Gleanings From The Word

Tag: daily devotional

Issue 1889 – Safe in the arms of God.

Safe!

Safe! What a wonderful call for any baseball base runner to hear an umpire call. It’s also good for the rest of us to know we are safe in a tumultuous world that seems to have lost its mind. Christians are safe in the arms of God.

Don’t misunderstand. We are not exempt from trials, tribulations, illness, crime, poor choices, physical harm, economic downturns, or natural disasters. We’re not safe from persecution, or temptation, or relational ills. All of those are part and parcel of living in a fallen, son-filled world.

What are we safe from? In the words of the hymn “Before the Throne of God Above” …

Before the throne of God above. I have a strong and perfect plea. A great High Priest whose name is love, who ever lives and pleads for me. My name is graven on his hands, my name is written on his heart. I know that while in Heav’n he stands no tongue can bid me thence depart.

Every element of our salvation is our God. He calls us and gives us the faith and courage to receive Him. He dies to pay the cost of our sin, and He dwells within us to make us more like him.

Once we are His, we are His forever. Safe in the arms of God. We can’t mess up so badly that we fall completely from Grace. We may face consequences and discipline, but never rejection. Nothing can tear us away from him, or as the song says, “none can bid me hence depart”.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28 ESV

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 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. Romans 8:38-39 ESV

Some will say that gives us freedom to sin. Paul clearly tells us that isn’t the case.

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means Romans 6:14-15 ESV

We need to understand that we are secure in Christ. That knowledge should help us understand how deep His love and mercy for us is. That understanding leads us to love Him more and to desire to please Him. That desire makes it harder for us to sin and easier to repent.

My friends, as believers, you are safe in the arms of God. Now live in that wonderful news.

Be blessed

Kevin

The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear

Scrub Jays – Refugees from the fires

19 January 2026
Do you see things through the eyes of faith?

I see Mount Baker or parts of it almost every day. Located just to the southeast of us in Washington State, it dominates the southern horizon. It’s a sight I never grow tired of. Of course, if I’m out after dark, the mountain disappears, but by faith I know it’s still there.

The mountain can also disappear from my view depending on the weather. Clouds, rain, fog, or a combination of them can obscure the sight of a small part of it, or everything. The changing weather patterns mean the view can change from hour to hour, minute by minute, or even second by second.

If I turn away from the mountain, I go somewhere else, and if a hill or building blocks my way, I can’t see it anymore.

Of course it does, Kevin. That’s normal. The mountain hasn’t gone anywhere or disappeared; you just can’t see it at those times.

I know that, but I use the thought to make a point. Are there times when you feel that God has moved away, or you can’t “see” Him? That happens to most of us, at least at times.

God was there before anything in the material universe existed. He will be then when everything changes on the last day.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:2

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel:‘I amhas sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:20

So, if He is always there, why does He seem distant or absent? There are several possibilities.

You’ve turned away. Sometimes our own sin blinds us to God, and we turn from Him.

You’re looking but not seeing what’s in front of you. This happens to me when I’m trying to find something and fail. I ask Kathy for help, and she shows me where it was right there in front of my face.

God blesses you with a period of temporary blindness so that your faith is put to the test and grows. That’s a reason we don’t often think of.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

If you aren’t seeing God, first check your own life. What sin is blinding you? Take time to repent and confess. Then ask Him to reveal Himself again. Pray, read the word, and practice some spiritual disciplines to reconnect.

Trust Him, allow your faith to grow. He is at work in all things, all circumstances, and every life. He works all things for His glory and the good of those who love Him.

Just as Mount Baker is still there when the cloud lifts, you will find God still there when your vision and circumstances clear.

Remember, He promises to never leave or forsake you. You can trust His promises.

Be blessed

Kevin

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A Leap of Faith

What Do You See? Opening our spiritual eyes.

16 January 2026
Our earthly treasures will be left behind but we will go to glory

I am fascinated by old, abandoned farmhouses, cabins, and mines. No two are alike.

Between Clearwater BC, where we once lived, and the nearby city of Kamloops is an old farmstead on a bend in the North Thompson River. (not the one in this image). It’s a beautiful sight in its way and ideally suited for taking some great river pictures.

Unfortunately, it’s posted land, and a busy corner of the highway, so there is no going in to explore. It never fails to capture my interest. Part of the land is still used for hay, so it isn’t totally wasted, but I wonder what happened to the original owners.

