Category: Devotionals

Joshua 24:15 “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Our lives are full of choices. Today, we head to the polls to make our choices for various political offices and issues of which the battles have been quite fierce. It has been extremely difficult to discern fact from fiction, which in turn makes it hard to choose wisely when voting. How do you know what is truth and what is false as you listen to the candidates clamoring for your vote? Even researching on one’s own can be overwhelming, especially with all the negativity that is on the airwaves and social media. In the end, some simply choose to vote along party lines, while others allow celebrities or athletes to influence their votes. There are those who vote according to their religious beliefs, and others who follow their own personal convictions. There are some whose enthusiasm for our civic duty propels them to cast their votes early, and sadly there are also those who do not vote at all. Read more

Isaiah 9:2 “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”

In 2017, parts of the eastern US was affected by a total solar eclipse. It was pretty exciting for my family. We bought the special glasses, and my son-in-law even made special boxes for viewing the event. While we were not in the direct path of the total eclipse, we were in the penumbral section, which meant we would see a partial solar eclipse. In our area, it was reported that 99.2% of the sun would be obscured by the moon, so only a mere sliver of sunlight would remain visible to us. We had such high hopes to be in near darkness, but that never happened for us! That tiny sliver of sunlight was enough to eliminate our immersion into total darkness. While the daylight dimmed somewhat, and we saw an increase in shadows, less than one percent of sunlight prevented the darkness from enveloping us. Read more

Psalm 119:105 “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

I never really think about flashlights until I need one, and then I am so grateful for them! Once in a while, our power goes out, usually when there is a strong storm. It’s not a problem in the daylight hours, but when night falls, my once familiar home becomes an obstacle course! Without electricity, I bump into the corner of chairs or tables, or I step on things I thoughtlessly left on the floor. After I have groped through a drawer, my searching fingers finally find the flashlight, and now I can see the right path to take through the house, avoiding the pitfalls of a misplaced shoe or pulled out chair. Read more

Isaiah 41:13 “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not. I will help thee.”

My father was a big man. He was a little over six feet tall and weighed somewhere in the mid-250s. His deep voice was loving, and his laugh was always robust! One thing I remember clearly about my dad is that his hands were huge! He worked as a contractor for most of my life, and wielding the tools of his trade undoubtedly strengthened his hands. Sometimes when we walked, he would hold my hand. When his fingers closed around mine, I was secure in his grasp, and I had not a care in the world. As little girls often do, I adored my dad. I suppose I could say he was a gentle giant with me, and as a small child, he was my almighty protector. When I was afraid, Daddy’s hand would reach out, take mine, and I would no longer be fearful. There was never any doubt in my mind that my father would keep me safe as long as my hand was in his. Read more

Isaiah 40:28-29 “Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might, He increaseth strength.”

“Hast thou not known?”

I was somewhat taken aback at these four words. What a question! I thought I knew, but then I wondered, did I really know? As I thought about these two verses, I kept coming back to those first four words. I definitely believed God was all those things, but this was a moment when the enormity of those particular characteristics made me wonder if I really could say “yes” to that question. I understood that God was the Creator who never got tired; I understood that I could never grasp the extent of His knowledge, but this was the first time I really gave these attributes a “deep think.” Truly, God NEVER is faint; His understanding can NEVER be realized, and He ALWAYS provides strength for His children. Wow! Read more

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” 

Singing in church with my granddaughter Bree is such a blessing to me. Bree has a lovely voice, and she really enjoys singing for the Lord. I love having her by my side praising the Lord with me in song.

When I read today’s verse, I discovered something else really wonderful about singing.

God sings! I did not realize that! Until I really read this verse, I never imagined God singing, but He does! He sings with joy because I am His child! I have been adopted into the family of God, and He sings because of that! Wow!

I can’t wait to hear Him singing and rejoicing when I step into His presence. God Himself is going to rejoice over me with singing!! Me!! My heart is thrilled to know that on that day when I am in the presence of my Lord, He will rest in His love for me and sing! Sweet melodies that I have never been heard before will fall upon my ears! Songs of love will fill the courts of heaven, and those songs will be coming from God Himself! My heart will soar with the melodies that burst forth from the heart of my God!

I can’t wait to hear God sing!

