Pastor Tom's Daily Devotional

Leviticus 11:45 (NKJV) For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the   land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. When the children of Israel came out of Egypt and were going to the Promised Land, God gave them commandments to live by.  In this verse, God is saying for them to be holy because He is holy.  Many have taken this to mean that we are to live holy lives.  We are supposed to do that, but I have found that every time I try to be holy in my own strength, I fail miserably. I want to live a holy life, but I make so many mistakes in my course of life, and when I do, I get into condemnation, and then I really mess up.  Do you know what I mean?  So what are we to do? I have found that I need to live in the holiness of Jesus.  He has become my all.  He is my substitute.  Because He was able to live a perfect life, I can live a perfect life, through him. Now you might say, “W...

Exodus 13:21-22 (NKJV) And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to   lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and   night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from   before the people. Wherever you look throughout the Bible, you always see God as the Provider.  He provided here for the children of Israel as they were leaving Egypt, and all throughout their journey in the wilderness.  God, our Heavenly Father, is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  If He provided the light and heat that the children of Israel would need, He will provide for our needs today in the twenty-first century. Things might be a little different today than they were back then, but overall, we still need the same things.  We need a roof over our heads, food, water, and clothes to wear, and our loving Father provides all of these for us. ...

Hebrews 8:12 (NKJV) For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and   their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. When you read a verse like this, you have to come to the place where you say, “Well I did not say it, God my Father did, so I am just going to believe it!”   Listen to the heart of the Father.   "I will be merciful to their unrighteousness."  God is a God of mercy.  He did not send Jesus to condemn us, He sent Jesus to set us free!  (John 3:16-17)   We were already condemned because of Adam's transgression, but now, because of Jesus, we are accepted in Him! In John 1:17 it says, "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  Grace and truth!  That is what Jesus brought and gave to everyone who will receive it.  I do not know about you, but I receive it! When we read the second part of Hebrews 8:12, we again see a verse tha...

Isaiah 43:1-3 (NKJV) But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O   Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed   you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. 2 When you pass   through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not   overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor   shall the flame scorch you. 3 For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One   of Israel, your Savior. I was once at a church service where the speaker was a man named Norman Williams*.  He was in a plane accident on the Canary Islands in which two huge 747’s crashed on the runway and burned. Only a few people out of more than 500 escaped. The rest were killed. He told us that it was miraculous how he got out.  He looked at the people on both sides of him, and it was so hot, the flesh just melted off of them. They became skeletons instantly.  He sai...

Hebrews 4:15-16 (NKJV) For we do not have a High Priest who cannot   sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are,   yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that   we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Because Jesus went to the cross and died for you and me, we have been made the righteousness of God in Him (1 Corinthians 5:21).  Knowing this fact, and living like it is real, will change your life and your prayer life! Many people enter into prayer with a condemnation attitude, always thinking, “Poor me.”  I don't know about you, but if I told my kids they can have the pie in the refrigerator, and they keep coming back to me and begging me for it, I think I would go to the refrigerator and eat it myself!  (Well, you know I would not do that, but you see what I mean.) Jesus Christ has come to the earth, brought forth all of these wonderful pro...

Deuteronomy 7:15 (NKJV) “And the LORD will take away from you all   sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt   which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. Our Father God is not the author of sickness and disease.  He is the author of health and well-being.  Our Father is looking for ways to bring healing to us, not take it away from us.  When we do a good study of the scriptures, we find over and over that our God is a God who heals His children. The Bible states that Jesus and the Father are one, and everywhere that Jesus went as He walked this earth, He never once put sickness on someone.  No!  Acts 10:38 says that Jesus, “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.”  So we see that sickness is from the devil, and it came at the fall. When satan came, he brought fear into this world and all of its deadly works, but God sent Jesus to ...