Today’s Verse: In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. ~Psalm 56:11 Psalm 56 through Psalm 60 are called Michtam, or teaching, psalms. They are also referred to as “the Golden Psalms.” The superscription to this psalm tells us when the event occurred. The background setting is 1 Samuel 21, when David fled to find refuge at Gath with the Philistines. This morning, we see how David went from being afraid to having complete trust in the Lord. Da

Today’s Verse: Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. ~Psalm 37:7 Are you someone who is frustrated with the spiritual and moral state of affairs of our country? One of the great challenges we have in this life is seeing evildoers prosper while the righteous are punished. It seems like those who are evil get away with their wrong doing and make a profit ou

Today’s Verse: Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! ~Psalm 31:19 There are two ways by which we are most appreciative of the goodness of God. The first is by having a spirit of thankfulness at all times. It is the will of God that we give thanks always in all things. The second is seeing His goodness in our life during times of great difficulty, misery, trial,

Today’s Verse: And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth. ~1 Kings 17:24 Credibility is when we back up what we say with our life and actions. It means we are genuine and believable. Through credibility, we show that we are worthy of trust. Credibility is an essential component of leadership. Without this, we are suspect and cannot lead and develop followers to a goal. Elijah is a case stud

Today’s Verse: But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. ~Acts 15:38 In every language, we have words that we use to describe things that are good or not good. If we say, “That’s good” or, “That’s not good,” we are describing something that we believe is favorable or unfavorable. Several times in the Bible, God calls our attention to things that are not good. We see that detachment is not good.

Today’s Verse: If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? ~Psalm 11:3 A foundation is the major support for a building. The strength of a building when an earthquake occurs is dependent upon its foundation. However, if the foundation is destroyed, the building integrity is at risk. David asked, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The foundation for our faith is nestled in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is a foundation Who is steadfast and

Today’s Verse: Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. ~Proverbs 16:3 When Jesus rose from the dead, the massive stone boulder was rolled away. Rolling an object that is equal to or larger than your size demands effort. The word commit literally means “to roll.” When we commit something to the Lord, we are encouraged to roll it onto Him. We are to place it into His custody and possession and let Him take control from there. Until we do so, our e

Today’s Verse: They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. ~Psalm 125:1 Jerusalem is a city on a hill or mountain. It is synonymously called Mount Zion. Hezekiah describes faith in God as Mount Zion. He most likely wrote this psalm after the defeat of Sennacherib. This morning, we are challenged to have a faith that is immovable. We see the company. “They that trust in the LORD....” This is referring to the people of God

Today’s Verse: And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. ~Isaiah 32:17 The word “righteousness” is found 289 times in the Bible. It describes the character and person of our Lord. Jesus is the Lord our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6). Jesus will reign during the Millennium in righteousness. I tell people that righteousness is being just like God. Isaiah said that the work of righteousness is peace. We see it

Today’s Verse: But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works. ~Psalm 73:28 God created us with an innate sense of self-preservation. Good parenting, combined with this innateness, teaches us to do what is good for us. However, our sin nature wants us to do what is good for us for selfish gain, and we can wind up making decisions that really are not the best for us and that take us out God’s will. Let us see th

Today’s Verse: And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me? ~Judges 12:3 Risk is when we have the possibility of losing something important to us. There are risk takers, and then there are those who are risk-averse. The upside in risk is substantial reward. The downside is substantial loss. Jephtha

Today’s Verse: That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. ~2 Thessalonians 2:2 Our World in Data estimates that 284M people worldwide have an anxiety disorder. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 19.1% of Americans had an anxiety disorder in the past year. A recent article in a Christian news periodical raised concerns over the spiked increase of anxiety

Today’s Verse: My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. ~Psalm 31:15 We tend to segment our life by different time periods. We have childhood time, teenager time, young adult time, working time, married without children time, married with children time, retirement time, and our ending time. We refer to this as our different life stages. David made a statement that has great meaning for all of us. He said, “My times a

Today’s Verse: And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. ~Galatians 2:13 One of our popular English idioms is the phrase “carried away.” It has the idea of taking a concept or practice too far. It can mean to lose self-control. It means to become overly excited about a current matter and go to an extreme in what you do. In our devotion this morning, we read that Barnabas and certain Jews were carrie

Today’s Verse: But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. ~Acts 27:14 The eye of the storm is the centermost part of it. This location is where there is calm and peace. It can also be the most dangerous part of the storm,

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: For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth. ~Psalm 71:5 Most of us deposit money into a bank without much fear of loss. Banks insure our money up to a certain amount through the FDIC. There is an implied trust that we have in the banking institution that the money we have deposited is safe and secure. Many people keep their money with a mainline bank for most of their lifetime because they feel a sense of reliability in the size, strength

Today’s Verse: For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth. ~Psalm 71:5 Most of us deposit money into a bank without much fear of loss. Banks insure our money up to a certain amount through the FDIC. There is an implied trust that we have in the banking institution that the money we have deposited is safe and secure. Many people keep their money with a mainline bank for most of their lifetime because they feel a sense of reliability in the size, strength

Today’s Verse: Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. ~Psalm 56:2 David was way over his head in problems. Psalm 56 was written during the Absalom rebellion. Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel and took over the nation. David and his most loyal men escaped to avoid a conflict. David was in fear and hurt that Ahithophel, his counselor, joined ranks with Absalom. He was hurt again when Shimei, a bitter Benjami

Today’s Verse: My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. ~Psalm 31:15 Have you ever been involved in a life-and-death situation where your ultimate fate was in someone else’s hands and you said, “I’m putting my life into your hands”? This is absolute trust. It is when your input, ideas, and know-how are useless, and only the person who is stronger and more knowledgeable can get you through your situation. David was at