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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."I couldn't sleep, the more I tried, the wider awake I was! There's nothing like the excitement and anticipation to a young boy of waiting to go fishing with your dad in the morning! Today's verse speaks of the hope we find in Christ, the joy and peace in believing! I couldn't wait and would go over thoughts of what it was going to be like to get in the boat and fish with my dad. Would we catch the big ones, I hoped so, would we have a calm and peaceful day on the water, I hoped so. So many thoughts would go through my head and then finally it was time to get up and go! In life, there will be things that keep us awake in the night, things we wonder upon, think about over and over but when we give it all to God, He will fill us with the joy and peace in believing that He is in control. At the end of the fishing day, it didn't matter if we caught fish, I was happy to have spent the time with my dad, that's how it can be when we chose to spend time with God! Believe in Him cause He believes in YOU! peace, tom
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2 Timothy 1:7 ESV "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."I had to calm myself down, take a moment to breath and then begin again! Today's verse shares about fear and how God didn't give us fear but a spirit of power, love and self-control! I was a young man and wasn't sure what we were doing but we moved ahead anyway. The situation before us grew worse by the minute and it seemed that each step was leading us deeper into the unknown. I was a camp counselor leading some young boys along a hiking trail when I realized I had lost our way. I had the life of these young men in my hands and I couldn't let them know that I was just as afraid as them. I had to stop, take a moment, get my bearings and begin to follow where the "spirit within me" was leading! Many times in life, we will find ourselves so wrapped in fear that we become frozen, stuck by fear but when we have Christ in our life, we can follow where His Spirit leads by the power, love and self-control He gives us. Why not follow the path to freedom over fear by calling out to Him. He will lead us home! peace, tom
2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."It's coming whether we want it or not! I am sure a lot of us are looking forward to 2021 as 2020 has been a challenge! Today's verse speaks about the newness of life in Christ and how the old things are passed away and new things have come! As we face the new year, I wonder how many of us are looking for a new start, a new way of life, getting rid of the struggles of 2020?! Each year, at this time, I like to go through my files, cleaning out the old things I do not need and getting ready for the new year and I had to wonder if I do that with my life - you know get rid of those things that have held me down from all that I could be in Christ. Maybe it's time we clean out the files of our life and begin to look at the newness of how life can be with Christ. God's Word is filled with advice on what to get rid of in our lives like hatred, abuse, selfishness and it also shares what we need to instill in us like love, joy, peace, etc. The key is whether or not we want the newness of life with Christ- I choose yes - how about YOU?! peace, tom
2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB "And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."It seemed that each time I was fixing something, I needed to learn more about it before it could be fixed! Today's Word is Paul sharing about his weakness and how God's Grace is enough! Whether it was fixing a broken part on my vehicle, or some customer's home, I would call on those who knew more than I did, in my weakness, I was made strong! (part of today's verse!) The weakness that I had trouble admitting was that I wasn't loving my wife as I should have been, and for that I needed to get some help. Most men would balk at the thought of going to get help but admitting our weakness can and will make us stronger in Him. Reach out to God in our weakness and follow where the Holy Spirit leads us to admit our weakness and then and only then can God make strong our marriages, our relationships to our children and others. We must admit we are broken, for God to fix us! peace, tom
Isaiah 7:14 NASB "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel."It has happened 6 times in my life, and each time I am more amazed than before! Today's verse speaks to us about the Christ Child, born of a virgin and named "God is with us!", and it will be a sign for us! The first time it happened was when our first daughter came into the world, then the second daughter and then I delivered a baby with my dad on the Fire Dept., then our third daughter and now two grandsons - and each time I held or seen those babies, I gave God the glory for the gift of the miracle of life. Today we celebrate the greatest gift of life given to us by God, the Birth of His Son Jesus Christ. And His Birth is more of a miracle for He will lead us to eternal life, if and when we believe in Him as our Lord and Savior. Many of us will have different celebrations of His Birth this year due to the Covid virus but I pray that this is a sign for us to get back to things of God, like family, taking care of each other, sharing the love of Christ. Let us be a sign to the world that His Love is greater than anything the world can throw at us! Merry CHRISTmas and peace, tom
