Devotional Thoughts

Romans 15:4-7     “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind   and   one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” Many of us have a desire for knowledge. Over the almost seven decades of my life, I have come to know many things. For instance, the smallest mammal by size is the bumblebee bat. While this might be an interesting bit of knowledge, it has no practical value to me. There is a difference between knowledge and learning. The scriptures that were written and preserved from the past were written by the inspiration of God (2Tim 3:16) for our learning. The word translated as learning means “instruction...

Psalm 64:10    "The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory." It seems that this time through the Psalms that I can see more than ever that human nature does not ever change. I think this is my third time to write about them and the things in the world today were going on back then also. Different names, different places, different circumstances, but the same fallen nature of man. Once again, as I read this 64th Psalm, I realized it could be a front page article on any modern time newspaper. But just more certain than the unchanging human nature, we can be certain that our Heavenly Father does not change. In fact, some of the last words written in the Old Testament say to us, "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." (Malachi 3:6)  The weeping prophet wrote in Lamentations 3:22, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fa...

Romans 15:1-3     “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please   his   neighbour for   his   good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.” The word “ought” is often misused and misunderstood today. We may say we “ought to eat healthier” or we “ought to start an exercise program.” This is said, knowing full well that we really have no intention of doing it. It is simply used as a recognition of something that might benefit us. Paul tells us that we that are strong (beloved of God, called  to be  saints – Romans 1:7) ought to bear the infirmities of the weak. The word translated here as strong also means able. The actual meaning of the word ought as used here means to owe or be under obligation. We who are able have an obligation before God to bear (endure, carry) th...

Psalm 63:1-2  A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.  "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;  (2)  To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary." "O God, thou art my God." We read these words and often think David is speaking the same thing about God. But in the original Hebrew, the word, God, used here are two different meanings. Let me try to explain what I see in these words. The first term, God, is used concerning the source of authority and power. He was saying that the Almighty God is the very One who directs his steps. We read back in Psalm 37:23, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD."  In other words, our ways are under the direction and authority of the Lord when we walk in the paths of righteousness. That is the first term used for God in today's verse. The second term for God ...

Romans 14:20-23     “For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed   are   pure; but   it is   evil for that man who eateth with offence.  It is   good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor   any thing   whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. Hast thou faith? have   it   to thyself before God. Happy   is   he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because   he eateth   not of faith: for whatsoever   is   not of faith is sin.” In verse nineteen of this chapter, Paul has just admonished us to “follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” One of the reasons we are so often compared to sheep in the scripture is because sheep require a peaceful environment in order to thrive. Our Good Shepherd leads us into such environments by His grace. ...