Pastor Tom's Daily Devotional

Matthew 26:26-28 (NKJV) And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. What Jesus did that evening with His disciples was not for Him, but for us.  He set a new covenant into place.  A covenant is a will, or a contract.  We hold in our hands an Old and New Testament.  This Old Testament was a covenant based on law.  Through Jesus, this New Covenant is set by God’s grace.  Oh, how I love grace more than law! When Jesus broke this bread and said, “This is my body,” He was saying that all that happened to His body by going to the cross, He did for us.  His body was beaten, whipped, and harmed beyond words, so that our body could be healed and made well. L...

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. This verse is amazing!  This is how God, our Father, thinks towards us.  His thoughts toward us are not to make us sick, to destroy us, or to give us a lousy life.  His thoughts are not to bring death and destruction.  He is not looking for ways to make us sick and miserable.  No, and a million times no!  My Father’s heart is to bless me, and to help me in my race on earth. I do not know how much clearer God could put it for us: His thoughts are of peace and not of evil.  He wants us to have a peaceful life; a life of resting in Him.  One thing I figured out is that God wants the best for me, just like I want the best for my kids.  He has much bigger shoulders than I have, and He knows the paths that are in front of me, so He can show me the traps that the devil would li...

Matthew 27:45-46 (NKJV) Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" When Jesus was on the cross, in God’s eyes, the whole world was on that cross also.  The sin of Adam was laid upon Jesus, and He became sin for us.  Some people have a hard time receiving this, but look at what it says in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  Jesus, Who knew no sin, (He never sinned once in His 30 plus years upon this earth) became the sin sacrifice for all of us.  This gift that God gave us is so powerful that if a person chooses not to accept it, it will separate them from God for all eternity.  At the moment that Jesus cried out these heart-wrenching words, all of creation shut down...

Psalm 92:14 (NKJV) They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, As we walk with our Father each day, we continually bear fruit.  Jesus said that if we remain connected with Him, that we will bear good fruit.  As we get older, we cannot always do what we used to do, but we can still do things for the kingdom of God. One thing that is so important that can be done by a person of any age, is prayer.  Prayer is the key to all the victories in the kingdom, and God is looking for those who will lay down their lives for someone else.  As we take time and let the Holy Spirit lead us in our prayer life, He will show us people that we might not even be thinking about but He is, and we can partner together with Him to help someone else out. I really wonder how many people we are going to meet in heaven that will tell us that it was the prayers that we prayed when no one else was around that saved them or protected them....

Pastor Diane Feola Psalms 91:14-16 (AMP) Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].  He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation. We have come to the last few verses of Psalm 91.  These three verses are where God speaks to us.  He wants us to know that He has set His love upon us.  God loves us, not because we deserve it, but simply because He is love !  His love for us is received by grace, through faith.  When we realize His love is unconditional, unchanging, and eternal, we can rest in that love. It says in the next part of this passage that He will set us on high.  The interesting thing is...

Pastor Diane Feola Psalms 91:11-13 (AMP) For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].  They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot. This is another amazing promise from God.  Angels accompany and defend and preserve us in all of our ways of obedience and service.  We do not see the spiritual realm where angels operate, but we sometimes see the results of their protection.  It is unexplainable in the natural realm, but cannot be denied. A friend of mine was at a stoplight, and when the light turned green his car stalled.  He looked down and he was in second gear.  As he started his car and put it into first gear, a car ran the red light.  He could have been killed if his car was not in the wrong gear.  Tha...

Pastor Diane Feola Psalm 91:5-8  (AMP) You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.  A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.  Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked. We are continuing with Psalm 91, and it just gets better and better.  In these verses, we learn that no matter what horrible plagues or calamities come on the earth, they will not touch us.  Verse 5 is a key.  Do not be afraid!  The enemy tries to make you afraid.  He wants you to look around at all that is going on around you.  Faith in God’s great love and grace will calm all those fears.  God is for ...