Past Devotions

A few weeks ago, Colossians 3:17 was one of my daily verses. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” [NIV]

That verse along with two others have had special meaning throughout my Christian Walk. Early on, they expressed three aspects that I hoped would define my walk with God.

First is the Parable of the Unworthy Servant [Luke 17:7-10]: “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.” That verse taught me that I have been called (it is my duty) to serve God and others without expecting gratitude or reward.

Second is the verse in Colossians 3:17 above. Whenever I see that verse, I am reminded that the important part of my service is not the “WHATEVER” I do, it is doing it all in the NAME of my LORD Jesus. “Whatever” can be grand or lowly, but it is not the task that matters, it is my service with thanksgiving which has eternal purpose.

The Third verse is Proverbs 17:22a: “A merry heart does good like medicine.” [NKJV] That verse is to define my attitude in every and all circumstances. It is to provide the fragrance of my life.

My three precious verses. I certainly don’t live up to them, but they are what I strive for every day of my life.  Have you thought of what yours are?

“All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us.’” [Isaiah 7:14 NLT]

Approximately 700 years after that prophecy was given to Isaiah, a virgin named Mary from a little town called Nazareth was engaged to a man named Joseph. Joseph found out Mary was pregnant before they were married. As Joseph was considering what to do, an angel visited and confirmed that Mary had conceived a child through the Holy Spirit. When the child was born they were to name Him Jesus.

This was all reported in Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew understood that this was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. [1:22-24]

God with us. Jesus, fully God and fully human, walked with us, talked with us, laid down His life for us. “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.” [Colossians 2:9 NLT]

As we enter this holiday season with all its hoopla, stress, and worldly emphasis, let us never forget the “Reason for the Season.”

Jesus, Immanuel, “God is with us.” Amen & Amen

We often pick up the idea that obedience to God’s call results in a life of safety and security. That is an especially prevalent idea in our culture. Many American Christians think that if we follow Jesus sincerely, we will lead a storm-free life. We forget Jesus’ words that “in this world you will have trouble.” [John 16:33]

Storms come. Sometimes they come when we are right in the center of God’s Will. Sometimes those storms stay for a very long time. It can be shocking to find we are living a life in Christ that is neither safe nor secure.

In Matthew 10:28, Jesus warned us that the world’s ideas of safety and security are temporary while God’s promises of safety and security are eternal: “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” [NLT]

The world’s safety and security can be overruled by the more powerful, but God’s eternal safety and security cannot be overruled. He is Omnipotent. His Control is Absolute.

The world is a dangerous place; it always has been and will continue to be so for those who profess faith in Christ Jesus as LORD. But the world is temporary, in Christ I am eternal and nothing this world can dish out will touch my eternal safety and security in glory.

Amen & Amen

One of the outcomes of God’s ways and thoughts being above ours (yesterday’s devotion) is that we serve a God who cannot be controlled. When we realize that (and we will at some point in our Christian Walk), we must ask ourselves the question: “Am I willing to walk with a God that I cannot control whose ways are so different from mine?”

We serve a God who may ask us to give Him everything, even to lay down our very lives.

“So, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” [Romans 12:1 NLT]

Surrendering ourselves fully to God is an act of worship. We aren’t just giving up control to Him, we are acknowledging and trusting His plan for our lives. We recognize that God is Sovereign, and God is Good.

What He asks of us might not seem “so good” in the moment, but God’s plan for our lives leads to a life of peace. We stop fighting Him and lean into His ways that are so much higher than ours. For some in this world, that submission means giving up their very lives to see His Kingdom come into the lives of others.

We come back to that question above. “Am I willing to walk with a God that I cannot control and whose ways are so different from mine?”

Yes. Amen & Amen

Isaiah 55 is a chapter dedicated to God’s invitation to salvation. It begins with an invitation to “come,” than continues with two instructions. “Come to me with your ears wide open,” and “Seek the LORD while you can find him.” [vs 3, 6 NLT]

But the two verses that confront me daily are verses 8 and 9: “’My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’” [NLT]
We serve a God whose ways and thoughts are far different from ours. I appreciate that in one way – if I could understand God’s ways and thoughts, God wouldn’t be any smarter than I am. Scary thought.

