Devotions Archive

A Willing Heart

Today’s Truth
“So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’” (2 Corinthians 5:20, NLT)

Friend to Friend
My husband Brad went on a missions trip to Guatemala a few years ago. What he saw and experienced changed his life and increased his faith in a dramatic way. He was an eyewitness to the healing power of God. On that trip he prayed harder, believed more, and expected more from God each passing day—and as a result, God used their medical missions …

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Knock. Knock. Is Anybody There? Part 3

Today’s Truth
But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you,’ (Jeremiah 7:23 NASB).

Friend to Friend
Yesterday I wrote about my little neighbor who had a tendency to walk into our house whenever he wanted to. After teaching him to knock first, if no one answered, he’d walk in anyway. It was a fun story. If you missed it, you can read …

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Knock! Knock! Is Anybody There? Part 2

Today’s Truth
Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;” (Psalm 25:3).

Friend to Friend
Yesterday I told you about my little neighbor, Philip, who had a tendency to walk in our house whenever he wanted. I told him that he couldn’t walk right in, but had to knock first. So the next day he knocked, and then when I didn’t answer the door, he walked right in.

“Philip,” I scolded, “I thought I told you to knock.”

“I did,” he said, “But you didn’t come. So I came on in.”

Mercy! We looked at …

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Knock. Knock. Is Anybody There? Part 1

Today’s Truth
 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;” (Psalm 25:3 NASB).

Friend to Friend
Little feet. I heard them clomping across the linoleum kitchen floor and padding up the carpeted stairs…and I knew they were not my son’s. I poked my head out of my sewing room and there he stood. Three-and-a-half feet of pure mischief – my neighbor Philip.

“Philip,” I scolded, “you can’t just walk into our house like that.”

“Why not?” he asked with balled fists on his determined hips.

“Because this isn’t your house. You have to knock on …

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Just Listen

Today’s Truth
James 4:17 (NIV) “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”

Friend to Friend
I was in a hurry. It was Wednesday and I had several errands to run before heading to the church where I teach a monthly Bible study for women. My last stop was the grocery store. I wanted to pick up snacks and drinks for many of the women who came straight from work to the study. It didn’t take long to fill my cart with drinks, chips, fruit and a few bags …

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What is Normal?

Today’s Truth

1 Peter 4:12-13 “Do not be surprised at the painful things you are now suffering. These things are testing your faith” (ICB).

Friend to Friend

The holidays are wonderful but I am always ready for them to be over so life can get back to normal. Hmmm…that word “normal” can definitely mean different things to different people. I have to admit that “normal” is not a word people commonly use to describe me or my life. I have heard more than one person say, “Mary, you are not a normal pastor’s wife!” I smile and thank them for …

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The Slippery Slope of Comparison

Today’s Truth

“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together,” (Colossians 1:17 NIV).

Friend to Friend

OK girls, it’s time for a little fun today. I hope you can get this picture in your mind. Let me paint it for you.

I am not, and never have been, a very athletic person. If it’s round and moves, I can’t hit it, catch it or kick it. My husband, on the other hand, is very athletic. He played sports in high school, and even had a partial baseball scholarship to Clemson University.

The one thing I can…

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Service With a Smile

Today’s Truth
Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Friend to Friend
The last thing I usually want to do is serve someone who is hard to get along with and rubs me the wrong way. In fact, the way I figure it, they should be the one serving me in order to make up for all of the grief they have caused. Sandpaper people are hard to serve and hard to help because they rarely, if ever, think of themselves as someone in need. The needs of others are not high …

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It’s Not Over Till It’s Over

Today’s Truth

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ,” (1 Corinthians 15:57 NIV).

Friend to Friend

It’s called “The Final Four” and in the Jaynes’ home, it is important…at least to some of us.

It was Friday night and my son, Steven, and husband, Steve, were watching the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels basketball team take on Southern Cal. All three of us had graduated from UNC and we were pulling for the Tar Heels, but it wasn’t looking too good for the home team. Part way through …

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Learning To Abide

Today’s Truth
John 15:4-5 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (NASB)

Friend to Friend
Every year, when September rolls around, schools begin recruiting parents for classroom duties, sports teams start looking for team moms, and the women’s ministry is begging for help … and the …

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