Devotional Thoughts

Psalm 99:1-3    "The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.  (2)  The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.  (3)  Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy." "Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy." My mind is going in different directions this morning as I think about this verse. The question that floats to the top asks something like this, "What reason do I have to worship the Lord?'  Do I exalt His name when I need something? Do I lift my prayers when I am in trouble?  Am I looking for something in return when I lift up the name of Jesus? Why do I feel the need to worship the Lord? Can you see why my mind is moving in different directions?  Then there is the question concerning the name of the Lord, itself.  My stomach turns when I hear people using the name of the Lord in a flippant manner. It definitely makes me si...

1 Corinthians 6:9-11     “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” As human beings, we are masters at self-deception. If we lust after something enough, we can find all manner of excuses to do whatever is necessary to acquire or accomplish our desires. Often, we will even wrestle these things around in our mind until we deceive ourselves into believing that our Heavenly Father is alright with our choices. Paul takes all the wind out of those sails in verse nine above: the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. We do not have to be guilty of all...

1 Corinthians 6:7-8     “Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather   suffer yourselves to   be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that   your   brethren.” There is a great fault among us when we are willing to expose our brother before unbelievers. The word fault denotes a weakness or diminishing. We are less than we ought to be when we would use the law against a brother. This is not what I think: it is what the scripture says. To desire to expose our brother to the judgment of the law on any level indicates that we have forgotten the manner of man we are. We have lost sight of the depth of our own sinful nature. It is an evidence of a lack of charity, and Paul advised that even if we spoke with the tongues of angels and lacked charity it became an empty noise void of meaning (1Co 13:1). The lesson here comes back to the principle of tr...

Luke 23:50-56    "And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:  (51)  (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.  (52)  This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.  (53)  And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.  (54)  And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.  (55)  And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.  (56)  And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment." The word that came to my mind when I read these verses is the word, "finality." I'm not sure that I've ever spoken that word before in my life, ...

Luke 22:19-20     "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.  (20)  Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." The elements of the Lord's Supper are very important to us. I will stop short of saying that the elements are sacred, but that which they represent is very sacred. Therefore, even the elements of Communion should be handled with all care and diligence. When we participate in Communion, we are acknowledging that the bread and wine mean something very special to us. Jesus gave us the truth concerning them that we hold dear in our hearts. The bread represents the body of Jesus that was broken for us. Jesus spoke to us through the Prophet Isaiah, "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting." Though there wa...