Colossians 3:2 NASB "Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth."And that's when it happened! Today we read about being focused and where we need to keep our minds! I was distracted, I had lost focus and before I knew it, I had smashed my finger! I never realized the importance of keeping focus until I let my attention drift away from what I was doing. While building an addition to our home, I lost sight and hit my finger with the hammer. The pain was the first indicator that I wasn't focused on the task at hand, the second indication was the blood that came. While there are many things that can draw our attention away, we need to remain focused upon God and His Word or we will find the pain of sin. Don't the things of the world draw us away but be vigilant on the things of the Lord, and the blood He shed for us! peace, tom
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Ephesians 6:10 NASB "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might."I wasn't sure if I had the courage to do it! Today we read where our strength should come from! It was one thing to go through rookie school, but another to enter a burning building. I was remind the other day, as I talked with one of my old fire fighter buddies, of going into our first fire building. The nervous energy, the excitement and the fear all wrapped into one. And then I thought about the first time I entered a new church, filled with the same emotions, and thought where do I find the strength to enter?! Everyone has felt that at some point in our life, the fear of entering somewhere new, but if we hold on to Christ, He will give us the strength to enter a new. Let us not let fear keep us from where God is calling us to go but find strength in Him, for He has overcome the world! peace, tom
Genesis 2:18 NASB "Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”I know, it usually is used to describe a wife! Today's verse is about God not wanting us to be alone but to give us a suitable helper. We, men, should not be alone, whether God has given us a wife or someone to help us in this thing called life, we should be willing to accept the help. There were too many times when I tried to do things alone, whether it was pride or stubbornness, I found it easier to ask for help. When a man walks alone, we can get into trouble, serious trouble but if we accept the help of a friend, we can stay on the path. When going into a burning building, we were always sent two by two, even Jesus sent His Disciples out two by two - so let's not go it alone. Asking for help may be hard but don't let pride get in the way! peace, tom
1 John 1:9 NASB "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." It's never easy to admit! Today's verse has some great advice about getting clean! With the weather turning towards spring, it was time to clean out the trash that had collected through the winter. I watched as the men began to pick up the papers, trash, bottles, and other things that had collected. I thought to myself, how easy it is to pick up that trash as compared to being honest about the sin in our life. If we want to clean up our life, then we must admit to our sin. Confessing it is the hard part, it means we have to be brutally honest with where we are in life, where are walk is with Christ and where our walk is as His Witnesses! Maybe it's time to clean out the garbage in our life so He can cleanse us from all unrighteousness! I'll go first! peace, tom
Luke 13:3 NASB "No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."Don't keep doing that! Today's Word speaks pretty plainly about repenting or else we will perish! I remember when my father was trying to teach me a lesson for my own good, the only problem was that I wasn't really listening to him. He had found me doing some work without realizing the danger involved. He had seen me do it before and tried to teach me a different way, a better way but sometimes we get so stubborn thinking we know better, we don't accept their advice. Sometimes we have to experience the pain before we take heed in the wisdom of others. May it never be, may we listen with open hearts to the advice like today's Word! Let's not keep making the same mistakes until we feel the pain but take the advice of others to be better today than we were yesterday! peace, tom
Acts 3:19 EVS "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,"If your reading this, then we survived the eclipse! Today's Word tells us how to have our sins blotted out just like the sun was yesterday! Being in the path of the eclipse, you would have thought we would have the best view of it but sometimes the clouds come in and hide what we thought we would see. In life, we cloud ourselves with lies so we don't have to see our sin. It's there, each one of us have sinned in some way but we can repent and get back on the right track! It always comes down to choice. What we choose and the path we choose, can either block out the "Son" or let His light shine through us. Choice, it's another gift from God that allows us to choose Him over anything else. What do we choose today?! peace, tom
Acts 2:20 NASB "The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes."Are you ready?! Today's Word is about an eclipse and what may happen after that! If I didn't know better I would say that there is an eclipse coming today LOL. Everywhere, you see signs of it, business' are closed, people are getting ready to party as they watch the sun turn to darkness but the real question is are we ready! Are we ready for His Return, His Second Coming?! Through the scientific community, we know when the eclipse will happen, where it will be at each moment of the day but we do not know when Jesus will return. The key is to be ready each and every day for His Return, but also making today be the best we can give Him, for tomorrow is promised to no one. Celebrate the sun's eclipse but celebrate the Son's Return the same way! peace, tom 1 John 1:8 NASB "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us." I knew something was wrong! Today's verse speaks volumes about deceiving ourselves! The more I looked at it, the more I realized it was off. I was hanging a shelf for a customer when I realized that it was not level. I held it up again, put the level on it and although the level said it was level, it was clearly off. I went and got another level and sure enough, the first level was off. Somewhere along the way, it got bent. The bubbles may had said things were on the level but clearly it was off. When we say that we don't sin, our bubbles may look level but the reality is that we do sin. Each and every one of us! It's time to get our life on level ground and repent so that the Truth may be in us. Don't let a faulty level keep us sinning! Get into His Word and find out the Truth, it will straighten our life out! peace, tom
Deuteronomy 4:29 NASB "But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul."No wonder I couldn't find it! Today we read about how to find God, simple and true! I had looked for it but only gave it a half an effort. Not until I really began to look for it, did I find it. The hours spent half heartedly looking were a waste of time. If I really gave it my all, I would have found it sooner. That's how it is when we begin to search for God. Not until we get serious, using all our heart and soul, will we find Him. Once I found it, I was overjoyed and was able to finish the project. When we find Jesus, we will be overjoyed and our life, our walk in this life, will be filled with the strength to carry on through more than we ever thought. So, let's seek Him with all that we have! peace, tom
1 Timothy 5:1 NASB "Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, and to the younger men as brothers,"We could have just told them to go away! Today's Word shares about our obligations to other men! As we sat at the fire house, waiting for the next fire call, a group of young men came by and asked if they could use the basketball hoop in the yard. We had a choice, we could have said no or yes. We chose the later and began to talk with those young me about life. No deep conversations but just about their lives, and the choices they make. Each shift, they came back, sometimes just to talk, to play some hoops. We began a relationship with them for many years. Getting involved in a young man's life can and will make a difference so treat them as brothers! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
May 2024
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