Devotional Thoughts

Genesis 1:1-5    "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (3) And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (4) And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. (5) And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." We finished our study of Ephesians and I began praying about where the Lord would have me go in our next series of study. I feel the Holy Spirit is directing me to do a study of various people in the Bible. So then I began asking the Lord where I should begin in this study. I wish I could tell you that immediately... I mean immediately... my mind said, "Let's begin with God." It was a couple days into the time of prayer that my heart was stung by the words, "Why would you not ...

Matthew 9:11-13      "And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?  But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.   But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Jesus had just called Matthew to come follow Him. Since Matthew was a tax collector (publican), he was held in low regard among the people. After Jesus called Matthew, He sat down for a meal. Other publicans and sinners came and sat at the meal with Him. The Pharisees, who considered themselves the most learned and devout of the Jews, found Jesus’s action offensive. They could not fathom having any fellowship with people of such low degree. In their eyes, Jesus was no better than the people with whom He was eating. Since Jesus was a Jew and a teacher, the Pharisees co...

Matthew 9:9-10      "And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.  And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples."  This is the first time we seek who Matthew was. Jesus did not accidently leave from healing the man with the palsy and wander by where Mattew was collecting taxes for Cesar. This office put Matthew in very unpopular company because tax collectors were regarded as dishonest. They gathered more than was required and put the excess in their own pocket. We might think that this was a poor choice on Jesus’s part. However, when I stop and think that He also chose me to follow Him, Matthew does not seem nearly as questionable a choice. Matthew was certainly no more a sinner than you and I. Jesus called Him from a very public place where othe...

  Acts 1:1-3   (1) The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began to do and teach, (2) until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, (3) to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.  I. Christ’s sovereign work continues (v.1)  Luke reminds us that Jesus’ earthly ministry was only the beginning—His work continues through His risen life and His Spirit-filled people.  The book of Acts opens with Luke writing that his first book (the Gospel of Luke) recorded what Jesus “began both to do and teach.” The word began is the key. It implies that Christ’s ministry did not end with the cross, the resurrection, or even the ascension. It continues—actively, powerfully & personally.  This should resonate deeply with us. We do n...

Matthew 9:4-8     " And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?   For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?   But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.   And he arose, and departed to his house.  But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men."  Jesus had just spoken to a man sick with palsy and told him to be of good cheer because his sins were forgiven. The scribes (which were religious lawyers) were offended by this and reasoned among themselves that Jesus had blasphemed. They thought their thoughts were hidden from Jesus because they did not credit who He was. I imagine that His response to them added to their surprise. The evil in their hearts was that they thought ill of Jesus...