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1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."As we began to work on the customer's home, we ran into an immovable hunk of concrete! It was supposed to be an easy job but when we encountered the work of the previous company, it made our job that much harder! Today's verse shares that we should be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord! When the previous guys did the job, they made sure their work would last and it did! We eventually gave up trying to move the block of concrete and poured the new foundation around it. Their labor was not in vain for here it was, many years later, and their work stood the test of time and our exhausted effort to remove it! Our walk in this life should be the same way, being steadfast and immovable as we abound in the work of the Lord. Will our labor last the test of time, will we be remembered for our faithfulness in the call of Christ?! Let us never grow weary in doing the "Godly" things He has called us to and do them in such a way that they last for years to come! peace, tom
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2 Timothy 4:17 NASB "But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth."Oh, there have been times, when it felt as if I was in the lion's mouth! That's part of today's verse where it states that during those times the Lord stood with Paul and strengthened him! I have been in situations where I needed help, not sure which way to turn or what to do next but I thank God that there have been godly men who stood with me and helped me get through it! From a godly father, wonderful uncles, to ministers of His Word, to friends who cared more about me than themselves, they came and stood by me. Maybe you weren't blessed to have men in your life like I did, but we all have the Lord standing with us, strengthening us - the key is recognizing that He is there right with us, through the struggles - don't give up, cause God will never give up on us! peace, tom
Hebrews 3:15 NASB "“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.”"Every once in a while I hear this voice in my head saying "low battery"! Today's verse shares about hearing His Voice and not hardening our hearts! If I don't listen to the voice in my head, I won't be able to hear nothing at all until I finally replace the battery in my hearing aids. That small voice, telling me that my battery is running low is a reminder that I need to take care of things. God will speak to us, we will hear that voice in our spirit, the Holy Spirit speaking to us - the key of course is whether we are listening to it and doing what and where He is leading us. Don't spend our days in the dark, in silence, wandering around - hear His Voice and let our hearts rejoice in whatever He calls us to do! Silence may be golden but it can also be deafening - learn to hear His Voice above the noise of the world! peace, tom Isaiah 52:2 NASB "Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, Captive Jerusalem; Release yourself from the chains around your neck, Captive daughter of Zion."I knew it was somewhere and as I began to search for it, I found it covered in dust! Today's verse tells us to shake off the dust, to rise up, to release ourselves from the chains that hold us back! While doing some home repair, I needed a tool that I hadn't used in a while so when I found it, it was covered in dust. I had to clean it up before I could use it! I wonder, when God needs us, calls us, do we need to shake the dust off, to come clean with where we've been living?! As I finished the job, I placed the tool back in the tool box where it would be clean and ready to go when I needed it next! Don't let the dust of the world, the grim of life, keep us from being used by God. Get up, get cleaned up and get ready for action, cause He's gonna use us so let's be ready to go! peace, tom
Jeremiah 29:13 NASB "And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."I couldn't help but think if I searched for God as much as I did moving from spot to spot on the ice! I love to ice fish (I tell people it's the closest I can be like Peter, walking on the water!) On a recent trip, we began to move around, drilling new holes to find the fish. The search brought us to some spots where we caught fish but we kept moving to find a better place. Today's verse shares with us about seeking God, about searching with all our hearts and if we seek Him that way, we will find Him! Although we never really found a great spot on the ice, where we caught our limit, the search and time spent with my son-in-law was blessed. The journey to find Christ can be blessed as long as we keep focus on Him and not the world. God is everywhere, we just need to seek Him out and the best part about God's Love, is that there's no limit!! Enjoy the journey seeking God in all things! peace, tom
1 John 2:1 NASB "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;"It had been a while since I did it and this time hurt just as much, you think I would have learned it by now! Today's verse shares about sinning and how if we do sin, we have an Advocate, Jesus Christ who took our sin upon Himself at the Cross. Now, what I did wasn't a sin but I allowed myself to focus on the wrong thing and once again shot my finger with my nail gun! Ouch! I had done it in the past and you would have thought that the pain of the previous time would have kept me from ever doing it again but I lost focus and allowed it to happen. Life will bring challenges, things and times from our past that have led us to sin, but we don't have to repeat the same sins over and over. We can, through Jesus Christ, not live in the pain of past sins. When we repent, we are made new! So, let's keep our focus on Him so we don't hurt ourselves again! peace, tom
Colossians 3:10 NASB "and have put on the new self, which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created it"Wow here we are 21 days into the new year and some of us were hoping for a change from 2020! I wonder how we are doing with keeping those new year resolutions, are we still on our diets, working out regularly, or have we fallen short in keep those resolutions?! Today's verse speaks to us about putting on a new self, being renewed to a knowledge of the One who created us! So often in life, we want change in our lives but I wonder how far are we willing to go or do to bring about that change?! For years I let my rage and anger rule my life but it wasn't until I decided to make the changes needed for change and the one thing I did was to seek the One above all else. Change is difficult but when we have Christ and the Holy Spirit on our side, in our corner, we can change! Don't wait for 2021 to be different from last year, make the changes in our own life and 2021 will be different! Be renewed this day by spending time with the One who will help us change! peace, tom
Matthew 12:36 ESV "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,"Maybe it's not a bad thing! It appears that freedom of speech has come under attack lately but I wonder, based upon today's scripture, if that might not be such a bad thing! Oh, I can see the replies I am going to get relating to freedom of speech but let me ask you "do our actions speak louder than our words?"! Today's verse should give us pause regarding our freedom of speech, too often we utter careless words that we will give an account for, so maybe we should be very careful about freedom of speech. I thought long and hard about my words, and I had to examine my actions to see if they align with not only my words but His Word. Freedom of speech is a good thing but freedom of action, to do the right thing, is so much better- let our actions speak volumes to the goodness of the Lord and how we treat one another! peace, tom
Deuteronomy 4:29 NASB "But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul."One of our grandsons is old enough now to play hide and seek, the only problem is that he tells you where to hide! Today's verse shares with us about seeking the Lord, and finding Him when we search with all our heart and soul! Kayden loves to tell you where to hide so when he comes to find me, he knows exactly where I am. And when it's his turn to hide, he tells you where he'll be! It's a fun game to play with lots of hugs when he finds me or I find him. Sadly life isn't a game, the reality is that without Christ, we are lost but we can find Him if we search with all our heart and soul. God never will hide from us, He's always there, we just need to seek Him out and that means time in His Word, time in prayer, time seeking Him above all - God is like my grandson telling me exactly where he'll be so that I can find Him! The question is, are we searching, seeking Him with all that we have?! peace, tom
2 Timothy 2:13 NASB "if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself."He said that he would be there, but when it came time, he didn't show! Today's verse speaks about faithfulness, and how even if we aren't faithful, our God remains faithful, for that is who He is! Later that day, he called to apologize that he didn't show up, I forgave him but it reminded me of today's verse and I had to ask myself if I was faithful in the things that God has called me to be and do! I am so glad that God is faithful even when we aren't but that's no excuse, I need to rely on Him and be faithful in my walk! How about you, would someone consider you faithful, are they able to count on us when needed? I know God is always faithful for us, maybe it's time we are faithful for Him and those we share life with?! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
February 2025
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