Today's Verse: They made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. ~Song of Solomon 1:6b We live very busy lives! Living in the San Francisco Bay Area places many demands upon working adults. Working people need to make time for commuting, attending classes, taking their children to school and after-school events, household chores, cooking, cleaning, and outside volunteer activities. In addition, those of us who are actively serving the Lord in o

Today's Verse: Fulfil your works, your daily tasks.... ~Exodus 5:13b Pharaoh told the Hebrews that they needed to do their daily tasks—we would call this the daily grind. Like it or not, the daily grind is what we must do each day in order to be productive. There are things we must accomplish that are essential for our work, school, and church. Even more important are the daily things we must do for a strong spiritual life. We must be daily in the getting of wisdom. “Bles

Today's Verse: But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. ~2 Kings 11:2 Are you in possession of a hidden asset? By this, I mean, do you have something very useful, meaningful, and profitable that benefits you or other people? Athaliah was engaged in a violent campaign

Today's Verse: Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. ~2 Corinthians 3:17 The other day, we examined the meaning of liberty. This morning, let us see the work of liberty in our life. Paul said, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” I am thankful for the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead. He is co-equal, co-eternal, co-existent, and co-essential with the Father and the Son. Where the Spirit of the Lord is,

Today's Verse: And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously. ~2 Kings 9:20 Everyone who drives an automobile has been taught to be alert, careful, obedient to the safety laws, and vigilant. Reckless drivers have a total disregard for the laws and safety of other people. One statistic that I recently read indicated that 56% of all deadly vehicle crashes invo

Today's Verse: Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. ~Psalm 37:1 Dealing with people can be a blessing. It can also be a trying experience as some personalities choose to be adversarial, annoying, contentious, disloyal, undermining, or difficult to work with. Some types of personalities can just get under your skin. In other words, they test your patience and lead to fretting on our part. Three times in the opening ve

Today's Verse: Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, ~2 Thessalonians 2:16 In 2 Thessalonians 1-2, Paul gives us prophetical insight on things to come. He tells us about a faithful removal (the rapture of the Christians and the removal of the Holy Spirit), a false representative (the Antichrist of the Great Tribulation), and a forsaken remnant (people who hear t

Today's Verse: Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. ~1 Peter 4:19 The reference to God as our Creator is found five times in the Bible. It is found three times in the Old Testament and twice in the New Testament. Creator is a powerful name and description. It implies an author, founder, maker, controller, and master. The very name implies the One Who made all things. Pe

Today's Verse: And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? ~Genesis 25:32 Every summer, the NBA will be in the midst of players declaring their free agency status and teams making trades to clear up room in their salary cap. Teams will be making trades to strengthen their position and make them championship contenders. Every team strives to make a trade that is profitable and not one that they will regret. This morning, we

Today's Verse: And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. ~Genesis 24:58 On the wedding day, the most precious moment is when it is time for the bride to walk the aisle and to join her bridegroom. The congregation is asked to rise and stand out of respect for her entrance. The bride gracefully walks the aisle with great anticipation as she will join the groom and together recite their vows one to another and be joined as

Today's Verse: The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments. ~Habakkuk 3:19 When buying cold and pain relief medicine, the label description of “maximum strength” implies greatness of potency and something that will more than get the job done. Habakkuk made a discovery about maximum strength that changed how he lived. We see the vital connection. “T

Today's Verse: If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. ~Colossians 3:1 The Scottish preacher John McNeill liked to tell about an eagle that had been captured when it was quite young. The farmer who snared the bird put a restraint on it so that it could not fly, and then he turned it loose to roam in the barnyard. It was not long until the eagle began to act like the chickens, scratching and pecking at

Today's Verse: The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. ~Proverbs 28:1 What comes to your mind when you think of a lion? Lions have been labeled the king of the jungle. They are considered fierce, strong, and relentless. They are fearless and tactical hunters. They instill fear into the hearts of their prey. Peter describes a lion as a predator that walketh about, seeking whom it may devour. Solomon uses the boldness of a lion to describe t

Today's Verse: Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. ~Psalm 119:37 One of the challenges of parenting babies and toddlers is keeping their attention focused. Little kids tend to be distracted easily. Learning to focus is part of child development and training. In some cases, children who have difficulty focusing are said to have attention deficit disorder. In a spiritual sense, some Christians find themselves pulled in different direction

Today's Verse: The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. ~Job 17:9 Every mother is good at telling her children “go, wash your hands” before touching their faces and before eating a meal. Our hands come into contact with a lot of germs that can spread very easily. Clean hands are an essential part of good hygiene and good health. Clean hands are also a beautiful picture of the importance of serving God with purity

Today's Verse: And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. ~Genesis 22:1 I remember very vividly in grade school the class roll call. The teacher would stand up at the beginning of class, after recess, and after lunch and call out the names of the students. We were expected to respond with “here” to indicate we were present. If there was no answer, we were marked off as being absent. In the

Today's Verse: And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. ~Acts 18:24 The city of Alexandria was the citadel of higher learning and a place that thrived on philosophies, occultism, and godlessness. Corrupted manuscripts of Scripture came out of Alexandria and gave way to a corrupted translation that would later be rejected. As a believer, you would have to be discerning and careful about what came out

Today's Verse: And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. ~Acts 18:5 A pressure point is defined as a point on the surface of the body that is sensitive to pressure. Traditional Chinese medicine teaches that applying pressure to specific areas of the body can help relieve tension and stress. In our devotion this morning, we read about how the Apostle Paul was pressed in the spirit. Y

Today's Verse: Arise, Barak, and lead….. ~Judges 5:12b The Bible contains the historical account of insignificant and weak people whom God used to do great things. Someone said, “The men who conquered the world were men the world could not conquer.” One of these seemingly insignificant men was Barak. Barak is presented to us as a man of faith. “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae....” (Hebrews

Today's Verse: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. ~2 Timothy 3:17 When I go on vacation, we enjoy using our timeshare which gives us the opportunity to live in a unit that is “fully furnished.” It has comfortable furniture for relaxation, sleeping, and dining. It has all of the kitchen equipment for cooking. Being fully furnished provides us with all the amenities we need to have an enjoyable time away. Paul uses the term “throughly