|
Listen to this devotional: |
Listen while you read: "Faith Of Our Fathers"1 (Lyrics) |
Did you know that PresbyCan is celebrating a milestone anniversary today? The Daily Devotional marks 25 years in operation on May 25.
What is now distributed to thousands of subscribers worldwide had its start with the idea of an old-fashioned answering machine and a single phone line. But that's just the technical side. Its spiritual roots extend deep into the previous century with a young man's interest in computing.
You can read the full story here.
Great things happen when someone uses their gifts and talents. Incredible things happen when faithful people listen to and obey a nudge from the Lord.
One of my guiding verses is Ephesians 3:20 – "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." (NLT)
God is able (and willing) to use us. What are you into? God can channel it into something that serves His kingdom. Like the towering tree that comes from a tiny seed, it's far beyond what we can do in our own abilities.
Who knows how it might be used?
Pandemics are nothing new. But no one was expecting a new microscopic virus to spread around the globe and affect virtually every human life in a matter of months. In this pandemic, we're finding that a daily devotional is more vital than ever. It's a vital daily dose of scriptural wisdom. As some readers attest, this ministry has kept them grounded in Christ in a world which has become somewhat unhinged.
God works in ways that we cannot imagine, preparing a foundation, piece by piece. Because of the sovereignty and providence of God, whenever we do something, however simple, we never know where the Lord will take it, or what effects our action will have.
Consider this: a spark of interest in a young person 55 years ago was the seed which produced a ministry which serves many people in a profound way.
Danniebelle Hall put it so well in her song, Ordinary People:
- God uses ordinary people. He chooses people, just like me and you, who are willing to do as He commands. God uses people that will give Him all, no matter how small your all may seem to you, because little becomes much as you place it in the Master's hands.
No matter how small that spark of interest, fan it. In God's hands, it can burn brightly for quite some time.
1 Corinthians 2:9 – That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." (NLT)
Thought to ponder: God has provided gifts and talents for a reason. Ask Him how they can be used for His purposes.
Prayer: Father, help us to see our lives as works of art created for Your divine purpose. Help us be channels of Your peace and perfect will. Amen.
Forward this devotional Share this devotional on Facebook Like PresbyCan on Facebook
Although PresbyCan doesn't have a mobile app, you can still have a PresbyCan icon on your mobile phone home screen. 
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 – In Peru — Pray for the three babies that have been born the last few months. Each mom is struggling, mostly due to lack of funds, for food and milk. Pray for us as a team as we discern the Lord's will about our pastoral passes for 2025. We also need workers, godly women with life experiences and awareness of the power of God, who are willing to invest time in these women.
Prayer for Pastor Kristen: "Update December 2, 2024: Kristen is not doing well. She will probably need to go on disability. She..." 
Prayer for Healing: "December 5, 2024: Pray, please, for healing for son who has been sick for over a month. Originally..." 
Beautiful.
Thanks for the encouragement, Andy.
Thank you for a good reminder today Andy. I appreciate it.
Blessings.
It’s so nice to read your devotionals on Presbycan! Glad you have joined this wonderful ministry!
What a wonderful example of God’s work! Congratulations to everyone at Presbycan, may God bless you all on this special anniversary. So inspiring!
I love these devotionals and the music Thank you for using your gifts to teach other ( well I can’t know about others) I do know what they have done for me.
Happy Anniversary to this wonderful ministry and to the people who initiated it, and have worked so diligently to keep it going, to God’s honor and glory. It has been blessed to bless others; and it has.
Congratulations on this successful ministry. Would it be possible to include the link to the original article by Robin Ross from Renewal Fellowship?
(Alberta)
Thank you, Pastor Andy, I enjoyed your devotion.
It brings strength to my faith.
Keep it up,
(Quebec)
Good morning Andy
Thank you for this. I did not know the history. I am so thankful God wants to use of us as we are willing.
God bless you.
CONGRATULATIONS to all who work with The Daily. It is such a wonderful blessing. Thanks, Andy for letting us know that it has been available for 25 years. Your story today has a wonderful challenge for each of us.
Many thanks.
Thanks, Andy, for the devotional today – and for 25 years of encouraging people and helping them to grow in faith.
Well done to the many good and faithful servants of God who have made these 25 years possible!
Congratulations!!!
