Devotional Thoughts

Matthew 12:1-8     " At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.  But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;   How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?   Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?   But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.   But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.   For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath...

Exodus 4:1-2     "And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.  (2)  And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod." Exodus 4:10-12     "And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.  (11)  And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?  (12)  Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." Several years ago, the Kingsmen Quartet sang the song, "Excuses." Quite honestly, we are all good at making excuses when we feel the need arises. Am I right? If it's something we really want to do, we will not allow anything to prevent us from doing it. But...

Matthew 11:28-30    "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.   For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Jesus did not say, “Will you come” or “I wish you would come.” Strong’s Greek Dictionary tells us that the word translated as “come” is an imperative. In other words, it was a direct command and not a request. I assure you, there is no more irresistible voice in the world than this. Jesus declared that His sheep HEAR His voice, and they FOLLOW Him! The command to come was not issued to everyone within hearing distance. This was not for those who believed they had everything under control and did not need any help. It was not a command given to the self-righteous and self-important. This command was for those who were burdened down by sin and weary of a load they could not stand up under. This rest w...

Exodus 3:13-15    "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? (14) And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (15) And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." Moses! A man whose life covered the entire spectrum. He was born to parents who loved him enough to give him away. Pharaoh had determined to kill all the male babies of Israel. He was afraid Israel would outnumber Egypt and thereby overtake them. Moses' mother placed him in an ark and then hid him in the river's edge. You remember ...

Matthew 11:20    "Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:  Matthew 11:25-27    " At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.   Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.   All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."   In verses twenty-one through twenty-four, Jesus called out the cities where He and his disciples had preached the gospel. He had done many might works among them. In Capernaum alone, He had worked many miracles, including curing the centurion's servant, healing Peter's mother-in-law from a fever, healing the man sick of a palsy, raising Jairus's daughter from the dead, cu...

  John 7:24   “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”  “How to Be a Christian” was the theme for this year’s Southern States Bible Conference held at Epworth by the Sea Conference Center located on St. Simons Island, Ga. This theme presupposes there is an objective definition or description given as to how the Christian is to live their life. It should be apparent that such a description or definition would come from Jesus, the Christ of God. After all, Christians are followers of Jesus. So, Jesus, along the Apostles Jesus called and sent out in his name to teach what he commanded, and the word of God, containing the whole counsel of God, is the only authoritative source that can objectively reveal what it means to be a Christian.  Yet in this growing secular humanistic culture we live in that seeks to rebel against God’s creative order and declare its own truth and define its own terms, this philosophy of subjective truth has found...