The Home Devo (Page 15)

    Every part of the body is valuable to the church ( 1 Corinthians 12:14-18 ), including – perhaps especially – older members. Though some may have been put out to pasture, we should retrieve them to be teachers of good things. We should not assume that older people are incapable of making decisions and understanding a modern world. Include them in discussions, invite their opinions, and consider their experiences. They likely have some advice worth hearing ( Job…

    Love children enough to be good examples to them. The way we as parents act and react must be how we expect our children to act and react. As parents we are their example of “how to”. Don’t think we can expect children to only follow our words, not follow our behavior. Many parents fall into the category of “do as I say and not as I do”. Is that a good method of training children how to…

  One can tell the condition of a person’s heart by looking at his countenance (his facial appearance). We all know when people are happy; we can tell by the sparkle in their eyes, their smile and their cheerful countenance. When they are old, happy people have “smile wrinkles” instead of those caused by frowning. Facial expressions reveal a lot about a person. Even children will speak up when they observe an unkind face, and they might say, “That is…

  Correction and reproof keep a man on the path of life. Just as a child requires correction to learn the things that will help him grow and mature properly, we all need the correction of our heavenly Father to avoid the things that can destroy us. Notice that the death spoken of is physical, moral, and spiritual. All who are without Christ are spiritually dead, though they do not know it. It is only with Christ and by His…

  Without the proper heart attitude, even the “good things” we do will not count before God. It is the condition of the heart that impresses God. Many say they love God, but deny Him by their compromised lifestyles. A man cannot live in two worlds, nor can he serve two masters. Ultimately, he will choose one over the other, even as Jesus declared in Matthew 6:24. If we are not on fire with a love for God that causes…

  Money cannot buy health or save someone’s life. The Bible says that we are to seek the true riches of God, not the riches of this world. His riches are things that money cannot buy. How can money deliver a wayward teenager from drugs and sin? How can money buy peace in our souls in the face of fear all around us? How can money save a soul from hell? Only God’s riches are available to do these things.…

    If we love our earthly fathers, we respect and obey them. As adults, we are grateful that they disciplined us out of love and protection. These things are true not only of our relationships with our natural fathers, but also of our heavenly Father. To enter the Kingdom of God, we must have a child-like heart of trust, knowing that He loves us far more than any earthly father could and that His instructions are for our good.…

  The wise servant who follows his king’s orders, earns the favor of the king. In addition, the servant who acts shamefully by disrespecting the king earns his wrath. It is also true in the workplace. Those who have learned to respect authority and follow orders normally will progress and be promoted. Those who do their own thing will anger their supervisors and could miss raises and promotions and could even lose their jobs. The Lord expects us to respect…

       Have you ever tried to put yourself in the place of the prodigal son? You leave or stray away from what you know. You quickly realize the world is not your friend and you need your father. Going home is shameful but necessary. When you get home you are well received. Your father is just happy you are home, even though you have let him down badly. He is waiting to welcome you home.        

       Is the silence of the Scriptures prohibitive? By that we mean, may one improvise in acts of religious devotion in the absence of a specific “you must not …”? If the New Testament is silent about a specific matter (e.g., the baptizing of infants, the burning of incense, the use of mechanical instruments in worship), may a person pursue that practice? Some allege that this is the case. They contend that asking folks to respect the silence of…

       Have we ever wondered how a worm gets inside an apple? If we think that the worm burrows in the apple from the outside , we’d be wrong. Scientists have discovered that the worm comes from the inside of the apple. But, how in the world did he get there? The answer is simple. Female apple maggot flies finds a sweet smelling apple that is ripening and lands on it. Using a small, sharp, hollow tube on the…

  In the text found in 1 John 2:12-17 , the apostle John warns mature men and young men of three lusts: ·      The lust of the flesh ( Genesis 3:6 ; cf. Joshua 7:21 – “saw that the tree was good for food“) — the insatiable appetite to indulge in pleasures that inflame the flesh but never satisfy (Numbers 11). ·      The lust of the eyes ( Genesis 3:6 ; cf. Joshua 7:21 ) – “it was pleasant to…