Luke 23:34 NASB "But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”Three hours!! Today's verse shares just one of the seven utterances of Jesus from the Cross, and to me it's one that I hold dear! For three hours we were to sit quietly in our room and think about what Jesus had done for us! As a young boy, my parents would make us stop the playing, stop the running around and sit and think. At the time I didn't understand what it truly was about but as I am older now, I can see the importance of taking the time to reflect upon what Jesus did for me, for you on that Hill so long ago. And the words spoken of "Father forgive them" can speak volumes to us today if we truly believe that His Death brings us life! Sometimes we may not even know we sinned but He did and has forgiven us for all of them, we just need to walk in the forgiveness He gave on that Cross. Don't let the day go by without taking a few minutes, if not three hours, and think of what He did for us that day and be forgiven! peace, tom
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Luke 22:15 NASB "And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;"One last meal! Today's verse shares Jesus' words before they had the "Last Supper" together! It was the last time we would all be together, so we ate our last meal together in the fire house! Some of the crew were retiring, some were moving on to other fire houses, and some were being promoted. We had been together for quite some time and now it was the last supper together. There was a sadness in the air but also joy about the new adventures that awaited each of us. I can only imagine what the disciples were feeling as they sat and ate with Jesus before He was to wash their feet and become our sin so that we may live forever in eternity. Some of the crew stay in touch but others have not - I am sure the disciples stayed in touch by the power of the Holy Spirit that would come later. Let us not lose touch but always walk in the Spirit and stay connected to Jesus - our Savior and Lord! peace, tom
1 John 4:1 NASB "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."They had sat all winter long, so I needed to test them! Today's verse is some great advice concerning dealing with others who may not have our best interest in mind. I had pulled the toys out for my grandson to play with but the only problem was that I wasn't sure how the batteries had held up all winter long. I needed to pull them out and test them to see if we were getting full power or just a little trickle. Sure enough, they had lost their usefulness and needed to be replaced. The sad realty is that some people in our lives aren't helping us live to our full potential in Christ. We need the power of the Holy Spirit and His Full power to keep on keeping on so let's be careful in whom we put our trust. I know Someone who will always be there for us and will always help us live with our batteries fully charged! The question is... do you know Him?! peace, tom
John 1:9 NASB "This was the true Light that, coming into the world, enlightens every person."It was amazing to watch it come and brighten the day! Today's verse speaks about the true Light coming into the world! Although it was a few months ago, we had celebrated the birth of Christ and this week we face His Death and Resurrection, the true Light will always be with us! During an early morning walk, I noticed that the sun was just beginning to rise. I stood for a moment and watched as it grew larger and larger in the sky and more and more light began to shine. I couldn't help but think how the Light of Christ can become larger and larger in our life if we take the time to let Him! I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face as the coolness of the morning left me. Let's not walk in the darkness of the world or the coldness of not knowing Him but let His Light shine before us, around us and through us until it enlightens every person! peace, tom
1 Chronicles 16:11 NASB "Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually."I'm not sure what kind of week you had last week or planned for this week but I needed this verse to give me strength! Today's verse speaks where to find the strength when things get tough, in fact it shares were we should seek strength all the time! There are those weeks when we can look back and say "wow, how did I get through that!" I had one of those weeks and found that seeking the Lord for His Strength kept me going! I can only imagine what Jesus was facing as He looked forward to the week He was going to have! He knew at the end of the week, He would face the Cross, beating sin and death for you and me!! But I am sure He found strength in His Father that on the Third Day, He would be resurrected! May we keep our focus on Him for there is Light at the end of the cave! peace, tom
Luke 19:41 NASB "When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,"I had to turn it off! Today's verse is Jesus entering the city where they were laying palms at His Feet and praising Him but Jesus wept over the city He was about to enter!" After watching the news, seeing the pictures and videos of the destruction of the cities in Ukraine, I had to turn it off! I sat for a moment and thought of the people, the children, what would become of their lives and the tears began to flow. When we see the devastation, not so much for the buildings but for the people, it should bring us to our knees in prayer. Jesus, entering into the city of Jerusalem, knew what He would face the following week, and He began to cry for the people. I wonder, do we cry for the people who don't know Jesus as Lord and Savior?! We can do more than cry, we can share the love of Christ everyday, with someone, comforting them in their struggles and why not start today! peace, tom
Romans 4:21 NASB "and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform."I had to put my faith in him to do what he said he would! Today's verse shares that God is able and will perform what He promises, something we need to do ourselves! I don't usually hire someone to do work at my home but I didn't have the skills or knowledge to install the air conditioning system, so I call a guy! He told me what he was going to do, promised that we would have central air all set by the end of the day. Sure enough, by the end of the day, you could feel the cool air circulating throughout the house. He did what he had promised to do! God does that too. Over and over in His Word are promises that He will keep, we just need to trust in Him, and believe in Him that what He says He will do! Come to think of it, we should live that same way! When we say we are going to do it, we need to be men of our promises! The question is, are we? peace, tom
Matthew 4:7 NASB "Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”"How far can you go? Today's verse speaks to us about not putting our God to the test, some great advice unless we want to see the wrath of God! We were young boys at the time and as we came to the edge of a cliff, we each tried to see how far we could go before our fear of falling stopped us. We were testing each other to see who could go farther, who had more "guts". It was just plain stupid to see who could get farther on the edge, the result of this foolishness was death if we fell over the edge! Thank God we stopped before anyone got hurt! Testing God, to see how far we can go in temptation before we fall is just plain foolish. It's always a slippery slope to try and see if we can go past the limit of where God says "stop"! Let's not test the Lord or each other in foolishness but stand firm on His Word to live another day! peace, tom
Ephesians 6:12 NASB "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."Some say that it's four against one but I say it can be four against four! Today's Word shares about who actually our fight is against as we try and walk the Walk! I had an interesting conversation the other day with a man who was ready to give up. He shared with me today's verse and said that there was no way he could fight against all four of these forces against him. My reply was that he was right! We can't fight against them by ourselves so that's why we need our team, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. With them in our life, we become a four person team that can stand strong against the struggles! Don't go it alone, get on God's Team and find strength in numbers! Keep in mind that Jesus already beat sin and death, so we join a winning Team! peace, tom
Isaiah 40:29 NASB "He gives strength to the weary,
And to the one who lacks might He increases power."Just a few more steps! Today's Word is an encouragement for all of us who get weary and need a little more power! While helping my daughter and son-in-law clean out their maple syrup lines in the woods, I began to feel exhausted. Walking over fallen trees and sticks and slippery mud, I found myself getting exhausted and weary. I took a moment and asked God for the strength to finish well as I knew there were only a few more lines to clear. I began to think about Christ and His Journey to the Cross. I am sure He was exhausted from the beatings and yet found strength to finish well. May we, who find ourselves weary, find strength in Him to finish well and He will increase our power through the Holy Spirit! peace, tom |
Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
April 2024
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