Proverbs 13:2-3 We learned earlier that a man is satisfied by the fruit of his lips. Today's proverb conveys this same thought when it says, "A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth." Then this proverb adds a special exhortation "He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction." read more

Luke 16:19-17:10 I had a frightening dream one night, and it changed my life. In the dream I saw masses of blindfolded people walking off a cliff into a fiery ravine. Then I saw Jesus standing close by. I cried out, "Jesus, stop them, stop them!! They are perishing." Then I heard Jesus say, "I cannot stop them. I am in My resurrected form in heaven, but you as the church are My body on earth. On earth My spirit indwells you and desires to use the vessel of your body to do My will. You are My hands, eyes, mouth and feet on earth, and for the Holy Spirit to do His work, you must submit your body to be used by Him. Unless you use your own voice to warn these people, they will all perish." read more

Luke 17:11-37 Thanks seems to be a word that is used less and less in this culture. People seem to expect to be served, and it doesn't cross their minds to thank the person serving them. This passage in Luke tells the story of ten lepers who were cleansed by Jesus. Only one returned to thank Jesus for healing him. Jesus asked where the other nine were, and then He told the leper who thanked Him that his faith had made him whole. Did something else occur when this leper gave thanks to Jesus? Wasn't he already made whole when Jesus healed the ten lepers? read more

Joshua 13:1-14:15 Caleb was forty years old when Moses sent Joshua, him and others to spy out the land of Canaan. Joshua and Caleb were the only two who came back with a good report and were the only two adult men who survived the wilderness experience for forty years. They survived because they were men of faith. God honored their faith by granting them the privilege of entering into the Promised Land. Without faith it is impossible to please God, and nothing pleases God more than to see a man of faith. Caleb was a great man of faith. read more

Luke 18:18-43 Salvation is a gift from God. We cannot earn it, and we do not deserve it. Everyone needs to know about this priceless gift, which includes forgiveness of sins and love that lead us into wholeness in this life. The question is, "Who then can be saved?" Anyone who comes to Jesus because the Father has drawn him can be saved. read more

Luke 19:1-27 One of my favorite songs I sing to children is "Zacchaeus." It goes like this: "Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in the sycamore tree, the Lord he wanted to see. And when the Lord came passing by He looked up in the tree and said, 'Zacchaeus, you come down. For I'm going to your house today. I'm going to your house today.'" This passage tells us that Zacchaeus made haste and came down from the tree and received Jesus joyfully. Jesus was on His way to have lunch with Zacchaeus, and those around began to complain because He was going to the home of a sinner. Jesus says, "This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (vv. 9-10, KJV). read more

Proverbs 13:12-14 Hope is the expression of something good. Have you ever heard someone say, "I'm hoping for the bad"? Hope is the substance of faith. Faith is not a wispy substance that floats in the air. By faith the children of Israel walked on water across the Jordan. The moment the first priest put his foot in the water, the water held him up. Jesus walked on water. Peter walked on water. How were they able to do these mighty miracles? They were walking on a very real substance called faith. Faith solidifies everything that would ordinarily drown us—the circumstances of life, the trials and tribulations we encounter when God tests us or Satan tempts us. read more

Psalm 89:1-13 One of my favorite hymns is "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." We sang this at my oldest son's wedding. As we sang this song, I thought of how faithful the Lord was in hearing and answering my prayers for wives for my sons. For years I prayed two things for my future daughters-in-law. I prayed they would first love the Lord with all of their heart, and second, they would simply adore my sons. After many years of waiting, I saw all three sons married in a nine-month period of time to the most wonderful young Christian ladies. They are just as beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside. read more

Proverbs 13:17-19 We talked about faithfulness yesterday and how it is the Lord who enables us to remain faithful (full of faith). This proverb speaks of the faithful ambassador. Verse 17 says, "A faithful ambassador brings health." We are all called to be ambassadors for Christ. We are passing through a foreign land because as believers we have a new citizenship in heaven. When we are faithful in our role as ambassadors for Christ, we will bring health to others. There are many sick souls on this earth who are wanting healing. Only the ambassador for Christ can introduce these sick souls to the great physician Jesus who can heal every sin-sick soul. He is the healing balm that is poured upon the soul. read more

