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Ephesians 4:26 NASB "Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,"I had never heard that before! Today we learn that it's ok to be angry but it's what we do with that anger that makes the difference! I had never knew that I could be angry and not sin. Being someone who let anger run my life, I did some pretty bad things. I let the anger control my life where the language I used, and the things I did, weren't good at all and I would even say that many of them were sin! When I came across today's verse, it was like a light went on in my brain. The more I studied about today's verse, the more I realized that it was ok to be angry but it was not ok to sin because of it. I used to fear my anger, afraid of what I might say or do but now I realize that there are things that should make us angry and it's what we do about them that makes the difference! Let's be careful with our anger out there and make sure that we don't sin because of it! peace, tom
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Romans 16:17 NASB "Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them."Keep an eye out for them! Today's verse has some great advice as we face the first day of the week! They are out there, you know the ones! They are those who will look to cause trouble in our day! Challenging us to keep focus by causing distractions. They are the ones who will try and knock us off course. They will get in our way, speak to us in order to cause us to lose hope, to fall away but we remain strong in Christ and turn away from them and as we turn we pray for them. Don't let anyone rob us of the peace of Christ! Whether we are going to work, a stay at home mom or dad, we need to keep focus on Christ and not on those who will try and hinder our path of life! Let's be strong out there as we face the challenges during the week! peace, tom
Philippians 3:14 NASB "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."The heat was intense, the smoke was thick and the flames grew higher! Today's Word speaks to us about pressing on. There were a million reasons to back off the ladder and get back on the ground but there was one reason to keep pushing forward. There was a report of someone trapped on the second floor, and with the first floor stairs burned out, we needed to get up the ladder and in the window to check for that person. In life, there will be obstacles that will try to keep us from pressing forward. They may be the ridicule of family and friends, those that knew us before we came to Christ but there is always one reason for pressing forward, and that is to share Jesus! Sharing Jesus by loving on them can keep them from the flames of hell and that's the one reason to press forward! Keep moving forward no matter what the obstacles are, someone's life may just depend on it! peace, tom
Genesis 2:15 EVS "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it."The problem was that I didn't take care of it as I should! Today's verse gives us men, direction in what we should be doing! I had a plan in place to do some work around house and grabbed my tools and headed out. No sooner did I begin when the handle of my hammer broke off. Having more than one, I quickly grabbed another and that too broke. I hadn't taken care of the tools I was blessed to have in order to get the work done that I wanted. If we don't keep the tools given to us by the Holy Spirit in good shape, when we need them they just might not work. Let's make sure we are taking care of the gifts, talents and tools of the Holy Spirit so when we are called upon to use them, they are in good shape! Let's check out tool box fellas! peace, tom
Micah 7:7 NASB "But as for me, I will be on the watch for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me."I'm sure some of us have been waiting! Today's verse gives us some great advice as to how we should wait! Some of us have either had tests done by our physician or know someone who has and waiting for the results can be worrisome but if we put out trust in the Lord and let our prayers reach out to Him, we can rest in the knowledge of His Word that He hears us! I had some tests done recently and having to wait for the results can be stressful but I found that when I pray that His Will be done, brought me comfort for I know He loves me. Let's not let the unknown keep us from going to God for comfort from the Holy Spirit. Worry and stress can't get us any closer to the results but going to God in prayer can bring a comfort as we wait. Waiting should be a time we go to God, so are we? peace, tom
Proverbs 11:2 NASB "When pride comes, then comes dishonor; But with the humble there is wisdom."I got this! Today's Verse is filled with wisdom, that's if we aren't prideful not to learn it! As my dad handed me the keys and asked if I was ok to drive, I answered "I got this"! No sooner did I turn out of the driveway, did I lose control of the car and hit a tree! The road was icy but I was too proud to admit that I wasn't sure, for I had never driven on an icy road before. The only thing that went before me was my pride, and with it came dishonor as I had to admit that I hadn't learn how to handle a vehicle on the icy roads! Sometimes in life, we think we know best and end up learning the lesson the hard way. When we set our pride aside, it can open up new wisdom that we never knew before like how to turn a car in a skid!! lol - Let's not let pride get in the way of learning some new wisdom from God for the road of life can get icy out there and learning how to manage it His Way is so much better than ours! peace, tom
Philippians 3:13 NASB "Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead"With the vacation behind me, I move forward! Today's Word speaks to us about forgetting what lies behind us and to look at what lies ahead! That's some great advice! While taking time to refresh and recharge, it's time to get back to work! Vacations are great, they allow us to refresh and relax and recharge but when they are over, it's time to get back to work. Back to the things and places where God has called us, where the Spirit has led us! If we go back and just do what we did before the vacation, then I wonder if we really did recharge but if we look forward to what lies ahead, with a new refreshed attitude, we can make a difference in our focus! Let's focus on Him and make things better! It's good to be back! peace, tom
2 John 1:8 NASB "Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward." The project seemed to last forever! Today's Word speaks of making sure we finish well! As we neared the end of the project, some guys began to, well let's just say not work as hard as when we began! The project had taken weeks to accomplish and as we headed into the final week, some guys began to be slack in their work. Cutting corners here and there to just get it done rather than finishing well. We must be careful to make sure that the end is just as good as the way we started. Keeping focus on accomplishing any goal is the key and walking with Christ, means that our end should be just as strong as our beginning. Let's not cut corners or just try to get by but finish any project as well as we began them! peace, tom
1 John 2:6 NASB "the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked."If we talk the talk, we need to walk the walk! Today's Word is about being in Christ and if so we need to walk as He walked! No one ever said it would be easy, it's not even in the Bible but if we say that we are Christ followers then we need to act the same way that He did! I was reminded again this week of how my dad lived. Someone who had known him caught my last name and asked me if I was his son. Being proud of my dad and being his son, I answered yes. He mentioned what a godly man my father was! I began to think about his life and how he lived and I thought about Jesus and how He lived and I thought about my life and how I can do better. If we put on the name of Jesus, we better make sure we are walking as He walked so that others will see Jesus through us! peace, tom
Psalm 51:10 NASB "Create in me a clean heart, God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me."Some guys have stopped doing it all together! Today's Word is about getting a clean heart, and a steadfast spirit within us! Back in the day, guys would change their own oil in their vehicles but those days are long past gone. Now we take them to these stations where they do the work and we just drive away. I am one of those old fashioned guys who still changes my oil myself. Sure it's not easy but I feel a sense of satisfaction as I pour the new oil in. Clean oil will help my vehicles drive with a steadfast spirit and who doesn't like to go fast! When it comes to our heart, and our spirit, we all need a change some time. We get dirty from being in the world and there's no better place to go than God. But we still need to do the work so that we have a clean heart and a steadfast spirit. Don't take our hearts to anyone else but God, for He will create in us a clean heart so we can go faster for Him! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
December 2024
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