Devotional Thoughts

Joshua 24:14-15     "Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.  (15)  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." There is much to be said about Joshua, but tomorrow we will move on to another. I cannot leave Joshua without including today's verses. Certainly God knew what the people would do in generations to come; and, even what some of these very people would do after settling into the Promised Land. Just as Moses gave parting thoughts to the people, now Joshua is giving his inspired words to them concerning their spiritual lives. Quite honestly, I believe we live in a time when we must...

Matthew 12:34-37     " O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.   A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.   But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.   For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."   To keep this account in focus, let us remember that Jesus is addressing a crowd that included some self-righteous Pharisees. These men had tried to lessen the people’s esteem of Jesus by claiming that He had cast out a demon by the power of the prince of demons. Jesus then began to denounce their folly before the people while proving in both word and deed that He had come from God. Their long-awaited Messiah was here! Jesus plainly told the Pharisees t...

Joshua 1:5-9     "There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.  (6)  Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.  (7)  Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.  (8)  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.  (9)  Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou di...

Matthew 12:30-33     " He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.   Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.   And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.   Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit."   As we look here at the words of Jesus, we need to remember that He is still speaking to the Pharisees concerning their accusation that He was casting out devils by the power of devils. We find numerous times throughout the Gospels that the scribes and Pharisees often set out to discredit Jesus by seeming to ask legitimate que...

Joshua 1:5-6     "There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.  (6)  Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them." Moses was dead and now Joshua was being called to lead. He had been accustomed to following Moses' leadership. And now, the responsibility was going to be placed on him. Or, was it? The truth of the matter is that the only responsibility that was given to Joshua was to continue to follow the leadership of the Lord.  Notice the words of the Lord to Joshua, "... as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee..." These words have always caught my attention because God is confirming to Joshua that although the human leadership is changing, the Supreme Leadership is still the same. "As I was... so I will be." These can be seen as...