Daily Devotion for February 29--Jealousy

February 29

Numbers 11:28-29 

28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. 29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them

Jealousy is a terrible thing.  However, it is also a very common thing.  We often wish that we had gifts that other people have---that we could play an instrument, that we could sing, that we could teach, preach, lead, whatever.  But God chose to give each of us the gift that He knew we needed to be used by Him in His work.

Here, Joshua and Moses are having a discussion and Joshua shows sings of jealousy  Moses' sake.  Even though Moses was training Joshua to become a leader, Joshua still had some growing up to do.  He didn't think anybody else should have the ability to be a spiritual leader except Moses.  Moses knew that Joshua had to see the bigger picture of what God had planned and not jut focus on the here and now. 

Moses wished that all men could hear from God as he did.  Today, we are fortunate to have the Bible that is the inspired word of God.  That gives us the ability to hear from God by reading it and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us.

As we go through this day, let us focusing on what God has given us and not on what we are lacking.  Read His word and He will show us all of our gifts.

Daily Devotion for February 28--Years are Short

February 28

1 Chronicles 29:15

For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

Conversation with my soon to be 7 year old grandson:
JC:  Nonni, grown-ups are lucky.
Me:  Yeah, why do you say that?
JC:  Because for kids it seems FOR-EVER between birthdays.  But it doesn't seem as long for y'all.
Me:  You are very right about that, Munchkin.

And he was.  I remember as a child thinking that I would never get to be in double digits or a teen, or an adult.  Now it seems like birthdays roll around more quickly.  There is an old saying about aging---The days are long but the years are short.  I understand that more and more with each passing day.

David knew that, too.  As he was preparing to pass the mantle off to his son Solomon, he knew that our days on this earth pass quickly.  I imagine, though there were many times David feared he would lose his life, it still ended more quickly than he had imagined.

But it wouldn't be fair to look at this verse and not look at the ones preceding it.  I Chronicles 29:13-14 say:  Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.  But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.  David prayed to thank God for all he had.  Old-time radio pastor Vernon Magee called this, “One of the greatest prayers in the Scriptures and certainly the Old Testament.” David realized that although he started as a shepherd and ended as a king, everything was because of God.

We, too, need to realize that life is short and we must do what we can to serve God and bring people to Him while we have the time.  We can't put things off waiting for a better time because tomorrow is not promised to us.

As we go through the day, let us remember that our lives are short and the only thing that will matter in the end is what we did for God.

Daily Devotion for February 27--God Took Them Away As He Saw Fit

February 27

Ezekiel 16:49-50

49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

Did you realize that immorality was not the only reason that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed?  Most of the time when we think about these two cities where Lot and his family were living, we think about their sexual sin.  And, yes, that was sin then and is sin now and God did punish them severely.

But that was not the only problems in these 2 cities.  As we read here in Ezekiel there were other sins that God would not tolerate.  These are things we may find ourselves guilty of today if we are not careful.  

The people living in these places were unconcerned about others.  They were arrogant.  There were well fed (maybe to the point of being overfed) and they had plenty of time on their hands.  Life was great.  For them.  But they did not reach out to help those who were in need.  They did not share what they had with the poor.  They looked at every thing that was evil and called it good.  (Oh, that sounds like today).  God said they were prideful and wrought wicked things.  And so what did He do?  "... therefore I took them away as I saw good."  He removed them.  He did away with them.  Just as He saw fit.

Ezekiel was talking to the people of Israel and comparing them with Sodom and Gomorrah, but God could say the same things to us today.  It is important that we not become conceited nor feel self-sufficient because we have all we need to survive.  We must be careful not to put ourselves into a position where God might choose to call our acts abominable and remove us as well.  We must beware of the sins we are warned about in 1Corinthians 6: 9-10 and focus on having the fruits of the spirit (Galations 5:22-23) manifested in our lives.

As we go through the day, let us remember to live as God wants us to and not fall into the sins of excess.

Daily Devotion February 26--Peace

February 26

John 14:27
 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, peace is defined as:  a state of tranquility or quiet:  freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions.  Peace of mind is one of the things that we long for in our lives.  We want to feel at peace with our lives; at peace with our family; at peace with the people around us.

True peace only comes from the Lord.  It is our inheritance from our Father.  This world can never give us peace.  No amount of vacations, no amount of money, nothing that the world can provide will ever give us the peace we are looking for.  But God can give us that peace in the midst of the chaos, the turmoil,  the challenges, the storms.  We should have no fear, no worry, no fretting.  He has promised us this and one thing we can do for sure is that He never lies!