Perhaps they were successful and built a newer, bigger home and barn. Perhaps they lost the property during an economic downturn. Perhaps aging parents couldn’t keep up, and the children weren’t interested. I can only speculate.

When I pass an old church, long abandoned or repurposed, I often wonder what happened to the people who built it and loved the Lord. Did they move on? Did they lose their zeal for the Lord? I guess I’ll find out in glory.

I sometimes wish the old buildings could talk. What would they tell us about the people who lived and worked there? What happened to them? What did they leave? What hopes and aspirations did they have?

Unfortunately, the buildings don’t talk, and we are left to guess. Sometimes land title records or other documents can tell us some things, but the real human history has been lost.

All of that’s interesting enough, but what does that have to do with our faith?

The reality of life is that it’s finite. Billions of people have come and gone throughout the history of life on this planet, most of whom will never be remembered beyond a generation or two.

Some people spend huge fortunes erecting monuments to their names so that they will be remembered after death. Even the great monuments people built eventually succumb to the ravages of time.

Yet there is promised hope beyond the pale of death. Believers will be with the Lord forever and will be known to Him. The good works done in His name will be remembered and celebrated. The future isn’t nearly bright for non-believers who will suffer eternal torment.

The treasures we value so much will vanish. Yet we gain so much more in the end.

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:51-57

If you want eternal monuments… pray for the salvation of your offspring for generations to come. Love your neighbors. Tell them about Jesus. Follow Christ.

The things of Christ endure, and what wonderful stories we will have to share with each other that bring glory to God.

Be blessed

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.

The things we value most will be left behind – We gain everything

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More about living the Christian life and treasures that wont be left behind

# Right Belief Must Become Right Living

All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.

Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

15 January 2026
What Do You See? Opening our spiritual eyes.

We aren’t very far into the Bible when things go terribly wrong. You know the story.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:1-8 esv

Now, prior to this, both Adam and Eve walked in the garden in a close personal relationship. They knew the Lord as intimately and personally as it is possible for a person to know Him. They understood His love, compassion and mercy.

What changed? The obvious answer is they sinned. Yet, what moved them from joy to fear?

With sin-filled eyes, we cannot see God as He truly is. They now saw God through distorted lenses and created a harsh God of their own imaginings. It’s what we do.

Some see God as a Monty Python-like foot ready to stomp on us for any sin. Others see Him as a cosmic genie there to grant our every wish and desire. For some people, he’s a doddering old man who either cannot see our sins or, if he does, is unable or unwilling to do anything about them.

There are those who pretend that He doesn’t exist. The great civilizations of the past imagined Him as a pantheon of very flawed human-like capricious gods.

The truth is that the God revealed to us in the Bible is none of those things. He is benevolent, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He loves us so much that Jesus came and died so that we could be restored into a right relationship with Him and be adopted into His family.

He is too beautiful and wonderful for us to understand with our sin-filled minds. Even as believers whose sins have been atoned for do not yet see him clearly, but the day will come when we will. He will open our spiritual eyes to see the truth.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:32

I can hardly wait. What about you?

Be blessed

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.

On a similar theme

Do you see things through the eyes of faith?

14 January 2026
When we say no to God

The little boy stood there on the path, facing his mother, hands on his hips. I don’t know what had happened, but when I got into earshot, I heard him angrily say, “No! I don’t need help.” The mother said something that I couldn’t quite hear, to which the boy stomped his foot angrily and replied, “I want to do it my way. I’m big now.”

The scene was cute to me as an observer, though probably not to the mom. I stifled a chuckle and walked on by. I don’t know what he wanted or if he was successful.

It’s not so cute when we get older. It’s even less so when we’re the petulant child, and God is the parent.

Now, more than likely, we’re not wearing oversized galoshes and physically stomping our feet, but our response to God is often defiance, rather than humble submission. Or, perhaps that’s just me, but I don’t think so.

The original sin was ignoring God’s commands. Israel wandered forty years in the desert for disobedience. Peter cut off the servant’s ear. The Scriptures are full of examples. If we all got our acts together the moment we believed, Paul’s letters might have read quite differently.

We want to follow our own hearts and wills. That seems like good sense, but our hearts are wicked, and our wills are sin-filled.

It’s why the psalmist says,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

In Deuteronomy 28-29, the Lord promises blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. That doesn’t mean that if we follow God and are obedient, all our dreams will come true. Someone once said that God is more interested in our holiness than our happiness.

Still, things will be better in our relationship with Him, no matter our circumstances, if we walk in obedience.

