Devotional Thoughts

Matthew 7:24-27    " Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."  It is good to set aside some time every day to read and study the sayings of Jesus. The goal, however, is not to simply read His word. We can memorize the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation and still not be wise. Wisdom comes from the application of what we have read. We are easily discouraged from looking deeply into the sayings of Jesus. The words may seem mysterious to us. Examp...

Ephesians 6:10-13    "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  (11)  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  (12)  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  (13)  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." I cringe when I hear someone talking as if they have the power within themselves to defeat the devil. The Word of God teaches us that all our strength and power comes "in the Lord." When David went against Goliath, he did not rely upon his own ability with the sling. He certainly did not rely upon the armour of King Saul. He had not proven them to be reliable for him. But David went against Goliath in the name of the Lord. "Thou co...

Matthew 7:21-23    " Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."   I realize that these verses of scripture are often used in connection with those who would spend eternity without Christ. They have a much more immediate lesson for us. Entering into the kingdom that Jesus is speaking of here rests squarely on whether we have done the Father’s will. The only man who was ever able to do the Father’s eternal will was His Son, Jesus Christ (John 6:39). We cannot enter the blessed kingdom of heaven here in this world on lip service (Matthew 15:8). I can say that I love Jesus, but if I do not love my brother th...

Ephesians 6:5-9     "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;  (6)  Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;  (7)  With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:  (8)  Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.  (9)  And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him." Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40) There is something that I noticed in the past few days concerning these subjects in Ephesians. I started noticing it in Ephesians 5:21, "Submitting yourselves...

Matthew 7:15-20     " Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." It is a popular idea with some that these verses of scripture tell us how to know whether a person is going to heaven. To rightly divide the word of truth, we must keep the words of Jesus in the context they were presented and look at the overall impact of the scriptures. If we are going to consider the fruit that one bears as a way to determine who is going to heaven, then neither of the thieves crucified with Je...