But I am challenged in another way – God does things God’s way, not “My Way!” That means He doesn’t always answer my prayers the way I want.

We serve a God Who cannot be controlled. Because of that there are times when we expect Him to answer or do things one way, but He does them another. When that happens, I must then examine my motivation in praying – am I truly thinking about the welfare of whom or what I am praying for or am I thinking about the “praise” I might receive if I get my prayers answered my way.

To God be All the Glory. Amen & Amen

I am spending the day with family and friends. I am once again offering my gratitude and thanksgiving to my LORD and Savior for all He has done and continues to do for me and for you.

I am especially thankful to you for spending your valuable time reading these devotions. You don’t know how much I appreciate you.

I pray you have a wonderful day today and that you bask in the Love and Presence of the LORD all day long.

God Bless You!

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.” [1Peter 1:3-4 NLT]

Two verses in Peter’s first letter are brimming with the most amazing promises. Just look at some of those small phrases in those two verses.

Great Mercy!

Born Again!

Great Expectation!

Priceless Inheritance!

Kept in Heaven for you!

Pure and Undefiled!

Beyond the Reach of Change and Decay!

We could spend a year (or more) just focusing on those small phrases in those two verses.

All we can say is “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Thank you! Amen & Amen!

Amazon announced 14,000+ layoffs last month. Verizon, IBM, Starbucks, American Airlines, Meta, Google and other large companies also had layoffs in 2025. Layoffs are rampant in 2025. I assume most employees of large mega corporations thought their positions were secure.

We’ve seen a lot of turmoil at our borders trying to make them secure. We watched world powers (some of which have nuclear capabilities) jockeying for power and position. Many of our cities are dealing with homelessness because of the high cost of housing. Let’s throw in some inflation and a lot of anger over circumstances that seem out of control.

To say our world is safe and secure would be foolish. And yet, for those who have placed their trust in Christ Jesus as Savior and LORD, there is a security that cannot be contested. Jesus said …  “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” [John 10:28]

There is nothing in this world – nothing in this life – that can snatch us out of the hand of our LORD. Nothing! There is no rival to His LORDship. There is no equal to His Power. There is no match to His authority. We can boldly proclaim “no one will snatch [us] out of [His] hand.”

Thank you LORD Jesus. Amen & Amen

This world is a hard place. It is populated with pain, loss, grief, and trials. I was a Hospice Chaplain, and I walked with people young and old through extremely difficult circumstances. I often wondered how anyone could survive such things.

How often I would think … “if not for the mercy of God ….”

2 Corinthians promises that our God is our merciful Father. Even more, it promises that He is the “source of all comfort.”

“God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” [2Corinthians 1:3-4]

“All comfort.” My Merciful Father has walked with me through many days of pain, loss, grief, and trials. His comfort has provided the strength to face each day’s difficulties. I can remember the times when it felt as if He picked me up and held me close to His heart when I felt broken and alone.

Thank you Father for Your mercy and comfort. Amen & Amen

In this world we are surrounded by falsehoods and half-truths. Corporations, pharmaceuticals, politicians, and others all present their own version of “truth” that promotes their agendas.

Our media abounds with falsehoods. We have sites that search for the “truth” in media posts, but they themselves have proven to be biased and undependable.

There is only one trustworthy source of truth and that is the Word of God. And our Wondrous Lord has provided the way to access that truth. Jesus promised that when He returned to the Father, He would send us a helper. That helper is the Holy Spirit of God.

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”  [John 16:13]

The Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit indwells our spirit. We receive wisdom and power and truth as the Holy Spirit guides us.

I am so thankful for His guidance because I certainly cannot depend on my own wisdom to guide me. All my own wisdom has ever done was get me in trouble!

Thank you Holy Spirit for Your guidance and illumination of “all truth.” Amen & Amen