Responsive God
I talk to God a bit. These are some of his answers to my questions.
And What of Conflict?
I’ve heard people say, “Nothing happens by accident.” I have never really believed that, because people are free to make choices. People’s choices impact others. I don’t believe God makes everything happen. I do believe He gives us a way to make the...
Surrendered
There is something so precious about surrender to God…on a very personal level, surrender to our heavenly Father. He loves us, knows us, and cares for us more than we can imagine. When we pray, we want to see our prayers answered. Often we do, but...
Firey Furnace
Sometimes you read a portion of the Word that just jumps off the page and into your heart. That is what happened to me when I read Daniel 3:8-30. It is the story of the three young Jewish men who had been carried off to Babylon. When King Nebuchadnezzar...
Some Day I’ll See Him Face to Face
I think these verses from the Passion Translation are beautiful. I want to share them with you. They are 1 Cor 13:12-13. 12For now we see but a faint reflection of riddles and mysteries as though reflected in a mirror, but one day we will see face-to-face. My...
Alabaster Box
“ Now while Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfumed oil, and she poured it on his head as he was at the table. When the disciples saw this they became indignant and said, “Why this...
The River Will Take Care of It
If you live long enough, and go through enough hard times, you may eventually come to the place I have come to. I do hope that your life has taken you on a course less painful to navigate, less filled with sharp rocks and sudden turns, but there is always...
What do You Want to Hear at the Judgement Seat of Christ?
I was recently asked what I would like to hear when I stood before the Judgement seat of Christ. As I gave it some thought, I came up with several things. 1. Well done, you responded to Me. 2. You tried to do what I asked you to do. 3. You...
No Matter What, Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
Matthew 14: ( The Passion Translation) 24 But the disciples, who were now in the middle of the lake, ran into trouble, for their boat was tossed about by the high winds and heavy seas. 25 At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the...
Death Where is Thy Sting? Grave Where is Thy Victory?
Tomorrow my son's body will be laid to rest, but he's not there. He has been absent from that body since his heart quit just over a week ago. I miss him terribly, but knowing where he is, I rejoice. God did not take my son from me too soon. He died because we all die....
Thomas Stephen Abernathy Called Home
Yesterday I got the call every parent hopes never to receive. My eldest son passed away suddenly of what appeared to be a massive heart attack. He was 49 with a lovely wife, a 9 year old son, and 4 year old daughter, beautiful children. You can’t...
God Placed You Where You Are
There are some verses of the Bible that say so much. Acts:17: 24“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He...
Ebenezer
This morning as I was praying and opening to the Holy Spirit, I remembered the word the Lord had given me in 2017 when the huge hurricane Irma was bearing down on Florida. We had all waited for the time when Irma would make her turn northward. She delayed...
The Choice is Yours
What I have been hearing from Father lately is that these are trying times, times that cause people to make a choice. It is no longer possible to look the other way. We are all affected by the events going on in our world today. You may be afraid to...
Mark Those Who Sigh and Groan
Ezekiel 9:4, “The Lord said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.’ What would happen...
Signs and Wonders
Father God wants us to remember our First Love. In a world so full of cares, with so many distractions, it is easy to feel oppressed or even down hearted. We have been isolated and separated. Our culture has changed being forced to wear masks, not...
Variable Truth is No Truth At All
When Jesus was gathering His disciples, as recorded in John 1, Philip took Him to find Nathanael. Nathanael questioned whether any good thing could come out of Nazareth. Philip told him to come and see. As Nathanael approached Jesus, Jesus said, “Behold and Israelite...
What the Enemy Meant for Harm
The story of Joseph is one of the most intriguing stories in the Bible. In Genesis 37 when Joseph was just a young boy, his troubles had already begun. His brothers, jealous of his favor with their father, threw him into a pit and then sold him into slavery into a...
June 23, 2020
This morning after spending time in the Word and prayer, this is what I heard from God. I feel like it is a word for all of us. "Do not dispair at the evil you see and hear around you. Keep your eyes on Me. I AM the lifter of your head. I AM Yahweh over every storm....
As I Had My Coffee
This morning I was considering Jesus, what it must have been like for the disciples to walk with a man who was actually the very God. They saw Him do what no other man could do. He opened blind eyes, healed the lepers, caused limbs to grow out on those who had been...
