Daily Devotional

May 21, 2018

If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. – Mark 9:23

When our children were young, my husband and I would go to eastern Oregon each year to hunt deer. One year, we rented a travel trailer to stay in while we were camping there, and one of our children accidentally locked the door when he came out of the trailer. The only...

May 20, 2018

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. – Isaiah 30:21

Taking day trips in the beautiful valley we are blessed to live in, and wandering over the mountains on both sides, is a pleasure my wife and I always enjoy. The back roads are plentiful...

May 19, 2018

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. – Proverbs 3:5-6

Recently, I was driving out of a large, fairly empty, parking lot, and I was looking ahead to where my path would intersect with a main road. All of a sudden, a car came speeding across the parking...

May 18, 2018

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. – 1 John 2:15

My great-great-grandfather fought in the American Civil War, and I am told that while he was a soldier he developed an unusual taste for molasses. The meat they were served was spoiled by the time it reached the front,...

May 17, 2018

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. – Psalm 25:5

While my family and I were on vacation, my seven-year-old daughter excitedly talked about spending her money on a souvenir. It seemed as though she wanted to buy something in every store we entered. Even when we went to a simple all-purpose store,...

May 16, 2018

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. – John 15:16

When I went from attending a one-room rural school in Minnesota to attending, what seemed to me, a huge city school in Portland, Oregon, I was still quite small. During our PE class, when it came time to choose teams for any game, I was always the last to be chosen. There was one...

May 15, 2018

Break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. – Hosea 10:12

Proper preparation can make all the difference. I hang gutters for a living, but I cannot just walk up to a house and start nailing gutters on. If there are old gutters, I first have to tear them off. Then I have to measure and mark...

May 14, 2018

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

When I was eighteen years old, I decided to get my own place. A friend and I had jobs, so we rented an apartment together. We had all kinds of ideas...

May 13, 2018

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. – Proverbs 31:10

My Christian mother was faithful to bring up her seven children in the knowledge of the Lord. She was the granddaughter of a Methodist minister, so she knew something of what it meant to be a Christian. Although she always wanted to be a Christian, and she would try each day...

May 12, 2018

Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. – Psalm 37:4

When my husband and I lived in our first home, we had a small plaque hanging on the wall that contained the words of today’s focus verse. While doing my household chores, I read those words many times.

I was very happy being a wife, yet after a while...