Song of Solomon 2:1 “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”

I recently learned how to ride a Segway. For someone my age, learning to ride this contraption was quite a challenge. My biggest fear was falling and breaking something, so I was very attentive while learning. I listened carefully to the safety training video; I followed every direction the teacher gave, and I made sure every move I made was exactly what I had been told to do. Before I knew it, I was standing atop my Segway! Soon, I was actually riding around in the training area, albeit at a snail’s pace. My turns were wide and slow, but I didn’t fall! Moving the machine forward was coming along. (I refused to try the backwards roll!) Finally, I was ready for the road! Read more

Jeremiah 29:11-14a “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end, then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you, and ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart, and I will be found of you, saith the LORD…”

God has a plan for my life. He had it from before I took my first breath. After I was born, He waited… and waited… for me to be ready to step into this plan for my life, but I kept wandering around on my own, setting my sights on earthly things, and choosing roads that were not the best for me to travel. I have thought back on the many times God protected me from paths that could have led me to complete destruction, but He kept nudging me toward that narrow road that ultimately led me to His Son, Jesus. Every pathway that God wanted me to walk kept me headed in the right direction until one day I actually became aware of the fact that God had a plan for me, which began with the forgiveness of my sins and the surrendering of my life to Him.

There has been a lot of stuff that has taken me off the main road that God has for me to travel. Mostly, life in general. Sometimes I took detours that led me far away from that “narrow path” of God’s will, but He always guided me back to the main road. Sometimes, I made stops along the way. You know, wallowed in something I shouldn’t have, but God always brought me back to the path upon which I should travel. I still veer off sometimes, but He is there… always… always directing me back to Him.

I also know my final destination. It is heaven. Just about everyone wants to go there, but not everyone knows how to get there. The good thing about being saved is that I have the road map. It’s the Bible. Sometimes, I don’t use it. I think I know a better way to go, and I get lost and wander around, getting myself into trouble. Then I remember I need to stop and look at my directions. Someone once said that the Bible is our GPS (God’s Positioning System). That’s a great description for it! It guides me from where I am to where I need to be. It never fails; I just need to open it, read it, and follow it.

Jeremiah 29:11 tells me that God has a plan for me. Whatever stops me from my plan, He will free me from. Whatever threatens to block me, He will remove. Whatever mountain I must climb or valley I must go through, He will walk with me.

All I have to do is simply follow His lead.

Psalm 57:1 “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”

Years ago, I remember reading an article about a disastrous fire. I cannot remember any of the details, but I do recall that during the cleanup afterwards, a dead hen was found with her wings spread out. When she was lifted up, beneath her wings were all of her chicks… alive! She had sacrificed her life to keep her babies from dying in the fire. She knew exactly what she was doing when she chose to shield her chicks under her wings. She felt the fire’s heat; she smelled the smoke, but she knew if she fled, her babies would die. She chose to forfeit her life, but through that sacrifice, her babies would live. Read more

Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

When I was in high school, and later on in my young adult life, I remember attending various sporting events with my friends. I never was considered an athlete, but I loved going to the games. Being in the stands, we would all enthusiastically scream and clap for our favorite players, and when our team scored a touchdown or hit a homerun, we’d join the entire stadium as it exploded in thunderous cheering and applause. Sometimes our team would have a rough season where the victories were few and far between, but that didn’t change our support of them. We still showed our support by attending the games faithfully and shouting words of encouragement throughout the course of play. We continued to wave our banners high! We screamed for each victory, no matter how small! And we believed in our hearts that they would soon be on another winning streak.

Even though I am not an athlete, I have a cheering squad also. My supporters are in the heavenlies. I can them all in my mind’s eye… I see my mother rallying me on from the sidelines. I can hear her shouting my name, encouraging me to stay focused, do my best, and keep going! I see her hands waving at me, making sure I know she is there! But I see that my mom is not the only one cheering me on. There is a “cloud of witnesses” along side her. I look around and see Lazarus standing beside his sisters, Mary and Martha smiling and waving at me. I hear Esther and Ruth calling out to me, telling me to remain faithful. I see Paul and Barnabas clapping their hands for me. I see Timothy with his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice giving me a “thumbs up” as I run past them. And there are others… so many others! Chapter 11 of Hebrews gives a whole list of those who are cheering me on! I can even see the angels of heaven hovering above the crowd as well, pointing toward the finish line. When I round the last turn, the line is in view, and I see Jesus! He is just on the other side of the ribbon stretching across the track. I see His warm smile, His approving nod, and His outstretched arms. He is watching and waiting for me!

One day, I will cross that finish line and collapse into His strong arms which will envelope me in His love, and as this happens, I will know I have won my race when He whispers to me, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Until then, I’m going to keep on running.