Just Who Are You?

April 11, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Proverbs 11:22
As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

   

    I was walking down the street the other day when I saw a woman walking her dog. This was not so strange, except for the fact that the dog had on a sweater. Now, it may have just been me, but it seemed like the dog was moving fast and kept looking left to right, right to left, as if to say, “I sure hope none of my dog friends see me dressed this way.”

    Now I know, some of you dress your dogs this way, and I guess if it makes you happy to dress up your dog as children do their dolls, it never hurts anything. There actually might be some good to it if it is cold out or something. However, there is one thing we need to remember: under that sweet little cardigan, there is still a dog. You can paint their toenails a rainbow of colors, give them a cute haircut, which often costs more than your haircut did, and put ribbons in their hair. However, at the end of the day, they are still dogs.

    What is the point of all this? People are very much the same way. You can dress up the outside and clean up nicely. You might say all the right things and even go to all the right places. Nevertheless, if you have never accepted Jesus as your Saviour, under all that, you are still lost.
     

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

    

    Our verse today speaks of people with no discretion. It is about the inside and the outside of our lives matching. It is not only a verbal testimony of what has happened inside our life but a visible one as well. Do you look like the world and claim Jesus? How do they know you are saved then if they never get close enough for you to tell them? Do you look like the others at church and still not know Jesus as your Saviour? Cleanliness does not get you into heaven, my friend. It is time for the insides and outsides to match!

 

What is your non-verbal testimony for the Lord?

 

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 11, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
Joshua 1-3 – Psalm 87
Proverbs 11 – Philippines 1, 2

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Joshua 23-24 – Luke 10:1-24

What A Friend!
April 10, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Psalm 86:7
In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

    Some people say they do not need friends. They have the “I can do it on my own” attitude. Well, either these people are a lot stronger than I am, or they are putting on a front. I could not imagine living life every day with no friends. Friends are there to comfort me in times of sorrow. They encourage me when I get depressed. They are the ones I run to when I have a funny story to tell. They are the ones to whom I tell my greatest accomplishments and share my deepest cares with. These are my Friends, and I thank God for them.

    However, sometimes, in the dark of the night, when you do not wish to wake a friend, my closest friend is always there. Not only does He walk with me through the joys of my life, but also in my deepest troubles. I can call on God twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and twelve months a year, all my life. Better yet, not only does He listen to my heart, but He also calms my soul. He is a good enough friend to tell me when I am about to make a mistake in life and encourages me with His Holy Spirit when I do what is best. What better friend could a person have? 

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

     A hymn we sing in the church comes to mind. “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear…” What a friend indeed.

Can you think of a better or closer friend than Jesus?

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 10, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
Deuteronomy 33, 34 – Psalm 86
Proverbs 10 – Acts 16

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Joshua 21-22 – Luke 9:28-62

 

What A Friend!
April 10, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Psalm 86:7
In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

    Some people say they do not need friends. They have the “I can do it on my own” attitude. Well, either these people are a lot stronger than I am, or they are putting on a front. I could not imagine living life every day with no friends. Friends are there to comfort me in times of sorrow. They encourage me when I get depressed. They are the ones I run to when I have a funny story to tell. They are the ones to whom I tell my greatest accomplishments and share my deepest cares with. These are my Friends, and I thank God for them.

    However, sometimes, in the dark of the night, when you do not wish to wake a friend, my closest friend is always there. Not only does He walk with me through the joys of my life, but also in my deepest troubles. I can call on God twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and twelve months a year, all my life. Better yet, not only does He listen to my heart, but He also calms my soul. He is a good enough friend to tell me when I am about to make a mistake in life and encourages me with His Holy Spirit when I do what is best. What better friend could a person have? 

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

     A hymn we sing in the church comes to mind. “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear…” What a friend indeed.

Can you think of a better or closer friend than Jesus?

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 10, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
Deuteronomy 33, 34 – Psalm 86
Proverbs 10 – Acts 16

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Joshua 21-22 – Luke 9:28-62

 

“The Apple Of The Eye!”

