Ephesians 5:25 NASB "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,"The card, chocolate and flowers would mean nothing if I didn't follow it up! Today's Word is for husbands but we can easily replace the husband wife relationship with any relationship to each other! Giving gifts can be easy as we celebrate St.Valentines Day but the real key to the day should be how we treat those we love. Cards are easy to give, and easy to sign "love you" but the test is whether or not we live it. For years I gave my wife the card, flowers, and chocolate but I didn't follow them up by living the way Christ loves the church. I needed to ask myself, was I, am I, willing to die for her...that's what Christ did for us, His Church. Maybe we need to re-read the words in the card we gave and ask ourselves if we are living that way?! peace, tom
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Matthew 47 "Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”"I bet you can't do that?! Today we learn an important lesson, don't test God! I am not sure why guys do it to each other but we always seem to want to test each other. Can you jump this high, can you do this, can you... can you... I am not sure if it's we want to show the other person that we are better than them or simple to see them fail but we need never to test our God like that! There's one thing to challenge each other to do something, and then there is the "testing" of each other - a challenge is a good thing where we motivate others to move or do something to go deeper. A test can be a humiliating attempt to be one of the guys. Let's challenge each other to go deeper with God and let the tests be for the teachers! peace, tom
1 Corinthians 11:2 NASB "So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another."It wasn't a big deal, but it was a lesson my dad taught us and I still do it today! Today's verse, is a simple thing that can mean so much to those who are serving us! My dad would never let us start eating until my mom came to table and sat down. Oh, and we gave thanks to God for what we were about to eat. It's simple act of kindness - waiting for the person who made the meal, served us, to come and join in eating it. It may seem like a small gesture of love but it means that we care about the one making the meal for us and want them to be part of the gathering . Don't be in a rush to fill our bellies, rather lets give thanks for the meal and wait for the one who prepared it! It's just simply caring more for others than ourselves, I think Jesus taught us that, don't you!! peace, tom
Ephesians 6:4 NASB "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.:I am so glad he did! Today's Word is for fathers but could be and should be for grandfathers, mothers, teachers and any one working with children! I found myself repeating the words I heard from my father as I spent time with my grandsons. No sooner did the words come out of my mouth when the memory of when my dad had said them to me. Teaching children, the ways of the Lord, is the most important thing we can do as we are given the opportunity to speak into a young persons life. Sometimes it's not our wording that they remember but it's our actions in how we live life. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, Sunday School teacher, Royal Ranger leader, make sure we are teaching our children God's instructions about life. BTW, it doesn't matter what age they are, they all need to hear and see God's Word! peace, tom
James 1:22 ESV "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."As I stood at the window, I kept wishing it would go away! Today's verse speaks of action instead of just hearing it! The snow continued to fall and I stood watching and wishing that the snow in the driveway would go away. No matter how hard I wished it would go, it was still there! I needed to get out there and remove it, shovel it away so that we could get in and out of our driveway. In life, things will begin to pile up unless we do something about it. It may be the pile of work papers, or the phone calls we need to make, the texts to a friend or two and if we keep wishing for it to be done, it won't until we get out there and do it. Wishing and doing are both action verbs but one has better results than the other, so let's stop wishing it would happen and start doing it! No matter what the Lord has asked us to do, He will give us the strength to act. Don't wish it away, do it away! peace, tom
James 1:3 NASB "knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."It took a while but I finally found it! Today's Word speaks to us about testing our faith and what it produces in us! Each time I put it on the track, the same thing happened, it would run for a few minutes and then stop dead! I was working on my model railroad and trying to get an older car to run around the track. It worked for a moment and then failed. I had to keep trying to find the problem, testing this and that and then I found the loose wire that kept falling off. Life will be a series of tests, testing to see how we hold up. Whether we can endure to the end or give up half way there. When we put our faith in God, and not ourselves, we can endure no matter how many times we are tested. He will never fail us and help us endure to the end. Studying God's Word daily can help us pass the testing of our faith, but we must do the work so we don't fail. Study hard my friends as we go around the tracks of life! peace, tom
Hebrews 8:12 NASB "For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings, And their sins I will no longer remember.”"If I saw him again, I would have walked right past him without saying hello! Today's verse shares how God will be merciful towards us and not remember our sin! Many years ago, we did not see eye to eye. With each interaction, we found disagreement and one day it had gotten to the point where he landed a punch and it hurt. Fast forward a few years, we met at a local hardware store and his first words were "I'm sorry!". I forgave him and we had a great conversation. Not forgiving someone can keep the division going strong but forgiving can make all things new! God wants nothing more than to forgive us and all we need to do is simply say "I'm sorry! It doesn't take a lot of strength to say it, but it takes courage to mean it! God is waiting for us to come clean and admit our faults and He will forgive us, thank God! peace, tom
John 3:16 NASB "“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life."I never expected to hear the news! Today's verse is probably the most known scripture in all the Bible or it should be! I was shocked to hear the news that my good friend had passed away. A recent injury was worse than we thought and one morning his life ended. I have to wonder... did I share Jesus with him, did I tell him about the love of our Heavenly Father to send HIs Son to die for us so that we may have eternal life... did I do enough to pass along that Truth... I don't want to have those feelings again so if you're reading this, please know that Jesus loves you, that God the Father loves you and sent His Son to take our sin away. Don't let another day go by without getting serious about a relationship with Jesus. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, get in touch with me and I would love the opportunity to introduce you to my friend Jesus! Miss you Mike! peace, tom
Proverbs 15:22 ESV "Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed."It was a great meeting! Today's verse, while rather simple, makes so much sense! Sitting on the board of directors for a few groups, I love when the meetings take place. Listening to the others share their gifts and talents of administration, guidance, and just plain caring for moving the group forward is a blessing. Most guys try to go it alone, only to find out that it would have been easier to get advice before rather than after! I wonder if that's why there is God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit - all three working as One! Whether we are working for a company, owning a company, and even trying to live this thing called life, it's easier with others around us to support us, walk beside us, and share their advice. Don't go it alone, get together with a group of godly brothers and share life! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
April 2024
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