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 area of land that had great potential for housing, crops, raising animals, and agricultural success. However, aside from the seasonal rains, it lacked the ongoing irrigatio

Today’s Verse: And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. ~1 Chronicles 4:10 If I were to choose a model prayer for how to pray for a successful New Year, the prayer of Jabez would be at the top of my list. Only two verses tell us something about him. However, th

Today’s Verse: Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. ~Psalm 141:2 Have you ever been in a room or setting where a woman who was wearing a very fragrant and sweet-smelling perfume entered in? It is amazing how the scent of the perfume overtakes the atmosphere and brings a heightened sense of freshness and sweetness to the entire atmosphere. It affects the mood of the room even to the point where there is a c

Today’s Verse: And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. ~Genesis 28:12 The United States Coast Guard will sometimes use a rescue device referred to as Jacob’s Ladder. This ladder is let down from a helicopter to a person who is struggling in rough ocean water. The helicopter will descend as low as possible without placing the pilot and crew at risk, and then, the

Today’s Verse: I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. ~John 17:9 John 17 records for us the Great High Priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ. It appears that Jesus prayed this prayer before He went to the Garden of Gethsemane. It is an important prayer. It is a passionate prayer for the men whom He trained and loved. It sets forth a pattern for prayer. This prayer gives us a firm understanding that prayer for o

Today’s Verse: When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. ~Psalm 142:3 The inscription for Psalm 142 tells us that it is a Maschil of David; a Prayer when he was in the cave. This psalm was written either when he was in the cave of Adullam or in one of the caves of Engedi. This is a teaching psalm. It is a lesson of the fact that every Christian will have a cave experience in their li

Today’s Verse: And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. ~Luke 6:12 In the Bible we read of several instances of what I term “mountaintop praying”. Moses did mountaintop praying often. David did mountaintop praying. Elijah did mountaintop praying. Jesus at least on three occasions went to a mountain and there prayed. In each of these instances the one who prayed sought to go further and higher in his

Today’s Verse: Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. ~Matthew 15:28 Our devotion this morning is a touching story about prayer, faith, and humility. Jesus purposely makes a stop in the area of Tyre and Sidon for one woman and her daughter. They did not realize it at the time, but Jesus went there just for this woman’s daughter. It is a reminder to us that we h

Today’s Verse: And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. ~Acts 5:42 The phrases “cease not” and “without ceasing” can mean to be nonstop. To be nonstop means to be in continuance, to have no interruptions, and without taking a stop. The Bible speaks of activities that every Christian needs to be nonstop in. This morning, we want to consider the importance of being “nonstop Christians.” We should be nonstop in our remembranc

Today’s Verse: The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?... It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. ~Psalm 118:6, 8 Everyone knows that playing on your home court gives you a superior advantage over your opponent. There are the advantages of the familiarity, the fans, and the favor. This morning, we want to see how we have the home-court advantage when we have complete trust and faith in God in all things. There are the inevita

Today’s Verse: And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. ~2 Chronicles 14:11 The term "strong confidence" refers to a firm and resolute faith in God. Our devotion this morning centers on a king who had strong confidence in the Lord.

Today’s Verse: And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. ~1 Samuel 1:11 No one is insignificant in the eyes of the Lord! It is by God’s mercies that He would consider and use any of us for His glory. Hannah is o

Today’s Verse: But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, ~Jude 20 Perhaps, the one area of the Christian life that most people struggle with is in the area of prayer. Finding time to pray, knowing how to pray, being consistent in praying, and seeing answers to our prayers can be a struggle for some Christians. Maybe you have read Jude 20 many times and have asked the question, “What does it mean to pray in the Holy Ghost?” The

Today’s Verse: Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. ~Jeremiah 33:3 Prayer is the privilege that every child of God has to call upon God for his every need. Jesus taught that we should pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Proverbs 15:8 tells us that the prayer of the upright is His delight. Then in Proverbs 15:29 we are told, “He heareth the prayer of the righteous.” For many Christians, prayer is a major str

Today’s Verse: And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. ~Mark 9:17-18 Have you experienced a power outage? If you have, you realize how much you take for granted the use of electricity and gas. When there is a power outag

Today’s Verse: When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. ~Matthew 8:10 How great is your faith in the Lord? Can you recall a situation in your life where you had to exercise great faith in God? This morning, we see a man of authority who did just that. What this man did was the exception and not the rule. Let us see, this morning, the exercise of great faith. We see the appeal.

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: 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: Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. ~Joshua 1:2-3 Happy New Year! Today marks the start of a new year. We cannot go back and repeat last year. It is behind us. The achievements, failures, and records of the last year stay there.

Today’s Verse: And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. ~Genesis 30:1 Have you ever been threatened by someone who said to you, “Do this, or else?” If so, you may have felt like an unreasonable demand was placed upon you. You may have felt pushed against a wall and faced incredible pressure to do something that requires more than just you to get it done. Rachel made a strong demand of