If you are facing something today that is robbing you of your peace, turn to the Prince of Peace and He can give you the only true peace there is!

As we go through the day, let us remember that Jesus gives us peace beyond anything in this world!!

Daily Devotion for February 25--Decay of the Body

February 25

2 Corinthians 4:16
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

Most mornings when I look in the mirror I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.  The young girl I feel I am in my heart is not the person I see when I look in that mirror.  Just like the rest of you, I am aging physically.  The outward body is constantly changing and moving toward the inevitable--death.

Paul tells the church at Corinth, just like he tells us today, to stay encouraged.  Even if our outer man is aging and fading away, our inner man can till grow.  It is encouraging to know that we can be renewed every day.  Paul is willing to go through whatever is necessary to bring honor to God because he knew no matter what his physical body suffered, he was going to have a new immortal, imperishable body.

We need to remember this, also.  We will face times that are hard on us.  It may be sickness that causes the body to deteriorate.  It may be emotional turmoil that wears on us mentally  and physically.  But no matter what it is, we will be renewed each day through our relationship and interaction with our Heavenly Father.

As we go through the day, let us remember that even though the outward man will fade away, there is still good news to be found.

Daily Devotion for February 24--Busy Lives

February 24

1 Kings 19:12-13 King James Version (KJV)

And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Do you keep a planner or a calendar or a list on your phone so you will know where you are supposed to be at any given time?  Do you sometimes find yourself so busy that you put off your quiet time with God,  your Bible reading, your prayer time?  Do you find that the noises of life seem to be overwhelming you?  You are not alone.

In this part of scripture, Elijah has been a very busy man.  In chapter 18, he had been busy being powerfully used by God to defeat the prophets of Baal.  Just when he thought he might get a chance to relax, he found himself in the place where his enemies were trying to kill him.  Elijah was exhausted, I'm sure, and thinking that he had to find a place to rest.  So he made his way to the wilderness.  Elijah made his way into the wilderness and God met him there.  And when He did, God didn't scream at Elijah or bellow at him like thunder.  He spoke to him in a still, small voice.

Sometimes the noise around us is overwhelming.  Our busy lives are filled with so much that demands our attention that sometimes God can't get through.  We may need some time in the wilderness to have the opportunity to give God the attention we need to give Him.  We may need to slow down and find a time of silence to listen.  When we are in tune with God, Satan has a much harder time getting to us.  We need to listen in the quiet.  The rest we need will be found there.

As we go through our day, let us be sure to take time to "Be still and know that I am God." Psalms 46:10

Daily Devotion February 23--The Need for Corporate Worship

February 23

Hebrews 10:25

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.


Sometimes it seems to take a lot of energy to get ready to go to church.  Children and teenagers often ask "Do I really have to go?"  It is so important for that answer to be YES!

I know that God can be worshipped wherever you are.  And we do worship Him all through the day.  But the writer of Hebrews recognized the importance of gathering together for worship.  It is important for us to make this a priority for us as an individual, a couple or a family.  Worshipping with fellow Christians can be very uplifting.  It can be encouraging.  From the singing to the preaching and everything else, we grow closer to God.  For me, one of the greatest benefits of worshipping with others is the fellowship.  So many people to love on and greet starts the worship experience off for me.

We bring honor and glory to God through worshipping Him.  We are commanded to meet together and it helps us grow in our relationship with God and His people.  Make the effort to worship God together.

As we go through the day, let us not only worship God one on one but also worship Him with other believers.

Daily Devotion February 22--Go in Peace

February 22

1 Samuel 1:17
Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

In this passage of scripture, Hannah had been begging God to send her a son.  When Eli first saw Hannah, she was praying in her heart yet her lips were moving.  Eli thought she was drunk.  So Hannah told him what she had requested and this is the end of that conversation. Hannah then went her way.

Hannah was in a dark place at this time.  Her heart's desire was to have a man child--a son.  You may think she was bargaining with God when she promised to give the son right back to God.  A woman in this culture was considered to be a failure if she was barren.  Hannah had been praying for years for a child.  But notice that during her time of heartbreak, she turned TO the Lord and not AWAY from Him.  She was certain that He was the only One who could grant her wish.