April 7, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Proverbs 7:2
Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

 

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

   

    “The Apple of the Eye!” What does that really mean? Well, I went out on the Internet and asked that question, and here is what I received back from Go English.com.

 

    The apple of your eye is that person (or thing) that you care for the most. Example: “He sure does love his little girl.” Reply: “She’s the apple of his eye.” Example: “You got me the bracelet I wanted!” Reply: “Yes, I knew it was the apple of your eye.”

 

    The original meaning of the apple of your eye is the pupil or the round black spot in the middle of the eye. It is as if that person’s reflection can be seen in the pupil (“apple”) of your eye. Example: “Everyone knew they would get married someday. She was always the apple of his eye.”

 

    It makes you feel good to look at the person who is the apple of your eye. From a famous love song: “You are the apple of my eye. That’s why I’ll always be with you.”

 

    Using these definitions, is God’s Word, “the apple of thine eye?” Is it, “What you care for most?” Is your life a reflection of God’s Word? Do you feel good looking into God’s Word? God wants His Word to be the Apple of our Eye.   

  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

   

    Today as you read through the verses on the pages of the Holy Bible remember, God is speaking through that page to your heart. He, more than anything, wants to be the “Apple of Thine Eye.”

 

Who or what has become the “Apple of your Eye?”

 

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 7, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(O.T.-1,   N.T. & PS.-2,   Prov. – Monthly)}
Deuteronomy 28 – Psalm 83
Proverbs 6-7 – Acts 15 & Galatians 1, 2

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Joshua 12-14 – Luke 8:1-40

 

What Chains Hold Us?

April 5 & 6, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Deuteronomy 24:22
And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

 

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

    In America, we too often take our freedom for granted. We wake up every morning and believe we are free. We are free to go where we want to go and do what we want to do, and as our parents told us when we were young, we could grow up to be anything we want to be. Freedom. What a wonderful liberty, which we treat so lightly. Men and women have died to gain and keep our freedom. Yet there are those who walk around us every day who truly are not free.

 

    The chains of drug addictions bind some. What may have seemed like such a small thing years ago now controls their life. Some are held captive by alcohol. Every day is another day to see how long they can go before they feel an uncontrollable need for that first drink. Others are enslaved by tobacco, pornography, gambling, etc. They say it is not a problem, but they cannot seem to live without it. The chains are whatever it may be that have more control of our lives than we do. Are we free?

 

    In our verse today, Jesus was reminding the Israelites that they too were bound at one time, and not to ever forget it. It is so easy to look at someone else who is bound and forget where we have come from. We too were bound by sin. Sin was taking us off to hell and we were content to go there. Until one day, someone shared with us the glorious truth of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit shined a light in our life and there and then, we saw our need for a Saviour. Only through Jesus can any of us ever be really set free. 

  

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

    As we see others struggling to be free in the sea of life, let’s not toss them an anchor of ridicule, pity, or shame. We once were, and maybe in another way, still are held by some things. We must reach out a hand to help them into the lifeboat of God’s love and mercy. We must remember where we came from and where Jesus found us. Once they get in the boat with us, maybe they can help us with our chains too.

 

Do you remember, or can you identify any chains in your 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 5, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1,/NT & PS-2,/Prov-Monthly)}
Deuteronomy 24-27 – Psalm 81-82
Proverbs 5 – James 3-5

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Joshua 10-11 – Luke 7:36-50

WHAT TO DO ON SUNDAY:

    There will not be a Daily Devotion sent out on Sundays. Instead, we encourage you to attend your church and listen intently to what God has prepared in the heart of your Pastor. Write down all the scriptures he uses in that message, then when you get home re-read those passages for today’s reading. God has given to your Pastor exactly what He desires for you on that day.  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  April 6, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1,/NT & PS-2,/Prov-Monthly)}
NO READINGS ON SUNDAY

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
NO READINGS ON SUNDAY