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Psalm 18:39 NASB "For You have encircled me with strength for battle; You have forced those who rose up against me to bow down under me."The captains took turns picking which guys they wanted on their team, and then the battle began! Today's verse speaks of strength for the battle, and how God will make those who rose up against us bow down! It was backyard football and each captain picked the guys they thought would help them win the game. Waiting for my name to be called, I could see the strength that was building in each team by how the guys reacted when their name was called. Once the teams were picked, the battle began. Battling for godly manhood, means making sure we have strength for the battle and getting the right guys on our team will help win the battle. Don't go it alone, we can and do have strength in numbers but picking the right guys to help us in the battle is key! BTW, make sure God is leading our team or else, we won't win the battle for godly manhood! just sayin' . peace, tom
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1 Corinthians 15:34 NASB "Sober up morally and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame."It was if I was walking through life with blinders on! Today's verse, while harsh, speaks Truth to us about how we walk in life! I was doing it that way because it had always been done that way! I thought of a better way to do it but kept up the old practice because I never tried to change it. Many times in life, we keep doing the same thing over and over as if we are stuck in some drunken stupor. Having the courage to look at the why we do it, and why we do it that way is finding the knowledge in Christ to question our motives. If we aren't doing it to bring God glory, then why? Making the change from the same old, to the newness found in Christ means questioning ourselves as to our reason for doing it in the first place! Maybe it's time we wake up from our stupors and begin to live for Christ?! Remember He died for us, so we can live for Him! peace, tom
James 1:20 NASB "for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God."Ain't that the Truth! Today's Word speaks about our anger, and how it doesn't bring about the righteousness of God. I can honestly say that I have lived today's verse. Growing up with an anger problem meant that things would always go from bad to worse. Never once did my anger bring peace to the situation, bring more love to my relationships or even calm the moment - nope, all my anger did was raise the temperature in the room, cause more division and bring more pain and hurt to those I loved! Not until I came clean with my anger, and repented before the Lord, did life have a new meaning. Sure it's ok to be angry but its what we do with our anger that can cause hurt and pain. The Word says that we can be angry but do not sin! The question for today is, is our anger causing us to sin?! May it never be so! peace, tom
1 Chronicles 16:8 NASB "Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make His deeds known among the peoples."It took just a minute or two but it made such a difference! Today's Word speaks of giving thanks to the Lord and sharing it with others! As we sat around the table, I remember my dad asking each of us to give one thing we were thankful for. As a young boy, ready to eat, it seemed silly but we all did it. I came to realize just how important it is to be thankful. As I grew up, that realization became more and more as I found that not everyone was blessed with a full table of food, family and friends. Maybe you could start a new tradition this Thanksgiving, asking those to share around the table, the one thing you are thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving, may your day be blessed and take a minute or two and share what we are thankful for! peace, tom
Colossians 3:17 NASB "Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."We didn't catch anything that day and yet I found myself thanking God! Today's verse shares that in everything we do, we are to give thanks to God the Father! I had prayed for one more day, one more opportunity to fish with my dad after he suffered a stroke, not sure what the future held for him. It was a long journey of heath related things that had my dad, just not able to do much, but I kept hope in Christ that we would fish together again one day. When the day arrived, we sat in the boat, talking life more than fishing and as we ended the day, without any fish, I felt blessed to have had that one more day! We may think we have tomorrow but His Word says that tomorrow is promised to no one so let's be thankful for what we do have, one more day to give thanks to God for everything we are able to do. One more day, to say thank you to God our Father for all we have! peace, tom
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."Looking back, I can now understand why! Today's verse speaks of giving thanks in ALL things, easier said than done! Facing the reality that my time on the fire department was over due to the hearing loss injury meant that life as I knew it was over. Facing the future of uncertainty as that what came next left me feeling confused and afraid but having put my trust in the Lord, I began a new journey in life. At the time, I wasn't thankful for the injury but looking back, I can honestly say that I am thankful for the life I now live. Before the accident, I knew Christ, but after the accident, I began to live Christ and there is a big difference. If we find ourselves in situations where we aren't sure what comes next, let's be thankful for those as well cause God always has a plan! peace, tom
Hebrews 13:18 NASB "Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things."I couldn't look him in the eye! Today's verse is a prayer, asking that we conduct ourselves in an honorable way in all things! Returning back to work after lunch, we were met by the owner of the company. I couldn't look him in the eye for I knew we had not done what we should have! The company had many deliveries to make that day but we decided to goof off after lunch and it took us longer to get back to get the next order to be delivered. When he asked us where we had been for so long, we lied and said that we had truck trouble! I could feel the guilty building inside of me for not only not getting back on time, but about lying about the why. I vowed to myself that day that I would no longer allow others to dictate to me, what I should or shouldn't do. Even though it wasn't my decision to fool around, I still went along with it. It was just plain wrong and not honorable. Let's make the right choices and bring God the honor by honoring others instead of ourselves! peace, tom
Romans 1:16 NASB "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."It looked like the all star game! Today's verse speaks to us about boldness in Christ and not ashamed to share Jesus! As we gathered to watch the game, each man had on the jersey of his favorite player of his favorite team. There were hats, sweatshirts, jerseys, and even cup holders embroidered with their favorite teams and I couldn't help but wonder if we "wear" the same of our Lord and Savior?! Sure, we have the boldness to wear the emblem of our favorite team, or maybe where we work but do we have the boldness in Christ to wear Him when we go out in public? How we "wear" Christ is by how we live Him in our day to day walk. The question for today is do we have the boldness in Him to "wear" Him in the world? peace, tom
Romans 15:5 NASB "Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus,"Ready to lift, lift, ready to raise, raise! Today's verse is a good word that speaks to us about being of the same mind and how God will give us perseverance and encouragement! As we got to the fire building, and began to raise the ladder to the roof, I could hear the men saying ready to lift and we lifted as one and then ready to raise and we raised the ladder as a well oiled machine! When time is of the essence, we need to work together as one unit, each focused on the same thing. Whether we are raising a ladder to a burning building or helping someone in need, or being part of a church family, we need to be of the same mind. Sure, we may want to go our own way but things will be harder, so let's work smarter not harder by working as a well oiled, one focused unit to bring God glory! The question is, what team are we on?! peace, tom
1 John 2:6 NASB "the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked."It happened again! Today's verse speaks of walking in the manner of Christ! While picking up some trash left in the church parking lot, a car came by and the driver yelled out "you look just like your father!". The driver, a good friend of my father's had seen me and made the comment that I looked just like my dad, not necessarily the way I looked but what I was doing! As followers of Christ, we must walk as He walked, and in doing so, others should see Him in us! It was a compliment to have someone say that I was like my dad, I pray that they can say the same thing about my heavenly Father?! Have we ever taken the time to think about how we can live Jesus, not just saying the words He said but living a lifestyle that resembles His Walk on the earth, for actions speak louder than words! Imitate Him this day! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
January 2023
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Scouse Smurf
