Pastor Tom's Daily Devotional

Psalms 23:1 (NKJV) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. What a simple yet profound statement.  The Lord Jesus is our loving shepherd, and our caring Savior.  A good shepherd goes all out for his sheep.  He protects them, watches over them, and cares for them. When a sheep is sick, the shepherd is there to anoint them, to bring comfort to them, and to put oil on them to make them feel better.  Our Jesus anoints our head with oil and takes care of us.  Jesus is 100% God and 100% human, so He knows what we feel and what we are going through.  He is not there to judge us, but to love us and help us. A good shepherd is there to make sure that the sheep have good clean water to drink, and our Jesus makes sure that our cup overflows.  Our great God did not just make enough for us; He makes it run over!  Think of this: The universe overflows with stars and planets and comets.  Our seas overflow with fish and all the wonders of th...

Genesis 39:2 (NKJV) The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. When God is with us, or for us, how can we be anything but blessed?  Here we see an Old Testament man who lived under the blessings of God, and because he did what the Word says, the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man. What is true success?  If we look at this verse, we see that Joseph was a slave living under the roof of a man named Potiphar.  Potiphar was an officer of Pharaoh, a captain of the guard, and an Egyptian.  Well, how can you be a slave and still be successful?  The answer here is that "God was with him." This is the key to true success: God being with us.  It is being loved by God, our Father, and knowing that He is not only with us, but in us.  He also promised us that He would never leave us or forsake us.  That word never means never!  Some might say, “Well, I do n...

1 John 5:4 (NKJV) For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. We are world overcomers!  Not because of who we are or some great feat that we have accomplished, but because we are born of God.  When we made Jesus the Lord and Savior of our lives, we were born into His family: the family of God. All God says for us to do is believe it.  The second part of this verse states: “…this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”  Our faith is our belief of Who God is, what He has, and what He can do.  Our faith is our knowing that God is for us and not against us.  Our faith is our trust that He has made us world overcomers.  So again, it is not about us, but it is about Christ in us, the hope of glory. Today, see yourself as one who overcomes the world, and not one who is overtaken by the world.  See yourself as the victorious one, because you are in Him. ...

Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. When we look at this verse, it truly is beyond words that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that there is.  It does not say here that God has given us one or two blessings, but every spiritual blessing that there is. I know there are some who say, “Yes, these blessings are for when we get to heaven one day.”  Oh no, these are for now, and for the eternals! This verse says, "Who has blessed us," which is past tense, so it means that it is done!  I have been blessed with His joy, peace, and all His provisions.  I have been blessed with His life inside of me.  I have been blessed with healing, the gifts of the Spirit, and everything that I will need to live a victorious life for Him while I am alive here on planet earth. God is not holding everything until I...

Romans 1:15-17 (NKJV) So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith.” A footnote on the word "salvation" states that the Greek and Hebrew words translated "salvation" imply the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and health (soundness). The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto deliverance.  It is the power of God unto safety and preservation. It is the power of God unto healing and health. This is the Gospel that we have!  It is a Gospel of power, and a Gospel of healing.  When people ask for prayer, lay your hand on them and believe God for a miracle.  When your child is sick, pray the power of the Gospel...

John 17:3 (NKJV) And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. Many people have different definitions of eternal life, and I will say many are correct.  To live forever, to live in heaven, and to live with Jesus are all accurate.  But this verse says that eternal life is to know God. What a thought!  When we know God, it gives us His fullness of life like nothing else.  I am not talking about an acquaintance with God, but knowing Him; being intimate with Him.  God, our Father, could have called Himself by so many names, but He chose, from the lips of Jesus, to be called Father . God is the greatest Father that there is, and to know Him does nothing but bless us our entire life.  When Adam was in the Garden of Eden, God came down in the cool of the day to fellowship with His man and woman. God longs for us, and desires intimate times with us.  Just like any good earthly father lo...

Romans 3:23-24 (NKJV) …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Many people read verse 23, and never read before and after it.  The Apostle Paul is showing that all people under Adam have sinned and cannot ever have what God has for them, which is His glory.  But verse 24 shows us that we are freely justified by His undeserved grace, and that He has given us our redemption in Christ Jesus. Again, it is not something I am trying to earn.  God saw that we were fallen and without hope, and He gave us Jesus, Who became our substitute.  He took our place so that God, my Father, can now see us justified, or just as if I had never sinned. I am always amazed at what Jesus did for us at the cross.  Through His work at Calvary, He is now seated at the right hand of God, I have been made His very righteousness, and I am accepted in the Beloved! ...

Isaiah 54:13 (NKJV) All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. When we take time to teach our children about the things of God, and that God is their personal Father, it will change them and bless them throughout their lives.  They may be our kids, but truthfully, they are God’s kids, and we get such a short time to help introduce them to their real Father. I have found that when we talk about God in the morning during breakfast, or pray with them before they go to sleep, or even when we are on a trip and we say things like, “Wow! Look at that sunset that God, your Father, made!” or “Look at that mountain that your Father made just for you! You must be really special to Him!” it instills within them who their real Father is, and it brings such peace into their little hearts.  As they grow, their personal relationship with their heavenly Father will get dearer and dearer to them. So take today’s verse, and also...

Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 (AMP) You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. Perfect peace is so hard to even imagine in this world that we live in, yet here is a promise from the Word of God to help us.  The world offers a very selfish peace, but God’s peace is perfect. There are times that we need to just stop, take a deep breath, and say, “Father, I need you, and I need this perfect peace that you promised in this verse.”  The key to this verse is being a doer of it, and the way you become a doer of it is to have your mind stayed on Him.  That is the condition to living in perfect peace. Too many times, we are listening to the cares of this world and all that is going on around us, but what w...