Luke 21:1-28 In this passage of Luke Jesus warns His disciples about all the troubles they are going to experience in the future. He tells them that they will be persecuted, but it shall turn for them for a testimony. Whenever we go through trials and testings we add to our testimony. read more

Luke 21:29-22:13 Recently I heard Derek Prince talk about his life of over fifty years in the ministry. He has buried two wives and has traveled the world fulfilling the Great Commission. He shares that all he did these fifty years and more was to follow the Man. He shared then in great detail about the scripture we read today in Luke. It was the time of the Passover, and it also was the time Jesus would soon be betrayed and crucified. Jesus wanted to spend the Passover with His disciples because He knew His time on earth was short. He sent Peter and John to go ahead of Him and the other disciples to prepare the Passover for them, and He gave them these instructions: "Behold when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in" (Luke 22:10, KJV). read more

Proverbs 14:1-2 This proverb says every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish plucks it down with her hands. The building blocks a woman uses to build her house are her words. Proverbs tells us that life and death are in the power of the tongue. Every day a woman has the choice to build her house with her words or to tear her house down with her words. read more

Psalm 94:1-23 Everyone during their lifetime experiences that sinking feeling. It may be fear that usually hits us with a racing heart and a sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs. It may be discouragement. The saying goes that when the devil created the tool of discouragement, he then ceased from his works. We may have that sinking feeling when we are experiencing the loss of a loved one. When we receive the report we have been turned down for an interview, once again that sinking feeling overwhelms us. The psalmist David was quite familiar with the sinking feeling. Flight and fight were his constant companions during his lifetime. In this psalm he reveals how he was able to survive the sinking feeling. He writes, "Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul-.-.-.- They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. But the Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge" (vv. 17-19, 21-22, KJV). read more

Luke 22:55-23:10 This passage in Luke tells about Peter's denial of Jesus. Yesterday we talked about the sinking feeling we experience when we face certain difficult situations. Fear and discouragement can cause the sinking feeling. Today we see an even deeper level of emotional turmoil. When Peter denied Jesus, he had more than a sinking feeling. He had a sinking heart. His heart was broken. When the Lord turned and looked at Peter after the cock crowed, Peter remembered the word of the Lord and how He told him that before the cock crowed he would deny Him three times. Peter left the scene and wept bitterly. read more

Psalm 97:1-98:9 Our own righteousness is as filthy rags, but the Lord's righteousness is filled with blessing upon blessing. We can only tap into the Lord's righteousness when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. From that moment on we are considered righteous, not because of our own righteous deeds, but because of the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for us. Because of His blood that provided our forgiveness, cleansing, justification, sanctification, glorification and righteousness (right standing with God), we are now dressed in His robe of righteousness. We begin a life journey of blessing if we continue to abide in His Word and His love and obey His commandments. Of course, we will experience trials and temptations (and probably many of them) before we go to heaven, but Jesus the Righteous One will fight our battles, and the ultimate victory will be ours. read more

Luke 23:44-24:12 This passage tells about Joseph of Arimathea, who provided the sepulchre for Jesus' burial place. Luke describes Joseph of Arimathea as a counselor, a good and just man. He also had refused to condemn Jesus. The name Joseph in Hebrew means "provider." read more

Psalm 100:1-5 Every morning I try to have an hour with the Lord. Many people call this time their devotional time or their prayer time, and some call it their quiet time. My quiet time is not very quiet. read more

John 1:1-28 John begins his letter with the words "In the beginning was the Word." The Word was Jesus. He is the living Word. The Father is a Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God and Jesus is the Word of God. The Word of God took the form of flesh and came to live here on earth. I like to say God decided to put on an earth suit so He could come live with us. Jesus was with the Father from the foundation of the earth. When God said, "Let there be light," the light of Jesus began to shine on this earth. Jesus is the true Light that lights every man who comes into the world. read more

John 1:29-51 How many times have you called a person, only to receive a taped message? Because of great advancements in the technology of the computer and satellites, we have become a faceless society. At the same time we also have a society in which there is no privacy. Even though my face may not be known to others because I never have face-to-face communication with them, my whole life is known to others. Via the computer and satellite others know all about me—my buying habits, how much money I have in the bank, my age and the number in my family. read more

