Pastor Tom's Daily Devotional

Nehemiah 8:10 (NKJV) Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Many times in our lives we do not feel too joyful, but here the scripture says that the joy of the Lord is our strength.  When you feel like you have no joy in your heart, lean on Him and let His joy overflow you.   His joy will carry you no matter what is going on in your life.  You can have all the powers of hell raising their ugly head at you, and yet still have a smile on your face and joy in your heart. I think of the Apostle Paul who had so many tribulations come against him, yet in the book of Philippians he talks over and over about joy.  Let us look at a few of these verses: Philippians 1:4, “Always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy.” Philippians 1:25, “And being confident...

Psalm 27:4 (NKJV) One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple. Many times in life we go after things, but this scripture states that all we need is one thing.  What is that “One Thing” that we should desire over anything?  What is that “One Thing” that should burn in our hearts?  I know for me, it is to know Him.  I have found that when I put Him first, everything just seems to work out. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  As we seek Him first and make Him the main part of our lives, it just seems that everything comes together. So today, make a decision to make Him the “One Thing” that you desire above anything.  Fall in love with Him, and enjoy His goodness.  Your Heavenly Father loves you ...

1 John 4:7-8 (NKJV) 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. I want us to look at the last part of verse 8, where it says: “God is Love.”  It does not say that God uses Love.  No, it says that He is Love.  He is Love in all that He does and all that He is.  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are Love.  Some believe that God uses love like He uses faith, but this verse makes it pretty clear that all God does is because of His Love.  He created you and me as an act of love.  When Jesus walked on the earth, all that He did was because of His great love for us.  When the Holy Spirit moved upon the waters in Genesis, He was getting the earth ready for His children, because of His love. Sometimes our little minds cannot really comprehend this amazing love, so what we need to do is accept it by faith.  See you...

John 1:1-5 (NKJV) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Jesus is our life.  Jesus is our light.  He is our everything.  When we fall in love with Jesus and see Him for Who He is, the One who created all things by His Word, it opens us up to see the fullness of the Godhead in Him. I am always amazed when I think that the Creator laid down everything to become like us, so that we can become like Him.  What amazing love, forgiveness, and acceptance.  He loves me just the way I am, with no strings attached.  He accepts me for me, not who I am going to become, but for who I am. He was in the beginning.  He was not created.  He existed before all ...

1 John 4:4 (NKJV) You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. If we could ever really get within us what this verse truly is saying, it would change us forever.  The Greater One lives within us!  Not upon us, like we see in the Old Testament, but really in us.  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live in us.  They are not there to do nothing, but to help us in our course of life. They want us to live the abundant life that Jesus promised us in John 10:10.  He said, “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.” Jesus wants His words fulfilled in our lives, and He is the promise that they will be.  We need to stop looking at ourselves as just a nobody, or like the world wants to say, “Just a dirt ball.”  We need to see ourselves as children of the Most High Go...

Psalm 55:22 (NKJV) Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. Have you ever gone through a day (or a week) when you are discouraged, and it seems like nothing is going right?  Well, be of good cheer, because you are not the only one.  When we look through the Bible, we see many of the great men of faith having times of discouragement.  Moses had it with the children of Israel, yet he got through it.  Elijah, after his great victory on Mount Carmel, had to fight a great bout of depression when Jezebel said that she wanted to take his life.  He said in 1 Kings 19:4, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my father’s!" Wow!  Here is this great man of God who just had this great victory over the prophets of Baal, and one lady, Jezebel, so intimidates him that he wants to die.  And it can be the same with us.  We forget what the Lord did yesterday,...