Today’s Devotional August 24, 2026 

Prayer is an Effort of Will

Matthew 6:6 KJV

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

     Sometimes a devotional is just too good to keep to myself. Today’s My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers struck a chord with me that I’d like to share.

     Prayer, it seems, has been a universal problem of Christians throughout the ages. Even Jesus disciples had prayer issues. In the most difficult of times just hours before Jesus was arrested and sentenced to be crucified, He asked His disciples to pray and what did they do….they fell asleep not once but three times.

     OC says this regarding Matthew 6:6 our verse for today. “After we have entered our secret place and have shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray. We cannot get our minds into working order, and the first thing that conflicts is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is the overcoming of mental wool-gathering. We have to discipline our minds and concentrate on wilful prayer.” 

     I cannot tell you how many evenings when it’s my prayer time that I struggle to “shut the door” to my thoughts and concentrate on spending time with God. This is my private time when I share prayer requests and give thanks for my day and thank God for His many blessings. Of course, at many other times during the day, I also offer up prayers. Especially when I’m driving on the 10 in Phoenix.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says "Pray without ceasing"

     How then do we pray without ceasing? OC offers this suggestion in his August 23rd devotional. “Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless in the first waking moment of the day you learn to fling the door wide back and let God in, you will work on a wrong level all day; but swing the door wide open and pray to your Father in secret, and every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God.”

     Be an ambassador for Christ or as Pastor Jack Hibbs said this morning, “an influencer, a martyr.”

     Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Amen and Amen 

Today’s Devotional August 21, 2026 

Moved by God’s Holy Spirit: A 2023 Reflection

Psalm 23:1 ESV 

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

     David described the Lord as a shepherd from his experience caring for sheep. Sheep depend entirely on the shepherd for provision, guidance, and protection. We are His sheep…not frightened, passive animals, but obedient followers of one who will lead us in the right places and right ways.

     When The Lord has plans for us, His Holy Spirit leads and guides us, sometimes despite our humanness.

     Since the COVID-19 epidemic, I have been without a church home. My previous home for years was with a beautiful congregation in Glendale, Arizona. What a blessing those years were to me. A minister and his family with more than 25 years’ experience at the church and a choir director with the same passion for serving our Lord who had been there for the same number of years.

     I was delighted to be part of a choir and orchestra that praised Our Lord weekly and provided special cantata music for the Christian Holidays. I never dreamed of experiencing the incredible thrill of a rising crescendo of worshiping God in spirit and song as I had during those years in Glendale.

     Living 30 miles away and driving heavily traveled interstates became a bit much after Covid-19, so I sought a church closer to my home in the western suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona. I still participated in choirs with several local churches during Holiday celebrations and was part of two ladies' Bible study groups. But I felt a strong need to be part of “the family of God” in a local church body.

     A longtime member of one of the Wednesday Bible study groups invited me to a church she and her husband had recently discovered that was practically in their backyard! They were encouraged by the warm, loving care of the pastor and church family and asked me to check it out. 

     Arriving at a “coffee and cookie” time between Sunday Morning Bible Study and Sunday Service, I was greeted by many friendly, smiling members who welcomed me as though they’d known me for years. I decided the fellowship they extended was the warmest I’d know at any church I’d ever attended. So, I kept going back to learn more about the church and hear messages from their pastor.

     As the months passed, I decided there were two church families I was considering for my new home. That was the easy part. Knowing where I wanted to serve was a more difficult thing. LC’s church had so many activities I could probably spend 24-7 being involved in God’s work. At my age, there weren’t enough hours in a day for that intensity of serving. It was, however, food for thought.

     Sunday, October 8th, 2023, was like any other Sunday. Pastor Kirby’s message was titled “Trust Jesus When the Trials of Life Come,” based on Hebrews 2:17-18 and Hebrews 4:15-16. Having gone through a year that could only be described as "Job-like,” his message resonated with me.

      Pastor Kirby always gives an altar call at the end of his message for those who wish to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ or want to join the congregation. Like every Sunday I had attended, I stood to sing the closing hymn and suddenly felt compelled to join this body of believers. It was as if my body was on remote control, and I had no choice but to obey.

     This being “moved by the Spirit” the first time resulted in 12 beautiful years serving Him at a local assisted living center. I have no idea what The Lord has in store for me at FBCSCW, but just as I followed the Holy Spirit’s request to ask about a Bible study more than 12 years ago. I know He has plans for this next   step in my Christian experience.

