Recent Devotions
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him . ” (Psalm 37:7, ESV) Are you a good listener? Sometimes we mistake hearing as being the same as listening. We may use the words interchangeably, but there is a difference. Hearing is the perception of sound. Listening involves understanding the meaning of what is being said. When we think about our relationship with God, we want to be sure we not only hear what He says but also understand what He would have us to know. Throughout the ages, God has spoken to men and women. Sometimes it was an…
“And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Mark 15:37-38, NKJV) Have you ever passed a door that read “Authorized Personnel Only” and you wanted to open it to see what’s inside?…
For which I [Paul] suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. (II Timothy 2:9, NKJV) The apostle Paul sat in a prison cell, and not for the first time. As he penned a letter to Timothy, his beloved friend…
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“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 I am sure most of us have quoted this verse many times. We know that it is true and that it is the key to living a successful Christian life. But how often do we forget it when we are faced with trials or decisions in our lives. The promise given in the last phrase of this verse is based on us doing three things. First, we are to trust with…
“God sets the solitary in families” (Psalm 68:6, New King James Version). Have you ever been surrounded by people and yet felt isolated and lonely? A crowd can be a very lonely place. It’s a common problem in our busy. We all have lonely times in life. Our very mobile society may contribute to this. Many of us no longer live near family and childhood friends. For others, loneliness is caused by death, divorce, broken friendships, a lack of close relationships, limitations as we age, or other life events. In our crazy, rushed world, relationships also suffer because we don’t…
“Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” John 11:32. Mary had been firmly convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. She had listened to the stories from his disciples about the miracles that had been happening. She had braved the complaining from her sister and the traditions of her culture, to leave the kitchen and sit at Jesus’ feet. Listening to His teachings about the kingdom that were so different from what the scribes and Pharisees taught,…
“Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” (Romans 14:19 in the King James Version of the Holy Bible) Several years ago the ladies in our state began an intentional effort to encourage one another. The need to be uplifted is greater than it has ever been. I named it, “Operation Uplift.” The object of our devotional verse was to persuade the church at Rome to not insist on their own perspective in matters of disagreement. The word “edify” means to build up. We need to purpose in our hearts that we are going to only…
