Today's Verse: And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. ~1 Kings 20:13-14 Most of us can think of a time in our lives wh

Today's Verse: And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. ~1 Kings 20:4 The king of Syria, Benhadad, led his forces to besiege Samaria and war against it. Ahab, the king of Israel was intimidated and filled with fear. Benhadad told Ahab, “Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.” Benhadad boldly told Ahab “I’m taking what is yours and making it min

Today's Verse: Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city.... ~Isaiah 52:1a When I am at home, I like to change into clothing that is comfortable for work, exercise, or relaxing around the house. However, when Sunday comes, I like to wear my “Sunday best.” This includes a pressed white shirt, a pressed dark suit, a necktie, and black-shined shoes. I think this would qualify as what is referred to as “beautiful garment

Today's Verse: For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. ~Psalm 100:5 Worship is when we express our adoration, praise, and honor to God. The worship of God demands our words, works, and wealth. God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth. Psalm 100 is a delightful psalm of worship. We see the personification. “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all

Today's Verse: And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only: ~Joshua 17:17 As Christians, we know the importance of being content. Contentment is when we are satisfied with everything in our life, good or bad, and give God the glory for what He has entrusted to us. However, there are times when we should be stirred in our hearts and in our determination to d

Today's Verse: So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. ~1 Kings 19:19 Among the many topics the Bible addresses, one of the important ones is leadership succession. Leadership succession is when the leader of a ministry carefully selects and develops his eventual replacement. Leadership succession is critical for making sur

Today's Verse: Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. ~Ecclesiastes 10:1 Flies! I do not like flies. They have to be among the most annoying pests. Living flies are bad. Dead flies are just as bad. Back in Solomon’s day, a container of special ointment was very precious. People would leave the containers open to allow the sweet-smelling aroma to fill the air in t

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 “Crazy Glue” is the brand name of an adhesive substance that bonds things together very well. I have used Crazy Glue to bond broken items. Its very name speaks of how well it bonds the most difficult things together. Our devotion this morning speaks to us about relationships that are to be like “Crazy Glue.” We see the camaraderie.

Today's Verse: So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. ~Jonah 4:5 A western idiom that we use is the term “sitting duck.” This is a way of saying that a person is vulnerable to attack or other sources of danger. The term comes from hunting, where it is much easier to hit ducks when they are sitting on the water than when they are in fligh

Today's Verse: And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. ~2 Samuel 9:7 It is very special to sit at the table with dignity. It is very humbling when someone of great prominence and importance invites me to sit at his table with him. His table is preeminent of all the tables in the room. Everyone watches the he

Today's Verse: And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. ~1 Kings 19:3 Fear is when we are afraid of someone or something that we think will cause serious harm to us. Fear will quickly take over every aspect of our life. Fear is the opposite of faith. Everyone has a fear that can overcome them. I believe that fear is one of the devil’s biggest lies that he uses to sideline us from the

Today's Verse: For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, ~Psalm 95:7 One of the blessed metaphors that the Bible uses to describe our relationship to God is that of a shepherd and his sheep. Shepherding is one of the most arduous occupations. It is a very demanding work that is 24/7 in nature. A shepherd must be vigilant at all times. A shepherd must be concerned for the entire flock, and especially

Today's Verse: But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil. ~Psalm 92:10 Oil is a necessity of life. It is used for medicinal purposes. It is used to provide relief during the intense heat of the day. It is used for cooking. It was also used to indicate the approval of God upon a new king or a prophet of God. Oil is made by applying strong pressure to olives until all the oil has been extracted. Many olives must be crushed to

Today's Verse: And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. ~1 Kings 18:30 When you are in major trouble, you are relieved to get out of it. We refer to this as "getting out of a fix." The word "fix" also has the idea of repairing and restoring. King Ahab made an unholy alliance when he married Jezebel of Zidon. Through her influence, Baal worship permeated the land

Today's Verse: As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. ~Joshua 14:11 Caleb was an amazing man. At 85 years of age, he told Joshua, “I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now....” The typical conversations of men who live to be octogenarians go something like this: “When I was y

Today's Verse: As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool. ~Proverbs 26:1 A con man is a cheater who is deceitful and fraudulent. He takes advantage of other people for his personal gain. Proverbs 26 speaks to us about three types of con men. There is the conceited man who is proud and full of himself. There is the contemptuous man who despises God, goodness, and righteousness. There is the contentious man who is a troublemaker. Each of the

Today's Verse: And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. ~Judges 7:4 Has anyone ever told you that you have “too much” or “too many”? “Too many” implies more than necessary or more than is required. The Isr

Today's Verse: Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the LORD stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: ~Amos 7:7-8 If you have ever tried to make a straight line, you probably realized that you need a measuring device to help you make sure the line was truly

Today's Verse: Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! ~Amos 6:1 I love the ministry and serving the Lord. The role that I serve in involves a multiplicity of tasks, responsibilities, and many people who need to be ministered to. The fast pace and large workload require me to be highly inspired and on the edge when it comes to completing tasks. I purposely try to plan a

Today's Verse: I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart. ~Psalm 119:32 A few years ago, a missionary that we support indicated that she was diagnosed with an enlarged heart. This condition led to several other life-threatening health developments. Mayo Clinic says the following about an enlarged heart: “An enlarged heart (cardiomegaly) isn't a disease, but rather a sign of another condition. The term 'cardiomegaly' refers to an enlarged heart s