Something beautiful, something good, all my confusion, He understood. All I had to offer Him was loneliness and strife, but He made something beautiful of my life.

Bill Gaither

 
Amen and Amen 

Today’s Devotional August 20, 2026 

 Wisdom from Oswald Chambers in “My Utmost for His Highest”

Belief is a Holy Spirit Miracle

     1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NIV

4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and  persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

     Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest abilities. When he says that he didn’t use “wise and persuasive words” in delivering the gospel, he isn’t speaking out of self-deprecating humility. He’s saying that if he’d tried to impress people with his talent when he preached the gospel, he would have veiled the power of God. Paul knew that belief in Jesus is a miracle produced by the redemption—by the sheer, unaided power of God—not by making fancy speeches.

     As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to follow Paul’s example. If we are going to preach the gospel, we must practice a special kind of fasting—not from food but rather from eloquence and impressive diction, from everything that might hinder the word of God coming through us to reach others. The power of the redemption does flow through the preaching of the gospel, but we have to recognize that this power is never due to the personality or the eloquence of the preacher.

     “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

     Preachers are representatives of God. We are commissioned to present his gospel, not human ideals. If it’s only because of my charisma that people desire to be better, they’ll never get anywhere near Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching will end in making me a traitor to Jesus, because I will prevent the creative power of his redemption from doing its work. “And I,” said Jesus, “when I am lifted up . . . will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).

Amen and Amen

 Today's Devotional August 19, 2026

Biblical Understanding

Psalm 119:104-106 NIV

104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
 therefore I hate every wrong path.

105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
 a light on my path.
106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it,
 that I will follow your righteous laws.

     The importance of daily bible study cannot be underestimated. It is as vitally necessary to our spiritual life as food and water to our physical wellbeing.

     A well-known minister expounded on this during his message last Sunday. His words were, in effect to never go a day without reading and applying God’s word to our lives. 

     As our world becomes more and more tumultuous we need to cling to God’s precepts and wisdom.

     A wonderful hymn goes as follows:

     Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
     Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
 

      When I feel afraid and I think I've lost my way
     Still, you're there right beside me, nothing will I fear
     As long as You are near, please be near me to the end

Amen and Amen

 Today's Devotional August 17, 2026 

ANSWERING THE CALL OF GOD

     Sufficient Only in Christ, from an interview with John Piper. 

     "There are no perfect missionaries. There are folds and contours of my heart where hidden things lie, I know. Cleanse me from hidden faults. Help me to love you more than money. Help me to be real and sincere. Help me to speak your word. Help me to fear no man. Help me to get all I need from being in Christ."

A WORD OF TESTIMONY 

     Twenty-two years ago, a lovely friend and Bible Teacher asked me to teach a senior ladies' bible class at our church in Harvester, Mo. It was the beginning of my call to minister the word of God. 

     The call to minister is exciting, wonderful, and frightening, all experienced simultaneously. It is an honor to know someone like my Christian friend Earlene believed that I could make the scriptures come alive in everyday ways that the ladies of our church could understand.

     Our Bible has survived thousands of years and is still the number one best-selling book in the world. I believe its survival is twofold, #1, because the words and message are as relevant today as they were when they were written thousands of years ago, and #2, It is the inspired Word of God and will never be abolished by Satan or man.

     To me, our Bible is a book of instruction on the perfect way to live our lives. However, being human, we can only ask God to lead us as we live, learn, and experience each day the “how” of being called to minister God's word as His child. 

     James 3:1 shows that this call is a grave responsibility and should not be taken lightly, while 2 Timothy shows that this calling to teach requires much study and preparation.

James 3:1-2 NIV

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

2 Timothy 2:15 NIV

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

     There is no rhyme or reason as to whom God chooses to use as His minister to a lost and dying world. From the day we became a speck in our mother’s womb God has formed our spiritual personalities. This is despite Satan’s misleading us at every turn.

     I thank God that He continued to pursue me when I turned from Him and fled into a world of sin and denied my adoption into His family. To this day I remember how that pursuit almost cost me my sanity. Yet, praise God, He healed and forgave me and put me on the path where He could use me to teach others of His marvelous grace.

Amen and Amen

Tomorrow: Matthew 19:14

     Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

 Today's Devotional August 15, 2026 

Prayer; A Foundational Spiritual Practice

     Acts 2:42 NIV

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

     Acts chapter 2 is a beautiful example of the necessity of Christians to share and physically fellowship with one another.

