The Home Devo (Page 8)

  Are you a people pleaser? You know what I’m talking about, always trying to make everyone else happy, wanting everyone to like you.  We read in Galatians1, as the apostle Paul is writing to the church in Galatia, telling them he is trying to please no one except God. He goes on to say in verse 10 that if he were trying to please men he would not be a servant of Christ. It can be difficult at work,…

  When I think about all the pain and sadness Naomi must have felt after losing her two sons and her husband, I am amazed she found the strength to keep going.  Of course, she wasn’t alone. Ruth, the widow of one of her sons, decided to stay with Naomi instead of leaving her alone. She basically told Naomi, “No way am I leaving you!  I want to be a part of your people and to worship your God.  We’ve…

  We talk about being a good Christian almost every time we go to church or hear a lesson from the Bible. There is nothing wrong with talking about Christianity, but we need to concentrate on things that are emphasized in the Bible. You can find the word Christian three times in the Word. Perhaps the thing we need to concentrate on is the thing that is mentioned 109 times in the Bible. ENCOURAGE! If we encourage, maybe we will…

  It seems that in the religious world today we hear a good bit of the word “doctrine” thrown around. For instance, some say we need to do away with our doctrines and focus on the love that God has for all his people. But what is doctrine? Is it important, or is it just the thing that divides believers? According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, the word “doctrine” simply means “teaching” or “that which…

  How dumb can a person be, a prophet of God, nontheless? How could Jonah have ever thought he would be able to outrun God? (Jonah 1) How did that thought even enter his mind? He knew who God was, he was aware of His omniscience, His power. He knew that resistance to God’s will was and is futile. He was a prophet! These were the kinds of things that prophets prophesied about! Evidently, he had a lapse in judgment…

  It must have been very difficult for him to control himself that night. There he lay-the man responsible for bringing him to the wilderness, forcing him to sleep on the hard ground away from his family. All he had to do was take his spear and run it through Saul’s chest and everything would be right with the world. But Abishai refrained (1 Samuel 26. 6-10). Why? Maybe it was out of fear of disappointing his king, David, the…

  As a child, I remember on Friday night I would sit as close as I could to the television while watching my favorite show: “The Dukes of Hazard.” One of my favorite characters was Sherriff Rosco P. Coltrane. In almost every episode, he would jump into his squad car, pick up his CB radio, and say”I’m in a hot pursuit!” He certainly wanted to catch the Duke boys! Have you ever wanted something so badly, that is was all…

  How is your health? Overall, most people consider themselves to be fairly healthy. They do think that they could stand to lose a few pounds, probably because they enjoy occasional fast food lunch; but overall..healthy! If we were totally honest with ourselves, most of us are not in as good of health as we could be. Also have you noticed that people even go in denial when the doctor says they have health concerns that need to be addressed?…

  DISCUSSION:                      Some teach the false doctrine that all men will be saved by God, regardless of rebellion or righteousness. This section of scripture continues God’s teaching with regard to the consequences of disobedience. I realize that the death and destruction portrayed here are physical but they are a shadow of judgment to come (implied by Peter in 1 Peter 3:20-21 ). Moses shows the children of Israel that when God…

  DISCUSSION:                           From life’s experiences, we know that some folks grow old gracefully, while others become grouchy and ill-tempered. Knowing this, it’s important for us as Christians to know which direction we’re growing, spiritually speaking. People don’t get irritable and short-tempered merely because they’re getting older. Aging has very little to do with folks being hypercritical and cranky. No, it’s more likely that we’ve become what we’ve allowed…

  DISCUSSION :                              Some people are used to multiple-choice tests. Certain questions do have more than one answer, while some do not. In the field of religion, many feel that there are multiple answers to the above question asked by this “certain ruler.” Let’s notice: Could the answer be….. 1) Do Your Own Thing — The humanist philosophy promotes this idea since every man is his own…

  DISCUSSION:                                            On one occasion when Paul was preaching the gospel in the city of Ephesus, a certain group of vagabonds sought to emulate Paul by taking it upon themselves to cast out a demon. When these men sought to do such, the evil spirit turned on them and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”…