Devotional Thoughts

These are times of challenge, times of caution and precaution, and times of sheltering in place and appropriate social distance.  We are in a time of suffering.  Suffering leads to change.  Suffering restricts us from certain actions.  And suffering creates opportunities for other actions.  All of our lives have changed dramatically. 1 Peter is a book that deals with suffering.  God’s people were suffering tremendously as they were persecuted for their belief in Jesus Christ.  The recipients of 1 Peter were experiencing unjust suffering.  In other words, they were not suffering due to some willful error or sin on their part.  They were suffering because they lived in a world cursed by sin.  All suffering in one-way or another is the effect of living in a world that is affected by sin.  When sin entered the world by one man, Adam, things changed dramatically and suffering entered the human existence.  That world, our world, is only made right by one Man, Christ Jesus and H

Mark 1:18   "And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him." This passage of scripture is speaking of Simon and Andrew. They were fishermen by trade and apparently were fairly successful at it. They had grown up in the trade and followed their family business. One day, as they were casting their nets into the sea, a stranger walked by. He called out to them, "Come, follow me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." Our verse tells us their response. They walked a while farther and came upon two men who were mending their nets. They had finished their day's work and ready to go home. They were making preparation for the next day's work. Jesus called out to them and they left their father and the hired servants and went with Jesus. All four of these men received something from the words of Jesus that caused them to leave their work, their families, and follow Jesus. Have you ever heard the voice of Jesus in your heart, calling out to y

Mark 1:12-13    "And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.  (13)  And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him." I admit I'm one who enjoys the condensed versions of books. I enjoy the book of Mark because He details things, but he goes straight to the matter when he writes of events. Please do not misunderstand me, I enjoy going to the other books to get more details, but Mark has a way of being straightforward. I suppose we could say he was a man of few words. The word, "driveth," is interesting to me. "The Spirit driveth him into the wilderness." According to the Bible Concordance, the word "driveth" means to eject, to expel, to send away. Jesus was ejected from the peaceful scene of "This is my beloved Son" to the menacing scene of wild beasts and Satan. Though not to the degree that Jesus was thrust, but isn't that t

Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. – Psalm 30:4-5 Just the other night my preschooler reminded my wife and I of the hope common to all believers. In her routine of bedtime prayers, she was thanking God for all His blessings including her brothers and sister, her mom and dad, her grandparents, and her aunt and uncle. Her prayer then meandered into thanking God for things in her room, and then she paused and said, “and thank you for the light… that comes up in the morning.” You see, she still struggles with fear of the dark, and she looks forward to seeing the sun’s rays shining through her window. She understands that despite her fears joy comes in the morning. I hope and pray that you take comfort in the reassuring norms of the sun’s arrival in the morning, the birds singing and the simple fact that you

And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. – Mark 10:27 Who can be saved? It’s a simple question, but the answer is often hard to grasp. Context is nearly everything when it comes to understanding the Word of God. In the end, God made salvation and even our understanding possible. When the young man mentioned earlier in Mark 10 asked Jesus what  he  must do to inherit eternal life, the Lord told him that he must obey the commandments and furthermore sell his possessions to give to the poor.  This young man went away in despair because he had many possessions.   Eternal life appeared to be beyond reach for him.  His riches were an obstacle to service. You may not be rich as this young man, but we all have obstacles to faithful obedience, big ones.  I am so thankful that God not only made salvation possible in our present time through following His word but also absolutely through the matchless work of Jesu

Mark 1:9-11   "And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.  (10)  And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:  (11)  And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Jesus is now about 30 years old and is going to begin His public ministry. We really know nothing of his life from the time of about 12 years old until this point. We can only speculate that He spent much time in Joseph's carpentry shop, learning the trade. On occasion, He is called the carpenter's son. I think it is safe that his hands have worked to build things from that which His voice created - the wood of trees. The first thing that Jesus does to initiate His public ministry is to identify with the people. He goes to the River Jordan and there submits to John, the Baptist for baptism. John's baptism w

