Daily Devotion January 14

January 14

Psalm 18:32
It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

God created us to be His warriors.  Do you remember as a child singing "I'm in the Lord's Army"?  That is just as true today as it was when we were younger, maybe even more so.  In this verse we see how God prepares us for the battles we face every day.

The men of the Old Testament wore long flowing robes and had to tie them up or gird them up to be able to move quickly.  God himself girds us or prepares us for battle.  And what He girds us with is His strength, the ability to face the battles ahead.  As we saw earlier, perfect means complete.  So His strength makes us complete.   It is so good to know that when we are faced with the day to day battles of Christian life that God will provide all we need.

Today as you go through your day, remind yourself that God will help you by girding you up with His strength.

Daily Devotion January 13

Matthew 5:48
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Does this verse frighten you a little?  The thought of being perfect as God is perfect is pretty heavy.  But I think we tend to think of our definition of perfect, which according to Merriam Webster dictionary means: being entirely without fault or defect.  We KNOW we are not without fault, mainly because we know we are all born as sinners.  However, the Biblical view of perfect is to be brought to its end, completeness.

So when we read this verse it does not mean that we are supposed to be flawless; it means we are to be complete in God.  In context, this is where Jesus is telling us to love not only our neighbors but to also love our enemies and those who mean harm to us.  Just as the Father's love is complete, our love for others should be complete.  This includes being merciful to others, as God as merciful to us.  Even though this may not always be easy to do, we are to strive for this.

We know we will never be flawless as long as we are in this human body.  However, we can strive to be more like Jesus.  You probably remember a while back when the big thing was the bracelets with WWJD on them--What Would Jesus Do?  And while it was kind of gimmicky, it is a good way to respond to people and situations.  Today, let us look to Jesus for guidance to be as much like Him as humanly possible.  

Daily Devotion January 12

January 12

Psalm 62:2
He only is my rock and my salvation;  he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

Sometimes life seems overwhelming.  We face storms along the way--some are emotional and some are literal.  And during those storms of life we have to find a way to stay grounded.  This verse gives us much information concerning how God is there for us during those times.

He is our rock, our refuge, a place where we are held safe.  He is our salvation, our deliverance.  Nothing else is needed when God is the one who is saving us. He is our defense--our strong tower, our place of refuge.  And when all of these things are true then we will not be slipping much.  Because He holds us, we will not be shaken.

What a comfort it is to know that no matter what comes along in our lives that God will provide us a hiding place and the storms of life won't toss us around.  Let us never forget to run to that Rock when we are in the midst of the storms.  

Daily Devotion January 11

January 11


Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: 
The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

What a great blessing for us to pray over each other every day.  When we think of our friends and loved ones, this is really what we want for them each day.  We know that they won't have that peace unless they are in a personal relationship with the Lord.  

When we are blessed by God then we have His favor upon us.  When He keeps us, that is a sign of the closeness that we have with Him.  He wants to draw us near to Him and protect us.  If we are close to God, then we know we will feel His face shining upon us simply because He is the light of the world.  God loves us and wants what is best for us.  He will give us the greatest sense of peace we will ever have.  Ever.

Perhaps we should go back to the old testament and use this blessing as part of of our prayer life every day.  

Daily Devotion January 10

Psalms 9:10

And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

It is often the little things that make us realize what a big God we serve.  Just knowing that He is watching over us 24/7 should give us a real sense of peace.  Trust is something that I have always wrestled with when it came to dealing with other people.  But with God, there is no fear in trusting Him.  We've talked before about how He promises to never forsake us or leave us.  However, I just want to bring to mind some little things that may have occurred that proved that He is with us, even when we aren't thinking about it.

Have you ever got ready to go somewhere and then couldn't find your keys?  After 15 minutes or so you located them and got on your way.  Down the road a bit you come upon a wreck and realized that had you left when you planned that you'd have been in the middle of it?  Or have you ever lost something really important to you and just as you were about to give up hope, there is was?  Those times were not coincidence.  It was all God.  I can't tell you how many times in my life that God saved me from something or showed me something or helped me along the way.  I imagine you can say the same thing, too.

As you go through your day(s) be aware of those small things that God does because we put our trust in Him.  The good news is:  If God says he will do or not do something, you can rest assured it is truth!!

Daily Devotion January 9

Hebrews 13:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

I spend a lot of time with little ones and what I hear often come out of their mouths is "I want."  I am afraid that quite often we are like them--always looking for something better, something more, I want this or that.  Sometimes we get really serious and say but "I NEED it!"  The truth is we have so much in our lives already that we should feel guilty to often ask for more.  I don't think this is something that only I have to deal with; I think many of us face this same issue.

God promised to provide us with food and clothing.  He didn't say we would eat the finest food or wear the newest clothing.  I have often repeated one of my seminary teachers who said "God promised to meet our needs.  But not our greeds."  I think this is something for us all to remember.

Whatever God provides for us at any time is what we need right then.  But even better than knowing that is the knowledge that He promises to NEVER leave us.  He says He will be with us no matter what.  All we have to do is bask in the light of this promise.  

Today, as we look online or see ads on the TV or in magazines, before we say, "Oh, I want that!" think about what you already have and therein be content.  I work on this daily.  If you pray for me, I will pray for you!!

Daily Devotion January 8

Isaiah 26:3

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Keeping our mind focused on God is one of the most important things we can do.  Sometimes in the midst of our very busy everyday lives, we find our mind more concerned with worldly things.  And while it is important that we do our jobs and meet our daily demands, we need to be careful not to become so consumed that we push God aside.  It is interesting to note that the more we stay focused on God the more peace we have in our minds and hearts.

Trust is not always easy for some of us.  However, the more we keep our trust in Him, the more peace we can feel.  I don’t know about you, but peace is something that I love to have.  So today let us each keep our mind on Him and rejoice in His peace!!