Devotional Thoughts

Psalm 103:11-14     "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.  (12)  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.  (13)  Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.  (14)  For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." Let's read these four verses and then go back to verse 1: "Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." It is an impossibility to name ALL His benefits toward us. I love that old hymn, "Count your many blessings, name them one by one." The problem is that my finite mind cannot bring to remembrance all the blessings from an infinite God. It isn't really a problem as long as I try to maintain a heart of gratitude. Look at today's verses again. Look up into the sky. They tell me that there is no e...

1 Corinthians 7:10-13     “And unto the married I command,   yet   not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from   her   husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to   her   husband: and let not the husband put away   his   wife. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.” As in previous verses of this chapter in First Corinthians, Paul is very careful to distinguish what he says according to the command of God and what he believes to be right in his own heart. From the beginning, God’s intent was for the union between His man and woman to be a lasting one. God’s man, Adam, understood this when he testified “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mothe...

1 Corinthians 7:6-9     “But I speak this by permission,   and   not of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.” The apostle Paul often speaks directly from the leadership of the Spirit. Occasionally, as in this instance, he shares his experience and observation. Even as he does so, he makes recognition of the fact that everyone does not have the same gift. Although there has been some debate about the matter, the scripture does not indicate that Paul was ever married. There is no mention of his wife or his children in the scriptures. We know that his father was a Pharisee (Act 23:6) and that he had a sister and a nephew (Act 23:16). Other than that, any mention of Pa...

Psalm 103:1-5    A Psalm of David. "Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.  (2)  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:  (3)  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;  (4)  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;  (5)  Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." "Bless the LORD, O my soul."  I'm thinking just now of that word, "bless".  More times than not, that word speaks of God's blessing His people. When He called Abram out of the land of the Chaldeees, God said to Abram, "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing." And in today's verse, we are called upon to bless the Lord.  Being one who wants to see what the words mean, I looked in the Strong's Concordance for...

 Acts 4:13-17   (13) Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. (14) And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. (15) But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, (16) Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. (17) But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.   As we look at this particular text, I want to remind you, as I believe this scripture here reminds us, that we are created for the glory of God. We are created for Him; that He might shine, that He might be glorified, and that He might be lifted up. We can clearly s...