The Power of Prayer
There is something awesome that happens when you go to the Father in the name of Jesus and begin to praise Him for all He has done. There is no one like our Father God. He created the heavens and the earth. He formed man of the dust of the ground. He breathed into us...
Have You Forgiven From Your Heart?
“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded...
The Great and Foremost Commandment
Matthew 22:37-38. Of all the things Jesus said while walking among us, what He said in these verses is I believe, the most important. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the great and foremost...
It is Later Than You Think
It is such an exciting time to be alive. We can look at what is going on in the world around us and see the prophecies of Jesus coming true before us. There is no doubt we are in the days of the birth pangs. With increasing intensity and frequency we are hearing of...
He Came to Call the Foolish
The story of the Crucifixion never gets old. Jesus, when taken before Herod and Pilate, was found faultless by both rulers, yet they crucified Him anyway because of the people’s demand. You have to wonder what Pilate really thought about Jesus. He had the inscription...
Blessed are Those Who Did Not See and Yet Believe
Have you ever considered what it would have been like to live when Jesus walked the earth? What it would have been like to see Him open the eyes of the blind or heal lepers? I have wondered why there were not many more Christians. So many were...
Is Jesus About to Return?
I remember in 1968 when I was just a teenager, everyone was so excited about Jerusalem being returned to the control of Israel. It was popular for Christians to say to each other, “Here, there, or in the air,” as they parted company. This of course referred to the...
An Honest Heart
Many years ago, as a very young Christian, I read a story about an atheist who was brought to Christ simply by having an honest heart. It has been so long ago that I do not remember who wrote it, but I will never forget the impact it had on my life. It made me...
Is the Tribulation the Wrath of God or the Wrath of Satan?
Someone recently told me they believed that people had no right to want to escape the great tribulation. They reasoned that anyone wanting to escape was not willing to go through what others were going through everyday. I responded that there is a great...
The Greatest Gift
I have read the story in John 8 about the woman taken in adultery many times. For some reason I always focused on the fact that the man who was with her when she was caught “in the very act” had not been brought before Jesus, or I focused on His writing on...
The Gift Only You Can Give
There is a gift that you can give, that no one else has the ability to give. It usually doesn’t cost much, but some might find it very costly. It is a gift that no one can give for you, not your mother, father, sister, or brother. In fact, not even...
Have You Ever Been Kissed?
Have you ever sat and spent time with the Lord, until His sweetness so filled you that you felt like you couldn’t hold more? It is times like those that fill me with awe and wonder at the nature of our Father, the love that He has for us that lead Him to...
Have You Ever Been Betrayed?
I have heard it said that betrayal is the hardest thing to recover from, and I am inclined to believe it. Whether it is a friend or relative, there is just nothing quite as painful as betrayal. Probably this is because it involves trust, broken trust. If it is a...
Are You Worried About Tomorrow?
I spent some time with Heavenly Father today, talking to Him about all the things going on in my life. Some things I was thanking Him for taking care of, others I was questioning Him about, whether or not those things needed to be in my life at all (if you...
Is Life on Distant Planets Consistent With the Bible?
If God did create life on other planets, were they made in God’s image? Man was made to be very special. Genesis 1: 27, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” So man was made in the...
Have You Left Your First Love?
This is a question we all need to consider. When Jesus walked among the disciples he taught them that they should love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and mind (Matt. 22:37). That is a really big commandment. It takes focus, time...
What Does God Think About Our Interpretation of the Word?
I recently heard of a pastor who was teaching those in his church that it was not necessary for Jesus to die for our sins. To hear that broke my heart, because I know from many years in the Word, that it also breaks the Father’s heart. Then I found out that much...
Do You Ever Feel Like Your Life Doesn’t Matter Much?
Most of us are not famous, rich, important, or beautiful people. That is how it is. We just are ordinary folk… the kind that live ordinary lives doing ordinary things. In a world of social media where everyone is trying to show their best face (real...
The Man Who Changed Time!
Have you ever thought about how many people there have been in the world since time began? The number is more than we can imagine. Throughout time there have been many famous people, especially in the modern era with good communication. Before there was good...
Do You Give Enough Thought to Eternity?
Eternity is not something people like to think about. It reminds us of our mortality, and we would prefer to think we are not going to face death for a very long time. In reality, that's something we just can't be sure about. So it seems to me, we ought to give more...
God is Not a Bully!
Too many of us have the preconceived notion that God is mad at us or that our sins are so bad they cannot be forgiven…not so.
