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Philippians 2:16 NASB "holding firmly the word of life, so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain." All we had to do was to hold the rope tight! Today's verse shares with us about holding firm to the Word of life so that we can take pride in Him! We were on a training exercise in how to repel. A few men were selected to hold on to the rope at the top of the building while others of us began to repel down the side of the building. The men at the top had one simple job, to hold the rope tight so the guys who were repelling were safe! Thinking back to those days, of putting my trust in others, made me ask myself, where do I put my trust today... what am I holding on to that keeps me safe?! The Word of life, God's Word, the Bible is the safest place to put our trust and to hold on to it for our life depends upon it! What are you holding on to today? I pray it's His Word of life! peace, tom
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Matthew 6:7 NASB "And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words."Prayer, what is it good for... absolutely everything! Today's Word is about prayer and how it should be from the heart! I didn't know his name at first but I could tell he was hurting. I asked if there was anything I could do for him and he said "yes, pray for me" - so right there, in the middle of the hardware store, we prayed. Some people think it takes courage to pray, especially in public, but if we look at it, like what it is, just talking to God, we will find the courage to pray wherever, whenever we are. A simple prayer for someone can increase their faith in not only God but in others as well! When we pray, just speak to God - tell Him like it is and allow Him to take control of the situation! When was the last time we had a good conversation with God our Father?! peace, tom
Leviticus 19:18 NASB "You shall not take vengeance, nor hold any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord." Sometimes it good to be reminded! Today's verse speaks of two things, vengeance and love - which do we choose?! The sad reality is that people do some really bad things to us, but what we do when that happens can make the difference between holding a grudge or loving them as we want to be loved. "Be the better man" is a great saying to remember when we run into conflict with others. As water runs off a duck's back, we can let the bad treatment run off of us or we can hold on to it and that usually makes us want revenge. Living, to get even with someone, is not living. It actually consumes us to the point where that's all we think about but letting it go and even loving them can make our life better. It's what Jesus did for us! It always comes down to choice! peace, tom
Isaiah 29:13 NASB "Then the Lord said “Because this people approaches Me with their words And honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of the commandment of men that is taught;"If we say we are going to do it, let's do it! Today's Word, while long, speaks about our heart condition and how if we only honor with empty words, it's not true honor! I remember it well, my dad would say that it was "garbage day" and my job was to take out the trash. I said I would but never did it. The next morning my dad woke me up early to take out the trash and teach me a lesson I've never forgotten - "if we say we are going to do something, then do it, no excuses!" He taught me to be a man of my word and do what I say I would do or don't say we will. When it comes to honoring God, let it be with all our heart and not just our words - He knows the difference between true honor and just kidding ourselves - it always comes down to choice! peace, tom
1 John 1:9 NASB "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."It takes an honest man! Today we read about admitting we sin, and how God will forgive us! Have you noticed the errors in the devotions lately? I haven't been checking the spelling and grammar errors before I send them out. I use the excuse that I am too busy to take the time to re-read them before they are sent out - mistake!! We can always find an excuse but to find the reason or the Truth and come clean that we have sinned is living the Truth. Let's not go around pretending that we are perfect but live with the reality that we make mistakes, we sin but it's what we do with that sin that makes the difference! Have the courage and strength to admit our mistakes and begin again! peace, tom
Job 2:9 NASB "Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold firm your integrity? Curse God and die!"They will ask! Today's verse questions our integrity and whether or not we will give it up. He simply said that no one would know. While working for employer who was more interested in making money than making things right, I was asked to hide a problem on the job site. No one would know, he said, just cover it up. It was our fault that the problem existed and we needed to take care of it the proper way, but his proper way was to hide our mistake. It always comes down to choice. I refused and was let go but I walked away with my integrity in tacked! When called upon to give up our integrity to cover things up, that's the time we need to stand firm and say we will not! It always comes down to choice! peace, tom
1 Peter 5:6 NASB "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,"I had to be honest with myself! Today's Word is about being humble, and examining ourselves so that God can lift us up at the right time! After trying to get it done all by myself, I had to realize that I needed help. I didn't have the knowledge, the strength or the wisdom to get it done alone. Afraid to admit it to myself was simply being prideful! I made the calls, admitted that I needed help and got the job done. When we walk alone, the pride usually gets us into trouble, but when we admit we need help and humble ourselves, it allows God to bring others into our life to help. Going it alone was never His Intention! He wants us to have relationship, with Him, His Son and others so let's humble ourselves and admit we need others and make the call! peace, tom
Galatians 6:9 ESV "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." One more cast! Today's Word is about not giving up, staying strong till the end even if we grow weary! It had been a long day fighting the wind and rain, so we decided to call it quits. I said to my dad "one more cast". No sooner did I let it fly, my line went tight and I caught the biggest fish of the day. Up to that point, he had caught all the fish. I was tired, cold, wet and before we went in, I wanted one more cast. If I had given up, I would not have caught that fish. Life can be like that too, where we struggle all day long, we are tired, ready to quit but if we keep the mind set of just one more... we may see something we never thought would happen. Sometimes we miss the blessings because we give up too early. Let's not let that happen as we give it one more try, whatever it is, just one more try! peace, tom
1 Peter 4:10 NASB "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God."It was a great lunch break! Today we read that each of us have been given a special gift and we should use them to serve one another. As we sat around eating our lunch on the job site, we began to talk about how we each got into the trade field that we were in. The electrician shared first, followed by the plumber, then the HVAC guy went next and so on. It was interesting to hear the stories of how each man entered the field of trade. Some followed their dads and kept the family business going while others just enjoyed the work that they chose to do. I couldn't help but think if we are using the gifts given to us by God in serving others. Each of us have a story to share in how we came to know Christ as Lord and Savior and need to share that story with others so they can enter the "family business". Never be ashamed to share how we came to know Jesus, someone needs to hear it! peace, tom
Romans 7:15 NASB "For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate."I had to step back and take a moment to rethink what I was doing! Today we read about doing the very thing we hate rather than doing what we know is right! I knew the right thing to do but found myself struggling to do it. I was allowing the world, and what people thought of me to be my guide instead of what Jesus and His Word says about me. When you struggle with anger, people will always remember as "an angry person" and not the new creature in Christ. But in order for them to believe as we do, we must make sure our actions speak louder than our past. I wanted to fight back, to begin to argue the point, but that wasn't the best answer and so I needed to step back, pray and let the Holy Spirit guide my actions. Saying we know Jesus and living we know Jesus are two different things - let's not do the things we hate but do the things that will bring Him glory! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
October 2024
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