Pastor Tom's Daily Devotional

Exodus 15:23-25 (NKJV) Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" 25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet... What a beautiful picture of our lives before the cross, and after.  Here we are in life, bitter with sin, and getting more bitter each day.  People say they enjoy sinning, but deep within, sin pulls us down, and at times, it seems like there is no way to get back up.  Thank God for Jesus and what He did on the cross for us! You see, when Moses heard the people complaining, he cried out to the Lord.  God could have told Moses so many things, but He showed him a tree and He said to cast the tree into the water, and the water would become sweet.   So it is for us.  It is when we lo...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NKJV) To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. As we read today’s verses, we can see that this is so true.  Life has its ups and downs; its days of great victory and its days of trial.  But what I have found out is that when we put God in charge of our lives, He helps us get through those rough times.  He promi...

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV) If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. God is looking for a separate people; a people set apart unto Himself; a special people that will not get caught up in the things of this world, but will be a treasure unto Him.  In this verse, we see God talking to us, and not to the evil ones in the world.  He is saying, “If my people …”  That is me and you!  We are the people of God, and if we, the people of God, are doing things that are not pleasing to Him, then we need to change some stuff or we are not going to see healing in our land. If you read the book of Daniel, when he came to pray to God, He did not say that it is everyone else’s fault.  He said, “We have sinned.”  He included himself in the sins of the nation, and here God is telling us to do the same...

Ruth 1:16-17 (NKJV) But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me." These are some powerful verses of Scripture.  Here we have Ruth, a Moabite woman, whose father-in-law, brother-in-law and husband have all died.  She has a chance to go home, but she sees something special in her mother-in-law, Naomi.  She sees something that makes her want to stay with her instead of going back to her own land. I think about us as Christians.  Are people seeing things in our lives that make them desire our Jesus?  Do they see love coming out of us?  Do they see forgiveness?  Are our words seasoned with salt, or do they hear the same things they hear in th...

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...