Today's Verse: And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ~Luke 4:1 One of my dreams during my lifetime is that someone would develop an automobile that would have unlimited capability for driving without needing fuel or maintenance. Of course, if something like this was developed, it would be incredibly expensive given it would change the way the automobile industry does business. In our devotion this morning,

Today's Verse: Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; ~Psalm 103:4 Mercy is pity and undeserved favor given to someone who is in trouble. When someone is tried in a court of law and found guilty, he desires the mercy of the court and the judge. Mercy extended to a condemned man exonerates him from the charges he has been found guilty of. One of God’s great attributes is His mercy. The psalmist used the phrase “tende

Today's Verse: Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. ~Ezra 1:3 New housing construction statistics are vitally important in gauging our economy’s growth and health. Booming housing construction indicates strong consumer spending and confidence in the future. I have had the privilege of seeing my church go through t

Today's Verse: And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the LORD; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering. ~Numbers 28:3 The nation of Israel was commanded to observe various offerings and ceremonies as part of their spiritual relationship with God. Each of these offerings and ceremonies was designed to keep them conscious of and committed in their relationship to God. This morning,

Today's Verse: Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. ~Numbers 25:11 This morning, our attention and focus is on the son of Eleazar and the grandson of Aaron. His name is Phinehas. His name means “the face of trust.” He is noteworthy for being righteous and doing the right thing at the right time.

Today's Verse: But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. ~Philippians 2:22 Yesterday we looked at John Mark and his mentoring by Peter. This morning we are looking at Paul and his mentoring of Timothy. The principle of spiritual mentoring is given to us in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”

Today's Verse: The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son. ~1 Peter 5:13 When we introduce or refer to family members, we typically refer to their relationship to us with descriptions as “my wife,” “my husband,” “my daughter,” or “my son.” Peter referred to a special relationship that he had with a young man he took under his wings. John Mark, or Marcus, is referred to as Peter’s spiritual son in the faith. We se

Today's Verse: And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign. ~Numbers 26:9-10 Are you good at reading the signs when d

Today's Verse: Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. ~Hebrews 13:13 The camp in the Old Testament was the sanctuary area where there were altars for burning sacrifices and incense. There was the brazen altar where blood sacrifices were made. Then, there was the golden altar where incense was burned in the morning and evening, representing the prayers of God’s people. The bodies of the animals offered as a sin offering had to be taken outs

Today's Verse: And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go. ~1 Samuel 9:6 A few years ago, I was preaching in the state of Virginia for a pastor friend. He took me to visit Mt. Vernon, which is famous as the place where George Washington lived and made his residence. That city is keenly identified with Ge