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Acts 3:19 (NASB) "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;"I couldn't just put the new plants and seeds in, I had to do the work in order to get the garden ready! Today's verse may seem to be speaking to someone else and not us but we must realize that we all sin and need to repent and return to the Lord for the refreshing times to come! I have learned over the years that just putting the plants and seeds in the ground will not be a good garden. Sure I'll get some produce but nothing like I could get if I did the proper work needed like tilling the soil, pulling out the weeds and adding fertilizer. In our life, we need to do the work, to clean out the bad habits, get the soil of our life up to where God can do amazing things and of course, the fertilizer (God's Word)! Doing the hard work now will have the best results later on so let's roll up our sleeves and get ready for the refreshing times coming from the Lord! peace, tom
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Job 8:21 (NASB) “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter And your lips with shouting."There was nothing left to do but laugh! A friend of mine had gotten stuck in the mud, and as we tried to push him out, we ended up covered, I mean covered, with mud! As we watched him pull the car out of the mud pit, we looked at each other, covered from head to toe in mud and began to laugh! Today's verse shares about God filling our mouths with laughter and our lips with shouting. Everyone needs a good laugh once in awhile. My mom used to say that "laughter is lubrication for the soul!" and she was so right. As we got out of the mud pit ourselves the laughter continued. I thank God it was before cell phones for the pictures would have ended up on FB or some other social media platform! Take a moment today, no matter what the situation is, and find the joy of the Lord and laugh, a good hardy laugh! The best laugher is when we can laugh at ourselves, so let your hair down and laugh! peace, tom
Galatians 6:9 (NASB) "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary."I never would have thought it would have lasted that long! While volunteering to help at a local charity, I found myself there a lot longer than I had originally planned! Today we read about not losing heart and in due time we will reap IF we don't grow weary! Volunteering can sometimes get us into situations that will try our patience. I had agreed to help clean out a building that was going to be used to house single moms. At first it appeared that it would have only been one day of work but by the end of the week I realized I was mistaken. During this Covid-19 crisis, it may seem to be lasting a lot longer than we may have thought but if we hold steady, and keep on keeping on, we will, in due season, get through it. As the weekend came to a close, the job was finally done and a few weeks later I stopped by to see how things were going. The smiles on the faces of those single moms made the long week all worth it! Don't lose heart, but keep Christ first and we will get through this together/apart! peace, tom
Psalm 3:3 (NASB) "But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head."As we began to solder the pipe together, we had to first put a shield around the wood that was exposed! Today we find God's Word speaking to us about the Lord being our shield and our glory and the One who lifts our head! Crawling around under the cottage and trying to solder pipe can lead to a dangerous situation. If we allowed the heat of the torch to touch the dry wood, we could have burned the place down. In life, we will face heat, it may come to us as struggles, temptations, trials and if we don't put the shield of our Lord around us, we may just get burned. The shield we used while soldering deflected the heat and allowed us to get the job done. Putting the shield of our Lord around us can and will deflect the attacks of life. The question is, are we standing behind His Shield?! Let's not get burned out there but keep our eyes focused on the lifter of our heads! peace, tom
1 Peter 4:8 (ESV) Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.As we finished painting the wall, I was amazed at how good it looked! The paint had covered almost all of the cracks and holes left by a lifetime of being let go but the new paint made all things look new! Today's verse shares about loving covering a multitude of sins, let that sink in! In life, we will have cracks and holes left by relationships that have gone bad, but if we allow the love of Christ to rule in our lives, we can allow love to begin to fill in those cracks and holes. The key of course is whether or not we allow the newness of Christ, the love of Christ to be our "paint" towards others. Sometimes we need to paint Him on and allow for the paint to dry to see the work of the new paint. Let's let God be our paint and we be His Brush as we do this thing called life, we may just paint a masterpiece! peace, tom
Proverbs 28:26 (NASB) "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered." I thought for sure I knew what I was doing but the more involved I got, the less I began to know! Today's verse speaks to us about being foolish and being wise and there is a huge difference. After tearing apart my engine, I thought I knew what I was doing, boy was I sadly mistaken. I had just enough knowledge to get me into trouble! (maybe you've been there too!) Not until I reached out to my uncle, for his knowledge, did the engine get back together and run properly! Being foolish with our own thoughts can lead us into trouble but when we come to the realization that there are others who have the knowledge we lack, that shows wisdom! God's Word is filled with knowledge and wisdom to help us not be foolish as we do this thing called life, but like calling out to my uncle for his knowledge, we need to be wise and call out to God! BTW He never puts us on hold! peace, tom
Isaiah 40:29(NASB) "He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power."There on the stage, the young man began to lift the weight he had never tried before! If you've never seen a weight lifting competition, you may not realize that it is not just one person lifting the weight but a group of encouragers helping them to lift the weight! Today's verse speaks to us about God giving strength to the weary and increasing power to those who lack it! Sitting in the stands and watching the young man begin to lift the bar, I began to notice the other men speaking to him, encouraging him, sometimes even yelling at him that he could do it! God is in our corner, no matter what we face, He is encouraging us through His Word that we can do all things with Him and for Him. We just need to step up to the bar and have a team of men around us to encourage us to keep on keeping on. He will give us the strength and power when we think we can't! Get on God's team, get some godly men to encourage us today for in Him we have the strength to conquer our deepest fears! peace, tom
Acts 14:22 (NASB) "strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”" Have you ever heard that old saying "if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!" or how about the one that says "no pain, no gain!" or how about “Never let a bad situation bring out the worst in you. Choose to stay positive and be the strong person that God created you to be!”. There along the walls of the counseling center stood many signs of encouragement, the key was whether or not I read them or believed them.Today's verse speaks of strength, encouragement and continuing in the faith! I couldn't help but think that God's Word is probably the basis for many of our encouraging words to help strengthen our day and like the words on the posters, they are only as good as how we view them, how we have faith in them. Are we reading God's Word daily, finding the strength in Him to continue on during these days? Be encouraged this day for the rest of the verse states that "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God!" No matter what we face, we can rest in the knowledge that God is one our side, the question is... are we on His?! peace, tom
1 Thessalonians 5:14 (NASB) "We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone."You could see the frustration growing but then, he took a step back! Today we learn about encouraging, helping and most importantly being patient with everyone. Whatever the reason was, the young man just couldn't understand what our supervisor was trying to teach him. Each time the boss went over the process, the new employee found it harder to understand. Once the boss stepped back and allowed the young man to think for a second, he repeated each step correctly. Sometimes in our rush to get others to understand, we forget that we were there once. Encouragement and help goes much farther when we are patient and allow God to do the work. Remember, we were all there once and look at where we are now. Be encouraged this day and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us during these uncertain times! peace, tom
Isaiah 64:8(NASB) "But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand."There's just something about it, when you stand back and look at what you did! Whether it's a new train layout, a new house, and even a new duck coop, to stand back and look at your work, brings a sense of accomplishment! Today we read from Isaiah and how he describes that we are the work of the Lord! Sure it's hard work, the planning that goes into it but when you see it finished, it can bring a satisfaction like nothing else. During this time of "home stay", we may feel as if we aren't really accomplishing much but if we take a look in the mirror, we may just see that God is doing something within us. I see more and more social media posts about how the Lord is our strength, families reading the Bible, men reaching out with new ideas of how to connect with each other to encourage each of us to keep on keeping on. We must never forget that we are the clay and God is our potter, molding and shaping us and I wonder, as He steps back, if He is enjoying the work of His Hands within us?! Let's make Him proud of His Creations, that's US! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
March 2025
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