Pastor Tom's Daily Devotional

Luke 10:20 (NKJV) Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Jesus, in this verse, is telling us not to rejoice just because spirits are subject to us, but to rejoice because our names are written in heaven.  Have you ever made a reservation for dinner at a restaurant, or maybe at an event?  If so, you know that when you arrived and you told them your name, they said, “Yes, you have a reservation.” Well, this scripture is saying just about the same thing.  Jesus went before us, and because we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, we now have reservations in heaven.  Just like we go to the restaurant or hotel and they open their book to see if our name is in there, the Bible says that God does the same thing. On that day, He will open the Book of Life and say to us, “Yes, you have believed on the Name of my Son.  Yes, you have received the gift of salvat...

Luke 10:19 (NKJV) Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. In these words of Jesus, He tells us that He has given us authority to trample on serpents and scorpions. Well, we know that He is not talking here about snakes, but as the next part brings out: "And over all the power of the enemy." Jesus is telling us here that He has given us power over all the works of satan, that He has placed him under us, and that we can keep him in line through this promise, and the many more promises that tell us that he is defeated. I joke around when I preach and I make statements like, “Satan is defeated, so he has no feet,” and “Satan is disarmed, so we know he has no arms.”  All kidding aside, he is powerless against a blood-bought, Spirit-filled child of God! So what are the powers of the enemy?  Anything that is under the curse, such as sickness and disease, la...

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...