Today’s Verse: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ~Psalm 23:4 One of the greatest chapters of encouragement is Psalm 23. It is one of a trilogy of psalms affectionately known as the Shepherd Psalms. Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm that prophetically speaks of the sufferings of Christ and portrays Him as the Good Shepherd Who lays down His life for His sheep. Psalm 24 is

Today’s Verse: After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. ~Genesis 15:1 Abraham was in deep distress. He had just returned from a very successful conquest of the five kings who had taken his nephew Lot as a captive. He started to think about the fact that those kings might consider taking revenge on him and his household. He thought about his small army in comparison to their m

Today’s Verse: But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower. ~Judges 9:51 In ancient times, cities would fortify themselves by building walls to protect them from the attack of hostile forces. They would also build a strong tower that would be a last-resort type of refuge and place of safety if the wall were breached and the people could not withstan

Today’s Verse: And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. ~Judges 15:15 When I was a kid, I remember a new candy that came out called a “jawbreaker.” It was a super hard candy that was meant to be sucked on and not to be chewed or broken with your teeth. The idea was that if you tried to break it down with your teeth, you would wind up breaking your teeth or jaw instead! It was a candy that was meant to last a

Today’s Verse: Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. ~Matthew 4:1 In football, a tackle occurs when the one in possession of the ball is taken down. When he is tackled, he is prevented from going any further with the ball. The one making the tackle has demonstrated superiority in stopping the ball from entering the end zone and making a score. In essence, it is the takedown of his opponent. This morning, let us see through the mod

Today’s Verse: Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs. ~Joshua 15:19 Achsah, the daughter of Caleb, and her husband, Othniel, were possessors of the area of Kirjathsepher. It was a large land area that had great potential for housing, crops, raising animals, and agricultural success. However, it lacked the ongoing irrigation beyond the seasonal rains in ord

Today’s Verse: A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. ~Proverbs 15:1 We live in a very angry and enraged society. It is a society where many people tend to be very defensive against accusations, confrontation, rudeness, and presumed personal attack. When two people meet regarding an area of concern, there is a strong likelihood that one of them will blow up and go off on a verbal tirade against the other. In the end, strong and hurtful words furth

Today’s Verse: A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. ~Proverbs 18:24 “Krazy Glue©” is the brand name of an adhesive substance that bonds things together very well. I have used Krazy Glue© to bond broken items. Its very name speaks of how it bonds the most difficult things together well. Our devotion this morning speaks to us about relationships that are like “Crazy Glue” in its results. We see the camara

Today’s Verse: And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; ~Exodus 31:6 There is a tremendous feeling of accomplishment in our heart when we can start and finish a major project. It is even more gratifying to have reliable and faithful people who share the same vision and come alongside of you to help get it done. Th

Today’s Verse: But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. ~Matthew 6:6 As a child growing up, one of my favorite games that I played with my friends was hide and seek. Whether indoors or outdoors, we would have a fun time trying to hide ourselves and keep from being found. When I was the one doing the seeking, I wanted to do my best

Today’s Verse: Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise. ~Nehemiah 5:13 Dictionary.com defines integrity as our adherence to moral and ethical principles. It refers to the soundness of our moral character. Another way of looking at it is: are you

Today’s Verse: For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. ~Romans 12:3 Our devotion this morning is what I call food for thought. It is about a necessary characteristic of spiritual living that needs to be active all the time in us. Paul admonishes believers to think soberly. Let us see, this morning,

Today’s Verse: And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself. ~John 18:18 Wintertime is when the cold season hits us hard. As I write this devotion, 25% of our church is down with illness, hospitalizations, or crisis. The majority of them have been hit with the flu and colds. Colds make us very miserable. We experience fever, chills, coughing, runny noses, int

Today’s Verse: He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. ~Psalm 91:1 September 11, 2001, will forever be remembered as a day of infamy in the United States after terrorists hijacked three domestic airline flights and flew these planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, resulting in the loss of 3,000 lives. That day was named “911” and has changed travel security for all of us. Our devotion this morning is what I

Today’s Verse: The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; ~Psalm 104:16 One of the prized trees in the Bible was the cedar tree of Lebanon. These stately trees, which grew in the mountainous regions of Lebanon, were highly valued for construction. Solomon used these trees for the construction of the great temple that he built for God. Cedar trees are a symbol of the life of a Christian who is thriving for God. Consider the location of

Today’s Verse: Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. ~Psalm 62:8 Almost all children learn to ride a bicycle with the use of training wheels. Training wheels help a child to establish his balance and gain confidence. Eventually, he will have to “let go” of the training wheels and start bicycling without them. The walk of faith for every Christian is like that: we need to let go of whatever we are holding on to and

Today’s Verse: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. ~1 Corinthians 15:58 A roller coaster is a ride that goes up and down. Like a roller coaster, life will have its ups and downs. Most of us prefer our life being stable and predictable. We can be going along in life with a season of success and without anything unsettling, and then unexpectedly, w

Today’s Verse: Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ~2 Timothy 2:1 Strength training is a necessary workout routine for keeping the muscles in our arms, legs, and torso strong. Aging and inactivity cause us to lose muscle mass, make us weaker, and over time, make us susceptible to injury and lack of energy. In the spiritual realm, it is vitally important that we are strength training in our Lord. Paul told Timothy to be strong in the grace t

Today’s Verse: LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? ~Psalm 15:1 In this COVID world that we live in, many establishments want you to meet an entry requirement such as wearing a face covering before entering or being symptom-free of a cold or flu. In our devotion this morning, David is asking a very deep and probing question. He is asking, “Who is the man who qualifies to be in fellowship with God?” What are the requirements for entering i

Today’s Verse: Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: ~Proverbs 6:6 Solomon had many people in his employment. He had contractors, subcontractors, servants, soldiers, couriers, ambassadors, and many hundreds of other people who worked for him. Solomon understood the importance of work. He knew that a hard-working economy resulted in a productive and successful economy. Hard work always yields great results. However, he looked out from his window and, ev