Recent Devotions
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (II Corinthians 5:17, NLT) Several years ago, one of my Sunday school students had it all backwards. Before she began attending church with her parents, she had become involve in some things she knew were wrong. Bad habits and past actions weighed her down. I truly believe she wanted to serve God but, in her mind, she felt she needed to straighten out all her problems before she would be “good enough” to be saved. Somehow, I…
But why do you call Me “Lord, Lord,” and not do the things which I say? (Luke 6:46, NKJV) The words of an old hymn sometimes come to my mind and I begin to sing. The refrain goes like this: Trust and obey, for there’s no other way To be…
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” Life is uncertain. The winds and waves of everyday situations and experiences can leave us struggling to cope with the changes that…
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“In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.” (Psalm 94:19 in the King James Version of the Holy Bible.) Your thought pattern will affect your spirit. If you find yourself bogged down and depressed, start thinking about the good things God has blessed you with. One songwriter wrote, “Count your blessings name them one by one.” Get out a pencil and a piece of paper and write them down. Soon your spirit will be lifted and you will feel the exhilaration the Psalmist felt. He too had to change his thought pattern. In verse 18,…
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Proverbs 28:13, NIV) Forgiving others becomes second nature to most of us. We know that people make mistakes and sometimes it’s easier to forgive and move on. Forgiving ourselves can be a different story. Living with guilt causes us to carry a burden that God did not intend for us. We do not have the power to overcome guilt on our own. Only God can help us to truly forgive ourselves of whatever shame we may be holding on to. Prayer: Lord, help…
“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” Prov. 10:19 Is there any one of us that cannot remember times when we have spoken without thinking carefully about our words? I think it is a human tendency to just open our mouths and let whatever we are thinking come out. I can think of many times when I have wished I could turn back the time and not say some of the things that I did. Once the words are spoken, it is almost impossible to take them back. We can…
“And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?” (Nehemiah 4:2) When Nehemiah set out to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, it was not an easy task. The walls had been destroyed 152 years before that and many thought it was impossible. Nehemiah and those helping rebuild the walls were met with opposition from many sides. They faced ridicule, threat of…
