1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NASB) "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."Sometimes it can be hard to find the reason to rejoice, to give thanks but as today's three verses share it is the will of God for us in Christ Jesus! UGH! Each time I tried to fix the problem at the customer's home, I kept running into more and more problems. It seemed that at every turn, another thing needed to be fixed before I could get back to the original problem. Rather than look at the problems, I began to thank God I had the tools and knowledge to fix each problem that came up. My attitude began to change and rather than get frustrated, I found myself rejoicing and the easier it was to get through each problem. Finding the reason to rejoice during these times of unemployment, social distancing and even trying to keep your glasses from fogging up when wearing a mask can be difficult but if we have an attitude of giving thanks in ALL things, we can find the reason to rejoice. Look for the reason to rejoice rather than complain and above all pray without ceasing!! peace, tom
0 Comments
Luke 5:16 (NASB) "But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray."Most men like to fix things, they will try, no matter what, to get it fixed! There are times when I struggle with trying to get things fixed, get things to go right but sometimes there is nothing left to do but pray! Today's verse tells us about Jesus, how He would often slip away and pray! When life becomes overwhelming, the struggle to stay at home during this crisis, the wondering what tomorrow will bring, causes us to the point of not knowing, we need to pray. Seek the Lord's guidance and direction, His help in troubling times. It a sad reality that during this "stay at home" time, the number of domestic violence incidents has increased. Men, there is another way, His Way, but we must be willing to reach out to Him in prayer and others for help. Don't go it alone, Jesus didn't so why should we! peace, tom
Matthew 25:39 (ESV) "And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’"One more day, just one more day to tell her that I loved her! Today's verse is a question that will be asked at judgement, a question we need to ask ourselves concerning how we live Christ! After my mom passed away, I had that lingering thought that I wished I had one more day with her, one more opportunity to talk with her, share with her, love her but when the final breath of life is gone, there is no way of getting that back. My dad often talks about the "divine moment", the here and right now, and that's our opportunity to tell those we love, we love them, to visit the sick, to share Christ. Don't let today be lost and say tomorrow that we wished we had one more day, Make it today, text, call, visit from 6' away, those we love for tomorrow is promised to no one! Know you are loved and prayed for! peace, tom
Proverbs 16:24 (NASB) "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."I am sure some of us are struggling with the events that are unfolding! Staying at home, social distancing can and may be causing some of us to feel as if we are alone. Today's verse shares that pleasant words are as sweet as honeycombs and lift our souls and heal our bones! During the first few weeks of being "out of a job" and not sure which way to turn, I received many texts, phone calls, and even some face to face via social media and after receiving them, I felt energized! Simple words from a friend can lift our spirits when we are down, and imagine if we read God's Word as if He was speaking to us personally, how that can bring a newness to our day! Let's reach out to God and to others during these times of isolation for we are never truly alone. Send a text, FaceTime a friend, reach out for God is always reaching out to us with a good word to encourage our day! peace, tom
Luke 24:12 (NASB) "But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he *saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened."I know how they felt! Today's Word shares about Peter going to the empty tomb, for our Savior had risen! The house was empty, just Carolyn and I sat and thought and prayed. A usual Easter morning would have been filled with our children, sharing their Easter baskets, talking about life and having a wonderful time celebrating our Savior's Resurrection but this year, the house was empty. I am sure that's how it was for many of us as we continue to practice social distance and stay at home. But that doesn't mean we can't be renewed at the empty tomb, it means that we just have to do things differently, like the followers of Christ who had to live life without His physical presence. Let us follow where the Holy Spirit leads us in sharing the newness of life found at the empty tomb! peace, tom
Romans 6:4(NASB) "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."I had the opportunity to sit with my grandson and his newly acquired ducklings. Just the two of us and the 8 little ducks. I watched him hold one, pet the others and smile that lit up the room. Today's verse speaks of our union with Christ in not only His Death but His Resurrection and how we might walk in the newness of life. I thanked God for my grandson and the newness of life in these little ducklings and thought more than ever the world needs a newness of life due to the coronavirus that has plagued the world. As we celebrate our Savior's Resurrection and the new life He brings to all those who receive Him as Lord and Savior, may we take a moment and dedicate ourselves to the newness of life that He brings to us all! Happy Easter and may your day be blessed! Be safe and be a blessing to someone today, for Christ will! peace, tom
Mark 15:33 (NASB) "When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour."Today's verse may seem a little strange but if we read the story of the Crucifixion, we will find that this was the time Jesus hung on the Cross for you and me. i remember as a young boy, being sent to my bedroom for those three hours on Good Friday to think about what Jesus did for me. I wasn't sure what I was to be thinking about but I remember what my parents and Sunday School teachers had told me about Jesus and the Cross. I remember looking out the bedroom window and seeing other kids out playing and wasn't sure why I was where I was and they were where they were! For the first time in as long as I can remember, all the world may be sitting in their homes during these three hours. I pray that as we practice social distancing and home stay, we take the time to think of what Christ did for us on that Cross and we look forward to the Empty Tomb come Sunday. I remember when my mom said that I could go out and play! You see there is always light at the end of the Tomb, when we know Christ! peace, tom
John 14:26 (NASB) "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."Wow how life has changed! I think back to how my life changed when I had to leave the Fire Department due to the injury, how I had to stop working building homes and put my handyman business to rest, and yet I am still ok! Today we read that the Helper, the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and bring memories of what He said to us! Life changes, and at the moment we might think it's worse but if we remember some things from our pasts, we can see that things can and are better! Having my life changed dramatically meant that there were new beginnings, new adventures, new ways of looking at life. With the Covid-19 upon us, life has changed and if we walk by the Spirit, we can find the newness of life in the words of God's Word. In a few short days, we will be celebrating the Rising of Christ from the grave, we too can rise from the graves of Covid-19 and find the newness of life! peace, tom
1 Peter 3:10 (NASB) “The one who desires life, to love and see good days,
Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit."It occurred to me that what I said and how I said it made the difference! Raising children can be a difficult journey at times but I began to notice that how I spoke to my daughters made the difference between them understanding or trying to fight me on things! Today's Word is about those of us who desire to love life and see good days will keep our tongues in check! Getting people to do things, even ourselves, means that we must find the proper way to speak to them. We can try and force them by using harsh words (most likely doesn't work) or we can speak the Truth in love. With all the "rumors" about the virus going around, people are finding it hard to believe what's what. Let's use our tongue to speak Truth, His Truth about each situation, we may just find it comforting and better days upon us! peace, tom Galatians 5:13 (NASB) "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."As a young boy, I was always bringing home a new creature to play with! Whether it was a snake, or some type of bug, I would caged them and play with them whenever I wanted. Today's verse speaks of freedom, and how we should not allow that freedom to be used for ourselves but to serve others! I am not sure when it hit me, but I came to realize that I was imprisoning these creatures for my own enjoyment. You could tell that each of them wanted to be free but I kept them as prisoners! Setting them free meant that I cared more for their freedom than my own pleasure. In Christ, we are free men but that shouldn't mean that we can use that freedom for ourselves, it is meant for others! With the "quarantine" of the recent virus, we may feel as if we are caged like those creatures of my youth or we can use this time to serve others like family, neighbors, friends from years gone by. A simple "freedom message" of care and concern can set another free today! peace, tom
|
Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
April 2024
Categories |