Daily Devotional

Lean Into The Truth

May 27, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

2 Samuel 14:21
And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.

 

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

 

     Sometimes, it can be hard to hear the truth. I mean let’s face it, the uncut, unfiltered truth will on occasion hurt. However, this is where all healing really begins. Healing begins when we face up to reality. When we acknowledge the Truth.

 

     In the passage just before today’s verse, David had to first hear the truth. Before he could admit to the wrong, he had to hear and realize he was wrong. All too often when someone comes to us in Christian love to tell us of an area in our life, which needs to be looked at, we want to destroy the messenger. Or maybe we will read in God’s Word a convicting passage, and instead of allowing it to help us, we choose rather to ignore the message. Nevertheless, David heard the truth, and then he had to heed the truth. He had to realize his mistakes and face it. Lastly, he had to help make it right.

 

     It all began with David being willing to listen to those hard words of truth.

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

 

     As God, through His Word or by a messenger of truth, points out convicting areas in our lives, we must be willing to listen to it, learn from it, and lean toward it. Never running from the truth, but rather always running to it. Why? Because Jesus said I am “the truth,” in John 14:6. We should always want to run toward Jesus.

 

If the truth hurts, what do you tend to do?

 

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage and today’s Devotion?

 

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

 

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

 

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  May 27, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
2 Samuel 14-15 / Psalm 119:49-64
Proverbs 27 / Hebrews 1, 2

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
1 Kings 20-21  /  John 8:31-591

 

What Has He Done For You?

May 20, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Psalm 116:8
For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

     Sometimes as a Pastor, I will be sharing the gospel with someone and he or she will ask, “What has this God ever done for me?” In their sinful condition, I can understand how they might feel this way. However, if they could ever see what He has done for those who have put their faith in Him, and what He will give to them if they accept His free offer of salvation, I do not see how they could turn Him down.

     Our verse today kind of sums it all up. He has forever released us from the sting of death. Until the day in which God sends Christ back to rapture the church, we all must face the moment when we stop breathing and our bodies are laid to rest. However, that is not the sting of death. When something stings, it hurts. When we go from earth to heaven there will be no pain or suffering, only joy and, well, heaven. On the other hand, without Christ as your Saviour, you will experience the sting, the pain, and the torment of hell for eternity.

    He also says He will never leave believers who are in Christ, nor forsake them. He will forever walk with them. Here on this earth as we travel through life, and from here to heaven as we are translated to Him. Forever, He will never leave me. The unsaved however will be separated from the love of God for eternity at the moment of death.

     The Bible says He will wipe all the tears from my eyes, FOREVER. The lost, however, will cry out for eternity.

      Therefore, here is the question, “What has He done for YOU?”

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

     Looking forward to heaven is only part of the joy of knowing Jesus. Living for Him and with His Holy Spirit within us here on earth is also rewarding today.

So the question you must answer is,
“What has God done for you?”

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage and today’s Devotion?

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  May 20, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
1 Samuel 30, 31 / Psalm 116
Proverbs 20 / Acts 23

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
1 Kings 8  /  John 5:28-47

What Makes You Rich?

May 13, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Proverbs 13:7
There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

 

     Oh, to be RICH! To have all the money you would ever want. If we are honest, this seems like the dream of most people today. Admit it, we all want to be financially secure. To be able to do whatever we want and go wherever we would like to go. However, there is a difference in financial security, and the overwhelming desire to be rich. We often find people with lots of money who are not really happy. Let them get deathly ill, they would trade everything for a few more days of life.

     Verse 7 could be read in a couple of different ways. “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing.” You might see this as a person who has attained all the wealth they might want, but in the process, they have forgotten family, friends, and God. Now, even with all this wealth, they are empty inside. Then again, you may read this as someone who has very little financially, however, they have made themselves rich with a fine family, a love for God, and great Christian friends, and yet the world sees them as having nothing.

     Verse 7 also says, “There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.” Some people who have money live simple lives. Not flaunting a God-given abundance financially but using it as God would intend them to. No one around them knows of their wealth. Then some people choose to live amazingly simple lives, they never desire much in this world, and yet they are rich in family, and have a rich inheritance with God.

