Devotional Thoughts

Matthew 5:46-48     " For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." As we consider these verses of scripture this morning, one thing stood out to me in a way that it had not before. When Jesus asked the question, “what do ye more than others?” there is an implied expectation of those who are His disciples. Remember that He is still addressing His disciples from the mount. The implication is that we should do more (love better) than those who do not follow Him. The publicans of Jesus’s day were tax collectors. In that day, being a tax collector was a license to steal. You had to collect whatever the government required, and then you could extort an extra amount to put in your pocket. These men were despised by the public. However, there was ...

Ephesians 4:1-3     "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,  (2)  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;  (3)  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." "Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." Walk worthy. How many times do we think about those two words? The first three chapters speak of God's grace and mercy that has been bestowed upon us. We are reminded of the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in applying that blood of redemption to our lives. In Chapter 3, we are reminded that we are part of the family of God. As I typed those words just now, I could hear our father saying to me, "Remember who you are." He was telling me that my actions reflect, not only on me, but all my family. Remember who you belong to. God, our Heavenly Father, says to us, "Walk worthy of ...

Matthew 5:43-45     " Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."   Some of the things we have heard said seem to make good sense to the natural mind. It seems perfectly logical to love those that are close to us (either spatially or in feeling). We often go through life without giving much thought to people in other states or on other continents. We can easily develop a strong and active dislike for those who we perceive as having wronged us in some way. The thing that is not so easy for us is to love those that are enemies. They may stand against us physically, morally, social...

Introduction   This article will begin a brief series of messages from the letter of Philemon. If you need some help finding Philemon, that may be because it is a short book. It is the shortest work from the Apostle Paul that we have in Scripture. Philemon is situated between Titus and Hebrews. It may be easiest for you to start in Revelation and begin turning back toward the middle. It is easy to flip past Philemon. There are no chapter divisions, and there are only twenty-five verses. Most of you could read the whole thing in just few minutes. There are some Greek names that are not so easy to pronounce, but otherwise this letter is rather simple and straight forward.  This book of Philemon is a personal epistle. Philemon is a personal letter from the Apostle Paul. We must understand that this letter is addressing us through a specific, narrow appeal.  If you have read Philemon, or heard messages from this letter, you may recall that it centers around a run away slave b...

Matthew 5:38-42     " Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."  One thing should be abundantly clear to us by now. We need to be careful about acting on things or forming opinions because of what we have heard someone say. Regardless of what we have heard, we need to look to the Lord to guide us in our actions and reactions. If our behavior is contrary to God’s word, it does not matter who else may sanction our course. I remember years ago a situation arising that really upset a younger me. It made me incredibly angry at the time. My...