Devotional Thoughts

The Bible is God’s Love Letter to His people. As with any genuine Love Letter, you just can’t read it too many times. As the years go by, it just gets more encouraging and more meaningful. This is a call to read the Bible, this wonderful Letter of Love, regularly. The reason it is important to read the Bible regularly is that there is no sustained growth in our love relationship with the Lord apart from a regular communion with God through His Word. A marriage without regular loving communication will not foster growth in that love relationship. When we read the Bible, God speaks to us in love. The first step to growing in our love relationship with the Lord is to read the Bible Regularly. The believers in the town of Berea are a great example concerning a daily interaction with the Word of God. Acts 17:10-11, “Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-...

Mark 5:17-19    "And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.  (18)  And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.  (19)  Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee." In these three verses, we see two different types of people. There were those who lost their material goods because of the work of Jesus and this man whose entire life had been turned around when Jesus came to him. We see a people who lost their blessing because they asked Jesus to leave. We see a man who had been cast away by those same people and had received the greatest blessing he could have ever imagined. His life was made whole again by the very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you imagine asking the Lord of glory to depart simply because their lives had been turned upsi...

Mark 5:1-5    "And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.  (2)  And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,  (3)  Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:  (4)  Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.  (5)  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones." Eventually, we will see in this chapter that Jesus made the trip across the sea of Galilee and through the storm to get to this one man. In the book of Luke, we read the parable of the shepherd leaving the 99 to go get the one that had gone astray. For me, it is very comforting to know that I serve and love the Shepherd of my soul. He ...

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. – Isaiah 9:2 When we were deep in the cave, the guide spoke into his radio, “Turn out the lights.” This was my introduction into absolute darkness. At a tender age, I trembled in the pitch blackness waiting impatiently for the lights to come back on. Nothing can truly prepare you for the experience, but without Christ, everyone is just the same. Wondering about groping for answers until even this futile hope is abandoned, and without hope, the lost either relent or embrace the darkness. Fearful and maybe angry at the one we blame for the disorientation and confusion that comes from a complete loss of light, our instincts scream, “Run!” But where do we run? Without vision, we can only scramble about. We need light. We need salvation. Only a savior can provide salvation, and knowing His people could not save themselves, God sent His Son...

Mark 4:39-41    "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  (40)  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?  (41)  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" I repeat verse 39 from the previous devotion because the entire focus of this writing is about the power of Jesus Christ to make a difference in our lives. Jesus had just spent time teaching the disciples about His power and authority, though He had not mentioned Himself by name. He had taught them to take the "light" they received (enlightenment) and post it high so others could see and be encouraged. Then after teaching them, He placed them in the storm. There could be a great theological debate as to whether Jesus caused the storm, allowed the storm, or simply knew about the storm. All three of th...

Mark 4:35-39    "And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.  (36)  And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.  (37)  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  (38)  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?  (39)  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." I used more Scripture today than normal, but these verses warrant our attention. I think we all have pictured this scene in our minds. The disciples and Jesus get into the ship to go to the other side of the sea of Galilee. No doubt, Jesus has a purpose for going to the other side, but a "great storm of ...

God’s Word is the most historically credible work of all antiquity.  With regard to historical reliability, the Bible stands far, far above all other books.  The life and times of God’s Word is supported again and again by recent archeological discoveries.  But even better than the Bible’s historically accurate accounts, God’s Word is exactly that, The Word of God Himself.  Scripture tells us it is God breathed, God inspired.  Second Timothy 3:16-17, “ 16  All Scripture  is  given by inspiration of God, and  is  profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,  17  that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work .”  The Bible is a divine work of God our Father through human authors.  These authors were supernaturally guided in a fashion where their words and their language communicated everything that God desired to be communicated. ...

