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1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV "Let all that you do be done in love." They come running! Today's verse, while short, speaks volumes! Each time they come over, they run to us and hug us and give us kisses. Grandchildren are a real blessing as they share love no matter what! My wife and I get to enjoy love, pure love from our grandchildren. They share a hug, a kiss, or even when they grab our legs and just hold on. I am amazed at the love of small children, whether they are our own or others. As we were getting ready to start church on Sunday, a little girl from our congregation came up and hugged my wife. It seemed to last forever as she just didn't want to let my wife go. Pure love, like the love of Jesus shown in a simple hug. Maybe we need to learn more from our children about how to love like Jesus, unconditionally! Hug someone today! peace, tom
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Romans 8:31 NASB "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?"Dealing with disappointment is never easy! Today's Word is about saying to these things and to ourselves that if God is for us, what does it matter! The final game of the season was upon us but the reality was that I wasn't able to play for most of the season due to some complications from the meds I was taking. I couldn't even go to the rink because the truth was that I was disappointed that I couldn't play. Sure, I should have gone to support my team but I just couldn't find the courage to face my disappointment. As I prayed about my disappointment, I ran across today's verse and came to the reality that if God is for us, which He is, then my disappointment is nothing! There are those among us dealing with disappointment to a greater degree than mine, and maybe we are to share the love of Christ with them as we know their pain. Let's help each other get past the disappointment by sharing the love of Christ and keep moving forward! peace, tom
Luke 21:26 NASB "people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken."Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes not! Today's Word speaks about what is to come, how the heavens will be shaken! Have you ever tried to get the rest of the ketchup out of the bottle, shaking it to get that last little bit out?! Or how about when you have a flat tire and the car begins to shake as you drive on the rim?! Shaking things up can be both good and bad, depending on what's being shaken and how. There will be a time coming when the world will surprised at the shaken of the heavens, when Jesus will return but for now, maybe we need to shake our lives up a bit. We've become like robots, just doing the same things over and over with no thought as to why. Let's shake things up by experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in ways we never thought possible. Get ready and hang on! Should be exciting! peace, tom
Hebrews 10:26 NASB "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins"I had to let him go! Today's Word is about repeated sin! I had showed him the right way to do it about five times and yet he kept doing it the wrong way. While being the manager of a store, one of the employees under my care, kept doing it wrong. I sat him down in my office and explained to him the right way to do it and asked why he kept doing it his way. His response floored me and I knew it was time to let him go. His response was simply "I don't care, I'm doing it my way!". If his way would have worked, I was open to a new way but his way was causing more trouble so I had to let him go. Sadly, God will let us go if we continue to do things our way instead of His. We need to ask ourselves why we keep doing it our way and not His! peace, tom
Jeremiah 17:9 NASB "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?"I had to shake my head again! Today's Word speaks about the heart and how it is more deceitful than all else! As I watched another program on how "drag queens" were allowed to dance before little children as parents watched, I had to shake my head in disbelief. It was disgusting to see what was being displayed upon little children who didn't know better but even more disgusting to see how the parents were laughing and allowing it to happen. When we don't know the Lord and His Truth, the things of the world seem ok but the reality is that its just plain wrong. We love the sinners but hate the sin and when we allow our children to be subject to things that they are too young to understand, we have a problem. Simply put, that problem is sin! Let's not be afraid to speak the Truth in love! peace, tom
James 1:3 NASB "knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."I kept bending nails! Today we learn about the testing of our faith and what it produces! I kept bending the nails, each time I tried to nail the board! I was working with an LVL, a layer of wood glued together which made it harder than normal wood. With each nail I put in, and then hammered, the nail bent. I had to get it nailed so I finally drilled a hole first and then the nail went right in. Sometimes in life we need to change things up when things get hard. To keep trying and not getting anywhere is testing but if we get wisdom from God's Word, we may just find a different way of doing things. Don't keep bending the nails in our life but try a different way, try His Way and we will pass the test! peace, tom
1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV "But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."We've all heard it but are we doing it?! Today's verse is about taking care of our bodies and keeping it under control! We've all heard it, if we are going to talk the talk, we need to walk the walk! Simply means that our life should reflect what we are saying. If we say we want to lose weight but keep on eating that chocolate cake, then we aren't really walking the walk. Or how about saying we love Jesus but not loving our enemies, then we aren't walking the walk. We can have it both ways but that's not truly talking the talk and walking the walk. I had to examine my life when I looked into the mirror and realized that my body didn't fit the walking the walk after saying I wanted to lose weight. I had to examine my life when I said that I love Jesus and didn't love my enemies, how about you?! peace, tom
2 Timothy 4:7 NASB "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith"Oh, that we may be able to say that! Today's Word is about how we finish, how we have fought the good fight and kept the faith! Saying goodbye is never easy. When those we love pass from this life to the next, we are left with a feeling of sadness. We wish we could have one more day, one more hour, one more hug but when life is over on this earth, it is over for now. I say for now because knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior means we will see them again. Each of us face death as 60 seconds a minute and what we do during our time here on earth will allow us to say that we have either fought the good fight or not, finished the course or not, kept the faith or not. What we say will be determined by how we live, so let's keep the faith and finish well no matter what! peace, tom
2 Chronicles 15:7 NASB "But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is a reward for your work."I thought about it! Today's Word speaks about working harder, and there will be a reward! I thought about giving up for the job of cleaning it was getting harder and harder! I was cleaning up some old tools, the rust had taken over where the tools were no longer useful. I thought about throwing them away and going to purchase new ones but as I worked harder, the more rust came off. Sometimes the job before us may seem like it's impossible, but if we remain faithful, we will see the reward for our hard work. By the end of cleaning all the rust off, the tools looked new again. That's what Jesus does with us, He works hard at getting all the "rust" off of us so that we can be new again. Let's not give up on the tasks Jesus has called us to, for one day, if we work hard, we will get the reward for our hard work, maybe not in this life but definitely in the next! peace, tom
1 Thessalonians 5:17 NASB "pray without ceasing"We really do it! Today's verse, while short, speaks volumes! No matter what or where we are, we are doing it. We pray together, my wife and I. First thing in the morning, last thing at night and all throughout our day whether together or not! We pray for our daughters, their husbands, our grandchildren and we pray for those that God has placed upon our hearts. We pray for those on our church prayer list, for those who have asked us to pray, we really pray without ceasing. It's not that hard, it's just talking to God! I love praying with my wife, for I get to hear what's on her heart and then I can pray for her and what's on her heart! We pray over our meal whether home or away no matter who we are having dinner with! Prayer, talking to God about what's on our heart is something we can do all the time, that's if we take the time to talk to Him. Why not talk to Him today, all day and see what He says back! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
March 2023
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