John 2:1-25 My husband and I lead tours to Israel, and we are about to take our sixth trip together there. We always make sure we do not miss the lovely chapel that now marks the place where Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding of Cana. The presence of the Lord is always so strong in this place. read more

Psalm 104:1-24 This psalm is so beautiful in its description of the majesty of God. This would be a great psalm to read when you are at a low point in your life. As I read about the creative power and manifold works of our God, confidence welled up within me, and I knew without a doubt that God could handle my every problem. read more

Proverbs 14:22-24 In a previous devotional we talked about the saying "Loose lips sink ships," which was a by-word in World War II. Those who were working in the war effort were cautioned to be extremely careful about what they shared with others. They didn't want any information to leak out to the enemy. We also have an enemy, and he uses our very own words as ammunition against us. We forget that the devil cannot read our minds, but he can give us thoughts and can hear what we say. A lot of the time we do his dirty work for him just by being careless in our words. read more

John 4:5-42 Immediately after Jesus told the woman of Samaria that she had five husbands and that the man she now had was not her husband, she changed the subject. She saw that this Man knew well her history, but she was not willing to go into it with Him. She proceeded to ask Him a theological question. How like human nature. When someone is getting too close to the truth in our own lives—our own sin and shortcomings—we want to change the subject. The woman asked Jesus where He believed was the correct place of worship. The answer Jesus gave is revealing. "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him" (vv. 21-23). read more

Proverbs 14:26-27 This proverb tells us that the fear of the Lord will give us strong confidence, and our children will have safety because they have a place of refuge. One of the major problems in America is that our children are not being taught to fear the Lord. I just recently taught an eight-week study on the fear of the Lord, and we learned that the fear of the Lord is not caught; it is taught. Parental instruction in the Word of God seems to be waning, and we are reaping the consequences. We see the shootings in the high schools in America, and recently there was even one in the first grade. We learn in this proverb that the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life and keeps us from the snare of death. read more

1 Samuel 1:1-2:21 It was not until this morning that I realized I have been singing often in my private worship time Hannah's song. When Hannah brought Samuel to the temple to lend him to the Lord as her thanks to God for the conception and delivery of this precious son, she prayed a powerful prayer that acknowledged the sovereignty and power of God: "There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God" (1 Sam. 2:2, KJV). read more

Proverbs 14:30-31 This proverb says that envy is rottenness to the bones. Envy is a sin that brings only evil consequences. Some sins are a pleasure for a season, but of course, sin always births death in our lives in some way. The Bible tells us that the person who commits adultery kills his own soul. It may be years before we reap what we have sown, but beware, our sins will find us out. If we do not confess our sins and turn from them, there will be eternal consequences also. We will not lose our salvation unless we commit the sin of denying our faith in Christ, but we will lose some rewards in heaven if we do not deal honestly and openly with our sins here on earth. When we confess our sins, God is faithful and just not only to forgive our sins, but also to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We can go to heaven with a clean slate if we have not hidden iniquity in our hearts by refusing to confess our sins and turn from them. read more

Psalm 106:13-31 All mankind has three things in common. We all have three major lusts in our souls: the lust of the flesh (seeking to fulfill our five senses in an overindulgent way); the lust of the eye (greedy longings in the mind that can cause greed and covetousness; pornography is caused by this lust); and the pride of life, which is trusting our own resources and ourselves more than we trust in God. All of these lusts are located in our souls—our minds, wills and emotions. These three lusts are the buttons Satan is constantly pressing with his seducing spirits. James tells us that God never tempts us, but we are led astray by our own lusts. The devil cannot make us do anything. We first have to open the door to him through one or more of these lusts. read more

John 6:22-46 I'll never forget hosting a Russian Jewish lady on her birthday. The table was set with the finest china, and fresh flowers provided the centerpiece for the table. All the food was presented well, and I felt everything was near perfect. The moment I sat down at the table after much diligent preparation in the kitchen, the guest of honor said in her heavy Russian accent, "I need some bread. Where is the bread?" She sincerely felt she could not even begin her meal unless bread was on the table. I later found out why she was desperate for bread. Her hands were arthritic, and she used bread to help push things on her fork. Often she would just forget to use the fork and raised her food to her mouth on pieces of bread. read more