Are You Safe From the Roaring Lion?
What is your faith founded on? This is really very important in our days. We have heard lately of pastors and worship leaders turning away from long held “faith” or at least wavering; and when they do, many others are damaged by their failings. Why is this...
“The Heavens Really are Telling the Glory of God”
I remember when I was a child, lying on a quilt in my front yard at night. The skies were clearer in those days, and there was not so much light from the city. There were millions of stars, and I could see the Milky Way. I used to feel as if I could...
What if God Changed?
It is a wonderful thing that God doesn’t change. Have you ever considered that? If He did, He might listen to our arguments and someday actually be convinced by one of them. Of course, I say this in jest, but I have noticed how vehemently some people...
The Days of Noah
It is funny how we are. Most of us, at least, are a little self centered. Our worlds revolve around what we do every day, and one day is often pretty much the same as the next. Time goes by, days, weeks, months, and then years. Before you...
Why doesn’t God Speak?
The truth is that God is, and has always been speaking. The trouble is with our hearing. In the beginning, before Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they walked in the garden with Him and talked with Him. But once sin entered in, that fellowship was...
What Is A Christian?
"And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." Acts 11:26 NASB. A Christian is one who is a follower of Christ, who has realized they are sinful and in need of a Savior, and has received Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as their savior. “Born again,”...
Do You Need to Change your “Radio” Station?
Have you ever noticed as you go through your day, especially when doing busywork, that a continuous train of thoughts is playing in the background? Sometimes they are memories of past experiences, and more often than not, failures. These are followed by "spontaneous"...
Yahweh Over the Storm
No matter where we are in life, we will eventually face some kind of storm. There are many different kinds, but storms are part of the human experience. For some it may be the loss of the job. For others it is a painful divorce. It could be an actual weather event...
Why Did Jesus Have To Die?
Almost everyone has heard the story of Adam and Eve in the garden. Eve was tempted by the serpent to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge (which God had forbidden), and gave it to Adam. Man then became alienated from God and physically began to die. These...
Is He Risen, Indeed?
“Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone...
Was This Truly The Son of God?
So many were impacted by the life of Jesus while He walked the earth. Of course those that were healed would never forget Him, but even those observing what He was doing knew He was no ordinary man. He could say to the wind in a storm, “Be still,” and it obeyed. He...
Don’t You Hear Me God?
One of the things that makes people think God isn’t listening or doesn’t care, is the prayer that seems to go unanswered. When your heart aches, and you cry out to God for relief that doesn’t seem to come; it can seem as if He isn’t listening or doesn’t care. The...
Why Do Things Have To Die?
God never intended for man to die. In fact He never intended for anything to die, but because of the rebellion of satan, death had to come in as judgment on mankind. God had placed two trees in the center of the garden of Eden. He commanded man not to eat of one of...
Why Am I Having So Much Trouble?
When I was a child, a day was a very long thing. After breakfast we had hours to play outside before being called home for lunch, and this repeated in the afternoon. Time moved slower then, or so it seemed. I remember long evenings when the family would sit outside...
Thank You For Loving Me
I was thinking today, about why it is that sometimes the people who should love us don’t. Whether it is a parent, or a brother or a sister, sometimes it just happens; and nothing can be more painful…especially to a child. It can have a life long impact. Pain comes in...
Practice Makes Perfect
To become skilled at anything it takes time. Learning the finer touches that make your athletic, artistic, or musical talent stand out, requires practice, and a lot of it. When someone who has spent their life practicing a musical instrument or a particular sport,...
What Happened When I Died.
I wasn’t dead long, but it was long enough. It all started in the middle of the night. I was sleeping. My heart had been beating irregularly, and I had worn a heart monitor for several days with no conclusive results. Then that night, I felt my heart begin to...
How Do I Find A Good Church?
Whenever you attach yourself to a group of people, it is wise to know what they believe. When you are looking for a church this is especially important. If you aim at a target on the horizon and walk towards it, and you are only off by only one degree, as you keep...
I Just Can’t Forgive That, Can I?
Life is hard. It is just a fact. And sometimes it can start being hard at a very early age. Before we are even equipped with the tools to know how to fight to defend ourselves, we have been wronged, deeply hurt. And sometimes the pain goes on and on. The world is...
Have I Blasphemed The Holy Spirit?
