Pastor Tom's Daily Devotional

2 Kings 20:19 (NLTSE) Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "This message you have given me from the LORD is good." For the king was thinking, "At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime." This story always amazes me.  King Hezekiah was just approached by the prophet Isaiah and asked what he had shown to the people that came from Babylon.  He said, “I showed them everything.”  Isaiah said that all that he showed them would be taken away, and that his children would be taken as well.  Then King Hezekiah makes this statement: "At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime."  I do not know about you, but I want it better for my children, not worse!  I want them to have more blessings in their lives than I had.  I do not want them taken into captivity, or for any harm to come to them.  It is the same way with our Heavenly Father.   He wants the very best for us, for our children, and for every generat...

Mark 8:29 (NKJV) He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ." What a question!  “Who do you say that I am?”  The way we see and perceive Jesus creates the faith that we will have in Him.  You might say, “What do you mean?”  Well think of it.  Do you see Him as your Healer today?  Do you believe Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him”?  Do you believe that God anointed Jesus to heal people, and that He can, and wants to, heal you today? Do you believe that Jesus is your Provider?  Do you believe that the second part of John 10:10 is for you?  It says, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Do you believe that ...

Genesis 1:1 (NKJV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. What an amazing statement!  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  It does not say, “I hope God did.”  It sure does not show God trying to prove that He did.  It just says that He did it!  One thing is sure, and that is, that God is sure of Himself.  We need to just believe it His way, and everything will work out. When you think about what this verse has in it, it is truly amazing.  God created everything that we can see (and the things that we cannot see) with His Word.  He made the stars, the planets, and the moons that circle the planets.  He made every living thing, from humans to animals to angelic beings.  He made it all! God, our heavenly Father, is truly amazing, and one day we will share in this wonder of His.  It says in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered in...

John 14:27 (AMP) Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled]. His peace, the peace of our Lord Jesus, is truly amazing.  It does not matter what you are going through.  When you stop and put your mind on Him, His peace fills you up.  I have found that many times I get myself all wound up for nothing, and then I am all kinds of fried out.  But when I get smart and I get my mind on Him, it all comes together. In this verse, Jesus tells us that the peace that He is going to give us is not like the peace that this world gives.  It is a very different kind of peace.  The world gives peace that lasts for a moment, but the peace that God gives us is a peace that lasts for eterni...

Proverbs 17:22 (NKJV) A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. Living this scripture is not always easy, but it is always good.  I remember as a kid that my mom would say, ”You need to take your medicine,” and I would close my mouth so tight and say, “No, I do not want to!”  She would try to pry my mouth open, and finally she would call my dad, and then I better open my mouth.  It is funny, but in this verse we need to do the same thing. Take your medicine.  What is the medicine we take?  It is a merry heart.  This verse shows us that if we have a merry heart, it works like medicine to our being.  When we are grumpy, and do not have a cheerfulness about us, it dries us up.  You might say, “Well, I do not feel like it,” or “I feel like I am just faking it.”  At first, that is how you are going to feel, but as you continue to let joy and happiness rise up in you, it will take over and even bec...

Proverbs 27:17 (NKJV) As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. This is such a powerful verse, that I want us to look at it from a few other translations: Proverbs 27:17 (NLT) As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17 (MSG) You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 (TLB) A friendly discussion is as stimulating as the sparks that fly when iron strikes iron. Proverbs 27:17 (CEV) Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other. Proverbs 27:17 (NCV) As iron sharpens iron, so people can improve each other. When a couple of people get together, it helps them to sharpen one another.  To me, this is why church is so valuable.  When we get together with other believers in a group setting under the anointing of God, Holy Spirit sparks fly! I have had times of just sitting with another person, and it caused me to look within and say, “Man, ...

Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. God’s Word gives us the ABC’s to achieving success in life, and it is found in this verse.  If we would take time each day to meditate on God’s Word, the Bible says that the things of life will work out.  One translation says it like this: “We will deal wisely in the affairs of life.”  I like that! We want to do God’s will each and every day, but the things of this world (and the way we think) get in the way.  When we let our minds get filled with Him, and think about Him and His Word, victory comes.  I know that I love God so much, but when I get busy with life, or worry sets in, I kind of drift with my mind.  Here He tells us to think about His Word day and night, and it will guid...

1 John 2:15-17 (NKJV) 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. One thing that we should desire more than anything is the love of the Father.  If there is anything that displeases God, we should avoid it, because our heart is for Him.  I love my wife, so I do not go out of my way to do things that hurt her.  I look for things that will bless her. Here, God tell us not to love the world’s system, or the spirit of the age.  He also tells us what some of these things are: “The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” Think about it.  God wants the best for us, and He wants us to live the abundant life.  He ...

Psalm 139:7-10 (NKJV) 7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. God, our Heavenly Father, is everywhere.  Perhaps that may worry some people, but one thing we need to know is that He is everywhere to help and bless us.  God, our Father, is not like some earthly fathers that are looking for their kids to make a mistake.  No, He is looking to see all the good things we do! When we understand that God sees us through Christ, it changes everything.  Christ is perfect, and God sees me through Christ’s perfection.  It is like God wears red colored glasses, so every time He sees me, He sees me washed in the blood of Jesus. What this does to us is it gives us the freedom to get t...