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Matthew 6:21 NASB "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."I found myself speeding and needed to slow down! Today's verse is about treasures and our heart and where one is, the other is sure to be! Although I was willing to pay the ticket if I got caught speeding, I needed to realize that speeding wasn't in my best interest. Trying to get home to my family after speaking at a men's event, I came to realize that in a sense, I was already with them for my heart was there! The treasures in my life, my wife and family, would always be in my heart so I didn't need to break the law to get there. Just like our walk with Christ, breaking God's Laws won't get us any closer to Him or any sooner. If we treasure His Word, His Spirit and the blessings of the Cross and Resurrection, we know that our heart is with Him. Breaking laws never gets us anything but trouble and will actually keep us further from where we would like to be! peace, tom
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1 Peter 2:9 NASB "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"He couldn't understand what I was trying to say to him! Today we read about being part of God's own possession, and part of many wonderful things! As the conversation continued, I tried to tell him that at this point in my life, things were going well. Sure I had a few struggles here and there but when I gave my life to Christ, really started living for Him, my life took on a different look. Most people have this idea that life with Christ is all struggles, problems, and confusion but nothing is further from the Truth. We will encounter those things but with Christ, we can get through them. There is a life with Christ, where we walk in blessings for we are a chosen people, members of His Royal priesthood, God's own possessions and He has called us out of the darkness and the Light is truly marvelous! The question is... are we walking in the Light?! peace, tom
2 Peter 3:8 NASB "But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day."But I don't have a thousand years to wait! Today's verse speaks about time, and waiting! Have you ever prayed, prayed day and night for something, and it seemed as if God wasn't listening or not interested in answering our prayer? Did we give up on our prayer request, did we give up on God? God cares for each and everyone of our prayer requests, but we must never forget that it's His Timing that matters. I have seen that God's timing is so much better than mine! Praying for a 100 year old friend to know Jesus and then one day my friend asks me about Jesus, or waiting for a personal heart request for years only to have it answered when God knew the time was right. Let's not give up on praying or on God but recognize that He and His Timing is so much better! Keep praying, God is listening and cares! peace, tom
1 Timothy 4:12 NASB "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe."I guess were are never too old to learn from those younger than us! Today we read about the youth and their conduct and how they can be our example! It was within hours of seeing his new baby sister, that I began to see the love he had for her! Kayden, one of our grandsons, couldn't get enough of his new born baby sister. He wanted to hold her, protect her and generally keep her safe. Although he is only 3 yrs old, his heart is much older in caring for others. Sometimes, as we get older, we lose that childlike love of others. We need to be taught again how little children have hearts open to love. Let's not be afraid to learn from those younger than us, we may just see life from their perspective and learn how to love each other again! peace, tom
Leviticus 19:18 NASB "You shall not take vengeance, nor hold any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord."It happens in a second, the anger builds and I want to lash out but if I take another moment and breath, pray and think of today's verse, I will have a different attitude! Todays verse is easy to read but hard to put into practice. Come on, who doesn't have that feeling of getting back at those who have harmed us, or those cut us off, or have in some way hurt us but God's Word says to love your neighbor, even Jesus said to pray for them and yet when we walk by our flesh, the desire to get even seems stronger than walking by the Spirit. I guess we need to strengthen our walk in the Spirit more than we do our flesh and that takes time spent in His Word and prayer. Our first reaction should be to love not get even, easier said than done but it can be done! peace, tom
Romans 15:13 NASB "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."Sitting back, I took a moment and realized that it was hope that kept us going! Today's verse speaks to us about being filled with joy and peace and inso, we have hope! During the rough years of our marriage, when anger filled our days, when struggle seemed to win over victories, my wife and I never lost the hope we have in Christ, that we would get through it! Looking back now, rejoicing in the joy and peace we have in Christ, gives us hope to share with others that nothing is impossible with God. In life, we may struggle, not seeing the end in sight but if we have hope, and hope in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must keep fighting the good fight and God will fill us with joy and peace in our belief! If you're struggling right now, take a moment and ask God to increase your hope in Him, to be strengthened to keep fighting against the schemes of satan to destroy what God has ordained! May our day be filled with His joy and peace as we win the victories with God by our side through hope in Him! peace, tom
Mark 9:24 NASB "Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”"We both look to the sky, for he loves to watch the planes go by! Today's verse is about unbelief, and although we may believe, there may be a part of us that doesn't yet fully believe! I know the mechanics of it, and understand all about lift and yet I find myself not fully believing how planes can fly! My grandson stands in awe as we watch them go by, hearing the engine roar and watching them soar past us. It got me thinking about God's Word, I read it, meditate upon it and try my best to live it and yet there are areas where I struggle with unbelief in the power available to us. Don't misunderstand me, I believe in the power of His Word, I just have unbelief that many of us find it so hard to live it. The unbelief is not in God but in ourselves - so the question is, do we believe, what do we believe and asking God to help us with our unbelief! peace, tom
Mark 16:13 ESV "And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them."I tried not to let it bother me but deep inside, I was hurt! Today's verse speaks of those who do not believe, and in this case it was the disciples who did not believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead! It has been years since I lived the way I did where rage and anger ran my life, where I hurt the ones I was supposed to love and yet even with all that time there are still those who don't believe that Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit has changed me. Whether or not they believe it, I still live it and pray that one day they will see the power of the Almighty at work in men's lives where we are new creatures in Christ. The sad reality is that life is about choices and we can either chose to believe in Jesus Christ and the transforming power of the Resurrection or we can chose not to. But one day, when we see Him face to face, our choice will matter! Choose wisely my friends and believe! peace, tom
1 Peter 5:8 NASB "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."Bamm! Out of the clear blue, it came and attacked. Today we are told to be sober, be on the alert for we will be attacked, wanting to be devoured! I enjoy this time of year because of show called "Shark Week" - it's a series of shows about sharks and I am saddened when the sharks attack humans, but I am amazed at what killing machines they can be. I couldn't help but think of today's verse as I watched one show where the shark circled around and around until finally it came out of no where and attacked. It reminded me of how satan, the devil, circles our life until that moment of weakness and then BAMM - he attacks and if we are not on alert, always watching, we will be devoured. Trust me when I say that it doesn't matter when or where, satan will attack, the key is whether or not we are ready for it! peace, tom
John 17:15 NASB "I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one."I could have just split them up and then they wouldn't have been together! Today's verse is a prayer from Jesus to His Father regarding His Friends! Watching our two grandsons play together, they began struggle with wanting the same toy. I could have split them up and taken away the toy but what lesson would that have taught them. They needed to learn to share and be kind to each other in getting along with others. Jesus' asked His Father not to take His Friends out of the world but protect them from the evil one. In regards to my two grandsons, the evil one is the fleshly desire in each of us to have it our way, to get what we want no matter what or who we hurt in the process,. The sad reality is that even as adults, we have this desire within us! Learning to play nice with others, is learning to love and pray for each other and yes even pray for our enemies! Like the two grandsons, this will take some time to learn, but learning to share is a lesson we all need to do better at! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
October 2024
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