Daily Devotionals

Genesis 41:35-36 reads, "Gather...in the good years...Otherwise this famine will destroy the land."   Joseph gave Pharaoh some sound financial advice that we would all do well to live by: "Gather into the royal storehouses all the excess crops of the next 7...

Proverbs 21:20 reads, "The wise have wealth...but fools spend whatever they get."   It's foolish to buy things you don't need and can't afford, especially when your bills are overdue and you've nothing set aside for the future. Your financial security is determined by...

Philippians 3:13 reads, "Straining toward what is ahead, I press on."   Developing your faith is like taking swimming lessons. Observe:   1) Fear is like water; if you let it, it will take you under. 2) You can only tread water for so long before you drown. 3) When...

1 Corinthians 1:26 reads, "Remember...few of you were wise in the world's eyes...when God called you."   Max Lucado writes: "Edith Hayes was a spry 80-year-old with thinning white hair, a wiry 5-foot frame, and an unquenchable compassion for South Florida's cancer...

Acts 1:8 reads, "You will be my witnesses."   A witness is someone who sees and experiences an event, then testifies to it in court in a way that convinces others. And that's what you have been called to do! You say, "But I don't feel qualified." God doesn't call the...

1 Samuel 14:6 reads, "Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf."   During the early days of Saul's kingship, the Philistines controlled the western border of Israel, and battle lines were drawn at the pass called Michmash. Saul seemed content to sit on the sidelines,...

Jeremiah 31:16 reads, "They shall come back from the land of the enemy."   Are you living under a cloud of guilt, feeling like a failure because your child has gone astray? Don't do it! The Bible teaches that sometimes children simply won't listen to the counsel of...

Genesis 28:16 reads, "I was not aware of it."   One night Jacob had a dream. He saw a ladder with angels on it extending all the way up to Heaven, and God said to him, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go" (Genesis 28:15). The next morning Jacob...

Ephesians 5:33 reads, "The wife must respect her husband."   Paul writes, "The wife must respect her husband." Pay close attention to the word "must." This is a command from the Lord, not a suggestion or a topic that's open to debate. Notice, the Bible doesn't say a...

1 Peter 3:7 reads, "Being heirs together of the grace of life."   A good marriage is built on mutual sacrifice. Adam had to sacrifice something near and dear to him in order to get Eve - a rib. And your wife will know you love her when you're willing to give up things...

Ephesians 5:25 reads, "Husbands, love your wives."   We throw the word "love" around loosely, leaving it to be defined in many different ways. People say things like, "I love chocolate cake," or "I love football," or "I love that television show." What they really...

1 Corinthians 7:10 reads, "For those who are married, I have a command that comes...from the Lord."   Having God's blessing on your marriage is contingent upon your operating according to His rules. To enjoy His protection, peace and prosperity you must follow His...

Matthew 13:46 reads, "When he had found one pearl of great price...[he] sold all that he had and bought it."   In one of the most unique corporate take-overs ever, Stanley Tam legally transferred 51% of the shares of his company to God. He started United States...

Revelation 4:11 reads, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory."   A Christian farmer taught his horse to start and stop using words from the Bible. When he wanted the horse to go, he would shout, "Praise the Lord." When he wanted the horse to stop, he would shout,...

Zechariah 4:10 reads, "Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings?"   Imagine the temple lying in ruins, and having to be rebuilt from the ground up. That's what things were like when Zechariah shared his vision with the people of Israel. Some thought it...

Ephesians 1:3 reads, "God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing."   Farmer Brown lived during the Great Depression, and he was having trouble keeping up the mortgage payments on his farm. Eventually the bank gave him 30 days to catch up on his back payments or...

Jeremiah 1:5 reads, "Before you were born I set you apart."   Does a baby come into the world with a complex personality, or is that child a blank slate on which experience will write? In the past, behavioral scientists believed newborns had no temperamental or...

Colossians 2:9 reads, "You are complete in Him."   In his book Outlive Your Life, author Max Lucado says the Greek word for "blessed," makarios was the name of an island off Greece. It was known as the "blessed island" because it was self-contained. The residents...

John 14:26 reads, "The Holy Spirit...will teach you...and will remind you of everything I have said."   Jesus ended His Sermon on the Mount with a striking story that addresses the gap between knowing and doing: "Therefore anyone who hears these words of mine and puts...

James 1:22 reads, "Be doers of the word...not merely hearers."   A businessman known for his ruthlessness, arrogance, and religiosity told Mark Twain that before he died he intended to visit the Holy Land, climb Mount Sinai, and read the Ten Commandments aloud. "I...

Philippians 3:21 reads, "He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own."   The Bible says our heavenly bodies will be exactly like the one Jesus had following His resurrection. He resembled Himself, because the disciples could...

Jeremiah 15:1 reads, "Then the Lord said to me, 'Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people.'"   Difference five: prayer.   The Bible records only two occasions when Samson prayed: first, when he thought he was dying of...

1 Samuel 7:12 reads, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."   Difference four: accountability.   Samson had an independent attitude and refused to be accountable to anyone else. He was a "lone ranger" who refused to work with others. And his erratic attempts at...

1 Samuel 12:12 reads, "The Lord your God was your king."   Difference three: motives.   Samson repeatedly dishonored the Lord by his actions and his lifestyle. That's because he had no regard for God's honor. What a contrast Samuel was! When Israel wanted a king in...

Judges 14:3 reads, "Get her for me, for she pleases me well."   Difference two: relationships.   "Then his father and mother said to him, 'Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren...that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?' And...

Hebrews 11:32 reads, "Time would fail me to tell of...Samson...and Samuel."   Samson and Samuel are mentioned in the same Scripture, but there are big differences between them. You ask, "Why should I be interested?" Because as a Christian, you are like them. Each had...

Exodus 24:4 reads, "Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar."   One of the secrets of Moses' great success in life was this: He spent time each day with God, and he wrote down what God told him. And you should do...

Proverbs 3:9 reads, "Honor the Lord with...the firstfruits of all your increase."   Solomon writes: "Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new...

Proverbs 10:4 reads, "The hand of the diligent makes rich."   The word "diligent" means "to cut or sharpen." It describes a worker who's sharp, decisive and keen. He or she wants to work, make a difference, and contribute to their families and to society. Life "owes"...

Proverbs 10:22 reads, "The blessing of the Lord - it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it]."   When the famous publisher William Randolph Hearst read about a certain painting, he became very interested in acquiring it for...