Today’s Verse: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. ~Ecclesiastes 12:13 In mathematics, the complete addition of a set of numbers is known as the sum total. For instance, when we go shopping, the cashier will check in all of the items that we are purchasing, and after inputting the cost of each item, she will give us the “sum total” of our purchase. The sum total is also known as “the bottom li

Today’s Verse: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. ~James 1:22 One cliché that most of us have grown up hearing over and over again is “practice makes perfect.” The best way to be good at anything is to keep practicing at what we do. Michael Jordan, who attained fame as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, said that he missed 9,000 shots during his basketball career. However, he realized that practicing his shots would

Today’s Verse: As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses. ~Joshua 11:15 Today is the last day of this year. Every year feels like it goes by faster and faster. This is due to the fact that we are busier, more committed, and more engaged in opportunities and responsibilities than in the past. We are multi-tasking more things, even to the point where we think busyness is a

Today’s Verse: Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord,that delighteth greatly in his commandments. ~Psalm 112:1 This morning we want to consider a Psalm that should inspire every Christian man. It is a Psalm that describes for us the benefit of being a man who fears God. Our society in which we live in frowns upon men who fear God and seek to honor Him. My desire is that every man who reads this devotion decides to make this his life vision and goal. We

Today’s Verse: And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. ~Luke 5:5 Poor Peter! He and his colleagues had fished all night and caught nothing. It was one of those rare fruitless nights. Fishermen made their living on the catch of the night. Seaside villages and surrounding communities depended upon the catch of the night for food and sustenance. So, when Jesus approached hi

Today’s Verse: This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. ~Matthew 15:8 Being devoted to someone implies giving all of your heart to that person. For instance, in marriage, it is implied spouses are devoted to each other with no consideration of allowing anything to come between them. A devoted person is completely committed. The testimony of a devoted person tells others where that person’s heart is. W

Today’s Verse: I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments. ~Psalm 119:59-60 The psalmist was going through a tough time. He said in verse 61, "The bands of the wicked have robbed me." He was referring to a recent situation when he was outnumbered and taken by surprise. It could have been an occurrence while he was traveling alone through a mountainous area where robbers hid out and took advantage of tr

Today’s Verse: And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. ~Numbers 13:30 I like to be around people who are filled with faith and a positive attitude. There is an incredible stimulation of energy and desire that is produced by people who can see what others cannot see and accomplish what others are not willing to accomplish. This morning, we are challenged by the faith of Caleb at a very crit

Today’s Verse: And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. ~1 Samuel 3:19 Samuel is one of the great men of the Bible. He was both a prophet and a priest. His life spanned the end of the judges to the times of the kings. He was privileged to have anointed the first two kings of Israel. Samuel is noted as a great intercessor in Jeremiah 15:1. His very name means “asked of God.” He was an answer to his mother’s prayers. However,

Today’s Verse: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. ~Ecclesiastes 12:13 In mathematics, the complete addition of a set of numbers is known as the sum total. For instance, when we go shopping, the cashier will check in all the items we are purchasing, and after inputting the cost of each item, she will give us the sum total of our purchases. The sum total is also known as “the bottom line.” This

Today’s Verse: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. ~1 John 5:3 Little children can sometimes be scared to go to a dentist's or doctor’s office, especially the first time. If their finger needs to be pricked for a blood draw or an inoculation needs to be done, the doctor or nurse will always say, “It’s okay, this won’t hurt.” He is trying to assure a scared and anxious child that what is being done to him is not ba

Today’s Verse: Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come. Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire. ~2 Samuel 14:29-30 In baseball, a batter is considered “out” when he has three strikes. A strike is when he has had an opportunity to try to hit the

Today’s Verse: Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber. ~1 Kings 22:48 Every economy is strongly dependent upon shipping and maritime trade for success and survival. The importing and exporting of goods is vital for every nation. Owners of ships were very cognizant of the importance of having sturdy, reliable ships that could make every voyage. They also planned their travels to be during good wea

Today’s Verse: Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. ~Proverbs 3:13 Proverbs 3 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible for successful Christian living. It is a chapter that is punctuated three times with the personal admonition of “my son.” Solomon greatly desired his son to have a God-centered life. He was concerned that his son did not share the same passion and love for God and God’s Word as he did. He was very concerned t

Today’s Verse: If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. ~Genesis 4:7 Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you did not know what to choose, and someone told you to flip a coin? The idea behind flipping a coin is that when someone is at a crossroads in making a difficult decision, the flipping of a coin makes the decision for him. Using a nicke

Today’s Verse: And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting…. ~Acts 11:12a Whenever I travel with other people, I am a strict adherent to staying on schedule so as not to miss our transportation or be late to our event. As we approach fifteen minutes before our departure, I remind everyone traveling with me that it’s time to go! In Acts 11, Peter was rehearsing to the church leaders at Jerusalem how the Lord opened the door for Gentiles to hear the gospel and be save

Today’s Verse: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. ~James 1:22 Sometimes, we can get to the place in our Christian life where we can sit under preaching and teaching but find ourselves not applying what we learn. We agree with what we hear, but we do not put it into practice. The Greek word for doers is also translated “poets” in Acts 17:28. It is a word that the Greeks used to describe a maker, producer, or author. In its basic meani

Today’s Verse: Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. ~Isaiah 28:28 The Bible is very rich in its use of analogies, metaphors, and parables to help make a Bible concept become very real to the reader. Through symbols that we can identify with, God enlightens our hearts and minds to the timeless truths of His Word. Isaiah 28:23-29 uses the symbol of a plowing to help us understa

Today’s Verse: Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. ~1 Kings 20:36 One of the most sought-out areas of the zoo that people will visit is the “big cats” section. This is the area that houses the lions, tigers, leopards, and other big, predator cats. I have always been thankful for the barrier that k

Today’s Verse: And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, ~Jonah 3:1 “The second time” is an opportunity for us to prove that we are capable of doing what we did not or could not do the first time. It is the opportunity for us to show that we can do what is expected of us. Jonah tried to escape God’s calling to preach at Nineveh. God caught up with him, and through an excruciating process, Jonah realized that it does not pay to disobey God’s calling on