Devotional Thoughts

Psalm 76:1-3   To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song of Asaph.  "In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.  (2)  In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.  (3)  There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah." "In Judah is God known." Sometimes, we skip right over words without really stopping to think about the reason they are placed. For me, it is very important to have a good concordance. I use Strong's and Vine's concordances. There is much depth of understanding when we can stop to look at the original meaning of words. We know Judah is one of the tribes of Israel named according to one of the 12 sons of Jacob. Judah was the tribe from which our Lord was born; therefore we can find a great truth from this statement. The writer of Hebrews states, "For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda." (Hebrews 7:14) The definition of the word, Judah, is praise. ...

1 Corinthians 1:4-6     “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:” As servants of the living God, it is good for us to be grateful to Him at all times on account of His saints. This is not for their sakes alone. We are to be thankful because of the that which has been given them; the grace of God. This grace does not come by our merit. It does not come because of our deep knowledge of the things of God. Remember that God told Paul He had “much people” in Corinth (Act 18:10) as an encouragement to Paul to not fear to preach the gospel to them. God’s grace comes because He has elected and sanctified a people through His son Jesus. The grace of God through Jesus Christ richly furnishes us in everything. When things are well with us, the grace of God causes us to be thankful to Him. If w...

Psalm 75:1  To the chief Musician, Altaschith, A Psalm or Song of Asaph.   "Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare." "Thy wondrous works declare."  Have you ever heard someone say, "Well, where is God in all this?"  The thought of that question is saying, "God should not have allowed this (or that) to happen."  But who am I to say what God should, or should not, do? Yes, there are a lot of questions floating around this morning. This winter, we have been intrigued by the birds. Even when it was snowing, we could hear the birds even more loudly proclaiming the glorious works of God. Every Spring, the flowers and trees proclaim the glorious works of God when they begin to show the brilliant colors given to them.  My heart is filled with praise this morning as this verse of Scripture strikes and stirs my heart. Every Fall, the trees proclaim the wondrous works of God as ...

1 Corinthians 1:1-3     “Paul, called   to be   an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes   our   brother, Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called   to be   saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace   be   unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and   from   the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul first came to Corinth after preaching Jesus and His resurrection in Athens. Based on his meeting Aquila and Priscilla there, the time of this visit to Corinth is placed at around 50 AD. Aquila and Priscilla had fled Rome as the result of an edict issued by the Emperor Claudius that all Jews should depart Rome (Acts 18:2). Claudius’ proclamation was given around 49 AD. Scholars indicate that Paul was probably at Corinth for about two years, leaving in 52 AD. When he left Corinth, he c...

Psalm 73:24-26     "Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.  (25)  Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.  (26)  My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." "Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel." I admit to you there have been times in my travels that I would still be wandering around in the wilderness if my GPS had lost connection. I remember more than once being in an unfamiliar place and praying, "Lord, please don't let me lose connection." I have seen a lot of countryside through the years and I'm thankful to say that the Lord was with me every mile of the way. He has indeed guided me geographically in my travels. But there are so many other ways that He has guided me with His counsel. I'm so thankful as I look back that His wisdom guided me through decisions that had to be made. I wish I could tell you that I...