Thank-you Andy for the info/reminder/history of what we take for granted every day : …. the Lord’s leading, equipping and using His “children” to further His kingdom; also enjoyed the info about the originator…. we go back a long way -:)…. Thanks again.
Blessings to you and family as we pray for the Lord to rescue His PCC from all manner of apostasy.
Thank you for an excellent devotional!
I “tuned in to” PresbyCan devotionals at the very beginning. My husband and I share it every morning. I look forward each morning to hearing from familiar authors and new contributors. Congratulations and God’s greatest blessings to PresbyCan workers who are faithful to God’s calling.
25 Years! Thank you, Andy, for providing some background to the origins of the Daily Devotional which have become such an important part of my morning Faith routine.
And warmest Thanks to Robin Ross for hearing God’s call and by using his skills, has developed this wonderful way of reaching out in faith which has impacted so many
Thanks to all who have helped to make this happen over the years
Blessings.
Thank you for today’s devotion. I didn’t realize that the Daily began on May 25th – which also happens to be my birthday! I was also very interested in reading Robin’s story which I have not seen before. God works in mysterious ways! The Daily is such a blessing to so many people and I feel blessed to have been able to be a part of it by contributing devotionals from time to time. May God continue to bless this ministry and all those who work to make it happen as well as all those who read it every day!
Good morning Sir,
Thank you for telling us that today is the 25th anniversary of the Presbycan daily devotionals. You are so right; great things do happen when people use their gifts. I have printed off the history, as to how Robin Ross started so many years ago for reading later and to put in my devotionals file.
Again, I thank you, food for thought for sure
Blessings.
Greetings Andy,
Many thanks for the devotional you have submitted today and congratulations and immense gratitude to all those who endeavoured to get the devotionals published each and every day over the past 25 years. What a wonderful accomplishment! Blessings to each one doing the job as the publications go forward in the years ahead and to the many people who contribute to the daily devotionals. Receiving these devotionals each day is the highlight of my morning as the start of my day begins with clicking on the PresbyCan Devotional. Special acknowledgment to Robin Ross for his development of this great connection we have with daily devotionals of God’s word submitted by devoted Christians here in Canada and in many other countries. Have a great day Andy and blessings for your writings today.
Thank you for reminding us all what a wonderful Devotional the Daily is. Congratulations to Rev. Robin Ross and all writers. I knew Robin’s family personally. His Dad Rev. John A. Ross, was my minister when I grew up in Ontario, Dr. Ross and his beautiful wife Kay have been great friends over the years. I am sure they would be excited about this 25-year celebration for their son Robin.
Quite a few years back I got involved in praying for a beautiful young woman from Sri Lanka. We prayed back and forth, she listened, and finally let go and let God. What an amazing way God answered my prayers then.
In summary, I just want to say, please don’t think the words and thoughts in these devotionals only reach believers, they reach many others also. In closing. CONGRATULATIONS ROBIN ROSS. THANK YOU FOR THE DAILY and THANK YOU ANDY FOR REMINDING US OF THIS IMPORTANT EVENT.
Blessings to all.
(British Columbia)
Renewal Fellowship Feedback:
Well done. Thank-you for following the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Praise the Lord. Thank you, Rev. Ross, for the incredible ministry of daily devotions via email PresbyCan.
It anchors my walk with the Lord.
Robin, once again I’m encouraged with evidence of God’s great hand preparing and guiding even when we’re not yet aware of His plan and purpose for us! Thanks be to God.
I have been reading the Daily for many years, certainly not the whole 25, but at least for about 10 of them if not more. I introduced the ladies of our group to it some time ago and our current president recently reminded everyone on our weekly Zoom service of the Daily.
I pray for all the volunteers that help to keep this important “Daily” running and giving hope to all who read it. Thank you. Happy Anniversary.
Praying that the work of the blessed Saviour continues to be carried over this system of communication for another 25 years plus. May the miracles we see daily be a blessing to all it reaches and the hearts it touches in these difficult times. May the beauty of Jesus be seen through the work of the Holy Spirit through all those who are involved. To God be the glorify through the work of His faithful dedicated servants at PresbyCan. Hallelujah – Emmanuel.
It is wonderful to read this 25-year history, and I want you to know that I have been blessed by PresbyCan for over 5 years because of a lady who got me started getting the messages on my computer. I have been able to be in touch with several writers of the devotionals and have been blessed. The “I Prayed For You” prayer requests are also so incredible and meaningful. I tell others about it and yes, it is one of my first morning devotionals. Keep up the good work and thank you for all that you do. I am an 89-year-old retired Presbyterian minister who has been so blessed by your great ministry.
