Pastor Tom's Daily Devotional

Judges 17:6 (NKJV) In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25 (NKJV) In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. These verses can be so scary, because if people do not have the Holy Spirit in them, or upon them like these Old Testament people, then there could be sin in the camp.  You see, without the restraint of the Holy Spirit, man will gravitate to his own fleshy nature, instead of to God.  We see this within children.  Left to themselves, children will lie, steal, disobey, and more.  But when they are disciplined properly, they will grow up, be blessed, and have a good long life. Man has the fallen "adamic" nature within him, and will go towards that nature until the Word of God gets into his heart and mind, and he is born again.  The Spirit of God will convict us and show us what is right and wrong. The Word of God has this power w...

John 15:12 (NKJV) This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. When Jesus says that something is a commandment, we know that He is not just suggesting it, but it is something that He wants us to do.  The commands of God are not to hurt us, but to bless us.  Wherever we see that God tells us something as a command, He is looking to get a window open in our lives, so that He can pour us out a blessing. In this verse, the Bible teaches us that love is not something that we can choose to do if we would like, but that it is a command for us to live by.  God wants Christians to be different than the people of the world.  He does not want us being a bunch of gossipers and backbiters, but people that believe the best of one another.  He wants us to go the extra mile in love for each other. If we choose to live by God's command of love, it will protect us from what the enemy wants to bring against us.  Satan has no p...

Romans 5:19-21 (NKJV) For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul wraps up this great teaching with a bang.  He shows us what we received because of Adam.  Again let me say, it was not good.  Because of Adam, we received condemnation, disobedience, sin, death, and eternal damnation.  But because of Jesus, we received redemption, life, health, joy, peace, and eternity with Him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Sin might be strong, but like verse 20 says here, “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.”  Grace is so much more powerful than sin!  Grace, God’s undeserved favor, is so much greater than what Adam did. ...

Ephesians 6:18 (NKJV) Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. The last part of this great armor that the Lord has given to us is our prayer life.  As we take time to pray each day, it is a protection in our lives.  It might not be one specifically mentioned as a piece of armor, but it is still so important! Here it says to pray always .  In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 it says, “Pray without ceasing.”  “Well,” you might say, “how in the world do I do that?  How do I go to work, and all the other things I have to do in the course of a day, and pray without stopping?”  What I believe these verses are saying is to have an attitude of prayer .  There are so many types and ways to pray, and we can use them throughout the day.  Let me give you a few. There is the prayer of praise and worship, the prayer of petition and supplicatio...

Ephesians 6:17 (NKJV) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God Now, here we are with our offensive weapon.  You see, every piece of the armor that we have put on so far has been defensive.  They have protected each part of us.  Now we are given a sword: The sword of the Spirit.  The Bible tells us that this weapon is the Word of God . As we get the Word into our heart and speak it with our mouth, as we take God’s Word and make it sharp within us, it causes the enemy to flee. Look at how it states it in Hebrews 4:12-13, “For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” God’s Word on our lips in fait...

Ephesians 6:17 (NKJV) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. “Get your head covered, it is cold outside!”  How many remember your mom or dad saying that to you?  Well, it is the same here.  We need to get our heads covered.  The enemy is always looking to get a thought-bomb into our mind.  He wants to bring doubt and unbelief.  He knows that if he can get us to doubt God’s Word, he can defeat us. In this verse, it tells us to take the “helmet of salvation.”  Our salvation is the most powerful of all gifts that God has given to us.  We are saved because of what Jesus did on the cross.  When Jesus’ disciples came back from preaching the Gospel, they were all excited because of all the miracles that they had witnessed, yet Jesus gets them right on track again.  He said in Luke 10:20, “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rej...