The same thing is true for us when we are in dark and trying times.  Those times when we feel that we are a failure.  Those times when we feel that we are being kept from our heart's desire.  We have to turn toward God and not away from Him during those times.  God is so good, so gracious to us.  He is the God of Hope and the God of Peace and Promise.  He can give us exactly what we need.   We know that He can calm us and guide us and give us joy.  He can turn things right in our world when we are sad and hurting.  Jesus Himself can tell us to "Go in peace."  And He will grant our petition when the time is right.

As we go through this day, let us remember that in our darkest times that God can grant our prayers.

Daily Devotion February 21--I am the Lord your God

February 21

Leviticus 20:7
Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God.

Reading the book of Leviticus as I read through the Bible is difficult for me.  For several chapters we read about the sacrifices they are to make, how to make them and when to make them.  As I read through those first several chapters my main thought was that I am thankful that God sent His son to be the ultimate sacrifice and we no longer have to do these daily, weekly or time sensitive sacrifices.  We need to remember even when struggling through these chapters that these words are given to us by God, just like every other verse in the Bible, so they are important.   As I continue to read there is something else that stands out to me.

Many times in the book of Leviticus, God says for Moses to pass some information on to the Israelites and follows it with "I am the Lord your God" or "I am the Lord."   That is a pretty powerful statement.  We often use the word "for" in the place of "because".  God is giving Moses and the Israelites the reason they are to do as He says.

In chapter 18, God gives instructions in many areas and spends several verses on what is acceptable in sexual relationships.  He says that many of the things that are "socially and politically correct" in our society today are an abomination to Him.  Go see for yourself.

Then in chapter 19, He continues to give dictates concerning what is right and what is wrong, following up with "I am the Lord your God."  As we read through chapter 20, we see that God is still reminding Moses Who He is so that Moses can remind the Israelites.  I started with verse 7 of chapter 20 but if you will continue to read you will find more information about relationships.  God does care about that.

In the beginning of verse 7, God says "sanctify yourself."  That means that His people should set themselves apart from the world.  We cannot allow the things of the world to overtake the Church.  No matter what is yelled to us by the world, we must remember that God is the only authority of our lives and His standards are the ones we should meet.

I hope you will take the time to read through these chapters I've mentioned at least.  If you are not familiar with this part of the Old Testament I think there will be things for you to learn there.

As we go through our day, let us always hear the Voice from above saying "I am the Lord your God."

Daily Devotion February 20-Love each other

February 20

2 John 6

 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

I don't like conflict.  I dislike how politicians and news media personnel apparently think that the more conflict they create, the better.  I wish there was a way for people to try to find some common ground and maybe begin to care more about similarities than differences.  I know that is probably a pipe dream but I would like to see it.

Based upon this scripture it seems that Christians must be the ones to spread love and kindness.  We are to walk in God's commandments and do what we have been instructed to do.  We know He only gives us 2 things we really have to do--love Him and love our neighbor.

The Greek word used here is "agape" which not only means love but refers to the selfish type of love that Jesus has for us.  We are to be examples of Jesus' love.  This is not just love in words but love in action also.  We are to walk in God's love and walk in obedience to God's commandments.  We must have a relationship with God to be able to love this way and to honor His commandments.

As we go through the day, let us keep our focus on Jesus and loving as He loves.

Daily Devotion for February 19--When Your Heart Hurts

February 19

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.


Today my heart hurts.  There are people that I love and care for deeply that are facing a hard day.  There are troubles and tribulations and trials and hurt.  And when people we love hurt, we hurt with them.  There is nothing I can do to stop the hurt.  There is nothing I can do make the pain go away.  So, I sit here with my heart breaking doing the only thing possible---lifting them up to the Lord in prayer.

I have highlighted three distinct parts these verses because I think we need to look at each part separately and then the verse together as a whole.  First off we see that God is the only One who can truly comfort us in times of trouble and trials.  He is the only one that can give us exactly what we need to face whatever lies ahead.  Paul plainly states that God DOES comfort us.

The second part tells us that God comforts us so that we can comfort others.  So while I can't take the pain away, I have had a broken heart and I know that God saw me through.  I can then offer support and empathy and sympathy to my friends.  We are able to provide comfort to others.

