Devotional Thoughts

1 Corinthians 7:3-5     “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except   it be   with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.” It is a wonderful blessing and gift from God to have a husband or wife. To treat it as less than that is to belittle God’s wisdom when He created man. Like all of God’s gifts to us, this relationship should be treated with care and nurtured in humility and thanksgiving. Husbands and wives have a responsibility to each other, and it should not be viewed as a burden. It begins with the husband  rendering . According to Strong’s, the Greek word translated as “render” means to “give away” and carries the ...

1 Corinthians 7:1-2     “Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me:   It is   good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless,   to avoid   fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.” It appears that Paul is moving on from the divisive situations that were called to his attention by those of Chloe’s house (1Co 1:11). Based on those recognized in his greeting at the beginning of this letter, Paul had received questions from the church at Corinth. While many of these questions might originally seem strange to us, we should note that according to history Corinth was a pagan region. The worship of false gods such as Aphrodite, Isis, Mithras and others was the norm. It was at Corinth that Paul met Aquila and Priscilla, who had fled there to escape persecution from Claudius, who was then emperor in Rome (Act 18:1-4). It is evident that these were not the only Jews in Corinth since there was a synag...

Psalm 102:18-21    "This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.  (19)  For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;  (20)  To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;  (21)  To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem" Repetition is the key to learning. If you can correctly repeat something seven times in a row, you pretty much have it held in your memory. Throughout the Bible there seems to be two thoughts that are repeated. The first one is the fact that God is the Creator of this universe.  One such example is found in Psalm 121:1-2, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." It is important when seeking the help of the Lord that we remember His sovereign power in creatin...

1 Corinthians 6:18-20     “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost   which is   in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” What simple instruction Paul has for us here. We should away from  fornication , which Strong’s defines as “harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively idolatry.” While we certainly should not act on our lust, it is not just our physical action that is restricted here; we are also compelled by Christ to control our desires. He has told us that to look upon a woman in lust is to be guilty of adultery already (Mat 5:27-28). In addition to the carnal act of fornication, there is a figurative aspect that relates to our faithfulness to Jesus Christ. We...