Psalm 107:1-43 A grateful heart is one of the keys to a joyful life. If we look carefully at the moments of our day, we will always see things worthy of our praise. This psalm lists many reasons to praise the Lord. If we do not see His hand in the moments of our lives, then we can praise Him for His very character and His works. Praise comes before worship, and one of the roots of this word is "worth." God's character and works are always worthy of praise. Praise is the first step we have to take when we enter His presence. Let's look the steps the priests had to take to enter the holy of holies in the tabernacle. read more

Proverbs 15:4 You have heard the phrase, "Divide and conquer." When there is division of any kind that disturbs unity, we are much more vulnerable to the enemy. The enemy does not have to use mighty weapons against us in order to divide us. Instead, he uses the mightiest member of our body, our own tongue, to divide and conquer. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. James tells us the tongue is like the rudder on a ship and the bit in a horse's mouth; this tiny member of our body has the power to control our whole body. read more

Proverbs 15:5-7 Is your house filled with treasures? I remember visiting a home in New Jersey and our host showing us all the treasures he had collected from his travels all over the world. There were paintings, statues and every kind of bric-a-brac, each representing a country he visited. I thought to myself, This man's life is wrapped up in his treasures and travels. read more

1 Samuel 15:1-16:23 Prejudice is simply prejudging a person before we even get to know that person. We often make up our minds that we are not going to like a person simply because of his outward appearance. God warned Samuel when he went to anoint a new king of Israel not to look at the outer appearance of the man. He instructed Samuel to anoint one of the sons of Jesse. As each of Jesse's sons passed by, Samuel knew the Lord had not chosen any of those seven sons. He asked Jesse if all the sons were present, and Jesse told him that the youngest was tending the sheep. His name was David. When David appeared on the scene, he was very good looking and had a beautiful countenance. God, however, did not choose David because of his outward appearance. He chose him because He knew David's heart. David had a heart after God. read more

John 8:21-30 Jesus said to the Jews, "I do always those things that please Him." Jesus had just shared that He only spoke those things that the Father taught Him. Jesus' life on earth was spent pleasing the Father. He was not sent to earth to please Himself or even others. He came to speak the Word the Father spoke to Him and to do the works He saw the Father do. Jesus' life on earth reveals how we are to walk daily. read more

John 8:31-59 I was speaking at a ladies' retreat, and a woman came to me after the meeting to ask my counsel about some things in her life. I asked her if she had looked into God's Word for her answers. She replied, "Oh, I've already read the Bible through years ago." This lady did not have the concept that the Word of God is our daily spiritual bread. When we pray "Give us this day our daily bread," we are not just praying for physical bread. We are also praying for the Father to give us fresh spiritual bread or manna, a fresh word from Him that will sustain us throughout the day. read more

Psalm 113:1-114:8 It was Monday morning, May 17, 1999, when I received a call from the nursing home where mother resided for four years after her severe stroke. I was told she had passed away early that morning. It was my joy to visit mother at least four times a week and spend time with her. read more

Psalm 115:1-18 When we spent three weeks in India in 1980, we agreed with our pastor and his wife that we would not visit any of the Hindu temples. We did not want to expose ourselves to the spirits that dwelled in these temples. We knew that even though man had made the idols in these temples, demonic spirits were all around them. read more

Psalm 116:1-19 Psalm 116:15 is used in many funeral services, and the message conveyed is that God is blessed by the death of His saints. What a wrong interpretation of this scripture! Death is an enemy of God and has been since the Fall. God is the God of life, and death is the result of sin. God desired for us to live with Him in fellowship with Him forever when Adam and Eve were created. In His foreknowledge, however, He knew we would choose death over life. This is why Jesus had to come and die and be resurrected so that death would no longer be the conqueror. Jesus tells us in John 10:10 who is the author of death and who is the author of life. "The thief [Satan] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." read more

Proverbs 15:22-23 I pray almost every morning, "Lord, put me in the right place at the right time." As I read this proverb, I now want to add to that prayer, "Lord, help me to speak the right thing at the right time." There is a time to speak and a time to keep silent. read more

1 Samuel 29:1-31:13 It looked as if David had lost everything, His city had been burned, His wives were missing, and all those who followed him turned against him and were ready to stone him. He was in great distress, but he made a choice. He made the choice to encourage himself in the Lord instead of giving up. I've often wondered how he encouraged himself in the Lord. When I meditated on this, I received a mental picture of exactly what David did that day when all seemed to be lost. read more