Mark 1:1-2    "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;  (2)  As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." We begin a study of the book of Mark. I do not intend to do a verse by verse study; rather, an overall view of the life of Jesus according to that which was written by Mark. Mark begins his account of the Gospel as it should be began, in "the beginning." That sounds so simple, but I do not mean it to be as elementary as it sounds. In verse one, Mark is establishing the Gospel of Jesus Christ was began back with the prophets of old. We know Jesus Christ can be seen on every page of both the New Testament and the Old Testament. In the writings of Moses, David, and all the prophets, we can see glimpses of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We saw Him throughout the writings of the Psalms. We can see Him on the very first page of the Scriptures. "In the beginni

In my study bible, Psalm 43 is titled “Prayer to God in Time of Trouble.”  Our world, our country, our every day experience on this 22 nd day of March 2020, could rightly be called a time of trouble.  The Coronavirus has entered our time and brought trouble.  Much of our life, and movement, and vocation, and recreation have changed dramatically.  Schools are closed, churches are closed, businesses are closed, and many in our country and community are restricted to life within four walls.  And of course, we mourn the loss of life due to the Coronavirus.  What are we to do in a Time of Trouble such as this? The answer to that question is multifaceted and complex.  With such multifaceted and complex questions we of course turn to scripture for answers.  One important answer to that question is that we must: 1. Pray to God, and 2. Preach to Ourselves.  We see these two answers in Psalm 43. Prayer to God in Time of Trouble 1 Vindicate me, O God, And plead my cause against

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. – Psalm 56:3 Are you afraid? Do you doubt and worry? Are you troubled about things you cannot control? If so, dear one, stir up the gift of faith that is within you. Understandably we are concerned about the problems of life. We should be concerned. Even Jesus, holding all power and understanding, was concerned. However, concern should not turn to worry. By faith, we can know that the will of God will be served and all things will work for good to those that love the Lord (Romans 8:28). Instead of descending into fear, I pray that you and I will run to the Lord and trust Him. As we turn to Him, we will find hope restored. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. – Exodus 28:2 There are wonderful gems hidden in the Bible. Words of great value are everywhere in it, and sometimes the most profound ideas are hidden in plain sight. No where is this more true than in the ceremonies of the priesthood. The figure or metaphorical image of Christ is apparent in these passages at every turn (Hebrews 9:1-15). As Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39) As the chief ambassador and prophet of God in his day, Moses spoke for the Lord while Aaron filled the role of high priest. Or to put it another way, “And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet (Exodus 7:1). Moses was given many instructions in the establishment of the priesthood, and we see in them the more perfect priesthood of Christ. Thus the robes and priestly

Psalm 150:1-2    "Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.  (2)  Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness."   (6)  Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD." Today, we conclude our study of the Psalms. It has been a good journey for me and I truly believe it has helped inspire me to grow stronger in my devotion and love for my Lord. I pray it has done the same for you. It's only appropriate that the Psalms conclude with the conclusion of the whole matter: The LORD is worthy of our praise. Verses one and two speak to us of praising God wherever we are. Whether we are in the sanctuary for public worship or walking down the street, we are to praise the Lord. Walking down a lonely road, we may be overcome with a need for praise. As the old saying goes, Let it rip! Sing to the top of your voice that our God is good and His mercy endures forever. You m

Psalm 149:4-6    "For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.  (5)  Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.  (6)  Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand" The Lord takes pleasure in His people. Can we truly comprehend the depth of this truth? The Lord takes pleasure in you. When you think about what this word means to you, the rest of today's verses take hold of you. What is the meaning of the rest of the verses? Rejoice! The word, pleasure, entails the meaning of acceptance. God accepts you. But when we speak of His acceptance, we must understand something had to take place in order for that acceptance to be complete. The action which had to take place was accomplished, not by ourselves, but by the very Son of God, Jesus Christ. Our acceptance with God does not originate with us; rather, it is found in the work of redemption by Christ Jesus. He offere

Psalm 148:13-14    "Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.  (14)  He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD." Many people can speak easily concerning their favorite ball player, their favorite actor, their favorite entertainer. But we cannot always speak easily of our Lord. I wonder why that is. Why do we sometimes feel uncomfortable speaking of the grace of God. There is only one name that is truly worthy of our praise and honor. We show respect to others, but pure honor and praise belongs unto our Lord. His glory is above all others and yet we do not always speak of Him with the same excitement as we speak of people who have excelled in their particular areas of expertise. This morning, stop and think upon your relationship with God. How is it? He exalts the horn, or the seat of power, of His p