And we provide that comfort by the comforting that we receive from God.  It is so awesome (and some of you know I only think that word refers to God) to see how God can take something that was hard for us and use it to help us help someone else.  I know that God knows ahead of time what we each will face.  To me it is a comfort when hard times come to know that one day I can use the love that God showed to me and show it to someone else in need.  Even though we don't pray for God to send us trials, we can pray that He will use them to guide us and prepare us for helping someone else.

So, we are able to say "Blessed be God" even on the hardest days.  God is the greatest comforter and is willing to give that comfort to us.

(And, if you don't mind,  please join me in offering up some prayers for my friends.  I would greatly appreciate it.)

As we go through our day today, let us remember that trials can turn into blessings because God is the Comforter.

Daily Devotion February 18--Being God's Child

February 18

1 John 3:1-2

 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.


When we are born, we are not in a right relationship with God because of the Adamic nature.  Thankfully, through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have the ability to be called the sons (and daughters) of God.  By nature we are His enemies, but due His great love for us, we have been reconciled to Him.  Can you even begin to fathom how much God had to love us to be willing to send His son to die for us and allow us to become His children?

The more Christlike we become, the less the world is able to recognize us because we are different from the world.  We know that the world did not recognize Jesus Christ for who He was when He walked the earth, so why we should expect them to understand us.  But here is the great part of all of this---we will one day see God (Jesus) just as He is.  And then we will have His likeness and be like Him--what a wonderful thing for us to look forward to each day!

As we go through the day, let us remember that even though the world does not know us, our Heavenly Father does.

Daily Devotion February 17--Do not oppress a stranger

February 17

Exodus 23:9

Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Israelites had been captives in Egypt for many years before God told Moses to lead them out.  They knew what it was to a stranger in a strange land.

We, too, are strangers in a strange land (and I'm sad to say, this world gets stranger by the day.)  But just like the Israelites were told not to oppress a stranger, the same is true for us today.

One way to look at this is to see it as saying not to oppose a doubting man.  Often, when Christians talk to nonbelievers, they may be seen as confrontational.  If we are speaking to a nonbeliever, they are a doubting person.  We must remember the time when we were lost and had doubts of our own.  We had to have someone willing to show us the way and to give us information about salvation through Jesus Christ.  We must remind ourselves how we felt when we first heard the gospel message.  We must remember when we were doubters.  It is not good to be judgmental when speaking to individuals.  We must be kind in gentle with them.  We know what it is to be lost and must be considerate of those we are trying to lead to Christ.

As we go through the day, let us remember that we are strangers in this land and to be good hearted when leading others to Christ.

Daily Devotion February 16--Some Dos and Don'ts from the Psalms

February 16

Psalm 37 1-8

 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
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.
 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

These verses carry some do nots:  Don't worry about those who are evil and don't be jealous.

But we also find some great Dos in these verses:
1.  Trust in the Lord---We are not capable of taking care of things on our own.  Just trust that God will take care of things in a great way.

2.  Do good---We make our own choices every day.  We have to make the right choices to do the right things because that is what is expected of us as children of God.

3.  Delight yourself in the Lord--When you think about the things that delight you, they are the things that you love most.  We should fall in love with the Lord, we should sit with His Word, we should talk to Him and we should listen for His voice.

4.  Commit your way to the Lord--this is one of the greatest things we can do.  Giving ourselves over to God and trusting Him frees us from so much stress.  Just putting Him first is worth it all.

5.  Rest in the Lord and wait on Him--the second part of this is hard for many of us.  We are impatient and want to move ahead with things.  But here we are reminded to simply wait and rest in His arms.

6.  Cease from anger--As the song from Frozen says "Let It Go".  So often we just hang on to things that have made us angry.  But that just harms us and may actually pull us away from God.

As we go through the day, let us remember that God gives us guidelines that help us through each and every day.

Daily Devotion February 15-When God Says No

February 15

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The life of Paul is one of the more interesting reads in the New Testament.  Paul had a unique relationship with Jesus and was made aware of many things that others were not.  To keep Paul from becoming overly prideful, God gave him what Paul referred to as a thorn in the flesh.  Paul fought with this and says that 3 times he begged God to take it away from him.  But God promised him that He was sufficient to meet his needs.

Sometimes we don't understand why God tells us "no" when we ask Him for something.  But He always has good reasons for saying no because He knows what is best for us.

One reason God may say no is for our own protection.  Maybe we, like Paul, need to be kept humble. Maybe God is protecting us from something that we don't understand.  Remember He sees the big picture and we only see the pieces.

