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DAVID'S DAILY
DEVOTIONAL
Photo by Andrik Langfield on Unsplash
WELCOME!
This devotional blog is a weekday "non-fluffy" devotional in the Word based on the two greatest commandments: "Love the Lord, love your neighbor." Each devotion will answer these three questions: What does the message speak to me (the author) today? What is it saying to you (the reader)? And what are we going to do about it? The Bible will speak to us every day if we will let it. So what is it saying today?
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Devotions
Daily Devotions, devotional messages or thoughts.
Assessing Your Aim
Read Deuteronomy 6:4–6 (KJV) Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. What it is speaking to me: I love Robin Hood. The story, the movies, all of it. Multiple actors have played him over the course of nearly 100 years, and each movie has portrayed him slightly differently, changing many beats of
David Ayres
12 hours ago2 min read
The Ol' Ticker
Read Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" What it is speaking to me: I am the generation that grew up in what is considered "The Renaissance" of Disney animation. It kicked off with the Little Mermaid in 1989 and carried through the 90s to Tarzan in 1999. The Little Mermaid was a staple growing up, telling the story of a teenage mermaid who followed
David Ayres
4 days ago2 min read
Mathing Your days
Read Psalm 90:12 (KJV) So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. What it is speaking to me: Perhaps you have heard the phrase, "The days are long but the years are short." More importantly, you probably can identify with that statement. People have postulated for centuries why this effect exists, and according to the never-wrong internet there are two popular explanations. I will get the one involving math out first, as I don't like math and wa
David Ayres
5 days ago3 min read
Detox the Dome
Read Romans 12:1–3 (KJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he o
David Ayres
6 days ago2 min read
Evil Heart?
Read Hebrews 3:12–13 (KJV) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. What It's Speaking to Me Unfortunately most of us have had one of these moments: The bills stack up, and the bank account won't stretch to meet them. The diagnosis comes back unclear or desperately negative. Or any number of
David Ayres
7 days ago2 min read
Identify Thirst
Read Psalm 42:1–3 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'" What Is It Speaking to Me? You ever been really thirsty? I mean really thirsty? If you have ever worked outside in a Missouri summer all day, you know what I am talking about — where your throat feels like a
David Ayres
Apr 62 min read
Looking Out
Read Philippians 2:4 (NKJV) "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." What It Is Speaking to Me Have you ever helped a parent with a project involving tools? I would help my dad with house projects: plumbing, electrical, roofing, and more. Before you think I helped out of the goodness of my heart...I didn't. I was drafted. But I am grateful for the draft now, because I learned a lot in the process. One of the things I lea
David Ayres
Apr 32 min read
Ant Man
Read Proverbs 6:6–8 Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest. What It Is Speaking to Me We spend our teen years bucking our authority system (parents), our twenties convinced we have arrived at the knowledge of all things, and sometime in our thirties and forties we start to wonder if having someone still telling us what to do might actually
David Ayres
Apr 22 min read
Prepare the Vessel
Read 2 Timothy 2:20-21 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. What it is speaking to me: When I worked at the coffee shop, there would be busy and slow times. Busy times were all the commuters and pre-work coffee people coming in for
David Ayres
Apr 13 min read
Mindful Presence
Read Acts 17:27–28 (KJV) That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. What It Is Speaking to Me It is the simplest, most basic things in life that we take for granted. Statistically, if you grew up in America, you probably never had to wonder if there would be a roof over y
David Ayres
Mar 312 min read
Bully Heart
Read 1 John 3:19–21 (KJV)And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. What it is speaking to me: There are two kinds of people in this world. People who love The Princess Bride, and people who don't. My wife doesn't. That she doesn't is entirely beside the point of this devotional,
David Ayres
Mar 302 min read
Prayer=Work
Read James 5:15–17 (NKJV) And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. What it is speaking t
David Ayres
Mar 262 min read
Hearing Test
Read Proverbs 18:12–13 (KJV) Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility. He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. What it is speaking to me: There is a real danger in getting older. You have seen and experienced many things, and often seen them repeated. People begin to surprise you less and less. The danger is not in that, but in starting to think you know it all. Or if not all, certainly that you can
David Ayres
Mar 252 min read
Worry Catch
Read 1 Peter 5:6–7 NIV "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." What it is speaking to me: I came to the game of catch late in life. We weren't a big baseball family growing up. I played a lot of football, soccer, and basketball, but not baseball. I never really owned a glove or learned to throw a baseball correctly. It wasn't until college that I started tossing a ball
David Ayres
Mar 242 min read
Dainties
Read Psalm 141:3–4 (KJV) "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties." What it is speaking to me: Sometimes the King James Version just says it in a way you can't forget. I used it here specifically for the word dainties — an old-school way of saying something delicious or tasty. And that word perfectly captures the problem wi
David Ayres
Mar 232 min read
Grace Upon Grace
Read John 1:16–17 CSB Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. What it is saying to me: My wife loves the ocean. I am more of a mountain man myself, but even I have to admit that the ocean is awe-inspiring — the vastness of it, the power of it, the endless horizon, the waves that never stop crashing upon the shore. It is hard not to see God in its majesty. There is some deb
David Ayres
Mar 202 min read
Working
Read 2 Thessalonians 3:9–11 (NKJV)"…not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies." What it is speaking to me I grew up watching my dad work. He worked hard. He worked full time, he worked on the house, he volu
David Ayres
Mar 192 min read
Two Things to Learn
Read 2 Peter 3:15-18 Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that
David Ayres
Mar 182 min read
Forget Not
Read Psalm 103:1–3 (KJV) Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; What it is speaking to me: Memory is a wonderful thing. If I were to ask you, "What is the best meal experience you have ever had?" a few experiences would likely come to mind. Now that I have asked, I am thinking of one of mine, and I am going to share
David Ayres
Mar 173 min read
A Tale of Two Thoughts
Read 1 Timothy 1:7 NKJV "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." What it is speaking to me: I wake up with a start. It's 3:30 AM. Some thought woke me up and filled me with dread. What have I forgotten? I forgot to do something, but what is it? The devotional. I forgot to publish it. I start racking my brain: why didn't I publish it? What did I do yesterday that made me forget? Did I even WRITE it?! Now I am replaying the even
David Ayres
Mar 162 min read
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