Nothing puts more fear into the heart of someone who is seeking God than the thought that they may have blasphemed the Holy Spirit and cannot be forgiven. Matthew 12:31 says,” Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but...
Do I Really Have A Spiritual Enemy?
Isaiah 14:12 says, “How you are fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations”. Satan was the one created by God as, “The anointed cherub who covers,” (Ezekiel 28:14). In the same...
The Power of Words
On the instruction of my pastor, I just read 2 Corinthians 3 in several translations of the Bible. It was not the first time I ever read it, that goes without saying. But this time was so different. He asked us to make one of the translations of the Bible that we...
Can We Put God In A Box?
I’ve been giving some thought to religion, as to why so many have been so wounded by it. Not that anyone ever intended to hurt someone else with what they believe, but it happens. I am speaking here to Christians, so don’t be distracted. Have you ever...
Are You Thirsty?
Things get old. The new car isn’t new very long. Neither is the latest phone or computer. There is always something newer coming out, and when it does, something happens. Like it or not, a little dissatisfaction begins to creep in. You may not act on that, odds are...
If I Am Forgiven, Why Do I Still Feel So Bad?
Why is it that after a Christian has sinned, and truly repented, they may continue to “feel guilty”? Some may say they can’t forgive themselves, but this is probably not the case. The forgiveness of God brings such joy and relief initially, there is no reason to...
What If This Problem Won’t go Away?
Maybe it is a health issue where there is no cure, or perhaps that there is no clear diagnosis. It could be a relationship, such as that with a brother or sister, or even a parent, that just doesn’t seem to work well. We cannot choose those in our immediate family,...
What Makes the Bible Different From Books of Other Religions?
Just about every religion has a book of some kind or literature that they reverence. People are often heard referring to the Bible as if it were just another book about a religion, but the Bible is far more than that. I heard someone say, “Not everyone believes the...
What Exactly Happened?
Here I am. Unshaven, lying in a hospital bed. My room is full of beautiful flowers,, but no one is here with me. I really don’t understand that. Here I am in my prime, 53 years old, a lawyer. All was really going well for me. I thought I was on top of the world....
Can A Person Lose Their Salvation?
For many years I was of the firm conviction that, “ whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved,” Romans 10:13. I thought of it, in my youth, almost like “magic” words that, once said, determined your eternal destiny…no matter what. But through the...
Why Do The Wicked Prosper?
Did you ever wonder why it is that the bad guys so often seem to win? Maybe it’s a promotion at work, or just things working out right for them, and they seem to do well. It’s not always the bad guys, but too often it is. Those who mistreat others, lie about them,...
Does God Speak Today?
It might be considered that it was easier to obey God, in the days when the Bible was being written, when people heard God speak audibly, or saw signs like a burning bush, or had angels bring messages from God directly to them. It seems like God doesn’t speak out loud...
What On Earth Is Wrong?
Have you ever considered why things are so hard? Anyone who has ever tried to grow a garden knows there is a problem. If you want to grow a tomato, you have to plant it, cultivate it, and watch out for disease. You have to keep enough water on it, and keep any pest...
What Will You Do With Jesus?
“Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did believed on Him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus had done,” John 11:45-46. It is amazing you know, how two different groups of...
Where Have All The Tears Gone?
It used to be, a good cry was something that was often recommended by those who loved us when we were sorrowful about something or had something to “get off our chest”; but I’ve been noticing that there doesn’t seem to be much of that anymore. Perhaps it’s because we...
Can a Person’s Sin Be Too Bad To Be Forgiven?
I met a man once who insisted that his sins were so great they could not be forgiven. Try as I might to convince him otherwise, his mind was made up, and a very dark cloud came over him even as he talked about the subject. I didn’t ask what his sins were, but I...
Does God Really Care About Me?
In a world that is so big, with so many people, it is easy to feel small and unimportant. But our God, in spite of being so magnificent and far above all, is deeply concerned with every aspect of our lives. In fact, His Word says that even every hair of our head is...
Almost Persuaded
Recently when reading Acts 26, my heart was moved over King Agrippa’s words “Paul almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” I have to wonder what happened to King Agrippa. Did he ever become fully persuaded? I hope so, because almost, is not close enough. We’ve...
Our Weekly Devotional
Join the Conversation
Monthly Newsletter
Sign up for our monthly newsletter here.
Weekly Devotional
Sign up for our weekly devotional here.
Daily Devotional
Sign up for our daily devotional here.