|
Matthew 24:6-7 NASB "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."Each time I see it, I pray! Today's verse speaks of what is to come and for many it is happening as you read this! While saddened at what I am watching unfold in the world, I know that it must take place for Christ to return. War, men and woman fighting each other is never a good thing, but there are some among us who are fighting wars deep inside. Warring with our past, warring with temptations, warring with the struggles of trying to be a godly man. Take courage in all the battles taking place for Jesus has overcome the world and will return to take us home to a place where there will never be another war. The key to that battle is whether or not we know Him as Lord and Savior! Invite Jesus into your battles and He will see us through! peace, tom
0 Comments
Romans 8:18 NASB "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."Back and forth, back and forth! Today's Word should give us hope that no matter what we face, there will come a time when we see the glory of the Lord! Before I started mopping the floor of a very large room, I stood and thought this will be exhausting! As I began, the muscles in my arms began to cramp up from doing the same motion over and over but I knew it needed to be done. Sure enough, when I finished, I looked back at the floor and the filth was gone and the shine looked great! In life, we will have those times of struggle, times of pain, times of testing but if we keep on keeping on, we will see the glory of the Lord shine like never before. Don't let the struggles keep us from what is to come, remain faithful in Him and He will set us free to enjoy His Glory like never before! peace, tom
Psalm 27:10 ESV "For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in."He really does care! Today's Word, while harsh speaks of the fact that the Lord will take care of each of us! I had the opportunity to speak to a young man who shared that his parents had abandoned him. He shared that he found today's scripture as his motto for life and no matter what his parents did or didn't do, he knew Jesus Christ loved him! What an incredible young man! The sad reality is that some parents, for one reason or another, don't make the best decisions when it comes to their children. But despite what they do, we can share the love of Christ with the fatherless and the motherless children out there. It doesn't take much to share the love of Christ with the children who are being abandoned, all it takes is love! Love on a child today, whether it's our own or someone else's, cause they all need to know Jesus cares, and so should we! peace, tom
Micah 7:8 NASB "Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall I will rise; Though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me."Get back up on that horse! Today's Word is powerful, let it sink it for it shares no matter what, the Lord is a light for us! While working at a children's camp, one of the children had fallen off the horse during our time in the corral. The instructor said "get him back up on that horse!" He knew that if we allowed him to stay off the horse, he may never have gotten back on. Sometimes in life, we fall and find ourselves sitting in a place of darkness. Whether it was from some choice we made, or some situation that caused us to lose hope, we need to get back up, to rise again and move forward. If we find ourselves in the darkness, we need to look for the Light of Christ. He's there, always shining brightly, we just need to open our eyes and get back on the horse! Remember, Jesus rose from the darkness of the grave, so can we, in His Power! peace, tom
Joshua 1:9 NASB "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”"They come every once in a while and I need to dismiss them as soon as they come! Today's Word speaks to us about being strong and courageous, and not being terrified or dismayed! I am not speaking of relatives that come to visit - lol. I am speaking of the thoughts of "what if". When starting a new project or an adventure, the what if's begin to come - they can be so loud in our heads that we don't even attempt to do what we started out to do. We need to dismiss those thoughts and keep our focus on our god-given abilities and strength. I love the ending part of today's verse, that "the Lord our God is with us wherever we go!" No matter how many "what if's" come, God will always be with us to say "keep strong and courageous!" peace, tom
Proverbs 28:26 NASB "One who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But one who walks wisely will flee to safety."I probably would have gotten hurt! Today's Word shares about wisdom and how trusting our own heart may get us into trouble! It was an exhausting three days and the last night I was to play hockey. My wife simply said "I'm not sure that's a good idea! In my mind I thought I would be ok but when she shared her wisdom about how tired and exhausted I was, I listened to her wisdom and advice. As the Scripture shares, in our own heart we may think it's a good idea but getting advice, some wisdom from another, may just save us from doing a foolish thing. The best place to get wisdom is His Word and follow where the Holy Spirit leads us, and getting advice from those around us can keep us safe. Let's not be so quick to skate off into some trouble but use the wisdom of others to keep us out of harms way, cause the path we chose can be as slippery as ice! peace, tom
John 15:13 NASB "Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends."We were willing to lay down our life for another! Today's verse speaks of Jesus and how He laid down His Life for you and me! He didn't lay down his life but he and his wife opened their home! On a recent trip, my wife and I were blessed to be welcomed into the home of a good friend, who worked on the Fire Department with me. We were willing to lay down our life for anyone who may have been trapped in a burning building. We sat, ate, talked, and shared life for a few days and it was wonderful to reconnect. With the pandemic restrictions being lifted, it's time to reconnect with those we love and miss. Take some time and reconnect with those we love and who love us and make sure we reconnect with our local church, cause they miss us too. But the greatest person to connect with is Jesus Christ, He set the example by laying down His Life for us! peace, tom
Ecclesiastes 2:24 ESV "There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God,"Laughter is lubrication for the soul! Today's verse shares about finding enjoyment in working! As we kept loading the truck, the laughter got more intense. The day started out with us not really wanted to spend the day loading truck after truck but as the day went on, we found ourselves laughing with each box we put on. I'm not sure how it started but with each box we loaded, the jokes began to fly. Clean jokes, funny jokes and the work day flew by. At the end of the day, our sides were hurting, not from lifting the heavy boxes but from the joy and laugher of sharing in our work load. Don't let the stress of work keep us from finding joy in our day. A smile can start it off and before you know it, the laughter becomes contagious. God made some things funny so why not enjoy it today and laugh out loud, maybe even laugh so hard we cry! The world could use some laughter! peace, tom
2 Timothy 2:7 NASB "Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything."Thank God for those who are willing to share their wisdom! Today's verse shares about considering what is said so the Lord can give us understanding. I am sure many of us have heard that old saying "tell it to me like I was a five year old!" - it simply means to put what is said in terms that even a five year old can understand. There have been many times in my life when I needed some wisdom, some guidance in decisions, in life and I thank God that there were and are men and woman in my life that are willing to explain it to me like I was a five year old. There have been parents, uncles, bosses, mentors, the list can go on and on but each of them took the time to help me understand. When I read God's Word and need help understanding, I turn to the Holy Spirit and ask for His Wisdom, His Insight, and His Advice. The question for today is... are we willing to ask for help or do we think we know it all?! peace, tom
1 Peter 3:12 NASB "For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer,
But the face of the Lord is against evildoers.”I remember the look on his face, I never wanted to see that again! Today's verse speaks about the Lord and how His Eyes and Ears are upon those who do good but He looks away when we do evil! I am not sure what I did but his reaction made me feel that I never wanted to do it again, his face shown the disappointment in me and the bad decision I had made. No son ever wants to intentionally disappoint their father, but I had done just that. I had made a decision and acted upon it in such a way that he looked away. The sadness in his eyes told me I had done wrong and needed to get things right in my life. I thank God for forgiveness and being able to start again but this time keeping my own eyes and ears upon Christ! Let's not disappoint each other by making the wrong decision but seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in all things! peace, tom |
Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
September 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed