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Matthews 25:13 NASB "Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour." We know it's coming! Today's verse tells us to be alert for we know not when! When you live in the northeast, specifically Buffalo, NY, we know it's coming! As the seasons change, those of us who live in this area get prepared for... snow! We don't know exactly when it will come but it is coming. There are things we need to do to be ready, things to get to be ready, and then the waiting comes. For those who know Jesus will return, we need to be ready. We need to be prepared for His Return for no one knows His exact time or date. There's really no check list for Christ's return except that we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior! The question is... do you know Him and are you ready for His Return?! peace, tom
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Matthew 24:44 NASB "For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will." By not checking it, I wasn't ready! Today's verse tells us to be ready, for He will return! Taking the day to fish with my son-in-law and grandson, I rushed to meet them. As we prepared to put the boat in the water, I found that I had made a terrible error! When we went to turn the motor on, the battery was dead! I had checked everything else but the most important thing, the battery! We had to do some quick thinking and got the battery jumped so we could go on to enjoy the day. When Christ returns, and He will return, we must be ready but that means we need to make sure we have all things ready. Have we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior? - that's the most important thing to make sure we are ready for His Return. Let's not get caught unprepared for His Return! peace, tom
Isaiah 40:29 NASB "He gives strength to the weary, And to the one who lacks might He increases power."All I had to do was ask! Today's Word speaks about strength to the weary and He will increase our power! It was the end of the day, but there was one more beam to put in place, as we built the new house. Our arm strength seemed to be used up as we put rafters and beams in place all day but we needed to get that one last beam in place. We made the decision to call a few guys to help. They came and helped and the job was finished for the day. In life, we may find our strength diminishing, our power fading but if we call out to God and the Holy Spirit, they will answer us in ways we never thought possible. The key is being willing to admit we need them, their strength and power to get through the struggling time. Let's not do it alone, but find strength by calling out to our God! peace, tom
1 Chronicles 16:11 NASB "Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually."There are those days! Today's verse is about His Strength and seeking His Face! We all have those days when it seems as if nothing is going to go right. Everything we touch turns into another difficult situation. Half way through the day, we begin to fail! Where do we go when we lack the strength to keep going? I took a moment and sat down, closed my eyes and began to cry out to the Lord. I needed His Strength, His comfort, His Peace to keep going. I began to sing, yes sing! I sang songs that brought Him glory and as I sang, I began to feel His Presence within me and got up knowing whatever I faced, He had my back. Let's find the strength to admit we need Jesus and seek His face continually! peace, tom
2 Corinthians 5:7 NASB "for we walk by faith, not by sight"Just because we see them, doesn't mean we will catch them! Today's verse is rather simple but very profound if we truly live it! I remember the first time I put the "fish finder" on my boat. I couldn't wait to use it, to locate fish within the water where I fished. As I turned it on, the unit began to display the bottom and where fish were located. As I began to fish there, I didn't catch anything! As I trusted my instincts rather than the fish finder, I ended up going to a spot that didn't show fish but I caught them there! Sometimes it's not what we see but what we feel or are led by the Holy Spirit to do what God is asking of us. It's simply called faith. Trusting Him over ourselves, over what we can see and letting our faith in Him lead us. Faith Always Involves Trusting Him! peace, tom
Galatians 6:2 NASB "Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ."It was the way I was raised, how about you?! Today's verse is rather simple to understand, it's helping others! My mom and dad raised me to offer help to those in need. I still can't drive by someone in trouble without stopping or help someone carry their heavy packages to their car, or pray for someone right on the spot when they say they are hurting. I thank God that may parents raised me that way, helping others in His Name. I'm not sure when it happened but we seemed to have lost the ability to help others. The world has become "all about me" where we forget those around us that could use a little help. Maybe today, we could get back to helping someone else when we see them in trouble or hurting. Just maybe?! peace, tom
Ephesians 4:2-3 NASB "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." I was blessed! Today's Word is about being united, being patient, bearing with each other in love. I was blessed to have two opportunities to spend time with family. One gathering was with our church family and the other with friends and family. As I took time to think about both celebrations, I came away blessed by both and the love that we shared. In life, there will be things that can separate us, things that we disagreed with but if we can put those aside, let go of our differences and come together as one, we will come away blessed. I guess the key is having the perspective that life is short and we may not have tomorrow so let us come together, with humility and gentleness like today's verse says. Enjoy the gift of family, whether it's at our church, relatives, and friends and realize that life is short. Be a blessing to someone today! peace, tom
Isaiah 40:31 NASB "Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."I couldn't wait! Today's Word is about waiting and building up our strength as we wait, about not growing weary or tired! As a young boy, I couldn't wait to go fishing with my dad. I couldn't wait to be old enough to drive the boat, I couldn't wait to catch a fish. But as I have grown older, I realized that in that waiting, I missed the enjoyment of the journey. I was too focused on the end result that I missed the little things along the way. What I wouldn't do to go back in time and have one more day of fishing with my dad. I would wait patiently for that day to arrive, wait patiently as he drove the boat, wait patiently for the fish to bite. It's all about perspective, so when God has us waiting, lets be sure we enjoy the journey! peace, tom
Romans 2:6 NASB "He will render to each one according to his works"I'm sorry I can't pay you the full amount! Today's Word is about God rendering to each of us according to the work we do! When it was time to get paid, I heard the boss say that he couldn't pay some of the guys the full amount promised. When they questioned him why, his reply was simply that they didn't do the work they were hired to do. Some of the guys understood, while others began to argue about not getting full pay. When we work, no matter what we do, we need to do it to the best of our ability as if working for God. As the conversation between the boss and the men, who didn't get the full pay continued, the boss simply said "we had cameras on the job site and we saw who worked and who didn't! Know this, that God is watching and will render to each of us according to our work. Let's make sure we get full blessings when we see Him face to face! peace, tom
Job 5:24 NASB "You will know that your tent is secure,
For you will visit your home and have nothing missing." Maybe you didn't even notice?! Today's verse is about knowing our home is secure and we have nothing missing! Yesterday's devotion had a missing letter in the Book of the Bible. Did we even notice it was missing... instead of spelling Romans correctly, I missed the "n" so the word came out Romas! I wonder if, you like I, just glanced over it without even realizing it was spelled wrong. Sometimes in life, we go so fast, that we miss the little things that will keep us secure. I wonder if we are so busy in life that we miss the time spent with God. Half way through our day, we realize, I didn't pray this morning or spend time in His Word. Some days we can be so busy that we don't even know we didn't spend time with God. Maybe we need to slow down so that we make sure our life with Christ is secure in Him and nothing is missing! peace, tom |
Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
October 2024
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