May we be more like Jesus and less like petulant children.

Be blessed

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.

On a related note

Stubborn Disobedience

Those Little Doubts

# Right Belief Must Become Right Living

13 January 2026
What really matters in this life?

I volunteer as a helper with the youth group (grades 7-12) at our local assembly on Friday nights. It’s a time of fun, worship, Bible time, socializing, and, of course, snacks. The worship section encompasses a short message, and for this term, the theme is based on Ecclesiastes.

Last Thursday’s Gleanings touched on the final chapter of Ecclesiastes, where Solomon remembered what life was truly about. The first eleven chapters were about the meaninglessness of life.

You are all likely familiar with the opening of the book: Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity, Ecclesiastes 1:1-2.

Maybe you know it better as, “The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 NIV

Either way, it paints a grim picture of life. The English language doesn’t quite do the text justice. I’m far from a Hebrew scholar, but I know that Hebrew is a language built on images, so it’s difficult at times for our language to capture the full word picture of the author.

The word translated meaningless, or vanity is the Hebrew הֶבֶל (hebel), pronounced HEH-bel. Hebel can certainly mean ‘meaningless’ or ‘vanity,’ but the word describes a fog or mist.

You can’t quite grasp a fog or mist even when you are surrounded by it. The things of this world are promises written in fog and delivered in mist. They promise many things, but never quite deliver. The harder you chase them, the more difficult they become to grasp.

When you grab a handful of fog, you have an empty hand. Your hand might be a little wet, but you can’t quite catch it.

Solomon had it all by worldly standards: wisdom, wealth, power, fame, sex, and more. So much so that he’s still famous for that today. Yet, in the end, he understood that all of it meant nothing in the long run.

Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

All the possessions and accolades of the world won’t give you what you truly need. Only being made righteous with Christ and following Him will satisfy your deepest needs. We were created for that very purpose. Everything else is a shadow, a taste, or a mist.

In the words of the refrain from a timeless hymn:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Trust Him to deliver more than vanity and mist.

Be blessed

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.

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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.

Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

Here is the way to a meaningful life.

The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear

12 January 2026
Perseverance – A Christian Virtue

Some of you will know that I have been working on a children’s book series, inspired by conversation and storytelling sessions with my grandchildren and their friends over the years. Since October or November 2024, when I wrote the first concept edition of “A Surprising Arrival” as a Christmas present for the grandchildren, I have been writing, editing, rewriting, getting it professionally edited, and rewriting again. It’s an act of love, but it’s a journey.

Yesterday, I took the terrifying step of submitting to a literary agent. Once I have an agent, they will handle finding a publisher. Very few publishing houses still accept non-agented submissions. Agent hunting will likely require many rejections as I try to connect with the one who is looking for exactly the right fit.

So, why am I telling you this? There are two reasons. First, it fits with the theme of today’s Gleanings. The second is far more selfish: to ask you to visit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551114373506 and follow it. The more followers, the more appealing to an agent. Thanks in advance.

This writing has been a work of perseverance. With Gleanings, it’s write something in the morning and move on. When I was freelancing for newspapers and magazines, it was “do the assignment” and move on.

This has been two years of working at it, often with extended periods of intensive activity and steep learning curves. Now, I’m just at step two, a step that will involve rejection. Then, assuming the agent finds me a publisher, I will have to rework things to their standards. There is no guarantee of success. Less than 1% of children’s books make it to publication (outside of self-publishing).

In life, we often have to persevere, sometimes through trials and difficult times. Yet perseverance is highly regarded as a Christian virtue. Why? Because it changes us.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ 2 Peter 1:3-8

Hold fast, my dear friends. The Lord has His hand on you, and He will not waste your suffering.

Be blessed

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.

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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.

Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Because it changes us.

From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

Some thoughts on the Christian life

# Right Belief Must Become Right Living

9 January 2026
Thorns – God’s grace is sufficient

On a recent walk, I got grabbed by the thorns of a Himalayan Blackberry bush as I passed by. They are mostly dormant now, but the thorns still grab the unwary.

These blackberry bushes produce delicious, prolific berries, but are highly invasive. They are the bane of many landowners and park operators.

Kathy and I joke that the blackberries are going to take over the world. They pop up in random spots and thrive. They crawl up and over anything in their path, including trees, cars, and fences. Their long branches hang down to snag on anything that passes by, and wherever those tendrils hit the ground, they root, and a new plant is started.

