Ruby's daily devotionals — short morning reflections on Scripture and the small mercies of an ordinary day.
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"He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." — Ecclesiastes 3:11 I have been thinking about the summers when I
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"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you." — Isaiah 43:2 There is a woman at church I have been praying for and I do not know how she is doing this week because I have
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"Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." — Psalm 143:8 The town is quiet this morning the way it always is on the
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"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his
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"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven..." — Isaiah 55:10-11 I opened the Bible this morning to the place where the ribbon was, which is Isaiah, and I read the part about the rain. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow
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"Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green." — Jeremiah 17:7-8 The garden
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"Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their parents." — Proverbs 17:6 Jack is twelve today. I called this morning and Dan answered and said Jack was still asleep, which is exactly right for a boy on his birthday in summer. Dan
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"I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you." — 2 Timothy 1:5 My mother used to say that the garden will tell you when it is ready and
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"In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed." — Mark 1:35 June is almost gone and I did not notice it leaving. I was so busy with the carrying and the not-carrying
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"Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." — Hebrews 4:16 I did not go to church this morning. There is no reason that would satisfy anyone who asked, and nobody
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"Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." — James 1:17 The storm came through at four o'clock and took about twenty minutes and
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"So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen