Today's Verse: Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. ~1 Corinthians 15:34 Have you ever fallen asleep on public transportation and then awakened to the fact that you missed the stop where you were supposed to get off? Falling asleep at the wrong place and time can be embarrassing. Paul gives a stern admonition to us about falling asleep spiritually when we need to be awake. We see the alarm. “Awake to rig

Today's Verse: These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. ~Acts 1:14 We live in a time where there is great division and a lack of unity. There are divided opinions about how the government should run, how money should be spent, and how to protect our country. Among Christians, there is division about how to worship God, the priority of the church, whether God has predetermined who goes

Today's Verse: And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. ~2 Kings 2:6 The success of a relay race lies in the passing of the baton. The four racers for a team are strategically placed in their respective order to maximize speed and have the competitive edge. The one component of the race that is the difference between winning a

Today's Verse: He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; ~Deuteronomy 32:13 Our devotion this morning speaks of the nation of Israel riding on high places. We have adapted the phrase “riding high” from this. It is a way of saying someone is enjoying the crest of success, feeling a sense of confidence and happiness, and savoring the fact that h

Today's Verse: They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation. ~Deuteronomy 32:5 Do you have a birthmark? This is typically a blemish you are born with that stays with you for your entire life. It is an identifier for an individual. For parents who have identical twins or triplets, a birthmark helps them tell the children apart. In our passage this morning, God speaks of people who were spotted or had b

Today's Verse: There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going: A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any; A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up. ~Proverbs 30:29-31 What do your traits say about you? A trait is an attribute or characteristic. It is something about you that defines and identifies you. Solomon uses some familiar animal analogies to describe people who are champions. These trait

Today's Verse: And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. ~Genesis 3:9-10 The USA has been the home to many “rags to riches” stories. Sam Walton was one of them. During the years of the Great Depression, Sam milked cows and sold newspapers to help support his family. After graduating from college with a B.A. in Economics, he used $5,000 from the

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 Are you good at keeping secrets? A secret is privileged information that is to be kept between two parties: the one who shares the secret and the one receiving the secret. Jesus gives us an important dynamic about prayer that is perhaps overlooked by most Christ

Today's Verse: Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. ~1 John 2:18 What does the phrase “the last time” bring to your mind? Paul, Peter, and John all wrote that we are in the last time. The phrase refers to the closing days of this world before Jesus comes for every true believer and, following that, a time of terrible judgment and the wrath of God

Today's Verse: Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. ~Exodus 32:26 Sometimes, we find ourselves facing tough questions and issues regarding belief, morality, philosophy of ministry, and methodology. We face pressures from sources that clearly conflict with the precept of God’s Word. We realize we must decide whose side we on on. We see the disgru