Devotionals by Chaplain (Col) Stephen W. Leonard, USA, Ret.
Choose: The Daily Test of Sincere Faith
“Choose you this day whom you will serve; but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15 Much is written today in Christian circles of the need to emphasize the wonder and abundance of God’s grace. And so it is. It overwhelms sin and penetrates »
I Am Not Consumed
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:23, 24 What is it in your life that is more consuming than anything else; that is, that renders your life hopeless, and you don’t »
Not Good To Be Alone
Genesis 2:18: "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone.’" In conversation with a good friend who has his own landscaping business, he bemoaned the difficulties of managing, not plants or flowers or trees or lawns, but people! He once had three or four people »
What If Today Were Your Last?
Many memories remain in my mind of a year in my life surrounded by the fog and violence of war tramping the jungles of a far off place, Vietnam. This is one: as an Infantry Platoon Leader I was constantly on the lookout for any soldier who had the skills »
Keeping Yet Kept
“To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father, and kept by Jesus Christ…..Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life……To Him who is able to keep you from falling. Jude 1, »
Child Martyrs
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the »
The Trouble With Normal
“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Romans 7:14-15 You do not live in constant crisis, though »
A Good Name
“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1 This was his life verse, and he taught by his life and by his instruction to thousands of youth and others of the principles in life which bring forth “a »
Gratitude Is So Rare Yet So Necessary
“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 There is a legend of a man recounted in the classic devotional Springs in the Valley who found the barn where Satan kept his seeds ready to be sown in the human »
Conflicting Fears
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4:18 Reading the Bible you become aware of what appears to be conflicting thoughts concerning fear. There is the oft stated command to fear God compared to the verse above to cast out fear through perfect »
Joy In Toil
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24 Last week a man celebrated his 101st »
Why Did I Choose This?
“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’ But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish…to flee from the Lord. Jonah 1:1-3 “A person often »
