1 Timothy 3:2 NASB "An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching,"What a list of qualifications! Today we read what qualities an overseer should have, I wonder how many check marks we could make on our list?! We needed to hire a supervisor for the new position and as we sat around discussing the applications of those who applied for the position, I couldn't help but see the one line on a certain application. The line read "I can not work Sundays for my family and I attend Church Service". I couldn't help but think two things about this person - 1. He was willing to share that he was a church goer and 2. He was committed to putting God first in his life. He didn't end up getting the position for there were others who were more qualified, but my faith grew that day. To see a man, willing to state that he puts God first, is a rare man these days - maybe we need to think of putting God first and not being ashamed to say we go to church! peace, tom
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Proverbs 20:29 NASB "The glory of young men is their strength, And the honor of old men is their gray hair." It was a great opportunity! Today's verse shares with us about young men and older men - which category do we fall into?! It was an opportunity for young men to work with older men, and even fathers and sons came to help. When we listed the project that needed to be done, and that we needed some help, men came. Different ages, different skill levels and it was amazing to see the older men share their wisdom with the young guns. Don't underestimate the wisdom of our elders or the strength of the young guys - working together can truly be an amazing time of unity. And when we make Christ, as the center of it all, young men and older men come away blessed! Get the men together, younger ones, older ones and see what God will do, it truly will be an amazing time! peace, tom
James 1:12 NASB "Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."The smoke was thick, the heat intense but we had a job to do! Today's Word is about persevering under trial. We all have those days when the struggle to continue will be intense but we must push on. As we checked each room, closet, under beds searching for the children who were reported to be in the fire building, we kept searching no matter what. Thank God we didn't find them for they were safe outside the home. There will be days when the struggle of life may seem to get the best of us but we must push on, find strength in His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. It's also a blessing to have some men in our corner to help us fight the battles so make sure we get some good godly men around us to help us stand when our strength is failing. Don't go it alone, find comfort in Christ and some godly men! peace, tom
Romans 8:26 (NASB) In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;I am sure if someone was around they would have thought I lost my mind for I had begun to yell out in words that didn't make any sense to me... after going through the electrical system at least five times, I still could not find the problem... I had started at the beginning and traced each wire together then separately and still no power at the fixture... I was beside myself... today's verse speaks of how the Holy Spirit will help us in our weakness, and when we aren't sure just how to pray, the Holy Spirit will intercede for us as we groan in words too deep to understand... as I cried out that day I began to feel as if someone was saying, slow down, take your time and go through it all again... so that's what I did and believe it or not, there was a simple fix... I had forgot to reset the breaker at the circuit panel... sometimes in life, we will go through things where we end up just groaning, crying out and it's then that the Holy Spirit will speak to us and through us but we must be open to Him, to His Comforting Power... it's a type of baptism in a way where we surrender ourselves to Him and let Him be in control... whether it's a situation at work, or at home, or even at church, He is there to help in our time of weakness... so be sure to look for Him and let Him help turn the light on! peace, tom
Ephesians 4:22 ESV "to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires" No one really likes to do it, but sometimes it has to be done! Today's verse speaks to us about change, to put off the old self, our old way of life! I realized if I kept going down the same path, it would not end well. It wasn't that I didn't want to change it, I just didn't know where to find the strength to do it. When I first came to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior, began reading His Word, I found that there were areas in my life that didn't line up with someone who said they were a follower of Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I found the strength to make the changes. I lost family and friends along the way but I began to care more about what God thought of me than them. Don't listen to lie of satan who says we can't but listen to God who says we can and will help us every step of the way! Make the changes, it's worth the pain, He did for us! peace, tom
1 Peter 3:8 ESV "Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind."It's amazing! Today's verse has a lot in it when it comes to how we should be with each other, be sure to take it slow and read each part of it carefully. We sat, we discussed, we listened to each persons thoughts and ideas, we created a plan and then we went to work! It is amazing what can be done when we all work together. No matter what the project is, when we work together as one, amazing things can take place. When a husband comes together with his wife, when a family comes together as one, when a church comes together in unity of Christ, things begin to happen like never before. The key is coming on board, sharing our views and ideas that line up with His Word and then acting upon them on as one well oiled machine - the oil of course, is the Holy Spirit - so, let's follow the Spirit today and do some amazing things together! peace, tom
1 Corinthians 9:26 ESV "So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air." I had to ask myself why was I doing it?! Today's verse speaks of purpose and not going with out direction! I began to take stock of why I did what I did and when I did it. I took a serious look at what I was doing and what did I expect the outcome to be. I began to find areas in my life where it seemed as if I was just doing things to do things, there was no productive reason for doing them. I began to make changes, thinking more of the reason I was doing them rather than just doing them. When we want to move forward in our life, we need to take a good look at where we are, and how much we are willing to cut out of our life and add to our life to be productive. When it comes to the things of the Lord, obviously cutting sin out and reading His Word more is a great place to start being more productive! Maybe it's time we stop just beating the air and get down to business! peace, tom
Matthew 22:29 NASB "The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’"If we don't know the first one, we will never be able to keep the second one! Today's verse shares what comes next! As the group of us young kids began to pick fun of one of the kids in the group, I began to think about the day when I was that kid. While the others began to yell insults, push him down, make fun of him, I just stood there remembering the pain of what that was like. Some may say that by not joining in was a good thing but I didn't go far enough. I needed to step in, step up and stop the abuse. If we know the second Commandment, (you'll have to look that up in His Word!) but not the first, we will not do what it says! Without loving God, how can we love our neighbors? Standing up for them, comes from understanding what Jesus did for us! Maybe it's time we really stood up for something other than ourselves! peace, tom
John 1:47 NASB "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!”" Could He say that about us?! Today's Word is Jesus seeing one of His Disciples to come and saying that he had integrity! Can others tell by how we live as being one who has integrity? A rather hard question but one that needs to be answered if we say we are followers of Christ. I could tell that he was a man of integrity by the way he acted around others but when I stopped by his house, unexpectedly, I found that he was a man of his word. It's one thing to say we have integrity, another thing to show it around others but when we are alone, are we?! We can not say we have integrity only when we are around others, it has to be all the time, even when we are alone. Integrity simply means that we have upright character, a strong character and we will do, what we say. Could Jesus say that about us?! Something to ask ourselves! peace, tom
Proverbs 24:29 ESV "Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.”"The key is learning the first three words! Today's verse speaks to us about revenge and not doing to others what they have done to us. How many of us could really turn the other cheek? When we are offended or hurt in some way, our natural instinct is to hit back but God's Word teaches us that we should turn the other cheek and leave the vengeance to Him. In a perfect world, this would be our response but sadly we live in a world where evil takes over. After he hit me, I had a choice, I could hit back or walk away. It took everything in me to walk away but I needed to take a step further and actually pray for him. The sting of the hit wouldn't have been half as painful as the guilt I would have experienced in hitting him back. If we say we are followers of Christ, then we must live as followers and not just when the road is easy! Let's learn to walk away and pray for those who hurt us! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
July 2024
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