     The question is, “What makes you RICH?” If it is money, then you are actually very poor. What really matters in life are relationships. Relationships with family and friends are important, however, the most important relationship is the one you have with God. If you have that, you are wealthy indeed!

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

     This would be a great day to call and renew a relationship. It would also be a great time to call on God and keep that relationship on track. If you never had a relationship with God, He is waiting to start one. Then you can say, “I am RICH.”

What relationship might you consider rekindling today?

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage and today’s Devotion?

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  May 13, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
1 Samuel 17 – Psalm 109:14-31
Proverbs 13 – Romans 9, 10

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
2 Samuel 19-20  /  John 1:35-51

AYou Need To Be Kind.

May 6, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Ephesians 4:32
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

     When should one person be kind to another person? Okay, this sounds a lot like a loaded question. I’m sure most people would answer, “always,” right? Well, that is the correct answer. However, the next question is where things get personal. Are we always kind to each other? How about the person who just cut you off in traffic and now, you will be late because you had to wait through one extra light? How about the elderly woman ahead of you at the grocery store who seems to want to pay for her entire grocery bill in change from the bottom of her purse? Yeah, that is hard, we all know.

     Have you ever been nice to someone just because he or she is related to someone you know? Has your kindness extended to the friend of your friend just because your friend knew them? Sure, we have all done that. Did they earn your kindness or do anything for you to be kind to them? Nope. We just liked our friends or relatives, so we also extended that kindness to them. That is exactly what this verse is saying. We should forgive and love one another because God did so for us. Did we deserve it? NO! However, for the sake of Christ who died for us, God forgave us. In the same manner, we are now to show love to others so they might also be drawn to the love of our Lord who loves and died for them as well. Even if they are playing their stereo so loud that from three lanes away with my windows up, I cannot hear mine, I need to be tenderhearted. Maybe that is also why we are to pray without ceasing! “Lord, help me to be kind.”

  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

    What does real kindness look like? Well, God so much loved you and me, and every person he ever created, that He gave His one and only begotten Son, to pay the ransom for our sin. If anyone will believe completely in His death and resurrection as the payment for their sin, and trust in what He did for the atonement of their sin, they will never ever have to worry about perishing but can rejoice in everlasting life.

What does real kindness look like to you?

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage and today’s Devotion?

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  May 6, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
1 Samuel 3-5 – Psalm 106:1-15
Proverbs 6 – Ephesians 3, 4

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
2 Samuel 1-3  /  Luke 22:35-71

Staying Strong Daily

April 29, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Judges 16:17
That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

     What was it that gave Samson his extraordinary strength? As we read this story, we so often look and say, “It was his hair.” After all, it was when they cut his hair that he lost his strength, right? Well, I think this was just the last straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. Did the haircut cause him to lose his strength? NO, not really. So, if not the haircut, then just what was it?

     It was a life of disobedience. Having his hair cut was only one of the things he was not to do. He had broken all the Nazarite vows that came along with the blessing of his supernatural strength. He had done everything that his vows would forbid him from doing. So, where did Samson begin to lose his strength? I believe you will find the answer to that in Judges 14:1, when he wandered off into the world and showed a disregard for God by desiring to marry a pagan wife of the Philistines. It all went downhill from there. His strength left him as the result of his final act of disobedience that came when his hair was cut. However, it might never have happened had he not played with the fire of disobedience to begin with.  

  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

     What areas of the world are we playing in today? Is it taking away the strength of our testimony? We, like Samson, might not see it or feel it at first, but eventually, it can blind us to sin and leave us weak and with little power over the sins of this world. What can we do to protect ourselves? In 2 Corinthians 6:17, it says, “…come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,” Therein is our strength; our strength is in the Lord.

When you feel tired and distraught,
Where do you find your strength in life?

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage and today’s Devotion?

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  April 29, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
Judges 15, 16 – Psalm 102:1-17
Proverbs 29 – 2 Corinthians 6, 7

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
1 Samuel 14-15   –  Luke 19:1-27