Maybe God has something much bigger in store for us.  If Jesus had healed Lazarus when He was first told of his illness, it would not have had the same effect as raising him from the dead did.

As much as we hate to admit this, maybe God says no because our motives are wrong.  Maybe we are asking for things knowing they are selfish and God recognizes that selfishness.  There are many times when we aren't thinking of what is best for the kingdom of God but what is best for us.  God has to watch out for us because we don't always make the best choices.

As we go through the day, let us always remember that when God says NO it is because He knows best.

Daily Devotion February 14--Love

February 14

I Corinthians 13: 4-7

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

If I asked you to define love in two or three sentences, could you do it?  Could you do it adequately?  It seems that no matter how we try to define love, we just always come up lacking.  But even if we can't define it, we know that we need it.  We need to get love from and give love to someone.

Here in this verse we are given some pretty tough guidelines as to what love does and does not do.  I often hear these verses at wedding ceremonies.  But even in new love we fail at meeting all these standards.

In the KJV,  "charity" is used while other versions use "love".  If you will give me a little freedom today, I will write this verse based on Strong's concordance as a guide.  This is what we are to do:

Love is to persevere patiently and bravely and is to show one's self as mild, love does not envy or burn with hatred or anger, love does not boast about itself, is not proud or boastful; does not act in an unbecoming manner, does not look out only for his/herself or put his/herself first, does not quickly rise to anger, does not take into account those bad things, is not joyful over injustice, but is joyful over whatever is true in a matter, protects and preserves everything,  places confidence in everything, trust everything, takes everything patiently.  Then the first part of verse 8 says Charity never faileth.  This is saying Love never falls, falls out of, perishes.

I think that the last part may be where many people fall short.  People say they fell out of love with their partner.  But never once did Jesus say He would love us as long as...(Fill in with whatever it is you felt was wrong in your partner.)  Jesus loves us all the time in all these ways.  We are to love the same way those people with whom we interact.  We can be so thankful that in Romans 5:5 "...the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."  That is the only way we are able to love as we should.

As we go through this day, let us love like Jesus.  Let us do all we can to exemplify the love found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.  Love to all!

Daily Devotion February 13--Family

February 13

1 Timothy 5:8
But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.


Family.  This word stirs up lots of memories and emotions for most of us.  Some of those are good and make us smile and others we work diligently to forget.  Regardless of how you feel, it is clear in God's word that we are to take care of each other in a family.

In many homes today 3 generations all live together.  This is the way it was in my home growing up.  In some households the grandparents are rearing their grandchildren and the middle generation is missing. Whatever your household is made of, it is the responsibility of those in that home to care for one another.

Paul is saying here that we are to provide for those in our family unless we want to be worse than a nonbeliever.  Much of what will follow will not be popular but I feel it is true.

Parents are responsible for the upbringing of their children.  It is not the school's responsibility to teach children morals and values and common sense.  This should be taught at home by parents who are actively engaged in the lives of their children.  We need to be careful not to fill a child's life with so many outside activities that there is no time for families to be together for at least one meal a day.  Some days that is hard but much is learned around that dinner (or breakfast or lunch) table.

If we do not develop a relationship with our children then the teenage years will be troublesome.  Instead of looking to their parents for guidance and advice, they will turn to their friends.  That strong family bond is so important.

As we get older, the roles reverse and the children often become the caregivers to their parents whether that is by taking them into their home or making sure they are cared for in a living situation designed for aging individuals.  It is important that we make sure the needs of our parents are being met and not just toss them to the side.  Care for your family is a God given responsibility.

None of us would want to called an infidel.  We must strive to do what God has instructed us to do.

As we go through the day, let us be sure that we are caring for those God has placed in our family.

Daily Devotion February 12--Friends

February 12

Proverbs 18:24
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

What do you think of when you see or hear the word "friend"?  Friend is defined in the Merriam Webster dictionary as "one attached to another by affection or esteem."  When we think about a friend or friends we know they come in all shapes and sizes but we also know that there are varying levels of friends.  Some are very casual friends and really they are just our acquaintances.  They are people that we know and may interact with occasionally.  They probably wouldn't know if we had dropped off the face of the earth for many weeks---unless they wanted something from us.

Others are social friends--those we meet through church, work or organizations.  They like us ok and if we have something to offer them, then they are proud to be our friend.  But if something bad happens in our life, they will turn away from us.  They aren't mean people, they just aren't very committed to a relationship with us.  Many of the people we call friends fall into this category.

