2 Chronicles 14:6  NASB He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and there was no one at war with him during those years, because the LORD had given him rest.

King Asa knew that a time of peace is the best time to prepare for war. It wasn’t a lack of faith in God that prompted him to build walls while they were at peace; it was an understanding that the Lord’s enemies are many, so the enemies of God’s people are also many.

When things are going well in our lives, we have a tendency to neglect our spiritual life. But that is precisely when we should be “building up our defenses” by spending time in God’s Word, in prayer, and in fellowship with other believers. We know trials will come our way, let’s be ready!

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Ephesians 6:13

-Kevi

To manage your subscription to the Daily Devotionals click here.

0 comments

2 Chronicles 10:13-14;19  NASB The king answered them harshly, and King Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the elders. He spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Have you ever taken one of those personality quizzes, and you didn’t like the results you got, so you took it again and answered the questions differently? Have you ever asked for a second opinion, simply because you didn’t like the first opinion (even though it may have been right)? Yeah, me neither…

When Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king over Israel and Judah, he received godly counsel from the elders (his father’s advisors). But he decided to go with the advice of the “young men” because it sounded better to him! The result? He was only king over Judah, and the house of Israel followed Jeroboam.

Those are some pretty heavy consequences for bad advice. Lord, help me to seek only godly counsel, even if it isn’t what I want to hear!

Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers, From the tumult of those who do iniquity, Psalm 64:2 NASB

-Kevi

To manage your subscription to the Daily Devotionals click here.

0 comments

Isaiah 25:4a NASB For You have been a defense for the helpless, A defense for the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;

Like many of my fellow Oklahomans I have spent the evening watching storm coverage on TV, waiting to see if I needed to seek shelter from violent storms.

The storms of life are all around us. Don’t wait too late to seek shelter. Isaiah said that God is a refuge from the storm—take refuge in Him!

-Kevi

To manage your subscription to the Daily Devotionals click here.

0 comments

Numbers 20:8, 11-12  NASB Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.” Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

My son loves to eat, but more and more he wants the food on his own terms. Sometimes he wants to eat, but he doesn’t want to get in his high chair. Sometimes he wants to eat but only if he can pick out the food from the cabinet himself. Sometimes he wants to eat, but not with the spoon and bowl provided, he will pour it out and eat face first directly from the high chair tray. Talk about messy!

Moses and Aaron asked God to provide water once again for the Israelites as they traveled through the desert. God provided, but Moses decided to get the water on his own terms and hit the rock instead of speaking to it like God requested.  He was frustrated with the complaints of the people, most likely. How the water came out of the rock wasn’t that important, but Moses’ obedience was important to God.

-Kevi

To manage your subscription to the Daily Devotionals click here.

0 comments

Luke 5:4-6  NASB When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;

If my mother-in-law offers advice about plants I’m going to listen, because I’m terrible with plants and she is great with them. If my uncle offers advice about buying cars I’m going to listen because he has a lot of experience. But if someone offers me advice about something I think I already know how to do? (Like when my husband tried to give me advice on how to make macaroni and cheese out of a box.) Yeah, I’m going to ignore that advice.

Simon Peter was a fisherman. So when Jesus, a carpenter, offered him advice about fishing, his inclination was to ignore it. Fortunately he followed Jesus’ advice and learned a great lesson: Jesus was much more than a carpenter! The result was that these fishermen “left everything and followed Him.” Luke 4:11  

Let’s not be too prideful to take good advice (and I’m not talking about the macaroni). The Bible is full of good advice for our lives, if we can admit that we need it!

-Kevi

To manage your subscription to the Daily Devotionals click here.

0 comments

Luke 4:1-2a,13  NASB Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. ¹³When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

As many times as we reprimand her, our dog just loves to lick our son. She would never try to lick us, but she is always looking for an opportune time to lick him! I don’t know if it just because he is a toddler and always smells like food, but the fact that he never tells her “no” doesn’t help!

Jesus resisted every temptation the devil presented Him with, so the devil left. But that didn’t mean the devil wouldn’t continue to look for opportunities to tempt Him in the future. We need to always be vigilant in resisting the devil’s temptations. If one thing doesn’t work, he will be looking for another opportunity later. The good news is that God wants to help us defeat the devil’s temptations!

James 4:7 NASB Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

-Kevi

To manage your subscription to the Daily Devotionals click here.

0 comments

Psalm 51:7 NASB Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

While drying my hair this morning, I thought “Wow, my hair doesn’t even look that clean”…then I realized I never used any shampoo when I showered!

When we try to clean up our own lives, we don’t get very clean. We need the forgiveness of sins and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit if we want to really clean up our act. Only God can make us whiter than snow.

-Kevi

To manage your subscription to the Daily Devotionals click here.

0 comments

1 Chronicles 22:5; 14 NASB David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death. “Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of the LORD 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight, for they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them.”

My second baby is due in about 10 weeks, so we’ve got to get serious about getting ready for a new baby. The nursery needs to be painted, furniture assembled, and diapers bought. There are lots of things that are better to accomplish before the baby arrives.

David wanted to build God’s temple, but God told him it would be his son Solomon that would build the temple. But David still wanted to contribute to the work of God’s house, so he spent the rest of his lifetime gathering up resources in preparation for the building to come.

If we want to see great things accomplished for God’s Kingdom, then we need to make preparations. If we don’t spend time studying God’s Word, if we don’t gather the resources needed, then we won’t be ready when it’s time to build!

-Kevi

To manage your subscription to the Daily Devotionals click here.

0 comments

Luke 1:1-4 NASB Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.

Sometimes I write one of these devotionals and think: well, that fell flat, I’m not sure what the point of writing that was. Inevitably those are the devotions that I get an email about the next day, from someone who says they really needed to hear it! It reminds me that I just need to keep sharing how God is speaking to me, and let Him worry about the rest.

Luke acknowledged that he was not the first to write about the life and ministry of Christ. There are four Gospel books in the Bible and they include many of the same events. But God used each of the Gospels to reach different audiences. Each of the four authors encountered the same Jesus, but they had four different perspectives and four unique experiences to share.

Don’t let the devil tell you that you don’t have a witness. Share your encounter with Jesus: someone needs to hear it!

-Kevi

To manage your subscription to the Daily Devotionals click here.

0 comments

1 Chronicles 13:8 NASB David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, even with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals and with trumpets.

My son had his tonsils out last week, and he is understandably cranky right now, which can turn even routine tasks into an epic meltdown. Every time we try to give him medicine, he tries to resist it with all his might. And he is surprisingly strong for his size!

We often use all our might to resist things, and we sometimes use all our might to pursue our goals, but when is the last time you used all your might to praise God? Not sure I can remember the last time…

-Kevi

To manage your subscription to the Daily Devotionals click here.

0 comments