     Prayer is especially a worshipful fellowship with our Father God. It is the setting aside of time to spend listening for God’s Holy Spirit to speak to us and the time when we unburden our hearts and life and ask for God’s protection and will to be done in our life.

     Prayer is foundational to our spiritual life. We cannot ignore spending time with our Father God. Developing a spiritual relationship is of utmost importance especially in these end times.

     Just as Peter spoke of the coming of the last days in Acts 2:17-21. Our days are also filled with signs and wonders announcing the soon return of Jesus Christ for His children.

     Being prepared for Christ’s return involves developing and maintaining a deeper spiritual relationship with God and our fellow Christians. This is not obtained by forsaking prayer and the gathering of ourselves together for worship and study of God’s word.

     Ephesians 5:15-20 NIV

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen and Amen

 Today's Devotional August 13, 2026 

Prayerful Attitudes and Opportunities

     One of the most powerful prayers is a prayer that never fails. Jesus taught us to pray, “Your will be done.”

     Matthew 6:9-14 NIV

     9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

     “‘Our Father in heaven,
     hallowed be your name,
     10 your kingdom come,
     your will be done,
      on earth as it is in heaven.
     11 Give us today our daily bread.
     12 And forgive us our debts,
      as we also have forgiven our debtors.
     13 And lead us not into temptation,
     but deliver us from the evil one.

     Sometimes prayer does not come easy. Sounds of the world crowd in; dogs barking, phones ringing, television blaring. As I sat down to compose some practical thoughts regarding prayer, it seemed my home became as busy as a beehive and so I prayed for peace and the words to say that would give God the glory.

     When I think back about the times I’ve been involved in corporate prayer and the blessings I’ve received from those prayer times. One of the most exciting times was this past Spring Women’s Bible Study at my church in Phoenix.

     We’ve always opened and closed our meetings with prayer for those present and prayer requests for those unable to attend but this past Spring our team leaders decided to meet for prayer before we began our study and met with those in attendance.

     What a beautiful and special blessing we received by asking God’s blessing on our presenters and team members and lifting up the program. The blessing our team received each morning made our study seem more special than in past years.

     I read something from one of Billy Graham’s articles on prayer that provided the why for this blessing our team received each morning. The article says to, “pray for things to happen in such a way as to provide God with the credit and to give God the glory.”

Romans 16:27 NIV

27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

     Explore new ways to bring prayer into your daily life and by all means express your requests and thanks to God in childlike faith expecting Him to answer.

Amen and Amen

 Today's Devotional August 12, 2026 

Acceptable Prayer to God

     Prayer is simply talking with God. But you might ask, what is acceptable prayer. 

     First, our prayer is to be made in the name of Jesus. After all, it is because of who Jesus is and what He has done that we are even able to pray to God.

     Second, righteousness and obedience are crucial, as seen in;

1 Peter 3:12 "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer." 

     Third and most important of all is having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 NKJV Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

     Jesus disciples witnessed Him praying to His Father constantly and saw the results of prayer in His life therefore they had one burning desire of Him and that was “Lord, teach us to pray.”

     Billy Graham writes in an article on prayer. “Sin short-circuits the communication system between Earth and Heaven, and your praying with an evil heart will not even reach God”.

     What, you may ask, is praying with an evil heart. Self-centered desires that focus only on getting what a person wants and not the will of God are probably in the category of an evil heart. 

     Lastly, prayer acceptable to God comes from a penitent heart. Asking forgiveness for sin and praying for a relationship with His son Jesus Christ is the first step to acceptable prayer.

     A beautiful young woman once asked me how she could know Jesus. She and I simply prayed and asked Him to come into her life, forgive her sins and live through her as her Savior Lord. One day I will see Jasmine in heaven. She became my sister-in-Christ that night in the ER in Phoenix, AZ.

Amen and Amen

Today's Devotional August 11, 2026

Praying in God’s Crosshair’s

     My morning devotion on prayer asked several questions about a Christians prayer life. One stood out from the others...”do I only pray when there is a disturbance in the moments of my life?”

     1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says…Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

     The world’s distractions take our thoughts and our prayer life away from our relationship with the Father and give us the headshaking troubles of the world.

     When that happens God’s Holy Spirit asks us a simple question..can you do anything to solve the problems of the world? The answer 100% of the time is yes, I can pray to my Heavenly Father about every trouble. 