Congratulations on this 25th anniversary milestone! I had never known the whole backstory to the Daily Devotions or your journey from programming to ministry to programming again. I don’t even remember what year I started subscribing to emails although I do faintly remember going to the earliest website for them. What a profound and life changing worldwide ministry your gifts, talents, and time have wrought.
May God’s Spirit continue to anoint you and encourage you on the next legs of the journey. Keep up the great work!
Hi, Daily Team;
Congratulations!
This comes under “Well done, good and faithful servant” category! I can’t recall when I started following PresbyCan Daily, but I see I have saved over 4000 Daily’s on this computer, and I know i have thousands more that we used to print out.
I’m pleased to know such a dedicated team
So, this is my personal big THANK YOU friends for your long-term dedication – especially Robin and Jane Anne. I hope you’re all training successors, as we aren’t getting any younger.
As Robin said, it’s been a pretty amazing time since that first computer and today’s world where I can read the Daily on my phone, tablet, or computer and watch our Church Service on any of those any time as well. Thank you all for helping the PCC communicate faithfully in the Computer Age. Well done!
Thanks again for making a difference in so many lives by your faithful service. Keep up the good work, and I’ll keep checking in daily.
Blessings, stay safe and well.
Dear Andy,
Thank you for including the story of the beginning with Robin Ross. It is such an important part of people’s devotions and keeping in the Word. It is a good way to start my day and to share with others and include some of my thoughts. May PresbyCan have another good 25 years. Blessings.
I have been receiving your daily for almost 25 yrs. and have contributed to it a few times in the distant past. I did this at a time when I was testing God’s willingness to be the KEY part of my everyday spiritual life. I go to your devotional anytime during the day that I need a break or realize that I need time with the Lord before I can carry on with a certain problem.
When I read of others who have similar experiences with our Sovereign God as I have had, I am calmed and at peace with the thought that God really does have the ability to deal with every person’s individual needs.
I have always found it amazing the God prompts other people, that I don’t even know, to write answers to questions that I have experienced that very day. These constant little things just keep adding up until I fall on my knees and say thank you Lord for your unspeakable gifts. The older I get, the more sure I am that God watches every step I take; and if I let him, he is willing to guide me with each and every step I take along the way.
Next month I will be presenting a project that the Lord has prompted and guided me to undertake. It is huge by anyone’s standards except God’s. I believe that God has been preparing me, to undertake this project for the past 50 years. Today I can honestly say that I’m not afraid of the enormity of this undertaking anymore as I have seen his hand in solving every obstacle that has been placed in my way for years.
God Bless you ALL.
The daily opportunity to share what God is talking to me about today, in the form of a PresbyCan, has continued to be a channel of the greatest spiritual growth I could ever ask for. Writing them has allowed me to look back over my life and recount God’s hand in mine in the most precarious situations, over and over again. Being a PresbyCan writer has meant receiving spirit-filled editing, again and again, teaching me to bring my best words in revising and rethinking with life changing results. Since gratitude is the hinge upon which the spiritual life swings, being a PresbyCan author is my squeaky wheel. I continue grateful today as God leads me to yet another.
I want to thank the whole devotional team. I have used this site for over 20 years now and it is one of my primary study tools. I have the same large print NASB given to me by my wife in 1995. It is saturated with highlights, notes and most importantly cross references. If the Lord repeats Himself, you want to take notice. The encouragements, teaching and multi denominational insights shared are second to none. For me, the daily devotional’s bible references are also like a random number generator. I reread the reference in my translation, read all the highlights on that page plus check each and every cross reference. I encourage people often to read the whole Bible. It is tough to act like Jesus if you are not sure how He thinks or responds to a variety of different situations. Again, I say thank you for all your help, in helping me and others grow.
Good afternoon Andy and all the PresbyCan staff!! Thanks, Andy, for your celebrated devotional. Thank you for the “full story”! Thank you to Michael Ferris and Ian Ross!! I would like to think I was one of the “60 – 80” original readers. God works in ways we can’t imagine is true.
PresbyCan – Your morning devotionals have been a priority to the start of our day!!
Thank you to all!!