when some clarion-call rings through the air, summoning us to fight for life and liberty, but our attitude when we are called to sentry-duty in the grey morning, when the watch-fire is burning low.

It is impossible to be our best at the supreme moment if character is corroded and eaten into by daily inconsistency, unfaithfulness, and besetting sin.

You cannot really help people without expending yourself.

The only work that tells must cost you something. Gold, silver, and precious stones can never be built into the new Jerusalem unless you are willing to part with them from the stores of your own life.

PRAYER

Most loving Father, may love fill and rule my heart.

For then there will spring up and be cherished between Thee and me a likeness of character, and union of will, so that I may choose and refuse what Thou dost. AMEN.

Chaplain Dave

08/31/2026

August 31
Moses Pointing to the Lord for Battle
By Hoekstra

Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies; do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. (Deu_20:3-4)

Moses is another example of those who lived by grace in the Old Testament. He knew the necessity of relying upon the sufficiency of God, instead of upon the inadequate resources of man.

One illustration of this is seen when he pointed Israel to the Lord for battle.

When the children of Israel would enter into the Promised Land, innumerable battles would lie before them.

These battles were inevitable, since godless nations had entrenched themselves in the land: "because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out from before you" (Deu_9:5).

Thus, the history of Israel documents one battle after another.

Moses announced the truth that the people of the Lord need to hear as the battle draws near. "Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies; do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them."

So often, when the warfare appears, the foe seems invincible. "When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you" (Deu_20:1).

The natural temptation is to "faint . . . be afraid . . . tremble or be terrified." Another temptation is to try to match the enemy horse for horse and chariot for chariot.

The scriptures warn of the futility of turning to worldly resources.

"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel" (Isa_31:1).

Moses knew that God's people need a reminder that the Lord wants to be our hope. When we must go into the battles of life, the Lord accompanies us.

"For the LORD your God is He who goes with you." He is with us not only to comfort us, but also to battle on our behalf: "to fight for you against your enemies, to save you."

The Lord can fight for His people in an unlimited variety of ways. He can change the hearts of those who oppose us.

He can bring their plans to naught. He can trap them in their own evil plans. He can cause our enemies to turn and devour one another. He can effectively save us in any manner that He chooses.

Prayer

O Lord, my defender, I face many battles that leave me intimidated and fearful. My hope is often placed in my own worldly strategies or the help that man can offer.

Lord, I look to You afresh to fight for me to rescue me any way You chose, for Your glory and honor, Amen.

Chaplain Dave

08/30/2026

August 30
Joshua and Caleb Entering the Promised Land
ByHoekstra

Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, except Caleb . . . and Joshua . . . for they have wholly followed the LORD. (Num_32:11-12)

Those who live by humble faith enter into the fullness of God's provisions of grace. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble . . . we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand" (Jas_4:6 and Rom_5:2). Joshua and Caleb illustrated this truth by entering the Promised Land.

As we have seen, God's great salvation is both "from" and "unto." "We have passed from death to life" (1Jn_3:14). Also, this life we have been given is to be experienced in abundance.

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (Joh_10:10). Israel's calling by the Lord from bo***ge in Egypt to fullness in the land pictures this truth.

"So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exo_3:8).

Joshua and Caleb were the only adult Israelites in that first generation who went "into the fullness" of God's calling. They alone went into the land.

"Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land . . . because they have not wholly followed Me, except Caleb . . . and Joshua." Joshua would not only enter the land, he would lead Israel into God's victory.

"Then Moses called Joshua and said to him . . . you must go with this people to the land . . . and you shall cause them to inherit it" (Deu_31:7).

Caleb would not only enter the land, he would still be strengthened by faith even in his old age. "Here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war" (Jos_14:11).

Unlike Joshua and Caleb, the other Israelites followed the Lord's calling out from Egypt, but they did not follow Him into the land. Many Christians repeat this same error today.

They have followed the Lord as He led them out of the spiritual death of sin and guilt. They are "out of Egypt."

They are forgiven of their sins. They have new life in Christ. However, they do not follow the Lord on "into the land."

They do not follow by faith into abundance of life. They do not follow the Lord in humble dependence for transformation, for fruitfulness, for a life of spiritual victory.

Prayer

Dear God of Israel, Thank You for bringing me out of the Egypt of my own spiritual bo***ge.

Now, as Joshua and Caleb did, I long to follow You wholly into the fullness that you desire me to walk in, in Jesus name, Amen.

Chaplain Dave

08/29/2026

August 29
Living by God's Grace in the Old Testament
By Hoekstra

And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes . . . "If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us . . . Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land . . . the LORD is with us." (Num_14:6, Num_14:8-9)

Throughout the Old Testament, we can find examples of people living by the grace of God. They may not have been able to describe their experience in terms of grace.

Yet, their reliance upon God to work on their behalf was just as valid as ours. Living by grace involves God at work in people's lives.

Even though they may have been born under the law, they could not live by means of the law. The law supplied no resource for life.

Without God at work, the only resource is from the flesh, from natural human sufficiency. This has always been inadequate for living as God intended. Joshua and Caleb were two men who realized that God's sufficiency (His grace) was the only reliable hope.

Twelve Israelites had just returned from spying out the Promised Land. Ten of them had a similar perspective.

"We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey . . . Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large . . . We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we" (Num_13:27-28, Num_13:31).

Their bad report was based upon what they saw, measured against their own resources. By this evaluation, they concluded: "We are not able to go up against the people." They were comparing two sets of human resources. "They are stronger than we."

Joshua and Caleb were deeply distressed by this inappropriate evaluation. "And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes."

They knew that this outlook ignored what God had promised and what God could do.

"If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us."

They realized that this majority report, which was based on human sight and human capabilities, was actually a form of rebellion against the Lord.

"Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land." Their rebellion was in fearing man and not trusting God.

All the children of Israel needed to do was remember the Lord was committed to them. "The LORD is with us."

The Lord was willing and able to give them the land.

Prayer

Lord God almighty, I am reminded that the majority report is so often based on human sight and earthly resources.

Help me to be like Joshua and Caleb. I want a perspective that is based upon what You have promised and what You are able to do, Amen.

Chaplain Dave

Address

115 3rd Street S
Long Prairie, MN
56347

Telephone

+13203041052

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