     The reality is this, God is in control. He has given Satan a limited timeframe to perform his chaos in the world. Satan his minions are in God’s crosshairs and their end is near.

     The things that happen to us and in the world in particular happen entirely in the decree of God. Know this, God is working out His purposes and His plan.

     Why should we pray, why should we put the troubles of the world in God’s crosshairs? Because we should trust him to do what is best where and when He chooses. It is for our good and His purpose.

     As our scripture for the day says we should; rejoice, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. Why? Because it is the will of God for you.

Amen and Amen 

 Today’s Devotional August 10, 2026

The Essential Need to Pray

     Matthew 6:7-8 ESV 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

     We know that God answers prayer not in the way or the time we expect but, in the way, and the time that is beneficial to us. I’ve had prayers answered instantly and there are prayers I pray that are still waiting for an answer.

     Romans 8:26 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

     There are times that God’s Holy Spirit prays to the Father for us. Those times are truly emotional and spiritually uplifting. As Matthew 6:8 tells us, God knows our needs and fills our hearts with groanings regarding those needs.

     Philippians 4:6 says; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 

     Biblical supplication is a humble prayer that we pray submitting our needs, burdens and desires to God. Knowing that we need not depend on our own strength to accomplish these needs.

     Biblical thanksgiving is acknowledging that every good and perfect gift comes from God’s hand. It is the bowing down of our hearts in total praise to God.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 says pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

     I once asked a dear elderly woman of God about praying without ceasing. She delighted in telling me that since she lived alone it was wonderful to talk with Jesus as though He were visible and present in her home. I have never forgotten how her face and her smile portrayed the words she spoke.

     What is the essential need to pray? It is sharing and speaking with God as a dear friend. Knowing that His loving care and protection will be with you and me 24/7 on earth and in heaven to come.

Amen and Amen

Today's Devotional August 7, 2026

God's Blessings and Warnings

     My Sisters cited several scriptures. The following are two of my favorites.

     Matthew 7:7-11

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

     In the second New Testament scripture Jesus also warns of the consequences of rejecting His message of salvation.

     Matthew 7:24-27

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” 

     Both scriptures give warnings, but both also begin by telling of the blessings we receive by obeying the words of God written in The Bible.

     God's compelling through His Holy Spirit is the force that directs us to Christ. Oswald Chambers ways the following in My Utmost for His Highest in the devotional "The Big Compelling of God". "There is so much said today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament it is the aspect of God's compelling that is brought out."

     John 15:16 KJV

     Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 

     In summary, blessings and warnings are central to the biblical message, reflecting God's desire for a faithful and obedient relationship with His people. They highlight the rewards of righteousness and the consequences of sin, guiding believers in their spiritual journey.

August 10th Devotional: The Essential Need To Pray

Amen and Amen

Today's Devotional August 6, 2026

Ignoring Warning Signs 

Romans 6:23 ESV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

     There is a recent fictious commercial regarding Pompei and how a ruler ignores the warning of one of his scientists about volcanic activity by saying, “I’ve seen worse!” To which the scientist reply’s, “I doubt it!” We all know what is implied that happened to Pompei i.e. The ruler’s foolishness caused the death of thousands of innocent people.

     We are bombarded daily with various warnings from around the world of; wars, rumors of wars, flash floods, wild fires, earthquakes, and other destructive forces.

Living in a world of instant access brings bad news to our doorstep 24/7. The downside to seeing and hearing so many daily warnings. We tend to discount or ignore most of them.

     Who are the people who choose to believe warnings? I believe it is those who’ve lived to tell how obeying a warning saved them from dire consequences or even death.

     However, God’s warnings go deeper than physical death. His warnings involve spiritual death. 

     God created us to be eternal beings. He never intended for us to experience physical death, but Adam and Eve’s sin of disobeying God changed everything.

     Today’s world has become “upside down.” To quote an online article I recently read, “We are clearly living in an upside down world where right is wrong and wrong is right, where moral is immoral and immoral is moral, where good is evil and evil is good, where killing murderers is wrong, but killing innocent babies is right.

     This morning I asked two of my Sister’s in Christ for scriptures relating to God’s warnings and conversely to His blessings regarding those warnings. 

To be continued 

Part 2 August 7, 2026 Ignoring God’s Blessings and Warnings

Amen and Amen

Today's Devotional August 5, 2026

A Call to Worship

Psalm 95:1-7 NKJV

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
      let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
      and extol him with music and song.

