1 Thessalonians 5:21 NASB "but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good"I thought it was still good! Today's verse speaks to us about examining things, everything, to make sure that it's good! I had kept a bucket of drywall compound and was planning on using it but when I went to examine it, I found that I had left part of the lid open and the compound dried up! It was no longer useful and had to be thrown out! I got to think that if we don't take care of the things we have, we can lose them. The love of a wife, the friendship of a good friend, the blessings that God has allowed us to have, can all be lost if we don't care for them properly. Maybe we need to examine our relationship with God first, then the relationships we have with others and see if we are taking the proper care with them to make sure things are good. If they are good, why not try and make them better, just my thoughts! Let's not have to throw things out due to our lack of care! peace, tom
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Acts 4:12 NASB "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved."Maybe you've never heard it before?! Today's verse shares how we can be saved, saved from the flames of hell. We don't talk about it often, but maybe we should! While talking with another man, the subject came up about Jesus and I assumed that he had heard about Jesus. The more we talked, the more I realized that he had not heard, didn't know anything about him and never read the Bible. As I send these out, I have made a grave error, I assume that those reading these have heard about Jesus and what it means to be "saved". If you have no idea, private message me and we can talk more, about my friend Jesus. If you know Jesus, when was the last time we shared Him with others?! peace, tom
Matthew 6:34 NASB "“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."I had to stop! Today's verse is about worry, and that it needs to stop! As I laid there, I kept thinking about all the things I wanted to get done tomorrow. The more I thought about them, the more I began to worry about this and that. It got to the point that I wasn't even thinking about what I was going to do today! Maybe you've been there too, a big project coming up, an assignment at work, a vacation about to begin and found ourselves thinking more about them than what we could accomplish today. Sometimes we need to step away from worry and focus on today. Tomorrow will come but we will miss out on today if we don't let go of the worry. peace, tom
2 Corinthians 5:7 NASB "for we walk by faith, not by sight"Without being able to see them, we still headed out! Today's verse, while short, speaks volumes to us! We can't see the fish under the water and yet we go out fishing! While out with my grandson fishing, he asked "where are the fish grampa?!" My reply was simply "they are out there, under the water!". I got to thinking as we waited for the fish to bite, how today's verse is so important in our lives. We need to keep moving forward in our walk with Christ. Although we may not see Him, we have the faith to believe. To often today, we say "I'll believe it if I see it!". If that were the case, why would we go fishing?! Faith that we will catch the fish! We may not see those in need of help under all the garbage of the world, but they are there and it's up to us to walk to them by faith and not by sight! Trust me, the catch will bring you joy! peace, tom
Hosea 12:6 NASB "So as for you, return to your God, Maintain kindness and justice, And wait for your God continually."The waiting seemed to last so long! Today's Word is about returning to God, keeping ourselves with kindness and justice to others as we wait for His Return. As a rookie on the fire department, the wait for the first fire seem to go on forever. It's the only business in the world where when it's bad, that's a good thing. But having been trained and ready, the wait was endless but eventually came. Whether we want to admit it or not, Jesus is going to return. He is going to come back to take us home to heaven but we must be ready. We need to turn back to the things of God, live with kindness and justice in how we treat each other and wait! He will come and like my first fire, we know not when so let's be ready! No one has gone that far away from God that they can't come back! 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." You couldn't trust them! Today's verse is about making sure it's safe, the things we run into in life! As we entered the fire building and began to climb the stairs, my officer reminded me to test the stairs to make sure they would hold our weight! No one likes to fall, and falling through worn out or burned out stairs isn't fun and could even be life threatening. Taking it slow and checking each step was tiresome but in the end, we made it up the stairs and put out the fire. In life, we will find that it's better to go slow, test the waters, and be safe than run crazy into a situation that could cause us harm. That's where the Holy Spirit comes in, He helps us make sure that who and what we are doing are safe! The key is making sure we follow where He leads us! peace, tom
2 Corinthians 8:11 NASB "But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the willingness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability."It's really about procrastination! Today's verse tells us to finishing things with the same zeal we had when we started! The list keeps growing longer, and will until I decide to "get 'er done"! It's easier to keep putting things off than get them done on any list we have. That "to do" list will keep growing until we find the willingness to actually do what we write down on it! There are many times when the desire to get something done is there but when it came time to actually do it, I have fallen short. Jesus went all the way to the Cross for us, He got it done. I pray that we have the same desire as He did, when it comes to the things of God! Let's get one thing off that list today by having the same desire to get it done as we did when we wrote it down! peace,tom
Ephesians 5:16 NASB "making the most of your time, because the days are evil." It was only a matter of time! Today's verse simply put, is to use our time wisely! The glass had broken in a basement window at my son-in-law's house. It was only a matter of time before my grandson could have possibly got cut on it so we decided to repair it. It didn't take a long time to remove the old frame, clean out the glass and put new glass in but this time we used plexiglass to prevent another broken window. In making the most use of our time, we need to think of what's best in each situation. Wisdom and knowledge are things we need to grab a hold of and keep to help us use our time wisely. Let's fix those broken windows in our life so we can see life clearly! peace, tom
Psalm 27:14 NASB "Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord."I tried to rush it! Today's verse is about waiting on the Lord, it's called patience! It was a two step process in order for the material to dry so I could put on the second coat. I was in a hurry so I tried to rush the first step. I applied the second coat but the first wasn't dry enough and I ended up having to remove the first and second coat and start again. Sometimes, we find ourselves in such a rush that we end up getting ahead of God. He has His timing for a reason. It may be to teach us to wait on Him, it may be to teach us patience. Whatever the reason, we need to find strength in Him and His timing and not rush ahead. So, if we are waiting for something, let us take hold of today's verse and be strong and courageous as we wait! It will happen, in His Timing! peace, tom
Genesis 1:31 NASB "And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." I sat back and thought about the day! Today's Word is how God made all things and it was very good! I went over my day, thinking about what I did and I had to ask myself those hard questions "was what I did good?" Did I follow where the Spirit led me, did I treat others as I wanted to be treated, did I make excuses for my mistakes, could I call what I did or made good?! Tough questions to ask ourselves as we do this thing called life. Our answers may not make us happy but if we are allowed another day on this planet Earth, we can try harder. God never asks us to do the impossible, He takes care of that, He just asks us to be available, so the question is ... are we, are we available to Him?! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
February 2025
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