Today’s Verse: Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. ~Isaiah 35:6 Deserts are natural wonders of God. They are an ecosystem to themselves. The thought of a desert probably is not exactly your choice of a vacation or paradise stay. However, we want to discover how God works in the desert places of our life and, at the most needed moments, gives us streams in the desert.

Today’s Verse: And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. ~John 11:44 John 11 is a powerful chapter in Scripture. Within this chapter, the doctrine of the resurrection is declared and demonstrated by Jesus in the life of Lazarus. It is also a chapter that teaches us about the power of a transformed life. This power is the only means by which a victorious

Today’s Verse: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; ~John 2:15 Does the sight of an unkempt house bother you? I think most people desire and strive for a clean house. However, we can become occupied with many other things and neglect our household needs. Jesus entered into the temple at Jerusalem and was appalled at what He saw in the court

Today’s Verse: And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. ~Ezekiel 37:3 Death Valley is a desert area located in Eastern California’s Mojave Desert. It is 282 feet below sea level, thus making it the hottest spot in all of North America. The hottest temperature on record of 134 degrees F occurred on July 10, 1913. Death Valley has had many numerous record hot temperatures. The greatest number of consecutive days with a max

Today’s Verse: Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. ~Isaiah 52:2 It is amazing how dusty things around the house can get if we do not regularly vacuum, sweep, and dust. Especially books that we have placed on the bookshelf can collect dust. I have had more than one occasion of carrying books that I’ve taken off of the bookshelf that got my clothes very dusty. Well, when you get dus

Today’s Verse: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; ~John 2:15 Does the sight of an unkempt house bother you? I think most people desire and strive for a clean house. However, we can become occupied with many other things and neglect our household needs. Jesus entered into the temple at Jerusalem and was appalled by what He saw in the court

Today’s Verse: Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments. ~Psalm 119:156 Psalm 119 teaches us that trials, afflictions, and problems teach us about God and His attributes. Times of difficulty are God’s gift to us. Without these troubles, we would be lacking in our faith and grasp of God’s power and love in our life. This morning, we see where the psalmist speaks of the tender mercies of God. In a society where a bravado spirit, retaliation, a

Today’s Verse: And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. ~Genesis 2:7 Breathing is a vital and necessary part of life for us. We inhale air so that we can take in oxygen. We exhale air so that carbon dioxide is released out of us. Breathing is a necessity for living. When CPR is administered to someone unconscious, we seek to breathe air into their lungs to restore their breathing. W

Today’s Verse: And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. ~Genesis 35:3 Jacob made a costly mistake in moving down to Shechem. From the moment he pitched his tent there, one mishap after another happened. The final blow was when Simeon and Levi took swords and killed all the incapacitated men of Shechem. Jacob told his sons, “Ye have troubled me to make me

Today’s Verse: Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel. ~Isaiah 30:29 The Assyrians were the mighty world power during the days of King Ahaz. Israel would be overtaken by them. King Ahaz made an alliance with them, only to have them turn against him and Judah. The Lord intervened and delivered Ahaz and Judah. In is deliverance, G

Today’s Verse: And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. ~Ezekiel 37:3 As a kid, I was very skinny and thin. My uncles and aunts used to tell me that I needed to eat more because I was “too bony.” Telling someone that they are bony is not considered polite. However, it does describe someone who appears to be physically declining, malnourished, emaciated, and, even, near death. In our passage this morning, Ezekiel is taken

Today’s Verse: O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! ~Habakkuk 1:2 I believe that every person has a breaking point. This is when a situation becomes so unbearable that you let off the steam that has been building up inside of you. You might let it out through shouting, punching a bag, or taking a long walk. Habakkuk records for us a prayer that he prayed. In this prayer, he speaks of crying out to Go

Today’s Verse: And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. ~Genesis 2:7 The COVID pandemic has caused all of us to focus on its impact on an affected person’s breathing. More serious cases of COVID have caused some patients to require breathing assistance including oxygen and, in very severe circumstances, intubation. Breathing assistance is meant to help a person until he is able to b

Today’s Verse: Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. ~Psalm 126:4 The psalmist described the return of the Jews to Jerusalem as the streams in the south. The riverbeds are dependent upon the melting of snow in late spring. After a summer and an early fall of the hot sun, the streams that move southward have diminished in size and strength, even to the point that streams and riverbeds become completely dried up. However, once the rain season returns, t

Today’s Verse: Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. ~Zechariah 10:1 Jesus defined prayer as simply asking God. "Ask, and ye shall receive." Dr. John R. Rice authored a book entitled Prayer: Asking and Receiving on how to get our prayers answered by God. Unanswered prayer is because we do not ask God. “Ye have not, because ye ask not.” When we ask, we must a

Today’s Verse: For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. ~Zechariah 2:5 The last several weeks, our state of California has been engulfed in major fires. Millions of acres have burned, structures have been destroyed, and billions of dollars in losses have been incurred. Firefighters in the wilderness will sometimes set up fire walls to cut off an approaching fire. It serves as a “wall’ to stop the advance of

Today’s Verse: And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. ~Acts 20:9 Falling out of a window is a scary thing. Serious injury or death is very likely. Most situations of someone falling out of a window would be considered accidental but avoidable. This morning, we see a young man named Eutychus, who fell out of a

Today’s Verse: When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. ~Jonah 2:7 Fainting is a physical condition when a person becomes very light headed and passes out. Sometimes, a person faints because of extreme hunger and low blood sugar. Sometimes it is because of low blood pressure. Other times, it is because of being overwhelmed by a situation that he is in. Jonah, the runaway prophet, speaks of an unforgettable

Today’s Verse: And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? ~Judges 15:18 Have you ever been at a place in life where you were literally dying of thirst? I mean, where you have not had any water to drink for a very long, extended period of time. You feel dried up on the inside, your mouth and throat are very dry, your

Today’s Verse: Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. ~1 Kings 18:38 Fire is one of the four natural elements needed in life. The other three are earth, wind, and water. Fire has many essential uses: heat, cooking, light, and controlled burning. Fire can be dangerous as well. Uncontrolled fire can burn and destroy. A raging fire leaves behind ashes, rubble, a