3 For the Lord is the great God,
      the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
      and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
      and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
      let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
      and we are the people of his pasture,
      the flock under his care.

Come, let us bow down and worship Christ our King

Come, let us sing songs of joy unto our Lord

Today if you hear His voice submit your heart to Him

Come, now is the time to worship Christ our King

Amen and Amen; Anne's Music Book

Today’s Devotional August 4, 2026

Adjusting Our Attitude

Philippians 3:12-13 NIV

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

     We all need our attitudes adjusted from time to time. 

Knowing that nothing happens without it first going through Jesus blunts the pain somewhat. Realizing we are in training for our heavenly home makes our life struggles a bit more bearable.

     One of my favorite online pastors is Jack Hibbs out of Chino Valley California. During one of yesterday’s sermon’s (he has three each Sunday), he stated that we should “be thankful” for all the twists and turns of our life. The good and the bad. Why? Because God has brought us through them to bring us to the foot of the Cross and Jesus. 

     Yesterday I took a long, hard look at the way thoughts of my past have blinded me to the good God achieved in my life. Ugly memories of abuse directed toward me and my children have been a blemish on my life and try as I may, I never fully forgave my first husband for years of these painful trials. Even in death disrespectfully referring to him as “the man on the shelf” a reference to his urn being on a bookshelf in my youngest son’s home.

     Today’s scripture speaks of “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead”. I believe Satan uses our past against us because we despised those bad times and the memories we’ve carried around about them for years. However, we disarm him when we realize that God’s love brought us through those times with flying colors. We became spiritually and mentally able to understand, sympathize and grow despite the storms that have raged about us.

     My attitude was adjusted yesterday as I thanked God for His love and goodness toward me. Acknowledging how He raised me up to be a witness of His glory as I pass along this wisdom to others who are still in the fiery furnace of bad times. I can share with them just as the Old Testament in Daniel 3 spoke of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they came out of the fiery furnace that….I too have walked through the fire and escaped with not a singed hair or smokey smell.

     One day I will see God face-to-face

     View His goodness and His grace

     Fall into His loving arms

     Safe from danger, strife and harm

Amen and Amen

Today's Devotion for August 3, 2026

Having Childlike Faith

Matthew 18:2-3 NIV

2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”.

     God seeks a childlike submissiveness and meekness, a gleeful childlike heart and a childlike faith in us. After all we are His children.

     The process of building a life of faith begins when we are children. As we mature, life’s ups and down’s have their effect on our character. 

     Most children are seldom touched by the concerns of the world. However, in many corners of the world even little ones are confronted by basic worldly cares such as food, clothing, and shelter. Unfortunately, in many countries young children are sold into slavery or marriage and never have an opportunity to be carefree and untouched by the evils of the world.

     As I was making my way through mounds of paperwork accumulated from months of writing, I came across this paper with a wonderful analogy. 

     “Think of the world as a big arena. We are in it to run “life’s race” for and with God. As we get older even the small “hurdles of doubts and concerns” loom large and seemingly insurmountable before us. The hurdles slow us down, knock us off stride, or make us give up completely in our growing relationship with God. Many adults see the hurdles of life as major obstacles while a child looks for the prize at the finish line.”

     As senior adults our remaining years may be few, so we truly need to concentrate on completing the race as Paul wrote in 2nd Timothy.

2 Timothy 4:7 

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

     Practicing a childlike faith and love, are an open door to God’s heart.

Here are a few practice suggestions;

· Humble yourself before God

· Be joyful in simple things

· Strive to learn something new each day

· Be eager to please others

· Believe that God wants the best for you  

Jesus said in Matthew 19:14

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

     God reminds us in His Word that we are indeed His children.

1 John 3:1 says

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.”

    Come before the Father as a child, fully trusting in His Word, fully submitting to His Holy Spirit, fully open to His love, promises and commandments. 

Repent and leave your baggage at God’s doorstep. Be thankful that He loved you enough to see you through all the obstacles you have experienced in your life and to bring you to this one moment when you can honestly say, “I surrender All!”

Amen and Amen

 Today's Devotional August 2, 2026

Are You Standing in God’s Way?

Genesis 16:1-4 NIV

     Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

     Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.

     Sarai decided that she had waited long enough to have God fulfill His promise to give her and Abram a child. After all she was almost 90 years old…so she decided to help God.

     Sometimes we’re so busy helping God with His promises that we bring disaster on ourselves.

