Devotional Thoughts

Psalm 101:1-2    A Psalm of David. "I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.  (2)  I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart." I'm not certain how old David was when he wrote this Psalm. He might have written it when he was at the highest level of spirituality. He may have written it when he was a young shepherd boy. He may have written it when he became king. Or, he may have written it after he had been at the lowest point of spirituality and trying to come back to the place where he felt the closeness of God. Most of us can relate to one or more of these scenarios. We've been rejoicing on the mountaintop. We've been asking for forgiveness in the valley. We've been young and made a determination that we would always walk closely to God. Wherever we have been, or wherever we might be today, in our spiritual walk, there is always hope. There is always t...

1 Corinthians 6:15-17    “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make   them   the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” There is a great truth that we often overlook when we talk about “joining” the church. The scripture says that God adds to the church: presenting ourselves for water baptism is an outward acknowledgement of what God has already done in our lives. Our bodies then are not just members of the church, but members of Christ. We are joined together with Him (and He with us); we the body and He the head. Our walk and our talk should reflect that we are members of His body. Our actions should honor and glorify Him. When our actions do not honor and glorify Him, faithful ministers (such as Paul) should rebuke us with love and sincerit...

Psalm 100:1-5   A Psalm of praise. "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.  (2)  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.  (3)  Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  (4)  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  (5)  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." "Know ye that the LORD he is God." As I read the 100th Psalm this morning, this verse seems to be the hinge upon which all the other verses are settled. Know ye that the LORD he IS God. Jesus prayed in His intercessory prayer, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3) We read in the book of Hebrews chapter 11:6, "... he that cometh to God must believ...

1 Corinthians 6:12-14     “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body   is   not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.” Numerous scholars, including Gill, have indicated that in these three verses Paul is directly addressing concepts held by the brethren at Corinth. Since they had learned that they were no longer bound by the ceremonial law, they had adopted the attitude that they had liberty to do as they pleased. This idea is made plain in the errors Paul has addressed; division among the brethren, self-righteousness, sexual misconduct, and seeking the approbation of the world. Paul uses their words against them in addressing this attitude of absolu...

Psalm 99:1-3    "The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.  (2)  The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.  (3)  Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy." "Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy." My mind is going in different directions this morning as I think about this verse. The question that floats to the top asks something like this, "What reason do I have to worship the Lord?'  Do I exalt His name when I need something? Do I lift my prayers when I am in trouble?  Am I looking for something in return when I lift up the name of Jesus? Why do I feel the need to worship the Lord? Can you see why my mind is moving in different directions?  Then there is the question concerning the name of the Lord, itself.  My stomach turns when I hear people using the name of the Lord in a flippant manner. It definitely makes me si...

1 Corinthians 6:9-11     “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” As human beings, we are masters at self-deception. If we lust after something enough, we can find all manner of excuses to do whatever is necessary to acquire or accomplish our desires. Often, we will even wrestle these things around in our mind until we deceive ourselves into believing that our Heavenly Father is alright with our choices. Paul takes all the wind out of those sails in verse nine above: the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. We do not have to be guilty of all...