Devotional Thoughts

Psalm 102:18-21    "This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.  (19)  For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;  (20)  To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;  (21)  To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem" Repetition is the key to learning. If you can correctly repeat something seven times in a row, you pretty much have it held in your memory. Throughout the Bible there seems to be two thoughts that are repeated. The first one is the fact that God is the Creator of this universe.  One such example is found in Psalm 121:1-2, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." It is important when seeking the help of the Lord that we remember His sovereign power in creatin...

1 Corinthians 6:18-20     “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost   which is   in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” What simple instruction Paul has for us here. We should away from  fornication , which Strong’s defines as “harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively idolatry.” While we certainly should not act on our lust, it is not just our physical action that is restricted here; we are also compelled by Christ to control our desires. He has told us that to look upon a woman in lust is to be guilty of adultery already (Mat 5:27-28). In addition to the carnal act of fornication, there is a figurative aspect that relates to our faithfulness to Jesus Christ. We...

Psalm 101:1-2    A Psalm of David. "I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.  (2)  I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart." I'm not certain how old David was when he wrote this Psalm. He might have written it when he was at the highest level of spirituality. He may have written it when he was a young shepherd boy. He may have written it when he became king. Or, he may have written it after he had been at the lowest point of spirituality and trying to come back to the place where he felt the closeness of God. Most of us can relate to one or more of these scenarios. We've been rejoicing on the mountaintop. We've been asking for forgiveness in the valley. We've been young and made a determination that we would always walk closely to God. Wherever we have been, or wherever we might be today, in our spiritual walk, there is always hope. There is always t...

1 Corinthians 6:15-17    “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make   them   the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” There is a great truth that we often overlook when we talk about “joining” the church. The scripture says that God adds to the church: presenting ourselves for water baptism is an outward acknowledgement of what God has already done in our lives. Our bodies then are not just members of the church, but members of Christ. We are joined together with Him (and He with us); we the body and He the head. Our walk and our talk should reflect that we are members of His body. Our actions should honor and glorify Him. When our actions do not honor and glorify Him, faithful ministers (such as Paul) should rebuke us with love and sincerit...