     My husband worked for a Swiss/German firm many years ago. He told me of a fellow tradesman whose wife was constantly preaching to him about Jesus and reminding him of his many faults and how he was bound for hell. The man was miserable and determined to never get to know this Jesus because of his wife’s constant pressure.

     How soon Christians forget that “the battle is the Lord’s” and try to help God’s Holy Spirit bring a soul to Christ.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says the following:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

     Just as Sari “helped” her husband and herself to have a baby by offering up her handmaiden Hagar to Abram as a surrogate. Oft times we try to help God’s Holy Spirit with a little nudge.

     Alexander Pope in his essay on Criticism, 1709 popularized the saying, “fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Since we are surely not angels helping God do any of His promises must indeed be foolish on our part.

     Get out of God’s way by listening to that still, small voice of God’s Holy Spirit and then “let go and let God”. 

Amen and Amen

Today's Devotional

August 1, 2026

Romans 8:35 ESV

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

     Oswald Chambers devotional for today “Out of the Wreck I Rise” brings thoughts of the frailty of life. How, in seconds, our lives can change from peaceful to tragic. How many of us have experienced the knock on the door or the early morning phone call that challenged our very breath of life.

     Totally unexplained, explosions happen, fires happen, auto accidents happen, acts of terrorism happen, physical failures happen…tragically no matter our ages or status of life we all live on the narrow edge of disaster.

     OC writes, “God does not keep a man immune from trouble.” God says, “I will be with him in trouble.”

     Thanks be to God our worst-case scenario troubles are between our ears and not actual happenings. Thankfully our Father in Heaven knows that no matter how far each of us has traveled on this road of life there are things that could happen to us that would destroy our lives forever and He protects us from those events.

     Paul The Apostle, led by God’s Holy Spirit wrote the beautiful inspirational chapter of Roman’s 8 which concludes with these words.

     37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

     It is a consoling thought that God’s love insulates us from any particular tragedy of life that we might imagine. We know that all things that happen to us must first pass through God’s hands before they reach us. Because He is a God of Love, we can be confident that God is working out His plan for our lives.

     Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

     “Who am I”, a gospel message in song by Casting Crowns says that you and I have no one to fear and that nothing, nothing will ever separate us from God’s love and care.

     Praying you have a blessed day knowing that He Loves You!

Amen and Amen 

  We All Have One!

     We are not on earth at this time and place in history by accident. No matter the circumstances of our conception or birth, we are neither unplanned nor unexpected. God knew about us before time began. 

     Psalm 139:14-16 NIV says I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

     My question is this, how do you fit into God’s Plan? What special place in history do you occupy? 

     Look closely at all of history or read and consider God’s word The Holy Bible. Each person was important in that particular place in time. Each person had a purpose. Some were of greater significance than others, yet each one fulfilled his or her God given purpose. No one made by God was more important than another, but each one was of value. 

     Genesis 1:27-28 ESV says So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

     Acts 17:26 NIV says 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

      My point in asking these questions and offering these scriptures up as evidence of God’s purpose for each one of us is this. We are living in the end times; God is pouring out His spirit on the earth. Time is short! A time is coming when there will be chaos in the world as has never been seen before. God is sending out His Holy Spirit and reapers to harvest souls before He signals the final battle with Satan.

The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit

     Joel 2:28 ESV

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

     Transformiran.com writes;

     In recent years, Iran has witnessed a remarkable spiritual revival, particularly among converts from Islam to Christianity. This movement is largely underground due to the Islamic Republic’s strict laws against apostasy, which can result in imprisonment, torture, or even execution for those embracing Christianity. Estimates suggest that 300,000 to 370,000 Christians now worship in secret house churches, meeting discreetly to study Scripture and share the Gospel. Despite the risks, the movement continues to expand, fueled by personal experiences, dreams, visions and digital ministry platforms.

     Acts 17:26 NIV says

26 From one man (Adam) he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

     John 3:17 NIV says 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

     Yes, Jesus paid the blood sacrifice for our sin on a rugged wooden cross thousands of years ago. He paid it for you, me and everyone throughout humanity.  Jesus Christ is in the sheep business. He is the Good Shepherd that watches over us 24-27 from our first breath to last.

     Matthew 18:12-14 ESV says 12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

     Open the door, invite Him in. He endured scourging, beating, harassment and belittling for you and me. Tell Him you’re sorry for the mess you’ve made of the life He gave you. He understands, He’s patient, He loves you!

Amen and Amen