Mark 4:21    "And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?" As I stated in the beginning of our study of Mark, he used very straight to the point wording. Matthew recorded in great detail the necessity of letting our lights shine. Matthew used the analogy of the city on a hillside whose light cannot be hidden. Mark goes straight to the point. He says, 'No one buys a candle to hide it.' That is language which we all can understand isn't it? Mark was a man of few words and I can appreciate that. He says what he means and means what he says. In giving this description, I am in no way discounting the fact that the Holy Spirit directed Mark in his wording. But it is my belief that the Lord calls us according to the gifts He has given us and uses those gifts in our own varying abilities. Mark's ability was to state what he wanted to say. Don't buy a candle and then hide it. Christ ...

Mark 4:8-9   "And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. (9) And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." We have seen how some seed fell by the wayside. Even as the Word was being spoken, minds and hearts were elsewhere. The seed did not take root at all. Some fell on stony ground. Hearts had been hardened by some instance of life and the seed had no where to take root. Then some fell on thorny ground. Cares and distresses of the world choked out the Word. It was received with joy, but was choked out when something came up to cause worry or despair. But today, we see the good ground. We must constantly tend our hearts. We all are susceptible to things coming into our lives that would allow the briars and brambles to spring up. Be careful to tend to your heart by spending time with the Word of God and in prayer. The fruit of the Spirit will be ...

Mark 4:7   "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit." So far, we have seen the seed falling by the wayside with no attention being paid whatsoever. We saw the seed falling upon the stony ground where hearts have been hardened for whatever reason. Today, we see the seed falling among thorns. When we see the word thorns, we think of briars and weeds that have been allowed to overtake the ground. The ground could be good, but for lack of attention, the thorns have overtaken it. We do not have to guess as to what the thorns represent. Jesus gives us the explanation and it certainly deserves our attention. "And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,  (19)  And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." (Mark 4:18-19) I wonder if this could apply to most of us, if not all of us, at tim...

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. –  Matthew 6:34 Do you worry? Maybe a better question is… Are you worrying right now? No, I cannot read your thoughts. I just know how easy it is to be troubled by the cares of life. Any responsible adult has concerns. Whether it is work, family, or something else, most of us have valid concerns. It is when those concerns grow beyond our faith that they become worry. And worry is a problem. Why is worry a problem? Well for one thing it is usually, if not always, worthless. It is useless to allow ourselves to be consumed by things beyond our control. It drains our energy, our time, and our resources. Worry keeps us from sleep and causes stress related illnesses. Jesus tells us to take no thought for tomorrow because the evil (trouble) of today is enough. This admonition comes at the end of a long list of worldly things that the Lor...

Mark 4:5   "And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth" And some fell on stony ground. Later in the chapter, the Lord explains this parable to His disciples. We see they did not always understand completely what Jesus was teaching. It is very important for us to have the desire and drive to study the Word of God. There are things that are difficult to understand; yet, it is of the utmost importance for us to seek to find the key to opening the Word. How do we go about that? First, we go to the Author and ask His assistance. What? You ask! I'm glad you asked. We go to the Author of the Bible and ask what is meant by the Word. We go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to open our understanding. He, Himself, said, "Ask, and it shall be given. Seek and ye shall find. Knock, and the door will be open unto you." He gave the invitation to find instruction, why would we not take Him up on ...

No one can take your joy in Jesus Christ from you. John 16:22 The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the grave changed everything.   And His resurrection still changes things today.   The disciples were distraught at the death of Jesus. They did not leave Calvary shouting, “wait till the third day, Jesus will raise from the dead with victory, wait and see, He will live again, just as He said!”   No, they did not shout that, rather, they left Calvary defeated, dismayed, discouraged.   They had NO joy as they left Calvary.   In fact, when the women approached the tomb of Jesus early on that first Easter Sunday; they came expecting to dress the dead body of Jesus with additional burial spices.   They did not come expecting the tomb to be empty and Jesus to be raised and alive.   They were still in mourning: grief and loss filled them, and hope and joy eluded them. Their joy was gone as they left Calvary.   Their joy was gone, becaus...

Mark 4:2-4  "And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,  (3)  Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:  (4)  And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up." This parable is a beautiful one and very needful of our consideration. At first I thought to take the entire parable in one devotion, but felt I should take each individual segment for thought. The first thing that I see in these verses is that Jesus taught "in his doctrine". Jesus taught with authority and compassion, which is something the people were not accustomed to hearing. The Pharisees would teach with heavy and demanding hands. Jesus, in His manner, taught straightforward but with the understanding of humanity and our tendencies. In this parable we will see the various types of grounds which could represent various people, but I also see it to represent various times in my life. So we wi...

Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? – Isaiah 29:15 Sometimes being honest with yourself is the hardest thing. We hide our feelings and our frustrations. Hide our failures and our shortcomings. Most of all we hide what shames us. Hide though we might, we cannot escape the eyes of God. Isaiah pronounced woe to anyone who tries to hide from God for it shows that they know their works are evil and they seek to cover them up adding deceit to their list of sins. Brothers and sisters take your sins to the Lord as burdens to shed rather than hiding them. We cannot deceive God. Remember the words of David, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall...

Mark 3:31-32   "There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.  (32)  And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee." The multitude of people followed Jesus wherever He went. He was constantly giving of Himself to them as He met their individual needs. Prior to this, when the multitude was so great that there was not even time to stop and eat, the friends of Jesus thought He had lost track of Himself in the need. They were afraid He would completely spend Himself. They were not considering the person of Jesus. Aren't you thankful that Jesus never bankrupts Himself of His power and glory? These verses show the importance of pressing through the crowd of things that would hold us back from following Jesus. Later in Mark, we shall see a woman who made her way through the press; that is, she pushed through the crowd because Jesus was the only one wh...

Mark 3:1-3    "And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.  (2)  And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.  (3)  And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth." "Stand forth." I believe Jesus certainly said those words with authority and power. As His custom was, Jesus went into the synagogue. He showed the perfect example of constant public worship of God. He, the Son of God, humbled Himself before the Father to worship and praise and pray. We hear many people  say, "I want to be like Jesus," yet they do not always feel public worship to be necessary. It seems to me that if I am going to be like Jesus, then His customs must be my customs - including public worship of God. When He entered the synagogue, He saw the man with a withered hand. According to verse 2, I wonder if the man was taken there for the purpose of the Phar...

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. – Ephesians 4:25 The first wicked act was a lie. Thus from this evil came all others as the pebble that first moves upon a mountain to become an avalanche. So it should be no light thing for us to lie even in a small matter. As ambassadors for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must champion not only the supreme Truth of God’s Word but also truthfulness as a virtue. Indeed, even the Gospel rings hollow when it comes from a lying mouth. Therefore when you speak dear Christian, speak the truth and only the truth so help you God. Speak the truth in love, but speak the truth.

Mark 2:15-17   "And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.  (16)  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?  (17)  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." I have to admit to you this morning that I am so thankful that Jesus receives sinners. I'm so thankful that Jesus allowed the publicans and sinners to sit down with Him at the table. For you see, that gives me hope that Jesus receives me also. When I say also, I do not mean that I am one iota better than the chief of sinners. It just means that I have peace in knowing that Jesus does not require perfecti...

Mark 2:13   "And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them." Jesus had just healed the man sick of the palsy. The people confessed they had never seen anything like that before. Jesus healed him physically. Jesus healed him spiritually. He was made whole. What a glorious thought that is, to be made whole. Jesus changed the man in body. Jesus changed the man in spirit. Jesus changed the man in soul, or mind. His whole thought process had been changed by the entrance of the power of the Son of God. We can experience that same kind of power if we humble ourselves before the Lord. This is what brings me to today's subject. "He taught them." I confess to you that many times I read the Bible and I want to see the big picture. But there are great blessings if you take time to look at the pictures within the picture. My first thought of today's verse is that Jesus had a multitude of people who resorted to ...

Celebrate the amazing love of Jesus for you. John 13:1 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” Today is Palm Sunday.  On this day in the history of our redemption, Jesus enters Jerusalem as the people cried out: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” Jesus was entering Jerusalem to preach, and minister, and rebuke sin, with great power and authority.  But most of all, Jesus was entering Jerusalem to die to save us from our sins.  Jesus did this purposefully and of His own will.  Luke 19:51 “ Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.”  I am always moved by this passage.  When the God ordained day...