Devotional Thoughts

Psalm 108:1-3  A Song or Psalm of David "O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.  (2)  Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.  (3)  I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations." I've said this before and I will say it again, "I'm so thankful that God created music." There is something about the harmony in a song that touches the very seat of our being. I believe music is born from our emotions whether it be joy, gladness, hope, assurance, peace, or even sadness and sorrow. To me, that is why music makes its way to our hearts. Music moves from one heart to another, from one's emotion to another's emotion.   One of the saddest times is when the heart cannot sing. I'm not sure what David had been through when he wrote this Psalm, but he begins with the thought that his heart is ready to sing. His emotions were ready to be awakened and his heart w...

  Our text is in the book of Joel, chapter three, verses one through three.   For the sake of context, we will begin the reading in chapter two at verse 28.   This is part ten of this series.   Perhaps a brief review with a few reminders is in order. We do not have a concrete date for the life and writing of this prophet. It is difficult to discern from this book whether Joel wrote this prophecy before the division of Israel, or before the exile to Babylon. We do believe that Joel wrote of an actual calamity of locusts brought by God as a chastisement on Israel. As this is prophecy, we should also understand that more than one fulfillment is of this prophecy is possible. As concerns prophecy in general, there is usually a near fulfillment that the original hearers would observe, and a far fulfillment that is a future event. That future event is always future from the writer’s perspective. That future fulfillment may be in the past from our perspective.  It is al...

1 Corinthians 7:29-31     “But this I say, brethren, the time   is   short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not abusing   it:   for the fashion of this world passeth away.” It is wonderful to see Paul’s love and compassion for the church at Corinth, even with all the turmoil that was besetting them at the time of his writing. He is always careful to remind them that he considers them family (brethren) and he is giving his admonishment out of love and genuine concern. As he addresses them (and us) in this twenty-ninth verse, he assures that “the time is short.” Considering that First Corinthians was written over nineteen hundred years ago, it seems unlikely that he was warning about the end of time. I believe Paul was speaking ...

Psalm 107:8-9    "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!  (9)  For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." If I counted correctly, these words are repeated four times in this Psalm. Each repetition follows an account of the ways in which God delivers our souls from struggles and hardship. Let's look at the first two verses: "O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so..." (Psalm 107:1-2) God's Word instructs us, the redeemed of the Lord, to be vocal about our faith. When I say we are to be vocal about our faith, I'm speaking of being upfront and forward with our praise unto the Lord. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! I am redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ; therefore, I want my life to reflect His honor and glory for all that He has done in my life. I want to say that through my...

1 Corinthians 7:25-28     “Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress,   I say,   that   it is   good for a man so to be. Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.” It is clear throughout this letter that it was a time of upheaval among the brethren at Corinth. There was division within their ranks and persecution from those without. Paul advises caution in many things to the church at Corinth. He is also careful to point out when he is giving his best prayerful advice as opposed to having an actual injunction from the Lord in certain areas. This is true of Paul’s advice...