|
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 believe it, we were finally there! Today's Word is my prayer for all who read the daily devotions! It was a long journey but when we finally arrived, I knew it was worth it. To see the joy on our daughters faces as we went on vacation was priceless. We had waited for months for the day to arrive when we would be on vacation and enjoy getting away from the day to day grind. We drove straight through for two days so that we could get there and although exhausted, the joy that came from seeing their eyes light up, their smiles brighten and the laughter of their voices brought us strength. It has been a long year, 2021 and I for one am ready to turn the page, how about you?! Leaving the year behind and heading into 2022 can be an exciting time, a time for something new and I ask, how about trying Christ! Getting back into church, meeting new people, sharing the joy and peace of believing in Christ. It's a wonderful adventure and we can do it by having hope in the power of the Holy Spirit! May your new year be blessed and enjoy the adventure! peace, tom
0 Comments
Romans 15:1 NASB "Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not just please ourselves."It wasn't so much about getting the job done as it was about the journey getting there! Today's verse speaks to us about strength and weakness and how we can use our strength to help those who are weak! As they came into the fire house, I noticed him right away. He was lagging behind the others because of his weakness in his legs. His eyes lit up when he came closer to the fire truck and I could see the excitement. While the other children cut in front of him to spray the hose, he waited patiently for his turn. When it was his turn, I have him extra time to enjoy spraying the water and the smile that was on his face was priceless! Sometimes in life, we who are blessed with strength need to help those who are weak for no other reason than to please them rather than ourselves! As I carried him back to the bus, we talked about what a good job he did with the hose and I could see him smile a little bigger! Let's get the focus off of us and help those in need, its what Jesus did! peace, tom
James 2:18 NASB "But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”"It was time to put our words into action! Today's verse is about that ever discussed conversation between faith and works! We had the meetings, spent hours discussing the course of action we needed to take but now it was time to put our words into action. As each member of the crew shared their thoughts and ideas, we took time to look at each idea carefully to see whether or not it could be accomplished. At the end of the brain storming session, it was time, time to begin to work out the idea we found best to accomplish the task given to us. God will and has asked each of us to use our gifts and talents. We can have faith in Him that we "could" do it but not until we turn our faith into action, will the job be done! Its time the world see our faith by our works! peace, tom
Psalm 116:15 NASB "Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His godly ones."As the new year fast approaches, I took a moment to remember! Today's verse speaks about the death of our loved ones! I sat quietly and thought of all those who have gone on, whether due to covid or some other reason, I know that I will miss them, maybe you have those same feelings?! Death comes to each of us, no matter how it comes, it will come. Taking a moment to remember those we love, that have gone on to the next life, can be a wonderful memorial of how much we loved them and miss them. As I prepared today's message, I realized how important life is and how precious each person is that we interact with. The key to today's verse is in the second part, "the death of His godly ones"! Those are the ones who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior so its most important for those of us who know Christ that way, to share Christ with all our loved ones! We may not have to use words but we can all show the love of Christ by how we treat each other! peace, tom Titus 2:2 NASB "Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance."As I crawled around the ground like a two year old, today's verse came to mind! I had to laugh at myself as I began to attach a recent Birthday/Christmas gift and found myself crawling around to hook the wires up on the unit and the television set. Here I was, recently turning 60 and I was excited to get a video gaming device. I took a moment and thought to myself that even though I was an older man, I could be temperate, dignified and self-controlled despite having childlike excitement. I wonder, do we have childlike faith when it comes to the things of the Lord?! I know one thing for sure that as I play that video device, my grandsons will be watching and I need to make sure that they see a man sound in faith, in love and in perseverance in how I witness Christ in all things, yes even playing video games! peace, tom
Luke 2:7 NASB "And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."I'm sorry we are booked up! Today's the day we celebrate the verse for today! Planning a trip, I began to call around to make sure we could make reservations for a room for the night and each hotel I called said "I'm sorry we are booked up!". I can only imagine that's what Joseph and Mary heard as they got to Bethlehem for the census. Sometimes in life, we have so much going on that we don't have room for one more thing but I pray we always have room in our lives for Christ and a simple way to do that is to make Him first in our life! We should not be trying to "fit Him in" but we should make sure we are "fit for Him!". As we celebrate His Birth, may we accept Him as our Lord and Savior by repenting of our sin and letting Him be first in our life! Merry Christmas, may your celebration be blessed! peace, tom
Luke 2:6 NASB "While they were there, the time came for her to give birth."I remember it well! Today's verse, while simple as it is, speaks of Jesus' Birth! As I held her hand and told her to breath, it was time for our first daughter to be born. It was an exciting and yet scary time. The birth of a child can bring so many emotions like joy, happiness, hope, and of course fear. Fear regarding how we would handle having a child to raise. I can't imagine what Joseph and Mary were thinking that night as they knew the Savior of the world was being born unto them. The thoughts that must have been running through their minds, how will they handle His Birth and Life. I wonder if we have the same thoughts when it comes to allowing Jesus into our life. I can share that Jesus brings hope, joy, happiness, and even some pain along the way but it is all worth it to let the birth of our Savior come into our world. The shepherds rejoiced, the Wisemen wanted to meet Him, and I ask, is it time for Jesus to be born into our life?! peace, tom
Deuteronomy 16:17 NASB "Everyone shall give as he is able, in accordance with the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you."As I walk the aisle, I realized what she would want the most is... Today's Word speaks about giving as we are able and that comes from the Lord! Each year at this time, I find myself trying to find that perfect gift for my wife. The one that will surprise her and make her Christmas morning the best that it can be. So, as I walked the aisles of different stores, it occurred to me that the perfect gift to give her was already given by God. That Gift was His Son, I can't top that! What I can give her is a more godly man, husband and friend and that gift needs no wrapping but an unwrapping of the layers of worldly behavior. Guys, stop searching for that perfect gift and give her more of us, honest and open and truthful and simply love on her like God loves on us! peace, tom
James 5:16 NASB "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much.""It was me!" Today's Word is about honesty, prayer and what both of them can accomplish! As the foreman stood at the doorway, he asked a simple question "who did it?". I had two choices, lie or tell the truth. I told the truth and had to face the result of my mistake. I knew that what I had done was going to cost the company but I knew I needed to tell the truth. God's Word says that the Truth will set us free so trying to hide from the Truth will only lead us into further trouble. Coming clean means exactly that, we come away clean from our mistakes, our failings, our sin. Sure I lost a day's pay but that was better than walking around with guilt for causing the error and for lying! As we face the birth of Christ, may we find that the Truth will set us free. The Truth being we need Christ in our lives, and that's no lie! peace, tom
1 Peter 4:10 NASB "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God."He could have said "no"! Today's verse speaks about receiving a gift, a special gift and using it to help others! He had worked nights, was exhausted and was just heading to bed when I called him for some help. He could have said no but instead he came right away and helped me finish the project were I needed some help. Each of us have been given a special gift from God whether we want to admit it or not. Maybe it's plumbing knowledge or electrical knowledge, auto repair or the ability to see a problem and get it fixed, or it may simply be to listen and encourage at a needy time, the key is using it for the glory of God. So, what is our gift and how are we using it to serve one another? As we head to Christmas, maybe the best gift we can give is ourselves to others, Jesus did! peace, tom
|
Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
January 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed