Devotional Thoughts

Romans 7:22-25     “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” Only a sinner who has tasted that the Lord is gracious can have fellowship with Paul’s statement in verse 22. I delight (rejoice within myself – see Strong’s) in the law of God, not carnally but spiritually. My flesh is still sinful, but the man of God within me loves the spiritual law of God. However, to delight in the law of God after the inward man also reveals (causes us to see) the depravity of the carnal nature. There is a law in our members (in our flesh) that fights against the understanding of the inward man. No liberty exists i...

Psalm 40:16    "Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified." Do you ever feel like something is missing? Oftentimes in our travels, we get in the car and say, "I feel like I'm forgetting something." Thankfully, there is always a Walmart or a Dollar General Store close enough that if we do forget, then we can easily replace most things. But as we are traveling, our minds are seeking to remember what it is we have forgotten. David tells us in today's verse, "Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee." In these words is the promise that when we seek for the Lord, He will be found. We read in Jeremiah 29:13, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Just prior to these words, the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah in verse 10, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, though...

Romans 7:18-21     "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but   how   to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” It is often difficult for us to admit that we do not have any good in and of ourselves that we can claim. Simply put, sin is condemned in the flesh (Romans 8:3) and that is certainly not “good”. At the same time, to be able to see (know) that nothing good dwells in our flesh is a blessing. We only come to this knowledge after God has begun a work in us. God’s grace enlightens us to the truth that no good thing dwells within our flesh. Only then do we discover that there is a will in us to want to do good. Even though the determination (will...

Psalm 40:5    "Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered." Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away now. Today's thoughts will be an exercise of giving thanks unto the Lord. We sing the song, Count Your Blessings: When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. My first thought is that it is impossible to count our blessings. David acknowledged that in this verse by saying, "... if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered." That is the absolute truth; yet, we should have a heart that is filled with gratitude every single day. The works of the Lord  are wonderful and they are numerous. His thoughts tow...