Devotional Thoughts

Romans 9:19-24     “Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed   it,   Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?  What   if God, willing to shew   his   wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” Have you ever made something with your own hands? If so, there was probably a particular purpose and design that you had in mind. Others might have looked at it and wondered why it was made a certain way. Perhaps they just ...

Romans 9:14-18     “What shall we say then?   Is there   unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then   it is   not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will   have mercy,   and whom he will he hardeneth.” It is often easy for us to forget that God is not man. We want to try and apply the same thought processes and restrictions to Him that we use with each other. It should always be remembered that He has told us He does not think like we do and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). Not only are His thoughts and ways not like ours, but the...

Ephesians 2:13-14     "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.  (14)  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us" We concluded last week's thoughts on the subject of hope by being reminded that Jesus Christ is the anchor of our soul. He is our hope; that is, He is our blessed assurance that we have eternal life in Him. Not only is He the assurance of our hope, this week we begin by being reminded that "He is our peace." We will talk more about the subject as the week goes on, but this morning I just want us to think about the word, peace. Depending on which dictionary you use, there are many definitions of the word, peace. Some of them include, freedom from disturbance, a state, or period, when there is no war, and another is a period of silence. Yet another definition speaks of having freedom from internal commotion. As I think of this peace, I am ...

Romans 9:10-14     “And not only   this;   but when Rebecca also had conceived by one,   even   by our father Isaac; (For   the children   being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then?   Is there   unrighteousness with God? God forbid.” In the seventh verse of this chapter, Paul references the promise of God made to Abraham that “In Isaac shall thy seed be called (Genesis 21:12).” He begins in this tenth verse with the assurance that these were not just idle words. God had made a decree and He would bring it to pass. In this is manifested the power and purpose of God. Isaac took Rebecca to wife, and she conceived and brought forth twin boys. Before they were brought int...

Titus 1:1-2    "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;  (2)  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began" Hebrews 6:17-19    "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:  (18)  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:  (19)  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil" Recently we have been looking at the subject of "Hope." For me, I have been reminded just how important it is for us to have hope and to be able to hold onto it. Most of our thoughts have been concerning hope for God's love, mercy, a...