Devotional Thoughts

Matthew 12:25-29     " And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:   And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?   And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.   Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house." A man was brought to Jesus because he was blind and mute. The reason for his condition was that he was possessed “with a devil (Matthew 12:22).” Jesus completely healed this man so that he had both his sight and his speech restored to him. The people who saw this miracle were moved to observe that this Jesus...

 INTRODUCTION  There is little doubt that Paul’s letter to the church at Rome is considered his magnum opus ; his most prolific effort to present the doctrines of salvation, and his unique presentation for practical living in the life of the believer; especially as regards peace amongst believers in the local church. For eleven chapters, the apostle presented his amazing discourse on salvation. He then began his discourse on practical Christianity beginning in chapter 12, concluding in chapter 16. Of particular interest for this article is the apostle’s efforts to outline how believers can and should maintain unity in the body of Christ. The focus of this writing will cover chapters 13 though 15.  THE ETHICS OF UNITY   There is a heavy concentration on achieving and keeping peace amongst and between the brethren in the local church. Paul gives a summary verse in chapter 14:19 where he states, “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things...

Joshua 1:2-3     "Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.  (3)  Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses." Joshua had been by Moses' side for the past 40 years. He and Caleb had been the two who stood against the other ten spies. It was Joshua and Caleb who told the people that they could take the land if the Lord would bless them. Now Moses is dead and God has said to Joshua, "Arise, go over this Jordan..." We will look at more of the promises that God gave to Joshua, but today I want to think about the call that was given to Joshua. 147 verses in the Bible contain the word, "Arise." As I scanned through a portion of them, that call was to the people of God to go forward. The other portion was pertaining to God's people asking God to arise on their behalf. W...

Matthew 12:18-21     " Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.  He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.  A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.  And in his name shall the Gentiles trust."   Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the sabbath day. The Pharisees set this situation up (so they thought) to ensnare Jesus so they could accuse Him of violating the law of the sabbath. Jesus had already declared Himself to be the Lord of the sabbath and therefore the lawgiver. When He used the situation to show their hypocrisy, the Pharisees began to look for a way to destroy Jesus. Jesus withdrew from them, and as usual, great multitudes followed Him. In His compassion for them, the scripture tells us that He healed the...

Joshua 1:1-2     "Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,  (2)  Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel." There is much that could be written about Moses. He was a blessed man of God. The epitaph that was written about him is found in the Word of God, Hebrews 3:5.  God says about Moses, "And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after." Moses was faithful in all his house. It's sad that one of the things we think about Moses is that his anger kept him out of the Promised Land. He used the rod that we wrote about yesterday to strike the rock when God had told him to speak to it. He was angry and frustrated at the people because of their constant moaning and co...