Devotional Thoughts

Psalm 72:17-19    "His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and  men  shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. (18)  Blessed  be  the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. (19)  And blessed  be  his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled  with  his glory; Amen, and Amen."   I believe stability is one of the greatest needs that we have from birth until death. Change can be a frightening and unnerving thing. In today's verses, we find the ultimate stability that will ever exist. "His name shall endure for ever." We serve the same God today who spoke this universe into existence and continues to sustain it every moment of every day. The Psalmist used words that described his thoughts about God when he said, "his name shall be continued as long as the sun." We often hear something described as, "sure as the sun will rise in t...

Romans 15:30-33    “Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in   your   prayers to God for me; That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which   I have   for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. Now the God of peace   be   with you all. Amen.” Paul has given admonishment to the saints at Rome and confessed his deep desire to come and see them. He has also related to them that he must first go to Jerusalem and minister to the needs of the saints there before he can come to Rome. He now makes a request of the saints at Rome. This should also be our desire today for one another. The word translated as beseech means to call near (see Strong’s). Paul needed to feel the spiritual closeness of his brethren, even when they we...

Psalm 71:7    "I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge." "I am as a wonder unto many."  David had heard all the songs that had been sung about him. After he slew Goliath, "... the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." (1 Samuel 18:7) For a period of time, he had heard this sung more than once. In other places, people would say, "Isn't this the David that had this sung about him?"  Also, David had been blessed to write many many songs about his experience with the Lord. Those songs had been sung by the best singers and musicians. He had achieved great success in many areas of his life.  I've often said that one of the worst things a congregation can do for their pastor is to tell him how "good he is." He's human and he might just start believing it. So, how do we go about showing our appreciation for a pastor or anyone else who has b...

Romans 15:26-29     “For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.” In verse twenty-five, Paul told the saints at Rome that he was going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints there. We can be sure that Paul’s ministry in Jerusalem included preaching the gospel of Christ. However, he plainly shows here that to be an effective minister, we must truly be servants. There were material needs among the saints at Jerusalem that Paul was also going to minister to. The means to meet this mini...

Psalm 70:4-5    "Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.  (5)  But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying." We saw these same words in an earlier Psalm: "I am poor and needy."  In Psalm 40:17, these words are added, "I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God." Isn't it such a tremendous blessing to know that the Lord thinks about you. He carries you in His heart. You are in His thoughts constantly. The beautiful part is that while you are constantly in His thoughts; even so, I am also. I cannot think two thoughts at the same time, but I'm thankful that God is able to do just that. But even knowing that, sometimes we get a little impatient. Don't we? We want it to happen on our time schedule; which is definitely not ...