Isaiah 9:6 NASB "For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."There have been times in my life when the anticipation of what was to come was almost overwhelming! Like when I was about to be married to the most wonderful woman in the world (sorry guys, I got her!) or when we awaited the arrival of the birth of our daughters, or the time when I understood what it meant to go fishing with my dad... there have been many times of anticipation in my life but nothing compares to when I met Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior! As the preacher shared the message, I felt something within me draw me to go down to the altar and give my life to Christ! This can be your day, to give your life to Christ and to think that He came to us as a small Child! Today's verse shares exactly what we anticipate as we celebrate His Birth - a Wonderful Counselor (He's always there to help) a Mighty God (there is no one like Him), our Eternal Father (who always loves us) and the Prince of Peace (if there was ever a time in our life when we need the Peace of Christ, it's now!) Let the anticipation of His Birth be completed by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior this day - peace, tom
Luke 2:20 NASB "And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them."Covered in filth, covered in mud and muck, we walked away knowing that what we had seen and done was truly a miracle! Today's verse speaks about the shepherds who went to see the Christ Child on that first Christmas morning and how they came away glorifying and praising God! There was no possible way for anyone to be alive after the building had collapsed, and yet as we walked way from it, finding those trapped inside alive and well, we knew we had seen a miracle! There will be things in life that will cause us to wonder, like the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, coming as a small Child. I pray that as we move closer to that celebration, we will walk away glorifying and praising God for all we have heard and seen in our life up to this point and look eagerly for His Return but until then, there is much work to be done! So, share the love of that small Child this year, by whatever means and ways His Holy Spirit leads us! And remember, we don't have to be clean to see the miracle of His Birth, we just have to open to it! peace, tom
Isaiah 11:6 NASB "And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fattened steer will be together; And a little boy will lead them."It doesn't really seem like a Christmas verse until you get to the end! Before he could speak, my grandson would come and grab my hand and lead me to where and what he wanted me to see. It brought back many memories of our daughters doing the same thing, funny how a child can lead us just by taking their hand in ours! Today's verse speaks about a child leading the wolf to lay with the lamb, the leopard with the goat and the calf with a young lion. It speaks about things that we wouldn't normally see together, enemies laying together! As Christmas comes closer, although different this year than years past, may we find the Christ-child leading us on! All we have to do is take hold of His Hand and He will lead us! We may even find that He will lead us to love our enemies! peace, tom
Romans 5:3-4 NASB "And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;"Each time I threw it, there was a hope attached to the line! I love to fish but there are times I return home with an empty bucket, I guess that's why they call it fishing and not catching. Today's verses speak to us about hope, hope that comes after tribulations, and perseverance to stay the course! If I had allowed myself not to have hope of catching a fish each time I casted my line, what was the sense of fishing! In the world, especially with the pandemic still active, there are many who have lost their hope, but we can put our hope in Christ and God's Word, we may just have to go through the trials and tribulations and persevere to where our character is proven. As we inch closer to the celebration of Christ's Birth, may we find the hope in Him to cast our line upon the waters of this world! peace, tom
Proverbs 22:6 NASB "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he grows older he will not abandon it."He only has to see it once! I am amazed by one of our grandsons, he gets it so quickly and then begins to do it himself! Today's Word speaks about raising children and how when they are older, they will not abandon the teaching of their youth! I shared with my wife that we must be careful with what we do and say for our eldest grandson picks things up very quickly. I couldn't help but think of today's scripture as I watched him repeat exactly what I had done. And then it occurred to me that most children will pick up exactly what they see in us adults, good and bad! The acts that they see in us adults will forever be remembered by them as they grow older. So the question is, what are we teaching these little ones? Are we sharing the love of Christ and God's Word by our actions or are we letting the world teach them? Something to think about and act on while they watch us... and they are watching! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
October 2024
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