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Mark 9:24 NASB "Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”"Let's be honest, there's always that little bit of doubt in us that can keep us from moving forward! Today's verse shares about a man's belief and his prayer for his unbelief! It was a dark and smoke filled the building when we began our search for the occupants. With each step forward, I felt that uncertainty, that unbelief that we would find them or even get out alive ourselves. Having a strong officer lead us, let my unbelief, my fear fall by the wayside and found the courage to move forward. In life, doubt will come, it can even hold us back from moving forward but with our faith in Jesus Christ, and our full belief in God, all things are possible! Let today be the day we ask God to help our unbelief, and follow the best leader, Jesus Christ, so we can move forward! peace, tom
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Romans 12:2 NASB "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."I had done it that way for years so when the new guy came and showed me a different way, I needed to change the way I did it! No one likes change but many times we become so set in our ways, that change seems like a dirty word! Today's Word speaks about not conforming to the world standard but being changed by the renewing of our minds! Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean we have to too! Going against the grain can and will cause slivers that will hurt but I'd rather have a few slivers than end up in hell. The world is in need of God and we are the ones who are called to walk against the status quo but that means we need to be transformed by changing our mindset to where God and His Will is our top priority. The question is, are we conformed to the world or transformed by His Word?! peace, tom
Titus 2:12 ESV "training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,"My crew was less than thrilled when I announced that we were going out training, and to be honest I couldn't blame them. I didn't like to go training either! Today's verse gives us some things that we need to be trained in so we can live self-controlled, upright and godly lives! We never know the true importance of training until it comes time to put that training into action. When called to respond to a house fire, our crew was ready and with swift action, had water on the fire in a matter of minutes, we worked as a well oiled machine! Life will bring us some situations where having training beforehand will help us with the outcome, less trained people will fail when we are face to face with the struggles of life. We may not like it but training ahead of time can save our life! peace, tom
1 Timothy 4:1 NASB "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,"As the conversation continued, I knew that what he was saying just wasn't right! Today's verse is about who and what we pay attention to! I am not sure where he got his information from but I knew that what he said wasn't right. As I began to debate him on the topic, he became entrenched in his point of view and I knew that I wasn't going to change his mind. The key was that I wasn't going to go down the same road as he, for I knew the Truth. I prayed for him as I walked away, rather let God deal with him, than start an argument or fight. Knowing the Truth comes from reading God's Word, praying for the Spirit to help us understand it. Don't be misled by falsehoods, and there are many out there! Let's be careful in what we beleive! peace, tom
James 1:22 NASB "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves."Hard to believe that it was only 6 months ago we made those promises to ourselves! Today's verse speaks about being more than hearers but being doers of the Word! Six months ago, many of us made resolutions for the new year. Maybe it was to lose that extra weight, to start a new project, to finish one we started the year before, to reach out to a friend we haven't spoken to in years, or possibly to read His Word daily. Whatever resolution we made, I wonder how we are doing 6 months later? Did we just say the words and not do them? One thing about God and His Word is that He keeps it, I wonder if we can say that same thing about ourselves?! Let's be doers this day and not just hearers who deceive ourselves! peace, tom
Psalm 82:3-4 NASB "Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; Save them from the hand of the wicked."Every one of us have family who died serving our country or we know someone who did! I am sure if you asked those brave men and woman, who gave the ultimate cost, what and why they did it, they would simply reply "it was my duty, and honor to serve you and our great country!" Today's verse shares what those men and woman did, and how we should be following their example of service. You see when life becomes about us, and what we can "get out of it", we've lost the meaning of being a servant and helping those in need. As we sit around watching a parade or eating hot dogs and apple pie, may we take a moment and remember those who gave all so that we can live in freedom. Oh, and don't ever forget that Jesus gave His Life so we can live in freedom for all eternity! Have a blessed Memorial Day and serve someone today in the memory of those who gave their life serving us! peace, tom
Isaiah 1:16 NASB “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
Stop doing evil,"The pollen dust was so thick that I couldn't see out of the window! As I got into my SUV, I looked out the windshield only to realize just how dirty it was, I needed to clean it before I began to drive! Today's verse speaks about washing ourselves, making ourselves clean, removing the evil of our deeds! Simply put it shares we need to "stop doing evil"! it took some time but I finally cleaned it off, I even went so far as to put a protective coat of glass cleaner on to help keep it clean. In life, we will run into things that can make us dirty, there are even times when we engage in things that make us dirty, the key is to remove that dirt as soon as possible and that comes by repentance, asking God for forgiveness and putting on His Protection, to keep clean. "Stop doing evil", can it really be that easy, YES it can!! Let's get clean so we can see the path God is calling us to! peace, tom Titus 1:12 NASB "One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”"While having coffee with a friend, a man came up who knew the guy I was having coffee with. As my friend introduced us, he said "hey, you're the guy who..."! Today's verse shares what they thought of Cretans, and let's just say it's not a glowing review! The man I had just met had heard of me, had known some things about me and I had to wonder, what is my reputation? Did you ever wonder what people are saying about you? I pray that they don't use words like "liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons!" but the reality of today is that many of us men fit into one of those groups where our reputation is less than favorable. I wonder, when we are dead and gone, how will we be remembered? We can do something about that by living for Christ today and that means getting off our good intentions! The question is, what are people saying about us and how we live? peace, tom
Luke 6:12 NASB "Now it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer with God."Being totally honest, I have never done it all night long! Can you imagine and maybe some of you have, but spending the whole night in prayer as today's scriptures shares about Jesus?! I have spent time in prayer, even hours in prayer but spending the entire night in prayer, I have never done. Some things we find in God's Word may seem strange to us or even unbelievable but that's how our God works. He challenges us, in His Word to do the extraordinary, things that are not natural to our day to day living, things like miracles, signs and wonders in His Name. Next time we face something unbelievable, it could be time to do something unthinkable in the power of the Holy Spirit and remember the Words of our Savior, "that comes by much prayer and fasting"! peace, tom
Ephesians 6:11 NASB "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."While cleaning up my wife's car for her, I went to get the supplies I needed and there it was! Today's verse speaks some great advice for us as we face the schemes of the devil, and we will face them! I went to the shelf where I keep the car cleaning supplies and my eyes immediately fell upon the product "Armor-all" and I began to laugh to myself as I though about today's scripture. There it was, in a product to keep my wife's car looking good, a way to keep my life from the schemes of the devil - we need to armor all of ourselves with the list given to us in Ephesians 6. Anyone who has gone into battle, whether it was the military, the fire department, and even life knows the importance of armor, so let's make sure ours is on and in good condition for the battles we face. Armor all my friends! peace, tom
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Tom SEmberAuthor of Daily Devotions Archives
June 2021
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Scouse Smurf