Our real or true friends are the ones who are dedicated and committed to a relationship.  They are by our side no matter what.  When life is great, they are there to help you celebrate and when things fall apart, they are there to help you pick up the pieces.  We have these friends because the relationship is reciprocal.  These are few in number are very much to be treasured.  To have these friends is a great blessing.

But even greater than these few, dedicated friends, there is another, truer Friend.  His name is Jesus. And He is closer than any other person could ever be.  Jesus will never disappointed us nor will He ever fail us.  What comfort it gives us to know that even if everyone else walks out on us, our Friend Jesus is always there!

As we go through this day, let us tell our true friends how thankful we are for them and never forget our Best Friend!!

Daily Devotion February 11--Blessed

February 11

Psalm 115:15
Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth.

The word blessed comes from the Greek word MAKARIOS which means happy or fortunate.  When Jesus is in our lives that means we are happier and richer because of our personal relationship with Him.

Is is possible to begin to count the many blessing we have from the Lord?  We have so much to be thankful for as far as the things that God has blessed us with in our every day lives.  God is so good to us and we need to continually praise Him for that goodness.  It is so humbling to think about that the same God that created the heavens and the earth not only created us too but that He watches over us every day.  We can look at every area of our lives and see how blessed we have been---even those times when we didn't understand; God was watching out for us.

As we go through this day, let us remember that God blesses us daily with more than we ever deserve.

Devotion for February 10: Thirsty? Thirst no more.

February 10

Psalm 42

1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

John 4:14

“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” 

I drink a lot of water during the day.  First thing I have every morning is a bottle of water.  I wake up thirsty and water satisfies that thirst.  But more importantly than a physical thirst, we should have a thirst for the Lord.   Our soul should be thirsting for His presence, for His word, for knowledge from Him all the time.  We should be just as desperate for that water as David was when he wrote this psalm.  Too many people are thirsting for something today but they don't know what it is.  Often they try everything the world has to offer--alcohol, drugs, sex, whatever.  But they will never be satisfied.

However, there is a way to have your thirst satisfied forever.  The same water that Jesus offered the woman at the well is available for us today.  This woman was a Samaritan and an adulteress.  She was certainly not the type of woman people would expect Jesus to seek out.  But He did.  Because He knew she was thirsty.  He knew she needed this living water.  This is a spring of living water.  And when we drink of it we will NEVER thirst again.  We know that because Jesus said so.

As we go through our day, let us thirst after God and let Him fill us with the living water that will give us everlasting life.

Daily Devotion February 9--Sins and Mercy

February 9

Psalm 25:7
Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

Confession time:  Who can say that they can look back at their life and see sins they'd rather not remember?  No matter our age, we can say this same verse.  When we are in our teens, we can look back at some of the stupid things we did as kids.  As young adults, we can look back over our teenage years and see the bad decisions we made.  In middle and late adulthood, there are even more things that we can look back on and ask God to forgive us for the sins of our youth or younger age.

We must all be thankful for God's mercy--that He didn't give us what we deserved.  If the people in our lives got up and told all they knew about us, we would probably be traumatized enough not to want to show our face in public.  God could tell us all our sins; BUT keep in mind that Jesus said that He remembers our sins no more.  Not only does God give us mercy and forget our sins, but He remembers us.  Through His grace and mercy we have hope--hope for eternal life.  We must be aware of our transgressions and repent of these.  God will have mercy on us because He is God!

As we go through our day, let us be sure to ask God for forgiveness and trust in His mercy.

Daily Devotion February 8--Comparison

February 8

Psalm 139:13-14

13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Oh my.  How often do we compare ourselves to other people?  Social media has made this a constant problem for many people.  We watch others go on really cool trips.  Or see pictures of them doing really fun things.  And how do they always look so great in their pictures (filters, I know).  But we do sometimes fall into that trap of comparing ourselves to those around us.  Some of these people we don't really even know.  Almost always we find ourselves falling short when we compare ourselves with other people.

