John 21:4 NASB "But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus."The crowd had gathered at the door but only some were let in! When we got to the door, the question was asked "do you have a reservation?". Only those who had a reservation were let in to enjoy a meal and a show, those without making a reservation were turned away! Today's verse may seem kind of strange, that Jesus stood on the beach, and the disciples didn't know it was Him. This is after His Resurrection and the guys were out fishing! Maybe they couldn't see Him due to the sun breaking on the dawn or they were too far away, whatever the reason, they didn't know it was Him! I wonder if we've made reservations with Jesus for all eternity?! Repenting and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior is our reservation into heaven for all eternity - Don't get turn away at the gates of Heaven, get your reservation in today! peace, tom
0 Comments
1 Peter 3:11 NASB “He must turn away from evil and do good;
He must seek peace and pursue it."I know I can't live like that but there are times when I wish I could! At the end of the evening, I take my hearing aids out, there is peace and quiet away from the noise of the day - but I can't hear anything! Today's verse speaks about turning away from evil and doing good, seeking peace and pursuing it! There is a sense of peace when I take them out but that means not hearing the voice of my wife, or my children or even those I run into during my day. All that would be lost if I did leave them out all day. The key is finding peace amid the noise of the world, finding comfort in God's Word while interacting with others. But there's more to do that just turning off the world, we need to be doing good by bringing peace into every situation. A calmness that comes from knowing Jesus Christ and God's Word and living it daily. We can't just take things out but rather bring God's Peace into our lives! Why not share a "peace" of His pie today! peace, tom Ephesians 5:1 NASB "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;"I wasn't even aware that he was watching but he was! Little children watch and learn so when I was fooling around with my grandson, I didn't realize that what I had done, he was imitating it each time. I had to stand by and laugh as Kayden was repeating the things he saw me do. The first few times he tried to do them, he wasn't good at them but the more he did them, the better he got! Today's verse tells us to be imitators of God, as beloved children! It's a simple verse but speaks to our actions, attitudes, lifestyle and I wonder if we need to be like little children when it comes to how we live. They have a "child-like faith" in us adults and maybe that's where we need to start in our imitation of God! Something to think about as we act all grown up! peace, tom
John 3:4 NASB "Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”"We wait with eager anticipation, our youngest daughter will give birth in a few months and the excitement is growing! A new life born into our family is something to celebrate! Today's verse speaks to us about an elderly man asking Jesus a simple question about being "born again"! That term "born again" has become somewhat of a sticking point with people. Many believe it's part of a cult or weird life experience when in reality it is simply turning our life over to Christ! It is something to celebrate like the birth of a small child! Some of you who read and share these do not know that excitement, of turning your life over to Christ, being born again into His Family! I would urge you to repent and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - God's Word says that the angels celebrate over the life of one lost sinner who has come to know Christ, that could be YOU! peace, tom
Ephesians 4:29 NASB "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."As I walked by them, I heard the father utter an insult to his child. I was saddened that a father would use that kind of language with his own son! I began to think about the words I have spoken to our daughters, words spoken in anger, words spoken to hurt and not edify. Today's verse speaks about unwholesome words coming out of our mouth and how we should use our words to build up and not tear down. It's not just the words spoken to our children but all our words, spoken to each other, they should build up and not tear down! I am reminded of a saying my parents taught me "if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all!" Maybe we need to think before we speak and ask ourselves, are we tearing down or building up?! Let's watch our words today and see if we need some mouthwash! peace, tom
James 4:8 NASB "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."Even though I wanted to be with him, there was something I needed to do first! Coming home from a hard days work, my hands were filthy but there stood my grandson waiting to share a big hug! Today's verse speaks about drawing near to God but how we need to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts! Sure I could have given my grandson a big hug but he would have come away just as dirty as I was, but when I showed him my hands, he pointed to the bathroom as if to say clean up first! LOL - I thank God we don't have to be "clean" before we come to the Lord but we do need to make sure that our hands and hearts are in the right place. Having sin on our hands means that we need to repent first before drawing near our God! Once cleaned, the hug I got was heart warming, the same will and can happened with our God as He will draw near to us as we draw near to Him! Is it time to wash our hands and hearts of the sin we hold in them, just sayin'. 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.”"I was enjoying a little time fishing when I noticed the young boy next to me having trouble with his fishing rod. I seen him throw his rod down and begin to walk away. I asked him if I could help and we began to untangle the nasty mess of his line. Today's verse speaks to us about strengthening, encouraging and and continuing through the trials! As we finally got the line straightened out, we talked about not giving up on fishing and how it can be a lot of fun even though we struggle at times - no sooner had we finished speaking when he pulled in a large fish and was overjoyed. In life, we will run across those things that snag us, but if we encourage each other, strengthen each other we will get though the struggles! Be encouraged and be an encourager of those in need, it's what Jesus would have done! peace, tom
Ephesians 6:16 "in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."It wasn't enough that we just brought tools, we needed the water, hose and other items to put out the fire! Nothing is worse than not being prepared, so when we arrived at the fire, we needed to put into action all the tools, hoses, ladders, and water to extinguish the fire before us. Today's verse shares one more part of the armor of God that we need to wear in order to protect ourselves from the flaming arrows of the evil one! Entering the burning buildings, I needed to have faith in my partner, faith that the pump operator would get us water, faith in the Chief to make the right decisions of when to back out. We need all the parts of the armor of God in order to stand firm against the evil of this world and the attacks of satan. Leaving one part out can lead to a devastating event in our life where we get burned and severely burn and could even cost us our life. Don't be unprepared for the battle of living for Christ, take up the shield of faith! Wanna' put out some fire today?! peace, tom
Ephesians 6:14 NASB "Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,"The reality was that no one could believe what I said! As a young boy, I lied, I even had a bar of soap put in my mouth because of those lies but when I told the truth, no one would believe me! Today's verse shares more of the Armor of God that we need to put on, it speaks about standing firm with the Truth and putting on the breastplate of righteousness. I came to realize just how important the truth telling is and how having His Righteousness as my protection when one of the guys from our group called me out. He went on to say that I was known as a liar and couldn't be trusted! I thank God that I learned to speak the Truth no matter what and His Righteousness will protect me. Don't let falsehood be what people see in us but let them see that God's Truth is our standard for living and put on the armor to be safe from the lies of satan, for he will lie to us! peace, tom
Ephesians 6:17 NASB "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God"Each time I went down there, I forgot to put it on! Our first house had a basement with a low ceiling and each time I went down there...BANG!, I would hit my head on the beam! Today we learn two parts of the Armor of God, the helmet and the sword of the Spirit! There at the top of the stairs was my construction helmet but I was in such a hurry to get down to the basement I never took the time to put it on. Only when I hit my head did I say "I need to put on the helmet!!" In life, there will be those things that hurt our head if we don't put on the helmet of salvation. It can protect us from thoughts that don't line up with God's Word, it can help us keep our focus on Christ but sadly many of us wait till it's too late like me in the basement - without the helmet, we end up getting hurt. Let's put it on today and everyday and protect our mind, for that is where satan wants to hurt us the most! peace, tom
|
Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
April 2024
Categories |