Devotional Thoughts

Romans 15:8-10    “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises   made   unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for   his   mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.” Paul often seems at odds with his Jewish brethren. He bukes the believers for their tendency to be so easily drawn back into the law service after having tasted of the grace of God found in Jesus Christ. They are often referred to as those whose faith is weak concerning the eating of meat. Yet, he is diligent to warn against treating them as less than brethren. Here he clearly states the reason for his admonishment to those who are fully devoted to following after Jesus. Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision. In all His ministry here in the flesh, He taught the Jews...

Psalm 65:1  "To the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed." Psalm 65:5  "By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:" Psalm 65:9-13   "Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.  (10)  Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.  (11)  Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.  (12)  They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.  (13)  The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered...

Romans 15:4-7     “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind   and   one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” Many of us have a desire for knowledge. Over the almost seven decades of my life, I have come to know many things. For instance, the smallest mammal by size is the bumblebee bat. While this might be an interesting bit of knowledge, it has no practical value to me. There is a difference between knowledge and learning. The scriptures that were written and preserved from the past were written by the inspiration of God (2Tim 3:16) for our learning. The word translated as learning means “instruction...

Psalm 64:10    "The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory." It seems that this time through the Psalms that I can see more than ever that human nature does not ever change. I think this is my third time to write about them and the things in the world today were going on back then also. Different names, different places, different circumstances, but the same fallen nature of man. Once again, as I read this 64th Psalm, I realized it could be a front page article on any modern time newspaper. But just more certain than the unchanging human nature, we can be certain that our Heavenly Father does not change. In fact, some of the last words written in the Old Testament say to us, "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." (Malachi 3:6)  The weeping prophet wrote in Lamentations 3:22, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fa...

Romans 15:1-3     “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please   his   neighbour for   his   good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.” The word “ought” is often misused and misunderstood today. We may say we “ought to eat healthier” or we “ought to start an exercise program.” This is said, knowing full well that we really have no intention of doing it. It is simply used as a recognition of something that might benefit us. Paul tells us that we that are strong (beloved of God, called  to be  saints – Romans 1:7) ought to bear the infirmities of the weak. The word translated here as strong also means able. The actual meaning of the word ought as used here means to owe or be under obligation. We who are able have an obligation before God to bear (endure, carry) th...