You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4, NIV) Life is hard. I can’t begin to imagine how much harder it would be without knowing that God is with…
Keep me safe, O God, I’ve run for dear life to you. I say to God, “Be my Lord!” Without you, nothing makes sense. (Psalm 16:1-2) Like all of you, I have so many friends and family who are not saved. I’ve had countless conversations with several of them about…
O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! (Psalm 8:1, Holy Bible, New King James).
Good, better, best–comparative terms in the English language. If I like something, I say it is good. If I compare two items, I choose the better. If I judge three or more, I select the best. When I declare the glory of God, none of these comparatives suffice. This psalm describes God as excellent. He is matchless, unbeatable, unconquerable, and undefeated. His glory is beyond comparison.
Prayer: Lord, my Lord, Your name is beyond description. It is higher than the highest, deeper than the deepest, wider than the widest, incomparable. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore
Don’t stop meeting together with other believers, which some people have gotten into the habit of doing. Instead, encourage each other, especially as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25, Common English Bible)
This admonition written to the Hebrew Christians about 64 A.D. is still relevant today. Many people claim to be Christians but prefer to enjoy weekend sports. Some say church is boring. Others say they don’t believe in organized religion. Modern research has proved that group singing improves health. Other studies say people who meet with other like-minded people are more likely to be content. This works both ways. Your attendance is a blessing to others and their presence encourages you.
Instead of chanting for your favorite sports team today, try praising God in His sanctuary. If this is your worship day, be there. Keep on going.
Prayer: Lord, there are many places I could be today, but I choose to attend a worship service to honor You. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7, Holy Bible, King James Version)
“Take a deep breath,” my cardiologist says at each checkup. He skillfully moves a stethoscope and listens to the rhythmic heartbeat that declares life is present. Next he says, “Now regular breathing.” The cardiologist doesn’t stop there. He reads the electrocardiogram to see if my heart rhythms are regular.
When death claims my human body, my soul, the greatest treasure, will live forever.
Prayer: Eternal God, When my life has no earthly presence, my soul will live eternally with you. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore
So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. (Luke 9:6, Holy Bible, New King James)
Healing. We all need it from time to time. From nature taking care of small scrapes and bruises to miraculous events, healing is necessary.
St. Luke doesn’t specify the types of healing accomplished from town to town, only that the apostles healed in every town they preached. What about emotional healing? External or internal, physical or emotional, healing is still available today.
Prayer: Lord, I commit my physical and spiritual weaknesses to You . I need healing that only You can give. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore
And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.” So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz. (2 Kings 20:10-11, New King James Version)
Today, February 2, 2017 is a day in the United States that has been highlighted by Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog who supposedly predicts the beginning of spring by his shadow. What began as a local fictitious fable in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has continued about 130 years. But there is a true story of a time about 700 years before Christ when a shadow became a miraculous sign.
The prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and told him to set his affairs in order because he was going to die. Hezekiah made things right, so God told Isaiah to go back and tell Hezekiah he would live. This time Hezekiah asked for a sign that God had extended his life. Isaiah asked the king which direction he wanted the sundial of Ahaz, the official timepiece of that day, to move. King Hezekiah asked for it to go backward by ten degrees. Based on scientific data, we know this backward shadow of ten degrees has affected time forty minutes since that day.
As you pass through life—one minute at a time—will you cast a shadow that will be a time changer for at least one person?
Prayer: Lord, I’m not asking You to change universal time for me. All I want is to make my life count so that something good I’ve done will overshadow others and bless them. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore
Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. (Matthew 12:13, Holy Bible, King James Version) Jesus saw a man who needed healing. He spoke to the man, told him what to do, and the…
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
When God told Moses to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness, He gave him specific instructions right down to each hook and decoration. Because it foreshadowed so many things in God’s plan of salvation, it had to be exactly right.
The Israelites had never built something like this before. It had to be sturdy enough to withstand the desert winds, yet it had to be portable, able to be dismantled quickly, when God’s cloud moved. They probably had no idea how to construct such a building.
So, God gave them complete directions. He told Moses, “See that you make it after the pattern.” There would be no arguments about doing it any other way. No questions would arise about the colour of curtains or placement of furniture. It was all designed by God.
The Lord had a plan for us to follow if we are to be the building He wants us to be. We must accept His plan of salvation as laid down in His Word. He said He was the way, the truth and the life, and so we must come through Him.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for giving your life, and providing a way that we could be reconciled to the Father through you.
Devotion by Anne Johnston