God doesn't call us to use comparison.   He wants us to always remember that He made each of us to be exactly what He wants us to be.  Remember how Moses stood at the burning bush telling God all of his weaknesses and all of the reasons he couldn't lead God's people.  Don't you think he had heard other people tell him all those same weaknesses?   We do that so often ourselves. We listen to criticism or ridicule from other people.   But when  we do this, we aren't giving God credit for know what talents each of us has been given.    When we compare ourselves and only view ways we are "lesser" we open the door for the devil to steal our confidence and make us so self-conscious that we don't want to try.  We begin to compare ourselves to others and say we just don't have their abilities.  BUT THAT IS OK!!!  God did not create us all to be the same!  He created you to be you and me to be me. ( I will never be the decorator for a social gathering but I can wash the dishes like nobody's business!)  Be who God created you to be.

As we go through our day, let us remember that we are each fearfully and wonderfully made and Divinely designed and not compare ourselves to others around us.

Daily Devotion February 7--Edifying one another

February 7

Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Our spiritual growth is not just a personal matter.  The entire church is affected by how much we hunger for the word of God, how deeply we delve into it, and how Christlike we strive to be.  But it is not enough for us to grow in solitude.  We must work together to help our brothers and sisters in Christ grow also.

Helping other Christians grow is not just the responsibility of our pastors or evangelists.  This verse says for the word of Christ to dwell in us and for us to teach and admonish one another.  That means it is our responsibility to help one another mature in Christ.  We must be willing to look to the scriptures to give wise advice to each other.  We can't just haphazardly throw out our opinions.  We must base our counsel on what the Lord says.  We must help to build each other up as well as warning those who are veering away from what Christ teaches.

I especially love that this scripture speaks of singing.  The old hymns still have much to offer us today.  Quite often we do literally sing the Psalms.  And new songs can be help helpful for us, too, as long as they are based in the gospel.   Music can be encouraging, admonishing and remind us of God's grace.

To help one another is not an intrusive act but by doing so we are being obedient to Christ.  When someone needs to admonish us, it is important for us to have a teachable attitude and a humble heart. We all need encouragement and an occasional word to remind us of what is right in God's eyes.

As we go through the day, let us strive to be an encourager to others while also being open to encouragement from others.

Daily Devotion February 6--Jesus Calls the Sinner

February 6


Matthew 9:11-13
11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Some people have the misconception that Christians are supposed to be perfect.  Many are afraid to admit to having any shortcomings.  They just want to keep up the appearance of perfection.  But God knows we can't be perfect.  Jesus said He came to same to save those who were lost.  He healed those who were sick.  He gave sight to those who were blind.  He was much more likely to be found among the downtrodden and the broken hearted.  If we did not NEED Him, He wouldn't have had to die for us.

It is important for us to acknowledge our need for God.  We should seek Him passionately.   We should be faithful in our service to Him and hunger for His word.  We should be quick to confess our sins and trust that God will forgive us, just as He said He would.

As we go through our day let us remember that God calls us and sits and eats with us with all our imperfections is we ask Him to be our Saviour.

Daily Devotion February 5

Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Many times when we think about the word meditation we often think of some mystical something that is distinct from Christianity.  However, if we look at the Hebrew word for meditation: hagah- which means to quietly speak the words of the text over and over to yourself we find it means something different.  Repeating the scripture over and over in our mind is much like the way a cow digests food.  We sometimes must regurgitate what we've digested so that we can chew on it some more until we are better able to process it (Sorry if that was a little gross.).

Meditation on God's Word helps us to memorize Scripture. Moreover, it helps us to get more understanding of the Word.  You know how sometimes you read a scripture you've read a dozen times and suddenly it becomes so clear to you.  That is what meditating on the Word does.  Furthermore, the Bible says here that this will help us be prosperous and successful.  But this is God's definition of success which often does not match up to the world's definition.

As we go through our day, let us remember that chewing on God's Word is a great way to help us prosper and succeed.

Daily devotion February 4--Contentment

Philippians 4:11-12

 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Contentment---the quality or state of being contented;  Content--satisfied.

How easy is it for us to feel a state of contentment?  Is it easier to be discontent?  If we have everything we need for survival, why is it so hard for us to be content?  I think this is something that many people deal with daily, so if you are sometimes discontent, don't beat yourself up too much.

We are not born content but it is something we must learn during our lifetime.  From childhood on it seems that we are always looking for something more.  If you have reared children or been around them much, one of their favorite things to say is "I'm bored.'  They see an advertisement for something on TV and they NEED it.  This continues as we mature.  We don't just want any vehicle, we want a certain vehicle.  We want a particular job---you know, one that pays more money.  We want a better house.  A bigger bank account.  More, more more.  But is that the Godly way for us to view things?  We've often seen that contentment is not having everything we want, but it is wanting what we have.   That is what Paul was talking about.  He had good times and he had bad times.  But with Jesus as his Savior, he knew he had all he needed.