Getting grabbed (again) got me thinking about a familiar passage in the Bible. After receiving revelations from God, Paul writes:

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:6-10

There is a lot of speculation about what form that “thorn” from Satan’s messenger actually took. Was it a form of illness, chronic pain, a besetting sin? I don’t know, and scholars much more learned and wiser than I have debated it. If God had thought it crucial that we know, He would have been clearer.

What is clear is God’s response to Paul’s complaining, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

God’s grace is sufficient. No matter what thorns or problems we face, God’s grace is sufficient to carry the believer.

Everyone faces times of suffering and trial. It has been said that Christians face more than non-believers because our faith sets us up as targets. We’re not immune. Being a Christian doesn’t give us a get out of jail free card that allows us to bypass pain and suffering.

Quite the opposite, in fact. God’s grace allows thorns to strengthen us and make us more like Jesus. Paul writes: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5

We can go to God for relief from everything, but if it doesn’t happen how or when we want, we can still rejoice. His grace is enough.

Enough? For what? His grace is sufficient for whatever we face. His grace will outlast any suffering, trials, or thorns we will encounter.

Rejoice for God’s abundant, merciful, and perfect grace.

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.

Life – God has his hand on believers’ lives

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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.

Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

The best news you will ever hear

The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear

7 January 2026
The call of the gospel

We’re almost a whole week into January, which means, statistically, 23% of people have already given up on their New Year’s resolution. By the end of the month, it will be 43%, and at year’s end, 92%. How are you doing on yours?

Some of those resolutions are reasonable; others are no more than castles carved in clouds or hopes strung across the clouds. They might have been pretty and well-intentioned, but in the end, they were unattainable dreams.

Most of us desire to be better people in some way, yet few have the discipline and drive to accomplish it. That’s why I’m glad Jesus understands our weakness.

He doesn’t expect us to get ourselves all cleaned up and find him. He doesn’t expect us to overcome all our sins and undo the damage under our own will and strength. Every other religion/faith is dependent on people doing all the work to get it together and find God.

I love how one writer describes the call of the gospel: “We are saved because God seeks and saves the lost. The Holy Spirit used the Gospel, shared by parents, friends, and loved ones with us, read in the pages of the Bible, and preached to us…”

He looks for us.

He accepts us where we are.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

He does the cleaning.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:29

That doesn’t let us off the hook; we participate in the process. Yet, it does mean that our issues aren’t handled under our own strength.

Our salvation and sanctification are in the hands of a loving God, not the fumbling hands of weak, desperate sinners. For that, we can rejoice.

Be blessed,

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.

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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.

Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What is the gospel?

The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear

6 January 2026
Don’t forget it is God in the drivers seat not us

Welcome to 2026, the beginning of the second quarter of the 21^st century. That sounds like some futuristic time to me, not Monday morning.

My friend Lloyd is a cowboy and an old-fashioned teamster. That means he spends part of the year at Lake Louise taking people for horse-drawn sleigh rides (the photo today is one of his). He loves it. I’m sure he feels the joy I used to feel back in the days when I drove dog teams on winter trails.

Most of us love being in the driver’s seat. We like to have control over where we are going and how we get there. That’s true for a lot of things besides horses, dogs, and automobiles.

We want to be in control of our lives, God’s in charge of our own little world. Now, we might not be so brazen as to phrase it that way, but it’s in our hearts. We like to ignore the truth that its God in the Driver’s seat.

That desire to be like God was what caused humanity to stumble in the Garden of Eden. Eve and Adam ate the fruit (not, probably not an apple) because they didn’t trust God enough to listen to Him.

It’s why the Bible says things like,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8

and

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9

We’re broken people living in a fallen world. All the manmade wisdom, tools, and technology can’t rescue us and redeem us. That’s why we needed a savior to set us free.

None of the false religions can free us. The atheists and humanists can’t do it. The trans-humanists with their vision of humanity integrated with machines won’t accomplish it. The people calling for the abolition of humanity as the cure for the world’s ills (a strange and self-destructive ideology) won’t save the planet.

We must put God in the driver’s seat. God isn’t our co-pilot; He is the divine architect and master of everything. He has the plan to redeem creation and all His children and the power to do it.

As we move forward into this new part of the century, let’s endeavor to put Him back in the driver’s seat, on the throne of our lives and allow Him free rein to conform us into the likeness of His Son.

May Jesus reign. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Praise His name.

Be blessed,

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.

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Old Stick – Sincere belief doesnt make it so

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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.

Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

The good news that can set you free

The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear

5 January 2026