Pastor Tom's Daily Devotional

Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV) The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Yesterday we looked at the power of the Name.  Today, I want to look at the second part of this verse.  It says, "The righteous run to it and are safe."  As I look at this, I have to say that this verse is talking about us.  We see from God's Word that Jesus has made us righteous, and that through His shed blood on the cross of Calvary, my sins have been forgiven, and I have been restored to the place in Him of right standing with God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus Christ (who never sinned, and no sin was ever found in Him) was made sin with our sins and our unrighteousness.  When Pilate examined him he said, “…I find no fault in this Man.” (Luke 23:4) No sin was found in Jesus, yet my sins were placed on Him so that I can now be ...

Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV) The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The Name of Jesus, to us that believe in that Name, is a very strong place to be.  In His Name there is protection, in His Name there is provision, and in His Name there is safety and comfort. It is to the Name of Jesus that demons must bow.  It is in that Name that prayers are answered.  Let us look at a few scriptures today that show us these great truths: Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Mark 16:17 “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues.” John 14:13-14 “And what...

Psalms 139:14 (NKJV) I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. When we look at this verse, we get a full insight into what our Heavenly Father is saying to us.  We are not made from the slime of this earth, or evolved from some animal.  No, we are fearfully and wonderfully made!  We are special and loved by our Creator. He formed us and made us in His image. God, our Heavenly Father, made us like Himself; not like an ape, or frog, or whatever else they want to say we were made from.  No, our very image reflects Him.  Our very life shows us the Father.  He created us like Himself, and He loves us dearly.  He made us special and unique.  We were made to bring joy to His heart. So when the devil, or even another person, says to you, “You are no good.  You are not worth it,” do not listen to those lies.  Say, “No!  I am made in the image of...

Matthew 7:24-27 (NKJV) 24 Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. Jesus tells us here that in order build a strong house, we need to be doers of His Word.  We see in this story that the storms of life come against everyone, but those who built their house on the Rock (those who took the time to dig deep and get God’s Word in them) were able to withstand the storms when they came. Troubles come against everyone who is alive.  As one minister said: a woman came up to him after a meeting and asked...

Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NKJV) 5 Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” To have blessings in our lives, we need to trust in the Lord.  Too many times, we look to man for blessings, but the true blessings of life come from God, our Father.  He is the One who gives us the rain that we need, and the air that we breathe.  He is the One that gives us true friendship and relationship. Our Heavenly Father wants ...

Psalms 27:1 (NKJV) The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? There is so much comfort in this verse.  Our Lord is our light.  He is the One who gives us direction, even when things seem dark.  He enlightens our path so that we do not trip or fall.  He is there to give us salvation, or as this word means: safety, soundness, deliverance, and healing. How can we fear anything that life, or the enemy, would bring?  Our Lord is with us twenty-four seven.  He promised us that He would never leave us or forsake us. The Lord is the strength of our lives.  We see all the movies lately with all the superheroes in them.  Well, there is no superhero like Jesus!  He died for me and then conquered the greatest villain that there is: satan.  He defeated him and made a show of him publicly.  That is a true superhero; that is a conqueror!  Our Je...

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. ...