Devotional Thoughts

Romans 15:11-13     “And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” For centuries, the Jews and their ancestors had been looked upon as the chosen people of God. Indeed, under the law covenant they were just that. Jesus came and satisfied the law so completely that the scripture tells us He is “the end of the law for righteousness.” With the end of the law, Jesus ushered in a new covenant established upon better promises (Heb 8:6). As we can see by the scriptures in Psalms and Isaiah the Paul is quoting here, this new covenant was always in God’s plan. Even under the years of the law covenant, the scripture pointed to a day when the Gentiles would be included in God’s...

Psalm 67:1-7    To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song. "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.  (2)  That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.  (3)  Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.  (4)  O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.  (5)  Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.  (6)  Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.  (7)  God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him." I sometimes vary the manner that I post the verses. Today, I did them individually in order that we might pay attention to each verse. The Psalmist begins this one with a reference back to the blessing pronounced upon Aaron. We often hear that blessing...

Romans 15:8-10    “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises   made   unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for   his   mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.” Paul often seems at odds with his Jewish brethren. He bukes the believers for their tendency to be so easily drawn back into the law service after having tasted of the grace of God found in Jesus Christ. They are often referred to as those whose faith is weak concerning the eating of meat. Yet, he is diligent to warn against treating them as less than brethren. Here he clearly states the reason for his admonishment to those who are fully devoted to following after Jesus. Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision. In all His ministry here in the flesh, He taught the Jews...

Psalm 65:1  "To the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed." Psalm 65:5  "By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:" Psalm 65:9-13   "Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.  (10)  Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.  (11)  Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.  (12)  They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.  (13)  The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered...

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...