It is important for us to remember that God will supply our needs.  Whatever we have, wherever we find ourselves, if we are child of God then we should be content.  If we want more of anything, we should strive to have more of God.

As we go through our day let us remember that if we have Jesus, we have all we need.

Daily Devotion for February 3--Godly love

Luke 6:28
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

This may be one of those verses that is very hard for most of us to follow.  Yes, we know God tells us to do this and in our mind we know it is right, but quite often our sinful human self fights against it.  The only way we can have this Godly type of love is through the Spirit of God.  It is not humanly possible but it is Divinely possible.   We can only have unconditional Godly love when the Holy Spirit dwells in us and we submit to His leading.  It is only through God's power that we can begin to love our enemy; to not retaliate against those who use us.

While on the cross, Jesus prayed for the murderer beside Him.  As Stephen was being stoned, he prayed for those around him.  Joseph forgave his brothers even though they sold him into slavery.  Esau welcomed back his brother Jacob, even though Jacob had stolen his birthright.  These are just a few examples of those who were able to pray for, bless and love their enemies.

We may never face the physical persecutions that many Christians have in the past (and some face even today), yet we often have people in our lives who mistreat us or hate us.  Abiding by this scripture gives us a chance to show them the love of Jesus and be a witness to them.  We need to ask God to help us submit to Him  so that His love can flow through us.

As we go through our day, let us be led by the Holy Spirit and pray for those who are against or who hurt us along the way.

Daily Devotion February 2--Priorities

Matthew 6:33
 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.


One of the exercises that I sometimes used when teaching psychology involved priorities.  I think it is a good exercise for all of us to do.  List your priorities in rank order--with number 1 being the most important.  Then for a week, keep a diary of how you spend your time.  Then put those in order  by the amount of time spent each day on each activity and put them in order with the one you spent the most time on first.  Now compare your two lists.  Are you surprised by what you found?

Usually when we list our priorities in order, we will put serving Jesus at the top.  But when we look at how much time we spend reading the Bible, praying, studying His Word, etc., we find a very different story.  Sometimes we get so busy with our every day lives that we just give what time we have left over to the Lord.  I am just as guilty of this as anyone.  We must make an effort to spend our time with Him, talking to Him and listening to Him.

God tells us plainly that seeking Him should be our first priority, our number one goal.  Then the other things that He sees we need will be provided for us.  I believe this is something we need to work on every single day and when we slip up, we need to remind ourselves that we want to serve Him first.

As we go through our day, let us remember to put God first in everything we do.

Daily Devotion February 1--God's timing

Genesis 17: 16-17
 And I will bless her (Sarah), and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

God had promised Abraham that He would make of him a great nation.  He promised him that he would have children.  When God didn't work at the speed Abraham and Sarah thought He should, Sarah (then Sarai) took things into her own hands and gave her handmaid unto her husband.  Hagar gave birth to Ishmael and ridiculed Sarah because she could not conceive.  But this was not God's plan.  God's plan was for Sarah to bear a son to Abraham and that would be the beginning of the nation that He had promised him.

So you can imagine how Abraham felt when God told him that Sarah WOULD indeed conceive a son.  And Abraham laughed.  If you keep reading through the chapter you will find that Sarah also laughed.  But she did conceive and gave birth to Abraham's son, Issac.  They got ahead of God's timing and that has led to much turmoil in the Middle East even today.

Now, why would Abraham not trust God's timing after all they'd been through together?  For the same reasons that you and I often try to get ahead of God's timing today.  We have an idea of what we want to happen, when we want it to happen and how we want it to happen.  Things not going according to our plans?  Then we just move ahead and decide God is not really interested in the timing anyway.  But that is so wrong.  God has everything timed out perfectly.  He sees the big picture--way beyond anything that we can see.  We can easily be caught up in the belief that we know what is best and in our impatience just make mess of things.  We need to wait and listen for God to lead--for His timing.  I heard a great thing from author Nicole Johnson today.  She said the verse tells us to "Be still and know I am God."  She said she often follows that with (paraphrasing) "Or stay busy and continue to think you are."

As we go through our day, let us remember that God's timing is perfect and if we want to be fully blessed, we need to wait for Him.