1 Corinthians 14:33 NASB "for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace."The scene was rapidly deteriorating, things were beginning to get out of control! Today's verse is rather simple, the key is understanding the difference! As the fire began to burn out of control, crews began to show up and there he stood, taking charge calmly and giving orders in an orderly fashion. It was my first year on the fire department, when I was asked to be the chief's driver. As I stood by his side, I watched as he calmly took in the scene and began to take charge. In life, things will get crazy, sometimes even out of control but when we rely on God, we can find the peace of Christ in the midst of the storm. There's no magical formula for allowing God to take charge of our life, it takes faith that He knows whats best in each situation. As we move closer to the celebration of His Birth, things may get crazy, so let's let the peace of Christ be our guiding Light! peace, tom
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John 8:32 NASB "and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."It was getting too heavy to carry so I had to let it go! Today we read the simple Truth, and in knowing it, He will set us free! The toolbox was getting too heavy to carry, for I kept adding things to it, tools I thought I needed. Not until I did an inventory of what I really needed in there and got rid of the rest, did my load lighten. In life, many of us carry things that we need to let go of and satan is ever pressing us to keep carrying them. Jesus is the Truth and when we know the Truth, we can be set free from carrying all those needless things in our life. Things like our past sin, times we have not forgiven for being hurt, memories of where we fell short of being all that God has called us to be. As we wait to celebrate His Birth, maybe it's time we did an inventory of what we carry and don't need. Let go and let Christ set us free, would be a great slogan to hold on to as we do our life's inventory! peace, tom
1 Corinthians 2:5 NASB "so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."It was before we had cell phones or GPS systems! Today's verse speaks to us about wisdom and where the best place to get it from! While traveling, I seemed to have gotten lost so I needed to stop and ask for directions. It was a time before we could use our phones or GPS systems so I asked the first man I found. As he proceeded to tell me to turn here and there, to get where I was going, I felt that something was wrong. Sure enough, as I drove the route he told me, I found myself even more lost than before. I don't think he did it intentionally but here I was, lost again! Resting in the wisdom of men can lead us down paths that take us further away from where we need or want to go but relying on the power of God will always get us to where we are meant to be. Let's be wise out there and put our faith in God not man! We will get where we need to be! peace, tom
2 John 1:12 NASB "Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made complete."There's nothing like it! Today's verse speaks about the difference between sending a text and meeting face to face! Although we live many miles away from each other and stay in contact via text, or emails, there's nothing like meeting face to face. As we face the holiday season, many of us will have the opportunity to meet with family and friends face to face. Let's not let those moments go by without realize just how precious those moments are. Especially after having last years celebration of His Birth cloaked in the Covid pandemic, this year we can meet face to face! Find joy in those moments, treasure them in our hearts and give God the glory for our moments with family and friends this Christmas season! And Remember no talking politics or the divisions but find unity in Christ' Birth! peace, tom
Ezra 10::4 NASB "Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.”"As I put the man over my shoulder, we headed out of the house! Today's verse, while rather simple, ends with be courageous and act! While fighting a house fire, my officer and I encountered a man, he was not moving or breathing so we knew we needed to get him out and get him help. As we left the building, my officer kept encouraging me to keep moving. Walking through deep snow, carrying the weight of another man, left me beginning to struggle, but with the encouragement of my officer, I kept moving forward! When it's our responsibility to act, we need to do so and the encouragement of a friend can help us get over the hump! Be encouraged this day to have the courage to act! Remember that old line from an old song "Onward Christian soldiers! peace, tom
1 Peter 2:2 "and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation"All she wanted was the bottle! Today's verse shares with us to long for God's Word as a newborn child longs for pure milk! While babysitting our granddaughter, I had to put away anything that I was doing so I could get her bottle ready. It was feeding time and all she wanted was to drink her bottle. As I began to heat it up, the cries became louder and louder that she was ready! I wonder if we crave Gods' Word like a newborn. Focused on nothing but the pure milk to help them grow strong. The prior verse tells us to " rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander" and focus on His Word! I wonder what we need to get rid of to help us focus on His Word! Let's do a gut check and see what we need to get rid of so we can focus more on God's Word!
Psalm 103:13 NASB "Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.""I'm waiting for my dad!" Today's Word speaks about fatherhood and the respect we need to give our fathers! As I pulled into the church parking lot, there was a man and his truck, the only problem was that he had a flat tire! I asked if he needed help, his reply was that he was waiting for his father! The young man had called upon his father to come help him change his tire. He needed his father to bring a jack in order to lift the truck and change the tire. As we left the church that night, I stopped by to see how things were going and there was the father and the son, working together to get it done. I couldn't help but think of the many times I called my dad for help and how many times I called my Heavenly Father for help. A healthy respect of our fathers, especially our Heavenly Father shows what true sonship is all about. peace, tom
Romans 5:8 NASB "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."I wasn't the best worker but he still spoke up for me! Today's verse shares that even though we are sinners, Christ gave His Life for us! Let that sink in! My work wasn't the best but when the foreman spoke to his boss about filling the position of inspector, my name came up. I didn't find out till after I got the promotion, that he had gone to bat for me. I was deeply touched for we didn't exactly see eye to eye all the time. When we think of the sin we've done in our life, not giving our best, putting ourselves first, we need to think that at our worst is when Jesus loved us enough to give His Life so we can be forgiven. That is a staggering thought to hold on to as we do this thing called life. At our worst, Jesus loves us the most! Let's not take that for granted. Let's live for Him and share Him with others, even when they are at their worst! peace, tom
1 Corinthians 15:58 EVS "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."We will need a bigger tractor! The Word for today shares that we are to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord! The first tractor he brought wasn't big enough to move the stump, so he decided to go get a bigger one. While trying to clear a new driveway for a customer, we needed to remove an old tree stump. We had dug all around it, cut as many roots as possible and brought the tractor up to pull it out but it was so deeply rooted, we needed a bigger tractor! I can't help but wonder how deep our roots are in Christ that if someone tried to move us off our belief in Him, we would remain immovable and steadfast. The only way to be immovable is to go deep with Christ, reading God's Word, staying in prayer, walking by the Spirit. And getting a group of godly men around us to help us during times of struggle and rejoicing in the victories. Don't let the world pull us out of loving Christ! 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."It simply said to "try it on a small spot to see what it will do!" Today's verse speaks to us about trust and testing whether or not it is from God! While working with a new product, to clean a stain, the instructions told me to check a small area to make sure it would work and not hurt or destroy where I was using it! Testing to see if things are from God or man, is a great way to make sure we aren't going to hurt our walk with Him. Sadly, there are those out there that are looking to destroy what we have in Christ. Hanging out with the wrong crowd can lead us down paths that will not be good or help us grow. One way to test is to watch and see the fruit of their lives, and if the fruit is good or rotten so let's be careful out there, cause no one likes rotten fruit! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
April 2024
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