Pastor Tom's Daily Devotional

Acts 23:11 (NKJV) But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” In the world we have many talkers, yet so few encouragers.  Here we see Paul is going to have to give a witness of our Lord in Rome, and Jesus, the greatest encourager of all, stood by Paul and lifted him up.  In life, there are times when we get down and we need people that will lift us up.  In saying that, remember that there are people all around us who need a pat on the back or a good handshake, and encouragement. It is so easy to look at the mistakes that people make and the little things that people do wrong and major on them, but what would happen if we looked at the things people did right and majored on them? What would happen to a husband or wife if they encouraged each other instead of looking at the mistakes that are made?  What would happen i...

Mark 9:23 (NKJV) Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are   possible to him who believes.” When Jesus said all things, did He mean ALL THINGS?  Well, one thing that we have learned from the Word of God is that our Heavenly Father is not a man that He should lie.  If God said it, it is so.  So, with that in mind, we can have confidence in God and His Word. We must take the Word of God as the Word of God, and know that all things are possible from His Word.  When we look into the Word and find a scripture that promises us something, like healing, then we need to spend the time that it takes to get that Word, or seed, deep into our heart.  We need to give the Word of God the time that it needs to germinate within us. Just because we read a verse on healing does not mean it is going to grow in one day.  Remember this verse says, "All things are possible to him who believes.”  I need to get His Word into...

Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Now this is a scripture that we need to chew on!  If this is saying what I believe it is saying, then what I speak has a big part to play in my life.  I can see why this world is so negative.  It is because the devil wants people to have death in their lives.  He tries to get us to talk death over ourselves and our families.  He tries to get us to talk sickness, lack, destruction, and more.  But he has been exposed!  We see now that the power is in what we say, so we need to put a watch over our tongues.  We need to watch the words that come out of our mouths. Now, we can look at this verse and just dwell on the death part, but how about the life part?  This verse says that there can be life in our tongues.  We can speak life over ourselves, our families, and the situations in our liv...

John 15:1-2 (NKJV) I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. What an amazing and loving Heavenly Father we have!  He is always at work within us to help us grow up.  Many people look at verse two and see the words "takes away" and think that God gets rid of those who do not bear fruit.  That is not what it is saying.  This verse means that God lifts up those who are having problems bearing fruit, and He works with them. A wise farmer does not destroy his branches.  He lifts them up, cleans them, and reties them to the vine.  Our loving Father does the same thing.  He is out for our best, and will keep working with us to produce much fruit. Remember, good trees naturally bring forth good fruit.  We are good trees planted in the house of the Lord.  If you love God and y...

Matthew 5:10 (NKJV) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. We have all lived long enough to know that whatever we do, we will be criticized.  Even if you do not do anything, you will be criticized and persecuted.  I do not know about you, but I would rather be criticized for doing the right thing, than for doing the wrong thing.  I would rather be called a fool for following God, than be called a wise man for following the devil. Remember that people will persecute you, but God will always justify you. Peter gives us a great portion of scripture to prepare us for this.  In 1 Peter 4:12-19 he says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 ...