Psalm 118:19-29 As I looked through my mother's things after her death, I found a beautiful writing she clipped from a church paper. I do not know who wrote it, but I made copies of it and passed it out at Mother's memorial service. The title of it is "The Gift of a Day." I have included it at the end of today's devotional. It expresses what this psalm says: "This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it" (v. 24). The following poem is included in the reading: read more

John 13:1-30 We talked yesterday about rejoicing and being glad every day of our lives. True joy is not conditional. We may be going through distress and trials, but in the midst of this we can rejoice and be glad. One might ask, "How can I be happy when so much is going wrong in my life?" The answer to this question is given in our New Testament reading in John. read more

John 13:31-14:14 Jesus shared with His disciples that He was going away. They did not understand Him. He told them to not be troubled in their hearts because He was going to prepare a place for them. read more

John 14:15-31 Jesus just told the disciples He was going away, but He would not leave them comfortless. He promised them He would send them the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, but He made another promise that we often miss. Many of the promises in the Bible are conditional, and it is important we fulfill the conditions before we claim the promise. In this passage Jesus makes a conditional promise. He said "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him" (v. 21). read more

John 15:1-27 Most of us are familiar with the love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13, but did you know there is another love chapter in the Bible that is just as important? John 15 is that chapter. Here Jesus tells us that He is the vine and we are the branches. The word divine has "vine" in it, and the "di" is short for deity. One could say divine love is God's dependent love. So many of us, including me, try to have the qualities of love listed in 1 Corinthians 13, but we fail miserably. Love is the fruit of the spirit, and the nine fruit of the spirit all radiate from divine love. It is impossible to love as Jesus loved when He walked on earth over two thousand years ago. We can, however, demonstrate His love to others if we are totally dependent upon His Spirit. Jesus tells us to do three things to radiate His love daily: read more

John 16:1-33 The words Jesus spoke to His disciples seemed hard words to them. He was telling them He was going to go away and that they would forsake Him for a season. These were troubling words, yet Jesus ended His conversation with them by saying, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (v. 33). read more

John 17:1-26 So many in these last days are seeking God's glory even as Moses sought to see His glory. We, however, are living in the days after the cross and God has chosen to reveal His glory to others through us. We are the body of Christ, and if we believe and heed His Word, He is glorified in us. To think that we as flesh beings can shine radiantly with God's glory even as Moses did after his encounter with God on the mountain is amazing. In this passage Jesus makes it clear that He will not glorify us in the future, but He has already glorified those who believe in Him. Yes, there will be a day when the fullness of His glory will be revealed to the whole earth, but until that time, we have been appointed to be His glory on earth. Listen to Jesus' words: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou has loved me" (vv. 20-23, KJV). read more

Psalm 119:96-112 What a privilege to be the container of God's glory. However, for His glory to shine out of our lives, we have to fulfill two conditions—to hear and heed God's word. In Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, David declares what the Word of God means to Him. He says, "You word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (v. 105). read more

Psalm 119: 113-131 The Word of God is a light to our path, as we learned yesterday. Through the Word of God we can receive instruction, correction, reproof and doctrine that will keep us moving forward in our spiritual walk and also prevent our stumbling along the way. The Word of God not only shines a light on our path as we walk through this life, but it also shines a light into our hearts. read more

Psalm 119:132-155 Order is something we all want in our lives. I never knew how much I appreciated order until I visited India, a country where confusion reigns instead of order. I asked the Lord why there is such confusion in India, and He reminded me that He was not the author of confusion. Satan is the author of confusion. Confusion reigns in India because there is so much idol worship. There are over three million gods worshiped in India. The whole atmosphere is charged with demonic oppression, and this oppression affects people's mental faculties. read more

John 20:1-31 This passage in John was always a mystery to me. Why did Peter and John believe Jesus was raised from the dead when they saw the linen napkin? Part of the burial clothing of a person in that day was a linen napkin that was wrapped around the head of the deceased. This part of Jesus' burial clothing was lying neatly folded in a place by itself. Listen carefully as John describes that event: "Peter therefore went out and the other disciple, were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw linen cloths lying there, And the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed" (vv. 3-8). read more